A Floating Resort
The Carnival Valor
The Carnival Valor is a huge ship!  For some reason, rather than elegant decor, Carnival has chosen a gaudy, mostly cheap-looking Americana theme for the Valor.  I am a very patriotic American, but the ship was too much for me.  I am going to take you on a deck-by-deck tour of the Valor through the pictures below:
DECK THREE:




<---Purser's Information Desk
(open 24 hours a day)

          Shore Excursion Desk --->
(open limited hours)



The three pictures above are of the American Atrium/Lobby and Bar.  Notice the Christmas tree and glass elevators!



Two of the evenings, I enjoyed the live classical music in the atrium.  The pianist and violinist were very good.




Ivanhoe Theatre/Lounge
 Lincoln Restaurant/Dining Room
 Washington Restaurant/Dining Room
(I sat on the top level, far right)
DECK FOUR:




Photo Gallery
(no photos allowed)
 Iliad Library
(rarely open)
 Heroes' Club
(elegant, rarely used)



<--- Winston's Cigar Bar
   (I never saw anyone here;
          it was very beautiful, though)

The Web Internet Café --->
(inside the cigar bar!)
The Carnival Valor does have wireless Internet access throughout the ship.  I took my laptop with me; my wireless card found and connected to the ship's connection. Prices are steep, though: $3.95 connection charge plus $0.75 per minute.  I didn't connect; rather, I used land-based Internet shops on Roatan Island and Grand Cayman
(both priced at $2 for 15 minutes, expensive but still cheaper than aboard ship).
DECK FIVE:




Jewelry/Collectibles Shop
 Souvenir/Liquor Shop
 Bronx Bar



Shogun Club Casino
(The ugliest room on the ship!)
I can only assume the hideous samurai sculptures everywhere hide security cameras!
 Example of the hard-to-read LED signs around the ship.



Java Café
(Charges extra for drinks and desserts)
Cakes and pastries looked delicious!
 Togo Sushi Bar
(Open during dinner only)
Tasty (but not West African ☺)
 Jeanne's Wine Bar
(The sign is so poorly done, I didn't know this was Jeanne's until the last day!)


One Small Step Disco
Footprints everywhere!?!  Weird moon-scape fixtures!?!
 Lindy Hop Bar
(Spirit of '76 model above the piano!)






The Caboose Bar
Model train runs around the bar; really fun spinning stools!
 Paris Hot Lounge
(Very racially disturbing naked black mannequins dressed only in banana skirts and pearls; supposedly dedicated to Joséphine Baker, but of extremely questionable taste)



Eagles Lounge
Decorated with beautiful wood inlay of eagles and nifty eagle lights in the ceiling; fake eagle statues are more disturbing
 Lots of gold-painted eagles around all the elevators.  The deck numbers on the carpet were very hard to read!
DECK SEVEN:




<---- My cabin ☺


        Laundry rooms on every floor ---->
($5 per load for soap, wash, and dry)
Even an iron and ironing board were available!
DECK NINE:




Argonaut Pool and Hot Tubs
 The Grille
They made the best cheeseburgers and had the best toppings:
chili con carne, saurkraut, sauteéd mushrooms, and grilled onions.
Their French fries were also spectacular!



The Deli
Non-changing menu of four hot and four cold deli sandwiches (only so-so; open for lunch and dinner)
 Fish 'n' Chips
Non-changing menu of seafood dishes, including bouilliabaise.  Their fresh fish and chips were excellent.  Great presentation; open short hours.
 Oriental
Daily changing menu of Asian-inspired dishes.  It was always so busy, I could never get a good photo while it was open!  Open for lunch only.



Carnival Valor's buffet is called Rosie's Restaurant (in honor of Rosie the Riveter, a character inspired by a woman from Ypsilanti!).  It is not 24 hours; they open for breakfast, for lunch, for dinner, and around midnight.  The décor is designed to look like a diner: it's all seafoam green.  At lunch, they have two separate buffet lines, a "regular" line and a daily "themed" line!  The final day's theme was a chocolate buffet, including a chocolate fountain!



More views of the buffet.
While I much prefer the buffets on Princess ships, Carnival has better beverage choices.  They offer delicious lemonade and fruit punch most of the time.  At breakfast, they offer orange juice.  Notice the nice pro-woman mosaic tilework.  Also notice the yellow "caution" signs; the tile on the floor is slippery all of the time.

 
At the back ("aft") of deck nine, there is a 24-hour pizzeria serving six types of pizza, calzones, and caesar salad.  The margharita (cheese) pizza is very good!

This is also the location of the 24-hour ice cream, coffee, and tea.  Great soft-serve ice cream!   ---->
DECK TEN:





<--- I love waterslides, and the Carnival Valor's salt water slide is very nice.
DECK ELEVEN:




24-hour shuffleboard!
 Golf cage near the jogging track
(It was very windy ☺)		 Basketball and volleyball courts

Yes, my science students, you will be impressed to notice that one lap on the Carnival Valor's jogging track is equal to climbing 181 mountains!  I did 27 laps; that should be enough exercise for a few years ☺
[Equally incorrect, Belize abbreviates miles as mls!]




I enjoyed my cruise and my photo safari of the ship!

Introduction
 The Ship
 My Cabin
 Food
 Day 1
Day 2 Belize Roatan Island Grand Cayman Cozumel

Last updated January 2, 2007
Contact the webmaster