concerned over seeing bad reviews for the Valor

[nature person]

Hello everyone! I have been alittle shy to post till now. My family has booked recently for April cruise on the Valor, very excited! This will beour 3rd cruise. first was on Carnival Liberty 2 years ago ,and on Serenade of the Seas last April. Love cruising..we are addicted for sure. My question to those whom have sailed the Valor , did you have a good cruise? Recent rash of bad reviews on cruise critic I have been reading has scared me alittle. We found the Liberty very nice ,the food wonderful as the staff all very friendly. I am one of those that agree that Carnival definately wins in the food area. Both cruises were great on both lines.Is the smoke really that bad all over the Valor? I would love to get info from past cruisers on this ship. I hope the rumor that its getting a Serenity area while in dry dock is true1 would be very nice.

[KruznKel]

Hello everyone! I have been alittle shy to post till now. My family has booked recently for April cruise on the Valor, very excited! This will beour 3rd cruise. first was on Carnival Liberty 2 years ago ,and on Serenade of the Seas last April. Love cruising..we are addicted for sure. My question to those whom have sailed the Valor , did you have a good cruise? Recent rash of bad reviews on cruise critic I have been reading has scared me alittle. We found the Liberty very nice ,the food wonderful as the staff all very friendly. I am one of those that agree that Carnival definately wins in the food area. Both cruises were great on both lines.Is the smoke really that bad all over the Valor? I would love to get info from past cruisers on this ship. I hope the rumor that its getting a Serenity area while in dry dock is true1 would be very nice.

 

Was on the Valor in Sept and I must say she ranks up there in one of my favourite cruises... the staff are amazing so is the ship .. food everything was spot on... go and have fun you will LUV her;)

[sunshinecruiser62]

Hello everyone! I have been alittle shy to post till now. My family has booked recently for April cruise on the Valor, very excited! This will beour 3rd cruise. first was on Carnival Liberty 2 years ago ,and on Serenade of the Seas last April. Love cruising..we are addicted for sure. My question to those whom have sailed the Valor , did you have a good cruise? Recent rash of bad reviews on cruise critic I have been reading has scared me alittle. We found the Liberty very nice ,the food wonderful as the staff all very friendly. I am one of those that agree that Carnival definately wins in the food area. Both cruises were great on both lines.Is the smoke really that bad all over the Valor? I would love to get info from past cruisers on this ship. I hope the rumor that its getting a Serenity area while in dry dock is true1 would be very nice.

 

We were on the Valor in June and we had an excellent time. Good food, great service and always with a smile. We don't smoke and didn't think it was too bad except for the casino. Hope this helps and have a GREAT cruise!!

[nature person]

That was a very fast reply! :) Thank you..We found cruising very relaxing and bonding. Cannot wait for April!

[sharecruises]

Rational thinking would say.....take all the reviews with a grain of salt..

 

and look within them for things specific to YOUR cruise or expectations

 

for me, older reviews don't mean much...someone had a wonderful cruise (or horrible) on a ship in 2007 or 2008 or even last spring?? so what..things change, the staff changes....and really every cruise is different...different passenger dynamics on board , etc

 

Also look for specifics..some people will just say the whole trip was horrible and not give specific examples or say "Royal"(etc) was better..

 

but some people have real and specific problems and it is just stupid (*ostrich head in the sand stupid) to discount them

 

if it is a problem you might encounter you might want to use their experience to prepare yourself

 

focus on things important to you....for me Camp Carnival is not something I would use or care about so I gloss over reviews....I don't book suites or have platinum or milestone rewards so I don't care about the VIP boarding....I don't use a scooter or have food allergies so posts about that have no real relevance to me etc and so on

 

look for the specifics that apply to you....remember some things are "subjective" but other things are objective..facts..and true

 

The more I see of Carnival the more I feel that mostly it is good BUT if there is a problem it can be very bad and it can be time consuming and problematic to resolve the problem but you do have to do that ON board...stand in line, make complaint and get a formal complaint number, take names, write down specifics and then direct your problems to the "beards" in Miami

 

Hope for the best but have a plan B in mind JMO :)

[maxydu]

We've been on the Valor for 2 different cruises. Each time we found the ship to be clean and in good shape; the crew was friendly and the service excellent; the shows and entertainment were wonderful; I wouldn't hesitate to return for a third trip on her.

