I am considering going on a Carnival Valor Cruise. I have serious reservations about Carnival though. Help!?

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aymie520

I too had reservations about Carnival, and before we booked a cruise with them, when I searched I always disregarded them and searched for other lines. I finally found an itinerary that suited myself and my boyfriend and I thought, 'if it's terrible, I will soon find out.' Best week of my life!!! I am now a Carnival lover, and am glad I took a chance with them because now I am a big Carnival fan!! Never listen to the negative things that others say because if I had done that, I would have never had the trip of a lifetime! Carnival is not at all grungy, very elaborate and fancy, and CLEAN I did not see one problem with cleanliness. The food is amazing. So many different choices and so delicious! The lines to disembark were somewhat long, but they went quickly. As with all cruises, you will always find a line somewhere, but considering how many fellow cruisers there are, that is to be expected. The service was excellent, no complaints! Our waiters always greeted us by name, which made us feel very special. There are many different activities onboard, and I feel a little bit sad that a lot of people have the impression that Carnival is just for "drunk spring breakers". The majority of people that cruise are middle aged married folks who just need a vacation and want to relax. There will always be the few "special" people that can ruin your experience, but that is just not on Carnival, that is on any cruiseline. There are a lot of trivia games, along with other different activities to keep you busy and having fun! The shore excursions depend on if it is tendered (meaning you take a ferry boat from the ship to the shore) or docked. Both ways ran smoothly. I suggest booking your excursions directly through the cruise line, though they can be a little more expensive, if you are running late, they will not wait for you unless you are booked through them, and you can restassured that the excursion is safe because Carnival always tests it before they add it to their ship. Some cruises offer golf, basketball, rock climbing, etc. but to be honest, I was so busy doing other things I did not get to play any sports.
Feel free to email me with other questions, and good luck! Hope I helped!

the_lovely_holly_golightly

I have been on most cruise lines and can say Carnival is the best for the price. The food was amazing. As for the lines Im not sure because I eat in the dining room for most meals. MOst of the time there is a line when everyone gets back from an excursion.

I just got my first shp on a stick for trivia

Its isnt filled with crazy drunks.

The excisrions are great!

My favorite website to get reviews and ask questions is cruisecritic.com

renee_01701

I have been on a half a dozen Carnival cruises. Each has the best food and there are A LOT of trivia games. Check the sports. There are not a lot of drunks but there is drinking. It is first class. Valor is a beauty

Mary L

I have not personally cruised with Carnival, and have heard both wonderful and horrible reports from friends who have been on board. The lines were horrible -- the lines were OK. The food was great -- the food was awful. There weren't a lot of drunks -- everybody was drunk. That sort of thing. The only consistent thing about the comments was that they were NOT neutral -- people either loved it or hated it, and nobody was inbetween. My suggestion is that you consider the comments from people you feel are reliable and who are about the same age and have the same general expectations and ideas of fun as you have.

â˜®.â™¥.â˜º

i went on carnival pride last spring break and i give it a 3.5/5.
the cruise itself is not grungy at all to be honest, and it is not like i have not been on other cruises. ive been on crystal, princess, seabourn, silverseas, and im going on holland america over summer. the food is great. we had two formal nights and everyday we go to the normandy restaurant and have the 5 course meal which is good too. the service isnt bad at all and we soon got to know most of the crew members on board and they are all very caring! there are many activities on board but some are quite stupid. so i would stick with going to the spa and jacuzzi. and have a swim. and tan in the day. there are some trivia games too and i actually won some money from them. they are quite fun! haha.
and now it goes to the reason why i took off those points.. the shore excursions were HORRIBLE. the people took us to a jungle and there was seriously nothing there and we had to cross this river. and supposedly learning the wild life(??) i found that not worth the money at all but overall everything is great. I think that if there were more activities, it would be a lot more fun. but they have shows every night and dances, clubs, and teen activities also.
the sports options on my cruise were.. basketball, ping pong, golf, swimming of course, fitness, and tennis.

peash

My first cruise was on carnival and my second cruise was on royal caribbean, and i can honestly say that royal caribbean was much better. Carnival was ok, but not alot of activities and a much smaller ship. Their food was ok but i got sick of the buffet fast ! Royal caribbean had alot of activities and better food. Carnival had good service too though. All in all i would recomment royal caribbean over carnival, but carnival is not that bad, it's still a cruise and the funnest part is when you dock and explore each island anyways !!!

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