We were on this cruise because my wife got a casino offer that made an 8 night cruise too good to pass up and that we really liked the itinerary.

The ship was recently in dry dock so the public spaces looked fresh and the ship was equipped with many of the amenities we have enjoyed on previous Carnival cruises.

Since our last Carnival cruises in 2014 (2 of them that year) both had the American Table/Feast menu, we were familiar with what was going to be served, more so than the waitstaff since this was the first cruise that menu was in use on Valor. What we immediately noticed was that the selection of items available had undergone some revisions to cheaper cuts of meat and elimination of several accompaniments that changed the meal from restaurant to diner quality. Escargot was only available 1 night and it lacked flavor; in fact almost all of the food lacked flavor, something we had not experienced on previous Carnival cruises. Trying to get a glass of wine with dinner was a challenge since nobody asked if we wanted a drink and even when we tried to order through our waiters, they seemed confused by the request and were unable to fulfill the drink order; we went to the bar and got them ourselves. Read more