Valor Review April 6-13

[clairebelle]

Let me start off by saying this was our first cruise. My husband and I have been together for 9 years and this was our never-taken honeymoon. I loved the ship and I enjoyed most every minute. We were on the Eastern Carribean Itinerary which includes 3 sea days. Here you go:

Travel to Miami:

We left on Friday afternoon for our Sunday departure out of the port of Miami. We flew American Airlines, which was a bit scary with all of the flight cancellations, but we made it fine! Luckily, we have family in Miami, so we were able to stay with them for the two nights before the cruise. We arrived in Miami on Friday night and hung out with family until we left for the cruise. I would recommend Sushi Samba on Lincoln Road in South Beach. We ate and drank there on Saturday night and it was phenomenal!

Embarkation and 1st Evening: Embarkation was a breeze. Very well organized. We arrived around 11:00 or so. We went straight through the check in process and then we were told to wait in the lobby. By 11:45 or so, we were on the boat and sipping some drinks and eating chicken fingers on the deck. Very smooth process. We weren't allowed into our cabins until around 1:30 or 2 oclock. We enjoyed lunch on the lido deck. The chicken fingers were quite good and we ordered a bucket of beer. Note: They don't allow glass bottles, all bottles are plastic or aluminum, so, if you order a bucket of Coronas, they will come to you in glasses balancing in an ice bucket. Its a little awkward! We loved meeting our Cruise Critic Roll Call Members at the meet and greet one of the people in our roll call set up. I recommend joining a roll call! It was so nice to see familiar faces around the ship.

Cabin: Our cabin, 9210, all the way forward on the lido deck was wonderful. Our cabin steward, Maran, was an absolute wonder! He was stealth! One minute you leave your room in a disaster state, then the next minute its spic and span and perfect. He was absolutely wonderful! We survived the safety drill. It was quite boring; however, I am sure it was quite worth it in case we had an emergency. All of our baggage arrived to our room by 6:00 that evening. We had late dinner, so we had time to dress and get ready. We went earlier in the afternoon and found our table in the dining hall. We ate dinner that Sunday night and Monday night, for the first formal, in the dinning room. Our waiter and assistant waiter were wonderful; however, I thought the food wasn’t so good. So, we didn’t return to the dining room after the second night.

Food: On the topic of food, you definitely will not starve on this cruise ship. There are so many food options. I thought the lunch options were by far the best. We ate breakfast in the Washington Dining Room on Monday morning and we weren’t impressed. Overall, to be honest, I hated the dining room food. Our service was awesome; however, the food was terrible. I really enjoyed lunch time on Lido deck much better. We only ate from the general Rosie’s buffet line once for dinner and it wasn’t that great either. But, we loved Fish n’ Chips above Rosie’s. We ate there almost everyday for lunch. The fish n’ chips are great and the seafood stew was awesome. The dessert bar at the buffet was really good too. I love the raspberry-hazlenut napoleons. We ate at the deli a couple of times and the grill as well. Both places were quite good. We ate at the sushi bar on deck 5 every night. In fact, that was our dinner for probably 4 of the 7 nights! We also had reservations at Scarlett’s, the supper club, on Wednesday night. You have to eat here. It was absolutely amazing. This dining experience made up for the terrible food in the dinning room. My filet was perfect and everything was prepared so beautifully and it was beyond delicious. The service was fabulous as well.

Sea Days: This cruise had three sea days which is nice if you like hanging out on the boat, but I think, looking back, we would have enjoyed more port days. The chairs on the lido deck fill up pretty quickly and there were definite “chair hogs” on this ship. I saw chairs with towels or books on them and no one returned to them for over three hours. I even saw someone laid a ball point pen down to save a chair and never returned. So, be prepared by getting to your chair early or pushing someone’s stuff off the chairs if they don’t return. The ship’s policy is that chairs are not to be saved and any chair left vacant for more than 30 minutes can be reassigned. They do have a lot of fun games on the boat and the slot machines are fun. We loved the trivia games as well as the Newlywed game. It is a must see! Kurt and his wife of 57 years were amazing! They were by far the funniest couple I had ever seen! You do have to make an effort to look for things to do, so, if you aren’t much of a joiner, then you might want to take some cards or games to play on the ship.

Nassau: We did the Catamaran Snorkel and had a great time. It rained at first for about the first 30 minutes or so; however, once we got to the location, we had GREAT snorkeling. We took some cheerios with us to feed the fish and they swarmed me! It was one of the coolest experiences of my life.

