Live from the Valor!

We're having a great time! Weather has been perfect. The ship is very, very nice. Crew great, food great. Fellow passengers very nice. Didn't care so much for the LIberty (sister ship to the Valor), but this ship has a different "feel" to it. So far I have no complaints. Did Capt. Marvin's today in Grand Cayman, and was not disappointed Capt. Marvin will be 90 years old in September, and is as spry as ever!

 

Any questions, feel free to ask away.

......Any questions, feel free to ask away.

Did you set your clocks back one hour Monday night? Do you go to the theatre (deck 5) to get a tender ticket, and what time (Cayman time) did you make it to shore?

 

Glad you're having a great cruise and thanks for the updates!

 

John

Thanks for the info. We will be boarding her in less than 12 days.

Yes, thank you. I also will be boarding the Valor (Western) with 3 other ladies in my family on June 11th.

 

Thank you for your update! Any and all info you want to share will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for the info. We will be boarding her in less than 12 days.

 

Hallelujah for that! I cannot WAIT until we all board!

 

Thanks Jersey! Let us know how Honduras is -- I'm most curious about that port :)

Yikes! Double post! I hate when I get the blank white screen and I hit refresh and it posts it again.

 

*le sigh*

So glad to see you cruising Jersey! We've crossed threads before. I'm sailing w/ Adam, Ashley, and Rene'.

 

We're on the same itinerary as you and are on the next western sailing.

 

Thanks for the live updates! It helps pass the time until we cruise.

 

Save us some food!!!!! LOL

How cool you are posting live :)

We will be on the Valor Aug 20th, I can not wait, either can the kids ;)

We were on the Valor last December the week before Christmas (eastern itinerary)---and I STILL have post cruise depression occasionally. We had so much fun! Enjoy the Valor---and if you see a head server named Jarmilla from Slovakia (lovely lady and what a pro at customer service!) or a waiter named Christian (a terrific Romanian gentleman) give them a big hello from the Wallaces of Ohio. They were our servers in the Washington dining room. Jarmilla was also one of the supervisors on the Lido deck during other times of day---and she ALWAYS knew where other members of my family were. My daughter said it was like having an extra mom on board--LOL!

 

Can't wait to cruise again!

 

"Scout" aka Carol

Dayton, OH

 

Carnival Valor~December 2005

Did you set your clocks back one hour Monday night? Do you go to the theatre (deck 5) to get a tender ticket, and what time (Cayman time) did you make it to shore?

 

Glad you're having a great cruise and thanks for the updates!

 

John

 

 

 

Yes, we were told to change our clocks back one hour Monday evening. That way we were on the same time as island time. I believe they will be having us change forward one hour Friday night.

 

Yes, we went to Ivanhoe theater at the entrance on Deck 4 to pick up tender stickers. Make sure you have all in your group there; they won't give you extras for people that aren't there. Perhaps later after the crowds leave you won't need tender tickets. We arrived at 7 a.m., and they started tendering at 7:30 a.m. We booked Capt. marvin's on our own, and got to the theater at 8 a.m. and immediately got a tender. We had plenty of time to spare. We had to be at Capt. Marvin's at 9:15 and we probably had an hour to kill beforehand, but I didn't want to be late.

 

Any other questions?

 

Just left Roatan; awesome day. The weather has been perfect. Our kids did a canopy zipline (booked our own) and we visited the orphanage and took a tour of the island. They charged $35 pp for the zipline and $15 pp to have a driver take us all over for the day. We got off the ship as soon as it docked at 11 a.m., and got back to the ship around 4:30. We set sail at 5:45.

Wait, I'm confused. You're NOT supposed to stay on ship time? I thought it was ship time, no matter what.

 

So has it changed? Did you dock at 7AM SHIP time (which would be 6AM local time in Cayman I think) or did you dock at 7AM LOCAL time which would be 8AM ship time -- unless they are having y'all change to CST time for the duration of the vacation and that becomes ship time. I am SOOO confused!

Wait, I'm confused. You're NOT supposed to stay on ship time? I thought it was ship time, no matter what.

