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Carnival Valor Review: 4/28 sailing from Puerto Rico


JennN
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Hi all!

 

It's me, Jenn again, back with another review. As in my other reviews I will note that I travel with my wife (that makes us lesbians) so if that offends you, please X out of the window right now.

 

Still with me? Great! Nice to meet you and thanks for taking the time to read my review. We traveled on this cruise with my mother-in-law (MIL) again so it's written from a three person perspective ;) I will start with pre-cruise and over a few days perhaps, finish up the entire 12 days.

 

PRE-CRUISE

My wife, MIL and I decided to tack on 2 days to the front and tail ends of the cruise to extend the vacation into legs of a trip. We're brilliant, huh?

 

We arrived in Puerto Rico on Friday, April 26 only minutes apart from my MIL. We stayed at the Conrad Condado. And we LOVED it. While our room wasn't quite ready, we got to visit the grounds and eat lunch and the views were breathtaking. The food was VERY expensive the entire time we stayed in PR, and the hotel was no exception. But where else could you get these kinds of views?

 

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We were in awe. Our rooms though actually overlooked the lagoon. We booked with Priceline for about $130/night (not including the $18 or so resort fee). You never can tell with Priceline rooms - sometimes they give you a dumpy one but aside from a stale odor, our view was amazing (we also didn't get a king bed but two doubles)!

 

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The grounds themselves are quite nice as well. They have three pools - a lap pool which is never busy, a saltwater pool which was by the bigger pool but was smaller and less crowded and then the bar pool which had an attached slide. We opted to camp out at the saltwater pool for most of our stay.

 

We ventured into Old San Juan for dinner with my friend and braved the long Friday night lines for a meal. Between food costs themselves and taxis, this is where much of our money went on the trip!

 

We woke up Saturday morning and my MIL and wife decided to try paddle boarding. My wife hated it and MIL loved it. It was a $20 fee for an hour on the boards in the lagoon. I headed to the pool after snapping some pictures.

 

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More to come in the next post (ran out of picture options!)...

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PRE-CRUISE CONT'D

 

So, as I said, I didn't paddle board (I just had toe surgery a few months ago and my balance is still off) but decided to head to the pool and wait for the girls - the weather was unusually hot - 90+ degrees but felt like it was in the 100s. However, all we had was sun, sun, sun on the front end of the trip!

 

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We decided to venture to the beach too - it was really where the lagoon and beach met so it wasn't white sand beach but it was nice enough for a dip but then we went back to "our" saltwater pool:

 

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We took a taxi back to OSJ for dinner and ate at Raices for Mofungo - which is the Puerto Rican national dish made with meat and plantain mashed. It was yummy!

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After, we walked through OSJ and took a cab back but had him drop us off a couple of blocks away to pick up champagne for the cruise (my drink of choice and Carnival allows you to bring one bottle of champagne or wine a person on board). I also picked up a few fun drinks (think Capri Sun for adults - a pouch of rum punch with a straw!) for that night and water - all much cheaper than at the hotel!!!

 

We woke up on Sunday and had a view of the Valor in port from our balcony:

 

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Although super excited to get there, we took our time and swam some more, had a Starbucks breakfast (coffee and oatmeal for $7, out on the verandah with that view - couldn't beat it!) and finally packed up and checked out and headed into OSJ to port around noon.

 

486804_10152798309050015_39000235_n.jpgWe were unsure of what time we could check in, since we didn't leave on board until 10p, but there were no real lines when we got there and getting on was a breeze. Now, while the port itself is pretty run down, I LOVE that they had alcohol and drinks on sale inside so if you wanted, you could drop your bags off and come back out to purchase it.

 

We headed right up to Lido, had lunch and then headed to our rooms -we decorated my MIL's for her 60th birthday (we also wore matching t-shirts to board) and I had a surprise waiting in our room for my wife...

 

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JennN, was this cruise the 7 night round trip San Juan that includes Barbados, St Lucia, St Kitts, St Thomas and St Maarten?

 

Yes! It was a busy trip with only one day at sea but totally wonderful!

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BOARDING-Day 1

 

So, as I said, we decorated my MIL's room for her birthday. I do love their decor! We also gave her a gift card - she requires a lot of water every day so we thought we'd help her with the card and then having 6 small bottles there for her.

 

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MIL had an interior stateroom on the 8th floor. She doesn't mind it at all. My wife does though so we always opt for an aft oceanview. Except the last time we were on the Valor we had splurged on a balcony but couldn't use it because of all the smoking people around us did. So we went back to an aft oceanview at the very back of the ship.

 

The view is GREAT! However, we decided that after this cruise, the noise (we were in room 2479) when docking was too loud for us to enjoy - even though we docked around 7a, the noise and vibrations start at 5a or so and it was the worst sleep we've gotten on a cruise ever. So next cruise, we're on the spa deck.

