- Carnival Valor's Mural of Rosie the Riveter - Photos by Martin Sandler
Of all the ships in Carnival Cruise Lines’ fleet, perhaps none are as uplifting as the 13-deck, 110,000-gross ton Carnival Valor. Credit for that must go to Joe Farcus, Carnival Cruise Lines’ versatile designer.
Farcus creates design themes for Carnival ships and many of them reflect his apparent affinity for glitz and glitter, but Carnival Valor is different. The ship’s comparatively subtle décor is an often heartwarming tribute to real and fictional heroes and heroines. Most of them are American and all of them are iconic.
Carnival Valor – a Cruise Ship with a Patriotic Theme
“I tried to incorporate the best things about America, and the icons of an American inspirational nature that are featured within many of the Carnival Valor’s public rooms represent the best of what America is all about,” Farcus said in an August 10, 2010 phone interview.
By incorporating murals, paintings and bas reliefs of heroic figures into the décor, and by naming public rooms after famous places and real and imaginary people, Farcus has, design-wise, succeeded in making the Valor an exciting and engaging floating history lesson. It’s a lesson in which American passengers can take pride and non-Americans can take interest.
In the Valor’s atrium, the dome features bas relief panels representing famous American cities and recognizable geographic symbols such as Independence Hall in Philadelphia.
Bas relief faces that look like oversize white cameos surround the atrium. The faces include George and Martha Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Dolley Madison, Betsy Ross and Teddy Roosevelt, and they are beautiful when they are softly lighted at night.
The atrium floor is an American flag motif in red, white and blue granite and terrazzo, and this huge flag is designed so that it seems to be billowing. It’s a stunning effect.
Patriotic symbols continue into the elevator bays, where columns are crowned with gold-toned American eagles. The two-tier, colonial-style dining rooms are named for Presidents Lincoln and Washington and their respective bas reliefs decorate the walls.
Carnival Valor – Cruising With Heroes, Heroines and Americana
At Carnival Valor’s casual buffet-style cafe, Rosie’s, located on the pool deck, the focal point is a wall-size tile mural re-creating the famous World War II poster of Rosie the Riveter.
Much of the cafe is a tribute to the women of World War II. The walls feature colorful mosaics of proud women working on factory assembly lines, serving as military nurses, and doing their part to support the war effort.
“I think the best symbol is that of Rosie the Riveter, who was arguably the mother of the women’s movement, saying ‘We can do it!’ with her biceps flexed,” Farcus said.
Scarlett O’Hara may have been a spoiled Southern Belle, but in the literary world and the world of Carnival Valor, she is an American icon, so Scarlett’s, the ship’s reservations-only supper club, bears her name.
The windows of this steakhouse are bordered with Colonial-style pink shutters, paintings depict plantation scenes and within an arched colonnade opposite the dance floor, there is a wall-length mural of Scarlett dancing with Rhett Butler. Considering the first-rate food and service, the elegant and sophisticated ambiance and the menu generous with steak and seafood choices, the $30-per-person charge is a bargain.
The Paris Hot Jazz Club on Carnival Valor pays tribute to Josephine Baker, the famous African-American chanteuse of the ‘20s and ‘30s. A highlight of this cabaret is the statue of Baker dressed in her banana costume.
Located next to the casino, the Bronx Sports Bar scores with baseball fans and anyone enticed by nostalgia. A photo mural of Yankee Stadium fills one wall and the bar tables have legs resembling sawed-off bats. Photos of Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth and other baseball icons dot the remaining walls.
Carnival Valor – ‘Heroic’ Vacation Fun at Sea
Carnival Valor’s Lindy Hop piano bar, with scale models of the Spirit of St. Louis hanging from the ceiling, commemorates Charles Lindbergh’s flight from New York to Paris, and the One Small Step Dance Club, with its moon craters effect, is a tribute to Neil Armstrong’s walk on the moon.
Younger passengers will find diversion in The Caboose, a game room with simulated train tracks, an electric train and railroad-design accents paying tribute to train engineer Casey Jones. The 1,400-seat Ivanhoe Show Lounge, honoring Sir Walter Scott’s fictional hero, features a rising orchestra pit, Las Vegas-style revues and a Medieval-inspired design enhanced by faux knights and castle towers.
Carnival Valor sails round trip from Miami on alternating 7-day Eastern and Western Caribbean cruises. The ship not only provides the setting for a fun cruise vacation, it inspires an appreciation for all that’s good about America.
Roberta Sandler - Roberta Sandler has written more than 1,000 articles that have appeared in scores of magazines and newspapers including Miami Herald, ...
