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Item: Carnival Valor
Rating: 4
Author: Chadscott

Carnival Valor Cruise Review

Chadscott

Contributor Level: Second Mate

107 Days Till Next Cruise

Cruises: 2-3 cruises

Reviews: 2

Helpful Votes: 63

Overall rating:

4 out of 5

5 Night Western Caribbean (New Orleans Roundtrip)

Sail date: August 03, 2019

Ship: Carnival Valor

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 3 years ago

Review summary

It is an older ship, but overall I was happy with the cruise.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Smooth process for us in the port of New Orleans. We selected a later arrival time, and didn’t have to wait in line too long to check in, and get on the ship.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5

Overall the food wasn’t bad. I had cruised once before on Carnival in 2003, and the food was not good. I did not have high expectations. MDR food wasn’t great, but was good for what we selected. It’s what I expected it to be for a kitchen cranking out a large amount of meals, quickly.

Pizza Pirate

4 out of 5

We enjoyed the pizza, and the delivery was fairly quick. Tasty.

BlueIguana Cantina

5 out of 5

I only got to eat here once, and that was on embarkation day. I loved the tacos I got, and was sad that I did not get a chance to make it back there for breakfast or lunch on the remainder of the days. I believe they close earlier than some of the other food options.

Alchemy Bar

5 out of 5

Great drinks, and great bartenders. They took a day or two to warm up to us, but in the end they were very friendly. Two of them had heard it was my birthday earlier in the day when we did an alchemy drinking class, and they went on a search for me that evening to give me a birthday muffin. We loved all of the drinks on the menu. They made my day extra special.

Lincoln Dining Room

3 out of 5

The servers were great. They remembered out names, and what we liked. I know that’s their job, but it was always nice to be taken care of at dinner. Food wasn’t great, but good. Pleasantly surprised.

Scarlett's Steakhouse

4 out of 5

I’ve had better steakhouse meals on land, but you can’t beat the $35/person charge. It’s worth the money to get better quality food that is served in the MDR. I would eat at a Carnival steakhouse again. The server was friendly, and did not mind us ordering several dishes off the menu.

Guy's Burger Joint

5 out of 5

Great burgers, and loads of toppings to choose from. Highly recommend for pool day lunch, snack, and dinner!

The Chef's Table

5 out of 5

Chefs Table was great. It’s a little expensive, but nothing compared to what you would have to pay for that type of experience on land. The food was great, as well as the presentation. The servers, chef, sous chefs, and magicians were entertaining.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

There could be more activities to do. We did putt putt golf, pools, and the spa (dry sauna and steam room).

Entertainment

3 out of 5

We went to one comedy show, but didn’t make it to see any of the performance shows. Comedy show was just okay.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Every staff member we encountered was very friendly. Room steward was great.

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

I’m not a fan of white ships, and I’m happy that Carnival will slowly be painting their ships with the blue at the front. When we arrived at the port, you could see a lot of rust stains. It made the ship look cheap, and not well maintained on the exterior of the ship. The interior of the ship was clean, and nice.

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5

Cabins are dated, but not much they can do about that. The room was clean, but the air did not work very well. I had read reviews that this was an issue in a lot of cabins. We were never uncomfortably hot, but the air was not super cold.

Ports of call

Progreso (Merida), Mexico

3 out of 5

The port wasn’t great, but we enjoyed our excursion. If I did this cruise again, I may would just stay on the ship.

Thumbs Up 1

Cozumel, Mexico

5 out of 5

Great port, and a lot of shops. Food options right off the port weren’t great, but decent.

Thumbs Up 2

New Orleans, Louisiana

5 out of 5

Disembarkation

5 out of 5

It went a lot smoother than I had thought. We were on a lower level, so disembarking was fairly simple. The crowds like of early, and no one listens to the order of the decks to disembark.

9 Comments

Gwbigdog 2 years ago

Thanks for sharing your cruise.

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Taspinall 3 years ago

Thanks for sharing my best friend and I are doing this exact cruise in November

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javawoody 3 years ago

Glad you enjoyed your cruise thanks for sharing

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Curt34 3 years ago

Thanks for the review. Glad you enjoyed your cruise.

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CruiseQueenNH 3 years ago

Nice!

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izrgreen 3 years ago

Glad you enjoyed yourself. Thank you for sharing your experience with all of us.

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AuntPinkie 3 years ago

Thanks for sharing your experience. Glad you enjoyed your cruise!🛳

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profile 3 years ago

Sounds like a great trip.

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picalo 3 years ago

while I was a little taken back with "im not a fan of white a ships" this is a great review.. I hope to sail her . glad your cruise was good.

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