Great Carnival Cruise Reviewed by Esther

We were a group of 3 single ladies in their 40's and 50's. I was the only one who had previously cruised. After out experience on the Carnival Valor, all of us are planning another cruise in the future. I think cruising is a great value for the price. The ship itself is beautiful and we had very little problem getting from one place to the next. The ship was very clean and never did I find something out of order. We found embarkment to be a tad lengthy but the line moved consistently so it really didn't seem too bad. We participated in the self-disembarkment and were literally off the ship within 1/2 an hour, as we had a flight to catch. If you are in a hurry and catching a flight, I highly recommend this. We had some problems getting the dining time and table we preferred but with 3000 guests someone is bound to be unhappy. They did their best to accommodate us and we were very please with the outcome. Our waiter was very attentive and I enjoyed the dining room entertainment. Suggestion for carnival to take from Norwegian Cruise lines, put hand sanitizers at the entrance of every eating place. With 3000 people on board, I think something as simple as hand sanitizers is a good idea. NCL even watched as you entered the dining room to see that hands were cleaned with the convenient sanitizing locations. Can't be too clean. Our cabin stewardess was fantastic. We were not left wanting anything-except when a fuse blew in the cabin, which did not take more than 1/2 to have restored. WARNING: there is only 1 outlet and with 3 ladies that was a problem. If we go again, we will bring a powerstrip. Pool/Deck Service was fine, except that occasionally it took longer than expected to get a drink. Also beware that there is not adequate seating around the pool so get your spots early. We did have an unpleasant encounter with someone who took our lounges, but did not let this bother us. The evening shows were fabulous with the exception of the comedian Jim Brick who was extremely crude and not funny, even for a late show. The singers were absolutely fantastic. Do not miss them. The dancers were very good also. Enjoyed the Legends show (cruisers who sang like celebrities) very much. I think it was a great thing to incorporate the cruisers this way and your passengers have a lot of talent. We especially enjoyed the Philipino band in the lounge, the piano bar and the disco. Another thing to take from NCL, have staff people there, particularly men, to get the dancing started. It really does encourage people to get out and dance and give the ladies someone to dance with. I would suggest that perhaps in one of the lounges there could be a country night and teach some couples or line dances. Line dances are great because it doesn't matter if you have a partner. As a group of single ladies, we were disappointed with the singles mingle. It was held in the piano bar the first evening and no one from Carnival even asked the pianist to stop and welcome the singles in. There was no acknowledgment that there was even a singles activity going on. This was my 5th cruise and was very pleased. Any of the negatives and suggestions are really quite mild (with the exception of more outlets in the cabin). My experience has been that you really have to try hard to have a bad time on a cruise. I have traveled 3 different cruise lines and I think the Carnival Cruises really have been my favorite. Both virgin cruisers and me are talking about a cruise in the future and would not hesitate one second to sail Carnival again.

Western Caribbean Reviewed by Debbie

Here is my review from my cruise on the Valor. Feel free to let me know if you have any questions.

Embarkation:
After turning in our rental car, we used the free shuttle service from Dollar to take us to the port. We left the rental car place at the Miami airport around 11:15, and traffic at the port area was very heavy so we did not get dropped off until 11:50. The line at the terminal was right to the door when we got there, so I was starting to worry that it might take a long time to get onboard, but it ended up only taking an hour. First you go through security, then you give them your tickets and credit card info, then you pick up your sign and sail cards and get your embarkation photo taken. One hint – when you get to the terminal, be prepared for mass confusion. Just remember that the line to your left is for the skippers club and handicapped passengers only – everyone else should line up on the right.

Sunday:
The first thing we did after we got onboard was go to the purser’s desk to put money on our sail and sign accounts, and make sure that our group’s onboard credits were applied. The purser’s desk is very busy on embarkation day, but we ended up only being in line for about 15 minutes. After that we went to our cabins (which were ready) and dropped off our carry on bags. Our onboard meet & greet was scheduled for 2pm, so before we knew it we were headed for the lido deck to meet all the great people from our roll call, and have our first drink of the day.

Monday:
Ahhhhh, a Fun Day at Sea. I just love those sea days. Just relaxed by the pool and laid out for most of the day. This is the life!

