Valor- Puerto Rico-Southern Caribbean

[karinski]

Hi!! Who has been on this ship? Was interested in opinions about it.

Thanks in advance!!

[Lovefuninthesun]

There have been several recent reviews of this ship and itinerary -- try the search function and you will find a ton of info.

I know we're booked for 10/12/14!

[karinski]

I just found one- that was mostly about the ports. Looking for more info on the ship itself if possible!! Thanks!!

[pghsteelerfan]

We did the Valor southern itinerary out of San Juan this past May and LOVED it! This is one of my all time favorite itineraries (very scenic) and we really loved Valor, such a beautiful ship and wonderful staff.

Edited November 19, 2013 by pghsteelerfan

[Lessum]

We were on the Valor last year out of Miami - LOVED it! But there hasn't been a ship we haven't loved!

[pc2425]

We were on the Valor 2 weeks ago. This was my 11th carnival cruise and I have to say it was my favorite! I guess more because of the ports than the ship though. The ship is nice. I have no complaints about it. The crew was definitely one of the friendliest we have had. EVERYONE was always smiling and saying Hi to you. They seemed to be enjoying their job! And if they weren't, they were good at faking ha.

[Green Boy]

Have been on the Valor 3 times.. one of my favorite ships !!!

[KPfromCT]

So, I have a question:o

I have read some reviews, saying the "crowds" that this particular ship attracts tend to be rowdy and rude.

I've read it in some reviews, but not all.

I LOVE this itineary, as it's very port intensive:D:D

Can anyone confirm, or deny these "thoughts"?

TIA:D

[marym933]

I read the reviews about the rowdy crowd, too. I imagine things change from cruise to cruise, but I didn't see any unusually rowdy passengers. We just got off the ship on Sunday. Since it is early November, the crowd was a bit older with very few children.

 

I did see people trying to cut the line at the TSA check point at the airport, but no line cutting at the buffet or anywhere else.

 

I agree with other posters. The Valor is one of Carnival's prettiest ships. The staff was very friendly. The ports were awesome. Swim with the turtles in Barbados. It is something you will never forget!

[pghsteelerfan]

So, I have a question:o

I have read some reviews, saying the "crowds" that this particular ship attracts tend to be rowdy and rude.

I've read it in some reviews, but not all.

I LOVE this itineary, as it's very port intensive:D:D

Can anyone confirm, or deny these "thoughts"?

TIA:D

 

We were on Valor in May and didn't experience the rowdy and rude crowd. Other passengers on our sailing seemed very laid back and even friendly, more so than on other cruises we've been on. It may also have something to do with the fact that there are five port days and Valor gets to those ports early with 8AM being the latest. Some people get off as soon as the ship is cleared and others take their time, depending on what they are doing. There was no mass crowd and super long lines for buffet breakfast and there was no long wait to get off the ship. We experienced the very crowded buffet, long lines, line cutting, mass exodus just to get off the ship at port on Glory in May 2010 (same class of ship as Valor) but those were the days we didn't get to port until 11AM. Of course, that was just our experience on the sailing we were on, it could change from sailing to sailing. We have cruised with Carnival four times now and never experienced the rowdy and drunken crowd. Yes, people are drinking but we've never seen anyone obnoxiously drunk. From all I've seen here on CC, that tends to happen more on the shorter cruises and all of our cruises have been seven days. Hope this helps.

[valentinebaby1]

I was on the Valor in October. I have no other "crowd" or ship to compare it to, but we loved the ship! Loved everything about it. It was well maintained, staff couldn't have been friendlier, everything was always clean, no complaints really. We noticed on Sunday morning when we left they were doing some re-varnishing on the lido deck, so it really seems they keep up with the "up keep". We didn't see too much of Phillipe, the cruise director, but he was upbeat and fun, we really liked him (Woohoo!). We saw a lot of Hugo and Jodi, who were assistant cruise directors (I'm not sure if that was the official title anyway), and they were both so much fun, upbeat, kept things exciting. No negatives at all that I can think of about the Valor or staff.

 

With no other crowd to compare it to, I can at least tell you what I felt about the crowds. There was no time that I saw any line cutting, chair hogging or general rudeness. We didn't see any general drunkenness, just a few individuals that maybe had a few too many, but nothing that caused any issues or anything. We didn't see any pier runners, or drunken fools coming back from excursions. (Although one friend we met on board did have a bit too much in one of the ports, and was quite drunk when they brought him back on the ship. Security took the situation seriously, had a meeting with the guest to warn them not to let it happen again, shut down their sign and sail account and locked their mini bar. I mention this because I think it says a lot about how serious the Valor crew takes the safety and the comfort of other guest who might be affected by someone who's had too much).

