Carnival Valor 2018 5-Day Caribbean Cruise Review
Day 5 July 5, 2018 Galveston, Texas (Debarkation)
Scheduled Arrival: 8:00am
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Day 5 July 5, 2018 Galveston, Texas (Debarkation)
Scheduled Arrival: 8:00am
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Last Morning Walk Around The Carnival Valor:
Although the last morning of the cruise is usually hectic, I still always try to walk around the ship one more time. Due to breakfast starting earlier on this morning of the cruise I knew if I wanted to walk around the ship I needed to get up early. I set my alarm to go off at 4:30am. When the alarm went off I got dressed and finalized my suitcase packing. After taking care of my stuff I was free to begin my morning walk. I left my stateroom around 5:00am and began my going to the Deck 3 atrium area. I stepped outside onto Deck 3 exterior area of the atrium first. It was extremely dark outside, but the ship's outside deck area was well lit. When I went back inside I walked through the atrium and made a quick stop in the Ivanhoe Theater.
Although the last morning of the cruise is usually hectic, I still always try to walk around the ship one more time. Due to breakfast starting earlier on this morning of the cruise I knew if I wanted to walk around the ship I needed to get up early. I set my alarm to go off at 4:30am. When the alarm went off I got dressed and finalized my suitcase packing. After taking care of my stuff I was free to begin my morning walk. I left my stateroom around 5:00am and began my going to the Deck 3 atrium area. I stepped outside onto Deck 3 exterior area of the atrium first. It was extremely dark outside, but the ship's outside deck area was well lit. When I went back inside I walked through the atrium and made a quick stop in the Ivanhoe Theater.
Deck 3 Outside Area In The Early Morning
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Atrium Lobby
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Guest Services Desk
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Ivanhoe Theater Deck 3 Level - A crew member was watching TV on the front screens
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Wheelchairs Setup For Debarkation
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Flag Hanging In The Atrium
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After walking around Deck 3 I headed up to Deck 5. The only person I encountered during my walk on this deck was a person I highly suspect was drunk. On Deck 5, I first stopped at the Skybox Sports Bar before heading down the Promenade walkway.
Skybox Sports Bar - View From The Entrance
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Two Chairs, A Table, & A TV
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Skybox Sports Bar
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Promenade
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Promenade Casino Bar
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Promenade Stage Area
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Once I got to the back area of the Promenade Deck I stopped in several of the lounges. The first lounge I stopped in was the Lindy Hop Piano Bar.
Lindy Hop Piano Bar - Counter Area
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Booths & Chairs
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Lindy Hop Piano Bar
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After walking out of the Lindy Hop Piano Bar, I took a few more steps towards the back of the Promenade Deck and entered the Eagles Lounge. The Eagles Lounge was empty, but some music was softly playing in the lounge. This is one of my favorite aft lounges on a Carnival ship.
Eagles Lounge
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Eagles Lounges
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Bar in the Eagles Lounge
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The Eagles Lounge is located right next to the Paris Hot lounge. Since these places are right next to each other, I walked from the Eagles Lounge to the Paris Hot.
Paris Hot Lounge
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Paris Hot Lounge
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Paris Hot Lounge
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After walking around Deck 5, I went upstairs to Deck 9. One of my first stops was the ship's buffet. The buffet was still closed for the morning, but breakfast was going to be early due to today being the last of the cruise.
Sign Directing People Towards The Gangway (Not Open Yet Since We Weren't Docked)
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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 The Buffet - Ice Cream Machine To The Right
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Ice Cream Machine
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Blue Iguana Cantina Salsa Bar
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Lido Main Pool Area
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Deck 10
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After walking outside on the Lido Deck I went up one Deck 10. I stayed on Deck 10 for a brief while, but also went up to Deck 11.
Looking Down At the Lido Main Pool From Deck 10
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View From Deck 10
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Deck 10
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Retractable Roof - View From Deck 11
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Back of Ship's Funnel - View From Deck 11
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Pool Area - View From Deck 10
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Near the time for breakfast to start I went back to the Lido Deck and began heading towards the buffet.
Lido Deck - Deck Chairs Already Setup
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Lido Hottub
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Blue Iguana Tequila Bar & Lido Towel Station
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Lido Deck - Looking Towards Red Frog Rum Bar
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Red Frog Rum Bar
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Rosie's Lido Buffet
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AFT Pool Area - Pool Was Drained & Retractable Roof Was Closed
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Looking Towards The AFT Pool Bar
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AFT Tables & Chairs
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Last Breakfast On The Carnival Valor:
Since this was our cruise's last day, this was our last breakfast onboard. I was in the buffet prior to the start of the buffet lines opening. While I waited I sat at a table and went through Carnival's Hub App. My phone was still on airplane mode and I didn't want to turn airplane mode off yet because I knew I had many messages waiting for me.
