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NOT THE CRUISE SHIP YOU WANT by
A Traveler from windsor canada Sailing date: Dec 2012Pros: PORT OF CALLS AND WEATHER Cons: SERVICE - the ship design.. If your looking to get away and ignore service - this is the cruise for you. Ship QualityIt was impossible to figure out which elevator or staircase to use to get to a certain destination. I've been on other cruise ships before. Even on the 7th day I couldn't get it right. Dining/FoodIf you have kids good luck.. they served 2 out of the 4 kids at the same time. It also takes on average 2 hours to be served so request early dining.
One last thing - expect not to get what you ordered Stateroom Qualityjust be sure to know where the crew members hang out after hours. our stateroom was on deck 1... deck 0 is were the crew memebers partied - complain and guest services will tell you there are no scheduled events...hmmm Ship Staff Qualityi've been on other cruise lines and the staff on the ship was horrible Entertainment & Activities
Children's Programsif they say presents for the kids.. they should give out presents  2 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
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  An ok cruise. by
A Traveler from Dallas, TX Sailing date: Sep 2011Cons: Dining room not allowing us to have exactly what we wanted. This was our 3rd cruise with carnival and 1st time for our mothers. The service that we have recieved on the other boats was not the same on this one. Though we will be booking another, and was going for our platinum status with carnival, we are looking into other cruise lines. There was just something about this paticular boat that was ok. The dinidg food was no wowing effect as on past boats. Also there was suppose to allow us all you can eat as on past cruises but when requested was told NO with a long explanation, unneccessary. One night we left the dining room due to the poor food. Also the other dining options were closed. I will say though the port of calls were awesome. Their private islabd of half moon cay(pronounced key). Grand turk not necessary to buy an excursion because you dock and walk VERY little to beach areas and shopping. San juan they have tours when u get off dock, different than the excursiobs on the boat. St. Thomas be prepared to pay for EVERYthing. $8/person to go from pier to beach. $4/beach. Tour xtra money. If you want to shop and go to beach double the travel fare. Ship QualityThe boat was always clean. The staff was ALWAYs busy cleaning up after the people. Dining/FoodThe food on this boat was OK. This was my 3rd
Carnival Cruise and this was not my fav at all. The food quality was ok and though it was suppose to be all yOu want when requested more of something, was denied. Stateroom QualityWe always get the ocean view rooms. It was the same as tje other boats. Always happy with those. Ship Staff QualityThE only reason why i am putting poor was because when i went to the desk to inquire about our next cruise on their new boat. She, Anna, didnt care to help me. She helped all
The other people standing around me. I am not very ypumg. I am 32 with a family. And NO i did not go with the kids. But she helped all these other older people who didnt even book a cruise. Though i was ready and knew which 2 that my husband and i were going to book. I did not because she refused to help me. Maybe it was because i chose to leave my rings/jewelry off but still i had the money to be on tge boat and to be on the next cruises. Entertainment & ActivitiesSame. Children's Programs
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Grand Turk IslandNo need for an excursions. Beach is right there.
Half Moon Cay, Bahamas (Cruiseline Private Island)They provide everything for you.
San Juan, Puerto RicoWonderful.
Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, U.S.V.I.Expensive. Overrated.
2 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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A Sad Reflexion of a cruise by
Nichola E from Wisconsin Sailing date: Oct 2008Pros: Meeting a couple of nice people Cons: The lack of guest care I did not like the ship, the lack of large enough swimming pools for guests made the areas feel very crowded and we did not swim in them or wish to sit around them.
I also felt there were areas that need improvement on cleanlines.
I was also very un-happy that public areas were not smoke free, also that guests did smoke in their cabins although we understood this was not acceptable. Ship Quality
Dining/FoodThe dining rooms seriously needs some improvement both in standard of food and quality of staff. Stateroom Quality
Ship Staff QualityIn general the staff were sullen and not openly willing to assist. There were one or two who were pleasant but no one who stood out. Entertainment & Activities
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Nassau, Bahamas
Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, U.S.V.I.We did visit Magens Bay to swim and thoroughly enjoyed this, it was not built up and felt very relaxing. However, the shopping was not good, mostly jewelery shops.
Philipsburg, St. MaartenThe Island is not one we would want to return to from choice. The swimming was enjoyable, but the actual island is very poorly maintained and does not encourage returning.
1 out of 6 people found this review helpful.
