Carnival Liberty vs. Carnival Valor

[sail2day]

I am an avid cruiser and last took a cruise on Carnival about 4 years ago. The last several years I have cruised on Celebrity and RCCI.

 

I am looking at taking a cruise this summer to the Caribbean. My options are the Carnival Liberty or the Carnival Valor. I looked up the reviews on both and notice that there is a trend for some negative reviews on the Carnival Liberty, especially when it comes to the food.

 

Any recommendations?

[songbird1329]

Interesting question. We sailed on the Valor 2 years ago and plan to sail on the Liberty next year. I was told that tge Liberty got upgrades which the Valor diesn't have yet. I am curious to hear everyone's response.

[sail2day]

Interesting question. We sailed on the Valor 2 years ago and plan to sail on the Liberty next year. I was told that tge Liberty got upgrades which the Valor diesn't have yet. I am curious to hear everyone's response.

 

I was aware of the 2.0 upgrades on the Liberty, but the reviews on the ship are not as good as those for the Valor. Let's see what the CC members say.

[Isa65]

While I haven't been on the Valor (yet), we just got off the Liberty less than 2 weeks ago and I can tell you - NOTHING wrong with the food. There are several eating options and there is something for everyone.

The 2.0 upgrades are great and the steakhouse outstanding.

Don't let this be your deciding factor against the Liberty, you'll be missing out on an awesome ship.

[mrpayroll]

Had no problem with the food on Liberty.

[PA Dutchman]

The Liberty has the new 2.0 upgrade the Valor not yet.

[StingRaysfan]

Been on both within the last two years..I prefer the Liberty and LOVED the 2.0 upgrades. Will be on the Valor again in 30 days though, so thats gotta say something right?!?!

[beachbum53]

La-la-la-la-la! (fingers in ears) I'm not listening to anything negative about the Liberty. La-la-la-la-la! :D

We're sailing on the Liberty next week (May 5th), and we are sooo ready for our vacation! ( I have got to stop looking at pictures of the burgers from Guy's Burgers and the burritos from the Blue Iguana Cantina! I think I've already gained ten pounds, and I haven't eaten any yet! :eek: )

It seems like no matter which ship you choose, or which cruise line, you'll always find a few negatives mixed in with the positives. My thoughts are, unless the negative reviews outnumber the positive ones by a huge amount, don't worry about it. Pick the ship you want, and go. With so many food choices available, I'll bet you'll find several things that you like.:)

[David-n-Rita]

I am an avid cruiser and last took a cruise on Carnival about 4 years ago. The last several years I have cruised on Celebrity and RCCI.

 

I am looking at taking a cruise this summer to the Caribbean. My options are the Carnival Liberty or the Carnival Valor. I looked up the reviews on both and notice that there is a trend for some negative reviews on the Carnival Liberty, especially when it comes to the food.

 

Any recommendations?

 

We just did a back to back cruise 6 days on the Valor and got off and got on the 7 day Liberty docked right behind it. We just returned the middle of March.

 

Both ships are built the same so the decor was the only real difference there. The food and menus in the main dining room, were the same, quality was the same. The Lido food except the 2 new venues are the same. The blue iguana and red frog pub are just differently decorated mid pool bars. (we did the Magic and it is NOT a Red Frog pub like the Magic, it is a red frog decorated mid ship bar stand. The drinks and atmosphere will be OK for someone who has not sailed on a ship with a real red frog pub, not just a bar stand. That was a disappointment for us, we liked the food for sale in the real red frog pubs. The blue iguana cantina is a big plus for some people (we don't like that type of food, but if you do, the breakfast burritos and lunch menu got rave reviews and the food looked good. Guys burgers are fabulous, a big improvement over the burger stations on the Valor.

The other upgrades are not really noticeable, except for a DJ right under the big screen on the Lido on the Liberty, there was no live band just a DJ. Not a big deal for us, we don't care one way or another but if you like the live bands on the Lido, that is not on the Liberty.

 

The rest of the upgrades pretty much did nothing for the cruise itself, the comedy club they had already, now it has a dedicated home and a fancy sign. The very small area where they had a few things of candy, now is crowded with bins of candy and has a fancy cherry on top sign. Again compared to the same thing on the Magic where they had a big shop, this is the same piece of real estate with a new sign.

 

So there you have it. We tried to keep itinerary out of it as the Valor went west (which we find less exciting than the Eastern ports), and the Liberty went east. All in all, I would chose the Liberty

[Carolinagirl82]

We were on the Valor last year and absolutely loved everything about it. No complaints.

[RuthlessBoss]

Only been on Liberty, but read good reviews about valor. Perhaps someone will elaborate about what Liberty's upgrades were and why they are so special. Guy burgers, had 1, needed no more. I don't know what Liberty was before their "upgrades", my friend liked the old Liberty better. If you are a smoker, Lido is off limits now.

[Jam81999]

Call me biased but the Valor hands down. There's a reason I'm going on there for a fourth time. The crews awesome. The food is always hot and excellent. and their new upgrades like the Serenity deck is fantastic.

[sail2day]

We just did a back to back cruise 6 days on the Valor and got off and got on the 7 day Liberty docked right behind it. We just returned the middle of March.

