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Carnival
Valor
7 Day Western Caribbean

Joe

Age: 27
Occupation: Information Technology Analyst
Number of Cruises: 2

If there’s anyone out there with the misconception that Carnival is strictly a ‘party boat’ line, READ THIS REVIEW.

I had only cruised once prior to this voyage. My only other cruise was on Royal Caribbean’s Adventure of the Seas to the Southern Caribbean in April 2004 – for our honeymoon. It was the best vacation experience I had ever had. My wife had since been asking me to go on a Carnival cruise with her, having been on one herself a few years prior. I had stubbornly refused, saying that I knew Carnival’s reputation as a ‘Party Boat’ and did not want that particular experience. She somehow persuaded me to try a 7-day Western Caribbean cruise on the Carnival Valor.

I was very pleasantly surprised by much of this cruise – but not by everything. Allow me to explain.

We sailed from Miami in typical “herd the cattle…er, passengers” fashion. The worst part of boarding was the traffic in port, but we had taken a shuttle bus from Miami Int’l Airport and the shuttle actually made it relatively easy. From airport to ship took approximately an hour, the majority of it spent sitting in traffic at the port.

Once on board, we were very impressed with the Valor. It is a relatively new ship and quite large. You enter into the lobby area and immediately get a sense of the boat’s theme. It’s very American. Presidents’ portraits on the lobby walls, dining rooms named after Lincoln and Washington, an Eagles Lounge, etc. We felt very comfortable and quickly went to check out our cabin.

Cabin was on Deck 6, one deck above the casino, shopping, and bar/club deck. The cabin was bigger than one of similar style and price on our Royal Caribbean ship (as was the bathroom), and we were quite pleased. The shower had a curtain and therefore felt less like a prison cell but it was not hard to flood the bathroom while using the shower. The only thing that drove us nuts with it was the fact that it happened to be located right above the casino. This wouldn’t have been a problem if it weren’t for the lounge singer who sang “rock music” just below us EVERY NIGHT until midnight – and by the way, it was the exact same set, in the exact same order, each night. If you are midship like this, I recommend going a few decks up if you can.

The food on board throughout the week met expectations. I would say that Royal Caribbean’s food quality was slightly superior, although I found the selection on Carnival to be somewhat better in terms of variety. My best meals in the dining rooms included “Delice of the Ocean” (a seafood Newburg type thing), the lobster tail, and a chicken “Carnivale” dish which was simply delightful. My wife liked the prime rib, chicken over pasta with artichokes and a turkey dinner. There were a few duds, but overall the level of service in the dining rooms made up for it. For breakfast, we frequented the buffet in Rosie’s Restaurant which was overall pretty crowded but a good place for a quick meal with an excellent selection of food. We also tried the supper club on board one night, Starlets. For $30 per person extra, we were able to eat the highest quality food on board. I had a 24 ounce porterhouse that rivaled the best steakhouses, and my wife had surf & turf (filet mignon & lobster tail) that was out of this world. Although the food in the supper club rocked, the music stunk and some of the starters were a bit too “artistic” if you know what I mean. Presentation without taste, in other words. So you need to be in the mood for that sort of thing to do the supper club.

Entertainment and activities met expectations. Shows included comedians, a hypnotist, two Vegas-style song & dance shows (including one themed around the 80s – very cool), and two we skipped (one on Mexican folklore, the other is the weekly “Valor Idol” show which didn’t interest us in the least). Casino was enjoyable (but sorry guys, no hold ‘em on this trip), clubs and in-club music was enjoyable, and all in all the experience on the ship was excellent. I do think Royal Caribbean handled Bingo much better, except for the mini-marathon on the sixth day of the cruise where folks got to play ten games on one card.

Ports of call were quite good. In Belize, we saw the Altan Hu ruins and then took a speedboat down the River Wallace where we spotted monkeys, iguanas, crocs, and manatees toward the sea. In Honduras, we spent the morning at Tabayana Beach, which was personally my favorite excursion of the cruise. Excellent beach with clean bathrooms, plenty of space, and even some naturally shady spots. In Grand Cayman, we did the “Reef and Wreck Snorkel” tour which wasn’t bad either. Two snorkeling spots close to port where we saw plenty of fish, a coral reef, and a 1930s schooner “wreck of a wreck”. (Warning on Grand Cayman: The island is very nice but very crowded, even with only three ships in port we found it too crowded to really enjoy ourselves shopping around. Leave the ship early for your shopping if you can and take the excursion in the afternoon.) In Cozumel, we drove a two-person powerboat IN THE OCEAN with several others to a private beach with literally just a few excursion groups and nothing else around for miles. This was fun but a bit scary for folks who had never power boated before, and it was also very bumpy due to the waves. In my opinion, be prepared to be a little achy after this one due to the jostling in the boat, and it also helps if you let the most nervous person do the driving since that means they won’t be a nervous passenger.

Note: In Cozumel, our guide told us that this was “low season” and that during the “busy season” in November/December there can be up to 18 ships in port at once. There were only 3 in Cozumel during our stay and it still seemed busy, so be prepared depending on when you cruise for some crowds.

The worst part about the cruise was leaving the ship. I am not saying this for sentimental reasons but for logistical reasons. We chose to do “early debarkation” since we had a flight just before noon. The boat handled our luggage, and supposedly around 8:30 AM we would be let off the ship to get through customs and get our bags before general debarkers with flights after 12:00. Well, we didn’t get off the boat until 9:30 AM, the line for customs lasted what seemed like forever, the shuttle back to the airport wouldn’t leave until he had a full busload, and then my wife and I did what could have resembled an “Amazing Race” sprint to our gate. Had it not been for other impatient late people on our bus and my wife’s social skills in the airport security line, we would have missed our flight. As it was, we were literally the last two people on the plane and boarded ten seconds before they shut the doors and pulled away from the gate. Here’s the moral of the story: IF YOU CAN GET YOUR OWN LUGGAGE OFF THE SHIP, DO IT. CHOOSE ‘SELF-ASSISTED DEBARKATION’ NO MATTER HOW DIFFICULT IT MAY SEEM. It is worth its weight in gold timewise.

Overall, this was an excellent cruise experience and dispelled my misconception of Carnival as strictly a ‘Party Boat’ line. It actually can be whatever you want it to be, partying or otherwise. Just ask the folks who returned to the ship from Cozumel’s social establishments at 11:00 PM at night!

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