My Disappointing Cruise... Valor Dec 12-19 Review

[hamfiveo]

This was my first Carnival Cruise having previously cruised RCCL and Princess.

 

We flew from Buffalo and arrived at Ft. Lauderdale at 3pm on the Saturday. We then took the Tri Rail to MIA and then took a cab to the Intercontinental Downtown Miami. What a gorgeous hotel and a steal for under a $100. Weather was perfect that evening, high 70's, clear and no wind at all. We headed to Biscayne Marketplace for dinner and ate at Bubba Gumps. Good food for a decent price. Afterwards, we strolled a desolate downtown Miami looking for some wine, and then returned to the hotel to end our night.

 

We arrived at the port of Miami at 12pm to a fully packed loading area. We stood in line for about 20 minutes to pass through security. I had a 2L bottle of Coke, 1L of Water and 1L of Cranberry Juice in my bag along with 2 bottles of wine. The woman minding the X-Ray asked how many were in my party but never checked what was in the bottles. If I had known this, I would have taken all sorts of alcohol instead. Oh well. Embarkation took forever but we finally got onto the ship just after 1pm. We, along with everyone else headed to the Lido deck to grab lunch. We headed down to see if our rooms were ready at 1:30 to find out they were still being prepared. It wasn't until after 2pm that we were finally allowed to get some rest. For dinner, we chose the 6pm seating and were given the Washington room. This was kind of frustrating because our cabin was completely forward and the dining room was fully aft. Our servers for dinner were great. Fully attentive and hilarious and always had a smile. After dinner we went to the 8:30 show which was just a orientation of the week.

 

Monday morning at sea was not so pleasant. The ship was rocking so badly, that the closet doors opening and closing woke us up at 5am. We ate breakfast in the dining room that morning which was okay. For being an at sea day, we were anticipating a load of activities to keep us occupied. The only activities offered cost a fee. Casino games, bingo, and waiters continuously pushing drinks. We did go to the trivia, which was boring. At night we went to the 80's night performance which was great. Followed by the adult comedy, which was pretty funny. For the most part Monday was horrible. The seas were rough and had people tossing about. I watched many people lose their lunch that day. After talking to different people, they all said it was the worst they had ever experienced.

 

Tuesday we were in Grand Cayman. We had to go to the opposite side to Spott's bay because of the poor weather. We took a taxi to 7 Mile Beach, which had waves that were over my head. We returned to the ship for lunch, we had fish and chips, which we found not so good. Once again, there were no activities to do except lay on the Lido deck and get harassed by waiters trying to sell drinks. Dinner was decent again but nothing compared RCCL and Princess.

 

Wednesday was in Cozumel and we elected to stay on the ship. Once again, nothing to do onboard except gambling, or laying on the Lido deck.

 

Thursday we were in Belize. We went Snorkeling on the Barrier Reef for the day which was great. We had our own little private Island afterwards and free rum punch. This took the whole day which we enjoyed. After getting back on the ship, we got ready for our second formal night, which had a pretty good dinner. The show that night was great, being Marcus Anthony, who sang soul tunes for the crowd. We then went to catch the movie on the Lido, which was How to Train Your Dragon.

 

Friday in Roatan, we went Zip Lining which was the highlight of our trip. So much Fun! We then went to the beach to kill the rest of the afternoon. Dinner that night was disappointing. We then played Euchre for the rest of the night with another couple we met.

 

Saturday at sea had very little to offer once again. We went to the "Holiday" Show during the afternoon which was the entertainers singing Christmas tunes. Once again, we had nothing to do after that except wait for dinner and the entertainment that night.

 

Sunday debarkation was frustrating. We vacated our cabins just before 8am and sat on deck 5 until we left the ship at 11am. 3 Hours until we could leave. We then waited another hour to get our luggage and clear customs. We made to FLL for our flight home that evening.

 

Overall, we weren't impressed with Carnival. We found the entertainment lacking, or non existent. The food was decent, with only a couple of the meals enjoyable. It seemed the ship died after dinner, with nothing ever happening on the Lido deck. No deck parties or live music. The constant harassment of the photographers was frustrating. If I refused a picture leaving the ship, there was another right behind trying to get another shot. Every dinner there was someone trying to get my picture. After 3 days I had enough of it. One thing I did appreciate was the quality of service. Our room and waitstaff were excellent.

 

We wanted to try something new in Carnival and couldn't beat the price, but I don't think I will sail Carnival again. They label themselves the "Fun Ships" but we found the entertainment lacking. There was nothing to do and found ourselves very bored most of the time. We weren't the only ones too, as others I spoke to expressed the same opinion.

