Just Back from the Valor..... Any questions???

[bigdaddyvoges]

Everyone,

 

I just got back from the Valor last night and I am back at work today and already battling a case of Cruise Depression or CD for short. Our group got into Miami noon on Friday and I couldn't believe it had been 9 nights and 10 days yesterday. I thought having 2 extra days would make it seem longer, but it didn't!!! :( I was very pleased with this ship and I will get a review together as soon as I can. My wife took most of the pictures, but they aren't too in-depth boat wise. They focus primarily on our trip in Miami, excurisions, shows, and family. I DEFINITELY have a case of the Mondays......

 

Bob

[stunned]

Bob,

I'm seriously thinking of booking this cruise for Jan. 24, where did you stay precruise and postcruise? What did you do at each port. We have been to all these ports in past, but looking for new ideas.

All you can share would be great. Thanks.;)

Judy

[Tim Cruise]

Yes, was anytime dinning an option. I've heard it is nearly as much as it isn't?

 

Thanks

[matt314hew]

I am on this ship in 26 days.

 

I am really excited for the cruise.

 

What ports did you visit and what were some of the stuff that you did?

[Smurphy]

I'm on the Valor Jan. 17! Can't wait to hear more.

[bigdaddyvoges]

Bob,

I'm seriously thinking of booking this cruise for Jan. 24, where did you stay precruise and postcruise? What did you do at each port. We have been to all these ports in past, but looking for new ideas.

All you can share would be great. Thanks.;)

Judy

 

Judy,

I would definitely recommend this ship!!! This boat never felt too crowded and was always spotless or in the process of getting cleaned. Sea days were a little crammed at the pool areas, but nothing you couldn't navigate. We stayed at the Courtyard Mariott Coral Gables for 2 nights precruise. This hotel puts you in walking distance of the "Miracle Mile" which is full of shops and wonderful restaurants. Postcruise we didn't stay anywhere, but wouldn't have minded going back here. Grand Cayman = Stingray and Rum Point Beach. I recommend going to see the stingrays, but I would not go to rum point beach again however. The food was real pricey ($10-12 for chicken tenders or burgers. The USD only gave you .80 local currency, so chicken tenders and fries cost $12.50 USD) and the beach was like a swimming pool with minimal current. Roatan = Our entire party of 14 would HIGHLY recommend Fins n Flippers (soon to be known as Maya Key). The food is GREAT (nothing over $8 USD. f.e, the fish and chips deal of the day was $8 and it came with 6, yes 6 pieces of the flakiest white fish, plantain chips, cole slaw, rice, and beans!!!!), the beers are $2, and if you reserve in advance (not through Carnival) it is $20pp for the day. We went and only 51 people were supposed to be there. I talked with Cindy (she runs the place and is from the US) and she said she likes to keep the max people at 50-60. If you have kids and want to walk around this private paradise, they also act as an animal sanctuary for Honduras with parrots, toucans, monkeys, and even a leopard. Belize = We did the private bach break through Carnival and regretted doing so as the tenders drop you off and won't go back to the ship for 4-4.5 hours. Food and drinks were an absolute joke at $5 beers and $10 mixed drinks.... I didn't even bother looking at the food menu. To illustrate this, this island must have had 250+ people the day I was there and the bar was DEAD!!! I am not exaggerating by any means, we were all on a private island and the bar was lucky to get customers here and there as most griped about the price for drinks. Carnival needs to evaluate this as one of their stops. Most people wanted off after 1-2 hours, but were locked into staying.... Key West = Great Time. We did our own bar crawl for the better part of 5 hours. Your cruise will be going to Cozumel, so I won't go much into Key West.

 

Definitely take this cruise, just pick excursions carefully.

 

Bob

[bigdaddyvoges]

Yes, was anytime dinning an option. I've heard it is nearly as much as it isn't?

 

Thanks

 

Tim,

 

No anytime dining that I saw on this ship at this time. It appears to be coming soon per Wilson the Maitre D of the Washington Dining Room.

 

Bob

[bigdaddyvoges]

I am on this ship in 26 days.

 

I am really excited for the cruise.

 

What ports did you visit and what were some of the stuff that you did?

 

Matt,

 

I won't go too in-depth after the review above of the POC.

 

Cayman = DEFINITELY see the stingrays, one of the coolest things I have ever done!!!

