Short Review Carnival Valor-April 18

[spongiebob]

We were a group of 14 people family and friends going on this cruise. My family, my best friends, boyfriend and I got to the terminal at about 12:30 and the line was already pretty long. We were inside the ship at about 2 pm. Some of our friends got there like at 11 am and they went through the check in process much quicker than we did, so i guess the earlier the better :)

Anyway, we all had cabins in the 1rst deck (riviera), we had 5 cabins total, 2 portholes, 1 oceanview (which was booked as an IS guarantee), 2 inside cabins.We found the cabins to be very comfortable. Our porthole cabin was very spacious, we had a large couch area, it seemed the same size as our neighboring oceanview cabin. One note though: we had a connecting door and we could hear all the noise from the kids staying next door, so next time i am going to make sure i book a cabin that doesnt have a connecting door to avoid this. My mom's suitcase was missing her hair flat iron and an extension cord which was never found even though we reported it right away :(

We went to have lunch at the lido deck (9) . We had lunch there everyday , depending on the day lunch is served until 2:30 or 3:30 pm. I found the selections to be pretty good. For breakfast you can either go to the dining room or to the buffett. For dinner we were assigned to the washington dining room. we had the best waiter in the world his name was Lucas. He was super fast and attentive and catering to all of our needs. We were told they didn't have tables for more than 10 people available so we got assigned a table of 8 plus a table of 6 next to each other.

Entertainment: i found most of the shows to be pretty decent, especially the comedy ones. We played bingo, (and lost lol) each bingo card is 10 bucks if you buy it separate or 20 for the 3 card carton. We really enjoyed the club as well as the piano bar and the latin music (live band).

My dad played in the ping pong tournament. They also had karaoke contests going on in which we didn't have time to participate.

 

Ports: Grand cayman: we took a cab to seven mile beach , they dropped us off at a beach that had a nice bar can't remember the name. We walked back to the pier at the end of the day it was about a 40 min walk which we enjoyed. The beach was very pretty, the water crystal clear.

Belize : we got off the pier and negotiated a rate of $10 pp to take us all in a van to Altun Ha and around the city with this super nice driver named Erving (i have his info if anyone interested). The roads to altun ha are very rocky but once we got there we realized it was worth the drive. Very peaceful place with good amount of ruins.

Roatan: Some people in our group decided to stay at Mahogany bay beach (right next to the pier) and they thought it was really nice and lots of water activities available. I went with the rest of us in a tour of the island and to Tabyana beach. We walked out to the street where you catch the vans and tour buses and negotiated a rate of $10 per person for a tour of the island and tabyana beach. I was very impressed with Roatan, it reminded me of Costa rica in a lot of ways, lush landscapes, nice people, great views from up the mountains. Tabyana beach was beautiful lots of hotels and restaurants and bars with great prices nearby! we payed 10 bucks each to do half hour of banana boat so much fun!!!!!!

Cozumel: took a cab to Paradise beach and paid 12 bucks for wristband and enjoyed the water toys, snorkeling, free entrance, chairs and umbrellas, so much fun!!!!!

Overall, we had a blast and a great family vacation :)

[semichigan]

Thanks for your review! I am so excited to get on the Valor! We are planning to go to Paradise Beach and Mahogany Bay as well....glad to hear you enjoyed them!

[Sdallnct]

We loved the Valor. So much so we are considering one of her sister ships (Conquest) out of Texas. Since we live in Dallas, save us airfare/air miles.

 

In general not not as impressed with cruises out of Texas v. Florida or even California. However have not done the Conquest. So may give it a shot in November since we loved the Valor so much. Maybe.

 

Oh and you can read my blog/review about our Valor trip at the link in my signature.

[Maple_Girl]

We're booked on the Valor in October. We'll be on the Riviera deck as well, inside stateroom. Do you have any pics of the inside staterooms?

[49holding]

is that why your moms flat iron was missing?/ I would be pretty upset for 2 reasons #1) because my hair needs it!!! 2) it was over $100...Did you pursue this with carnival???

[spongiebob]

the lady at the desk said that flat irons and curling irons are indeed allowed, contrary to hairdryers which are NOT. My mom made the claim immediately and nothing was ever found. They gave her a letter the last night saying to contact carnival through email or mail when she got home which she did but they emailed us back saying that basically there's nothing they can do.

[spongiebob]

first one is a pic of my friends' interior 4a cabin in riviera deck for 4 people. Second pic is our porthole cabin also in Riviera deck.