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. The Washington Dining Room was serving the port of call day breakfast menu, according to the Carnival Hub App.
Here are some food pictures from the last breakfast we had on the Carnival Valor for this cruise:
Since this was our cruise's last day, this was our last breakfast onboard. I was in the buffet prior to the start of the buffet lines opening. While I waited I sat at a table and went through Carnival's Hub App. My phone was still on airplane mode and I didn't want to turn airplane mode off yet because I knew I had many messages waiting for me.
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. The Washington Dining Room was serving the port of call day breakfast menu, according to the Carnival Hub App.
Here are some food pictures from the last breakfast we had on the Carnival Valor for this cruise:
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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Main Breakfast Buffet
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Main Breakfast Buffet
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Main Breakfast Buffet
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Main Breakfast Buffet
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Main Breakfast Buffet
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Main Breakfast Buffet
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Main Breakfast Buffet
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My Plate Of A Pastry, Bacon, & Fruit
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My Omelet
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As breakfast was ending I saw the Galveston pilot boat approach the Carnival Valor. This meant we were very close to Galveston. When I was done eating I walked up to Deck 10 and slowly made my way to the front of the ship.
Waves At The Back Of The Ship
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Galveston Pilot Boat
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Sunrise
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Tanker Passing Us By
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Tip of Galveston Island In The Distance
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Seats on Deck 10
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Deck 10
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Main Pool Area - View From Deck 10
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Seaside Theater - Farewell Message
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From the front of Deck 10 I was able to see Galveston Island and Galveston's Harbor as the Carnival Valor continued to get closer to docking. Here are some pictures:
View From The Ship's Front As We Got Closer To Galveston
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Sunrise - View From Deck 10's Front Area
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Galveston
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View As We Began To Turn Into Galveston's Harbor
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Seawolf Park on Pelican Island
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Galveston
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Passing By A Smaller Ship & Ferries In The Background
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Passing By A Ferry
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Pelican Island
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Tugboat
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View Of Pelican Island
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View From The Front As We Turned Around
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Before docking in Galveston the Carnival Valor began to turn around. Turning around prior to docking allows the ship to face Galveston Bay and leave in the afternoon without having to turn around. When the Carnival Valor began turning around I walked from the front to the back of Deck 10. Unfortunately the back of Deck 10 was closed for maintenance, but I went as far back as I could. Once the ship had completed its turnaround we sailed into Galveston "backwards",
Deck 10
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View Of Pier With Many Vehicles & Equipment Parked
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Galveston
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Passing By a Docked Barge
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Passing By The Oil Rig Museum
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Passing By The Harborhouse Hotel
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Unlike the first day of our cruise, we were docking at Cruise Terminal 1. The Carnival Valor was the cruise ship in port on this day. Out of Galveston's two cruise terminals I personally like Cruise Terminal 1 more, but both terminals are nice.
Approaching Cruise Terminal 1
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Cruise Terminal #1
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Getting Very Close To Terminal #1
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Cruise Terminal #1's Gangway
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Cruise Terminal & Galveston In The Background
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Galveston
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The back of deck 10 being closed was a bummer, but I was still able to get a decent view of Galveston. Before leaving the ship's exterior decks I walked to the front of Deck 10 one more time. We were very close to being docked.
Galveston
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View From Deck 10's Front As The Ship Docked
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Ship Getting Close To The Pier
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As I walked towards the mid-ship stairwell I walked above the Lido Deck one last time.
Deck 10
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View From Deck 10
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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.
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.
Deck 3 - View Of Cruise Terminal
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Deck 3 - View Of The Gangway
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View From The Gangway - Ship's Backside
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Carnival Valor Docked At Cruise Terminal #1
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After getting our Sail & Sign Cards scanned we exited the ship and went down the gangway. Customs & Immigration was a quick and simple process. Essentially, the customs agent looked at our passports. The rules regarding the Customs declaration form were different this year and this meant my family did not have to fill one out.
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. I try to include this tip because each time I get a new passport I always forget to sign it and am prompted to sign the Passport in front of the customs agent when getting off the ship. 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. Cruise terminal employees were standing outside directing people to shuttles or passenger pickup. Since we did a Park & Walk special we walked to EZ Cruise Parking and came back by the cruise terminal to pickup some members of our family that were waiting for the luggage. Once we were done with this we left the cruise terminal area and began heading back home. |
Overall, this cruise was a great cruise on the Carnival Valor! I enjoyed every aspect of this cruise and am ready to cruise again! I am disappointed Carnival is moving the Carnival Valor to New Orleans in 2019 because Galveston is losing a great ship (although I am looking forward to the Carnival Dream coming). 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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