Attn LIBERTY & VALOR cruisers: Detailed Review of Valors Last Cruise from Puerto Rico

Nope, the hair nets were for sanitation purposes. J had to wear one too and his hair is short and had no risk of getting caught in the zipline. Everyone had to wear them... it's not the greatest fashion statement, but whatever! haha

I think that's a great idea. I always worry about putting anything on my head that someone else has worn. Once you have had a child with hair lice bring it home to everyone, you become very cautious!!:)

LOVE the hats you two are wearing! Did you purchase them on one of the islands?

funny story about those hats.... I bought mine before the trip at a local dollar store. It was such a bargain!! J bought his hat on the beach in Barbados. I went up to the bar area to get the wifi signal to work on my phone... when I came back, he was wearing his new hat! Apparently a guy came around with a huge pile of hats and J was able to bargain him down to $5. He was so excited about his purchase, but unfortunately the hat was terrible quality. It ripped within 2 days! He ended up leaving it behind in Puerto Rico because it was falling apart after owning it less than a week :(

I knew it!! When I started reading your review and saw the photo of you and your boyfriend, I thought to myself, I think they were at Palms Court Garden on the same day as we were! What a beautiful place! We arrived around 1:00 and left around 3:30. My son is actually in your first photo of the pool! I was probably behind one of the umbrellas sipping a piña colada! I would definately recommend this spot for a relaxing day in St. Kitts.

Deladane wrote: ... I took a half-day island tour through Liz Pereria...

Hi there again -we will be stopping in St.Kitts on our October Cruise.

Been there b4.

Care to expand on Liz and your half day tour? She is getting great reviews on Trip Advisor also

Thanks.

I knew it!! When I started reading your review and saw the photo of you and your boyfriend, I thought to myself, I think they were at Palms Court Garden on the same day as we were! What a beautiful place! We arrived around 1:00 and left around 3:30. My son is actually in your first photo of the pool! I was probably behind one of the umbrellas sipping a piña colada! I would definately recommend this spot for a relaxing day in St. Kitts.

haha oh wow! What a small world! Wasn't that place fantastic? I can't believe they have been opened for so long and yet so few people have discovered it yet. Maybe fewer people are interested because they don't have beach access? It was a great place to spend a few hours, for sure! Glad you enjoyed it too :)

Loving your review. We sail on the Valor in October. While I have been reading your posts daily, its been driving me nuts that you guys look very familiar to me. My wife says the same. I assume your from the NY area, judging by the t-shirts. The only time I have ever visited the NY area was for Springsteen shows. Thought I would ask if your fans of the boss, which could mean we may have ran into each other at a show. Just curious.

Deladane wrote: ... I took a half-day island tour through Liz Pereria...

 

Hi there again -we will be stopping in St.Kitts on our October Cruise.

 

Been there b4.

 

Care to expand on Liz and your half day tour? She is getting great reviews on Trip Advisor also

 

Thanks.

When I took her tour, she had just started her company, so I am very happy to hear that her business is successful 5 years later :) I am not sure if she still has the same tour all these years later, but she probably does since it hits all the major tourists spots on the island! Here is a link to my blog posting from that day (since none of my old photos are showing up on Cruise Critic anymore).

http://deladane.tumblr.com/post/104822435509/celebrity-summit-part-5-day-3-in-st-kitts

Loving your review. We sail on the Valor in October. While I have been reading your posts daily, its been driving me nuts that you guys look very familiar to me. My wife says the same. I assume your from the NY area, judging by the t-shirts. The only time I have ever visited the NY area was for Springsteen shows. Thought I would ask if your fans of the boss, which could mean we may have ran into each other at a show. Just curious.

haha that's really funny! Yes, we are both originally NYers, but we live in the San Francisco Bay Area in CA now. I have never been to a Springsteen concert, nor has J as far as I know. We are both Billy Joel fans and can't wait to see him in concert at AT&T Park in San Francisco over Labor Day weekend :D I've never been to South Carolina, so maybe it's possible that we just look like someone else you guys know? Thanks for reading along and have a great cruise!

One last photo on our way out...

