Valor May 15-21 (post dry dock) Review and NCL comparison.

OK, first, the background, so haters can bear it in mind BEFORE pointless comments! This was our 14th cruise of which four were RCCL, one Celebrity, seven NCL and two Carnival. There was about a 13 year gap since the last Carnival, which was a complete disaster (some CCL's fault and some ours). We decided that, as this cruise was the only one that fit the time we had available, it was time to give CCL another chance. With that in mind, here we go...

Embarkation...

We arrived at the port at around 12:30pm. It was an easy drive in and we got the bags off and parked very quickly. I use a cane sometimes for balance and as soon as employees saw it, they were all over me with offers of a wheelchair, which I declined, and shorter lines and elevators instead of escalators and/or stairs. We were on board by soon after 1:00 and headed straight for Fish & Chips, following advice from this board. It was perfect. Quiet and few people, not to mention tasty food!

We spent the rest of the afternoon getting to know our way around and settling into our oceanview room. This was our first disappointment. No, not the room, it was fine, but I tried to book a balcony and failed, so I had called a few times in the past week or so to get the room changed (willing to pay, not looking for a freebie!). When we got to the check in desk, we were told that there were seven cabins available, but he couldn't do anything there, so we needed to check with Guest Services when we got on board. Well, they told us once on board, the chances of an upgrade were precisely zero and we should have asked at the pier! So no upgrade - and we missed not having that. Anyway...

Dining...

Breakfast...

Sit-down in the Washington dining room on sea days incorporated a brunch, which was available until 1pm. We did this on both sea days and enjoyed the food (Huevos Rancheros one day and steak and eggs the other). I also quickly found out that if you like smoked salmon, a restaurant is the only place to get it - there is NONE in the buffet.

Lunch...

This was all in the buffet, an area that also included the Blue Iguana burrito and taco bar and what became our favorite, Guy's Burger Joint (styled by the Food Network star, Guy Fierri). The burgers were very good with some awesome toppings, but what put it over the edge for us was the fresh potato fries. Fish & Chips was located in a position that is fairly hard to find and easy to forget it's there. Consequently, it is relatively quiet and a good spot to get away from the crowds on a sea day.

Dinner...

We opted for Your Time Dining and absolutely no complaints. We were greeted by first name, which is a nice touch and the waiter, Eduardo and his assistant, Vincent, were absolutely great. In fact, we asked to be seated in their section every day and apart from the night we ate at the Chef's Table (more later), we had them every night but one. We made sure that they got an extra cash tip on the last night, too. They were fun and efficient, to the point of making sure that as soon as I sat down, I had a diet coke waiting for me!

The food was very good. In fact, comparing main dining room food between NCL and CCL, the latter was much better. It was nice, on the second night, to get Maine lobster tail (or two!). NCL has removed lobster from the menu, unless you count a lobster fettuccine dish offered in the buffet one night.

The Chef's Table is something that MUST be done by anyone with a love of food and was a highlight of the cruise. It's expensive ($75 + 15% gratuity each), but that includes champagne, five amuse bouche tastings (including molten chocolate cake!), followed by a seven course gourmet meal that is out of this world! A Merlot and a Pinot Grigio are served and a choice of bottled still or San Pelegrino sparkling water.

Shipboard Entertainment...

This is subjective, but for us, this is where Carnival really needs to focus and improve. The Welcome Aboard show is usually a cheesy look at what's to come with small sections by some singers, the dancers and any specialty acts. No. This was the CD (Chris from Australia for those that want to know these things) and a really slightly below average lounge singer and...well, there is no and. That was it. Very disappointing. The rest of the week was not much better and there weren't even shows every night. A specialty act called Side Show Bert performed one night and, after a lot of warming up, the smallish crowd warmed to him and eventually enjoyed it.

The big screen on the Lido deck is nice to look at, but not at all well utilized. On sea days, the offerings included a Beach Boys concert, a 'Live in London' concert which was an assortment of acts and finally a show by Katy Perry. This was repeated on both sea days, unlike the movies, which were shown one time each - and even then they didn't start at the advertised time and even worse, cut off anything from 10-30 minutes before the end!!!!

