Carnival Valor 2018 5-Day Caribbean Cruise Review
Day 1   Part 2         June 30,  2018                        Galveston, Texas                                      
Scheduled Departure:  4:00pm              
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This is a continuation of Day 1's cruise review. If you would like to view Day 1 Part 1 please click here. 

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When my review left off I was walking on Deck 10 towards the front of the ship. After walking across Deck 10 and going outside, I walked up one deck to Deck 11 (SPA). As I mentioned earlier, Deck 11 is split into two parts. The front part of Deck 11 has staterooms, the SPA faciltiies, and gym. 

Carnival Valor's SPA & Gym:
​The Carnival Valor's SPA and Gym facilities are located at the very front of the SPA Deck. SPA staff members were at the entrance advertising treatments, specials, and the services offered by the SPA. Furthermore, staff members were willing to give SPA tours to anyone that wanted one. Since I cruised on the Carnival Valor before I declined the tour and went straight to the Gym.  On the Carnival Valor, in order to get to the gym you have to walk through locker rooms. The locker rooms are gender specific, so men and women must walk on separate sides to get to the gym. Each gender's locker room has its own sauna and steam room. 

SPA - Men's Steam Room

SPA - Men's Sauna

Carnival Valor's Gym

One thing I noticed while touring the gym was the Carnival Valor's treadmills had been replaced since last year. This type of treadmill was more user friendly, in my opinion. I used the gym on both port of call days, but other than those two times did not use the SPA or Gym area. 

A Few Of The Treadmills

Up Close View Of A Treadmill - They Have Changed Since Last Year

Gym - Fitness Studio Room In The Middle

More Gym Equipment

Clean Towels

Gym Equipment

Touring Camp Ocean:
Several months after cruising the Carnival Valor last year, I realized I did not take any pictures of Camp Ocean during my previous cruise. Camp Ocean is the youth program facility for 2-11 year olds. Children in Camp Ocean are assigned to one of three age groups. 2-5 year old children are in the Penguins group, 6-8 year olds are in the Stringrays Group, and 9-11 year olds are in the Sharks group. Each of these three groups has a separate activity schedule and meeting place for the activities. After leaving the SPA/Gym on Deck 11, I walked up to Deck 12. Camp Ocean is located at the very front of Deck 12. The youth staff were friendly and welcomed me inside to take pictures. Unfortunately, I did not get copies of the activity schedules for any Camp Ocean groups. 

Entrance to Camp Ocean

Inside Camp Ocean

Inside Camp Ocean

Inside Camp Ocean

Inside Camp Ocean

Inside Camp Ocean

Serenity Adults Only Retreat:
After touring Camp Ocean, I walked up one deck from Deck 12 to Deck 14. Please note, there is no Deck 13 on the Carnival Valor. The Serenity Adults Only Retreat is a place for guests 21+ to relax without children being around. On the Carnival Valor, the Serenity Adults Only Retreat is located on two decks at the front. Deck 14 is home to the upper level of the Serenity and Deck 12's right side (starboard) is home to the lower level of the Serenity. I began touring this area on Deck 14. There were several different lounge chairs, hammocks, and at least two hottubs on this level. 

Serenity Adults Only Retreat - Deck 14 Level

Hammock In The Serenity Adults Only Retreat - Deck 14 Level

Hottub - At The Front Of The Deck 14 Level

After looking at the Deck 14 level of the Serenity Adults Only Retreat, I walked down a stairwell into the Deck 12 level. The Deck 12 level had more lounge chairs, some clamshell chairs, and contained the Serenity Adults Only Retreat's bar area. Both areas were very nice and had plenty of seating.

Looking Down At The Deck 12 Part Of The Serenity Adults Only Retreat

Clam Shells At The Front Of The Serenity's Deck 12 Level

Deck 12 Of The Serenity Adults Only Retreat

In order to continue my tour of the Carnival Valor, I walked back up to Deck 14. Besides the upper level of the Serenity Adults Only Retreat, Deck 14 is where the waterslide's entrance is located. Last year on the Carnival Valor, I searched for the ship's coin and had no luck finding it. However, this year I found it on Deck 14 facing the waterslide entrance. 