At about 2pm, we walked back to the ship and grabbed lunch on Lido. I got the Mongolian Wok again and this time I timed it... It took 15 minutes from the time I got in line to the time the guy handed me my food. I guess the wait wasn't such a big deal but it felt like a long time since J had no wait on the buffet line (they served Caribbean food today), and he was nearly done eating lunch when I got to the table (I told him to go ahead and eat and not to wait for me).

After lunch, we spent some time relaxing on the balcony and then got showered and ready for the past guest party. This was the first time I was eligible to attend the party since I turned Gold on this cruise, so I was very excited to get in on the fun! We got downstairs to the theater at about 4:45pm and people were starting to line up. At 4:55, they opened the doors to let us in (no one checked for invitations). We were greeted with waiters holding Mardi Gras beads and trays of rum punch (interesting fact: Apparently every time Carnival gives out Mardi Gras beads, they are referencing the original Carnival ship with the same name). We quickly found seats towards the back of the theater on the aisle based on advice I had read on Cruise Critic, but it turned out that we could have sat anywhere and been happy. There were so many waiters walking around with trays of snacks and drinks and it looked like everyone got as much as they wanted. Other reviews had mentioned that only people on the aisles get served because the waiters run out of food by the time they reach the middle of each row, but I didn't notice that to be true. In fact, many time the waiters approached us from the other end of our row, meaning we were the last people served in our row and they still had plenty of food for us. The waiters also brought around a few hors d'vours- tomato wrapped around mozzarella and pesto, cubes of raw salmon (yummmmy!), and some weird savory cheesecake thing that we didn't care for.

One slight disappointment was that the drinks were very weak. I know we could have asked for something other than the rum punch, but we didn't bother. We each ended up with 4 or 5 drinks and we were both still sober when we finished. Weird, but I guess we can't complain since they were free! Haha The waiters were really great about making sure everyone always had a drink in their hands. Once our cup was half empty, they brought us another drink!

After about 10 minutes, the Captain and all of the officers came out and spoke. No wonder they hold the party before all aboard time! If the Captain is down here entertaining us, who would drive the ship?? hehe

After that, they showed a little video promoting the Carnival brand. It was fun when they asked us to cheer for the ships we have been on. I think I was the only person in the room who cheered for sailing on the Holiday (that cruise was a LOOONG time ago!) I was so jealous of people who cheered when they showed the Vista (meaning they have a cruise booked on the not-yet-built ship). Hopefully someday I will get to be one of those people!

I think I was the only person in the room who cheered for sailing on the Holiday (that cruise was a LOOONG time ago!)

Ah, my first Carnival cruise. Who knew the addiction it would create. :)

The party ended at 5:40pm (maybe their watches are fast since it started and ended 5 minutes earlier than expected), so we went up to our balcony, and then to the secret deck all the way forward on deck 6 to watch the sunset and sail away. It was beautiful and the perfect place to watch the views.

Sorry for the abundance of sunset photos... it was just so amazing out there that I couldn't narrow it down any more than this haha

This is one of my favorite photos of the trip...

And since I'm on a video-posting kick, here are two videos of the break dancers in the lobby :)

 

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soooo...:p.you didn't get a pic of us on the snorkel tour in Barbados, BUT you got the break dancer giving my son a high five on this video!! LOVE IT!! Thank you for posting it! :D

OMG that's amazing!!! So great that you can have that captured on video as a memory from the trip!

One slight disappointment was that the drinks were very weak. I know we could have asked for something other than the rum punch, but we didn't bother. We each ended up with 4 or 5 drinks and we were both still sober when we finished. Weird, but I guess we can't complain since they were free! Haha The waiters were really great about making sure everyone always had a drink in their hands. Once our cup was half empty, they brought us another drink!

We were on this cruise too, and I am laughing because I thought the drinks were strong! My children still haven't gotten over the embarrassment of me dancing with the waiters at dinner! (I am certain that the rum played a key role in that display.) We loved everything about this cruise; it's the second time we've done this itinerary.

One slight disappointment was that the drinks were very weak. I know we could have asked for something other than the rum punch, but we didn't bother. We each ended up with 4 or 5 drinks and we were both still sober when we finished. Weird, but I guess we can't complain since they were free! Haha The waiters were really great about making sure everyone always had a drink in their hands. Once our cup was half empty, they brought us another drink!