[k2excursion]

I'm sorry to hear that you had a disappointing experience. I do wonder if the rough seas made Carnival scale back on activities. Or, maybe that's just how the Valor is right now. I encourage you to not rule out the possibility of another Carnival ship, maybe even leaving from a different port. Galveston always seems to know how to party. On my 8 cruises (5 of which out of Galveston), there has always been plenty of activities going on during the day, with crazy games around poolside, such as hairy chest contest, syncronized swimming, gender contests, fetching crazy obscure items from guests, scavenger hunts, belly flopping, etc. They usually would take place around 1:00-3:00.

 

I am also annoyed by the endless line of photographers when getting off the ship in a port of call. I wish they wouldn't trap us like that, clogging up the line. Miami has been one of the worst debarkation ports, from my experience, and the Valor seemed the most disorganized of all ships. On the Dream & Triumph & out of Galveston (except for Conquest), we walked right off during self-debarkation, never having to stop except to scan the card. But on the Valor, it took almost an hour clogged up in the ship before we could get off.

[cmecruise1962]

I have heard that this ship was "quieter" than some of the others...I'm glad the service was still top notch! :)

[stokil]

wow that is too bad that you felt your experience was so bad.... We were on the Valor in April and were stressed because we could not fit all the onboard activites in. I still have my Fun Times and it is filled with things to do... Usually a couple at the same time......and an hour to get on the huge crusie ship is great.... oh well depends on your perspective I guess!!!

[QLUVS2CRUZ]

I had an exact same experience like that on RCI...very disappointing since so many people rave about RCI...but it won't stop me from looking at RCI again...hope this won't make you rule out Carnival...though maybe your'e just an RCI or Princess person...which it totally fine too.

 

We had a great time on the Valor...and like a pp said, we had a hard time fitting in all the activities. Sorry you were disappointed.

[firefly333]

OP if you came on here ahead of time, you knew anytime dining was in the middle dining room, so almost always you get assigned the back dining room for traditional. I know its a long walk for us too.

 

My sister says they always give us the dining room that is furthest from our cabin. Iv started booking in the aft for that reason, when I can.

 

I dont find the daytime activities that different from RCL's so not sure why you felt bored. .. it just sounds like you were looking for things to complain about and a reason to go back to RCL.

[Unknotted]

I'm sorry you didn't enjoy your cruise. I'm especially surprised you found the food worse than on RCI. I've never sailed Princess but have always liked Carnival food better than RCI food.

 

I'm not sure why your cruise was so bad or why you were so bored, but I think maybe Carnival has cut too many corners recently and it affects their overall appeal for some people. There has always been plenty of free things to do on Carnival ships...fun things. So if you were not finding them either they cut back on those (bad move on Carnival's part) OR you just didn't notice them in your dailies. Either way, I am sorry you didn't enjoy your cruise.

[quickrate]

I'm sorry your experience wasn't what you had hoped for- altho I do question you saying the only thing to do when in port at Cozumel on the ship was to gamble as they do not leave the casino open when in port. Cruising during a bad weather week can color a persons feelings about a cruise. Thank you for sharing your experiences while on the valor. I've never been on that ship. Hope your next cruise experience is better.

Pat

[Hot Nail]

Bummer......I'm sorry you had such a bad experience. I've actually found the exact opposite experiences when I compare Carnival to the other major lines. I'm pretty sure the rough sea days had nothing to do with Carnival. Trust me, the want smooth seas more than you do. Rough seas equals less on board cash flow with drinks, games, shopping, etc.....at least IMO. Merry Christmas

[Hei1980]

You were on vacation! You were bored, Good Lord Molly, that is not CCL's problem but yours!

[idiebabe]

I was on Valor in September and had a GREAT time and my experience was the total opposite of yours.

 

I don't understand the Casino being open while the Ship was in Cozumel?????

 

I was on Freedom the same week you were on Valor. We bypassed Key West to head to Cozumel due to the high winds shutting the Port. They did an amazing job of switching over our Port day into a Sea day and printed out new Funtimes (delivered to our rooms), held a meeting in the Lounge to go over the day's events and the Shore Tours for Coz (since this was not a Port on our Itinerary), etc. Most events that were scheduled for Lido were moved indoors due to the high winds.

 

Maybe as the one OP said the weather and rough seas dampened your experience. Sorry you didn't enjoy your cruise. Merry Christmas!