Ship's Coin - Located On Deck 14

View Of The Pool From Deck 14

Deck Chairs Stacked On Deck 14

                 After I finished looking at Deck 14, I walked downstairs to Deck 10. At the very front of Deck 10 is a door that will take you outside. This area gives a good view of the ship's bow as well as the side's of the ship. On Conquest Class vessels, this is one of my favorite places to look out at the front of the ship. Later in the cruise I used this space to watch our arrival in Progreso and Cozumel. The pier had a little bit of activity occurring, but it appeared the ship was almost done loading luggage and supplies. 

Cruise Terminal & Ship's Side - View From Deck 10

Deck 10 Front Area

Lifeboat Being Raised Back Up

               As the afternoon continued I realized I only had about 30 minutes before the safety briefing to look around the ship. I went from Deck 10 to Deck 5. I didn't stay on Deck 5 too long and then went down to Deck 3. The boarding process was nearly completed, but the atrium lobby was crowded with people at the atrium bar, in line at guest services, and people using the tables & chairs in the atrium lobby. 

Deck 5 Atrium Area - Sail & Sign Kiosk

Area Outside The Skybox Sports Bar On Deck 5

Cherry on Top Entrance

Lincoln Dining Room - View From Deck 4

Lincoln Dining Room - Deck 3 Level

Deck 3 Exterior Walkway - Opposite Of Side We Entered

                 Deck 3 is home to the atrium lobby, lower levels of the Lincoln Dining Room and Washingon Dining Room, guest services, shore excursions desk, the ship's galley, and the lower level of the Ivanhoe Theater. The Ivanhoe Theater is a lounge on the Carnival Valor that is used for Playlist Production Shows, Hasbro the Game Show, Bingo, and other events that need a large venue. Since no activities or events were taking place in the lounge, I was able to get some pictures of the Ivanhoe Theater. 

Ivanhoe Theater - Deck 3 Level

Deck 3 Seats In The Ivanhoe Theater

Looking Up At The Balcony Seats In The Ivanhoe

                After looking at Deck 3, I went back up to Deck 5. I walked from the front of the Promenade to the back. One of the first lounges I looked into was Paris Hot. Paris Hot was not used for much during the cruise, but the lounge contains a small stage, several seats, and a small bar area at the back. 

Small Stage Area In Paris Hot

Bar Area In Paris Hot

Close Up View Of The Seats & Bar In Paris Hot

                    Next, I walked into the Eagles Lounge. The Eagles Lounge is located at the very back of the Carnival Valor's Promenade Deck. This lounge is primarily used for comedy shows and karaoke. 

Eagles Lounge - View Of The Stage

Bar Area At The Back Of Eagles Lounge

Some of the seats in the Eagles Lounge

                    Before leaving the Promenade Deck, I walked into the ship's nightclub/disco. This area is known as the One Small Step Dance Club. At night, the nightclub is for guests 18+ and is guarded by security. I did not stay in this area too long because the muster station drill was quickly approaching. 

Dance Floor In The One Small Step Dance Club

Seats & Bar Area Surrounding The Dance Floor

One Small Dance Club

Lido Main Pool Area - Looking Towards Ship's Back

Muster Station Drill / Safety Briefing:
The Muster Station drill is always a required event for every passenger on the cruise ship. My muster station was "H" which was located on the port side of Deck 4. The drill was scheduled to begin at 3:30pm. 
           All muster stations are located on the ship's outside areas on Deck 4. Each muster station has 3 or 4 lines of cruisers packed facing the lifeboats. For this muster station drill, we were told to bring our Sail & Sign cards so the cards could be scanned. During the drill, crew members walked around with tablets to scan cards. At the conclusion of the drill, the person over the intercom read a list of all stateroom numbers that were not in attendance at the drill and gave instructions on how those people were now required to come to a secondary muster station drill in the Ivanhoe Theater. ​

Sail-A-Way From Galveston:
To watch our departure from Galveston, I wanted to be on Deck 10 at the back of the ship. The Carnival Valor was docked facing the direction we would be sailing, which meant a turnaround was not necessary. A few minutes after 4:00pm, the Carnival Valor's ropes were untied and we began moving. The Carnival Freedom left before us, which was a disappointment because I wanted the Carnival Valor to leave first. The weather was nice, but the dust was still causing some haze in the distance. I took many pictures during our departure from Galveston, but want to only share a few highlights with you:

