I tend to read reviews with a little skepticism. Most people want to know about 4 things...food, cabins, service, and entertainment. When I read complaints about "old" cabinets or faded markings,it makes me laugh because you know these people are really bored and have nothing better to do.

With that being said,I took a spring break cruise with my wife and 2 kids (2.5 & 6 yrs old)on the Carnival Valor. My only prior cruise experience was on Disney's Magic ship and I must admit I went into this cruise EXPECTING to be let down...I wasn't at all.

Lets start with food. Star ratings are very hard to do cause you need to have both a 5 star and a 1 star dinner to compare them too. To compare them to something, I would say their food was comparable to your average diner (or truck stop). Very edible but often lacking a lot of flavor. I hate seafood and mushrooms so my menu choices were very small as everything had either or in it. The buffets offered a lot of choices but the slow moving lines proved to test my patience. The Scarlets Steakhouse was outstanding. I often wonder why all cruise lines feel the need to charge you for something that cruises were built on...great food! Oh well, I must digress Read more