The first comedian we saw wasn't funny in the slightest, so we didn't bother going to any other shows in the 'Punchliners (now without George Lopez)' comedy club.

I think the word that sums up the entertainment for us is 'uneven'. Some nights there was too much happening, it was hard to decide and others, there was little or nothing if you didn't drink gamble or play bingo!

Finally, Ports...

Nassau...

We stayed on the ship here as we've been to Nassau many times. It's the perfect time to try the pool and hot tubs.

Amber Cove, Dominican Republic...

The DR is a very pretty island, at least it is where the ship docks. We took an island tour, which lasted about five hours and took us to a rum distillery, amber museum and a couple other stops. It was pleasant enough, but I wonder how safe is a country that has it's own tourist police protection department? Everywhere we went we saw 'Cestur' tourist assistance uniformed officers and if anyone even came close to making contact with a tourist, they were on them like a bad rash!!

Grand Turk...

We were here just last October, but this was a different part of the island. Plenty of beaches nearby including a Margaritaville with its own pool, which was mobbed. Here, we took a tour called Rays, Conch and Snorkel, which was pretty cool. We Went to a snorkeling spot and then on to collect conch. Unfortunately, it was a little too windy for us to go in and dive for conch, but one of the staff suited up and dove for about 10-15 live conch, making a delicious salad with peppers, onions, tomatoes, orange and lime juices and a variety of spices, served with tortilla chips and rum punch. Then on to a beach with a shallow area that attracted rays. The captain collected a large ray and hung on to it for people to take pictures. Total excursion time here was close to four hours, so we had time to get some Guy' and take a nap before the Chef's Table!

Disembarkation...

With a short drive to stay with the in-laws, we weren't in a rush to get off the ship. In fact, we thought about going to Cape Canaveral until we checked and found it was $50 to get in! This meant we had time to go to the Washington restaurant for breakfast and then go up to deck 9 for our call. We put our bags out the night before (which had to be out by 9:30pm, but were still there at 11:30!) and took the 'relaxed' disembark route. Our number was called at around 9:45 and we proceeded to get off the ship. It took a while to eventually be allowed to leave and get our bags and then the Customs line was fairly long. It just didn't seem to be as well organized as NCL, but as we didn't have an agenda, it was no big deal.

Conclusion...

There were things we liked and things we didn't about the cruise and Carnival in particular. The ship, in particular, was not quite what we expected, having just got out of dry dock. Guy's and Blue Iguana were nice, as was the Red Frog Pub and the Rum and Tequila bars, but the older areas that were just given a wash and brush up, were showing age. Not in the way of cleanliness or repair, but in presentation. The pinhole signs showing the names of the areas were often hard to read and small things like putting new bulbs behind the buttons in the elevators still needed overhauling.

Was it a bad cruise? Absolutely not! We had a good time and plenty of R&R.

Was it great? No, it wasn't that either, but compared to the original nightmare, it was a LOT better!

Would we cruise Carnival again? Most probably not. Other lines offer more to suit us than CCL. Two attempts and we still have issues that would make it low on the list and, unless there was a fairly unique, port-intensive itinerary, most of the other lines would be chosen first.

Feel free to flame me, I don't really care, but I wanted to give as full a review as I could and be as honest as possible.

Nicely written, thank-you.

No flames here....just a question did you notice how self debarkation went? I was trying to decide between the two.

No flames here....just a question did you notice how self debarkation went? I was trying to decide between the two.

I wasn't particularly looking, but it didn't seem to me to be much quicker. Sure, they were called according to deck number along with the relaxed people, so I guess they would have been called earlier. Seemed like too much of a hassle to me unless you really have to get away early. The last call was probably around 10:15 anyway. I think there was a way to register for earier debarkation if you had an early (before 12:00pm from Orlando) flight.

Did you get any pictures of the areas on the ship?

Did you get any pictures of the areas on the ship?

No, sorry. This was our 14th cruise, so we have long passed the point where we carry a camera everywhere we go. The only pics we too for the entire cruise were those of the Chef's Table food. We won't be home until later in he week, so unable to post those just yet.