[okwriter]

We sailed the Legend out of Tampa the same week. Our first two days, the seas were quite rough. After that, though, we had a BLAST! We went to only one "show" (the Marriage Show) and played Bingo once, but there were many, many activities on board that we didn't participate in. Still, we managed to have tons of fun! Sorry your experience wasn't similar.

[hamfiveo]

I don't understand the Casino being open while the Ship was in Cozumel?????

 

My mistake... completely wrong on that one.

 

I dont find the daytime activities that different from RCL's so not sure why you felt bored. .. it just sounds like you were looking for things to complain about and a reason to go back to RCL.

 

I'm just sharing my thoughts and feelings I had about my experience. Seems to me you are taking my review a little too personal. I'm not a RCCL faithful, so I'm not too sure why you think I need to go back to RCCL. Perhaps it's because I have one booked for next year? That's because there happens to be 12 of us traveling and we took a vote to which cruise to take. I voted a NCL cruise because I wanted to try something new... again.

 

I have my dailies in front of me right now, and the only things I notice is Bingo, Casino tournaments, Hairy Chest contest, mixologist competition, trivia's and show times.

 

Funny thing is my table mates for dinner went on the exact same cruise last year, same ship, and they said it was completely different. They told me that there were double the events last year. They were too disappointed in the cruise.

 

Another person told me they had been on 15 Carnival cruises and that they were all different, however this was the worst she had been on.

 

I only get to travel once a year, so I try to make the best of everything. I was just disappointed, that's all. Perhaps, I went in with the perception of Carnival being the "fun ship". To me, it just didn't live up to its name.

 

As others have said, I hope you don't write Carnival off. If the price is right again, I will definitely give it another shot. Just for now I want to get a feel of the other lines out there. I'm still young!

[letsgo39]

OP if you came on here ahead of time, you knew anytime dining was in the middle dining room, so almost always you get assigned the back dining room for traditional. I know its a long walk for us too.

 

My sister says they always give us the dining room that is furthest from our cabin. Iv started booking in the aft for that reason, when I can.

 

I dont find the daytime activities that different from RCL's so not sure why you felt bored. .. it just sounds like you were looking for things to complain about and a reason to go back to RCL.

 

Geez.......,that was nasty.No wonder people hate to post reviews.The OP is entitled to their opinion and it is disgusting the way people get beat up for posting a negative review.

To the OP,I am sorry you did not enjoy your cruise.Thank you for posting and I hope your next cruise meets your expectations.

[Hot Nail]

Geez.......,that was nasty.No wonder people hate to post reviews.The OP is entitled to their opinion and it is disgusting the way people get beat up for posting a negative review.

To the OP,I am sorry you did not enjoy your cruise.Thank you for posting and I hope your next cruise meets your expectations.

 

I couldn't agree more. Ive not been on this board fro long but it seems "firefly" seems to be a bit of a trouble maker.:rolleyes:

[phatsneaks]

Millions of people each year go on ships each has their own experience. I also find more than enough to do on Carnival and had a bad time on RCL. Everyone is different and each comes with their opinion. It all comes down to your likes and dislikes.

[LHP]

Geez.......,that was nasty.No wonder people hate to post reviews.The OP is entitled to their opinion and it is disgusting the way people get beat up for posting a negative review.

To the OP,I am sorry you did not enjoy your cruise.Thank you for posting and I hope your next cruise meets your expectations.

 

I don't think "firefly" was being nasty...I think she was being honest.

 

She has cruised Carnival and RCCL pretty equally and likes both pretty equally.

 

So she gave her honest opinion being equally experienced with both cruise lines.

[LHP]

I couldn't agree more. Ive not been on this board fro long but it seems "firefly" seems to be a bit of a trouble maker.:rolleyes:

 

Once you have been around as long as I (and others have) .... you will learn that she is not a trouble maker....she tells it like it is.

 

Sometimes she and I agree...sometimes we don't.

 

But she never comments just to start trouble.

[Unknotted]

OP, it didn't seem to me that you just came to complain. I have never had a bad Carnival experience...but I have never had a bad experience on any of the other cruiselines either. I think you should give Carnival another shot one of these days. I know things are going downhill a little with all the cut backs they are making, but still, overall, they offer a lot of bang for the buck. You may have gotten a bad one, but most Carnival cruises are lots of fun. (I still think Carnival food is better than RCI food though.)

[GlendaleCruiser]

OP, sorry that you didn't enjoy your cruise on Valor. I haven't been on her, but I have visited a few of your ports and I have some questions.

 

For dinner, we chose the 6pm seating and were given the Washington room. This was kind of frustrating because our cabin was completely forward and the dining room was fully aft.

