Valor Review – November 22-29 – Western Caribbean

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Everything started out well with an on time AirTran flight from BWI to MIA. We arrived early at 11:15 and I was on the Carnival bus on the way to the pier by noon. There was a very long line, but I was checked in and on the boat by 1:30.

I stopped by my cabin (2462 – a 1A to 6B conversion) to drop off my carry-on and then headed up to Rosie’s for lunch. Day one would be the fish & chips and they were as good as everyone says. It’s funny. I usually prefer lunch in the dining room, but the menus for both sea days did not entice me as much as the Lido offerings so I ate lunch up there every day, except for two lunches in port.

Our cruise critic meet & greet was at 2:30 in the sports bar. It was a small gathering but those that attended had a nice time. Then we went to the safety drill – sans life jackets nice! Afterwards I stopped by the Spa for the free drawings and was lucky enough to win a ½ off coupon. I used it for a hot stones massage later in the week. Spent the rest of the day exploring and resting. Dinner was the usual first night menu and was very good.

I found my bar of the week before dinner – Jeanne’s wine {and martini] bar. I would strongly urge everyone to stop by there at least once. The bartender – Ildi – is an absolute doll. She was my nominee for employee of the cruise. After the first night, there was a group of about 12 regulars who were there every night. If you do go, ask her to make you a “Judy’s Special” – an adult root beer float. There’s no root beer and no ice cream – it’s made with Galiano, but tastes the same. I taught her how to make it and by the end of week everyone was drinking them.

Monday was the first sea day. I didn’t do much – played one trivia game and spent most of the day sunning at the adult pool and reading.

Over the course of the week, I tried all of the different Lido options available: pizza, burger & fries, a burrito, the Mongolian wok, the deli and the Caribbean taste of nations day. While everything was very good, my favorite this cruise was the Mongolian wok. You can’t get food any fresher than that. The day I had it the meat choices were port, calamari and chicken. The pork was a bit overdone for my taste, but the chicken was perfect.

Dinner menus were the standard except for Thanksgiving Thursday. They did a special menu which included a turkey dinner. I don’t remember the other choices; perhaps someone else got a copy of the menu and will scan it. For some reason they opted to do a special pumpkin and chocolate dessert. I think the plain pie would have been better.

As for the evening entertainment shows, I liked the production numbers and the magician, but I wasn’t very impressed with any of the three comedians.

The cabin: This was my second stay in a cabin in this location. The first time was on the Triumph on the starboard side. This time I was on the port side. I don’t know if this makes a difference. But on the Triumph I felt very little vibration and it was very quiet. This time, there was a constant low vibration and occasionally there was enough noise and/or shaking to wake me up. I have no idea what this cabin looked like as a 1A, but as a 6B it was very nice.

I booked all of my excursions through Carnival.

Grand Cayman – Stingrays and Dolphin Ride. The tour is very well organized and the guides are very knowledgeable and congenial. I had a terrific time. In hindsight, I’m sorry I didn’t buy a couple of pictures. I would definitely do it again.

Roatan – Jolly Roger Catamaran Snorkeling and Gumbalimba Park. We were split into 2 groups – ½ did the snorkeling first and ½ did the Park first. I was in the group that snorkeled first. That part was great. Saw lots of beautiful fish. The Park – not so great. By the time we got there (around 4:00), the monkey were no where to be seen. Apparently they were sleeping. This was very disappointing since seeing the monkeys was to be the highlight of this excursion for me. Part of the problem is that we don’t dock here until 1:00 and the monkey are most active in the morning and early afternoon. Now, Carnival has no control over who does what first, so I’m not blaming them. But the tour folks knew (and admitted) that the monkeys would not be seen late in the day.

When I got back to the ship, I spoke to the Excursion desk about the timing issues. I told them I wasn’t blaming Carnival, but suggested that they mention in the description that due to the timing you might not see everything you expect to see. I don’t know if the arrival time is the same for all cruises, but if you’re going to do this particular tour, make sure you do the Park first. The next day a gentleman from the Excursion desk called me and told me they’d investigated and I wasn’t the only one was spoke to them about this. They offered a 25% refund which I thought was a very nice gesture.

