We sailed on the Valor to the ports of Half Moon Cay, Charlotte Amalie, San Juan and Grand Turk. My husband's parents were celebrating 66 years of wedded bliss, and I had won six cruises (thank you Fisher Boy!), so we took them and his brother and partner with us. Generally we do adventure travel, booking our own out of the way destinations and hiking, birdwatching, kayaking, cycling and snorkeling in remote areas such as Raja Empat, the Moskitia Coast or the Keralan highlands.

Our cruise was a pleasant surprise. Our stateroom was spotless, adequately sized and the service was impeccable. We spent some time scouting out the ship and settled on eating on the upper deck by the fish and chips when we used the buffet - great view and quiet, recommended elsewhere on these boards. Got a little more crowded as the week went by and other folks discovered it. Note - there is no easy elevator access, you have to climb a flight of stairs, so when we ate at the buffet with the parents of 85 and 90, we stayed on the 9th deck. Dinners we ate in the Washington room at a table with a great sea view. Service and food were wonderful. Two tables next to us had children who were quite well-behaved and the waiters went out of their way to entertain them with little magic and dancing bits. The magician even dropped by one dinner for them. We attended his magic demo and he was quite good, especially with the kids.

The shows were good - nothing like Broadway, but fun to watch. Both singers and dancers were of good quality. The one "headliner" was Marcus Anthony - we went to see him both shows - a thorough pro though we had not heard of him before. Comedians were OK for a club night, though Leighann Lord was quite good. Read more