Carnival Valor Review

Carnival Valor-Great Cruise for First Timers celebrating 30th Anniversary

Review for the Eastern Caribbean Cruise on Carnival Valor
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Newfie and a Yank
First Time Cruiser • Age 60s

Rating by category

Cabin
Value for Money
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Entertainment
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Additional details

Sail Date: Jun 2015
Cabin: Balcony

This was our first cruise ever celebrating our 30th Anniversary. We drove from St. Petersburg, FL to Port Canaveral on the day of embarkation and parked off site and learned next time we may just stay at one of the hotels that work with the parking company. The Carnival Valor is an older ship but she shows her age well. Embarkation went as smooth as could be expected with some hiccups that were not the responsibility of the ship. We had an Upper deck balcony on the port side and enjoyed looking out from the balcony every morning for the sunrises. The service we received on the ship was above what I had expected and now know why you are always planning your next cruise. Our Dining RM staff in the Lincoln Dining Rm was outstanding. Daniel our Head waiter and the Asst waiters Zulbarah and Ronaldo and Andres our Mixologist as we called him were great to talk to and they took care of our every need and even brought us an extra dessert with a candle in it for our 30th Anniversary and sang to us. Daniel in my opinion was the best entertainment when they had the show where all the Head waiters did there dance as he out did all of the others. We were happy to learn that we could order wine by the glass instead of the bottle which makes it more economical as we spent less in what we spent on drinks. We did dine one night in the Steakhouse to help celebrate our 30th and it was amazing. It was like stepping into a 5 star restaurant by the service we received. We had brought onboard a bottle of Champagne to celebrate with and choose to drink it in the Steakhouse, there is a corkage fee but it is worth it. The dinner started with the Chef's special then an appetizer, salad, the main course and the dessert. Everything was amazing and worth every minute. The staff brought a torte to the table and 2 more glasses of champagne to help celebrate our 30th. I highly recommend the $35 per person as you receive the experience that you would get from the top dollar restaurant.

Our ports were nice. We visited Nassau, did some shopping and may next time do some shore excursions there. St Thomas was ok, we did not get off the ship for this one but may do the snuba next time. San Jaun, we went on the walking tour of the city, Fort, some interesting buildings, and we found this fun for the facts about the city. Grand Turks, we made the mistake of booking the historical homes and museum tour. The only interesting things we found on this tour this was where John Glenn landed near in Freedom 7 and the museum about the wrecks, and Salt Flats. Next time we want to do the 4 wheeler tour and possibly the beaches.

The entertainment in the theater was great with the shows and including the show with Marcus Anthony. The singer in the lobby was not so hot but not too bad on the ears. The band at the Shogun casino was a hit and miss as a few nights great then so-so after that but overall very nice to listen too. The comedian was really good at the shows we went to as we went to the PG shows.

Cabin Review

Balcony

Cabin 8B

The cabin is on the Upper Deck 6282 near but not too close to the elevators and stairs and you can hear the entertainment down on the lobby deck and the music is not bad to listen to at night. The cabin was cleaned everyday while we were at breakfast and turned down with towel animals while we were at dinner and catching either the show, listening to music in the different areas, or catching the comedy act. We had plenty of room to hang our clothes and drawer space. The bathroom took a little to get used to with a small space. The toilet was really interesting with the flushing method. We had plenty of room for our toiletries and plenty of towels to use. Our cabin steward and his team took great care of us. I highly recommend having a balcony and being midship.

Port Reviews

Port Canaveral (Orlando)

Parking off site is cheaper. I would suggest the Faster To The Fun next time.

Nassau

Shopping is really good here.

St. Thomas

May take the Snuba next time.

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