Belize Blunder
Carnival Valor Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western
7 Night Western Caribbean (Port Canaveral Roundtrip)
Sail date: June 13, 2015
Ship: Carnival Valor
Cabin type: Balcony
Cabin number: 1034
Traveled as: Family (older children)
Reviewed: 9 years ago
Review summary
The overall cruise experience with Carnival was for the most part very good and comparable to other cruise lines. We have sailed with Norwegian, Disney, and Royal Caribbean. Food, service, and entertainment is not that different between the four cruise lines, except that Disney is better for families with young children.
However, there was an incident with Carnival that negatively affected the cruise experience. Disembarking at all ports was the same as other cruise line. Time was announced, and passengers were allowed to disembark in the order that they arrive. In the case of Belize, the ship does not dock at a pier. Passengers are taken to Belize by shuttle boats. Each boat holds about a hundred people, so it does take longer to get to shore, especially if the water is choppy. But what Carnival did not disclose, is that they give first priority to the passengers who have booked excursions through Carnival (which are more expensive than local companies). The disembarking time was announced to be 8:00 A.M. We arrived at that time only to be told that we should go to a different part of the ship to get a shuttle boat pass since we were not going on a "Carnival Excursion". We then had to wait with others in a lounge until all Carnival Excursion passengers had left. We had scheduled excursions for our son and daughter at 9:00 A.M., and for my husband and I at 8:30. The first non-Carnival passengers allowed to board shuttle boats was announced at 11:00 A.M. I complained about our problem and they just shrugged and said that they cant change their policy. We had booked two balcony rooms for a seven day cruise and were being treated like second class citizens because we didn't book our excursions through Carnival. Very disappointing and discriminatory on their part. No future cruises with Carnival, they punish their customers for not purchasing their excursions.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Entertainment
Service and Staff
Ship Quality
Cabin / Stateroom
Ship tip
Book Carnival excursions in Belize, or be prepared to wait to disembark as long as 2-3 hours.
Ports of call
Mahogany Bay, Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras
8 Comments
hharris6 9 years ago
Thank you for posting your review.
We almost always book excursions through the ship for a multitude of reasons, not the least of which is if the tour runs late the ship will wait. The cruise line negotiates with on shore vendors including guarantees regarding dock time and when passengers will be available to start their tours. I don't understand how you were discriminated against in light of the fact that you did not book your tours through the ship. They have no agreement with an outside vendor to get guests on their way.
Aside from that, sounds like you had a swell time.
hharris6 9 years ago
Thank you for posting your review.
We almost always book excursions through the ship for a multitude of reasons, not the least of which is if the tour runs late the ship will wait. The cruise line negotiates with on shore vendors including guarantees regarding dock time and when passengers will be available to start their tours. I don't understand how you were discriminated against in light of the fact that you did not book your tours through the ship. They have no agreement with an outside vendor to get guests on their way.
Aside from that, sounds like you had a swell time.
noname111 9 years ago
Thank you for posting your review.
We almost always book excursions through the ship for a multitude of reasons, not the least of which is if the tour runs late the ship will wait. The cruise line negotiates with on shore vendors including guarantees regarding dock time and when passengers will be available to start their tours. I don't understand how you were discriminated against in light of the fact that you did not book your tours through the ship. They have no agreement with an outside vendor to get guests on their way.
Aside from that, sounds like you had a swell time.
JusMe 9 years ago
First off in ports is always people that book excursions through the cruise line. Booking through the ship has a few benefits, first off the ship, the ship will not leave you at the port if the excursion is late getting back and the cruise line has vetted the vendor for quality, safety and reliability.
I only do non-ship excursions when I know the port and have been there a time or two.
hharris6 9 years ago
My complaint was not with circumstances beyond the control of Carnival, (tenders, choppy water, weather). My complaint was that we paid for two premium rooms, but had to wait until after all of Carnivals excursion passengers went ashore first. Passengers that were going ashore not for an excursion but only to sight see also had to wait. Had I known in advance, we would have booked our excursion through Carnival. It would have justified the extra expense. Kind of like paying for a fast-pass at Disney World. By the time we found out, all of their excursions were booked.
glomarrone 9 years ago
I hate to read about events like this. I almost always book shore excursions through the cruise line unless I have previously been to the island. I agree that it is for peace of mind. I know that it costs more money.
I usually don't mind tendering in. But a few times we were stuck in a tender for a very long time waiting for more passengers. The ocean was rough each time and we bounced up and down. Of course there was no A/C and inside the tender it was so hot and uncomfortable. It wasn't until one passenger said she was feeling faint, another time three passengers tried to get off the tender and once someone fell down that the tender finally left.
Johngold 9 years ago
Experiences from my own cruising and the information from a very talented Travel Agent has taught me to book through the cruise line. YES, I know it cost a bit more, however, for the extra assurance that a busload of sightseeing cruise passengers will not be left looking at the south end of a northbound ship, for me warrants the expense.
As for Tenders, I have been on one that took an extra hour and a half to unload as the seas did not cooperate. With the exception of one person, who fell hard during the crossing due to really rough seas, the rest of us had a blast, the cruise line bought us all drinks when we finally got on board. The elderly passenger who fell suffered a broken hip and was sent ashore to be sent home ( at the cruiselines expense) the next morning. at a docked port.