I'm pretty sure that's how they get us to exercise. It's the only exercise some people will get that week.:)

 

Tuesday we were in Grand Cayman. We had to go to the opposite side to Spott's bay because of the poor weather. We took a taxi to 7 Mile Beach, which had waves that were over my head. We returned to the ship for lunch, we had fish and chips, which we found not so good. Once again, there were no activities to do except lay on the Lido deck and get harassed by waiters trying to sell drinks. Dinner was decent again but nothing compared RCCL and Princess.

Were you not able to take any excursions? GC is one of my faves for swimming with the stingrays and the turtle farm. Sounds like the beach and stingray city might have been out due to rough seas, though.

 

Wednesday was in Cozumel and we elected to stay on the ship.

Why? I went to Mayan ruins (Tulum) when in Coz and actually missed most of the city but next time I will definitely get out and take an excursion. I've heard of lots of fun ones in Coz.

 

Overall, we weren't impressed with Carnival. We found the entertainment lacking, or non existent. The food was decent, with only a couple of the meals enjoyable.

What foods did you not like? I know I don't like the beef stroganoff, but there are so many other choices that I don't lack for wonderful food.

 

It seemed the ship died after dinner, with nothing ever happening on the Lido deck. No deck parties or live music.

Well, there goes the "wild and crazy party" reputation. I've always found live music, from the piano bar, the small plaza band, etc. if no lido party.

 

We wanted to try something new in Carnival and couldn't beat the price, but I don't think I will sail Carnival again. They label themselves the "Fun Ships" but we found the entertainment lacking. There was nothing to do and found ourselves very bored most of the time. We weren't the only ones too, as others I spoke to expressed the same opinion.

Well, I felt the same way about Princess but decided that it must have been because it was an Alaska cruise, so I will give them another chance someday. Don't give up yet.

[Redsfan]

I couldn't agree more. Ive not been on this board fro long but it seems "firefly" seems to be a bit of a trouble maker.:rolleyes:

 

they are anything but a trouble maker...he/she is nothing but helpful! they are also very seasoned cruisers so why not add opinions based upon the experiences?

[glentally]

This was my first Carnival Cruise having previously cruised RCCL and Princess.

 

Afterwards, we strolled a desolate downtown Miami looking for some wine, and then returned to the hotel to end our night.

 

should have went somewhere like South beach or Cottage Grove, lots going on.

 

 

 

 

We arrived at the port of Miami at 12pm to a fully packed loading area. We stood in line for about 20 minutes to pass through security. I had a 2L bottle of Coke, 1L of Water and 1L of Cranberry Juice in my bag along with 2 bottles of wine. The woman minding the X-Ray asked how many were in my party but never checked what was in the bottles. If I had known this, I would have taken all sorts of alcohol instead.

 

maybe so, it would make all those little things that made your cruise so bad not so annoying

 

 

 

 

Oh well. Embarkation took forever but we finally got onto the ship just after 1pm. We, along with everyone else headed to the Lido deck to grab lunch. We headed down to see if our rooms were ready at 1:30 to find out they were still being prepared. It wasn't until after 2pm that we were finally allowed to get some rest.

 

kind of normal, full ship, takes time to reset

 

 

 

 

For dinner, we chose the 6pm seating and were given the Washington room. This was kind of frustrating because our cabin was completely forward and the dining room was fully aft.

 

?????

 

 

 

 

 

Our servers for dinner were great. Fully attentive and hilarious and always had a smile. After dinner we went to the 8:30 show which was just a orientation of the week.

 

Monday morning at sea was not so pleasant. The ship was rocking so badly, that the closet doors opening and closing woke us up at 5am. We ate breakfast in the dining room that morning which was okay. For being an at sea day, we were anticipating a load of activities to keep us occupied. The only activities offered cost a fee. Casino games, bingo, and waiters continuously pushing drinks. We did go to the trivia, which was boring. At night we went to the 80's night performance which was great. Followed by the adult comedy, which was pretty funny. For the most part Monday was horrible. The seas were rough and had people tossing about. I watched many people lose their lunch that day. After talking to different people, they all said it was the worst they had ever experienced.

 

 

library, movies, nothing else on the agenda?? maybe not what you enjoy

 

 

 

Tuesday we were in Grand Cayman. We had to go to the opposite side to Spott's bay because of the poor weather. We took a taxi to 7 Mile Beach, which had waves that were over my head. We returned to the ship for lunch, we had fish and chips, which we found not so good. Once again, there were no activities to do except lay on the Lido deck and get harassed by waiters trying to sell drinks.

