Carnival Valor 2017 4-Day Caribbean Cruise Review
Day 5 June 26, 2017 Galveston, Texas & Getting Off The Carnival Valor
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Day 5 June 26, 2017 Galveston, Texas & Getting Off The Carnival Valor
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Last Morning Walk Around The Ship:
Since almost all of my packing was completed the night before we had to get off the Carnival Valor, I did not have to worry about last minute packing (except for toothbrushes and very basic items). My alarm went off at 4:30am on this last morning. I needed the extra time to get dressed, finish packing, and have time to walk around the ship before breakfast. Due to having trouble zipping my suitcase, I learned I need a larger suitcase for my next cruise vacation. After getting my packing finalized, it was time for a morning walk around the ship. My walk began on Deck 3 in the Ivanhoe Theater.
Since almost all of my packing was completed the night before we had to get off the Carnival Valor, I did not have to worry about last minute packing (except for toothbrushes and very basic items). My alarm went off at 4:30am on this last morning. I needed the extra time to get dressed, finish packing, and have time to walk around the ship before breakfast. Due to having trouble zipping my suitcase, I learned I need a larger suitcase for my next cruise vacation. After getting my packing finalized, it was time for a morning walk around the ship. My walk began on Deck 3 in the Ivanhoe Theater.
Ivanhoe Theater - Deck 3
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Looking Up At The Deck 4 & 5 Levels
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Sideview of the Stage and Front Of Lounge Seating
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The atrium was setup for the debarkation process. Crowd control ropes were in a corner waiting to be put out to control the flow of people trying to get off the ship.
Crowd Control Equipment In The Atrium
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Security Equipment In The Atrium
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Carnival Valor's Atrium
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Atrium Elevators
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Looking Below - View From Deck 4
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Ivanhoe Theater - View From Deck 4
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One area of the ship that I had not yet toured was the ship's Illiad Library. The ship's library is located on Deck 4 in the atrium by the Pixels Photo Gallery. Here are a few pictures of the ship's library:
Illiad Library - Deck 4
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Tables In The Carnival Valor's Library
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Bookshelves With Books & Games
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After walking around Deck 4, I went up to the Promenade Deck (5). There were very few people out this early in the morning. Most people were probably sleeping or packing in their staterooms.
Promenade Walkway - Near The Casino
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Stage Located Near The Dream Bar
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Signage Near The Internet Cafe
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Java Coffee Bar
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Alchemy Bar
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Lindy Hop
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Eagles Lounge
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Eagles Lounge
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Eagles Lounge
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Paris Hot
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Paris Hot
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Paris Hot
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Since breakfast was not yet being served, the buffet was empty. There was a crew member using his cell phone and he was able to get reception. However, when I turned my phone on I was not able to get reception yet.
Rosie's Lido Buffet
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Rosie's Lido Buffet
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Rosie's Lido Buffet
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Rosie's Lido Buffet
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Rosie's Lido Buffet
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Rosie's Lido Buffet
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Area Outside Of Guy's Burger Joint
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One of the Ice Cream Machines
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Guy's Burger Joint Counter
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Since breakfast was not yet being served, I walked outside to try to look for lights coming from land. There were several ships in the distance, but I could not yet see Galveston or the Bolivar Peninsula. Since I did not get many photos of the ship at night, I took some on this morning while waiting for breakfast to begin. Here are some pictures taken on the ship's Lido Deck:
Lido Pool Area
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Towel Station
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Lido Main Pool Area
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Red Frog Rum Bar
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Blue Iguana Tequila Bar
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Looking Back Towards The Ship's Funnel
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I briefly walked up to Deck 10, but did not stay too long since it was nearing 6:00am and I wanted to be first at breakfast.
Lido Deck Chairs & Hottubs
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Deck 10 - Looking Towards Funnel
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Lido Deck
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Last Breakfast Of The Cruise:
Since this was our cruise's last day, this was our last breakfast onboard. Since I arrived at Rosie's before the breakfast lines opened, I walked around and took pictures of the food. Rosie's Lido Buffet was serving breakfast starting at 6:00am until 9:30am. This included the main buffet lines as well as the Continental breakfast option. The Blue Iguana Cantina was opening at 6:00am and would be open until 9:30am. For cruisers that did not want to eat in the buffet, the Washington Dining Room was serving breakfast from 6:30am until 8:30am. At 6:00am, when the breakfast buffet lines opened, there were very few people eating. By 6:45am, the buffet was packed with cruisers that wanted to eat before having to leave the ship.
