Those who have sailed BOTH Valor and Dream

[Beanie01]

My sister and I have a slight dilemma. We're already booked on RC's Oasis this November, so now starting to research next year's cruise.

 

Found a great price for 7-day on the Dream late 9/12, Western Carib. Also found a great price for 8-day on the Valor to Southern Carib. in 10/12. Have not been to any Southern Carib islands, and have only been to 1 out of 4 ports on the Western Carib trip.

 

I tend to be all about the new ships, but at the same time, the Valor is a day longer, and also goes to interesting ports.

 

Can anyone who has been on BOTH ships give me their opinion of just the ships? Did you enjoy one more than the other? People? Service? Decor?

 

Really appreciate any input I can get.

[okgirl]

My sister and I have a slight dilemma. We're already booked on RC's Oasis this November, so now starting to research next year's cruise.

 

Found a great price for 7-day on the Dream late 9/12, Western Carib. Also found a great price for 8-day on the Valor to Southern Carib. in 10/12. Have not been to any Southern Carib islands, and have only been to 1 out of 4 ports on the Western Carib trip.

 

I tend to be all about the new ships, but at the same time, the Valor is a day longer, and also goes to interesting ports.

 

Can anyone who has been on BOTH ships give me their opinion of just the ships? Did you enjoy one more than the other? People? Service? Decor?

 

Really appreciate any input I can get.

 

I've been on both ships and they are both great for different reasons. The Valor is among my favorite class of ships (Conquest class) so I'm very familiar with the layout. The decor on the Valor is very elegant rather than somewhat too colorful on other ships.

 

They both have all the amenities like steak house, MUTS, fridges in the cabin great casino's and clubs.

 

The Dream is larger and newer and has some really great features like extra hot tubs, an exterior Promenade deck, Lanai's where they have BBQ as a lunch option along with being able to get salads and wraps at the sushi bar during the day.......

 

If I were choosing I would generally always go with the longer cruise, but in this case I would probably choose the less expensive......having said that if all things are kind of equal you might want to choose the Dream because it really does have some very unique features that you won't find on the 5 ships in the Conquest class and because there are more ships like the Valor you have plenty of opportunity and ports to sail on them from in the future.

[kris12]

Well, of course the Dream is larger so therefore more passengers. Personally I never felt overcrowded but I tend to avoid certain areas such as the pool on the Lido in favor of the more peacful serenity area. Food, shows seemed pretty comparable. We had an Ocean Suite on Dream and an aft wrap on Valor so both rooms were great. The spa on the Dream is awesome IF you go for the spa pass. (Just incredible, well worth the $ IMO). Valor spa was nice but nothing like the Dream.

I like the Decor on both probably prefered Dream a bit more.

 

If you have any specific questions I'll try to answer.

You can't go wrong either way as far as I'm concerned.

[Carolin]

I've been on both. I prefer the Valor. I was able to find my friends easily and I had a fantastic time in the piano bar.

[shelkate1]

We have cruised on both the Valor and the Dream. We did Western on the Valor and Eastern on the Dream. If I am just discussing the ships alone, I would have to say I prefer the Valor.

Don't get me wrong, the Dream was new, had alot of neat and unique to this class ship areas that you couldn't get on the Valor. However, I love the Conquest class ships. I love the ship size and the crowd size. There are plenty of things to do on both, but I prefer the size and ease of movement on the Valor.

Service was actually a bit better on the Valor, but that may be because we sailed her a bit before the big dip in the economy. The standards were a bit better at that time.

So I would say, all other things constant, I would sail the Valor!

[Beanie01]

Well, that's 2 for the Dream and 2 for the Valor!

 

I'm kind of leaning toward the Dream. I loved the water slides on Norwegian Epic, and I feeling the need to check out that slide on Dream! I do also like the bigger ships.

 

Thanks for your input. Will have to see what my sister thinks.

[luv2trvlnow]

Well, that's 2 for the Dream and 2 for the Valor!

 

I'm kind of leaning toward the Dream. I loved the water slides on Norwegian Epic, and I feeling the need to check out that slide on Dream! I do also like the bigger ships.

 

Thanks for your input. Will have to see what my sister thinks.

I have done the Eastern on the Valor and the Western on the Dream, two of the best cruises ever for us.

But if you like waterslides like my son and I do---choose the Dream. They are definitely the better slides. In fact my son is going on the Dream again in November doing the Eastern itinerary this time. He asked if I wanted to join him. You don't have to ask my twice. I have said Yes!!! Dream here I come again in November.

Sharon

[azkcruizers]

I personally preferred the Dream over the Valor. I liked the decor better and overall we had much better food and service on the Dream. It could have been just luck of the draw though :D

[kris12]

I had always told myself to go on the slide but the Dream was the first time I actually did.......it was a lot of fun. watch out for the deck area to the stairs though, we saw a lot of barefoot tiptoeing it across the hot wood.

[Beanie01]

I had always told myself to go on the slide but the Dream was the first time I actually did.......it was a lot of fun. watch out for the deck area to the stairs though, we saw a lot of barefoot tiptoeing it across the hot wood.

 

Had that same problem on the Epic.

 

Thanks, everyone for your input.

[BabyJacks17]

I sailed on the Valor in January & on the Dream just 2 weeks ago during SpringBreak - both were western itinerary too!

 

While there is no such thing as a bad cruise in my book, for whatever reason I experienced much better service on the Dream even with the extra pax. Also the ammenties, plus the waterworks and the quality of the shows i.e. Dancing in the Street is not something the Valor is going to have for you.

 

So, while I wouldn't hesitate to cruise on the Valor again my vote is for the Dream. Did I mention we also enjoyed her so much we're doing it again next May?:p

[Beanie01]

Thanks for your input, Babyjacks. Kind of leaning toward the Dream, despite the extra day we'd have on Valor.