Valor to Western Caribbean

Item: Carnival Valor
Rating: 4.4
Author: ablaze

Carnival Valor Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

ablaze

Contributor Level: Second Mate

201 Days Till Next Cruise

Cruises: 4-6 cruises

Reviews: 5

Helpful Votes: 133

Overall rating:

4.4 out of 5

5 Night Western Caribbean (Galveston Roundtrip)

Sail date: September 17, 2018

Ship: Carnival Valor

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 6429

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 6 years ago

Review summary

We always enjoy our time on a cruise. We like all the options for activities and entertainment. We aren't crazy about the food on cruise ships but have learned a few things we like. Carnival is affordable and they go out of their way to make sure you have fun and feel like you're being served well!

Embarkation

5 out of 5

This was one of the easiest and quickest embarkation experiences yet! Almost no waiting in lines. It was literally 10 min from the time we got inside the cruise terminal to on the boat!

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5

We felt the dining room was a little better this time, though still not great. Breakfast in the dining room is really good, but your experience depends on who you are seated with at the table. Breakfast in lido is terrible! You're better off in the dining room (Washington) or you can get a breakfast burrito at the Iguana Bar...delicious! There was no good coffee on the last morning. That was bad news! The dispensers were not working or had watered down coffee. They were serving from carafes but the cup I had tasted so burnt that I couldn't drink it. Many of the juice dispensers were water also, and the bottomless bubbles doesn't work on the last day when you're leaving the boat. The steakhouse is the only specialty restaurant we've had and it was phenomenal. The buffet for supper is very...meh. If we ended up at the buffet for some reason we ate a lot of snack type foods. But Guys' Burgers is amazing!!! They really need to extend their hours a little though so that if you don't like the menu for that day in the dining room you could make sure to catch a burger. OH! Little known secret is the deli window open from lunch until 11pm! Great sandwiches (hot and cold), hot dogs, fries, and potato salad.

Washington Dining Room

4 out of 5

We had seated breakfasts here. The food was pretty good. Service great. Seating with others can be pleasant, or....interesting.

Skybox Sports Bar

4 out of 5

Staff is awesome here! Love having the opportunity to watch the games. Wish they had food or at least snacks available. This was something included and so appreciated on the MSC cruise line!

Rosie's Restaurant

3 out of 5

Seemed fresh but we never like the food on lido.

Redfrog Pub

5 out of 5

OK....we got the half price fishbowl/pitcher of the blue drink. $10 and it was so strong I drank on that for 2 days!! You won't be disappointed! Watch out for happy hours listed on your daily activities.

Lincoln Dining Room

4 out of 5

Food depends on the day but the staff is great.

Guy's Burger Joint

5 out of 5

Delicious!!

Eagles Aft Lounge

5 out of 5

3 words: Punchliner Comedy Club!! (get your seats early ;) )

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5

We love Carnival for all the activities available for all ages and interests! The adult pool was a little too crowded the one time I wanted to use it. But we really use a lot of the facilities.

Guest Services / Shore Excursions

3 out of 5

Guest services less than helpful in regards to botched pre-cruise orders and price going up once on board. She even said others were complaining but there was no empathy here. And no resolution.

Entertainment

5 out of 5

Another reason we love Carnival. They have an awesome comedy club! Their musical performers on various stages are great. The shows of course are fun. The country show they had this time was not so great but the rock show was fun. The Dj's of course are so appreciated!

Carnival Seaside Theater

5 out of 5

Lots of choices. Loved early and late viewings. Thank you for closed captioning! I could hear it okay but this made me happy LOL.

Children's Programs

Service and Staff

4 out of 5

Our room steward was not as good as others, nor as friendly but all the other staff on the boat were great!

Ship Quality

4 out of 5

Clean, yes. But as many mention, could use a little refreshing especially on the private balconies.

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

The only outlet in the room left the plug almost all the way out. I was able to plug in a phone charger behind the tv. Clean and plenty of room. As mentioned, the balcony could use some refresh/refurbish.

Ship tip

Make sure to confirm any pre-cruise purchases and get a screen shot for proof. Many of us lost our pre-cruise pricing with orders that "didn't go through." Whatever. Seemed fishy! Be careful eating things late the last sea day. My hubby ended up sick on the 4 cheese pizza eaten at almost midnight. Room service is ALWAYS early. Mark the next time block instead of the one you think you want. We had to get out of bed two days for coffee before we figured this out! Pay the few extra dollars to connect with your group on the carnival hub app. It would be worth it in order to find each other! LOL. Last...keep a close eye on your daily activities list for drink specials if you don't order the Cheers package. You can get free drinks at some events. But Red Frog Pub had half price drinks including pitchers for about 2 hours per day...including boarding day!! You're welcome!

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Galveston, Texas

5 out of 5

We love Galveston. Take some time to explore this one of a kind town!

Thumbs Up 15

Progreso (Merida), Mexico

4 out of 5

Progeso was fine. I didn't hate it like many others. We just took the free shuttle over and did the 45 minute city tour with Auto Progreso for $9 per person. Well worth it! The touristy area on the beach is fine. We ate at a traditional Mayan Mexican restaurant on the corner called Eladia's. Great food, inexpensive, great drinks, great service. You won't be sorry.

Thumbs Up 12