Since this was our cruise's last day, this was our last breakfast onboard. Since I arrived at Rosie's before the breakfast lines opened, I walked around and took pictures of the food. Rosie's Lido Buffet was serving breakfast starting at 6:00am until 9:30am. This included the main buffet lines as well as the Continental breakfast option. The Blue Iguana Cantina was opening at 6:00am and would be open until 9:30am. For cruisers that did not want to eat in the buffet, the Washington Dining Room was serving breakfast from 6:30am until 8:30am. At 6:00am, when the breakfast buffet lines opened, there were very few people eating. By 6:45am, the buffet was packed with cruisers that wanted to eat before having to leave the ship.
Omelet
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Breakfast Plate
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Breakfast Plate
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Continental Breakfast - Milk, Yogurt, & Fruits
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Continental Breakfast - Cereal
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Continental Breakfast - Fruits
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Continental Breakfast - Fruits
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Continental Breakfast
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Main Breakfast Buffet Line
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Main Breakfast Buffet Line
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Main Breakfast Buffet Line
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Main Breakfast Buffet Line
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Main Breakfast Buffet Line
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Main Breakfast Buffet Line
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Continental Breakfast - Fruits
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Carnival Valor Continental Breakfast
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Bacon & Ham
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Continental Breakfast - Pastries
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The continental breakfast pastries are extremely good. Personally, I like the banana bread and apple pastries.
Continental Breakfast - Pastries
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Continental Breakfast - Pastries
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Continental Breakfast - Pastries
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Continental Breakfast - Pastries
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Continental Breakfast - Pastries
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Continental Breakfast - Pastries
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After eating my last breakfast on the Carnival Valor, I wanted to watch our Galveston arrival. I walked to the very back of the Lido Deck (9) to a stairwell that would take me up to the Panorama Deck (10). However, before heading up to the next deck I took a look at the Lido aft pool and bar area. The retractable roof was still closed at this time of the morning. Here are some pictures of the aft pool area:
AFT Pool - Lido Deck (9)
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Tables and Chairs Around The AFT Pool
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AFT Pool Bar Area
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Retractable Roof
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Tables and Chairs
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AFT Pool
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Hottubs
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One Of The Two Hottubs
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List Of Rules- The Print Was Small
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Watching The Carnival Valor's Galveston Arrival:
I started looking for land the minute I got up to the Panorama Deck (10). However, I did not like the view from the back of the deck so I walked to the very front of Deck 10 to look out at the ship's front. The view was much better at the front of the ship. Here are some pictures as the ship made its arrival into Galveston:
I started looking for land the minute I got up to the Panorama Deck (10). However, I did not like the view from the back of the deck so I walked to the very front of Deck 10 to look out at the ship's front. The view was much better at the front of the ship. Here are some pictures as the ship made its arrival into Galveston:
View Of The Back Waves
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Sunrise
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View Of The Lido
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View Of The Sunrise From Deck 10's Front Area
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Sailing Into Galveston Bay
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Getting Ready To Turn Into Galveston's Harbor
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Sailing Into Galveston
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Sailing Into Galveston
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Sailing Into Galveston
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Seawolf Park
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Seawolf Park
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Approaching The Ferry Landing
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Small Ship
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Fishing Boat - Tons Of Birds Surrounding It
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Ferry Landing
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View Of The Galveston Shoreline
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Pelican Island Shoreline
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Ferry Getting Ready To Dock In Galveston
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Tugboat
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View As We Got Ready To Turn Around
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Galveston
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The ship turned around before it docked. Turning around at this time of the morning allowed the ship to get out of Galveston quicker in the afternoon for the next cruise's sail-a-way.
View As The Front Of The Ship Was Turning
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View From The Ship's Side
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Carnival Valor Turning Around
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I did not stick around to watch the ship completely turn around. I went back to my stateroom, but when the ship was closer to the cruise terminal I went back outside to Deck 10. Since the ship turned around, it docked by sailing in backwards.