Belize – Altun Ha Mayan Ruins and River Wallace. A very nice excursion. Very knowledgeable guides. The lunch served between the ruins and the river was very good. Don’t miss it. The local cashew wine is very sweet – the local beer is a better bet for lunch. But the wine would be good with cheese and fruit. If you’re looking for a cheap alternative to the Tortuga Rum cakes at $15/box, try the Rainforest Rum cakes right at the pier for $10/box. I bought one each of the six flavors: original, coconut, pina colada, banana, chocolate chip and cinnamon.

Cozumel – I did the Amazing Cozumel Race. As a solo, they paired me up with a mother/daughter team. We decided to take our time, see the sights and enjoy ourselves and still managed to make it to the finish line (restaurant) only 12 minutes after the winners. It’s a fun way to see the city. We had another good local lunch after the race. You just can’t beat freshly made guacamole and chips and an ice cold beer after spending 2 hours walking around. While the tour concludes with a bus ride back to the pier, some of us opted to stay downtown to shop and share a $7 cab ride back.

I opted to take advantage of the Luggage Express program. It was the best $20 I spent all week. I’ll never do it any other way. It’s too bad they don’t do this on the way to the cruise too.

After another relaxing sea day (and my third spa treatment of the week), I flew back to BWI and was back home by 4:00. I’m sure I didn’t cover everything everyone wants to know, so feel free to ask any questions and I’ll try to answer them. I didn’t save the Capers or get any menus, but I do have a few food and cabin pictures that I’ll post later.

[Cruise-Crazy]

Nice review.

[airlink diva]

Thanks for your review on the Valor sailing jpg1740!
Most of the reviews on the Carnival board are not from a solo cruiser point of view.
You stated that the cabin was a formal 1A that's now a 6B. What makes this cabin a difference between the two?

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I'm not sure why they upgraded some 1As and not others. I think it has to do with the room layout. I have no idea where the bunk bed used to be. I couldn't find any sign of one ever being there. Maybe someone else knows. This same cabin is still a 1A on the Triumph and Victory. But since this cabin can now accommodate a queen bed and it has windows, they've made it a 6B.

Sailing solo is my vacation mode of choice. I made friends pretty quickly at the meet & greet, the trivia games, at breakfast and dinner in the dining room, the afternoon teas (which were great by the way) and at the wine bar. If there wasn't someone I'd already met on an excursion, I made new friends along the way. I was only alone when I wanted to be.

Something else I failed to mention - my room steward (and assistants) and my dining room staff were terrific. I had late dining in the Lincoln room at tablel 191.

[sparky8]

Thanks for your review. I was on the Valor in 2007, and had a great cruise! I also cruise solo most of the time. I am now looking forward to the Carnival Freedom in 2010! Thanks again for sharing your experience.

[Shanruns]

Great review! Sorry I missed you guys! We were with a big group of family and didn't make it to the meet and greet! I kept wondering if everyone I saw could be someone from here!!

[airlink diva]

Originally Posted by jpg1747

I'm not sure why they upgraded some 1As and not others. I think it has to do with the room layout. I have no idea where the bunk bed used to be. I couldn't find any sign of one ever being there. Maybe someone else knows. This same cabin is still a 1A on the Triumph and Victory. But since this cabin can now accommodate a queen bed and it has windows, they've made it a 6B.

Sailing solo is my vacation mode of choice. I made friends pretty quickly at the meet & greet, the trivia games, at breakfast and dinner in the dining room, the afternoon teas (which were great by the way) and at the wine bar. If there wasn't someone I'd already met on an excursion, I made new friends along the way. I was only alone when I wanted to be.

Something else I failed to mention - my room steward (and assistants) and my dining room staff were terrific. I had late dining in the Lincoln room at tablel 191.

I mainly sail solo on my cruises. Mainly because of time and money. I'm cruising with a close friend (it's her first) in March. However my second cruise later in the year is another solo cruise.
I feel that cruising offers one of the best values around for someone who travels solo. Even with the single supplement rate () your room,food and entertainment cost is alot better than most land vacations.
Thanks for the info on the cabins. These must be the 1A cabins with windows that most people were raving about. I think once the word got out about these cabins, Carnival change it for more money

[cbressler76]

I have a couple of questions.....thank you for your help!!....

