Valor May 12-15 Review

[dmtiern]

This was a quick 3-day to celebrate the end of the Disney College Program for my daughters friend before he returns home to Buffalo NY. My 22 y/o daughter was his trainer & they became fast friends. It was me 56, DD22 & Friend20 in balcony 6414, my other DD24 & her BF20 in a sideways interior 6420.

 

We live nearby so arrived at Port Canaveral around 10:30am. Splurged and parked at the port (lazy!) - Went through security (easy peasy - they did not check anything!) We were Zone 3, waited about 15 minutes then ALL ABOARD!

 

We had Cheers! for my 22 y/o DD & myself. Stopped at the 1st bar we saw upon entering, waited & waited & finally got our drink. I tipped $1 each as I planned to do, but bar service was slow and that was the theme for the whole 3 days.

 

Went to Lido for lunch, tons of options but ended up not grabbing a plate til later. It was so-so.

 

Rooms ready at 1:30, sideways interior was very nice, our balcony room also nice but a bit warm. It never did get cold, but was do-able. I left a note asking for ice & a $20 for our steward. Came back & found ice & turn-down, met him later Ketut took very good care of us. We tended to sleep in so he could only service our room late. Only got 1 towel animal, but always had ice & clean towels so happy here:)

 

This was my 6th cruise & not really my fav (except for the people I sailed with:)) Bar service was painfully slow. Literally waited 15-20 minutes to get a drink by the pool. I played a few slots & won $100 yay!

 

We had your time dining, it was fine. Food was ok. This is the 1st cruise missed Fish n Chips (they closed weird times) Missed room service (didn't ever get a menu, just didn't work out) Missed Guys & Blue Iguana.

 

Only saw 1 comedy show (OK :-l) Missed all other shows, missed trivia, missed bingo...

 

First time I gained no weight, lol - for some reason the times food was served on lido was off for the times I was looking for it!

 

Cheers! was also iffy for us. Ist day I did order 15 drinks (shared) Day 2 was hungover so only ordered a few. Day 3 I had 4-5 drinks & (shared) the balance.

 

I pre-ordered 3-12/pks water for my room 2-12/pks water for DD interior. Carnival also gave us each 1 liter water (gave to room steward) & free drink coupon (not needed - Cheers!)

 

Overall - bar service seriously understaffed. All were working their butts off. Cheers was not the best for us, but nice to have pre-paid & no worries about the bill, lol. Wish Carnival would come up with a more realistic 5-8 alcoholic drinks + coffees/soda/shakes...

 

Ship was nice, beds comfy enough. Still a great value vacay.

 

Oh - one more thing. I had contacted John Heald on FB & asked for a momento for our College Program graduate - so happy to receive 2 ships on a stick & a plate of choc covered strawberries - SO NICE!!

[Clarea]

Thanks for the feedback, and congratulations on no weight gain!

[tycup]

Do you have any pictures since you went after the dry dock/2.0 upgraged were implemented?

[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[dmtiern]

Do you have any pictures since you went after the dry dock/2.0 upgraged were implemented?

 

sorry no pics :(

[jordanaire]

Thanks for your review! We're halfway to Florida (at Atlanta airport) heading to our Valor cruise on Saturday

[dmtiern]

Thanks for your review! We're halfway to Florida (at Atlanta airport) heading to our Valor cruise on Saturday

 

Have a blast!!!

[rexy69]

So nice to read about your time on the Valor, as we are sailing on her in July (can't wait!).....but something you said makes me wonder....the Cheers! package that you bought, you said just you and your daughter purchased it, but I was under the impression that everyone in the cabin had to purchase it? Maybe I read your post wrong, but I thought you shared a cabin with the graduate as well, didn't he have to buy it?.....and you said you 'shared' the drinks? Again, I thought you couldn't do that, thus being the reason everyone in the cabin had to purchase. Forgive me, I'm not a stickler by any means....I'm only asking because I'm not a big drinker, but I ended up buying the Cheers! because my b/f wants it and I thought I read that everyone in the cabin has to buy it. We ended up paying $574 and I dare say I will drink $280 worth, in 5 days. Just curious.....

Edited May 21, 2016 by rexy69

[jasong38501]

So nice to read about your time on the Valor, as we are sailing on her in July (can't wait!).....but something you said makes me wonder....the Cheers! package that you bought, you said just you and your daughter purchased it, but I was under the impression that everyone in the cabin had to purchase it? Maybe I read your post wrong, but I thought you shared a cabin with the graduate as well, didn't he have to buy it?.....and you said you 'shared' the drinks? Again, I thought you couldn't do that, thus being the reason everyone in the cabin had to purchase. Forgive me, I'm not a stickler by any means....I'm only asking because I'm not a big drinker, but I ended up buying the Cheers! because my b/f wants it and I thought I read that everyone in the cabin has to buy it. We ended up paying $574 and I dare say I will drink $280 worth, in 5 days. Just curious.....

 

Everyone in the stateroom over 21 has to buy it. From the original post it appears the friend was only 20.

[dmtiern]

Everyone in the stateroom over 21 has to buy it. From the original post it appears the friend was only 20.

 

@rexy69 ^^ that is correct, our 3rd pax was under 21.

Have a Blast on your cruise!! Wish I had another one planned:o:)

 

...as to sharing, I ordered many various drinks to try them, if I didn't like it or was not in the mood, I just passed along to someone else:p:o - we even asked some bartenders for a beer, but asked them not to open it. some did, some wouldn't. "Some" may have found their way into someones suitcase...:cool:

Edited May 23, 2016 by dmtiern

[Fern Crest]

Thanks for your review! We're halfway to Florida (at Atlanta airport) heading to our Valor cruise on Saturday

 

Have a great time, and PLEASE post pictures and a review! Info on the Valor post-drydock has been hard to find! :)