Just off the Valor 4 day 11/9-11/13: the good, the bad, and the ugly

Just got off the Valor. I have Fun Times loaded on my phone. I will upload them a bit later, but wanted to get some thoughts down before I forget.

The Good: Embarkation, Muster drill, and Debarkation were some of the fastest I've ever experienced. We pulled into the parking lot at the port of Galveston at 11:10 am and were on the lido deck by 11:40. Muster drill was about 15 minutes from the time the alarm sounded until the time we were walking back inside. And, we carried our own luggage off the ship at around 8:15 am and were in the customs line by 9:00. (Compared to this Summer on the Breeze--debarkation took us nearly 2 hours). We also got one of the crazy $25 casino offers, so the price was a pretty dang good one, too. With port fees and gratuities, we paid around $135/person. Plus we had $50 OBC. Food and service were good. Not AMAZING, but definitely good.

The Bad: The ship does NOT look as if it was in dry dock just last year. Lots of places in the hallways where the floors were sagging or felt uneven (like the subfloor rotted through). The decking on the lido deck was warped and they were actually repairing the deck around the slide for the entire cruise. They had that area roped off, so it was not real convenient to get around. Not exactly relaxing to hear the buzz of saws and have sawdust flying all over the place while you're just trying to chill. Also, I'm not sure what was going on, but this was the most movement I've EVER felt on a ship. The boat was constantly moving and rocking. It didn't seem that windy and while it did rain briefly a few times, the boat moved a TON. This was my 8th cruise and I've never felt this unsteady. Even when we sailed in the mediterranean and they had the decks closed off due to wind, I didn't feel the boat rock like this. Something seemed off.

The UGLY: I got the casino offer about a month ago, so I knew our room choices wouldn't be the best of the best by any means. We had Deck 1 interior allllllll the way to the back of the ship. It was the LOUDEST room I've ever stayed in. I'm a pretty hard sleeper and I was awoken every night by noise. The room rattled and vibrated like crazy! I've never experienced an earthquake, but I imagine this room would be comparable. Never again! Entertainment was also pretty ugly. The piano guy "Zack Daniels" was TERRIBLE. Actually, he was so terrible, it was almost entertaining. He got the words to American Pie by Don McLean WRONG. I mean that's like a song most everyone knows the chorus to. Zack though? Nope. Did you know good old boys were "CHUGGING" whiskey and rye? Or, that it's "helter SHELTER" not "helter skelter"? What the heck is a helter shelter??? And, finally, I had a $250 gift card to apply to my onboard account. We applied it to our account at the port check-in, recieved the receipt that showed it had been used, and boarded the ship. We actually had to wait in a line to do this at check in rather than going right onboard, but it went pretty quickly. Well, this morning, I checked our final statement and it was NOT on our account. Ugh. So, I had to go down to guest services at 6:45 in the morning and wait in the FOREVER long line to get it straightened out. I was in line for over 40 minutes. They straightened it out, but there was no explanation as to why it wasn't done correctly to begin with. Not exactly how I wanted to end my vacation.

Overall, we had a good time. We laughed. We had some down time without the kids. Had a great time in Cozumel at Mr. Sanchos. But, I would have been really disappointed if we had paid full fare for this trip!

Just got off the Valor. I have Fun Times loaded on my phone. I will upload them a bit later, but wanted to get some thoughts down before I forget.

 

The Good: Embarkation, Muster drill, and Debarkation were some of the fastest I've ever experienced. We pulled into the parking lot at the port of Galveston at 11:10 am and were on the lido deck by 11:40. Muster drill was about 15 minutes from the time the alarm sounded until the time we were walking back inside. And, we carried our own luggage off the ship at around 8:15 am and were in the customs line by 9:00. (Compared to this Summer on the Breeze--debarkation took us nearly 2 hours). We also got one of the crazy $25 casino offers, so the price was a pretty dang good one, too. With port fees and gratuities, we paid around $135/person. Plus we had $50 OBC. Food and service were good. Not AMAZING, but definitely good.

 

 

The Bad: The ship does NOT look as if it was in dry dock just last year. Lots of places in the hallways where the floors were sagging or felt uneven (like the subfloor rotted through). The decking on the lido deck was warped and they were actually repairing the deck around the slide for the entire cruise. They had that area roped off, so it was not real convenient to get around. Not exactly relaxing to hear the buzz of saws and have sawdust flying all over the place while you're just trying to chill. Also, I'm not sure what was going on, but this was the most movement I've EVER felt on a ship. The boat was constantly moving and rocking. It didn't seem that windy and while it did rain briefly a few times, the boat moved a TON. This was my 8th cruise and I've never felt this unsteady. Even when we sailed in the mediterranean and they had the decks closed off due to wind, I didn't feel the boat rock like this. Something seemed off.

