Just returned from a cruise on the Carnival Valor. We took the Western Caribbean cruise to Belize, Roatan island, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel. The ship is brand new and has a patriotic theme. We booked a 9A cabin at the aft corner of the ship that has a balcony that wraps around the back end of the ship. The cabin was excellent. The only problem we had with it was that it was one floor below the buffet restaurant on the Lido deck. The cleaning crews would be moving tables around in the middle of the night, and we were kept awake by the sound of tables being dragged across the floor. If you want to book this type of cabin book the 6th or 7th floor cabins to avoid the noise.
The food was excellent. The main dining room served a wide variety of different foods and deserts. The buffet on the lido deck was also outstanding with different choices everyday, for example, Indian food and midnight Mexican buffet. We did not try the supper club but heard it was excellent. The itinerary was nice. In Belize, you have to book a tour because there is nothing to do. We went cave tubing. An all day tour but well worth it. On Roatan Island, we went horse back riding on some trail horses, which ended at Tabyana beach. This is a private beach where you can rent snorkeling equipment and swim out 30 yards to the coral reef. This is an excellent beach, and it is beautiful. At these two stops, you have to take a tour because there is nothing else to do.
If you are older or have some physical ailment that prevents you from doing certain activities, this may not be a good cruise for you. Next stop was Grand Cayman. It is rebuilding from the hurricane last fall, but this should not prevent you from having a good time. Our ship arrived late due to weather, which is unavoidable. We took the stingray island, hell and turtle farm tour. It was awful because our tour guide forgot about us and left us standing at the dock. Because of this we were late and had to be at the dock to meet our boat to go to stingray island. Our tour guide rushed us through the turtle farm and hell. I believe that you can just take a cab to these places and save the shore excursion fees. To go to stingray island just get up early at 7:30 a.m. get a tender ticket to get off the ship early without this you will sit on the ship for hours.