Roatan = Fins n Flippers is a MUST. Great food, beer, pool, and snorkeling. Beach has a decent amount of coral.

Belize = Private Island was disappointing, if anything I recommend a tour (the older folks in our family did this) or the 4x4 with Land Rovers (2 in our group said it was AWESOME!!!!)

Cozumel = Can't offer anything. ;)

 

If you want more in-depth responses just ask!!! :D

 

This is a GREAT ship!!!

 

Bob

[heatherg73]

We are going on the Valor in March 2010. DO you have any details on the water slide, pools or the suites?

[bigdaddyvoges]

We are going on the Valor in March 2010. DO you have any details on the water slide, pools or the suites?

 

Water slide is open for about 4-5 hours daily and closed while in port. Sea days it can get a pretty long line (max of like 20-25 people). The main pool area is always poppin with things to do. The aft adult pool and hot tubs are a great place to relax (as long as it is not a day at sea, as they pack it in). We had a category 11 last week and absolutely LOVED it. We were always balcony cruisers, and when the opportunity came for a suite, we saved our money and it was GREAT!!!

[matt314hew]

Water slide is open for about 4-5 hours daily and closed while in port. Sea days it can get a pretty long line (max of like 20-25 people). The main pool area is always poppin with things to do. The aft adult pool and hot tubs are a great place to relax (as long as it is not a day at sea, as they pack it in). We had a category 11 last week and absolutely LOVED it. We were always balcony cruisers, and when the opportunity came for a suite, we saved our money and it was GREAT!!!

 

We are in a suite on our cruise. What are some of the good things you noticed about the suites?

 

Thanks for the info about the ports. In Belize we are going to do the Kayak through the rain forest. And I think grand Cayman (or isle roatan) is a dolphin encounter.

[bigdaddyvoges]

We are in a suite on our cruise. What are some of the good things you noticed about the suites?

 

Thanks for the info about the ports. In Belize we are going to do the Kayak through the rain forest. And I think grand Cayman (or isle roatan) is a dolphin encounter.

 

The really great things about the suites is the additional ROOM. You can walk through the room without worrying about getting around the bed, 2 sinks in the bathroom with whirlpool tub, separate vanity so more than one person can get ready at a time, and the amount of drawer and closet space is tremendous. 4 closets and about 12 drawers to put all your things into!!!

[raytownlady]

The really great things about the suites is the additional ROOM. You can walk through the room without worrying about getting around the bed, 2 sinks in the bathroom with whirlpool tub, separate vanity so more than one person can get ready at a time, and the amount of drawer and closet space is tremendous. 4 closets and about 12 drawers to put all your things into!!!

 

 

You've convinced me suite it is for us!

[LizzieTrowbridge]

We sailed on the Valor in March to Costa Maya, Belize, Cozumel, and Grand Cayman, and LOVED it! The slide was fantastic, much faster and more exciting than the Miracle, which we also loved. The pools on Valor are actually pretty small, but there are also 4 hot tubs to relax in.

[Star1]

How dressed up was everyone in the dining room for dinner?

How was the food in the dining room?

Thanks

[Name Of The Game]

Fins N Flippers sounds great and we're considering going there. I've heard of lots of stray dogs and aggressive locals around on the walk to/from the boat ride. How bothersome was this?

[kathi316]

Water slide is open for about 4-5 hours daily and closed while in port. Sea days it can get a pretty long line (max of like 20-25 people). The main pool area is always poppin with things to do. The aft adult pool and hot tubs are a great place to relax (as long as it is not a day at sea, as they pack it in). quote]

 

I am going to have to disagree with this. I was also on this cruise and waited over 30 mins to ride the slide once on a sea day. DS, however, got to ride 10 times in 1 hr while docked at Key West.

[BlueHonu]

We just came off Valor too

 

 

cayman- Stingray stop was cool, the other 2 stops to snorkel, not so great with Nativeways.

 

Roatan- Victor Bodden island tour was good. Did zipline & was great. Snorkel was good. Needed more time on island!!

 

Belize- Cavetubing.com- ATV and Cavetubing... Too much rain to tube...ATV was fun, but seemed short. Supposed to be 45 min, seemed more like 20 min.

 

Key West- Rode the Conch train. It went back and forth, zig and zag to make a tour that should have been 15 min into a 50 min tour. I think it was about 150*F there on Sat.

