Carnival Valor Review

Absolutely loved our first cruise March 30-April 6!

Review for the Southern Caribbean Cruise on Carnival Valor
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snowyowl57
First Time Cruiser • Age 60s

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Sail Date: Mar 2014

My husband and I have been travelling to all-inclusive resorts in the Caribbean for 13 years and wanted to try something different. As a background we are from Canada, in our late fifties and we eat 99% of our meals at home. We were excited and nervous because everything was new including cruising, having to get taxis and booking the hotel online but our whole week was great. We picked the Valor for our first cruise mainly because of the island stops and because Cruise Critic recommended it for first time cruisers. There were a few minor glitches but on the whole we enjoyed the cruise and would definitely go back on the Valor to do an excursion on each of the islands at different times. We only did one booked excursion because our holiday is to relax and doing an excursion at every stop would not be relaxing for us. Being it was our first cruise we thoroughly enjoyed relaxing on the ship and we usually stayed in the serenity area because there was a bit of shade here, the padded chairs were comfortable and we liked the peace and quiet. The only time it took us a while to find a spot was on the full day at sea which fortunately was only the one day.

Our room was on deck one and located forward aft behind the elevators and for us the location was great- we were one level away from disembarking on the islands, we were two floors away from our main dining room- the Lincoln room, close to the lobby and we could reach the Lido deck in a matter of minutes via the elevator.The room was larger than expected and we were pleased with the space, cupboards and shelves in washroom and we found the bed very comfortable. The only problem was with our safe- I had to get housekeeping once to open it because the card wouldn’t work and then I had to change cards 3 other times because they stopped working, those times it wouldn’t relock so didn’t have to call anyone but it was annoying- I’m glad I had extra cards to use. I much prefer the electronic safes with number key pad. We had no problems with noise from neighbors and at night we kept the tv on until things quietened down in the hall. We could hear the ping from the elevator but it wasn’t enough of a problem that kept us awake and we didn’t need to use earplugs at any time.

We had anytime dining and would certainly go that way again. We were asked most times if we wanted to join others which we did and enjoyed talking with new people. We both enjoyed the variety and selection of foods offered at the buffet and dining areas- my husband is on a low carb and gluten free diet and has been having a hard time at some all-inclusive resorts in finding enough variety to choose from and he didn’t have any problems on our cruise. The only negative was the smoking allowed in the outside dining area on the Lido deck. We found the buffet restaurant too cold at times so wanted to enjoy eating outside but couldn’t because of the cigarette smoke- I’m allergic to tobacco and react to cigarette smoke and for me there is nothing worse than breathing in noxious fumes when trying to enjoy a meal or relaxing on deck.

Cabin Review

We were quite pleased with the size and layout of our room and its location. It was our first cruise so we didn't really know what to expect. We found it handy to the lobby, disembarkation level, our evening dining room which was the Lincoln and the Ivanhoe theatre and we used the stairs for these areas. We were close to the elevators so it was an easy walk and elevator ride to the upper deck levels. The noise from the elevators didn't bother us and at night we kept the tv on until it was quiet in the hallway so the occasional hallway noise didn't really bother us either- we were able to get a good nights sleep without using earplugs. We found the beds very comfortable and there was lots of storage room for the two of us. The only issue was with the safe where I had to change cards 4 times during our week stay because they would quit working- I like the electronic keypad safes that we've used at resorts a lot better.

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