 

So has it changed? Did you dock at 7AM SHIP time (which would be 6AM local time in Cayman I think) or did you dock at 7AM LOCAL time which would be 8AM ship time -- unless they are having y'all change to CST time for the duration of the vacation and that becomes ship time. I am SOOO confused!

I think I can answer this: During DST on the Valor, when it is doing the Western cruise, you set your clocks back one hour Monday night, and then set them ahead one hour on Friday night.

 

The reason for this is because during DST you would be one hour ahead (of local time) in Grand Cayman and Costa Maya, and two hours ahead in Belize and Roatan. By setting the ship's clock back one hour it will make Grand Cayman and Costa Maya the same as ship time, and only one hour earlier than Belize and Roatan.

 

I have seen this posted before, and saw it in a set of Valor Capers, but I wanted to verify with jerseygirl3 that they were still doing that.

 

BTW, here is a link to some fairly recent Valor Capers (one sheet for Friday calls it a sea day because the weather prevented them from docking at Costa Maya on that cruise):

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/oceanpalms476

 

Just one more question jerseygirl3. You say you got you tender tickets from the theatre on deck 4? I have read it was on the upper level of the theatre (deck 5). Could you clarify if it deck 4 or 5?

 

Thanks,

 

John

Jerseygirl,

I hope you make time to go and listen to the band from the Phillipans while you are there. They are really good, and this is their last week. They have been on board for the last 9 months. We were on the Valor last week and we listened to them almost every night. Enjoy, I'm jealous and I wish I were still on board.

I think I can answer this: During DST on the Valor, when it is doing the Western cruise, you set your clocks back one hour Monday night, and then set them ahead one hour on Friday night.

 

The reason for this is because during DST you would be one hour ahead (of local time) in Grand Cayman and Costa Maya, and two hours ahead in Belize and Roatan. By setting the ship's clock back one hour it will make Grand Cayman and Costa Maya the same as ship time, and only one hour earlier than Belize and Roatan.

 

I have seen this posted before, and saw it in a set of Valor Capers, but I wanted to verify with jerseygirl3 that they were still doing that.

 

BTW, here is a link to some fairly recent Valor Capers (one sheet for Friday calls it a sea day because the weather prevented them from docking at Costa Maya on that cruise):

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/oceanpalms476

 

Just one more question jerseygirl3. You say you got you tender tickets from the theatre on deck 4? I have read it was on the upper level of the theatre (deck 5). Could you clarify if it deck 4 or 5?

 

Thanks,

 

John

 

Ahh, okay. I didn't realize that Belize and Roatan weren't on CST time (which I am currently).

 

Okay and even though I do have a B.A., I am still a blonde so let me get this straight, LOL:

 

So you turn your clocks back the Monday night and that becomes the official ship time which you will abide by while in port, etc. Then Friday you spring forward and then that becomes the official ship time for the final day and a handful of hours?

Ahh, okay. I didn't realize that Belize and Roatan weren't on CST time (which I am currently).

 

Okay and even though I do have a B.A., I am still a blonde so let me get this straight, LOL:

 

So you turn your clocks back the Monday night and that becomes the official ship time which you will abide by while in port, etc. Then Friday you spring forward and then that becomes the official ship time for the final day and a handful of hours?

Yes, that is how they have been doing it on the Valor during the Western runs. Just remember that if you're on CST where you live, that in Miami you'll start out on EST.

 

It does get confusing, and I didn't realize there was a ship time change involved until I started reading some posts and reviews on the Western Valor after DST started this year. But thanks to jerseygirl3 we have confirmed that is indeed what they are doing.

 

John

Yes, I know about the change from Texas to Miami (I think it was the only think I actually understood to begin with, LOL!)

 

Thanks Eliot Ness!

:( I have to wait until Sept3 but thanks for the info. I be keeping posted so I can start making plans on what we are going to do.

have a GREAT time!!!

So, just to clarify. The Valor arrives in Grand Cayman at 7 a.m. local time. Is that correct?

JereseyGirl3,

 

Which zip line and island tour did you book privately on Roatan? We will be going on the Valor 12/24/06 and want to do the same thing. We are a family of 5.