 

Anyway, I got my wife a present too so we headed to our room:

 

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After that, we headed to explore the ship, buy a bubbles sticker for my soda (coffee upsets my stomach so for me, soda before excursions is the best way to go) and then went up to the Serenity Deck to take in the sites.

 

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922849_10152798333425015_55420870_n.jpg(my wife, then me, then my MIL in our cute shirts)

 

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Picture limit reached...back with more!

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I love your reviews. You three seem to have so much fun. I hope it doesn't offend you that a straight person, ok I am more round and hunched over than straight, person is reading your wonderful review.:D

 

Not at all! My reviews are for everyone. However, I put the warning up there and am straight-forward (ha!) with it so I don't get the questions about my sexual orientation rather than the cruise itself! Seems like I have some time before I leave so I am going to keep plugging along here until I've got to run :D Thanks for reading!

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I can't wait to keep reading through your reviews. We are doing the New Years Dec. 29th itinerary if we survive the Carnival Sunshine on the 26th this month lol.

 

LOL - We wanted to do the Sunshine and my DW and I were booked in October but I lost my job so we can't afford the airfare and all that is required of going overseas. 2014 will be the Sunshine for us though. What is the itinerary on the 29th? We'll be on the Dream on Dec. 7th for the Belize/Mexico/Honduras itinerary, again!

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LOL - We wanted to do the Sunshine and my DW and I were booked in October but I lost my job so we can't afford the airfare and all that is required of going overseas. 2014 will be the Sunshine for us though. What is the itinerary on the 29th? We'll be on the Dream on Dec. 7th for the Belize/Mexico/Honduras itinerary, again!

 

So excited for December 7th!! Glad you joined the roll call. And am so excited to read this review too!!!! I'm saving a bunch of reading to help me get thru some of my days of my deployment on Tuesday!!! Have fun and thanks for being "straight" forward. :):D:):D

Edited by d-lite-n-cruisin
Misspelling. Ugh
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BOARDING/DAY 1 CONT'D

 

The Valor has a decor all it's own. I find it very un-ship-like, if that makes sense. I get that they tried to match the decor to the name - having Valorous people all around, but I like my decor more Breeze-like and tropical. Plus, I can't figure out who all the pictures are of in the corridors of the room hallways - one looks like Napolean but really? He's not the first I think of when I think Valor. But I digress...

 

Here are some shots of the decor:

 

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So you get the idea - very patriotic. The rugs and such in the hallways are worn and need to be replaced but overall, the ship is in pretty good shape for one of the older vessels. I will have some more pictures of the ship later in the review.

 

By this time it was 5p and we decided to head on back to the room to get ready for our 6p Steakhouse reservation. This was our MIL's Mother's Day Gift. I didn't mention but when we first boarded, someone from the steakhouse stopped us to invite us to book a reservation. When we told her we had and also did Chef's Table but my MIL had some food restrictions, she totally took care of us. Which made this next part so much fun!

 

STEAKHOUSE

We arrived at Scarlett's a little before 6 and were seated right away. My free bottle of wine arrived (yes, mine since neither MIL nor DW drink wine) and so did the same woman who took care of us in the hallway earlier. Her name means Snow White so I will call her Snow. Although Snow was not our official waitress, she kept coming over to shat with us and take care of us. We perused the menu and Snow walked over and said she talked with Chef and he said stop with the menu, he will prepare something for you based on your needs (she is allergic to some foods and her doctor wanted her to stay away from certain things like wheat, cheese, vinegar, some veggies, etc.). Way above and beyond as well as amusing as she became "that person with all the food allergies."

 

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Food was stupendous, as usual!

 

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After dinner - which was amazing and I would totally recommend spending the extra $35 - we headed out to one of the higher decks before being called to muster at 9:15 or so. I thought it was very late for kids and such - plus it was hot as Hades and no one actually pays attention, they start late, etc. but it's a necessary evil and I get that. Afterwards, we all changed into swimsuits and headed to the sail away party. I was taking pictures on my cell phone at this point and none of them came out well but we said our goodbyes to Puerto Rico and headed off to St. Thomas. Something I had never done before? I swam in the middle Lido Deck pool during the party - as did my MIL. No one was going to see me again plus, the pool was EMPTY so why not? Seas were rough to start out but it was fun having the main pool for ourselves. We headed back to our rooms at around midnight.

 

Day 2 - St. Thomas/St. John

We woke up early for breakfast on Lido (cereal, bacon and fruit for me)

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then headed off the ship. Disembarking was soooo easy on this cruise - unlike on the Breeze last December when we had lines galor. there was no waiting at all. We had an hour to kill before our excursion and since DW and I had been to St. Thomas before, we walked my MIL through the port and shops. We met up with our excursion a bit afterwards.

