Just Back from Valor (2/14-21/10) with Disney & RCI Comparisons

[MargaritaPlease]

We’re just back from a cruise on the Carnival Valor over President’s week (2/14-21), our state’s school vacation. We wanted to share some thoughts!!

 

Background - This was our sixth “cruise” as a family – two on Disney (2003, 2005), two on Royal Caribbean (2006, 2007), and, last year, an Iberostar “land cruise” on the Riviera Maya. DW and I are both 49 year-old professionals. DS1 is a freshman at 15. DS2 is a seventh grader at 13-1/2. We live about 15 miles North of Boston.

 

Miami – We booked our own flights on AirTran for a day ahead. Living in Boston, we always like an extra day before and choose to pay for a hotel room rather than travel insurance. We stayed at the Hilton Miami Downtown which, despite mixed reviews on TripAdvisor, we found clean, friendly, and conveniently located. We loved the awesome view of the bay out our window! We enjoyed the Bayside Marketplace for shopping and food.

 

Embarkation – A short taxi ride from our hotel got us to the cruise terminal around 10:30 or so and we were headed up the ramp by 11:45. We turned in our luggage with no booze but cable ties locking them – no issues, they weren’t opened. We thought this whole deal was pretty organized and well handled.

 

Ship Impressions – Our first impression was that the ship had “tighter” public spaces than those we’d been on before. We missed the huge mall-like central corridor on the RCI ship we’d last been on. Colors seemed a bit louder. Rosie’s 50’s diner décor looked cheap to us. Our stateroom seemed a bit smaller but adequate. We were pleased with the quantity of storage locations we found. Our bathroom seemed bigger than RCI but still smaller than Disney’s two-parter. Our TV kept turning red and despite numerous trips and calls to the service desk was never fixed.

 

We never did find the non-smoking sports theme bar we were looking for. We wanted to watch the Olympics but the only place we found a TV on was in the Bronx Bar and the smoke was just too thick in there. We liked to relax in the atrium piano bar – but it seemed a little too much like a pass-through area to us. We often hung on the big couches along the windows on Deck 5 – but were plagued by bands of noisy teenagers awaiting the club there.

 

We liked the open decks – seemed very spacious. We loved the slide – biggest we’ve seen. We loved the big screen on the lido deck – was great while relaxing by the tiny pool. We fought the chair hogs by arriving early on sea days and found adequate seating not too hard to come by.

 

Food – Everyone likes to compare food. We didn’t think the carnival food was as good as RCI or Disney. The MDR was adequate but not like a night out at a fine restaurant. (Disney gets our vote here.) There was no way we would pay an additional $120 for the four of us to eat in the steak house.

 

The buffet was adequate. We missed a number of items (bagel fixings like lox and onions, bacon in the omelets, granolas, etc.) that we enjoyed on RCI. We found the specialty lines (burrito bar, deli, etc.) usually too long to bother waiting in.

 

We enjoyed the sushi bar several evenings. The pizza stand was very popular with the boys but the wait seemed ridiculously long – RCI was always slinging pizza. The kids really enjoyed the always available ice cream.

 

Entertainment – We enjoyed a couple of the comics, a great juggler, and a musical production or two in the theater. They were comparable with RCI. We enjoyed playing bingo, on-board activities like mini-golf and ping-pong, and lost a few dollars in the (smoky) casino. Bands and activities around the pool were suitably amusing and we loved when the Daytona 500 or Olympics were on the big screen.

 

Grand Cayman – We took a Carnival tour to Stingray City. We’d done this on our first cruise when the kids were really small – this time they were less freaked out and enjoyed it much more. We also went snorkeling but were disappointed with the chosen location – not much coral or sea life.

 

Roatan – We visited the new Mohogony Bay which we thought was really nice. Though the CD was pushing the excursions, we enjoyed the sand and water here. We boycotted the line for the chair lift and took the five minute walk to the beach. We snorkeled and swam a bit and when it rained a bit, we moved into the beach bar to take shelter and laughed at the folks that arrived four hours earlier dancing on the chairs! We found showers and snacks here and could see no reason to go anywhere else.

 

Belize – The long tender ride into Belize City put of DW and the boys a bit but they still enjoyed the bus ride across the island and tubing with Cave-Tubing.com. They enjoyed the tubing (though it was more of a “float” than the “drift” they’d expected), had a great lunch, and felt very well taken care of by their guides. I went scuba diving at Turneffe Atoll with Hugh Parkey’s Dive Connection whose boat picked us up directly from the ship. The diving was beautiful and the guides did an outstanding job – but the ride to the atoll was really long.

 

Cozumel – We split up again hear and DW and the guys went kayaking and snorkeling at Chankanaab while I went diving with Sand Dollar. The kayaking was reported as just “OK” with only a hazy view through the clear kayaks but the snorkeling got rave reviews with plenty to see. The drift diving was a total joy though I didn’t feel the guides worked as hard here as in Belize. We all enjoyed the marketplaces and pier bars before returning to the ship!

 

Pictures – We’ve also posted a less detailed report with pictures and more pictures than you want to see.

 

Summary – We thought our first Carnival cruise was a great time – enough so that we booked another on the Carnival Victory for next February. But… We didn’t feel it was the best cruise. We found RCI’s staff to be friendlier, the food better, and public areas cleaner and more to our test etc. We do think Carnival offered a nice value trade off for our family of four – kind of the chain restaurant of cruising. So… Here we go again!

[Fyly]

your pictures are very nice. Thanks for the review.

[songbird1329]

I guess that's what makes for horse races, the things you didn't like were some of the things I found charming -- like Rosie's.

