Valor Cruise 5/24 thru 5/28 Review

Cruisers - me, 50 and DH, 45.

We arrived at the port at 11:50. Parked in Lot A and boarded immediately. Since we were suite guests, we had priority boarding and our stateroom was ready right away. Dropped our bags, picked up our keys and went exploring.

We traveled on the Valor several years ago before the upgrades and haven’t sailed Carnival since so we had lots to see.

We settled on Guys Burgers for lunch and were NOT disappointed! Delicious. The bun is so soft and delicious and the meat is very flavorful. We both loved the fixings bar...grilled onion, bacon, jalapeños and more! And the fries are the best!

We then went back to our room and unpacked. We met our room steward Imade. We let him know we wanted service both at night and morning...and I tipped him $20. The next morning he never showed by 2:30pm...I ran into the floor manager and informed her of my disappointment. She had the room cleaned immediately and then Imade was GREAT after that.

I got a massage and DH got a haircut...or so he thought. The massage was great but the HARD sell after, even after requesting no sales pitch, was really off putting. DH had scheduled a haircut, and upgraded with a shave at the urging of the staff member scheduling. He went in, got a shave and a facial treatment and when it was over, he said, “I was supposed to get a haircut”. Well that wasn’t indicated on the form, said the staff member said there is no time now for a haircut. Very strange and disappointing.

We went to the main dining room for dinner...and that was the last time. The service was fine but the food was sad. Shrimp cocktail that was limp and rubbery, jalapeño poppers that just weren’t hot and the cheese was mealy, the hangar steak and honey pork loin were just ok...both were room temperature and that was off putting. The sweet potato side with the pork didn’t taste right...like something was wrong with it. We both enjoyed the sour dough bread.

In between the food and touring around, we had drinks at Alchemy Bar, which became a nightly thing. Great staff and awesome atmosphere. I tried several of the drinks and enjoyed all of them. We also played roulette, saw the comedian, Ronnie Bullard, who was AMAZING! We saw him 3 times this cruise. The other comedian, Kelly Terranova was good too, just really enjoyed Ronnie more.

We had 2 sea days and 1 port that was supposed to be Cozumel. Due to the storm, we skipped Coz and went to Progreso. We did the secret cavern excursion. It was great...snorkeling in 2 cenotes and an amazing Yucatán lunch.

Other things from our experience:

Cooking demo at steakhouse. So good. Get to try the mushroom cappuccino that isn’t on any menu as well as a salad, a chicken dish with Mac and cheese side and tiramisu. It’s enough for lunch!

Go home with recipes. This is a great time.

Hasbro the Game show! Fun, and I got to participate!

Bingo. Also fun. Great staff makes it super fun. Won $500! Be aware, no electronic cards. All need a dauber. They sell them for $1 or include in some packages.

Slot Tourney. $25. First after the prelims...ended up 2nd and got invited to a 100k tourney on another ship, not happening.

Lots of Roulette...won and lost. Bar at casino ALWAYS packed because you can smoke there.

Live music - Guitar with Vanessa, Strings Elegance we’re both awesome. Listened to them several times in different venues.

Mongolian Wok - not good, frozen veggies and then over cooked.

Lido buffet breakfast - standard items and nothing great.

Seafood Shack - we shared the lobster roll. Great bread it was served on but the lobster salad itself not worth the extra money.

Blue Iguana Cantina - had this for breakfast. It was GREAT. I wish it was opened later into the dinner time. Huevos rancheros and some type of polenta cake with several different salsas. Great addition to the line up!

Steakhouse - So great! Both had the escargot en croute. Mmmmmmm. Then a spinach salad and the tomato salad. Again, perfect. Then I had the surf and turf...very small lobster tail and filet but definitely enough. I had the mixed mushroom side. DH had spice rubbed ribeye and was able to get the Mac and cheese that comes with the chicken as a side. Worth it! and worth the extra money, so good. Took a cheesecake to go. It is HUGE.

Staff all around very friendly and helpful.

Line at guest services never very long.

Line a Java Cafe was ALWAYS too long.

Bar servers were plentiful on pool deck and in main theatre and comedy lounge.

Ship all around seemed dirty and not well maintained. We saw the same full drink abandoned outside and elevator where it stayed for more than 24 hours.

Debarkation was quick and painless.

Fun games in Red Frog Pub, like shuffleboard but don’t try the darts. Electronic dart board that requires metal tipped darts. Too bad they only have plastic tips.

No where felt overly crowded. You could always get a seat for shows.

Sorry I’m not the best at reviews but ask away!

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Thanks for the honest review, now would you cruise with Carnival again?

Thanks for the honest review, now would you cruise with Carnival again?

Well, not by my personal choice. And what I mean is, my family (35 of us!) are going on a cruise for my moms 80th birthday in December. Someone else organized and of course, I want to be a part of that fun, so I’m going on the Conquest. I have been on several Royal cruises and Disney cruises that I enjoyed more. I also hear great things about Norwegian and need to try that.

MAYBE if the price were really right with a perfect itinerary? Maybe. But the food was really off putting. I would need a ship with more specialty restaurants or more ports so that I could justify not going to the MDR or the Lido Buffet. Both were kinda deal breakers for me in the future.

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Thanks for the review! We’re headed on the Valor in a couple of months. Is the steakhouse still serving the old menu?

Thanks for the review! We’re headed on the Valor in a couple of months. Is the steakhouse still serving the old menu?

Yes and they said it could be awhile before they get the new menu.

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Yes and they said it could be awhile before they get the new menu.

 

 

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That’s great! I am all about dessert and am not feeling the desserts on the new steakhouse menu!

