Valor 7/24 - 7/31 Review

[bajalover]

SunFun, next time look into connecting cabins. It cost us a bit more than having an inside, but you can keep the doors open and keep an eye on the teens that way. We had one on the main deck and it was perfect! Made it feel like we had a HUGE room. Our 18 yr. old was miffed at first, but oh well! Good for you for grounding her! It must have been hard for you to do that. Like we all have commented, there could have been quite a few teens that needed to be grounded!

[SunFunCruiser]

SunFun, next time look into connecting cabins. It cost us a bit more than having an inside, but you can keep the doors open and keep an eye on the teens that way. We had one on the main deck and it was perfect! Made it feel like we had a HUGE room. Our 18 yr. old was miffed at first, but oh well! Good for you for grounding her! It must have been hard for you to do that. Like we all have commented, there could have been quite a few teens that needed to be grounded!

 

 

We originally asked for connecting cabins but they were all booked up. We did have cabins next to each other, and left the balcony doors & deviders open. You're right though, the best way is connecting.

She probably figured we were stll out & wouldn't notice. LOL She forgets I was a teen once, I know all the tricks <G>.

[Joedog]

Sorry to be so slow in continuing my review, but for those of you who are interested.....

 

Ports of Call / Excursions

 

Belize - Okay, Belize is a tendering port. In case you dont know, the way tendering works is everyone who wants to get off the ship meets at the Ivanhoe Theatre at different times depending upon when they want to get off. People who booked tours through Carnival have priority over those who did not. If you booked a tour through anyone else but Carnival you are treated exactly the same as anyone else that has not booked a tour and just wants to get off the ship. It does not matter when your "non-Carnival" tour is scheduled it only matters what tendering "number" you receive.

 

How it works is, at a pre-determined time (8:30AM for Belize when we were there) people who want to catch the first tenders off go to the Ivanhoe Theatre. At the Ivanhoe they are divided into 2 groups, those who booked tours through Carnival and everyone else. The Carnival tour groups stay in the lower main part of the theatre and the everyone else groups are sent up to the theatre balcony. THIS IS IMPORTANT. The balcony is where you get your tendering "ticket", which is really a number printed on a sticky back label. The numbers were given out right at 8:30 by Carnival people on the Starboard (right) side of the balcony, on a first come, first served basis. If you want to get a low number be on the balcony near the starboard entrance just before the stated time. We got number 1. ALSO IMPORTANT. To get a number, all your party has to be there as each person is only given one number. You cannot pick up numbers for people who are not there. Once you get your number you are directed over to the Port (Left) side of the balcony to wait for the boat.

 

On the port side you sit in sections according to your tender number.

 

When the tenders arrive, the Carnival reps will first call those people who have booked tours through Carnival for that time. After those tours have gotten on the boats the Rep will call the first everybody else group (tender ticket number 1, etc). They will continue to call numbers as space is available in the boats. BUT, as the next "time" group of Carnival booked tours arrive in the theatre they will be loaded on the boats and then additional everybody else groups will be called.

 

Keep in mind that only a certain amount of tender tickets are given out and when they stop, you cannot leave to ship until after everyone who has a ticket gets off the boat. Sooo, if you want to get off the ship early, get down to the Ivanhoe Theatre balcony early and get a number.

 

We did not have a tour booked in Grand Cayman and were in no hurry to get off the ship and when we finally decided to leave we were surprised to find out that they had stopped giving out tender tickets and we would have to wait to leave the ship.

 

Of course, all the above only applies to those who follow rules/directions. Some have said that instead of waiting for numbers they just walked down to the debarkation station without bothering to get a number at all. I guess you could try that but if you do, keep in mind that not all tenders go to the same location. Some are specials that go to special dive spots, etc.

 

Anyhow, that is how tendering works.

 

Now, Belize....

 

We booked a tour of the Altun Ha Mayan Ruins through M & D Tours via the interenet. The cost was $35.00 per person. We got one of the first tenders and arrived at the dock pretty early. The rep for M&D (Margaret) was standing in a crowd of other tour operators just to the right of the exit and had a sign with our name on it. Unfortunately, there was just the 2 of us and Margaret had a van so, because we were early and there were only 2 of us she asked us to wait about 45 minutes so she could fill up the van. We spent the time walking around all the shops there on the pier. Typical tourist stuff, but not bad if that is what you like.

 

After 45 minutes we went back to where Margaret was and she told us that she was still waiting for more people to get off the ship BUT she had an associate (Mario) who had a car who would take us to the ruins on a private tour instead of waiting for the van to fill. We (Ruth especially) were a little leary of this but I figured what the heck, go for the adventure. What was the worst that could happen, maybe get murdered and dumped in the jungle, or the car could break down in the middle of no where and we would miss the ship leaving? Obviously neither happened and the tour (at least the Altun Ha part) went okay.

 

Altun Ha is not really that spectacular but it is interesting. One thing, if you are going there load your body up with insect repellent BEFORE you get there. As soon as we stepped onto the ruins we were swarmed by mosquitos. I mean within seconds, and they were everywhere. I had a good half dozen bites on my legs and arms almost instantly. We couldnt get the spray on quick enough.

 

After the ruins we told Mario we were hungry and he stopped at a cafe just down the road so we could get some genuine Belizian eats. The food was pretty good, stewed chicken with rice, cole slaw and fried plantain, but a bit pricey considering. We paid $22 for 3 lunches and 3 drinks.

 

After eating the lunch, did I say it was good? It was. We headed back to the ship. Along the way (up and back) Mario told us many interesting factoids about Belize and we were satisfied with the tour in general EXCEPT...

 

...as we got back to Belize City Mario decided we should see the squatter's houses in what has got to be one the poorest third world places in the world. It was very unpleasant with mud and stagnant water everywhere and kids playing in the filth around houses made from wood pallets and other discarded building material. Just to make the point, there was a dead dog in the middle of the mud road, in the middle of the houses, being actively eated by a half a dozen vultures which just kind of hopped to the side of the road as we drove by. Now I am not a person who thinks he is above seeing this kind of thing BUT not while I am on vacation. That was a bit much but....

 

.....that was Belize. It really is a pretty poor country and certainly not the highlight port of the cruise.

 

Okay, gotta go....next time.....Honduras

[Eliot Ness]

Very interesting review and a very good read! A special thanks for your detail on how tendering works..... that will come in very handy for us next year

 

Looking forward to the rest of your review!

 

John

[Swice]

You are an EXCELLENT writer... very engaging.

 

As you continue, I would appreciate any tips you may have for us relating to tours suitable to small children. We'll be going in a couple of weeks with two small children (5 and 2 1/2). Obviously, we will not be tubing or diving. Any suggestions?

[JMS920]

I was on the same cruise.....oceanview stateroom and we had the new "duvet" bedding..........

 

Thanks! We are booked for a balcony. Was hoping for the new bedding to be all done by Dec4!

Thanks again,

JoAnn

[Swice]

waiting for more!

[tommyboynvegas]

I've read comments on this thread about the Empress Deck being the best due to logistical issues & minimal noise. From the lay person perspective(planning a trip from the Panaroma Level), would the Panaroma not be too bad either below the Spa and above Lido (speaking from the balcony room perspective)? Any insight or feedback would be appreciated. Thanks for all the prior ionformation on Valor!

[serene56]

The cabins on the front of the Panorama will be under the spa. or over cabin spaces. you should not hear sounds from this area. unless you took a cabin under the gym area. (which for balcony cabins you hardly have a choice.maybe the front two cabins)

 

I prefer my cabin to be between 2 decks of cabin space. Higher is not always better- for one you are paying more to be closer to "stuff" lower is better for feeling motion.

[Joedog]

Okay...where were we....after Belize came Honduras

 

For our day in Honduras I had planned to take DW to the Sante Wellness Clinic with the basic plan being for me to hang out at the beach, use the clinics changing / showering / lounging facilities to do a little ocean swimming while the wife got pampered. To facilitate this I had sent a couple of emails to them via their website but did not receive any answers. They have a phone number that you can call from the USA but one thing lead to another and I never got around to calling so.....on the day we arrived at Roatan we had not confirmed anything with them.

 

But with adventurer's spirits and with the idea that they would be happy to have a couple of extra surprise customers, we decided to just go there anyway.

 

Having done a little research on line we knew we had to get a cab to Parrot Bay and then catch a boat to the clinic.

 

Fortunately, getting a cab in Roatan is no problem. They have taxi "brokers" right outside the dock. You tell them where you want to go and they tell you how much it will cost and point you to one of the several cabs waiting so, we got our cab and the price ($40.00) and off we went.

