My family decided to come aboard the Valor for the itinerary on first week of January. After being a VIP guest with Carnival for over fifteen years, my family was certainly expecting for more. No perks for your past-guest status this time around. I got complimentary coupons for welcome drinks that we never got due to the many restrictions these carry. We separated two Ocean Suites in this cruise, that certainly promised to be a lot of fun and excellent dining according to the promotion. However, right from the start things did not go as well as hoped. What in Carnival Valor is a suite is actually a Balcony in some other cruises of same price range. You get a balcony and robes but that is it. Room amenities and bathroom supplies are very basic, like in a Days Inn. The bath robes were never changed throughout the trip. Bath towels were worn from heavy use. Actually, never request a pool towel at the pool desk; bring the one in your room but stay close to it or you will be charged as if it were new ($24) if not returned by the end of the day or if someone "takes" yours. About the dining experience, in a nutshell, you get better food at any Denny's - we never saw a prime meat cut or seafood in the menu, which tends to be repeated every 3 days or so. No midnight buffets or desserts celebrations here either. Out of the 7 nights, we opted to pay an extra $40pp to dine at the premium Scarlett's restaurant (It was well worth it). Seating for breakfast in the dinning room was a terrible experience. Morning service is poor and slow, plus you get exactly the same food that they are serving upstairs in the Grand buffet, only smaller portions. Naturally, by the third day the lines at the buffet are pretty long and if you do not reach the plate by 9:45 or so you risk them closing the line in your face. We never saw the Captain's face, not even during Captain's night. About entertainment, pools and spas were always packed full. About the night venues, all I can say is that the only funny person in all at the Punchline was the host but in general the venues were nothing to remember about. Better spend time entertaining with the Filipino's rock band playing 80's music next to the Casino... oh those were really great players! The only other place were we can truly say were always served with a smile was at the Coffee Bar.

The Ports, that is another story. Instead of the boat's excursions, I recommend to arrange your own at every port, you will save a lot, risk-free. Tour excursion companies are well organized outside ports in St.Kitts, Barbados, St.Thomas etc. Every port in this trip was fun to visit and people were as friendly as they get in the Caribbean. Beaches were awesome too. Hospitality and gratitude of the islands people compensated well above what we received at the Valor. The Valor is being replaced by the Liberty this summer, I hope the crew of that ship looks less tired and more welcoming next time around. Upon exiting the cruise, I found an overcharge in my statement so I stopped at the front desk to make a claim; the line was quite long. Better check your statement a couple of nights before debarking to ensure it is correct.