 

 

 

 

We were on this cruise too, and I am laughing because I thought the drinks were strong! My children still haven't gotten over the embarrassment of me dancing with the waiters at dinner! (I am certain that the rum played a key role in that display.) We loved everything about this cruise; it's the second time we've done this itinerary.

haha you don't think there was a bit of a placebo effect?? We were both acting pretty silly during sail away that night too, but then we realized it was more of a sugar high from all the mixers in the drinks, as opposed to being drunk. I usually find the Fun Ship Special to be super strong when I order it on embarkation day, but if it was equally as strong, there's no way I could have had as many drinks as I had at the past guest party because I would end up with alcohol poisoning! LOL I also would have been way too drunk to be stable standing out on the secret deck for an hour after sail away to watch the sun set! I don't know... I am beginning to wonder if there was any alcohol at all in those drinks! haha

I am SO happy I poked around my Cruise Critic profile and discovered another one of your GREAT reviews, Deladane!

Can't wait for the rest of the review.

BTW The photos show up fine for me, as do the YouTube videos. You're using photos hosted by Facebook, so my guess is that whether we can see them depends first on whether the browser we're using is logged in to Facebook, and then on the privacy setting for photos. Because I can see them, even though you and I are not Facebook friends, my guess is that your photos are set to the Public privacy setting.

Again, I'm glad you had another wonderful cruise, and thanks for taking the time to prepare another enjoyable review.

Hi Dana, thanks again for the review. Was just wondering if there were many people out on the not so secret deck. We have a 4J looking out on that deck and was curious if there were many people out there.

We are calling our cruise out of San Juan the critter cruise. Cats and pigeons in San Juan, swimming with Sea Lions at Coral World in St Thomas, snorkeling with Turtles in Barbados and Horseback riding in St Kitts. DW is going to make sure I don't get burnt because I just had a recent bout with Melanoma. So sunburn isn't going to be an issue for me LOL.

Thanks again

Tom

As we were heading back inside, we noticed that one of the forward facing cabins (maybe considered an obstructed oceanview?) had their blinds open. In case there is any question about if people on the secret decks can look into your cabin if you leave your blinds open, I think this photo will answer that question!

I'm glad no one was getting dressed while we were out there!!! I do think it's important to note that this was after sunset so it was dark outside, and their cabin lights were on inside, so that is probably why we could see in. When we went out there during the day, I do not remember obviously being able to see in to the cabins (but we didn't actively try to see in, so it is possible that we could have).

We were full from all the snacks and drinks at the past guest party, but decided we should at least go to dinner for a light meal. We got there around 8pm and were seated immediately. I had the beef brisket for an appetizer, and the short ribs for dinner (I guess I was craving beef that night!). No dessert tonight!

We were stuffed after that so we skipped dessert. Plus, that allowed us to get to the comedy club in time for the 9:30 show.

There were 2 new comedians on board tonight. Up first was Vera something (I can't remember her last name), and we didn't care for her so we left after 5 minutes to check out the piano bar. We stayed there for a half hour or so, sang along with a few songs, then went back to the comedy club to check out Tim Young's show. We thought he was great and fully enjoyed his show! However, by the time he was finished, I was nodding off in my chair (not because I was bored... Just from the exhaustion from another long day in the sun!) so we called it a night and went back to the cabin.

We turned off the lights at 11:55pm, and I fell asleep right away... 5 minutes shy of being the birthday girl!

Hi Dana, thanks again for the review. Was just wondering if there were many people out on the not so secret deck. We have a 4J looking out on that deck and was curious if there were many people out there.

 

We are calling our cruise out of San Juan the critter cruise. Cats and pigeons in San Juan, swimming with Sea Lions at Coral World in St Thomas, snorkeling with Turtles in Barbados and Horseback riding in St Kitts. DW is going to make sure I don't get burnt because I just had a recent bout with Melanoma. So sunburn isn't going to be an issue for me LOL.