Thank you for your review. I appreciate your honesty and your objective opinions. We cruise with Carnival exclusively so far. We have cruised on the Valor before and enjoyed her. We have a schedule cruise on her coming up this summer and are looking forward to the upgrades. One of our favorite places to eat, also, is fish and chips. It is very quiet up there.

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Sounds like a fair and objective review. How smoky was the casino?

Sounds like a fair and objective review. How smoky was the casino?

It was smoky, there's no doubt, but I quit smoking 11 months ago and you have to walk past the casino to get anywhere on the Prominade deck (5). I didn't think it was that bad. Yes, it smells, but not as bad as other ships I've been on!

This will always be a bone of contention between smokers and non-smokers. The cruise lines are reluctant to ban it (apart from Celebrity so far) because they feel they'll lose revenue, so it's going to continue to be an issue for the foreseeable future!

Thanks for your detailed and well written review. The Blue Iguana burrito bar is also my favorite! I have only sailed on NCL once, and on Carnival 25 times. I love both lines, but I always find a better deal on Carnival.

Did you get to hear the "Music Boardwalk" Band? They usually play by the casino and are very good. I hope you didn't miss them. Thank you for your review......

Thanks for your detailed and well written review. The Blue Iguana burrito bar is also my favorite! I have only sailed on NCL once, and on Carnival 25 times. I love both lines, but I always find a better deal on Carnival.

Thanks. Of course, everything is subjective and as they say, a bad day on a cruise is better than a good day at work! I'm not sure I agree, but it's hard not to enjoys a cruise. We managed it the first time on CCL, but as I said, most of that was our own fault!

Did you get to hear the "Music Boardwalk" Band? They usually play by the casino and are very good. I hope you didn't miss them. Thank you for your review......

You're welcome. Thanks to everyone for the nice comments on it.

Not sure about the band, but we did see/hear two or three different ones when we walked through the promenade by the casino. There was one with an American girl who was a little chubby (for identification purposes only), who we thought did NOT have a good voice!

Just off same Valor cruise and would like to make a quick review. We are diamond plus on Royal Caribbean and also Gold on Carnival with around 50 points. Living in Florida all my life and retired teacher makes cruising easy.Carnival offering more choices so trying the new ships after dry dock.

As usual desserts on Carvnival beat out RC. Think they use more butter.

We enjoy production shows and really liked the 2 shows on Valor. Lead singers were very talented.

Never like lines in Buffet on Carnival as love food stations on RC. Noticed not as much variety on Valor.

Guy's hamburgers can't be beat and love the real french fries. Also enjoy the taco bar with so many toppings.

We love Wok but line too long or not offered when we wanted it.

Carnival price is lower so book jr suite or suite for more room.Use balcony a lot.

Would like more variety in slots but still felt they were fun and won enough to play all 6 days.

Ship public areas were too cold. Our stateroom was perfect but heard other cabins on deck 9 and little air and were hot.

We got Cheers pkg for the first time. Didn't always get our money's worth but enjoyed lattes and bottles of water. Dined the first night in your time dining room and enjoyed more expensive glasses of wine.

We feel the Scarletts steak house was better than Chops on RC. Also really enjoyed a free cooking class in that room and they served us all food after they showed us how to prepare it. Delicious.

Disappointed in live music in different areas. Thought carnival usually had more variety of music and fun to sit and listen to musicians. For some reason this didn't happen on Valor.Latin group 1 night in lobby was good.

Went to PG comedy show last night and he made us laugh a lot.

We took a great tour in Grand Turk. Rainbow Calypso by Carnival is at port and we paid

$30 for tour of downtown, salt flats and lighthouse. Our tour guide Austin was a local, educated young man who was awesome.Talked the whole time and we learned so much about this small island. Margaritaville looked very crowded when Victory joined us.

So we will still sail on Carnival for ease and value but love Royal Caribbean food and perks being Diamond Plus.

We also just returned from the same cruise and agree with most of your review. This was my 15th cruise overall on various cruise lines since the 1980s. I had not been on Carnival since 2010 and the most recent 4 cruises were on Royal Caribbean. I was somewhat disappointed in the ship since it just had an upgrade. I agree that many areas looked dated and worn.