" We met our room steward Imade. We let him know we wanted service both at night and morning...and I tipped him $20. The next morning he never showed by 2:30pm "

Thank you for mentioning this, it serves to remind me not to pre-pay for services not rendered. That sounds smug and I don't mean it like that, I once tipped in advance years ago and it was a mistake.

I enjoyed your review and glad you enjoyed the upgrades since your last cruise aboard Valor.

Surprised about Imade as he was great when I was on the ship earlier this year.

Surprised about Imade as he was great when I was on the ship earlier this year.

He WAS great...after we got the times ironed out.

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We sailed on the valor a couple years ago and I do have to say I didn’t enjoy the MDR. Some of the entrees had no flavor. I still had a good time though.

Was there any theme nights? Like 80's night? or Glo party?

Was there any theme nights? Like 80's night? or Glo party?

No, nothing like this. There was one elegant night and that’s all. Saw a lot of people dressed up for the dining room.

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I was also on the ship with you! The shrimp cocktail was VERY rubbery! I wish I would've went to where you went for your excursion! We opted to do the all inclusive beach day and it was HORRIBLE! Once arriving to the location, we walk up to the beach and I see empty coke bottles floating in the water! Plus there is sea weed all on the sand! The water was not pretty! I was so disappointed! This was our first cruise with Carnival and our first time ever in Mexico and I was not impressed!

Was on the Valor during the same time period. MDR -anytime dining - the first two nights service was the worst I have ever had on any cruise ship. Got a great wait staff the third night and life was good. Food was not memorable but wasn't bad either. Lido for breakfast and one sea day brunch. It was all satisfactory. My husband loves Guys Burgers - I don't get it but that is ok. He is happy.

Was in a Grand Suite - loved the room - that said it was unusable on Progresso day because they needed to shampoo the carpets. There was a large noisy fan in the room until early evening. Don't know if we had a great room steward or not - I never met him. Was never offered morning or evening service. Most times the room was picked up around noon and then again in the early evening. No complaints but one would think, especially if you are a suite guest that you might meet your room steward :)

Progresso - what can I say it is not Cozumel where I intended to get off the ship, have a margarita then get back on. Instead we decided to stay aboard - but room was unusable - so spent time in the Serenity area until it got too hot - then just dealt with the fan in the room.

Won $250.00 at the penny slots. It paid for my second massage - which by the way Conne was the therapist and she did exactly what I asked. No hard sale for products. Just two nice 90 minute massages. Played one round of Bingo with no luck. Did read 4 books and take a few naps.

Was on the Valor during the same time period. MDR -anytime dining - the first two nights service was the worst I have ever had on any cruise ship. Got a great wait staff the third night and life was good. Food was not memorable but wasn't bad either. Lido for breakfast and one sea day brunch. It was all satisfactory. My husband loves Guys Burgers - I don't get it but that is ok. He is happy.

 

 

 

Was in a Grand Suite - loved the room - that said it was unusable on Progresso day because they needed to shampoo the carpets. There was a large noisy fan in the room until early evening. Don't know if we had a great room steward or not - I never met him. Was never offered morning or evening service. Most times the room was picked up around noon and then again in the early evening. No complaints but one would think, especially if you are a suite guest that you might meet your room steward :)

 

 

 

Progresso - what can I say it is not Cozumel where I intended to get off the ship, have a margarita then get back on. Instead we decided to stay aboard - but room was unusable - so spent time in the Serenity area until it got too hot - then just dealt with the fan in the room.

 

 

 

Won $250.00 at the penny slots. It paid for my second massage - which by the way Conne was the therapist and she did exactly what I asked. No hard sale for products. Just two nice 90 minute massages. Played one round of Bingo with no luck. Did read 4 books and take a few naps.

Ok, I gotta know...WHY did your carpets need to be shampooed? If this was not thru any fault of your own, did they compensate you in some way? Would be angry if I can’t have access to my room!

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Have no idea why the carpet needed to be cleaned. And I did have access it just wasn't pleasant - carpet damp, noisy fan, etc. And no compensation offered...but I didn't ask either. It was a quick inexpensive weekend and didn't want to be bothered with standing in line to ask the question. Now if I had ever met my stateroom steward I may have said something to him.

Omg that is just not right in my opinion. Unless I had specifically spilled something on the carpet and it needed immediate cleaning, I would be furious to have my room taken over for routine cleaning maintenance while I am paying for it!!

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Best thing that could have happened to your husband, getting knocked from the haircut. If anything goes wrong, too bad. I asked for my hair to be cut to my shoulder blades, and it is spot on,15 months later! Without wetting my hair or measuring, my stylist just pulled up my hair and started cutting. When she saw what she had done she started laughing at it, "Oh my, you can still do a little manbun if you just have to have one of these." I was furious for 5 months, back in the awkward stage of growing my hair out again. The spa manager refused to speak to me anywhere but over the phone, and offered a free scalp massage, which I refused.

An Australian guy I befriended, had received botched $35 shave from the same stylist, and had to finish the job in his cabin. He didn't want to stir any trouble, so I called to inform the spa manager that this was a repeat problem (which coincidentally was mentioned in followup reviews). The spa manager got a bit upset. "Who is he? I want his name! What's his cabin #? Tell him to meet me then, around the corner if he's not comfortable. What's his name?"

The other highlight was a canceled Park West Gallery purchase, 3 days after we disembarked. Despite their questionable history, Park West was 100% professional and efficient, complying with their 40-40 rule. Carnival, had a tougher time passing that refund on to us. After 4 months, a little BBB complaint got the ball rolling, and we were refunded within days.

If you sail Norwegian, I would definitely buy the dining package for all nights, which get heavily discounted, as the MDR is not suppose to be the best. We're also eyeballing MSC ourselves.