 

Now here is a funny thing that happened. Right after we got in the cab, as we were heading through the town, all of the sudden the cab gets stopped by traffic and we get surrounded by honduran kids, maybe 10 or more yelling at the driver in Spanish. In the wink of an eye, one bigger kid (turns out he was 17) opens the passenger side door and gets in the front next to the driver and the cab takes off again. We figured it was the taxi driver's kid or something but it turns out, he speaks fluent English and is going along for the ride to act as the driver's (or our) interprator.

 

Seems that all the kids learn English in school and on cruise ship days hang out around the dock and try to earn a little money helping out with the language. I should mention that DW speaks pretty good Spanish so we really didnt need an interprator but, what the heck, tipping some kid a few dollars for hanging around all day and looking out for us could never be a bad thing.

 

So off we went to Parrot Bay, about 45 minutes by cab, getting honduran travel commentary from our 17 year old guide, whose English was better than most people I run into during my normal workday here in NYC.

 

How the Sante Wellness Clinic works is, when you get to Parrot Bay the gate guard calls the clinic, and as they are expecting you they send a boat over to get you at the dock. Of course, as they were NOT expecting us, having it turns out not received any of our emails, they didnt immediately send the boat and we had to use a phone from someone at Parrot Bay Club to call them to come and get us.

 

They did finally send the boat and off we went to the clinic which really is just a very nice house on a secluded piece of ocean front reachable only by boat. At the clinic they already had some customers from the Valor who had arrived a little before us who were busy getting pampered so they could not accomodate us for anything other than massages. But I really just wanted to hang out on the beach anyhow so, DW goes to get her massage and I go to find the beach.

 

Now, here is the unfortunate part that probably would have been resolved BEFORE we got to the clinic, if we had called and confirmed with them. THERE IS NO BEACH AT THE CLINIC. There is some sand, and there is ocean but between the sand and the ocean there is only reef, no beach, and no place to really enter the water to swim. So much for my relaxing day at the beach while DW got pampered.

 

After walking around the grounds for awhile I went back to the main house and decided to go ahead and get a massage myself. Which was wonderful. It took about an hour and was pure heaven.

 

After the massages, DW and I got the boat back to Parrot Bay to get our waiting cab (and interprator). It should be noted that we did not pay the cab driver yet. The $40 was for the cab ride up and back and the wise person does not pay until the end. That way you are assured of having the cab there waiting for you to take you back in time to catch the ship before it sails.

 

The ride back was uneventful. The countryside is very beautiful and serene and the locals are friendly and smiling. Much nicer than Belize.

 

When we got back to the dock we paid the driver and tipped the guide, and as we had about an hour left before sailaway decided to walk around the immediate area and tourist shop. I have to say, pretty slim pickens there but there are some trinkets available to purchase, oh, and plenty of child guides to help you out. We "hired" one for a dollar that was about 7 to show us where the famous YABBA DING DING store was.

 

All in all, we enjoyed our adventure in Honduras. I know a lot of people went to Tabaya Beach and had wonderful times and I think that whatever you do, you pretty much cant do wrong in Roatan.

 

Next up Grand Cayman

[SunFunCruiser]

I've read comments on this thread about the Empress Deck being the best due to logistical issues & minimal noise. From the lay person perspective(planning a trip from the Panaroma Level), would the Panaroma not be too bad either below the Spa and above Lido (speaking from the balcony room perspective)? Any insight or feedback would be appreciated. Thanks for all the prior ionformation on Valor!

 

 

We had 1030 on the Panorama deck. The noises were heard were not from teh ship but from noisy neighbors slamming cabin and balcony doors.

I don't think we were directly under the spa, but close.

When teh ship rocked you really could feel it up there, luckily our sailing was very smooth. Just a few bumps from Belize to Honduras.

It was convenient to the pool & kid's club. Easy to get to the theater as well.

Dining rooms were a trek.

 

I didn't see much of an advantage to staying up there. I wouldn't pay extra for it. We were "upgraded". I kind of wish we stayed with the cabins we originally booked but figured we had never stayed that far up & would try it.

 

My sister had a cabin directly under the gym. IMO they shouldn't even sell these cabins. The noise was unbearable. As soon as the gym opened she could hear weights dropping and other noises. Just awful while on vacation. She asked to be moved but the ship was sold out.

[damenacer]

I havent' been on for a while, but I love your reviews. Boy what I would give to be back in Roatan right about now. This New York Heat has been ridiculous.

 

Hey Mets are only 3.5 back. They are winning as of now and Houston is losing....We got hope.

[mnsawyer]

Great review! By the way, you mentioned Parrot Bay in your review of Roatan. Isn't that the place that Carnival has an excursion? Just wondering what that was like?