I have two boys one will be 4 soon and the other is 7....when you went to Gumbalimba Park was there a high bridge that they would have to cross? I'm TERRIFIED of heights and I would worry about them crossing it. If there is, was it pretty much safe?

When you went on the tour to the ruins (River Wallace thing) was there a lot to see on the river part?

Thank you so much for your help!

[jpg1747]

Originally Posted by cbressler76

I have a couple of questions.....thank you for your help!!....

I have two boys one will be 4 soon and the other is 7....when you went to Gumbalimba Park was there a high bridge that they would have to cross? I'm TERRIFIED of heights and I would worry about them crossing it. If there is, was it pretty much safe?

When you went on the tour to the ruins (River Wallace thing) was there a lot to see on the river part?

Thank you so much for your help!

There's rope bridge at the Park. It's not the height that bothered me, but the swaying. You can use an alternate route if you don't want to do the rope bridge. I did it, but it I certainly didn't like it.

The river portion of the Altun Ha and River Wallace tour doesn't guarantee any wildlife. We saw a few crocodiles and some birds, but not too much. It was fine with me since it was very hot and I was happier when the boat was moving fast.

[Bajan Keith]

Thanks for posting your review. I was wondering where all the new valor reviews were.

[raytownlady]

Thanks for posting your review, I have a couple of questions on your excursions:

in Grand Cayman, was the tour crowed? I've seen some of the ship sponsored excursion at Stingray City and they were jammed packed. I would imagine that there would be fewer people on the Dolphin portion but I could be wrong.

Altun Ha/River Wallace tour was the lunch included and what time did you arrive back to the pier. We are considering this excursion and I'd like to pick up a few gifts and would prefer to do it after the excursion so I don't have to drag my items around all day.

Thanks in advance for your reply

[framerman]

Nice review!!

[jpg1747]

Originally Posted by raytownlady

Thanks for posting your review, I have a couple of questions on your excursions:

in Grand Cayman, was the tour crowed? I've seen some of the ship sponsored excursion at Stingray City and they were jammed packed. I would imagine that there would be fewer people on the Dolphin portion but I could be wrong.

Altun Ha/River Wallace tour was the lunch included and what time did you arrive back to the pier. We are considering this excursion and I'd like to pick up a few gifts and would prefer to do it after the excursion so I don't have to drag my items around all day.

Thanks in advance for your reply

For the Grand Cayman tour, I didn't think the stingray portion was all that crowded. There were several groups in the area, but they were kept pretty far apart and there are certainly enough stingrays to go around. For the dolphin swim, we were in groups of 8.

For Altun Ha/River Wallace lunch isn't included but the full meal is only $8; there might have been burgers for less, but I don't remember the price. Get the meal - it's delicious. Beverage are extra. I think the soda was $2 and the beer and wine were $4. We got back to the pier about an hour before the last tender.

[happycruiser1960]

Thanks for the review. We board her on Sunday!

[scooterdoxie]

JPG1747,

You must be the lady with short blond hair that was in the customs line in front of us. I heard you saying that you wished they would come to your house and pick your luggage up at the beginning too. That would be awesome and I would sign up for that for sure. We loved the luggage express program too other than the long time it took for them to finally let us off the ship. My group had 13 bags checked in luggage express and 3 people in our group did not do the program and their luggage got left in Miami! I figured some of ours would not make it but it all did. It was so nice not to have to deal with it until we got to the home airport.

[raytownlady]

Originally Posted by jpg1747

For the Grand Cayman tour, I didn't think the stingray portion was all that crowded. There were several groups in the area, but they were kept pretty far apart and there are certainly enough stingrays to go around. For the dolphin swim, we were in groups of 8.

For Altun Ha/River Wallace lunch isn't included but the full meal is only $8; there might have been burgers for less, but I don't remember the price. Get the meal - it's delicious. Beverage are extra. I think the soda was $2 and the beer and wine were $4. We got back to the pier about an hour before the last tender.

Thanks for your answers, we are anxiously counting down the days until our trip.