Cruised on a 4 day cruise on the Carnival Valor in December. I have read 1 and 2-star reviews and I just have to laugh. Some people literally just HAVE to complain. Parking was a breeze. We parked at Cummings Parking Lot, a block away from the port. Parked and the shuttle was waiting. Got on the ship in short order. The Port of New Orleans has it down to a science, despite the COVID issues. Within 20 minutes of arriving at our assigned check-in time we were on the ship.

The ship is great. We DO NOT look for things to complain about. Even if we did, I'd be hardpressed to find something. Music was playing on the Lido Deck and the long weekend began. With our first drink in hand, we walked around the ship to get the layout. It was very clean as are all the Carnival ships I have had the pleasure of cruising on always have been (I've been on 11, about to go on #12 in May and #13 in December). Staff greeted us as we passed them pretty much every time. I cannot stress how friendly the staff on every single Carnival cruise has been. We left in jackets and jeans on Thursday morning and woke up Friday morning in the middle of the gulf and it was warm and sunny. We had an Oceanview cabin, and it was fine. Nice to look out the window in the morning and see the sun and the blue (BLUE!) water.

FOOD: Itwas delicious. The people that say "The food was horrible" or "we couldn't find anything to eat" are just the aforementioned people that NEED to find something to complain about. Guy's Hamburgers is AMAZINGLY good. There's a little Mexican place to get freshly made Mexican food on the Lido deck also. The little places around the ship as well as the restaurant was great. You can do the breakfast buffet with the usual breakfast staples, get an omlette made with your choice of ingredients, or get a breakfast burrito from the Mexican place on the Lido deck. Read more