Decor on the Valor

[valorbride]

The pictures that I have seen of the decor on the Valor are disappointing. Since I am getting married on the ship I was hoping for a room that is more formal and less gaudy. I am seriously rethinking my plans. Of the ones who have been on the ship, did you see any rooms where the decor was more appropriate for a formal wedding? If I wanted a cheesy wedding I would have choosen to go to Las Vegas.

[Cruising89143]

The pictures that I have seen of the decor on the Valor are disappointing. Since I am getting married on the ship I was hoping for a room that is more formal and less gaudy. I am seriously rethinking my plans. Of the ones who have been on the ship, did you see any rooms where the decor was more appropriate for a formal wedding? If I wanted a cheesy wedding I would have choosen to go to Las Vegas.

About the only Carnival ships that would be suitable for getting married in the type of atmosphere that you want would be one of the Spirit class ships. They actually have a chapel on board that seats approx. 40-50 people. Those are decorated with much better taste.

 

As far as Carnival's decor, it has been known for years as more of a Vegas at sea. It is over the top in many areas. From the photos that I have seen of the Valor, she does nothing for me. Just more of the same ole same ole from Joe Farcus who designs their ships. That main show lounge looks hideous.

[MERVYN BREMMER]

Not sure what you are looking for but I've seen photos of the decor of several ships and I wouldn't consider any of them appropriate for a "Formal" wedding. But good luck with your search, have a good trip and a wonderful life after the wedding.

[schack74]

Some of the princess ships have chapels and they're beautiful. Not sure when you're getting married but that seems to be more of what you're looking for.

[DB469]

I totally understand, also do not like the decor of the Valor...and find it too excessive in being patriotic, nice of course, but certainly not my taste for ship decor when cruising.

I would consider perhaps the Victory, Conquest or the Glory. They also have a chapel and the decor is more of what your looking for.

[Cruising89143]

Some of the princess ships have chapels and they're beautiful. Not sure when you're getting married but that seems to be more of what you're looking for.

So does RCI. Not bad looking at all.

[virginiab]

Hi, Valorbride,

I'll be on the Valor's Jan 9 cruise and will be happy to scout for you and take some photos of likely places. How many people will be attending your wedding?

Let me know if you'd like me to look. If so, maybe we should exchange email addresses??

[valorbride]

Thanks for offering to take pictures for me. Hopefully I can speak with the wedding coordinator and arrange to tour the ship since I live in Miami. I am getting married in September so if you can take pictures and email them to me after your cruise, I will be so grateful. My email adress is: cpso999@comcast.net. Since there are 22 lounges I am sure there is something we would like.

[JrMafia90]

I don't like when you look out the glass elevators in the Artium. I am very disappointed to.

[DeckCadet]

Joe Farcus had been on a roll with some not too shabby designs lately. Naturally to make up for a good change he had to go off and mess up this ship :)

[TropicsR4me]

While I was on the 2 day cruise, I saw a couple getting married in Winston's Cigar Club,which by the way, has nice leather chairs and sofas, not chessy at all.The couple getting married seemed very happy about the entire wedding. I agree it would be best if you could arrange a ship visit with Carnival to look at what rooms would be a possibility for your wedding. I know you want this special occasion to be right and you deserve it to be so. I personally liked the way the ship was decorated, but that is why they build different ships to appeal to a broader range of people. I enjoyed myself while on board and would go cruise on that ship again.

 

Best wishes on your upcoming wedding.

[jemingway]

I agree that the pictures of the Valor look very gaudy, but I found it to be much better in person. We were on the 2-day pre-inaugural and thought it was the most attractive Carnival ship we had been on-less glitzy than the Legend, which is very nice. There was a very elegant wedding that took place on the first night and did not seem out of place or cheap. Obviously, wedding plans are very personal, so some might not agree.

[DFD1]

The most elegant ships around are the Holland America ships, especially the Amsterdam and the Rotterdam. Take a look at them on the Holland America Website. They are sailing out of Florida to the Caribbean. Also the Holland America ship Volendam is absolutely beautiful...like cruising in an elegant home. They are also reasonably priced and carry about half the number of passengers of the larger Carnival ships.

 

Good luck with your wedding and your future.

[melissa76]

I would personally choose another cruise line for the wedding. I was married on Royal Caribbean. I think HAL and Princess would be nice, too.

