valor 3/6 review

[mcgovernsandra]

just back from the 3/6 Valor sailing. Had a good time - a little below our expectations though. Ship was beautiful, nice decor, but some flaws. First off, didn't expect so many spring beakers this early in the month. Nothing bad, just a lot of activities I felt were geared toward the younger set. Had an outside stateroom on Main deck - great size compared to other ships we've been on. Food was excellent at Rosie's on Lido deck - loved the Taste of the Nation buffets, hubby loved the deli and 24-hr pizza station (a nightly ritual). Dining room food was just okay - nothing above average. Was disappointed that there was not a nightly after dinner specialty coffee or shot offered like on other boats. Found many of the beef selections quite fatty. Dining room staff is friendly but service doesn't always run as smoothly as expected. Went to Scarlett's Supper Club - great food - not to be missed, and the band there played some great dinner/dance music.

One big problem was the language barrier occuring with much of the service staff on ship -a handful of times we asked staff various questions and they had absolutely no idea what we were talking about. I am aware the the staff is international - but you'd expect some basic understanding of the English language.

 

Casino staff was great - machines seemed to be pretty loose (all those around us of course - not ours!) Enjoyed the slot tournaments.

 

Drinks on the ship as a whole were very good and quite strong! reasonable pricing.

 

2 Broadway style shows were great. Could do without the comedian (more degrading than funny) and hypnotist was just okay. Enjoyed the Valor Idol (American Idol take-off) on the last night. Josh the cruise director was absolutely wonderful! Enjoyed his humor very much.

 

BINGO was WAY too expensive - big rip-off unless you are a die-hard bingo fan!

 

embarkation and debarkation - just 3 words - LINES, LINES, LINES!

 

ports of call were great. Unfortunately due to swells in the ocean, we were unable to tender into Grand Cayman, but the weather was awesome the whole week. Belize we did the cave tubing trip with X-Stream Cave tubing - wonderful!! We were in a group of 9 and got very personalized service. Can't say enough about this tour! I would not recomment going on the Carnival cave tubing trip. The group ahead of us had 49 people in it compared to our 9. One older woman got separated from her group and our tour guide ended up towing her along for most of the way. When we finally caught up with her tour, their guide didn't even know she was missing OR part of his tour! We heard several complaints about the size and impersonal service on this particular tour offered by the ship. I would highly recommentd going on an independet tour at this port of call. Again, X-stream was wonderful. In Roatan we again did an independent trip and went to Sante Wellenss Center spa for a massage and body treatment - WONDERFUL!!! Cozumel we went on our own and did Chankanaab National park/beach, went snorkeing, shopping downtown, etc. Very fun! Feel free to ask any questions you may have.

Again, we did have a good time, but I am thinking that our next time around we will try a different line, and go with a much smaller ship.

 

 

http://community.webshots.com/user/mcgovernsandra

[Kylie]

Thanks for the review - love hearing anything about the Valor since we will be sailing this ship in May.

[MamaParrotHead]

it's good to hear the ups and downs of others' trips.

 

kylie...which May sailing are you on? I'm trying to "beat the bushes" and find more people for our 5/22 roll call, LOL. :)

[amlindmark]

Glad you had a great time. Had a question, what time did you get off the ship in Miami? Last week someone said they did not get off until 12:30 because of the new Border Patrol.

[Littlegoo75]

That's odd, I got a free Capuccino after dinner every night, our assistant waitress offered it to me every night, I didn't even have to ask for it, but I guess some people had to, if they wanted it.

 

I thought the comedians were great....they do warn people if they are easily offended, they shouldn't go. That's why they advertise it as "R rated" I don't know which comedians were on this sailing, but we had Anthony Acosta and somebody Brick, Jim Brick? Everyone else I know loved them as well...but I guess you can't please everyone.

 

The Casino seemed pretty tight on our cruise, nobody seemed to be winning, although there was a group of people that hooted and hollered every time they won a dollar - pretty annoying.

 

I would have been sad if we couldn't tender into Grand Cayman, we were lucky that we got to on our cruise, seas were a little rough in Cozumel, and a lot of excursions were cancelled, but luckilly I had a privately booked dolphin swim at Chankanaab.

 

We did the Canopy Tour in Belize, and it was "UnBelizeable" as they like to say. I would highly recommend it for the adventure seekers out there. On our last cruise to Belize before this one, we did Carnival's Cave Tubing tour, and had a great time, but I have also heard wonderful things about some of the private tour companies. I guess it is one of the most popular tours in Belize.

 

Roatan is amazing, our favorite port so far, but we LOVE the more rugged, off the beaten path type of ports...... if you like Belize, you will love Roatan.

 

We thought the food was good to very good in the dining room, didn't have any problems with fatty beef dishes, and our waitressing team was excellent.

Found Scarlett's to be fanstastic as well....worth the extra $$

 

Bar drinks and bar staff were good as usual, the Croatian guy in the Bronx Bar is cool.

 

Piano Bar with Ron the Piano guy - great

 

We didn't have any problem communicating with the crew, we found that everyone spoke good English.

 

If you like fish and chips, don't miss the fish and chip's place a floor above Rosie's across from the big Rosie the Rivetter mural.

 

By the way, we were on the Feb 6th sailing..........

 

We had high expectations and felt that they were met. IT was a great cruise, and we are looking forward to sailing on the Valor's new sister ship, the Liberty in October. Carnival hasn't disappointed us yet. For those of you who will be sailing the Valor in the future, I am sure you will be pleased.

[Littlegoo75]

New Border Patrol? Border Patrol doesn't participate in clearing passengers.

[amlindmark]

The other new thing was the Border Patrol at the dock when we returned!!! I did not get off the boat until 12:30!!! The law just went into effect on March first and Carnival and the Border Patrol have a lot of learning to get this to speed up.

 

This is what she said, Not sure what it was, Guess it was nothing.

[cubdaddy]

Hi All,

 

We just got back from the same trip as Mcgovernsandra. We had a great time as well. I did post another thread with comments. Our dining experience I thought was great as well as our stateroom service. We were not thrilled with the food on the Lido deck. Some of it was really good but most of it was just okay.

 

The X-Stream Cave Tour was excellent and I would recommend it also. I thought the Bingo on the ship was great since I won $250 the last night. The casino was not good to me either but my father-in-law won a few hundred. I guess that is why they call gambling "Luck."

 

Keep in mind that the Valor is pretty new and they still have some small issues to work out.

 

Missing on Grand Caymans was unfortunate but the other ports made up for it.

 

Getting off the ship was a breeze other than all the booze and gifts I had to carry. We started debarking around 8:45 and was out of the terminal by 9:15. Most of that time was walking through.

 

I give the whole experience two thumbs up!

[Littlegoo75]

I am still confused about the Border Patrol comment, are you sure it was "Border Patrol" ( Green uniforms) and not "Customs and Border Protection" (dark blue uniforms) which is a conglomeration of the old U.S. Customs, INS, and USDA agencies ?

I didn't notice a difference in the time it took to clear this time, than the times before the merger.

Border Patrol usually doesn't work at the Ports of Entry.

[cubdaddy]

With all the diverse nationalities in Miami it may seem like a different country but I assure you that it is still part of the US.:D As far as I know there is only Homeland Security (customs) and Immigration.

 

I want to add two more things that bothered me. Their internet access needs major help and they need to keep two ice cream machines going. Most of the time the only ice cream was all the way in the back of the ship. As far as the internet, I do communications for a living and had to force my laptop to work with the WiFi. The guy running "The Web" was not very helpful.:(

 

I still loved the ship and I think in time they will get things right!

[mcgovernsandra]

We were off the boat by 9:30 - no hassles - Immigration ran smoothly. If you decide to self-debark (carry ALL your luggage off by yourself) you will get off even sooner. We were in no big hurry though.

[Wennfred]

Awesome Review thanks!! Im looking at Valor for March 26 2006, so far I like what you guys had to add, I spoke to the Carnival Vacation Club Rep today and she said they will have the CVC people on the Valor and also they have the VIP Checkin at the terminal there in Miami so no more lines.

 

As for the Original Poster, I like to ask about your age, because during this time, Spring break, most older folks stay away from them, can get pretty wild and also the Comedians are selected for the Spring Break crowd, I went on a 14 day Princess cruise where the crowd was 95% in their 70's Plus and so the Jokes were set up way before my birth and Im 40, and the Comedian was also in his 70's and then they also had a Banjo player the was on Hee Haw.

 

Not to say they werent great shows, they were but its something to look into when booking your next cruise.

[JrMafia90]

Thanks for posting the pics!

[mcgovernsandra]

I am 38 and my husband is 34 - hardly elderly, but far from spring break age either. Please don't get me wrong - I have no problem with a young crowd, and nothing occurred that was offensive or harmful, but I would probably not want to be on the boat in a few weeks when it is truly overrun with a totally rowdy crowd. As far as the comedian comment - our dislike had nothing to due with age appropriate jokes. He was probably in his late 60's himself, so that was not the issue. His humor however, focused on plenty of "dumb blonde" type jokes, and he pointed out women in the audience and commented how large their breasts were, etc. - he was very degrading in our opinion, and many people left during his show. The other comedian was Jim Brick - we did not see his stand-up act, but did hear him at the Valor Idol show on the last night (he was one of the judges) and he was quite funny.

 

 

Several people we had met went to Karaoke and the piano bar and both were quite enjoyable. The band in the Eagles Lounge is also a must-see. They are a group of 4 Phillipino men who are awesome - each night is a different theme - Beatlemania, 50's night, country, 70's disco, etc. They were really diverse and enjoyable. Also the reggae/calypso band on the Lido deck was quite good.

 

Enjoyed the Sushi Bar before dinner, and also Jeanne's Wine and martini bar (try the Citrontini - very good!)

 

As far as the Lido deck, the Chocolate Buffet on Saturday afteroon is excellent, and also enjoyed the Mongolian Barbecue and most of the Oriental Station entrees. Pizza was also good as midnight snack, and hubby liked the 24-hr ice-cream station. Room service for breakfast was prompt also.

[avid]

Posting this from cabin 8450 balcony via wifi on my own laptop.

 

It was a GREAT cruise...will post a detailed review as soon as I get home..(am almost out of internet minutes) meantime checkout these pix

 

http://community.webshots.com/album/275463724TnYQtl/0

 

 

 

Boarding last Sunday was effortless considering the number of folks cruising that Presidents Holiday week..The ship was pretty easy to get around on considering its size. I really think its much better laid out than the Legend or the Victory, though the only decks with bow to stern access are Lido and Deck 5 which had the Casino and The Ivanhoe Theater (what’s with that whole medieval theme, I don’t get it) the free Sushi bar...great just before Dinner and all the clubs/pubs clustered in the Deck 5 AFT. The 2 dining rooms are on Deck 4 with Winston’s (as in Churchill) Cigar Bar nestled in between (by far my favorite for great Jazz an after Dinner Cognac and a good smoke). Our stateroom was 8450 a category 8C AFT cabin right next to the suite with the wraparound balcony but I think ours was a much nicer wider and more amenable to party. it came with a chair and half reclining lounge and a table but given the room left over, I went up to lido via crew stairs right next door and brought down a regular pool deck lounge chair which fit right in and I still had plenty of space left over for my travel hammock (see the pix at link above).

 

We joined the Cruise Critic Feb 20th Roll Call at the top of the slide during Miami sail away and got to meet Quinn and a few others (hey folks, I have a couple of mpeg video clips to share if anyone knows where I can post them. As you can see from the pix, our 4 Carnival web site booked daily excursions were very enjoyable....(everywhere but Grand Cayman where we went to 7 mile Beach at Marriott Resort which like so many other Georgetown resorts is still closed for renovations due to Ivan’s destruction last fall....so access was free and all the staff who provided food and drink service directly on the beach were very customer service oriented). The food was great and we found dinning room service impeccable except at Scarlett's which was rather amateur, though the food was well worth the surcharge

[edelfive]

Thanks for the review! We have a Roll Call Board going on this site the 4/3 sailing of Valor. I guess a cruise is what you make of it and what you expect! I've seen both good and bad reviews in all areas!

 

In any event, can't wait only 17 days!

 

Pam