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Find another cruise line by
Jen from philadelphia, PA Sailing date: Aug 2012Pros: The excursions Cons: A lot 6 day cruise turned into a 4 day cruise due to a hurricane that passed the day before. The 2 beauitful ports we were supposed to stop in were cancelled & we stopped in Mexico & Honduras instead.I realize the cruise line cannot control the weather conditions but they handled the whole situation very poorly. Carnival left passengers in the dark & were completely disorganized. They made us wait at the airport for 6 hours &
then buses came & they herded us like cattle to a convention center for another 8 hrs (6,000 people). They never even told us we were not going to the port when the buses came. Halfway there, the driver told us. They would give us a time & when the time came, they would push it back a few more hours. The food was just okay, we couldnt get into the nice (pay) restaurant bc there was always a waiting list. They offered room service but didn't provide us with a menu until the last day. This was our first cruise so anytime we needed help the majority of staff did not understand English. Long lines. Our a/c in room hardly worked. I just wish we would've cancelled. We had 2 good days. Ship Quality
Dining/FoodBuffet was just okay. The dining room was decent but offered very small portions & the pasta was never cooked long enough. Stateroom QualityThe room was nice. The a/c was not adequate, could not sleep at night with the blanket on. Ship Staff QualityMost of the staff did not speak English & you had to wait in a very long line at the help desk. Entertainment & ActivitiesOffered a magic show & when we showed up it was changed to a comic act. Children's ProgramsA lot of events and games for kids 1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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sick of the word" fun" by
A Traveler from wyandoote michigan Sailing date: Feb 2012Pros: food Cons: staff um very windy! we couldnt find a place to layout in the sun that wasnt windy. Stateroom Qualitysmall t.v channels sucked Ship Staff Qualityno american staff............ very cold staff Entertainment & Activitiesauh the word "fun" was said a seen everywhere. some on how much can people take. I guess if you are drunk most of the time its ok 0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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big disappointment by
A Traveler from Lexington, KY Sailing date: Dec 2011Pros: anything OFF of the ship Cons: anything having to do with carnival or the ship Terrible. Ugly, cheap, mismatched decor usually having little or no relevance to the "hero" theme. Our half of the ship constantly smelled like rotten food/fish. The shows were generally terrible with a few exceptions. The food was anywhere from disgusting to just OK. The crew members were rude and all were foreign with very poor english. Constantly trying to sell you jewelry or anything else they could make a dime off of. Things we were told would be included were usually NOT and were very expensive. Other "entertainment" during dinner for example was tacky. WAAAAY too many unsupervised children. Organization of getting on and off of the ship was a huge headache... I could go on for hours... Ship QualitySee review above Dining/FoodSee review above Stateroom QualitySee review above Ship Staff QualitySee review above Entertainment & ActivitiesSee review above 1 out of 8 people found this review helpful.
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Carnival Valor 7 day Cruise by
T Nelson from SLC, UT Sailing date: May 2011Pros: destinations Cons: so many things! Ship was clean, slightly more upto date than some of the others in the fleet. rooms were clean slightly outdated. Beds are EXTREEMLY HARD, and there is only ONE plug outlet per stateroom. Not one in the bathroom and one in the room, ONE TOTAL. Ship Quality
Dining/FoodDining times were fine, food was not good at all. The buffet has the same bad food every day for every meal, except for the midnight buffet which was mexican theme and equally terrible. Most of our party of 6 were sick from the food at least once. The dining room has a bit of variety but most of it is not very good either. There were one or two nights where there were a few things on the menu that were decent, but overall most nights we had a hard time finiding anything that sounded good, and we are quite diverse eaters. There's nothing my husband wont eat and like. Stateroom Qualityroom was clean, bathroom was clean. Bed is extreemly hard. The ship down not carry any eggshell type mattesses. When we asked for extra padding for the bed we were given an extra flat down comforter. It was still hard, and we needed three- it was still hard but that was their max. Ship Staff Qualitythe crew on this ship were not friendly at all. The dining staff and the stateroom staff were the only ones that were pleasant and helpful. Everyone else on the ship including the guest service desk, bar staff, deck staff and other food staff were rude, short and acted put out when any question or request was made. Entertainment & Activitiesthere is not much entertainment on this ship unless you like kids movies. there was a movie each night for kids, but for our party of 6 adults, there was a musical/dance type show twice during the week and the rest was dumb game show type games and 3-4 adult 18+ older comedy shows each night which was pretty much the onlly thing to do.
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Belize City, Belizethere is no dock, and the ship was EXTREEMLY POOR at communicating the tender instrudtions for the tenders on shore. leave early and specifically ask for the instructions the night before. Been here a few times, cave tubing is really the only worth while thing to do.
Cozumel, MexicoBeen here a few times as well, always good. Close port to dock, Scuba Diving and shopping are good.
George Town, Grand CaymanGrand cayman is always good. 4th time there. Scuba is good, Stingray City is good as is the Turtle farm tour- don't eat at the restaraunt there- over priced and terrible food.
Mahogany Bay, Roatan, Bay Islands, Hondurasthere is a REALLY long walk from the port, and not too much to do in the port, but the scuba diving is good.
3 out of 6 people found this review helpful.