 

With the ship boarding is Puerto Rico, there will be a lot of Puerto Rican's on the ship obviously. I'm guessing more than in other ports, so all announcements were spoken in English and then in Spanish. I don't know if this is typical of all cruises though. Hugo and Phillipe are both bi-lingual. I have no idea if this is typical of other cruise ports, but a lot of the people we met lived in the Caribbean islands. We met natives from St Kitts, from Curacao, St Maarten etc. It's the closed cruise port for them, so it would make sense for them to cruise from San Juan rather than flying to Miami or something. We also met a few Europeans who debarked from Barbados. We loved the diversity, and all the lovely accents from so many amazing places. I don't know if this is typical of most of the ships, but we almost felt like the minority as "white Americans". I hope that doesn't sound racist or rude at all, so please don't misinterpret what I'm trying to say. We met a couple of young boys, maybe age 10 or so while we were relaxing in the hot tub one night. One was from Curacao, the other from St Maarten. We had such a lovely conversation with them, and they were trying to teach us some words from their languages. They were 2 of the nicest, most polite young men we've ever met in that age group, we were so impressed with their behavior. Which brings me to the subject of kids on board: We hardly saw any! Maybe it's because it was October, maybe because it's a longer cruise and they'd have to miss a full week of school, I'm not sure, but I felt like we barely saw any kids the whole week. Maybe that's why the 2 boys we met made such an impression on us. On all of our excursions, we had 1 teenage girl on one of them. She was maybe 13 or so. So either Camp Carnival does a good job of keeping the kids out of sight, or there just weren't many, at least this time of year.

 

A lot of the music on the lido deck was Puerto Rican, which we loved!

 

The OP mentioned wanting to know more about the ship vs the ports, but one of the things about this cruise that is so different from the others is that while the ship doesn't have all the upgrades and things like Guy's Burgers etc, it doesn't feel like it's missing anything. Since so much of the time is spent in port, and with only 1 sea day, there just isn't time for all the extra stuff anyway. If you plan on staying on the ship and not going to the ports you might notice a difference (at least if you've been on bigger ships), but we loved every single port and wouldn't skip a single one if given the chance to go back.

 

We never had real wait time for dining, even in the buffet lines we never had more than 5-6 people ahead of us. I will say that we chose not to do any omelets or Mongolian Wok, and those seemed to have lines, but the standard buffet lines were never super busy. A few times we wanted to get in the hot tub and they would all be full, but it usually didn't take long to get in if we waited nearby. We swam in the pool a couple times and it was never crowded except maybe on the sea day. Hubby went down the slide a couple times, and there was usually not much of a line for it.

 

We are looking at booking our cruise #2 for next fall, and no matter what else we have looked at, we just keep saying we want to cruise on the Valor again, and go to Puerto Rico again. Both were amazing!

[timhoke]

Just got off the Valor this past Sunday. This was our 13th cruise (12th Carnival). The ship's interior is a bit dated, not the best decorating job IMO. But everyone's taste is different.

Lido Buffet:Clean, food was okay.

MDR: great staff, clean, good food.

Pool: very nice, wonderful bartenders & waiters.

Casino: Older slot machines, great dealers & wait staff.

Comedy Club: Comedians were funny, we got lucky saw 2 shows & then they switched out comedians 4 days out so we got 2 new shows.

Staff: Everyone was great, outgoing, friendly, smiling, I agree seems like the happiest crew we have ever seen.

Serenity Deck: great place to hang out where its a bit quieter.

Crowds: When ever you have that many people together you are going meet nice people (we met 3 couples through cruisecritic roll call & had a great time with them) rude people, loud people, drunk people etc. In fact I believe at one time or another I have fallen into all of the categories (hopefully not all of them at the same time). I think your own attitude is much more important that any percieved slight by another guest. If you are having a great time that is what is most important.

Enjoy your cruise, we did some trips with private companies in both St. Thomas & St. Lucia had great experiences with both excursions. If you are interested I can tell you about them.

[karinski]

Thank you all for your input!!! I actually suggested this to my physical therapist so I was hoping for good reviews!! Very pleased with what I have read!! I want to go!! We will be on the Magic in March, but I think this will be the next cruise after that!! Thanks again!!

[BenjiRodney]

We just came back on the 10th of November. This was our 3rd year in a row doing this trip, love the itinerary.

 

Ship is great, my favorite one so far. Staff was the friendliest I have ever encountered, not that any of them are ever rude or anything.

 

Lido was always crowded for breakfast, but with 3400 passengers the week we were on (lots of families) tripple and quad occupancy, it was to be expected.

 

Scarlett's Steakhouse is so worth the extra 35.00 per person.

 

Had a blast, but going to mix it up and do the Carnival Valor Western trip next November.

[abisha]

I also sailed on the Valor this past May and had a great time. I loved the ship...great crew. I did the Ship Tour and got to see so many areas that passengers do not see and had fantastic presentatations from each manager of each area...very interesting and left me really appreciating all the hard work the crew does.

 

We were in an ocean suite which was wonderful. Our steward took great care of us as did our dining staff. The comedians were great too. I only saw one show (I don't remember the name of it).

 

DH loves eagles and enjoyed all the eagles statues everywhere.

 

The itinerary is also one of Carnival's best...we fell in love with St. Lucia..I felt as though I was in a South Pacific island..the Pitons were gorgeous!

 

St.Kitts also wonderful...the island was spotless!

 

We swam with the turtles in Barbados..so much fun!