 

The UGLY: I got the casino offer about a month ago, so I knew our room choices wouldn't be the best of the best by any means. We had Deck 1 interior allllllll the way to the back of the ship. It was the LOUDEST room I've ever stayed in. I'm a pretty hard sleeper and I was awoken every night by noise. The room rattled and vibrated like crazy! I've never experienced an earthquake, but I imagine this room would be comparable. Never again! Entertainment was also pretty ugly. The piano guy "Zack Daniels" was TERRIBLE. Actually, he was so terrible, it was almost entertaining. He got the words to American Pie by Don McLean WRONG. I mean that's like a song most everyone knows the chorus to. Zack though? Nope. Did you know good old boys were "CHUGGING" whiskey and rye? Or, that it's "helter SHELTER" not "helter skelter"? What the heck is a helter shelter??? And, finally, I had a $250 gift card to apply to my onboard account. We applied it to our account at the port check-in, recieved the receipt that showed it had been used, and boarded the ship. We actually had to wait in a line to do this at check in rather than going right onboard, but it went pretty quickly. Well, this morning, I checked our final statement and it was NOT on our account. Ugh. So, I had to go down to guest services at 6:45 in the morning and wait in the FOREVER long line to get it straightened out. I was in line for over 40 minutes. They straightened it out, but there was no explanation as to why it wasn't done correctly to begin with. Not exactly how I wanted to end my vacation.

 

Overall, we had a good time. We laughed. We had some down time without the kids. Had a great time in Cozumel at Mr. Sanchos. But, I would have been really disappointed if we had paid full fare for this trip!

Well you describe those Aft cabins to a T:D (y)

Glad you had a good time. Thanks for the feedback!

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Thank you for the report and glad you had a good time.

Keith

Just got off the Valor. I have Fun Times loaded on my phone. I will upload them a bit later, but wanted to get some thoughts down before I forget.

 

The Good: Embarkation, Muster drill, and Debarkation were some of the fastest I've ever experienced. We pulled into the parking lot at the port of Galveston at 11:10 am and were on the lido deck by 11:40. Muster drill was about 15 minutes from the time the alarm sounded until the time we were walking back inside. And, we carried our own luggage off the ship at around 8:15 am and were in the customs line by 9:00. (Compared to this Summer on the Breeze--debarkation took us nearly 2 hours). We also got one of the crazy $25 casino offers, so the price was a pretty dang good one, too. With port fees and gratuities, we paid around $135/person. Plus we had $50 OBC. Food and service were good. Not AMAZING, but definitely good.

 

 

The Bad: The ship does NOT look as if it was in dry dock just last year. Lots of places in the hallways where the floors were sagging or felt uneven (like the subfloor rotted through). The decking on the lido deck was warped and they were actually repairing the deck around the slide for the entire cruise. They had that area roped off, so it was not real convenient to get around. Not exactly relaxing to hear the buzz of saws and have sawdust flying all over the place while you're just trying to chill. Also, I'm not sure what was going on, but this was the most movement I've EVER felt on a ship. The boat was constantly moving and rocking. It didn't seem that windy and while it did rain briefly a few times, the boat moved a TON. This was my 8th cruise and I've never felt this unsteady. Even when we sailed in the mediterranean and they had the decks closed off due to wind, I didn't feel the boat rock like this. Something seemed off.

 

The UGLY: I got the casino offer about a month ago, so I knew our room choices wouldn't be the best of the best by any means. We had Deck 1 interior allllllll the way to the back of the ship. It was the LOUDEST room I've ever stayed in. I'm a pretty hard sleeper and I was awoken every night by noise. The room rattled and vibrated like crazy! I've never experienced an earthquake, but I imagine this room would be comparable. Never again! Entertainment was also pretty ugly. The piano guy "Zack Daniels" was TERRIBLE. Actually, he was so terrible, it was almost entertaining. He got the words to American Pie by Don McLean WRONG. I mean that's like a song most everyone knows the chorus to. Zack though? Nope. Did you know good old boys were "CHUGGING" whiskey and rye? Or, that it's "helter SHELTER" not "helter skelter"? What the heck is a helter shelter??? And, finally, I had a $250 gift card to apply to my onboard account. We applied it to our account at the port check-in, recieved the receipt that showed it had been used, and boarded the ship. We actually had to wait in a line to do this at check in rather than going right onboard, but it went pretty quickly. Well, this morning, I checked our final statement and it was NOT on our account. Ugh. So, I had to go down to guest services at 6:45 in the morning and wait in the FOREVER long line to get it straightened out. I was in line for over 40 minutes. They straightened it out, but there was no explanation as to why it wasn't done correctly to begin with. Not exactly how I wanted to end my vacation.

 

Overall, we had a good time. We laughed. We had some down time without the kids. Had a great time in Cozumel at Mr. Sanchos. But, I would have been really disappointed if we had paid full fare for this trip!

You didn't know that Helter Shelter is the new remix version? He he. Nice review.

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Thanks for the review.