Rope Untied - Being Pulled Back Onto The Ship

Looking Down At Cruise Terminal 2's Pier

Cruise Terminal 2's Gangways

Cruise Terminal 2 Pier Extension - Almost Done

Looking Back At The Cruise Terminal

Looking At Fisherman's Wharf & Galveston

The Elyssa Docked In Galveston

Looking Down At The Harborhouse Hotel

Galveston Offshore Drilling Rig Museum

Looking At Another Ship Docked In Galveston

Small Barge Docked In Galveston

Galveston

Tractors & Other Vehicles On a Pier

Looking Towards UTMB Galveston

Galveston Marina

Pelican Island

Galveston

Galveston Ferries

Looking Back

Galveston

Seawolf Park on Pelican Island

Carnival Freedom Turning Around:
As the Carnival Valor got closer to being away from Galveston, I began to notice the Carnival Freedom was not moving anymore. Once I realized the Carnival Freedom was turning around I walked from the back to the front of Deck 10. I do not know an official reason as to why the ship turned around, but I heard it could have been a medical emergency. Here are a few pictures of the Carnival Freedom turning around to head back to Galveston:

Carnival Freedom's Front

Carnival Freedom

Carnival Freedom Heading Back To Galveston

Carnival Valor's Front - View From Deck 10

Passing A Tanker Ship

Other Ships (Cargo or Tanker) In The Distance

Dinner #1 In The Lincoln Dining Room:
            I had Your-Time Dining which means I could dine in a specific dining room from 5:45pm until about 9:00pm. My assigned dining room was the Deck 3 level of the Lincoln Dining Room. The entrance for cruisers with Your-Time Dining was in the Carnival Valor's atrium on the Deck 3 level. Traditional early and late seating were available too, but I always prefer to have the flexibility of Your-Time Dining.
            The dining experience was great throughout the entire cruise! Our waitstaff did a great job, were friendly as well as very attentive. Besides the service being great, the food was very good too. The menu's were very similar to past cruises, but the dessert menu had some options I had never seen before on a Carnival Cruise. It was great having a few new choices to pick from!

Bread Basket

Appetizer - Smoked Chicken Quesadila

Appetizer - Jalapeno Poppers

Appetizer - Shrimp Cocktail (Double Order)

Appetizer - Caesar Salad

Main Course - Fried Shrimp

Side Baked Potato

Dessert - Caramelized Phyllo With Caramel Cream

Dessert - Fresh Tropical Fruit Plate

Dessert - Carnival Melting Cake

Dessert - Banana Split (From Kid's Menu)

Evening Walk Around The Carnival Valor's Jogging Track: 
               Typically each cruise after dinner, I will use the ship's jogging track in order to begin burning a few calories. I walked up to Deck 11 and begin walking around. Approximately 9 times around the jogging track equaled 1 mile. The haze caused by the dust was thick in the distance, but the view of the water right by the ship was nice. 

Deck 11 Jogging Track

Looking At The Volleyball/Tennis Court

Dusty Horizon

 After walking on the jogging track, I went back to my stateroom and found my stateroom steward had stopped by to service the room. He left a Fun-Time, which is the ship's daily activity newsletter. In addition, he left a towel animal on the bed. However, on the first day, our stateroom steward did not come by to introduce himself. On the first sea day, we met him in the morning. He was very friendly and did a great job throughout the cruise vacation. 

Towel Animal

Sunset - Looked Hazy Due To Saharan Dust

Waves At The Ship's Back - View From Deck 10

Ship's Funnel - View From Deck 10

Welcome Aboard Show Set

Welcome Aboard Show In The Ivanhoe Theater:
The Welcome Aboard Show began at 10:00pm. The show began with the dancers coming up to the front of the stage to lead a mini-dance class. This lasted a few minutes and then our cruise director, T.J., took the stage. He talked about the cruise and got some people from the audience up on the stage for a game. After T.J. was done with his portion of the Welcome Aboard Show, the Playlist Productions dancers performed a short show with modern music. The entire show lasted about 35-40 minutes and was enjoyable. 
               

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​Continue To Day 2's Full Sea Day Cruise Review!
​Day 2's review is in one part! Day 2 was a bit of an usual day because when I woke up the ship was turned around heading back towards Galveston due to a medical emergency. Day 2's full review will include an early morning around the ship, photos from all three meals, pictures of the ocean, and more!
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