Tuesday – Belize:
We booked a cave tubing tour with Wet N’ Wild, and requested that Charlie be our tour guide because of the positive reviews we read about him. We ended up having two tour guides for our group of 20 – Charlie and Randy. One member of our group ended up having a lot of trouble doing the hiking part of the excursion, and our guides were wonderful in helping her along. We ended up having Charlie continue on the hike with most of the group, and Randy helped the woman make the hike to the beginning of the first cave, where she could wait and join the rest of the group when we floated down that far. She could say enough about how wonderful Randy was in helping her along the hike – he kept telling her to take her time and physically helped her get through some of the more difficult areas. He then double-timed the hike with the rest of that woman’s family through the trail so that they were able to float through all of the caves except the first one. The cave tubing itself was great – the water was very refreshing after the 45 minute long hike that it took to get there. After we were done tubing it was time for our lunch, which was included in the price of the tour. We arrived back at the port about an hour before the last tender, which left us with enough time to shop before returning to the ship.

Wednesday – Roatan:
I booked the Tabayana Beach excursion through the ship for this port. The cost was $33 per person which was a little on the expensive side, but once I got there I was impressed. It was a beautiful beach with enough lounge chairs for everyone, a live band, free iced tea, lemonade and water, a cash bar, restaurant, lockers, and a gift shop. The water was incredibly clear, and the snorkeling was really good there. We had sunny skies that day and it was really hot laying there on the beach, so we ended up only staying there a few hours, but it was one of the nicest beaches I’ve ever been to. And even though there were a lot of people there, it never felt over-crowded.

Thursday – Grand Cayman:
We booked the stingray excursion with Soto’s. After doing a little shopping, we met them right at noon about 1-2 blocks from where the tenders leave you off. They drove us to their office, where you pay for the excursion and pick up your snorkel gear, then board the boat for your excursion. Your first stop is at Coral Gardens for some snorkeling, then to the Stingray Sandbar. I don’t remember the names of our two tour guides, but they were really great with everyone. They made sure that everyone was able to touch and hold the stingrays, and were very patient with the kids that were on our excursion. It was definitely an amazing experience.

Friday – Cozumel:
We decided to take a cab to Paradise Beach at this port. The facilities at the beach are very nice, but I was not impressed with the beach itself. It was very rocky and had lots of seaweed at the bottom of the water, so you had to tread very lightly when getting in and out so you didn’t hurt your feet. This was my first visit to Cozumel, so I don’t know if all the beaches are like that or not, but after the great beach we went to in Roatan this was definitely a disappointment. We also had a rainstorm come through while we were at the beach, but that didn’t really bother us – we actually stayed in the water during the storm and didn’t let it dampen our spirits (pun intended). After we had enough of the beach, we went back to the ship to change out of our wet clothes, and then took a cab downtown for some shopping. We ended up buying more in Cozumel than we did at all 3 other ports combined. Around 9pm that night we met up with a few other cruise critic members at Fat Tuesdays, and things were pretty wild there. It was funny watching everyone stumble back to the ship that night.

Saturday:
Another day at sea. We had great weather, and just relaxed and laid out. The last day of the cruise is always kind of sad because you know it’s almost over, so you try to make the most of it.

Debarkation:
We were staying in Miami for one night after the cruise, so we were in no rush to get off. We stayed in our cabin until around 9:15, then headed off the ship. I was surprised by how long it took to get off – about an hour all together.

Miscellaneous:
Our cabin # was 6358 and was in a great location. It is mid-ship, right by the elevators, and directly above the casino and teen club, and was surprisingly quiet despite its location.

There were 1300 kids on our sailing, but we did not have any problems with them whatsoever. I think the fact that the ship has its own teen club is a big reason why – they had their own dedicated area to hang out with their friends and didn’t have to go wandering all over the ship looking for something to do (and possibly causing mischief along the way).

Our cabin steward was Heru, and he was very efficient, but not very talkative. That wasn’t a problem for me, but I know that some people complain about that.

Our dining staff was Jasmina and Lenka. They were very friendly and remembered our names and preferences right away. The dining room menu can be viewed on Funvision, but be aware that it is not always the right days menu that is shown. On Thursday, it showed Friday’s menu, and on Friday it showed Wednesday’s menu. It wasn’t a big deal, but just something to keep in mind if you are making your decision as to whether to eat in the dining room based on what is displayed on the tv’s menu. We did not go to Scarlett’s , so really can’t comment on that.

I stayed at the Four Points Sheraton in Miami Beach for one night before and after the cruise. I got our rooms for $55 a night through Priceline. It is a very nice hotel and is right on the beach. The only negatives are that their valet parking service is sometimes slow, and their elevators are very slow and very small. Make sure you have a bellman help you with the bags – it is worth whatever tip you give him.