Valor Review 3/19-26

[elainestress]

This was our first cruise. We left Maine around 7am Sunday and arrived in Miami at 1pm. Got our luggage, shuttle to pier and was on board by 2:10pm. Our luggage was at our room when we checked around 4:30.

 

We thought the ship was very attractive, clean and the staff was excellent and friendly. We had an 8pm dinner every night in the Washington dining room. We were with a large group of around 200, so we had our choice of a group of tables each night. Therefore, we had different servers on some of the nights. All were excellent. I would recommend the 8pm seating if possible because when you are on an excursion and return to the boat around 4:30 ish this gives you time to nap, snack, shower and go for a cocktail before dinner.

The sushi bar, open from 5pm til around 8 each night was very good!

 

Entertainment: We visited many of the clubs/bars on board. Our favorite spot was the piano bar. Ron Pass was excellent. He was entertaining and really created a following--a lot of the same faces could be seen in there each night--ours included! He did a lot of Billy Joel, Elton John type stuff. The music in Winstons Cigar Bar was excellent, but too smokey in there. The dance club was iffy. It was full of kids until 11pm, so we couldn't really go in there until then and sometimes the music was just too out there for us. THe karaoke in the Eagles lounge left a lot to be desired. It was mostly groups of young girls or really bad singers and everyone seemed to be singing country songs (not my favorite). The 80's Show (Far From Over) was very good! Especially if you are an 80's music fan. the comedians were also very good.

 

Ports: Grand Cayman we did the jeep tour. Very good! OUr guide, Mason was excellent and we got to see a lot of the island all while driving a jeep. We even did a little snorkeling along the way and ended at a beach where we had lunch and hung out.

 

Belize: Lost World Canopy tour. This also was very good. Two hour bus ride each way though, and no snack--so pack your own. We stopped for water, but that was it. the ziplining was very exciting.

 

Isla Roatan: We did the Pirates, Birds and Monkeys of the Carribbean tour. This was a lot of fun also. We got to play with monkeys, very funny and cool, but there were too many people there trying to play with the monkeys. We walked through a beautiful park and finished at a beach where we hung out.

 

Costa Maya: We took a bus to the fishing village and did some shopping, snorkeling and my DH did parasailing. Shopping was quite an experience! Very pushy, but it was fun to barter. They ask WAY TOO MUCH for their goods. You can easily knock them down to a reasonable price (one guy even chased me down the street to sell me a bracelet for $5 that he originally wanted $35 for. ).

 

A few more things to mention: We used our cell phone (T-Mobile) in ports to make calls to our kids back home. We had that feature turned on before we left for the cruise. We paid $2.99 minute in Grand Caymans, no service in Belize, $1.99/min in Roatan and $1.49 in Costa Maya. You can make calls from the ships phone, but it is $6.99 minute! Yikes!

 

I was surprised at the amount of smokers on board. Many areas, inlcuding pool area could be very smokey at times, especially in windy areas. Casino was smokey, which doesn't surprise me, but it seemed we couldn't find a blackjack table where no one was smoking. For the most part it doesn't bother me, but in Maine there is no smoking in any public place, resturant or bars, so I wasn't used to it.

 

I would recommend a balcony cabin--we were in 7225. It was roomy and it was wonderful to be able to look out on the water from our room. Also very nice to wake up to.

 

Got off the ship with no problem. We had a VIP disembarkation as part of our group. We left around 9am and had to wait a little while for our busses to the airport, but no big deal. All in all a great vacation and we'd do it again and bring our kids.

[CBXRAY]

Thanks for the posting the great review!!

 

Will be on the valor 4/23, and can't wait:)

 

take care,

 

chris

[Wennfred]

Hi Elainestress, I tried a few times to send you messages about our roll call, I was also on that ship with you, Youre right, we had a great time and the ports were awesome. I dont smoke, and I didnt have problems with this ship, The only smokey place I found was the cigar bar which was next to the Internet cafe, beautiful lounge but due to the cigar smoke you cant enjoy it.

 

Nice review. hope to see you on a future cruise.

 

Fred

[mnsawyer]

Great review from a fellow Mainer! We're thinking about the Valor next March. Has GC recovered from the hurricane a year or so ago?

[molly361]

Great review- we were on the same cruise with you also- it was great!!! nice ship-I enjoyed that shopping and dining area right there by the ship- pretty neat!!!

[kelz66]

Thanks for the review. I'm glad you had a great time. I can't wait for my trip!!!

 

Just an FYI..all cigar bars tend to be smokey, and the dance clubs have a teen dance until 11:00 so they will always be filled with kids before then. LOL :D

[elainestress]

Thanks Wenfred. I can't keep up with these boards--they move too fast. I can't even find my posts!! Anyway, I also read your review. You have quite a knack for detail! Everybody seems to really enjoy it. Take care!