Joyce Edwards

Age: 43
Occupation: Caterer
Number of Cruises: 26
Cruise Line: Carnival
Ship: Valor
Sailing Date: January 2nd, 2005
Itinerary: Western Caribbean

Carnival Cruise line is considered to be the Fun Ship; If you are looking to have lots of things to do they will be your first choice. We had the honor to travel on the Valor on Jan 2, 2005. We wanted to sail on this one because it is the Newest Conquest Class ship. We knew, we would have the top notch service we are use to with Carnival. We have bragged on Carnival to so many people we wanted them to experience what we have in pass cruises with them, I have been on the Paradise, Fantasy, Fascination, Imagination, Sensation, which on all 5 of these ships had a fabulous time.


With Valor being the newest of the Fleet there was not doubt in my mind this was going to be the ultimate cruise experience, Our check in went quite well, we arrive to the port early enough to by pass the late arrivers, which I do recommend you do, bring a good book check in and prepare for your experience, the check in staff at Miami are always helpful and friendly, this makes for a easy transaction. Once you go up the stairs to more seats to wait for customs to clear the ship from the previous passengers your excitement and anticipation begins to flow, you can’t wait to get on that ship, once you hear those magic words, this way please, you’re up and running. I always by pass the picture taking, we have more pictures than we can handle, and of course you’re ready to have that fabulous food. When entering the Valor we where quite impress, the entrance on the deck 4 was breath taking, you are greeted by smiling faces which you know are ready to make your vacation quite a pleasant and memorable experience.

My Husband and I went straight to our room to unload our carry on luggage, which you should have do, to avoid getting your bags later than you want, again we where quite please to see our beds placed together and large a picture window and champagne and chocolates waiting for us from our travel agent Chavon, from Easy Travel Agency, we forgot how large Carnival’s room where, we went straight to Lido Deck for lunch, again, what a wonderful surprise to see all of the variety they had to offer, the hot sandwiches, in the Deli Corner, the Stir Fry Bar, additional to the Chinese Bar, and the Buffet was just fabulous, The hot corn beef sandwiches just made me happy after eating our fabulous lunch, we took our tour of the ship, we notice right away the American theme, with the stone carvings of the American presidents in the foyer, the flags located in the marble on the floor and the Main dining rooms, call the Lincoln and Washington dining room.

After taking our tour we decided to go back to our room and unpack and await our drill for the day, after the drill we met up with our party and check out where we would be seated for dinner, we opted for a late dinner 8:00pm this is a good time frame if you get back late from your excursions and would like to have a little nap before dinner.

We ate in the Washington room at table # 537, this is where the disaster begin, our servers name was Ollie, I could not tell you where Ollie was from but I can tell you where every it is, Customer service does not exist there, normally on cruises we receive very personable and attentive service, when you cruise you want to feel special and pampered, I can tell you this did not occur, I said to myself, maybe he has to get use to the new group of passengers, with this being a 7 day cruise I knew it would get better for him and me, the 2nd night was our first formal, so we knew Ollie would be ready to talk to us, NOT, he and his assistant seem to have been very disoriented and confuse, it was as if no training had been given to them at all, his assistant would go away and stay away until dessert, so this left Ollie to serve us and 4 other tables he had, with our table having 10 persons of course we where always served last, again no personal touch given at all, one of the things the waiters do is a show for you at dinner, again here Ollie seemed to have been not interested in doing this at all, his demeanor was very Blah, having sail on numerous cruise ships, I was truly disappointed in the service provide from the whole dining staff, I ate in the open seating dining for breakfast, again waiting to fill special and not having to wait in line at the Lido deck to serve myself, well I might as well have, again no happy people, everyone was acting as if the passengers where a bother to them, again with this being a Conquest Class ship, I was hoping for the best of the best, instead I got rejects from a one day cruise liner. After 3 days of no service, My husband and I decided to try the Scarlet Restaurant, Let me tell you this was the highlight of the trip, it cost a additional $25.00pp to dine at this restaurant, it’s worth every dime, the service is unbelievable, they offer a live band which sings oldies but goodies and sound wonderful, you also can dance with you sweetie, this is a very romantic spot to dine if you are having a special night to celebrate or just want to be treated very special.

The Scarlet room offers T-bone steaks the size of a 11inch plate, the lobster tail is the size of a whole lobster, they offer you a 7 course meal that is perfect in every way, I cried when the waitress served my soup, it was very elegant the way it was presented, I truly recommend this restaurant, it’s just a shame you have to pay additional monies to have the type of service you deserve for your dining.

You will enjoy the entertainment, I think where Carnival saved money on training for their staff, they incorporated that money into the entertainment, the shows where first rate.

I hope Carnival recognize it’s short comings by fixing their Service problem remembering being the fun ship, doesn’t mean you have to lack on service, overall the Valor is a nice ship to cruise on, but the service at present is awful.