St. Thomas: I think my expectations of St. Thomas were too high. I had heard so many wonderful things about St. Thomas; however, my husband and I were disappointed. I thought it was very commercialized and dirty. The traffic was terrible as there were five other cruise ships docked that day. We went into Charlotte Amile that morning to do some shopping and were done with the crowds within 30 minutes. We went back and hung out on the boat until our Snuba excursion. This excursion was neat; but, I think a bit of a waste of money. They took us to Coki beach which was so incredibly overcrowded. It is maybe a ¼ long with enough people to fill a 5 mile beach with. We snorkeled for 30-40 minutes and then they taught us snuba. If you have any ear or respitory problems, then you may have some difficulities with this excursion. My husband was able to go down in depth; however, I couldn’t equalize, so I floated on top. It was still neat; however, I enjoyed snorkeling in Nassau much better. We did get a “Bushwacker” drink at one of the local bars. I highly recommend it! Awesome!

St. Martin: This was my favorite port by far! We were maybe the second or third people off of the boat. We took a cab to Orient beach on the French side and we spent all day sitting on the beach and people watching. We got there so early that the little beach bars were still setting up their chairs. The Nudists from Club Orient were taking their morning walk down the beach, so that was an interesting site. We walked the beach for awhile and then we decided to settle on Le String. This was the best little beach bar. We each got a padded chair w/ umbrella and one free drink for $9.00 each. Your free drink could be anything off of the bar menu, so I ordered a guavaberry colada. It was so great! The prices were very reasonable and they do a $1 for 1 euro exchange which is nice given the current state of the U.S. dollar. We ate lunch there also. We ordered the Tuna Kabobs which were so wonderful. Ask for John at Le String. He was great and we loved talking and hanging out with him!

Overall, this was the best vacation. The highlights were the service on the ship, St. Martin, and the snorkeling in Nassau. I would say the few negatives was the food in the Washington Dining room, the outrageous price of pictures for purchase, and the incredible speed at which the ship traveled. Since the distance between ports was so great, the captain had us cruising upwards of 20 knots on most nights, except for the night in between St. Thomas and St. Martin. I got pretty queasy and I had to start taking my Dramamine by the second day. My advice is to take the medicine a few days before you cruise so that it gets into your system. I took ginger pills as well; however, they didn’t help that much.

For those who choose the Valor, you will definitely have a great time!

 

If you have any questions about the ship, please ask them! Everything is still fresh in my mind!

[DarthGrady]

Thanks for the review, this is one of the cruises we are considering for 2010. We also liked St. Maarten. We mostly just shopped and hung at the beach all day. The water was very nice though. I can't wait to go back.

[dorinel]

I am going on the same itinerary in August. I went on the Western itineray on the Valor also. I agree with you on St. Thomas. The best thing to do there is to go on the other side of the island - Sapphire Beach for quiet. St. Thomas has gotten so commercialized in the past 10 years and an excessive amount of ships docking every day.

 

Can you tell me when Captain's night was? I want to plan a fine dinning experience on the sea days but didn't want to book on the same night. Did you experience the fine dinning at Scarlett's Supper Club? That is always one of the highlights of my cruise, besides a balcony!! :D

[NateDGreat]

The first formal night (Captain's Cocktails) is on Monday after leaving Nassau.

[dorinel]

What about the Repeat Guest Party for past cruisers? Hopefully it is always the same!!! :D

[dmdiver]

Do you have your capers? I've been trying to find someone who has saved them & is willing to post them somewhere.

[clairebelle]

I am going on the same itinerary in August. I went on the Western itineray on the Valor also. I agree with you on St. Thomas. The best thing to do there is to go on the other side of the island - Sapphire Beach for quiet. St. Thomas has gotten so commercialized in the past 10 years and an excessive amount of ships docking every day.

 

Can you tell me when Captain's night was? I want to plan a fine dinning experience on the sea days but didn't want to book on the same night. Did you experience the fine dinning at Scarlett's Supper Club? That is always one of the highlights of my cruise, besides a balcony!! :D

 

Hi...Captain's Night was Monday after Nassau and then they had another formal on Friday night. We skipped the second one. We ate at Scarlett's on Wednesday night. Thursday night after St. Martin may also be a good night to schedule Scarlett as well.

[clairebelle]

Do you have your capers? I've been trying to find someone who has saved them & is willing to post them somewhere.

 

I do have my capers; however, I am not sure how to post them. I am sure that I would have to scan them. It will take me some time to do that. Is there a particular question that you might have? I remember doing a search, before we left, for Capers for the Valor and I found some information on google or yahoo. If I remember correctly, I think they were from 2006 or 2007; however, the information and the activities were pretty much dead on the same.