 

Take this site with a grain of salt. Some folks are harder to please then others and then there are those who you just can't please at all.....Go in with an open mind and enjoy what should be a great cruise!

[AWCHIEF]

"concerned over seeing bad reviews for the Valor "

 

Don't be, ignore them and go make up your own mind and informed opinion. For every bad review there are a dozen good ones. Have a great cruise and don't sweat the small stuff.

[justjen321]

As others have stated, every cruise, every ship, is going to have some bad reviews. It's the nature of the diversity of people who cruise.

 

We cruised with a party of 11 on Valor in Feb of this year, and aside from several massive service (timing and such) issues in the main dining room, we had a fabulous cruise.

 

Stop worrying. Go. Have a wonderful time. :)

[Royaltmom]

We were just on the Valor (Oct 31 sailing). We had a great time. Service was great, the ship was very clean, and I thought the staff was very friendly. We also really enjoyed the shows! There were 14 of us and we all had a wonderful time. We would book the Valor again. Happy cruising.

[evandbob]

Been on the Valor 4x so far, booked for my 5th in Jan. I go for the ports, Belize and Roatan being among my favorites. Most of the complaints are about these POC's, either being unsafe or the need to tender in Belize. Those complaints do not bother me. I am adventurous and get away from the dock area to explore the countryside, and have experienced great culture, customs and peoples, while having a great fun time. My only complaint is with the CD's announcements, always a bit too loud for my tastes, and they seem to interrupt my snoozing on deck during sea days.

[PA Dutchman]

Reviews can be so different on the same cruise. You just have to sort thru the mud. Some just can't see the forest because of the trees. I love them :D We are on the Valor on Dec 26th, don't matter what kind of reviews there are.

[Daniel Laginess]

I just went on my first cruise in September of this year. It was just great. Very clean all around and the staff was fantastic. I went on this cruise thinking it was not going to be as good as everyone said it would be since I was going alone but boy was I wrong. We were docked along side the victory at one port and I do mean along side. We shared the same pier. Let me tell you looking at the Victory it looked like it just went thru a sand storm and needed a coat of paint in the worst way. So no book your cruise and enjoy the Valor

 

Dan

[buddylover]

We were on the Valor on her 3rd cruise.....gorgeous ship, our favorite ship so far....but she is older now. We read reviews too, but truly, take them with a grain of salt. We have rarely found much of the negative comments we were worried about come to fruition.......food has always been GREAT on Carnival, we love the ships, very clean no matter how old they are.....just go and have a great time! You will find that you don't understand where much of the negativitiy came from.....everyone looks for something different...and it may not be what you want so it matters very little.

[scorp111]

It has been almost 2 years since we were on the Valor, but we loved the ship and had a great cruise!

 

In fact, it was our first cruise as a family, and really is the one that made us addicted. We take our 4th cruise in 24 months on Saturday, this time on the Dream.

[Scooby450]

I will be on the Valor in January and I plan on doing a review. My sea going background is limited. I was on a Windjammer cruise in college and the only other experience I have is a NCL cruise in '01 with the same itinerary I am doing this January: Western Carribean. This time I am going with my girlfriend and two boys, 7 & 12. I will report on kids stuff as the last time I did not take any with me. We are doing excursions on our own and probably, although not booked yet, with the ship.

 

Even though I have read some 'bad press' I don't let it bother me, I am adventerous and optimistic....it doesn't hurt that I am also naive and ignorant! Ignorance really is bliss :)

 

I have gotten some good out of the bad, it made me aware of cabin location, dining time, stuff that I would not have taken into consideration.

 

Enjoy your cruise I know I will enjoy ours!

[jebuell]

I travel a lot and like to read reviews of places AFTER I have gone there just to see what other people have to say. Something I notice all the time that people complain about are things that are completely out of the resort/cruise ship's control. Things like weather, airport conditions, time it takes to get through customs, bugs, etc. Ignore these. These people are just being picky. Pay attention to what people say about what is important to you. For me it's food- I want a good meal if I'm paying this much for it! If I go somewhere that has horrible food I do my best to never return. So if I were to pick a vacation based on food I would read the food portion of the reviews first.