[canner2u]

Thanks for the great review, am enjoying reading the review that you have with the pictures as well. I really appreciate those that leave detailed reviews with pictures, knowing that it takes a lot of time to put such reviews of this type together.

[mykdsmom]

Thanks so much for the review. We will be on the Dream in the Western Caribbean in June and it will be our first family cruise to follow a Disney cruise when the kids were much younger. It looks like your boys had a great time based on the goofy pics you took of them. My boys are about the age as yours and it will be nice to show them your pics of someone their own age having a lot of fun.

[MargaritaPlease]

Thanks for the kind words!

 

I guess that's what makes for horse races

 

Sure does! Many of the above statements are clearly our own opinions and tastes - your mileage may vary!

 

It looks like your boys had a great time based on the goofy pics you took of them. My boys are about the age as yours and it will be nice to show them your pics of someone their own age having a lot of fun.

 

Our guys DID have a lot of fun (and I hope yours do too)! They particularly enjoyed snorkeling, playing bingo, the water slide, mini-golf, scavenger hunts with the Circle-C club, ice cream, pizza, ordering room service, name-that-tune games, etc.

[spleenstomper]

Thanks for the review. We have three pre-teens and so we aren't necessarily loyal to one line, but rather a homeport. We have done 1 carnival and 1 NCL (sans kids..), so I don't have much experience to compare lines.

 

What I do like about Carnival is that with their price point, we can get the suite, Cat 12 which is really spacious when the beds aren't laid out.

 

We'll likely try NCL again as well as eventually Princess and RCL (and probably eventually Disney), so I appreciate your comparisons.

[nybumpkin]

Enjoyed your review and photos! The photo you have of Conquest as you were leaving Cozumel - I was standing on Deck 10 at that time taking pictures of Valor!:D I hope to have them posted in the next few days. Glad you had a good time.

[cruisingbajan]

Thanks for posting. really enjoyed your review and pics.

[80sramfan]

Just to clarify and correct any errors. RCI's food is horrible. Between those 3 RCI would definately be the worse cruise with Disney first, Carnival 2nd and RCI a distant 3rd

[MargaritaPlease]

Just to clarify and correct any errors. RCI's food is horrible. Between those 3 RCI would definately be the worse cruise with Disney first, Carnival 2nd and RCI a distant 3rd

 

I guess that's what makes for horse races!!! ;)

[bobandsherry]

Nice review/comparison. Food seems to be very subjectivel. My parents have done other cruise lines and said Carnival was no better/worse. Price wise Disney and RCL are in a different league. I've found that Carnival may not be the "best of class" at everything, but based on pricing they come out a very reasonable price for what you get. We've always had fun and a good time on Carnival ships.

[boaterette]

Nice review. Thank you. Was the price you paid for the disney and rccl cruise the same as you paid for the carnival cruise. It is my understanding that the other lines are more expensive. So I was just wondering.

[NewYorkDenise]

Hello:

 

Great review. I'm going on the Valor in July and am planning on doing the cave tubing with cavetubing.com. Any problems getting back to the ship in time. I know some people have concerns with taking non-Carnival excursions for this reason. Were you tied together or free floating? Last year I was in Playacar, Mexico and we did the cenotes, which were amazing and it looks to me like the cave tubing is the same thing. I am flying in from NY and have been searching hotels for the day before. I am torn between the Hilton Miami and the Marriott Miami Biscayne. Were you able to get around because I won't have a car and don't want to be tied to the hotel for the day? I heard a lot about Biscayne Market and would like to see it. I know there is a free rail near the hotel, but I think the Marriott is closer to everything. Not sure as I've never been in Miami. It seems like you were very pleased w/the Hilton.

 

Thanks for such a lengthy, informative review.

[MargaritaPlease]

Was the price you paid for the disney and rccl cruise the same as you paid for the carnival cruise?

 

Certainly not. Both were more expensive. Disney significantly so. Hence my comments about value.

 

I'm going on the Valor in July and am planning on doing the cave tubing with cavetubing.com. Any problems getting back to the ship in time. I know some people have concerns with taking non-Carnival excursions for this reason. Were you tied together or free floating? Last year I was in Playacar, Mexico and we did the cenotes, which were amazing and it looks to me like the cave tubing is the same thing. I am flying in from NY and have been searching hotels for the day before. I am torn between the Hilton Miami and the Marriott Miami Biscayne. Were you able to get around because I won't have a car and don't want to be tied to the hotel for the day? I heard a lot about Biscayne Market and would like to see it. I know there is a free rail near the hotel, but I think the Marriott is closer to everything. Not sure as I've never been in Miami. It seems like you were very pleased w/the Hilton.

 

Funny you should ask about Cave-Tubing.com. My wife and kids went. My wife forgot cash (the only thing they accept) so, after the trip, when it came time to pay, the guy running the tour made special arrangements for her to pay by credit card. They went WAY out of their way to accommodate her and make sure she got back to the ship on time. Nothing but praise for them.

 

The tour was grouped together all the time. And yes, these caves are limestone erosions just like the cenotes. (I went scuba diving in Mexico's cenotes last year - totally awesome.)

 

I don't know where the Marriott is. We were very pleased with the Hilton. The "people mover" is 1/2 block way. We used it sometimes and walked sometimes. It was a 10-15 minute walk to the market.

[NewYorkDenise]

Thanks for the information, I am very intersted in cavetubing.com and they have gotten really good reviews. If I stay at the Hilton, will I be near shops to pick up a bottle of wine, water and soda and any last minute things I didn't want to fly with?