 

We always book through Carnival. Here are our reasons: 1) if any port is canceled, we get a refund 2) they hold the ship for us 3) we had a very bad experience once not booking through Carnival and it turned us off. My wife was very adamant about both the first items and this being our 4th cruise and having those things happen, we continue to book through Carnival. It's worth the extra money to us.

 

Anyway, we three did the St. John Trunk Bay Beach & Snorkel Trails - since DW and I had gone to St. Thomas, MIL agreed to get in another island and head to St. John's. This couldn't have been more of a right fit for her since it was her first time trying snorkeling. In planning out our excursions, we did them all with her since the cruise was celebrating her. And we picked excursions that had snorkeling (what we wanted to do) with other things like shopping and beach in case she didn't want to try to snorkel. We had JUST gotten her to go into the ocean last cruise and didn't want to push our luck. But, she was a champ and with this excursion, she became a snorkel queen!

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So excited for December 7th!! Glad you joined the roll call. And am so excited to read this review too!!!! I'm saving a bunch of reading to help me get thru some of my days of my deployment on Tuesday!!! Have fun and thanks for being "straight" forward. :):D:):D

 

Thanks for the nice welcome at Roll Call! :cool: I will have a LOT to read for you then! Safe travels.

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THANK YOU! THANK YOU! For your review! As you can see DH and I are sailing again on the Valor in (whoo hoo) 14 weeks from tomorrow for my 50th birthday!!!!! We sailed on her before in 2010 western itinerary.

 

I'm looking at all your wonderful pictures! Do you know, by chance, if they have "redone" the Valor? I know it's not 2.0 yet, but I don't remember a lot of what I'm seeing.

 

We too only do carnival excursions basically for the same reasons you and your DW do. Thank you for including info on these also!

 

Thanks again for your review! I've subscribed to your thread so I can get all the updates and photos!!

 

HAPPY CRU1Z1N!!!!!!

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Day 2 - St. Thomas/St. John, CONT'D

 

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So, we went from the dock to a boat and took this boat about 45 minutes through the clearest and bluest waters ever!

 

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Once we disembarked, we were put on an open-air safari truck to drive about 15 minutes to Trunk Bay. The views were great!

 

247071_10152798349800015_741612855_n.jpgAnd now I know why it's considered one of the top beaches in the world! It is so hard to narrow down the pictures here but I will try to limit it to three.

 

After being given a briefing, we were told that we had an hour or so to snorkel, enjoy the beach, hit the gift and food shops, etc. We opted to snorkel and MIL was all in. They have an underwater trail which was really neat - they had placards under the water that identified fish etc. And because it was from the beach, MIL didn't mind walking and just swimming further and further out. I mean, in this water, how could you?

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The tide was a bit rough but this was one of the best snorkeling trips we've ever had! My wife and I have been on 8 or so snorkeling excursions so far and it was great for all three of us. It gave my MIL the opportunity to get used to the mask and breathing and having the underwater trail gave us something that we've never tried before. The fish were so different and having the markers to identify the fish was great! The sand was soft and the water so clear and blue. It really was a great time!!! The instructors were funny and friendly as well. The marine life was the most colorful of all our snorkeling trips too!

 

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The only 2 negatives are:

1) I wish we had more time in the water to explore. While the surf was rough (can't blame anyone for that), an hour to get ready, get in the water and enjoy just wasn't enough. 2 hours in total would have given us more time to explore more of the beach, the shops and the trail.

2) There was no real beach. It may have been high tide when we went but it was hard to get a spot on the sand and when we did, there wasn't enough room for 3 towels on top of our gear. And people kept stepping on it as well.

 

However, the beauty of it far outweighed the bad and so I had a beer (that I could take back on the safari taxi thingy) and we headed back.

 

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We spent some time in port getting souvenirs and hitting the Delly Deck, our favorite bar in the Caribbean.

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Nice job so far! It's nice to see pictures of the Valor. We were on her in 2009 for our first cruise.

 

Do you have any more pictures of the Conrad or the area? We're thinking about staying there in December. Any info on the hotel or the surrounding area would be great. We're going to arrive a couple of days before out cruise, too.

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Great review and pictures.....thank you for taking the time to write it. We did this same itinerary on the Victory last year and loved it so much, we booked on the Valor for next April!

 

Maria

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Day 2 CONT'D

 

That night we ate in the Lincoln Dining Room (or Main Dining Room, MDR) for the first time. We've only ever done Your Time Dining and it's because we don't want to have to rush for dinner. If we are hungry, we go early. If we aren't, we go later. We also like being able to pick and choose our waitstaff.

 

For instance, this first night, we weren't in love with our team so on the second night, we switched and found GREAT staff and then requested them the whole time. No big deal!