The good - Price was better than RCI, Embarkation was easy, Room size was bigger than RCI, Burrito Bar, Guy's Burgers, Wok and Fish & Chips were all excellent, Self Debarkation was great - we were at the airport in Orlando by 9:00 AM.

The not so good - Nothing was really "bad", just a lot of things seemed a little less than what we experienced on RCI - food choices in the MDR and Lido Buffet seemed limited and very "Americanized" (we like to try a variety of foods we may not usually get to eat), service in the MDR was hit or miss, the shows were below average, scheduling of shows at night was inconsistent with times and it was difficult to see the early comedy show, the show in the main theater and also eat in the MDR, most of the staff did not seem very friendly or helpful compared to RCI.

There was a much more casual dress on board, in the MDR and on formal nights than what we were used to. I realize this is a matter of choice and has been discussed many times on these boards. We just prefer to have dinner in the MDR and feel like we are some place special, but even on formal nights many were dressed in shorts, t-shirts and flip-flops. I understand that Carnival does not want to upset guests by not allowing them in the MDR, but maybe they could have one deck for casual and one for more formal.

We had a good time and nothing was horrible, but we will probably stick with RCI for future cruises unless there is at least a $ 200/ pp difference in the price on the same itinerary.

I have been on the Valor before & will be sailing on her again in July. I very much appreciate the reviews on here, but would love it if someone would post some pics of the upgrades. :)

Enjoyed your review.

Keith

Great honest review.

No flames here. Well written and you gave an honest opinion in an appropriate way. I agree with what you say about carnivals entertainment, it's hit or miss. But for me, I don't cruise for that, so that doesn't effect my time on a cruise in any way. Also, those stupid pinhole signs....I agree with that as well (was on the Valor two years ago). Glad you had a good time though and thank you for writing!

I thought this was a good review. No over the top comments about how this or that are the WORST thing ever.

One thing about the comedy that I like. They usually have a few comedians throughout a typical cruise. So if one isn't good, hopefully there will be others.

How hard was it to find a lounge chair in a decent location? I don't care about that but my wife does.

I thought this was a good review. No over the top comments about how this or that are the WORST thing ever.

 

One thing about the comedy that I like. They usually have a few comedians throughout a typical cruise. So if one isn't good, hopefully there will be others.

 

How hard was it to find a lounge chair in a decent location? I don't care about that but my wife does.

For the most part, we didn't have problems finding somewhere. Of course, sea days are the hardest and if a good movie is showing on the Lido deck, you'll have more problems. Serenity got busy, but we were pretty lucky finding something every time.

Thanks for the compliments, folks. I tried to put everything in perspective. As I said somewhere else, all of the popular cruise lines are 90% the same and it's the 10% that makes the difference, which will always create lovers and haters. I'm just sorry I didn't take pictures.

We had a good time and nothing was horrible, but we will probably stick with RCI for future cruises unless there is at least a $ 200/ pp difference in the price on the same itinerary.

This a great point cause value is important to some cruisers and to others they want the Titanic experience (without the iceberg ;) ), and some in between.

Thanks for your review. I was very interested since there has not been much said about the Valor since the dry dock. We will be on the July 8 sailing and will probably do my short review as always.

JT - could you please give a little more information on the Self Debarkation? How early did you head for the gangway?? Did they make clear and audible announcements once you were docked and the ship was cleared?? Did you use a car service to get to MCO?? We have a 130pm flight - sounds like we'll be fine if we do the Self DB?? Thanks a million!

OP - Great balanced, concise review - thanks a million. We too are returning to CCL after several cruises on NCL (tough to pull us away as we are now platinum and receiving generous offers from the Casinos at Sea program). Had a blast on CCL as a family years ago and hoping for a great time next week - hope hubby earns the DOU early [emoji12]

May rethink the Chef's Table based on your comments - is it too late for next week??

If our cruise is anything to go by, no, it's not too late. We didn't book until Tuesday (six day cruise sailed on the Sunday!) and there was room left then. Unlike NCL, there were two opportunities to do the Chef's Table on our sailing, so we had no issues booking on board.

I would book as early as you can, though, so you won't be disappointed!