Just back from the Valor

[rasvision]

We just got off the Valor for the 12/23-12/30 cruise. We had a good time. Unfortunately, the cruise itself wasnt so good. The staff on the ship were not what we were accustomed to. This was our 4th cruise, on all past cruises, the staff went above and beyond our expectations. This one was far from par.

Our ports of call were wonderful, however.

Belize we went diving with Hammerhead Sports (Coral Breezes) this was an awesome dive.

Roatan, we booked a tour with Bodden tours. It is beautiful there. We are actually already planning our 3 week trip back to that island. We also did the zip lines. Our 6 year old did the "crazy monkey" and my 70 year old grandmother enjoyed it as well. this is a "must do" while in Roatan.

Grand Caymen we took it easy on the beach.

If anyone has any questions, I will get back with them.

[letsgocruz1]

You know...my boss sailed the Valor in June, and he said the same thing about the staff. They had a good time, too, but he said it was very different than what they were used to.

 

What is the "crazy monkey" and what did you do on Bodden's tour? I am debating between some sort of tour or taking the boat over to fins-n-flippers resort and lounging around for the day.

 

Thanks for answering questions!

[Dee777]

I will be boarding the Valor this coming Sunday, and was wondering what the issue was with the staff? Were they unfriendly? Was the service just poor? Were they rude? Wow, I don't know how well this is going to go over... I can not tolerate poor customer service!!!!

 

Thanks for your reply!

Dee

[smgardner]

I am on this Sunday too!! Screw it, I am cancelling.

[Guest Mary49]

Can you give us some example of what the staff did??? Mary49

[People_Mover]

I'm on the Valor in June, share your thoughts please

[letsgocruz1]

For those soon to be on the Valor:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=683438

 

I think it will make you all feel better. See post #8 :)

 

Sometimes crews have a bad week and service isn't what it should be. Personally I wouldn't worry about it. Go and have a great time.

[Dee777]

I am on this Sunday too!! Screw it, I am cancelling.

 

LOL!

 

Well, heck, I'm a gambler, I think I'm gonna chance it!

[rasvision]

We had 2 cabins, when we got our booking number from Carnival and all the papers, they were to be adjoined rooms. That would be great b/c we have a 6 year old and Santa coming to visit on the boat. When we arrived the cabins were about 5 apart. We immediately went to the pursers desk. they said come back when we set sail. Then we noticed that the 5 of us not only had different tables at dining, but also different levels. We went to speak with the Matre'd and he said when you come back at dinner tell them what happened and they will sit you together. Low and behold we set sail, and we go back to the pursers desk....and wait...and wait. Finally our turn. She tells us, get this, the ship is full and there is nothing she can do right now, should a room come available she will let us know. WHAT!!! How will it come available??? Its full, right. She looks to the end of the line and tells us, she is busy working, when we ask her to at least give us on ship credit for the trouble. She had a major attitude. Then we go to dinner. We tell them what happened about our tables and the matre'd said it was fixed, but there seemed to be no record of it. Then finally...we all were able to sit together. Our room steward, on several occasions, failed to even come in our room.

One night our table mates at dinner told us they had a roach crawling on them at night. He captured it, put it in a glass and went to the pursers desk. They got housekeeping to come check it out. they told them, they have not had trouble with bugs on the ship, and that they must have brought the bugs with them in their luggage.

Another day, trying to make small talk with our room steward, my husband was joking with him trying to tell him to come home with us in Florida, that I cook all the time and make my own bed. Our room steward said, with no smile on his face, "Then why didnt you make your bed here!" and then walked off. I couldnt believe it.

Drinks at the bar...they ran out of celery for a bloody mary, yeah right. but you can go out to the pool and get celery.

Check your sign & sail accoutn. We actually had 3 charges on our that we didnt make. And trust me "these things take time",t is what they told us when we tried to get them resolved. One charge took 3 days. and the other two still have shown up as a credit on my Credit card. They evidently have to go back a look at the receipts and try to match signatures.

There were several things that just added up to make a not so pleasant cruise. The shows on board were actually the worse i had ever seen. The dancing was terrrible. It looked more like a high school production, rather than a Vegas style review show.

I know everyone working on board was missing there families and having to work during Christmas. But this was no excuse!!! We paid a LOT of $$$$.

none the less we enjoyed ourselves, like i said the ports were amazing.

 

The crazy monkey, is where you hang upside down, no hands from the zip line as you go across the jungle from palm tree to palm tree. You have to try it.

[Beth]

Personally any cruise is better then a day at work. It is cold today and I would much rather be on a cruise. Some cruises aren't as much fun as others, but is still beats work. We have been on 17 cruises some better then others.

[mlpcruiser]

Wow! We got off the Valor in September, and it was our 4th cruise, and it was the first time we gave our steward and wait staff EXTRA tips! They were totally awesome! Must have changed staff or something since we were on, because we had no problems with any of the staff anywhere on the ship! Of course, maybe they just wish they were on vacation for the holidays instead of having to work...:confused:

[Vidimom]

If you had your cabins numbers, didn't you look at the map to make sure that the cabins were side by side. It doesn't seem right. Did they change your assigned cabins? If so, you have a legitimate complaint. If that is the case, you need to contact CCL for compensation. Sounds like you just had some crew members that were not happy being on the ship during the holidays. We sailed 2 weeks prior on another ship and our service and crew was outstanding. Sorry you had problems, but sailing during the holidays is always crowded and a very mixed crowd of happy and sad people. Glad you enjoyed your excursions!