 

Something I've noticed about cruises, though... I went on the Elation twice in one month (three weeks apart) earlier this spring. The first cruise was great- wonderful service, great food, the ship felt clean, etc. A little boring during the day-at-sea but otherwise great. The second cruise was the polar opposite- a lot of the crew members seemed like they'd checked out and were grumpy or just not helpful, the food (even though I ordered the same things a lot of time) left a lot to be desired, and the whole vibe was completely different. I learned that the second cruise was the last one before the Elation changed ports and the crew was going on a break after it. I have to wonder if cruising that close to a scheduled break or dry dock can change the experience you have or if what happened on the second cruise was just a fluke bad week for the Elation.

[farler05]

I agree that you have to look at what is important to you & take some things with a grain of salt. It's someone's opinion & it's based on their reality/experiences in life. It's just like you'll find tons of people on here who can't wait to have the minute steak from the Grille & they'll tell you how delicious it is. I tried to eat one on the Glory & it made me throw up. Not up to my standards but I've read numerous comments on how great they are! Who's right? Who's wrong? Nobody!! We just have different tastes & standards!! You'll have the person who swears the food the best they've ever had & others who think it was awful. Decor is completely subjective. What one person finds tacky, another says is beautiful. Attitude of the staff - many don't realize their attitude is reflected back to them or are irritated that every member of the staff doesn't speak perfect English & then you've got chipper folks who simply inspire a smile & love every member of the staff. So just realize you're experience is going to be yours!

[Oompaland]

Is the smoke really that bad all over the Valor?

 

We have sailed the Valor last year...Loved her! So much we booked her again in January.

As for the smoking...we did not have an issue at all. This is coming from someone who works at a non-profit that supports clean air.

[salty dingo]

I had a wonderful cruise on Valor! Would go again in a heartbeat!!

[yesaccasey]

I haven't been on the Valor within the last few months but my cruise on her was great. In fact, I've never had a bad cruise. I often wonder how you could have a bad cruise? I just don't get it, but that's me. If you enjoyed your previous Carnival cruise then you have nothing to worry about. Just have fun!

[Thoth]

Hello everyone! I have been alittle shy to post till now. My family has booked recently for April cruise on the Valor, very excited! This will beour 3rd cruise. first was on Carnival Liberty 2 years ago ,and on Serenade of the Seas last April. Love cruising..we are addicted for sure. My question to those whom have sailed the Valor , did you have a good cruise? Recent rash of bad reviews on cruise critic I have been reading has scared me alittle. We found the Liberty very nice ,the food wonderful as the staff all very friendly. I am one of those that agree that Carnival definately wins in the food area. Both cruises were great on both lines.Is the smoke really that bad all over the Valor? I would love to get info from past cruisers on this ship. I hope the rumor that its getting a Serenity area while in dry dock is true1 would be very nice.

My Valor cruise was excellent ! Beautiful ship...great crew...tasty food...fun entertainment.

That make you feel better ?

I've found most negative reviews to be irrational thinking. The poster usually paints a negative picture based on one or two bad experiences. Maybe they disliked one meal so they trash the whole dining room. They were frequently rude to the front deck and were set straight, so they blame the whole crew for being "uncaring"...all 1200 of them.

smoke ? Nope...can't recall any problem.

[nature person]

I was busy getting ready for family coming tomorrow and just now had a chance to go online for a bit. Wow! I was so thrilled to read so many posts in responce to mine. Thank you so much. I am enjoying reading them. Happy Thankgiving everyone!

[Thoth]

I was busy getting ready for family coming tomorrow and just now had a chance to go online for a bit. Wow! I was so thrilled to read so many posts in responce to mine. Thank you so much. I am enjoying reading them. Happy Thankgiving everyone!

 

Have a great thanksgiving yourself.

[rainelde]

I sailed on the Valor in the spring 3 years ago. I happened to like the Valor. It was the first cruise ship we had been on. I liked the food, I liked the music and the deck. The mini golf area could be updated and maybe a warning sign up there for when they blow the whistle. We had a balcony room and it was nice as all the rest. Pool water is cold due to the fact that they pump in sea water and its cold. hope this helps

[saluki1]

We were on the valor a couple of weeks ago. It was our first carnival cruise after 6 rci cruises. We had a great time and will do carnival again. If someone sat next to me and smoked in the casino, I just moved. Also, the smoking area on the deck is on one side so it wasn't a problem. Not to fear, you will have a great time on the Valor.