 

________________________

 

Carnival Triumph 12/05

Carnival Valor 12/24/06

gltrans,

 

We've booked Victor Bodden tours. He came very highly recommended on the "Port of Call" message board. We will be going to the zip line, the iguana farm, the beach and a nice local spot for lunch. We are leaving next Sunday and will report when we get back.

Didn't care so much for the LIberty (sister ship to the Valor), but this ship has a different "feel" to it.

 

Why didn't you like the Liberty?

I think I can answer this: During DST on the Valor, when it is doing the Western cruise, you set your clocks back one hour Monday night, and then set them ahead one hour on Friday night.

 

The reason for this is because during DST you would be one hour ahead (of local time) in Grand Cayman and Costa Maya, and two hours ahead in Belize and Roatan. By setting the ship's clock back one hour it will make Grand Cayman and Costa Maya the same as ship time, and only one hour earlier than Belize and Roatan.

 

I have seen this posted before, and saw it in a set of Valor Capers, but I wanted to verify with jerseygirl3 that they were still doing that.

 

BTW, here is a link to some fairly recent Valor Capers (one sheet for Friday calls it a sea day because the weather prevented them from docking at Costa Maya on that cruise):

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/oceanpalms476

 

Just one more question jerseygirl3. You say you got you tender tickets from the theatre on deck 4? I have read it was on the upper level of the theatre (deck 5). Could you clarify if it deck 4 or 5?

 

Thanks,

 

John

 

 

This is interesting because I just sailed on the Miracle which went to Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Belize and Costa Maya and we stayed on ship time the whole time. Why would one ship make you change and others don't?

I guess we have to wait until Jersey girl makes it back to Jersey before we get her complete review.

Okay, sorry I didn't answer these questions sooner while I was still on the ship, but I ran out of my 250 minutes, and didn't want to rack up more internet fees.

 

Here goes. On Monday evening, we were told to set our clocks BACK one hour. I believe the reason for this is that some of the islands do not observe Daylight Savings Time. On Friday evening, we were told to set our clocks AHEAD one hour. When we arrived in Grand Cayman at 7 a.m., our watches, the ship's time and Grand Cayman were all on the same time. Hope that helps to clear things up a bit. The Miracle was with us at almost every port of call (except one, and I can't remember which one), but I don't know why they didn't tell their passengers to change their clocks.

 

Eliot, my mistake. The tender stickers were handed out right outside the Ivanhoe theater at Deck 5. The lines looked horribly long when you walked up, but they moved very quickly. The tendering process wasn't nearly as bad as some have alluded to.

 

Okay, why didn't I like the Liberty? I will try to put this as delicately as I can. When we went this past February, there was an inordinate amount of what can only be called "white trash" onboard. The parents (I would say average age approx. 35) were out of control. Drunk, swearing, rude, not attending to their children, who were also out of control. I have never seen so many torn, tattered jeans (including shorts) work to the dining rooms for dinner. Two windows were broken on the Lido Deck (in 18 cruises, I've never seen broken windows). The staff was surly (probably from having to deal with this particular group of passengers). The food was mediocre at best. The service was subpar. The ship itself was lovely, but it was the worst cruise I've ever been on. In fact, I considered cancelling the Valor but since we were taking our four kids (to celebrate one of them graduating from college) and three of their friends, it would have been a hassle to rebook at that late date. I'm glad I didn't cancel, because we had a great time on the Valor. My husband and I still prefer more pampering, so when it's just the two of us, we'll stick with Celebrity or Princess, but we had a very nice time on the Valor. The ship was not as gaudy as I thought it would be. The service was very good, with the exception of the dining room. I am going to try to do a more thorough review within the next day or so, but I would say to anybody going on the Valor they won't be disappointed.

 

Any other specific questions, feel free to ask.

jerseygirl -- THANK YOU. You explained that in language I understand about the time, LOL.

 

Post your review!! I can't wait to read it! Did y'all have good weather?

 

Pictures are also welcome. it's very hard to concentrate at work this week, imagine that...:rolleyes: