Quick Valor Review

[Daphne'sMom]

Hello - There are not very many Valor reviews and this one will sink to page 20 in a hurry but I will put it out here for anyone that does a search in the future.  I am not a fan of the shorter cruises because I have to consider airfare or a very long drive to get on any ship.  I like to make it worth the time/money spent just getting to & from the port. 

 

This was a family cruise that was originally scheduled for March 2018 on the Magic.  About 2 months before the cruise, one of my brothers was diagnosed with cancer.   Still given the go ahead by the doctors - until he couldn't breath as the chemo had damaged his lungs severely.  He ended up on a ventilator and due to massive amounts of steroids and prayers, his lungs healed and he is on the road to recovery.  He had surgery to remove the cancer and followed up with radiation and is now able to walk again with the use of walker or cane but still has a long way to go to get back to "normal".  So, after cancelling our cruise on the Magic we decided to to a "Thanksgiving Cruise" as our family has a lot to be thankful for and the Valor fit our schedule.  No longer a week long cruise or out of a tropical port but we were going to make the best of it.  

 

We flew into Houston.  I had arranged transportation to & from Galveston with Island Breeze.  They were fantastic.  They provided everything including 2 car seats for my grandchildren.  They emailed the day before we arrived and made phone contact once we landed at the airport.  Our driver Marty navigated thru rush hour holiday traffic and even made a stop at Buc Ees (sorry if misspelled) so we could get snacks, pop and wine.  He even got a luggage rack and helped us with our luggage once we arrived at The Harbor House in Galveston.  

 

Dee at the Harbor House had called a day before we left to arrange our shuttle to the ship times.  She was working at the front desk when we arrived and is a very warm and hospitable person.  The Harbor House is within walking distance to the ship but with my brother's mobility issues we took advantage of the free shuttle service.  We ate at the Olymlpia Grill which was both tasty and very convenient.  A continental breakfast with substantial offerings is provided in the morning.   I apologize to any other guest who may have been awoken to by the squeals my grandkids made when they were able to see the ship arriving.  The views were fantastic.  

 

A private shuttle bus arrived while we were outside waiting for the motel shuttle.  The weather was overcast, windy and a little cool.  The driver in the private shuttle offered to let us sit in her heated shuttle.  That was so nice of her but we explained that we were from the midwest so we were more than comfortable.   Our motel shuttle was also smooth.  The driver let us hand the luggage to him to load and drove us a couple blocks over where....a porter had just unloaded a luggage cart from passengers that were on the previous cruise.  The driver and porter pretty much handled all the luggage from there.  I have never, ever had anything work out so smoothly.  

 

This was the first time I had ever cruised out of Galveston.  I am used to Miami, New Orleans and Port Canaveral.  The Galveston port just had a different vibe, not bad - just different.  The others seemed to put you in a more tropical mood but maybe that is just me.  The whole process was smooth and painless and the every staff person we met was super friendly - and they were working on Thanksgiving Day!!  I did not encounter one grumpy person at all.  

 

This was the first cruise for 7 out of our group of 12 and I really, really wanted them to love cruising as much as I do.  THANK YOU GALVESTON AND CARNIVAL VALOR!!  We all had Faster to the Fun and boarded early and painlessly.  We had 4 cabins next door to each other on the Lido and one cabin on the Spa deck as there weren't any cabins for 4 available on the Lido when we booked.  We went to grab lunch first.  While everyone was visiting, I checked our cabins to see if they were ready.  I figured those of us on the Lido may have the same room steward and didn't want to overwhelm him with us all arriving early and at the same time.  Our cards were all in the mail boxes so I am probably on camera being seen grabbing all of them.  

 

Our luggage all showed up pretty quickly.   I have bright green luggage and one of my brothers was always able to spot it getting loaded onto the airplane and also when we were walking the "gangway" onto the ship.  The teens in our group took off to explore after the unpacking.  I had to wait around as the deadbolt in my cabin door wasn't working and the previous passengers had left the safe door locked open.  Even with it being busy with all the people boarding, both items were taken care of while I was unpacking.  Muster was as usual.  I do wish they would talk louder or broadcast all of the instructions.  My past experience with muster is that there is always one or two passengers that have had too much to drink already and a comedian or two in the group.  I did NOT encounter that on this trip.  I wonder if most of the passengers were also family groups even though this was a 4 day cruise.

 

Our group would scatter during the day.  We all had the chat app and I can't say enough about how much that was appreciated.  We had two people in our group that did not always receive the texts but other than that, it worked fantastic.  We had anytime dining and ate 3 out of the 4 nights in the Lincoln Dining Room.  Again, I cannot emphasize how great our experience was.  Because of our group size and the fact that we had a 3 & 6 year old, we did show up at 5 45 and were able to be seated together.  They would push several tables together to make one long table.  The wait staff were all very attentive and very good to my grand kids.   One night, they brought chocolate covered strawberries to my granddaughter was was done eating but trying to steal fruit off of everyone's plates.  Another night, the waiter made a pirate hat and gun out of napkins for my grandson and bird out of napkins for my granddaughter.  Several of our group were apprehensive about using the dining room before the cruise and were all won over.  An advantage to eating early, was that there was still time later in the evening for the teens and some of the adults to make room for pizza!!  Also, not sure if it was because we were always seated early, but we did not encounter the photographers that always show up when you have just put a fork full of food in your mouth!!

 

Our only port of call was Cozumel.  We had wonderful weather.  We had planned to go to Chanknaab but ended up taking a large taxi to Buccano's and then shopped before getting back on the ship.  The weather turned out great.  The kids were able to snorkel.  The place was nice and clean and my Mom was happy with her choice so it was all good. 

 

Other passengers!!  This was also a first for me.  I had warned our first timers that they may have trouble finding empty deck chairs due to chair hogging.  Not sure if we were just lucky or what - not only did we find plenty of deck chairs on our final sea day (first one was overcast & rainy), but there were even empty chairs in the Serenity Area.  We did notice that whenever we were at a show or somewhere where they would ask "where are you from?"  the answer was often some town in Texas.  Perhaps it was a family cruise or just southern hospitality, but our fellow cruisers were all very pleasant.

 

The one and only complaint I have about the Valor was the internet service.  I had purchased the value plan.  I gave up trying to connect on my tablet the first night after spending about 45 minutes.  Tried my phone and could connect but then it would drop.  We had a blizzard at home and I was trying to keep up on emails and track the storm as well as any flight notifications.  I finally spent an extra 20 dollars to upgrade the service and it did not make any difference.  I even tried using the Fun Hub computers on the last night of the cruise and the morning we disembarked.  I was finally able to confirm our flights using the app on my phone.  

 

Extra's that  never happen to me: My brother with the medical issues had casino cash waiting for him and ended up money ahead, he bought bingo tickets for the group one night and my other brother won $150.  He also bought pull tickets (not sure what you call them) and my nephew won $500 with one of them as well as a few smaller winning tickets.  My niece is a Harry Potter fanatic and was excited to see that there was a Harry Potter Trivia that she won!  Most of us went to the Dive In movie one night.  We did bring seasoned salt with us (learned my lesson on the Splendor last year).  

 

The comedy club was a hit with our family.  We attended a couple of the production numbers (some one night, others another night), the Hasbro show, etc.  One of my brothers and nephew attended a Q&A session about crew life on the ship and thought it was very informative.  The teens in our group had the time of their lives and thought they were on first name basis with cruise director TJ.  TJ was very upbeat but not overbearing.  

 

My favorite class of ships is the Dream class so I was grateful that our family was going to finally be able to go on a cruise.  I was just disappointed that it was a shorter cruise on a smaller ship.  The Valor and her crew more than made up for any doubts that I had.  The ship was clean, not too hard to navigate for my brother and the crew was fantastic.  Anyone thinking of sailing on her has an experience half as good as we did - you will be happy.  

 

Island Breeze was waiting for us when it was time to disembark.  Our driver this day was Jim.  He sent a text and asked that I call when able to do so.  We had two fellow passengers that were also going to the airport.  Jim gave us some interesting information about Galveston (he lives there).  The drive to the airport was smooth and painless.  

 

We arrived back in Iowa two over a foot of snow.  Fortunately, the roads had already been cleared and we missed having to drive in blizzard conditions that had existed earlier.  

 

If you are on the fence about going on the Valor - DO IT!  

 

 

 

 

[Daphne'sMom]

Just re-read my comments about other passengers.  I did not mean to imply that I have never encountered pleasant passengers in the past.   This trip, we did not encounter anyone grumpy (except my niece when I tried to wake her up in the morning) or chair hogs.  I don't know what they put in the lemonade on this cruise but .....    It worked - everyone seemed to be in good humor.

[NebraskaSatellite]

Great post - we cruised out of Galveston this summer on the Breeze and had experiences similar to yours with the port and the fellow cruisers (who seemed to be mostly Texans and unfailingly a friendly and happy bunch).  Good to hear about your experiences on the smaller ships, we are considering cruising the Freedom next summer.  

[Lottacruises]

Glad you had fun!

[robindina]

Thanks for sharing.... going on the Valor in 9 days

[CruiseMomTX]

We sailed on the Valor in Nov and also had a great time.  Won in the casino, yay!  We did your time dining for the first time and loved it.  The first night we asked for a table for 2 and got a great table next to a window and a great team so sat there the rest of the trip.  Table number 135.  We usually ate around 8:30 and it was never busy so we were in and out quick compared to fixed dining times.  

[cainlr]

Thank  you  for  posting  this  review  of the Valor and your  experience  sailing out of Galveston.  Quick question,  did elevators go to  the deck where mini golf  is located?  I have bad knees!  

[Daphne'sMom]

If I recollect...and looking at deck plans, think this is accessed by stairs only.  Sorry, I don't have any pictures of that area to help my memory.

[cainlr]

Thanks for the info.  We sailed on the Glory any had trouble getting  to  the upper decks due to   mobility  issues. 😟

[jujubird]

Thanks for the review.  We sail in January with our 3 year old (and a bunch of college friends and their young kiddos). Any additional pieces of good information for those of us with small kiddos? 

(We are also looking at booking with Island Breeze).

[camijo]

I sailed the Valor over Halloween, had a wonderful time.  I was nervous because I had sailed the Breeze in July and was worried about the Valor being a smaller ship.  However, I was worried for no reason.  I loved it!  I'm actually sailing the Valor again in April, I can't wait!  The Valor will be the first ship that I sail twice on. 

 

Thanks for the review!

[Daphne'sMom]

 

12 hours ago, jujubird said:

Thanks for the review.  We sail in January with our 3 year old (and a bunch of college friends and their young kiddos). Any additional pieces of good information for those of us with small kiddos? 

(We are also looking at booking with Island Breeze).

 

My grandkids (3 & 6) enjoyed Camp Carnival.   My daughter & son-in-law told them they had to try it once and then left it up to them when they wanted to go.  They chose to go several times, especially my grandson (6).  Both kids chose to go one evening when they were having some sort of evening event/party for the kids. 

 

Both enjoyed the Dr Seuss parade and the Dr Seuss breakfast.  Also, there was a night that the Dive In movies was geared more towards kids.  My grandson thought that was great. 

 

They used the pool on the warm days.  They also did Build a Bear.  Cookies,chips & lemonade were served during Build A Bear.   There were a lot of kids  on our sailing so the kids that were at the end of the line were limited to St Jude bears.  We showed up on time and and they were already limited to type of "bears" and costumes.  

 

My nephew (15) took my grandson to play mini golf and then they "went out" for pizza & ice cream.  They signed up as a team in the corn hole competition (and did not make it too far).    Since my grandson is enamored of my nephew that was one of the highlights of his trip :)

 

I was a little apprehensive about how well they would do in the main dining room even though our group was all family.  They really did pretty well.  The dining staff was so good to them and that really helped.

 

The older kids in our group (13 & 15) enjoyed movies, trivia, family comedy club, pizza and more pizza, swimming, water slides and just trying out & exploring everything new.

 

I would happily use Island Breeze again.  

 

Hope you have a great trip!!

[KmomChicago]

Wonderful review; I can relate to being in charge of a group of first time cruisers and worrying about whether they will be happy. Glad it worked out so well for you!

[WIFamily]

Great, and thanks for the review.  Having sailed a number of 7 night cruises from Florida or San Juan, I too have been worried about a shorter cruise out of Galveston.  Hopefully they keep dumping the good stuff into the lemonade into March!

 

It sounds like your whole family had a good time!

[DebJ14]

I have to agree about the Internet service, but other than that we enjoyed our 2 cruises on the Valor in Nov. 2017 and September 2018 so much that we booked the last sailing from Galveston in May 2014.  It is a 6 day sailing, which is even better.  The ship has a great crew and we were lucky to sail with great fellow passengers both times.  We will miss the Valor when she leaves Galveston1

[Vacationdreamer<><]

Did the teens find enough to do?  I'm just a wee bit worried it won't have as much to do as DCL and NCL Getaway...

[daledoe]

Is there shuffleboard in Red Frog Pub on the 5th floor?

[Rudyard]

Great review. Glad you enjoyed Valor as much as I did. I hate to see her leave Galveston next month. 

[monykalyn]

A 5 day out of Galveston on the Valor was my first cruise last fall! TJ was awesome CD! All adults in our group, and I really enjoyed the ship. LOVED the Serenity area with its own bar lol! Of course it was enough to get hooked on cruises (and yep-already have next one booked and paid for this upcoming June out of Miami)

Thanks for sharing your experience!

[bury me at sea]

Thanks for your review.  Cruising is a great choice for families bringing multiple generations.

[ScottyZkaaayk]

Thanks for the detailed review! It helps me get pumped up and excited for the Valor in November. Even though this will be my third cruise, I still get as excited as I did for my first one. I do have one question, though: How was the muster on the Valor? Are they in lounges and indoor venues like on the Dream or are they held outdoors on decks near the lifeboats?

 

Thanks in advance!

[grima625]

Thanks for posting the review.  We will have to try sailing out of Galveston some day with my wife's sister.

[Aplmac]

On 12/2/2018 at 12:12 PM, cainlr said:

Quick question: 

did elevators go to  the deck where mini golf  is located? ===> Sorry, no.

 I have bad knees!  

.

I just checked the deck plans

to see if my memory (three Valor cruises) remained intact.

 

Unfortunately for your bad knees,

those mid-ship elevators go up only as far as Panorama Deck 10

and as I recall you will need to hike it up two? flights of stairs

to get to the Mini-Golf area, at the base of the Farcus Funnel

 

These photos show Victory, but the two ships are very similar!

You can see the stairway up to mini-golf

.