Carnival Chaos Abounds!

Carnival Valor Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

Cruises: 2-3 cruises
Reviews: 0
Helpful Votes: 7

Overall rating:

1 out of 5
Verified Review
Carnival Valor

7 Night Exotic Western Caribbean (Miami Roundtrip)

Sail date: May 28, 2006

Ship: Carnival Valor

Cabin type: Balcony

Traveled as: Large Group

Reviewed: 18 years ago

Review summary

Carnival made an inexcusable mess of the tendering process when we visited Grand Cayman. We gathered in the Ivanhoe as directed and at 8:45 am a crew member yelled "Everyone for StingRay City- this way!" and proceded to RUN! We grabbed our stuff as fast as possible and tried to follow, but there were 5000 non-touring people in the same stairwell trying to get a tender. We were told if we booked a trip through Carnival that we'd get priority in getting a tender, but this was SO not true. Who ever ran down there the fastest got the first boat. We asked other crew members for help or directions, but they just shrugged (probably didn't understand what we were saying.) We missed the tender that took the fastest runners of the group, and nearly missed the tour. Carnival personnel couldn't care less. When we complained to the Purser's desk, they said to go tell Shore Excursions. Shore Excursions said to complain to the Purser's desk (!) Shore Excursions also blamed other passengers for not following the directions to wait (I never heard any such directions and anyway, you can't expect people to be so self-restrained.)

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

1 out of 5
This is a hard category to review because while the dinners were really excellent the breakfasts were AWFUL and the lunches were mediocre. Service was only good at dinner.

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Service and Staff

1 out of 5
The only really great staff were our night-time waiter and our cabin stewardess. ALL the rest of the staff have severe problems with English, to the point where they mostly just shrug or look panicked if you ask a question. They were all very friendly, just unable to help in any way due to the language barriers.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Ports of call

Belize City, Belize

5 out of 5
We loved our snorkling trip, but don't believe Carnival that there's great shopping here. It was mainly very touristy, over priced junk
Don't Miss: Goff's Cay Snorkling

Coxen Hole, Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras

5 out of 5
Don't Miss: Dolphin Encounter

George Town, Grand Cayman

3 out of 5
We went to StingRay City and it was a fun trip. It is probably one you should opt for the early morning time, though, as by the time we visited (noon-ish) the Sting Rays were pretty scarce.

Costa Maya (Mahahual), Mexico

1 out of 5
This "created port" has been renamed Costa Crap by our group. It was nothing but really junky junk at outrageous prices. Our fellow cruisers got very drunk and stood in the pool ALL afternoon. Since they drank the whole time and never left the pool to use the restroom, you do the math. The beach is rocky and inaccessible. What a complete waste. Cozumel was 1000 times better.
Don't Miss: Your ship's cabin.

Pros: Some shore excursions/ the dinner meal

Cons: Complete lack of order and organization during all tendered trips/debarkation

Was this review helpful? 8

Be the first to comment

Other reviews of this sailing