 

 

Bob,

Did you play blackjack Sat night back toward the casino cashier? Did you have a white shirt on and talk about having a bunch of drinks in Key West so you didn't make the free drink party on the ship and how bad the Italian guy played by splitting face cards.

 

Just thinking we might have met.

[maxamuus]

Did you stop by 7665 and see if someone was in my cabin :mad:

[rpouls]

I've been on the Valor 3 times in the past 4 years - this was my first catamaran excursion - not too good! Isla Roatan, Honduras.

 

When we first got on the boat, we sat for awhile, then someone finally asked when we'd be leaving. We were told that they were waiting for the last group. No problem.

 

45 mins. or more later, they finally arrived. When we finally started out (another 45 minutes later), it was pretty nice - until we hit the 'rough seas.'

 

Not being 21 or younger anymore, I was pretty scared after about 5 mins. - it was quite rough, although the younger folks in the front were having a great time:) Actaully, I was terrified - things got quite rougher than I'd expected.

 

I asked how much longer we'd be sailing through rough seas, and was told, "just enjoy it, it's part of the fun." Yikes!

 

Anyway, shortly thereafter, my daughter got extremely seasick - she was escorted below deck. I would have gone, but was too terrified to leave my post due to the very rough ride.

 

After about another 1/2 hour or 45 mins., I was calmed down a bit, then went to check on my daughter. She was quite ill - and had 'lost her cookies' more than once below deck.

 

One of the crew members said that once we stopped to snorkel, she would feel much better just getting into the water. That was so true.

 

I hadn't planned on snorkling anyway, so we just donned lifejackets and stayed in the water for about 1/2 an hour - my daughter felt instantly better.

 

When we got back on the catamaran, she had to lay down again, as her sea sickness came back. Awhile later, they served 'lunch.' Not too bad, but nothing I'd pay for. This 'lunch' lasted approximately 1 hour. By this time, most of us were sunburned pretty bad, and hoping to leave. NOT!!!

 

This captain was asked at least 5 times over the next 2-1/2 to 3 hours (that I counted, from my perch) when would we be leaving. Each time he responded, "Soon."

 

I seriously believe that this man yearned for people around him, as we didn't go back to shore for at least another 2 hours+.

 

Here's why I was so disappointed with this excursion:

 

1) We had to wait close to an hour for the 'rest of the group' to come on board;

 

2) The description of the '1-hour tour to see the coastline' didn't sufficiently describe the extremely rough ride - I thought it would be a very nice, calm ride - wrong!

 

3) After the lunch, we were for the most part held captive on the boat - it seems that many of us wanted to go back to shore, but the 'captain' kept telling us, 'we'll be leaving soon.'

 

Personally, I think the man was lonely, and loved having a bunch of people around. I swear I heard, in addition to my plea, at least 6 or 7 others ask him when will we be going back. Some parents were sending their kids to ask him the same question. At this point, so many of us were severely sunburned, tired, and just plain ready to get back to shore, and the ship.

 

I wouldn't recommend this excursion to anyone, unless you enjoy staying out for over 5 hours, and being held captive by a lonely captain. Nice man, but clueless when it came to recognizing that his passengers were ready to go back to the ship.

 

Anyway, my 2 cents' worth -

[Vacationjunkie4]

I want to know more about the "FREE DRINK PARTY" on the ship!!!!;)

[Name Of The Game]

That doesn't sound like much fun. Was it a Carnival excursion or private?

[Vacationjunkie4]

rpouls

 

Sorry to hear your daughter was sick. I have been there, it is NO FUN!!!!

Thanks for the heads up on the Lonley Captain. We will surly avoid this excursion.:(

[Bontongrl]

Hi all,,,,,:)

 

We will be on the Valor on July 5th and can't wait !! Less than 2 weeks to go. :D

 

I have a question regarding some of the excursions.

 

We want to do the Fins and Flippers on Roatan. Is Roatan a dock port, or a tender port, and if its a tender port,, how do you know what time to tell them to pick you up ?

 

Since we don't pull in till noon, and I'm sure everyone will be trying to get off the ship at the same time, how do you know when to tell them to pick you up ?

 

And, does the ship adjust dinner times for this day, since we don't leave until 7 pm ? What do you do if you have the early seating at dinner ?

[DaDivaMom]

It is a Dock port. They don't adjust the dining room times, you either miss your time if you stay ashore and you always have the lido option.