 

Anyway, the food was so much better than the last time we were on the Valor. Always hot and yummy (save one night when I sent it back). We typically order two apps (usually an app and a salad), main course and entree.

 

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I hate chocolate but the warm chocolate melting cake is still a favorite!

 

That night we slept very well since we had no clanging to wake us up as it was a sea day!

 

Day 3 - Fun Day At Sea

 

In the morning, we went to the brunch to use our drink coupons (we hit Gold status on this cruise, my MIL was red and I got her coupon too). It was a yummy brunch in the Washington Dining Room.

 

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Nothing like a FREE Mai Tai (or two) at 9a! I always like the food at brunch and this was even better since there were no 2.0 upgrades - that meant no comedians!!!

 

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Pretty fruit!

 

After brunch, we went up to the Lido deck for the master mixologist contest. I had never entered and thought, what the heck? About 17 entered in total and I was one of 5 picked!!! Since they were limited on what ingredients you could use, I mixed up a Snorkel Bubble (Malibu, pineapple and a splash of Amaretto - though the bartender up there kept telling me "no" to stuff - it needed another shot). But after taking a look at the contestants, I knew I wouldn't win (bikini girl did). But it was still a ton of fun and I got a medal for it:

 

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And now, a word about our real cruise director, pictured here. SEAN. Not Jacques, who was no where to be found for these sorts of things. This man was fun, funny and deserves the raise after saying "Only AMERICAN CITIZENS who ARE CARRYING ALL THEIR OWN LUGGAGE may now disembark" about a bajillion times! But I digress.

 

After the contest, we went to deck 11 for some sun and shade (and reading) as well as to my favorite area, the adults only pool!

 

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At about 6p when the sun was gone from the pool, we headed inside to change for elegant night. We assumed incorrectly that there was only one since there was only one sea day. Since we were doing the steakhouse AND Chef's table, we had packed up some nicer clothes but not enough for that sneaky 2nd elegant night!

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Nice job so far! It's nice to see pictures of the Valor. We were on her in 2009 for our first cruise.

 

Do you have any more pictures of the Conrad or the area? We're thinking about staying there in December. Any info on the hotel or the surrounding area would be great. We're going to arrive a couple of days before out cruise, too.

Yes I do! However, most are on my other computer. I will post them in a little while. The Conrad was really nice. We stayed at the Hilton Caribe at the end of the trip and we preferred the Conrad. Be prepared though to pay a lot for taxis to OSJ or pay a ton for food on property.

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THANK YOU! THANK YOU! For your review! As you can see DH and I are sailing again on the Valor in (whoo hoo) 14 weeks from tomorrow for my 50th birthday!!!!! We sailed on her before in 2010 western itinerary.

 

I'm looking at all your wonderful pictures! Do you know, by chance, if they have "redone" the Valor? I know it's not 2.0 yet, but I don't remember a lot of what I'm seeing.

 

We too only do carnival excursions basically for the same reasons you and your DW do. Thank you for including info on these also!

 

Thanks again for your review! I've subscribed to your thread so I can get all the updates and photos!!

 

HAPPY CRU1Z1N!!!!!!

 

 

They haven't redone anything that I can see between 2010 and 2013. Nothing was 2.0. And like I said, the carpet is in need of a re-do as well. When we disembarked, they were making some maintenance improvements to the floors on Lido and to the Tiki Towel hut but that was it that we saw.

 

Thanks for subscribing and happy early birthday! You are going to have a blast!

 

(PS - We also did the Captain Nautica Snorkel in St. Thomas last time and it was an amazing excursion that we'd also recommend!)

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Enjoying the review so far. Haven't done this itinerary yet, so I'm looking forward to your pics of Barbados, St Kitts n St Lucia. Hoping to do it next year.

 

Barbados was my favorite!!! We had a lot of fun on this trip in ALL the ports!

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Great review and pictures.....thank you for taking the time to write it. We did this same itinerary on the Victory last year and loved it so much, we booked on the Valor for next April!

 

Maria

 

Thanks for reading it! LOL

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Day 2 CONT'D

 

So it was elegant night. On our last cruise in December, I bought way too many ship pictures and this trip, I vowed not to. So we took some hallway pictures ourselves and I snuck a shot in of our embarkation day photo!

 

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After dinner, we changed and went to the comedy club. The comic wasn't the best and we didn't stay for the second act. We didn't even go to any more shows at all - the itinerary was super busy so we found ourselves in our cabin by 10p most nights, exhausted!

 

New post for Day 3 since 3 photos won't be enough! Here are some more of the Valor for your enjoyment!

 

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Main bar, decks 3, 4 and 5

 

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Aft, adults only pool. This guy kept talking to me then photobombing my pics!

 

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The ship (Lido) at night from aft, looking forward on Deck 10

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