ROMANTIC CARNIVAL CRUISE

Item: Carnival Valor
Rating: 4.9
Author: BobbyPatton

Carnival Valor Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

BobbyPatton

Contributor Level: First Mate

61 Days Till Next Cruise

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 5

Helpful Votes: 148

Overall rating:

4.9 out of 5

5 Night Western Caribbean (Galveston Roundtrip)

Sail date: October 20, 2018

Ship: Carnival Valor

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 6 years ago

Review summary

We are seasoned Carnival Cruisers- WE ABSOLUTELY LOVED THE VALOR - taking into consideration this is not a brand new ship and a smaller ship you get a TON of bang for your buck - TOP NOTCH AS USUAL CARNIVAL!

Embarkation

5 out of 5

We parked our car in lot A and we’re on the ship in 20 minutes- I think it was the fastest embarkation we’ve ever had !

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

The food was good - no better or worse than the other carnival cruises we’ve been on .

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5

Entertainment

5 out of 5

We love the nightly dive in movies - it’s one of the things we love the most about cruising- TJ was our cruise director and was quite funny and rememberable

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

One of the reasons we are due hard carnival cruisers is due to the friendly staff and the attention to detail. We had a wonderful stateroom steward named Richard from India - He was hands down the best we’ve ever had - very time we left our room we came back to fresh towels and a super clean room and He was a Joy to talk to .

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

We didn’t know if we would like the valor because we usually sail on the bigger class ships - we were blown away though ! We absolutely loved this ship - so much so that I would now consider it my second favorite ship in carnivals fleet !

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

We are one of the few people who actually love interior rooms - you shut the lights out at night and you have pitch black - and the best nights sleep as a result - of course the balconies are wonderful and a little bigger but you just can’t beat that pitch black wonderful nights sleep !

Ship tip

Understand that this is not the Horizon! It’s a smaller older ship that your paying about half of the price of a new ship - with that being taken into consideration the Valor is a steal of a deal ! Cleanly ship - great food - great service - you still get all carnival has to offer at a cheaper price on a smaller older ship !

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Ports of call

Galveston, Texas

5 out of 5

We have actually grown to love Galveston over the years. I originally posted a bad review about it but I wanted to revisit the subject now years later and explain that I was simply unfamiliar with this quaint town and the first time we visited we stayed at a horrible hotel and as a result had an awful time. Since then however we’ve begun to stay at hotel Galvez which is an amazing Hotel. Gorgeous grounds , first class accommodations and located beside the ocean. We now, years later absolutely love Galveston and look forward to staying here and walking the beach the night before. We were simply unfamiliar with the tourist trap hotels that take advantage of the fact they are located in a tourist destination and take advantage of that by doing no repairs and still charging top dollar upwards of $250 per evening. Do your homework before you go and give it a chance a few times to get familiar and you will have a wonderful time and begin to look forward to staying here !

Thumbs Up 16

Cozumel, Mexico

5 out of 5

We LOVE PARADISE BEACH - EVERYONE says to go to Mr.Sanchos but I will tell you that we aren’t huge drinkers and it’s only $3 yes THREE DOLLARS to enter and the food and drink is very reasonably priced - and the resort is absolutely breathtaking! Do yourself a favor and try it out !

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Progreso (Merida), Mexico

5 out of 5

PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THIS PORT IS THE “REAL” Mexico - it has not been Americanized like Cozumel - it’s gritty - it’s real - you will be approached 200 times by people legitimately trying to make a living - however I love seeing this “real” “raw” “unamericanized” port - you have to go in knowing what to expect - take the bus to the beach - get 2 chairs and an umbrella for $10 and sit back and enjoy - you will be approached ... ALOT ! But all you have to do is say no and they will leave immediately- I actually love it here - you get to see the real deal - PS stop at the market on the way to the beach - very cool !

Thumbs Up 23

Disembarkation

1 out of 5

Worst debarkation EVER ! We are seasoned cruisers and this was hands down a CLUSTER ! TJ the cruise director I think meant well but slowed the process down like crazy - every 2 seconds telling people he would send them back to deck 5 if they tried to leave early - actually standing at the exit and checking people’s cards to see what floor they were on and turning them back around and sending them back up to floor 5 - this was a first and we did not get off the ship until 10:30 !!!! Never have we ever been on a ship until 10:30 and we were by no means the last people off - a complete disaster I think due to someone power tripping about getting off the ship - we waited our turn just like always but I definitely saw the problem was 1 person slowing the process WAAAYYYY DOWWNNN ! That being said it’s literally my only complaint about the entire cruise !

Traveler Photos

8 Comments

cruisingrayman 6 years ago

Great class of ship! Love them all, but this class is a sweet spot.

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AdaV 6 years ago

I was on the Valor in 2011 and it is still my favorite

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ronnyclicks 6 years ago

Loved the second floor to eat on the lido buffet

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LightHouseDad 6 years ago

The Carnival Valor is our Favorite! You are not alone with inside cabins. Best nights sleep ever. It makes the vacation better because everyone is so well rested. We have now started going back to booking inside rooms for that reason. PS: I have often wondered about the direction of the beds in an inside room vs. a balcony room. When you enter an inside room you are at the foot of the bed where a balcony room you will be at the side of the bed. Does that make sense? We sleep better with our beds Port to Starboard (side to side) as front to back in a balcony room. Maybe this is just me. Thoughts....

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tlwelch63 6 years ago

balcony oops

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tlwelch63 6 years ago

going on an Anniverary 💕 cruise with the Hubby. I so enjoy reading all the tid bits. We will be in the AFT extended Balcany on Empress level

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countrycurry 6 years ago

Loved valor.

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Squiffy3 6 years ago

Glad to hear it. We feel the same. Well said

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