The Carnival Valor docked at Terminal #2 again. I was surprised at this and do not know why. Cruise Terminal #1 was not being used on this day. I fully expected us to dock at Terminal #1, but it did not matter to me which cruise terminal we docked at.
The Carnival Valor docked at Terminal #2 again. I was surprised at this and do not know why. Cruise Terminal #1 was not being used on this day. I fully expected us to dock at Terminal #1, but it did not matter to me which cruise terminal we docked at.
View Of Terminal 1 - Not Where We Docked
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View Of Galveston
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Terminal #2
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Terminal #2 Gangways
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Approaching Terminal #2
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Galveston Skyline With Dark Clouds In Distance
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Galveston
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View Of The Pier As We Docked
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Deck 10
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Funnel
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View Of The Pier As We Docked
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View Of The Gangways As We Pulled In Sideways
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Disembarking The Carnival Valor:
Around 8:00am, the ship was cleared to start the disembarkation process. VIFP Platinum & Diamond guests were allowed to go first. Following these guests was Faster to the Fun. After these guests, self assist disembarkation by deck began. For a cruiser to get off as self assist, he or she must carry off all luggage and bags. All self assist guests would be allowed off before the general disembarkation guests. The general disembarkation (checked luggage) guests would be ones that put luggage outside their door. These people would be allowed to disembark after the self assist guests because the pier workers needed time to unload all of the luggage.
After getting our Sail & Sign Cards scanned we exited the ship and went down the gangway. This was my first time disembarking a cruise ship in Galveston's Cruise Terminal #2. The walk to get to customs felt longer in Terminal #2 compared to Galveston's Terminal #1. Customs & Immigration was a quick and simple process. Essentially, the customs agent looked at our passports and declaration form. TIP: If you have not yet signed your passport, make sure you do so or they will make you sign your passport in front of them before allowing you to proceed.
After the customs checkpoint, we were directed to the TABC table. Since we did not purchase or bring alcohol off the ship, we did not have to stop to pay taxes at the TABC checkpoint. After passing up the TABC checkpoint, we were out the doors of the cruise terminal.
Around 8:00am, the ship was cleared to start the disembarkation process. VIFP Platinum & Diamond guests were allowed to go first. Following these guests was Faster to the Fun. After these guests, self assist disembarkation by deck began. For a cruiser to get off as self assist, he or she must carry off all luggage and bags. All self assist guests would be allowed off before the general disembarkation guests. The general disembarkation (checked luggage) guests would be ones that put luggage outside their door. These people would be allowed to disembark after the self assist guests because the pier workers needed time to unload all of the luggage.
After getting our Sail & Sign Cards scanned we exited the ship and went down the gangway. This was my first time disembarking a cruise ship in Galveston's Cruise Terminal #2. The walk to get to customs felt longer in Terminal #2 compared to Galveston's Terminal #1. Customs & Immigration was a quick and simple process. Essentially, the customs agent looked at our passports and declaration form. TIP: If you have not yet signed your passport, make sure you do so or they will make you sign your passport in front of them before allowing you to proceed.
After the customs checkpoint, we were directed to the TABC table. Since we did not purchase or bring alcohol off the ship, we did not have to stop to pay taxes at the TABC checkpoint. After passing up the TABC checkpoint, we were out the doors of the cruise terminal.
View Of The Gangway - From Deck 3
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View Of The Gangway - From Deck 3
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View Of The Carnival Valor's Front
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Once outside the cruise terminal's doors, we found the shuttle for Lighthouse Parking. The shuttle was almost full and left a few minutes after we boarded. After a quick ride to the parking lot, we got in our vehicle and were on our way home. The Carnival Valor cruise that I had anticipated and looked forward to since last August was now over.
Cruise Terminal #2
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Carnival Valor - View From Cruise Terminal #2
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Carnival Valor
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Overall, this cruise was a great cruise on the Carnival Valor! I enjoyed the food, entertainment, and being on the ship. I hope this cruise review has been interesting and informative. Please feel free to write to RyG's Cruise Guide on Facebook (click here for our Facebook) if you have any questions, comments, or want to know something about Carnival or the Carnival Valor. Thank you for reading my cruise review of the Carnival Valor and thank you for checking out my personal cruise blog.
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