 

Melissa :)

[DB469]

We were booked on our first (been on 29 cruises, I am 41) HAL cruise on the Zuiderdam coming up this summer....we cancelled after hearing word of mouth and on boards such as this one about sewage smells, service going down hill, lack of entertainment in the evening, warm in public rooms, etc on HAL, we immediately cancelled after hearing so many others saying the same thing. We chose another cruise line, anyway, I would suggest having cruised on Princess to look into them or RCI. Their cruise prices tend to be higher than Carnival, and Princess is "in between" when it comes to entertainment as I have experienced cruising on princess, there isn't as much as Carnival offers during the evening hours. But Princess cruise ships are a bit more elegant and you may find what you want.

If you want to keep the cost down, choose another ship of Carnival's....there are sites that give 360 tours of the ship and take a look at the decor of other ships then decide which ship you want to have your wedding on. Congratulations on your upcoming wedding and a life of happiness. :)

[cruisemates2]

We were just on the Valor two day cruise, and, while the cigar club looks very nice and there was a wedding in it that was beautiful, you must remember that those rooms start smelling like cigars after a few weeks of being used. So, if this would bother you and having a wedding in a smokey smelling room, I would suggest you change your plans. Good luck, and may you have a beautiful life together.

[DFD1]

DB469: Hope you weren't hasty in abandoning HAL. We've been cruising with them for years and had wonderful cruises. Most recently 10 days on the Volendam.

 

HAL has the highest percentage of return passengers of any cruise line in the world...and has had for years. On our Volendam cruise end of November, 923 or the 1200 passengers on board were previous HAL passengers. Remarkable.

 

IMO, they provide an ambience not found on any other large-ship cruise line. Elegant, somewhat sedate, very relaxing. Not high tempo at all. No hairy chest contests. LOL

 

As for the complaints you have read about HAL, I've learned to take that sort of thing with a grain of salt. I read horrible things about Canrival all the time on here, but I'm still looking forward to a great cruise on Conquest Jan. 30.

 

It will be my 30th cruise.....11 different cruise lines and shipping companies.

[DB469]

DFD1,

 

Thank you. I backed out of the Zuiderdam as I read too much of the same things. It could just be that ship, as you state you been on other ships of HAL but we love the Caribbean and the Zui is the only HAL that leaves out of Florida during the summer. I will eventually try HAL perhaps another ship later in time. Its very unfortunate hearing how many people loved HAL and now are getting disappointed, I just only hope that HAL is up with all these message boards and corrects any problems that they might have. Perhaps I will take HAL to Alaska, hoping that is my next cruise. :)

[virginiab]

Having looked at photos of Carnival public rooms all empty of people and with the light reflecting back and forth from highly-polished surfaces, I have to say that in my experience, most of the stuff that looks ridiculously over the top in the photos is greatly toned down in real 3-D life, especially when the space is populated. So keep breathing Valorbride. I'm sure you'll find a space that will work well for your wedding.

[valorbride]

Thank you for all the responses and well wishes. I spoke with the wedding coordinator today and she informed me that the ceremony will take place in the library. I think that will be OK. For you that have sailed already, did you get a chance to see it? Since we are having the wedding luncheon in the formal dining room, I think that is OK also and everything will be fine.

[MariaCallas]

I thought the decor of the Valor was great--colorful and inventive. You can call it gaudy if you like, but it's miles better than the decor of the last Carnival ship I sailed on five years ago. Carnival is the "fun ship" company. If I were looking for something more elegant, I would go with another more upscale cruise line.

[MariaCallas]

I didn't take any pictures of the library. There'll probably be some when the current passengers return Sunday. What I saw of the library, it was nice. Tropics4me was correct about Winton's Cigar bar as being very classy, but as the other poster pointed out -- who wants to be around stinky cigars?

[cruisemates2]

The library seemed to be closed every time we were in that area, but, looking through the door, it looked very nice. Maybe that would be fine. Those always seem to be subdued in color and decor.

[sea_u_onboard]

The deck plans are not updated on Carnival for the Valor - they are still showing the Conquest plans - but if you go to the Atlantic Deck - there are two rooms marked Gallery. One towards the front and one between the 2 Dining rooms. We poked our heads in that one and it looked like it could be set up very nicely for a wedding. You may want to check out that area of the ship.

[TropicsR4me]

I didn't take any pictures of the library. There'll probably be some when the current passengers return Sunday. What I saw of the library, it was nice. Tropics4me was correct about Winton's Cigar bar as being very classy, but as the other poster pointed out -- who wants to be around stinky cigars?

Very true Maria regarding the smell of cigars, did not think of what it would be smelling like in the near future. Only thing I can suggest once again to Valorbride, to check the ship out yourself in person that way you know what you are looking at thru your eyes and not someones elses, even pictures give a good idea on colors, but depends on lighting at that point in time. Everyone has opinions on how nice or not nice anything in life looks, the only thing that is important is how you feel about it. This is your big day, you deserve the best !!!