kriscruise

Thanks for the review. One question did everyone who played trivia have to sit at a slot machine to play?

There was a little casino lounge area that everything was held at. Some chairs around the stage in the casino.

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

Not sure about Little Bay but there are dozens of taxis lined up at Maho. Was just there the other day.

Have fun!

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

This is my first review! Just got back from the 7 night southern Caribbean cruise on the Valor. It's my 4th Carnival cruise. And I've been on Royal Caribbean once. Last year we did the Breeze and the year before the Magic. So this was a very old ship for us. I went with my husband and 3 kids (16, 14, 11).

Pre-cruise stayed 2 nights in the Embassy Suites. It was a little too loud and chaotic for our tastes. There was always a prom going on. Kids running up and down the hallways. But the room was big and the pool was nice. The beach was a 5-10 minute walk. Plenty of free chairs at the beach. You just tip the guy. And he would bring bottled water too for a tip. There were plenty of restaurants close by the hotel. We took the public bus to Old San Juan for .75 each. That was so easy. But if we ever needed a hotel in San Juan again I'll look for something smaller.

The ship was beautiful. Love the hero's theme. So different then the usual tropical pictures. We had 2 rooms, a balcony and an inside on 7th floor. My one complaint about my balcony room (and this is totally my fault) is the smokers next door. I had no idea until I looked it up last night that carnival was one of the last cruise lines left to allow smoking on balconies. I thought they all did. My fault. My room was next to people that enjoyed smoking on their balcony 24/7 it felt like! So I could hardly go out there. Unfortunately, this was my last cruise with Carnival unless a change happens. I though all cruise lines were like that and it was just a gamble on who you were placed next to! I had no idea Royal Caribbean banned smoking. So I'll book with them next time. And this isn't meant to be mean. That was just one of the downsides of my cruise. And once again - that's just me.

The food was pretty good. The pizza pirate always had a long line. And they were very slow. Mongolian was slow but good. Dining room was fast. We had late seating in Washington. The staff was wonderful as alway. The warm chocolate melting cake was delicious!

Craig Johnson was the cruise director. He was always around and fun. Not as great as Butch but enjoyable! Stephanie was the assistant and she was bubbly! The comedy shows were funny. We only went to the Welcome Aboard show and the 80's show. They were both good.

I don't want to sound like a broken record but another smoking complaint. I like to go to all those 80 trivia contests and things like that. Well they held them all day in the casino. The casino stinks like smoke! So me and my kids tried to go to one but it stunk too much. I don't know why they have them there.

The staff was always friendly and helpful on this ship. It never felt overcrowded. There were always plenty of chairs. Coming from the Breeze and Magic I felt a lot less crowded.

This is what we did I the islands:

St Thomas-

Cab to Coki beach. $9 pp there but you can bargain with them for cheaper on the way back. Amazing snorkeling. My favorite place. We went to St Thomas last year and did the excursion to St John- beautiful.

Barbados-

We payed $25 to a taxi driver for an island tour and then he dropped us off at Carlisle Bay. Beach is pretty. There were starfish there but nothing else to see snorkeling. 2 chairs with umbrella is $15.

St. Lucia-

We prearranged private tour. We did cosol tours. It lasted over 6 hours. We saw the volcano, snorkeled between the pitons and drove lots of twisty roads. It was okay. Felt a little like cattle from time to time.

St. Kitts-

We did the train tour with the ship. St Kitts is beautiful. The train ride was so pretty. I'm glad we did it. After I wanted to see some beaches so we payed $40 total for 2 hour tour in a taxi to go see some beaches and resorts.

St Maarten-

We prearranged Bernard's Tours. That tour was great. Very informative. We did some shopping. Went to the airplane beach (a must see!). Very professional tour. Then we just shopped a little before getting back on the ship.

Getting off was pretty painless. Long lines that went fast.

Overall we had a great time. The itinerary was amazing. I will answer any questions. Sorry I didn't put in pictures. I can try if you want. I'm not sure if I know how to do it!

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

You can use those guest services machines and get cash for any on board credit you have. I had a ton of credit last year that I ended up taking most of it out in cash.

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

We just stayed at the Embassy Suites last week pre-cruise. It was about a $26 taxi ride for 5 if us with 5 pieces of luggage to the port. A 15 minute ride.

Just to let you know - the Embassy Suites in San Juan is a very busy, loud hotel. If you don't mind that then it's fine. I would have liked a quieter hotel. The cruise ship was more peaceful then the hotel. The location is great though.

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app