Valor impression round 2, April 5-12

[simkoreb]

This was my second time on the Valor, and first spring break cruise, and first cruise while pregnant. Haven't even unpacked yet, but wanted to take some time to let you know it was fun!!! Without writing a novel, here's a breakdown of the cruise...

 

embarkation-easy and great. They really improved how it works, and every time I cruise it's a little nicer. We arrived at 10:30ish, I was surprised how many people were already there. You can't board until 11:30, so we sat around for an hour, and walked on when they called our number.

 

Room-Balcony 6383, over the casino. Not a problem at all. This room is miship next to the elevators....no real noise issues most of the time. This was a gty cabin, and I LOVED the room we got, right in the middle of everything. Only complaint is loud neighbors, especially when trying to enjoy the balcony. I have always done inside cabins, and wasn't too sure I was sold on the extra money until the days at sea, where you had your own piece of heaven. Especially since there were so many kids on the ship, it was a great place to get away. Not sure I'll always get a balcony, but definatly if it falls over a holiday.

 

Food-pretty good. I had a problem the first 3 days with steaks being over or undercooked. I did send one back that I ordered medium and it came out well done. Of course it came back rare the next time. Oh well. We also had spotty service with our waiter the first few days, forgetting small stuff, but after Wed things improved. We did have the best asst. waiter I have ever had on a cruise, and he made all the difference. I finally had baked alaska which I always thought was a fish entree...hahaha. It was an awesome dessert!!! And I always love the bitter n blanc!!!! YUM YUM!

 

Pizza and burgers were great. Fish and chips was always yummy too. My favorite!!

 

Sorry, but I really thought the breakfast buffet was gross. We tried it twice, and did the dining room the rest of the time. And I had to chuckle to myself seeing the bacon guy at the buffet since I read about it on CC. He was always willing to give more if you ask. I did try the omlette station, and it was a line, a tad too greasy for me. Back to the dining room...ordered eggs benedict each time (my favorite). Sometimes overcooked eggs and looked like they were sitting around awhile, but they were much better than the buffet eggs.

 

Shows-Don't miss the Friday show....ummm, can't remember the name. It was a tribute to the 80s, and it was great!!!! Of all the shows I was least impressed with the magic one. I have seen pretty much all the tricks he did, and there was a lot of down time. The comedians were good, and the juggler was good. A lot of the same performers from when I was on the ship 2.5 years ago.

 

Lounge Chairs-I hate chair hogs. 10:30 on a Sea Day and couldn't find one until I went to deck 10 at the front of the ship. Next subject!

 

Ports-

Belize-Goffs Caye, horrible weather, no sun, snorkling was ok, water was like bath water. Definatly would have been a blast if the weather cooperated.

 

Costa Maya-hung out, bought a hammock here. Got a better price at the port vs. downtown, which surprised me. Love Costa Maya, but I thought the water was too chilly to swim. Our tablemates went swimming to the left of the pier, and said there were sea urchins...watch out.

 

Cozumel-best day in the world!!! Taxi to Playa Palancar, booked the snorkle trip from the dive shop. Best snorkle trip I've taken in a while. AMAZING DAY.

 

Key West-went here instead of progresso. I thought it was beautiful and fun. Did the trolley around the island and shopped. Very hot, so we only stayed out a few hours. I want to thank the cruise director and crew for allowing us to go here after progresso was cancelled. They handled it so well, and I think many of the passengers were complaining they cancelled progresso (since they announced 3x not to go to the pursers desk when progresso was cancelled due to high winds).

 

Speaking of passengers-ok, already mentioned lots of kids. The only thing that annoyed me was the teens that ran around late into the night yelling with their friends. They were loud, and basically had the run of the ship. I heard 1300 kids, and I believe it. We just tried to stay away from their hotspots, and most of the time it wasn't an issue. I would cruise during springe break again.

Oh, I did see one guy totally go off on another guy for no reason when we were trying to get off in key west. I was shocked fists didn't fly. Talk about a short fuse! It really was over nothing. The one gentleman told the other guy the line was behind him in a normal voice and the guy totally flipped out and a yelling match started for the next 5 minutes.

 

Debarkation-awsome!!!! We were tag #17 and were off at 9:15, got the luggage, and flew home with no problems.

 

Being pregnant-not an issue. I am 15 weeks. Didn't ask to see anything when we embarked, and I did have the paperwork already faxed in. Loved the excuse to eat!

 

So these were the things that jumped out at me, obviously some not as important as others...ask away if you have any questions!!!!

[Lv2Camp&Cruise]

Sounds like you had a great cruise! Congrats on your pregnancy!!

[spencercoop]

Great review. Do you have any pics of the ship???

[simkoreb]

I have pics of towel animals...hehehe, but of the ship itself, I don't think I took any. It is American themed, with Eagles and American flags, very patriotic. I thought the condition was great too, and even with 1300 kids, I didn't think it was very messy. The staff did an excellent job picking up dirty dishes and cleaning off tables and making the ship look pretty.

[oceanbums]

Here's a few pictures of the Valor from lst June. We loved the ship and crew, it was a great trip.

[katmu]

I was on this cruise as well, and agree with many of the things simkoreb posted, especially about the teens (Cd said there were 1300 kids on board.)

 

I disagree about the way the Progreso / Key West situation was handled however. The captain's decision not to stop at Progreso was totally understandable. However, the way the announcements were handled did not seem professional to me. First the CD mistakenly announced that the per person credit would be $25, then he came back on later and said it would be only $20. Then when the announcement was made about Key West (which I really didn't like - VERY touristy) he did not mention that there would be no credit. It was only mentioned on the revised caper that they sent out that night.

[elou]

Great review. We are going in September. Would you be able to post the capers. Thanks.