 

Thanks again

Tom

Hi Tom,

Check out the last thing I posted because it talks about those 4J cabins ;) When we were out there for sail away, there were only about 5 people with us, but that might be because everyone was down on Lido deck for the sail away party (or because no one knew about the secret decks yet haha). There were more people out there on Friday, but again, it was not crowded. Maybe 20 people max?

Sounds like you have a great plan for all the ports! I have very fair skin, so I probably should have just worn a shirt :rolleyes: I am usually very diligent about reapplying sunscreen, but I guess the sun got the better of me on this trip!

I am SO happy I poked around my Cruise Critic profile and discovered another one of your GREAT reviews, Deladane!

 

Can't wait for the rest of the review.

 

BTW The photos show up fine for me, as do the YouTube videos. You're using photos hosted by Facebook, so my guess is that whether we can see them depends first on whether the browser we're using is logged in to Facebook, and then on the privacy setting for photos. Because I can see them, even though you and I are not Facebook friends, my guess is that your photos are set to the Public privacy setting.

 

Again, I'm glad you had another wonderful cruise, and thanks for taking the time to prepare another enjoyable review.

Aww thanks! Glad you are enjoying the review :)

The photos will show up fine for THIS review. It isn't because of the public/private settings. The problem is with my old reviews... I do use Facebook to host the photos. What seems to happen is that Facebook changes their settings every few months, and that changes the link address for each of the photos, meaning that whatever URL i use is now wrong, and the photos don't show up. For my blog, the photos are uploaded straight from my hard drive, so there is no chance of the links getting messed up, and the photos will always work! It took a while to sort out what was happening, but at least now I know :rolleyes: Sooner or later, the photos in this review will disappear too... but until then, I'm glad you can see them now!

...The photos will show up fine for THIS review. It isn't because of the public/private settings. The problem is with my old reviews... I do use Facebook to host the photos. What seems to happen is that Facebook changes their settings every few months, and that changes the link address for each of the photos, meaning that whatever URL i use is now wrong, and the photos don't show up. For my blog, the photos are uploaded straight from my hard drive, so there is no chance of the links getting messed up, and the photos will always work! It took a while to sort out what was happening, but at least now I know :rolleyes: Sooner or later, the photos in this review will disappear too... but until then, I'm glad you can see them now!

Ah, that's interesting. Thanks for the info.

Deldane...thanks sooo much for these...this is going to be one of my weekend treats..I just started and took a while to get back and do it right...soooo appreciate your efforts and wonderful reviews..Sarah

Hi Tom,

Check out the last thing I posted because it talks about those 4J cabins ;) When we were out there for sail away, there were only about 5 people with us, but that might be because everyone was down on Lido deck for the sail away party (or because no one knew about the secret decks yet haha). There were more people out there on Friday, but again, it was not crowded. Maybe 20 people max?

 

We had a 4J on our 2012 Liberty cruise and never noticed more than 5 people on the "secret deck" at a time. From being on the deck and looking back into our room, we knew that people could definitely see in if curtains were open, so we made sure to close them when dressing! But, we loved having the 4J and all the light that came into the room during the daytime. It was fun to step just outside our room onto the "secret deck" for sunsets and sail aways; almost like having a balcony! I would not hesitate to book a 4J again. Our room was a handicapped room, so the bathroom was also larger. We knew when we booked that we could be "bumped" if a handicapped person needed the room, but fortunately we were allowed to keep the room.

We had a 4J on our 2012 Liberty cruise and never noticed more than 5 people on the "secret deck" at a time. From being on the deck and looking back into our room, we knew that people could definitely see in if curtains were open, so we made sure to close them when dressing! But, we loved having the 4J and all the light that came into the room during the daytime. It was fun to step just outside our room onto the "secret deck" for sunsets and sail aways; almost like having a balcony! I would not hesitate to book a 4J again. Our room was a handicapped room, so the bathroom was also larger. We knew when we booked that we could be "bumped" if a handicapped person needed the room, but fortunately we were allowed to keep the room.

Yea, those rooms look like a great alternative to an oceanview since you also have quick and easy access to the secret decks... too bad they don't put lounge chairs out there so you can comfortably hang out for a while, but I guess that's good for the people in those 4J's because then no one stays too long!