 

????? see above

 

 

 

Dinner was decent again but nothing compared RCCL and Princess.

 

yawn , yawn

 

 

 

Wednesday was in Cozumel and we elected to stay on the ship. Once again, nothing to do onboard except gambling, or laying on the Lido deck.

 

ok, normally I don't comment on reviews and appreciate people writing them but help me understand that if you are not happy with the on ship activities then why whould you stay on the ship?

 

 

 

Thursday we were in Belize. We went Snorkeling on the Barrier Reef for the day which was great. We had our own little private Island afterwards and free rum punch. This took the whole day which we enjoyed. After getting back on the ship, we got ready for our second formal night, which had a pretty good dinner. The show that night was great, being Marcus Anthony, who sang soul tunes for the crowd. We then went to catch the movie on the Lido, which was How to Train Your Dragon.

 

glad you had a good day!

 

 

 

 

 

Friday in Roatan, we went Zip Lining which was the highlight of our trip. So much Fun! We then went to the beach to kill the rest of the afternoon. Dinner that night was disappointing. We then played Euchre for the rest of the night with another couple we met.

 

Saturday at sea had very little to offer once again. We went to the "Holiday" Show during the afternoon which was the entertainers singing Christmas tunes. Once again, we had nothing to do after that except wait for dinner and the entertainment that night.

 

yawn, yawn

 

 

 

 

Sunday debarkation was frustrating. We vacated our cabins just before 8am and sat on deck 5 until we left the ship at 11am. 3 Hours until we could leave. We then waited another hour to get our luggage and clear customs. We made to FLL for our flight home that evening.

 

Overall, we weren't impressed with Carnival. We found the entertainment lacking, or non existent. The food was decent, with only a couple of the meals enjoyable. It seemed the ship died after dinner, with nothing ever happening on the Lido deck. No deck parties or live music.

 

 

typically they only do one or two nights on the deck, midnight buffet and maybe a sailaway one night.

 

No mention of the casino, even to watch if not play. No mention of the clubs or bars that EVERY ship has playing DJ songs or kareoke.

 

 

 

sorry about your bad cruise,

[Tapi]

Based on what we experienced a few weeks ago aboard our last Carnival cruise, I think that the OP's issue may not have been the lack of activities, but the lack of activities that appealed to them.

 

Not everybody is entertained by the hairy chest contest, master mixologist contest, or karaoke.

[hamfiveo]

Hey GlendaleCruiser,

 

My GF and I travel on a very tight budget and plan everything down to the penny. For GC our plan was to go the beach. We should have realized the weather was crappy but decided to go anyways. That being said, we decided to skip doing anything in Cozumel because we simply couldn't afford it. For the food, I loved the Lobster... and I mean I loved it! the Basa and Salmon were quite good too along with the Arugula and Mozzarella sandwich and burritos. Other than that, I found the remaining food i tried quite bland. What I think I found most disappointing was the midnight buffet on the Friday night. It was Mexican, but what upset me the most was that they had all the leftovers for lunch the next day. I did have fun, especially for what I paid. I'm thinking I just got a dud cruise, especially from what other hard core Carnival cruisers thought while onboard.

 

Thanks for taking the time to read my review.

[firefly333]

I'm just sharing my thoughts and feelings I had about my experience. Seems to me you are taking my review a little too personal. I'm not a RCCL faithful, so I'm not too sure why you think I need to go back to RCCL. Perhaps it's because I have one booked for next year?

 

... or you could be reading into what I said too?? .. I was giving you my opinion. .. which yes is my personal opinion. Yes, I admit to a RCL bias. I would pay extra for a RCL cruise over a Carnival cruise. If you are happier on a RCL cruise .. then yes, I came to the conclusion maybe RCL is a better fit for you. You state your opinion . but if someone doesnt say what you wanted to hear, you say that person is being too personal??

 

I dont like the new comedians on Carnival INSTEAD of a show in the theater. I saw a holiday show last Sunday on my cruise and loved it. I dont like the restrictions on ES fare on Carnival, to get those super low rates. I dont like several of the new things lately about Carnival, the 200% solo rate, the non support of groups .. they seem to be a little too full of themselves. I gather bookings are up .. based on their actions that they dont care about several types of cruisers they used to support. Im platinum on Carnival .. only because its the only year round cruise out of Galveston.

 

As you said the price was right, thats why you did Carnival .. and why most do Carnival. If Carnival cost more than other lines, then they would probably pick them more times than not as cruises are price driven...based on what people are willing to pay.