This cruise was great! Very much needed vacation. I go on cruises once every two years. I will not be going on another ship of the same size as the Valor. The carnival Magic ship is the minimum size I recommend to anyone. Bring it back to Galveston!
The Carnival Valor is just too small to keep the entertainment, music, and waves at a happy medium. The waves were too much for this ship. We were in the middle of the ship, and the waves were still a little too much for comfort.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Absolutely great! Easy and fast.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
The ship was great. The staff was not as happy as other cruises that I've been on. Daytime drink servers and food servers. Maybe because they are on a smaller ship? The food was good. The BBQ was a 7/10. They need different BBQ sauces!!! The sauces that they had were not good. I'm from Texas and yes, its hard to match the BBQ here, but the sauces were a 4/10. I felt like they could have advertised the BBQ better. I never saw too many people make their way up there.
Room Service
4 out of 5
Only four stars because the chocolate lava cake was not good. It was like chocolate water/soup. Honestly, please don't serve this unless it is good quality. That was the running joke amongst other cruisers everywhere we went.
Redfrog Pub
5 out of 5
Great entertainment always! Cool place to hang out.
BlueIguana Cantina
5 out of 5
Good. They could save money by making the wall of the bowl shell not so tall. They were great though!
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
The activities were great.
Pool
5 out of 5
The pool was great. They need a pool or warm tub on the serenity deck.
Serenity
5 out of 5
Great country music and peaceful!
Mini Golf
2 out of 5
I did not go, but it looked small.
Beauty Salon
4 out of 5
Great! Thank you for the pedicure!
Entertainment
5 out of 5
Shows and music were great!!! On other ships I have always loved the karaoke, but this time, I did not visit as much because it was secluded in its own room in the back of the ship.
Ivanhoe Theater
5 out of 5
Absolutely great!
Children's Programs
No kids.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Arjana was great! He cleaned our room and was always in the hallway to greet us. He asked us when we would like our room to be cleaned. He did an excellent job! Everton was our dinner waiter. He was the best waiter I have ever had on any of my cruises! He was lighthearted and really loved his job! If I was a part of the carnival executive management, I would keep him, move him to a more luxury ship, or give him a raise. I also noticed Everton at the morning sit down brunch serving other tables. He was very consistent with his customer service. I felt like I was dinning at a very upscale restaurant. GREAT JOB Everton!!! I hop I see you on future cruises!
My wife loved her nail lady as she got a pedicure on the ship at the spa. I do not know her name.
T.J. the cruise director . . . he was fun, but please, 30 announcements a day that are all too long. I don't remember this on my other cruises. I'm not sure if this is something new, or if its just his personality, but the announcements were very long always. This was a bit annoying. A simple "head over to the theater everyone" was literally three minutes long. He's great for that job...just shorten the announcements.
Ship Quality
2 out of 5
I am comparing this ship to the Carnival Magic (I've been on twice) and another cruise line. The only things I noticed about the ship that were filthy were the windows. The windows on my balcony, room window, windows at the aft pool looking out onto the water, windows just about anywhere on the ship looking to the sea from inside of the ship were all filthy. I would like to know why. I don't remember this on the Carnival Magic at all. I am being too hard on the Valor just because the Magic was so much better. The weight room is small, physical activities on the main decks are very minimal.
The steam room (sauna) in the gym was not working. I thought they would have had this figured out by the second or third day, but it was out of order for the entire five days.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
The windows outside on the balcony were dirty. I tried to wipe the balcony glass rail on the inside and outside with only water and a towel. That did not work. Everything else with the cabin was just fine.
Ship tip
Be sure to go to the shows after your dinner!!! If you don't do this, you are missing out.
We did not get off of the ship, because it appeared that there was nothing to do. We did not attend "what to do in Progresso" with the cruise director T.J.
Definitely a different review than most you see on here. Thoughtful and informative, both positive and negative, actually how a good review should be! 👍
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