SLIGHTLY DISAPPOINTED

Carnival Valor Cruise Review to Caribbean - Southern

KGFOSTER

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 37

Overall rating:

3 out of 5

8 Night Southern Caribbean (Port Canaveral Roundtrip)

Sail date: July 16, 2016

Ship: Carnival Valor

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 8255

Traveled as: Family (young children)

Reviewed: 8 years ago

Review summary

My favorite part of the cruise was that I chose to buy a cabin with a Balcony! That made the difference for the trip. I am spoiled and will never cruise again without a balcony. The weather was great and the ocean outside my cabin everyday was calming and beautiful.

I think the quality of the food has gotten worse - it's just not as inspired as it used to be. One night they served Macaroni and Cheese with one slice of bacon and a piece of chicken. Strange!

The biggest disappointment was that I travelled with my 14 year old son who was VERY excited to make new friends and to have some good teen time on the cruise. The program for his age group Circle C was poorly organized and the fact that my son attended each event and made NO friends at all is a testament to the leadership. He said that they did very little to none ice-breaking exercises and his biggest interaction was trying to get on a video game and not being allowed to play. My son, who is slightly shy but one of the most popular kids in his school in Atlanta, was shocked that he was not able to meet any other teens due to the poor leadership of Circle C. This program needs to be be reviewed. Throwing a bunch of teens in a room with video games is NOT a Teen Program.

Also, the VALOR was an older ship, very small (only 2 dining rooms) a 45 minute wait each night for Anytime Dining which is a good idea in theory but the service was not nearly as good as it is in a proper seating and the wait is not realistic!

The one little wave pool was SOOO small. The ship is too small too accommodate the amount of guests it can hold.

I was thrilled to be on vacation but was sorely disappointed with the ship.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

1 out of 5

Quality of the food has gone down a lot! Macaroni and Cheese with one strip of bacon and chicken? !

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Chess, Mini golf and a slide. Not enough!

Entertainment

1 out of 5

There was no entertainment. What happened to the good shows? It was just comedians the whole trip. Very disappointed.

Children's Programs

1 out of 5

See comments above. The Circle C Program was terrible for teens. It was just about video games and the kids get no social interaction and it is a lazy way of handling these teens.

Service and Staff

3 out of 5

The Any Time Dining option is only good in theory. To wait nearly an hour each night for dinner was ridiculous and the personalized service is not existent with this program.

Ship Quality

1 out of 5

Ship is too small! And there is nothing to do on it. The Casino is the only real draw and for those who do not gamble, it was not a good ship at all. AND, the steam room was broken the whole time.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5