[bridkid]

We were on the same cruise and had a fantastic time. We found the staff to be very friendly and had a wonderful waiter and room steward who catered to all our needs. I guess on every ship there will always be someone that has a bad experience.

[bassclari]

I am sorry you had such a bad experience on the Valor.

 

We were on the Valor the week before, and had nothing but a great experience. All of the staff was pleasant, and we had a chance to talk to a lot of the staff, my sons had a signature book and got over 100 signatures between the two of them. Mind, we didn't have issues such as yours with the rooms and the table seating either.

[Flying Ace]

Although it's not an excuse for rude behavior, one must remember that it was Christmas week and they are away from their families.

[spiritled3]

I think it had A LOT to do with it being Xmas week...but my husband and I did not recieve very good service. Our steward, wait staff, and staff in general were just OK. No one was particularly nice or went out of their way. This was my third cruise and I was totally disappointed, but once we got on the islands the people were amazing... Also, the other travelers were pretty rude as well...so i'm pretty sure it was just the overcrowded cranky holiday travelers.

[spiritled3]

oops double post

[smgardner]

I think it had A LOT to do with it being Xmas week...but my husband and I did not recieve very good service. Our steward, wait staff, and staff in general were just OK. No one was particularly nice or went out of their way. This was my third cruise and I was totally disappointed, but once we got on the islands the people were amazing... Also, the other travelers were pretty rude as well...so i'm pretty sure it was just the overcrowded cranky holiday travelers.

 

 

I am on this ship Sundqay...pretty jazzed. I am in agreement that the holidays probably played a part in the crankiness, but that still isn't right.

The cabin assignment piece concerns me and confuses me..,.Did you have cabins assigned and they switched them? I look at the map and pick my cabin and if you did that and they did a switch, I would call foul.

Is that what happened?

[rasvision]

Yes, our cabins were assigned and then changed on us. This was very frustrating.

I'm sure you will have a fabulous time. Time in the Carribean is better than being in the office.

[wwakla]

Yes, our cabins were assigned and then changed on us. This was very frustrating.

I'm sure you will have a fabulous time. Time in the Carribean is better than being in the office.

 

Would you be willing to give the dynamics of the family and what cabins you had originaly booked? And then what cabins you did stay in?

Only because there could be several reasons as to why you were moved. Cabin was for four and you had three or handicapped or maybe not big enough.

For the defense of the pursers desk I am sure alot of people were told to come back once sailed. That way if someone failed to show that cabin would become available. But no-one did. Now they have to tell all these people again they can't help them and listen to the nasties back at them for making them wait again and still not being able to help them.

I am so glad I got out of the customer service area.

[joezapp]

Went on Valor in March '07 and was very impressed. Good crowd, great service, friendly staff, wonderful food (sample it all!) and entertainment. Some bad weather even resulted in a comedian not being able to board in Cayman, and the staff put on a show of their own which was both entertaining and VERY comical! Ship is similar to Destiny, but nicer. I guess the fact that it's newer has a lot to do with that. The late nightlife was fun, too.

 

The ports were good ports, but weather, though not severe by any means, was however an issue due to rough waters. Could not port at Cayman, which probably would have been a highlight port. Roatan was rainy, so we hung at a local pub, drank local beer, and learned a lot from our very nice, very knowledgeable self-chosen 14-year old "tour guide" Dave. Hey, it's nice when the beggars at least earn their money!

 

Belize started out overcast, so we went to the Mayan ruins and rainforest. You see a lot of the countryside along the way. Nice!

 

I don't know if it still does it, but our final port was Costa Maya. While it IS a port tourist trap, it was tremendous fun. Pretty with glorious weather. The beach had huts all along it with "amigos" serving beers and margaritas. 6 Dos Equis for $10! There were many massage beds, too. $15 for a 45 minute massage! Good snorkeling with colorful fish by boat ride for $10! The water was clear and refreshing. A fun day.

 

Finally, there was a new CD on board the ship that week. The long-time Valor CD had just retired. The new CD is Chris Jefferson. (Hopefully the captain remembers his name by now. He forgot it at the VIP party, leading Chris to refer to him as Capt. Steuben. Pretty funny. Even funnier, I don't know the Captain's name!) Chris is a fantastic, warm, funny, energetic, and down-to-earth Cruise Director. The members of the entertainment staff clearly enjoyed his presence, citing a "renewed" energy amongst the staff. They clearly preferred him over the prior CD. Chris certainly added to our enjoyable experience on this cruise.

 

You won't be disappointed! But, remember, Carnival is not responsible for the weather!! (They do issue a small credit if the ship cannot port, however). Enjoy!

[shallow sea]

Yes, our cabins were assigned and then changed on us. This was very frustrating.

I'm sure you will have a fabulous time. Time in the Carribean is better than being in the office.

 

 

I know that this doesn't make your experience any better, but it sounds like just flat-out bad luck is what made your cruise so bad. Out of all of the tens of thousands of customers they carry every week, a very small number of the most patient and understanding people will have a negative experience every week. It sucks, mostly because there is nothing you can do about it and it could happen to any one of us on our next cruise.

[PCMAINTTEAM]

I was on the Valor in May and the staff was very good. We enjoyed it so much we are going back in March on the Valor again.

[Irish708]

I was on the Valor last Sept, and LOVED it ! Loved it so much I went ahead and booked the Western route the week after we returned........ Thought the service was outstanding!