Some good, some not so good... Overall enjoyable!

Carnival Valor Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern

Cruises: 1 cruise (first)
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 49

Overall rating:

4 out of 5
Verified Review
Carnival Valor

7 Night Eastern Caribbean (Port Canaveral Roundtrip)

Sail date: December 19, 2015

Ship: Carnival Valor

Cabin type: Inside

Cabin number: 7387

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 8 years ago

Review summary

We cruised over Christmas this year, first cruise for me so I hadn't idea what to expect. Overall it was so much fun, we will definitely cruise again and id be lying if I said I hadn't already started looking, ha! The at sea days are long and not in if the weather is not good! Ugh. If the weather is good, you're golden! The staff was like the food, hit or miss. We had some of the best experiences with the room stewards and the main dining room staff. The service on the Lido deck was not good at all with the exception of a few. There was a bartender who's name I wish I got who made popcorn for the movies and was simply miserable! On the other hand Min in the Washington dining room was AWESOME! The food was good and even great at times but id caution to stay away from some of it too. The entertainment was good- the movies were great, the comedy shows were good, the shows in the Ivanhoe with cruise participants were hysterical. The only thing is that the bulk of the things we wanted to do were at crappy times which conflicted with our dinner. The food was great the first day but we were over it by the end of the week. It is a constant reimagining of the same food from day 1 really. Mongolian wok is DELICIOUS. Yum! The ship itself needs a revamp but was very clean and the cleaning staff takes a lot of pride in their work. We were super disappointed in the lack of Christmas decorations. It should have been over the top IMO but was scarce to say the least. There are plenty of lounge chairs to soak up the sun in and some quiet places on board where you can get a break from the crowd, we played cards in winston's bar during downtime. The kids clubs were also a huge hit with the teens. Nice to give them a place to meet friends and hang out! Really enjoyed our first cruise, looking forward to the next!!

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5
Food was hit or miss in the main dining rooms, some of it was AMAZING, some not so much! Highly recommend the Mongolian Wok and pizza pirate when dining on the Lido!

Entertainment

The shows were funny! There was a love and marriage and gender war show that were hilarious! The comedy shows were overall good. Thea vidale (?) was awful. Serious. One thing carnival needs to consider is late dining vs entertainment... We chose late dining due to our port times and many days the only good shows occurred during our dinner time. And quite frankly nobody wants to miss dinner in the dining room to eat on the Lido deck... Again.

Children's Programs

5 out of 5
Circle c was awesome for my son! Lots to do and he made great friends! He had a great time which meant I could have a great time!

Service and Staff

3 out of 5
Min rocked, he was part of our main dining room team... such a great smile and just happy to be part of your experience! Loved him!

Ship Quality

3 out of 5
Very clean, but definitely needs a face lift. What's with the women welding decor? Weird.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
Small but roomier than expected! Lots of closet space and suitcases fit right under the beds! Lots of shelving in bathroom and the shower is small but stays hot!

Ship tip

For quiet time visit winstons bar in the afternoons. We played cards there before dinner many days!

Ports of call

Port Canaveral, Florida

5 out of 5
Awesome embarkation and disembarkation.

Amber Cove (Puerto Plata), Dominican Republic

5 out of 5
We booked an excursion through Marysol Tours , loved it!!!!!

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas

1 out of 5
Costly cabs! Book an excursion here, we didn't and regretted it.

San Juan, Puerto Rico

5 out of 5
Take the free trolley to the historical sites and the public bus runs all over the city, we took it to the beach $0.75 per person!

Grand Turk Island

5 out of 5
Chukka snorkeling is awesome!
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3 Comments

lilhickoryhorse    8 years ago

We were also on this cruise. wait staff and room stewards were fabulous. enjoyed the comedy shows but wish they would have had them in another venue. Eagles lounge was to small to accommodate most shows as they were always packed because they were good. I too thought the Christmas decorations would be more but all in all we had a great trip :) can't wait to go again!

terry115    8 years ago

Welcome to cruising

pennys    8 years ago

Use YouTube and get a lot of ideas and once in a cruise never do anything else

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