 

Both ships are built the same so the decor was the only real difference there. The food and menus in the main dining room, were the same, quality was the same. The Lido food except the 2 new venues are the same. The blue iguana and red frog pub are just differently decorated mid pool bars. (we did the Magic and it is NOT a Red Frog pub like the Magic, it is a red frog decorated mid ship bar stand. The drinks and atmosphere will be OK for someone who has not sailed on a ship with a real red frog pub, not just a bar stand. That was a disappointment for us, we liked the food for sale in the real red frog pubs. The blue iguana cantina is a big plus for some people (we don't like that type of food, but if you do, the breakfast burritos and lunch menu got rave reviews and the food looked good. Guys burgers are fabulous, a big improvement over the burger stations on the Valor.

The other upgrades are not really noticeable, except for a DJ right under the big screen on the Lido on the Liberty, there was no live band just a DJ. Not a big deal for us, we don't care one way or another but if you like the live bands on the Lido, that is not on the Liberty.

 

The rest of the upgrades pretty much did nothing for the cruise itself, the comedy club they had already, now it has a dedicated home and a fancy sign. The very small area where they had a few things of candy, now is crowded with bins of candy and has a fancy cherry on top sign. Again compared to the same thing on the Magic where they had a big shop, this is the same piece of real estate with a new sign.

 

So there you have it. We tried to keep itinerary out of it as the Valor went west (which we find less exciting than the Eastern ports), and the Liberty went east. All in all, I would chose the Liberty

 

Great comparison. Since you took both ships on the same vacation you had a snapshot of the differences.

[sail2day]

Only been on Liberty, but read good reviews about valor. Perhaps someone will elaborate about what Liberty's upgrades were and why they are so special. Guy burgers, had 1, needed no more. I don't know what Liberty was before their "upgrades", my friend liked the old Liberty better. If you are a smoker, Lido is off limits now.

 

Were the cabins refurbished on the Liberty?

[sail2day]

La-la-la-la-la! (fingers in ears) I'm not listening to anything negative about the Liberty. La-la-la-la-la! :D

We're sailing on the Liberty next week (May 5th), and we are sooo ready for our vacation! ( I have got to stop looking at pictures of the burgers from Guy's Burgers and the burritos from the Blue Iguana Cantina! I think I've already gained ten pounds, and I haven't eaten any yet! :eek: )

It seems like no matter which ship you choose, or which cruise line, you'll always find a few negatives mixed in with the positives. My thoughts are, unless the negative reviews outnumber the positive ones by a huge amount, don't worry about it. Pick the ship you want, and go. With so many food choices available, I'll bet you'll find several things that you like.:)

 

Don't worry, I am sure you will have a great time on the Liberty.

 

Please post a review or comments to this thread after you return. I would really appreciate it.

[beachbum53]

Don't worry, I am sure you will have a great time on the Liberty.

 

Please post a review or comments to this thread after you return. I would really appreciate it.

 

Since we've not been on the Valor, nor the Liberty pre-makeover, I hope to be able to post an unbiased review (with pics.). Also, even though we haven't sailed on it yet, we're already talking about booking a cruise on the Liberty for next year.

[marshalltp]

Just off the Liberty and a year ago the Valor. Both were awesome ships, but did find the food on both go be of less care and quality then previous Carnival cruises. Menus are fleet wide, so I would think that my perceived diminshed quality would be on every ship.

 

That said, pick based on your favorite ports and I don't think you can go wrong.....the 2.0 upgrades were all very good

[TaraLynne]

I am an avid cruiser and last took a cruise on Carnival about 4 years ago. The last several years I have cruised on Celebrity and RCCI.

 

I am looking at taking a cruise this summer to the Caribbean. My options are the Carnival Liberty or the Carnival Valor. I looked up the reviews on both and notice that there is a trend for some negative reviews on the Carnival Liberty, especially when it comes to the food.

 

Any recommendations?

 

Take anything you see in the "review" section of this website with a grain of salt.

 

I haven't cruised the Valor since 2005 and enjoyed that cruise, but I'm excited to cruise the Liberty with the 2.0 updates. I would search the boards for "liberty" and read some reviews on here. Sometimes people are super duper positive, sometimes they will say when they didn't enjoy something or something went wrong, but in general they are full reviews and not just a few paragraphs of complaints. I quit reading the member reviews here after my cruise on the Dream in 2010 because it had a ton of crappy ones and we went and had a great time.

[sail2day]

Take anything you see in the "review" section of this website with a grain of salt.

 

I haven't cruised the Valor since 2005 and enjoyed that cruise, but I'm excited to cruise the Liberty with the 2.0 updates. I would search the boards for "liberty" and read some reviews on here. Sometimes people are super duper positive, sometimes they will say when they didn't enjoy something or something went wrong, but in general they are full reviews and not just a few paragraphs of complaints. I quit reading the member reviews here after my cruise on the Dream in 2010 because it had a ton of crappy ones and we went and had a great time.

 

Thanks for your suggestion. We will look for the best itinerary.

[scgamecock]

I am an avid cruiser and last took a cruise on Carnival about 4 years ago. The last several years I have cruised on Celebrity and RCCI.

 

I am looking at taking a cruise this summer to the Caribbean. My options are the Carnival Liberty or the Carnival Valor. I looked up the reviews on both and notice that there is a trend for some negative reviews on the Carnival Liberty, especially when it comes to the food.

 

Any recommendations?

 

 

I have been on both ships recently and Liberty wins hands down. Food, service & entertainment were comparable on both ships. The Carnival 2.0 enhancements tip the scale in favor of Liberty.

[Pellaz]

Liberty also does the Half Moon Cay -> US Virgin Islands -> San Juan PR -> Grand Turk itinerary, which is pretty awesome. After my mom and her hubby booked it, I couldn't resist tagging along in September.