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Carnival Valor Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

princess7777

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 4-6 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 16

Overall rating:

3.5 out of 5

5 Night Western Caribbean (Galveston Roundtrip)

Sail date: July 01, 2017

Ship: Carnival Valor

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 9262

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 7 years ago

Review summary

Choose another 5 day cruise. Subpar food and weak entertainment. Pools are small and packed with kids. Unless you want to take have a 5 day vacation with your neighbors...this isn't the cruise for you.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Easy and fast.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

Main dining room dinner was just ok. The Buffett had more options but the food was nothing to rave about.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Casino was fun. The pools are small and packed with kids and unable to really just sit, relax, and enjoy.

Entertainment

3 out of 5

The evening show and entertainers were fun. The female lead singer was amazing but unfortunately the male lead singer wasn't.

Children's Programs

I didn't travel with children.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

This ship could use a good power wash and cleaning.

Cabin / Stateroom

2 out of 5

Do not choose this cabin unless you want to hear the pool pipes draining all day and night. It was very loud.

Ship tip

Be prepared for a rough bunch of guests on this cruise. Don't expect gourmet food and top notch entertainment. This cruise will ruin a first time cruiser's desire to every sail again!!

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Galveston, Texas

1 out of 5

Cozumel, Mexico

5 out of 5

Best part of the cruise!! Beach/ocean was breathtaking! Choose any other excursion besides the Deluce Catamaran Snorkel Beach... the excursion took us to snorkel within 5 min of the ship at port- to an area of ocean with little to 0 vegetation. The only reason we saw any fish was because then tour guide in the water had some type of fish bait in his pocket- leading the fish to him.

Thumbs Up 4

Progreso (Merida), Mexico

5 out of 5

Uxmal Mayan Ruins Great trip!! Worth the drive!!

Thumbs Up 2

Disembarkation

5 out of 5

15 Comments

mason2x 7 years ago

I hope so. It's gonna cost me a small fortune but we love our employees and have wanted to do this for years. My Secretary wants to just get drunk with me the 4 days...😆

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DFromATX 7 years ago

LOL I’m sure y’all will have a great time.

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mason2x 7 years ago

Looks like I'm going on the Valor again so I'll eat my words. Taking my employees on a 4 day as a way to let everyone unwind from working so hard.

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DFromATX 7 years ago

@mason2x, I hate to tell you this, but I’m pretty sure the valor was recently renovated. I was on it December 2016. I didn’t like it much either. I was on the cruise that they switched with the liberty. I thought it was very outdated and won’t go on it again. I’ve been on the magic twice, which was way nicer. Next is the breeze. Never again the valor though.

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hookem72 7 years ago

When you decide to take a summer cruise, you accept the fact that you will have a lot of kids on the ship. Summer = vacation time for families.

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jbbinder 7 years ago

terber, serenity decks are still adult only. I'm talking about the (formerly) adult only swimming pools on the aft of the ship (usually deck 9). Those are now "family friendly"; translation "little germ bag havens".

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mason2x 7 years ago

Our July 1st cruise on Valor had 1200 kids on board. I can honestly say we never noticed. But then again we never use the pools. I thought the food was the best out of my 12 cruises on Carnival. My only complaint was the horrible mattress. My back is still messed up. I've never had such a worn out mattress before. It had a huge dip in the middle. We asked for it to be flipped but it still sucked. This was also our first time cruising in July. Wasn't bad but wasn't my favorite kind of crowd. We still enjoyed ourselves and had a great time. Wouldn't cruise Valor again though until it's dry docked. It needs some serious renovations. The ship is showing it's wear and tear.

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Grownsexy 7 years ago

Any 5 day cruise in the summer going to be packed. Just saying.

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terber1968 7 years ago

Oh damn when did that change? I was on the Breeze in February and the Serenity area was still adult only. Wow! ð²

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jbbinder 7 years ago

terber1968, FYI: there are no longer "adult pools" on most Carnival ships as of this spring. The former "adult only" pools in the aft are now "family friendly", full of screaming, shrieking kids splashing and running around like banshees. Kind if killed the quiet relaxed vibe back there.

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terber1968 7 years ago

Then use the adult pools. I've never had an issue.

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GIL155 7 years ago

Yes, one of the complaints, but one if the facts. Cruise in summer, and you are cruising with a lot of families. Nothing wrong. Most kids like cruising too!

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kimberly1272 7 years ago

I've cruised on the summer several times and it's never been this crowded. I can say we have learned our lesson.

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jbbinder 7 years ago

Re the kids, if you're cruising in the summer, that's what you get.

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kimberly1272 7 years ago

The pools was so crowded. My 18 and 11 year old boys didn't want to even swim. it was packed with adults drinking and toddlers with swimming vest on.

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