[Drew B]

Overall, this was the best vacation. The highlights were the service on the ship, St. Martin, and the snorkeling in Nassau. I would say the few negatives was the food in the Washington Dining room, the outrageous price of pictures for purchase, and the incredible speed at which the ship traveled. Since the distance between ports was so great, the captain had us cruising upwards of 20 knots on most nights, except for the night in between St. Thomas and St. Martin. I got pretty queasy and I had to start taking my Dramamine by the second day. My advice is to take the medicine a few days before you cruise so that it gets into your system. I took ginger pills as well; however, they didn’t help that much.

 

 

Next time, you may want to choose a cabin that is on a lower deck and more centrally located. Having a cabin all the way at the front of the ship, particularly on a higher deck, increases the motion that you experience tremendously. I'm booked in 9211 (on the other side of the ship, but in essentially the same location) this Fall, and I'm a bit concerned about seasickness, even though I've never gotten sick before...

[clairebelle]

Next time, you may want to choose a cabin that is on a lower deck and more centrally located. Having a cabin all the way at the front of the ship, particularly on a higher deck, increases the motion that you experience tremendously. I'm booked in 9211 (on the other side of the ship, but in essentially the same location) this Fall, and I'm a bit concerned about seasickness, even though I've never gotten sick before...

 

We booked a balcony guarantee and that was the room we were assigned. I had worries that we were too far front and I would feel too much motion; but, to tell you the truth, I felt the least sick, in my room, on my balcony or on the lido deck in general. The rocking at night put me to sleep and anytime I felt a breeze or I could see the water I didn't feel as sick. It was the middle of the ship that made me most nauseated. The dining room on floor 3 or all of deck 5 (the casino area, the night club, etc.). However, I did feel the movement on our deck. My husband and I joked as we walked through the halls..."up hill, down hill, up hill, down hill" as we walked and the boat rocked and swayed. All in all, you'll love being that high up and with a balcony! GREAT VIEWS! Just start taking the meds a few days earlier or get one of those patches. I still drank some on the dramamine and I was fine and didn't feel too tired (I got the non-drowsy kind!) Best of Luck!

[itkxray]

Me and my fiance are going on our honeymoon in June. We also have a balcony guarantee and so far that is are room # on the Valor also. Did they change your # several times or did you know that room # for awhile.

TAbitha

[dmdiver]

clairebelle, i was just wanting to see what all was in them, what activities were done on the sea days & whether there were any excursion discounts posted in them. i had seen some western itinerary capers - guess i'll just have to keep looking. i know it's a lot of pages to scan. i just can't wait to get on that ship!

[clairebelle]

Me and my fiance are going on our honeymoon in June. We also have a balcony guarantee and so far that is are room # on the Valor also. Did they change your # several times or did you know that room # for awhile.

TAbitha

 

 

Once they assigned us that room, it never changed! If you have Maran as your room steward...you will LOVE him! He was awesome! Very soft spoken and very hard working! Enjoy 9210!

[clairebelle]

clairebelle, i was just wanting to see what all was in them, what activities were done on the sea days & whether there were any excursion discounts posted in them. i had seen some western itinerary capers - guess i'll just have to keep looking. i know it's a lot of pages to scan. i just can't wait to get on that ship!

 

Deanna--

 

There weren't any discounts for shore excursions or for pictures. The capers were filled with information about tournaments in the casino, like Texas Hold em, Blackjack, and slots. There were quiz type games several times a day. They also listed times that different bands would be playing. The reggae band was out on lido deck usually from 10-11 and 12-2 on most sea days. They also listed the music theme nights for the club, 70s night, 80's night, Latin dance hour. I hope that is helpful. Was there anything that you were looking for in particular?

[OZjones12]

I am going on the same itinerary in August. I went on the Western itineray on the Valor also. I agree with you on St. Thomas. The best thing to do there is to go on the other side of the island - Sapphire Beach for quiet. St. Thomas has gotten so commercialized in the past 10 years and an excessive amount of ships docking every day.

 

Can you tell me when Captain's night was? I want to plan a fine dinning experience on the sea days but didn't want to book on the same night. Did you experience the fine dinning at Scarlett's Supper Club? That is always one of the highlights of my cruise, besides a balcony!! :D

 

 

Scarletts is a must!!!! They had to roll us out of the resturant!!!!

 

GREAT FOOD!!!

[CrimsonQueen]

Almost made me feel as though I were there.........

 

Oh, wait......I WAS there, wasn't I?????:p Check out our picture on the front page of the web site!

 

Now the only question is..........Can we go back?

 

Ginny

[dorinel]

:D We loved it so much on our last cruise that my daughter wants to go again during our cruise week!!! So I will reserve one night with our cruise gang and another with my daughter based on your suggestions. Thank you.

 

So when are you booking your next cruise, clairebelle? Are you having cruise withdrawal's yet???? :eek: