May 28-June 4 VALOR!

[SunTravels]

I was traveling with my Best friend and this was our College graduation trip.

 

We flew in Saturday afternoon and stayed at the JW Marriot (about a 5 min drive to the port), it was a beautiful hotel, a bit pricey but worth every penny.

 

We got to the cruise terminal at 10:15am on Sunday and were on board by 11:45am and in our bathing suits sunning by 11:00am. The lines moved quickly, but there were only about 20 people in front of us, so later people I’m sure had a longer wait. We stayed in cabin 1300 on the Riviera deck. I loved the location and found the service and attention we got fantastic. Our room steward was very nice, always had a smile and our room was kept spotless.

 

The overall service of the ship was great with an exception of the dining room. We had the 8:30 seating and the service was very slow and inconsistent. Our server was nice enough but seemed to get annoyed about extra requests (for example bring out our bottle of champagne the last night) The food was slow, the assistant waiter only poured the water and left, and the bar waiter couldn’t be found. I was disappointed with the dessert options and only ordered the chocolate melting cake (which was awesome) the other choices didn’t appeal to me. The food however was great. I could really live without the shows at the end of dinner; they just turn the meal into a circus.

 

The ship had a huge variety of different people, we meet some people our age but not many (we are 22). But we had no problems hanging out with everyone and had a blast. Someone mentioned there were 700 children on the cruise; well they must have been the most well behaved group because I never really saw or noticed any. I would have thought there weren’t many at all.

 

We didn’t book any excursions at any ports because we just wanted to shop and go to the beach, and liked to get back on the ship early and have more time at sea. I would suggest booking an excursion in Belize and Costa Maya unless you don’t mind just shopping (which was fine with us, but there isn’t much else to do locally). 4 ports was a lot, but again we just got off the ship for a bit so we had maximum ship time (and they kept the pools and waterslide open while at port so we took advantage of that).

 

The night live was fun we didn’t often make it to bed until 4 every night. The disco was fun but at times there weren’t many people and they played the same music every night. We enjoyed watching the karaoke and going to the piano bar. I think they need to do something with the Paris Hot lounge there were only ever a few people in there and although they played live music it was dead.

 

We had such a blast, I wish I was back on the ship now. I would recommend this ship to anyone, and would defiantly sail it again.

 

If you have any questions please feel free to ask.

[JackieH]

Thanks for your review of the Valor. We will be on the Valor Aug 20 . I love reading all the reviews for the ship. We are a family of 5, and we are all looking forward to the cruise. Its amazing you didnt see any kids on board. They must of been well hidden;)

[SunTravels]

Yes they must be, you know I saw some kids here and there but they weren't running around like crazy children as I remeber from my last cruise;) !

 

Have a great time on your trip, I have no doubt you will! I wish I still had my cruise to look forward to but I guess I'll just have to book another one!:D

[FliLady]

Which dining room were you in? Did you have a table for two or larger? I've read several posts about the lousy service in the dining room, so I'm just curious. Was there actually nightlife? I just got off the Miracle and it was pretty dead, but I just booked the Valor for August hoping it will be more lively! Thanks for your review~

[SunTravels]

I was in the Lincoln dining room. We were at a table for 8 that only had 2 other people the first few nights and then 2 more came later (it was very random placement of people, but we made the best of it).

 

Some nights the ship was hopping, especially toward the middle to end of the week, all the bars and clubs were packed. The deck party was also a ton of fun. At the beginning of the week the nights were quieter but still always a place to go and dance or hang out. However I will say that this was my first cruise as an adult, and there were some other people who we met that have cruised a lot that said they felt the ship was pretty quiet. I really think it depends on the dynamic of the passeneges and personal experience, but if you are looking to have fun you will. We sure did.

[Gregg20]

We were on the Valor the week before and it was a great cruise overal. I think they have a good kids club program onboard and keep them occupied because I didn't notice a whole lot of kids running loose everyday. I noticed the same thing about the Paris Hot club. The only times I noticed a fair amount of people in there was during the Captain's party and the past guest party.

[ddbaab53]

:D Thanks for the great reviews on Valor. We are sailing on Sept, 3rd Western C. I do agree that the dynamics of the passengers making a difference. We seem to have a good and excited group sailing by the looks of our message board.

 

Glad you had a good time.