25th anniversary cruise was not the best

On May 15 we sailed on the Carnival Valor from Port Canaveral Florida to Nassau, Amber Cove in the Dominican Republic and Grand Turk.

The best part of the cruise was the suite.  The suite was a very spacious room with large balcony, 3 chairs and the bathroom had a double sink with a whirlpool tub and shower.  The king bed was comfortable and the room stewards kept the room tidy and were not disruptive to our comings and goings.

The dining was just fair; the meals were not creative or delicious. We often ate from the standard menu since the daily menus were not varied or tasty.  Menus were not posted ahead of the meals at the dining hall so you had to go to the dining room that evening to see if the meal was something you wanted to eat. The one exception was a special meal at Scarlett's Steakhouse. The steaks were delicious and the waitresses were excellent.  It was worth the $35 per person charge since the normal dining was such a disappointment.

The ship visited Nassau which is a passenger’s nightmare.  The vendors hawk you and often don’t take no for an answer. We spent a total of 20 minutes there before returning to the ship.

Next we visited the Dominican Republic.  We didn’t realize that the Zika virus was found on this island and we were handed the notice when we embarked. It warned of the virus and suggested we wear long sleeve shirts and long pants in port plus spray with mosquito repellent.  Unfortunately we tried to buy repellent at the Fun Shop and on the island but they didn’t have spray.  

The third stop and most beautiful island was Grand Turk with many beautiful vistas and the port shopping was varied and worthwhile especially for unique island jewelry.

The Dominican and Grand Turk ports are owned by the cruise line so if you looking for alcohol bargains, the prices are the same as on the ship.

The comedy club was in the Eagle venue that couldn't accommodate the crowds. We visited the club on three consecutive night shows and it was standing room only even when we arrived 30 minutes ahead of the scheduled start time. We couldn’t understand why the Ivanhoe main hall wasn’t used since it could easily have accommodated the crowds but the Eagle venue remained even after many passengers complained.

Suffice to say that this was a special trip for us; we’ve sailed many times with Carnival and other cruise lines but this very expensive trip didn’t measure up to our expectations. We are seriously reconsidering traveling with Carnival in the future.