Aug 30 four day run on Valor

[devinc]

Just got off the Valor today.

 

Some observations:

 

The ship seems to be in good shape overall. This was our third voyage on her.

 

The safety drill was wheels off. People talking and would not be quite. Very disorganized. Our loud speaker didn't work (mustar station D) so we couldn't hear much. Crew and pax both with attitude and almost getting in each others face. Really. It sorta prepared me as to what was to come pax wise since we had been warned about the short Carnival cruises.

 

The good news was the food is as good as its been in our past 8 plus cruises. In fact, the dining room night one was fantastic from start to finish. The buffet had carved meats each day and was the usual fare. Not five star but we saw no significant decline. We did not go to any of the shows. The entertainment was OK but last May on the Breeze we had superb entertainment. The best weve ever experienced on a cruise.

 

This voyage had over 800 pax that purchased CHEERS! That was apparent quickly on our first sea day. More F bombs and LOUD people than Ive ever heard on a cruise. The black t-shirt with white block letters of F U spelled out we saw was worn with attitude. Several young partiers counting down the 5 min to the next shot (this was a bit after 1PM on our first sea day). The lido buffet area had some gents playing dominos and it was if extra points were awarded for slamming the dominos the loudest. You could see the crew cringe. Yesterday they were up on deck 10 and you could still hear them. I went to GS the first morning for change and saw someone complain about a $10 cc hold and a group of ladies have their gratuities removed.

 

Serenity even turned into people playing music and lots of loud drinkers as well. There were several groups that were very loud on this cruise. We were up at Serenity from 10am to 5:30pm the first day at sea. I put my headphones on and relaxed anyhow. The pool on our first sea day was as packed and loud as ever. Didn't bother me -headphones.

 

Our dining room staff was OK. Not great as we had second seating and the dining room was almost half empty each night. The organization was a bit wheels off as people were moved around and not placed together. There was a 10 topper next to us that was empty each night. Another had a couple at it each night.

 

Our room steward was good but not great. We asked for AM and PM turndown service and received both on two days.

 

Bar staff were slammed most of the time (especially lobby). Good drinks but fair service throughout from the bar staff.

 

A few great massage treatments and a solid mani-pedi was received. We went to Nachi in Cozumel and it was on par.

 

Seas were very calm. This is the first inside cabin we have had since our first. It was cool and quite outside of the running, LOUD talking and the door slamming that seemed constant. Very comfortable bed!

 

Galveston was a real mess this morning with all the flooding. VERY little police out near the streets assisting everyone. The front end of our car received some damage from moving through the high water.

 

Lesson learned for us, were out on the four day runs...

[devinc]

I must add a note about embarkation.

 

This was a very last minute booking and we had a 12pm boarding time. We were lined up at 11:40 and they waved us on in. Our two wine bottles were on without inspection. We never sat down but just walked on and it took maybe 10 minutes total for us to be in the lobby. It was great!

[dentalhyena]

Sounds like a great trip! Can you tell me if there were theme nights on the cruise? Going with some friends and we are planning our own special 80's night attire and would like to coordinate it with 80's night if there will be one.

[cfr70]

Keep in mind it's also the time of year to consider. I've done 4 day sailings in both August and December, and the Dec. one was completely different (and much better) regarding passenger behavior over Aug..

[grima625]

Thanks for the review. Getting ready to do a 4 day cruise on the Liberty on the 15th.

[devinc]

Sounds like a great trip! Can you tell me if there were theme nights on the cruise? Going with some friends and we are planning our own special 80's night attire and would like to coordinate it with 80's night if there will be one.

 

No theme nights that I recall. There were some 80's music in the Red Frog pub one night. I believe it was the night of Cozumel.

[devinc]

Keep in mind it's also the time of year to consider. I've done 4 day sailings in both August and December, and the Dec. one was completely different (and much better) regarding passenger behavior over Aug..

 

We thought about that and think that might of been a factor. Thx

[ricew001]

We are doing a 4 day ----to Cuba and it is the week before Thanksgiving next year, so I am hoping it will not be too crazy. I mean we like to have a good time but we are very nice to the crew and other passengers. Thanks for the review!

[sanmarcosman]

Sounds like a great trip!

You mean the mani-pedi?

[Bookster99]

We are doing a 4 day ----to Cuba and it is the week before Thanksgiving next year, so I am hoping it will not be too crazy. I mean we like to have a good time but we are very nice to the crew and other passengers. Thanks for the review!

 

I imagine Cuba will be a bit different: It's not the same sort of trip as a 4 day booze cruise out of Galveston: You really have to want to go to Cuba! We did a 5 day on the Paradise to Cuba, and the maturity level was pretty high.

[devinc]

I imagine Cuba will be a bit different: It's not the same sort of trip as a 4 day booze cruise out of Galveston: You really have to want to go to Cuba! We did a 5 day on the Paradise to Cuba, and the maturity level was pretty high.

 

I concur.