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Not quite what I was hoping for by
A Traveler from Salt Lake City, UT Sailing date: Dec 2010Pros: Service Staff was awesome Cons: Food, Entertainment Shows Not my favorite vacation, but certainly my most expensive. I spent about two and a half times what I thought I would spend, including extra fees/charges, tips, excursion costs, and things not related to the cruise company itself (souvenirs, taxi fare in the ports, etc.) It almost seemed like Carnival tries really hard to provide the cheapest crap at the highest prices they can get away with, but that seems to be all too common these days.
I did like the vacation overall, mostly due to the port stops. I arranged all but one port activity privately but I did book one via the cruise ship. It was about as much fun as the others but about 3 times as expensive. Ship QualityNothing too shabby but nothing overly special, either. Clocks were very, very sparse. This is a big minus to me since all activities and events started at specific times but unless you wore a watch you were lost. If you plan on going on a Carnival ship wear a watch! Dining/FoodThe regular food outside of the dining room was horrific. Greasy, cheap, and tasteless for the vast majority of it. Half-decent burrito bar.
The food in the dining room was usually pretty good, although it frequently took a long time to reach the table from when we sat down to eat. Stateroom QualityNothing great but nothing terrible except for the fact that there was no clock in our stateroom. I had to find my cell phone to figure out what time I had woken up. The cleaning service was great at keeping the room clean and seemed to do the housekeeping twice daily. Ship Staff QualityEvery single member of the crew was extremely cheerful, helpful, and interested in my having a great experience. Even the housekeepers asked specific questions about how my day was going and did so with great big smiles. I tipped the staff well above what was recommended. Entertainment & ActivitiesThe entertainment was mediocre at best. I didn't attend the official show, but I did attend many of the smaller shows, like the magic show (lasted like 10 minutes), the comedians (about the most unfunny comics I have ever seen), the game show (about as tacky as it gets), and a few other forgettable shows. The one very fun highlight activity-wise was the karaoke where people could sing with the live band.
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Belize City, BelizeWe bought this excursion (Snorkeling at Goff's Cay) through the cruise, and it was okay. Nice little island with a beautiful beach but mediocre snorkeling. The guide said that since the waves were so rough we couldn't see the best part, so that's understandable.
Cozumel, MexicoMy wife and I rented a scooter and drove around the island stopping wherever we felt like stopping. One of the most memorable experiences of my life, but for reasons that may or may not be popular to the typical tourist.
George Town, Grand CaymanPretty cool! I was disappointed because the weather didn't permit us to go to see the stingrays, so we jumped on a tour van with some other folks from the ship and had a great time.
Roatan (Isla Roatan), Bay Islands, HondurasWe had a great time here, too. We grabbed a taxi for the day with another couple and just stopped where we wanted to. We found a cool little iguana farm that had monkeys, parrots, fish, and obviously iguanas. It was like $6 per person to get in and we got to interact and feed the animals. Pretty neat. Then we went to a beach (I forget which one) that was gorgeous.
Don't Miss: Iguana Farm 4 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
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Ready To Come Home by
Gary K from chicago, il Sailing date: Aug 2010Pros: the people Cons: food Not impressed. food was bad overall(except breakfast). time spent at ports was too short. i felt rushed when experiencing the off shore excurshions. the rooms were fine. entertainment was descent. no smoking by adults pool but smoking was allowed by the kids pools and buffets. i like experiencing places i visit and there was just not enough time to do so. i just might not be a cruise person! Ship Quality
Dining/Food
Stateroom Quality
Ship Staff Quality
Entertainment & Activities
Children's Programs
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Belize City, Belizeonce again we did the cave tubing which was awesome but had no time to do anything else cause the traveling to and from took 3hrs
Cozumel, Mexicobeach was nice food was good and shopping in downtown was nice
George Town, Grand Caymani'm not able to tell you how george town was cause my wife and i went to swim with dolphins and that took up every minute we were docked there.
Roatan (Isla Roatan), Bay Islands, Honduraswe waited over 50 minutes to be served for lunch at fat tuesday...beach was refreshing.
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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The less you spend the better... by
EP from Hartford, CT Sailing date: Jun 2009Pros: The cost of the trip was about $100 per day Cons: The food is a little bit better than what you get at a diner, the ship has too many guests, and the decor of the ship will suprise you! You get what you pay for. That is, if you get a good price you may enjoy your experience. Ship QualityThere is alot of congestion within the ship. If you are going to house 4k guests and another 1k employees, you need bigger hallways and more points of exit/entry Dining/FoodThe food is like any diner. My curise with another company really blew Carnival out of the water. Stateroom QualityThe room is fairly sized. Plenty of closet space and room to move around Ship Staff QualitySome shift members appear they are overworked. They are often cought doing too many things at once Entertainment & ActivitiesAside from BINGO and the Shows, there is not much to do.
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Belize City, Belize
Key West, Florida
George Town, Grand Cayman
Roatan (Isla Roatan), Bay Islands, Honduras
3 out of 7 people found this review helpful.
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