 

We went to Coki Beach on St. Thomas. We didn't stay too long on St.Marten since it was too crowded and no beach chairs and umbrellas left on the beach where the planes take off so we went back to the ship and relaxed by the pool.

 

Enjoy the Valor and the lovely islands.

[mainescout]

So, I have a question:o

I have read some reviews, saying the "crowds" that this particular ship attracts tend to be rowdy and rude.

I've read it in some reviews, but not all.

I LOVE this itineary, as it's very port intensive:D:D

Can anyone confirm, or deny these "thoughts"?

TIA:D

 

We did this cruise in February. It was full, but the crowd was not any ruder or more rowdy then any other cruise I have been on before.

We loved the fact that every day we had another port. Every day was a new experience as each of the islands had their own personality.

Staff on the Lido deck was so friendly. They brought my 86 year old father refills on his coffee as he sat there. They took time to speak with him and made him feel special.

The food was good, not great. Really got our value out of the cheers program. Tried so many new/different drinks. If I didn't like it I just put it aside and moved on to my next drink.

[J&DrCruisin]

I read the reviews about the rowdy crowd, too. I imagine things change from cruise to cruise, but I didn't see any unusually rowdy passengers. We just got off the ship on Sunday. Since it is early November, the crowd was a bit older with very few children.

 

I did see people trying to cut the line at the TSA check point at the airport, but no line cutting at the buffet or anywhere else.

 

I agree with other posters. The Valor is one of Carnival's prettiest ships. The staff was very friendly. The ports were awesome. Swim with the turtles in Barbados. It is something you will never forget!

 

I also agree!! We also just got off the Valor Sunday:( She is a beautiful ship and the staff was always cleaning or doing something. Our room steward was Polo & he did a great job keeping our room clean. Every time he saw us in the hall, he would speak & call us by our names. The CD Marcello (AKA Marshmellow) was very polite & informative every time we spoke. The wait staff was also wonderful. We had Rolondo and Delbert & from the very first night at dinner to the very last night at dinner they remembered our names and knew what it was we were drinking & wanted as a starter (We always got the shrimp cocktail) I never came in contact with a rude staff member. The Port of Calls were amazing and swimming with the turtles in Barbados was WONDERFUL. I am putting together a review with pictures but with over 3000 +/- pictures, it is taking some time. We are already booked on this exact cruise in October 2014 & cannot wait to go again. :D

[Dirkgun]

I have done this cruise twice when it was the Victory (the Victory and Valor switched places in Feb 2013) and loved the Itinerary. I have also sailed on the Valor on a western Caribbean cruise and loved the ship so the two combined will be an excellent experience especially if you are looking to be happy. I think a lot of complaints about the rude people come from when there are a lot of Puerto Rican people onboard. They (Puerto Ricans) are a pretty loud people, and a lot of people mistake that for them being rude. They are a happy loud.... always ready for a good time. The more we travel and stay in Puerto Rico the more I love it there. They are a people that really value family and friends, and also look for opportunities to celebrate. Just get to know them and their cultural differences. :D

[abisha]

I have done this cruise twice when it was the Victory (the Victory and Valor switched places in Feb 2013) and loved the Itinerary. I have also sailed on the Valor on a western Caribbean cruise and loved the ship so the two combined will be an excellent experience especially if you are looking to be happy. I think a lot of complaints about the rude people come from when there are a lot of Puerto Rican people onboard. They (Puerto Ricans) are a pretty loud people, and a lot of people mistake that for them being rude. They are a happy loud.... always ready for a good time. The more we travel and stay in Puerto Rico the more I love it there. They are a people that really value family and friends, and also look for opportunities to celebrate. Just get to know them and their cultural differences. :D

 

Very true..they really know how to celebrate and have a great time! We met so many of them and enjoyed my conversations. And when they travel..the WHOLE family goes..the parents, kids, aunts, uncles, grand parents, cousins..everyone! They are so lucky to have a port right there for them..I am jealous!

[evandbob]

Hi!! Who has been on this ship? Was interested in opinions about it.

Thanks in advance!!

 

 

 

I've been on it six times. It's probably has the most garish and ostentatious decorations -I've overlooked them due to price. The aft pool is the adult section, and most times staff enforced this rule. Not sure if the sushi bar is still there on the boulevard up from the casino. There's a stairway next to it that goes down to Winston's Lounge usually has a jazz band there. Also an less crowded way to get to the aft dining rooms.

Usually a singer off the casino bar as well as a band in the atrium. Shops on 5th floor. Spa and gym up front on 11 and/or 12 decks, check deck plan.

Anything else?

[marym933]

I've been on it six times. It's probably has the most garish and ostentatious decorations -I've overlooked them due to price. The aft pool is the adult section, and most times staff enforced this rule. Not sure if the sushi bar is still there on the boulevard up from the casino. There's a stairway next to it that goes down to Winston's Lounge usually has a jazz band there. Also an less crowded way to get to the aft dining rooms.

Usually a singer off the casino bar as well as a band in the atrium. Shops on 5th floor. Spa and gym up front on 11 and/or 12 decks, check deck plan.

Anything else?

 

If you think the Valor has garish decorations, take a trip on the Legend before she goes to Australia!