Carnival Valor 7/17-7/24 - The Good, Bad and Ugly!

[AllyCat81]

Tammi, ignore the trolls. Keep up the good review.

[rhondab0511]

Hi Tammi,

 

Love the review so far. I am sailing with my ds who is your dd's age. It sounds like she spent a lot of time with you. How much did she like the circle c and its events? Were there a lot of children her age?

 

Thanks!!

[cruisinfanatic]

Tammi, ignore the trolls. Keep up the good review.

too much arguing

[tammi0916]

Ok - back to the review...I am not even going to respond to some of the trolls -

 

St. Thomas!

We had originally booked The Baths excursion and were really looking forward to going but a couple of weeks before we left; I got an email from Carnival stating they had cancelled this excursion and refunded my money. I called to find out why and was told that they have had many complaints about the vendor and they were consistently late getting back to the ship so; as disappointed as I was – we choose another excursion.

So we really like to snorkel so decided to take the St. John’s Champagne Catamaran Snorkeling.

We got up fairly early and headed to breakfast in the Lido deck – it seemed less busy maybe since it was earlier. So after breakfast we when up to a high deck to watch up dock in St. Thomas.

 

 

 

Then we were off to meet our group outside the dock at 9am. We were taken to the open taxis for our ride to the Catamaran. There were 2 of them and so they split us into 2 groups – we were on the second one (the fun group!)

We met our crew off we went to St. John’s. It was a beautiful day and the ride out was great. Once there we spent the next hour or so snorkeling – the current was really strong and before we knew it we were pretty far away – took a while to get back to the boat as it was tiring for Victoria.

 

It was a great time and we saw lots of fish and sea turtles.

ship wrecked boat

The ride back was crazy! They put out a great spread of snacks; cheese, bread and fresh fruits trays. They also poured mimosas, rum punch and beer and soft drinks.

The rum punch we delicious and very strong – one of the crew Diego would not let you take a sip without refilling it so you never know how much you are really drinking and since it was so hot out – by the time we got back to the marina we were all feeling pretty good.

We had met 2 other couples one from Texas and one from San Diego so we decided to stop at Senor Frogs before going back on board since we wanted to have some lunch and the guys had remembered that Senor Frogs had a pool in the front and they wanted to jump in!

So, since we had been drinking on the boat we just continued at Senor Frogs – it was a lot of fun and it was great meeting new friends. That place is really crazy but we had a blast.

We headed back to the ship as we had reservations at the Steak House tonight. It was around 4pm and we had reservations at 6pm.

We got to the room and Dave and Victoria decided to watch TV and I sat on the balcony and watched folks get back on the ship.

I went back in the room and both of them were fast asleep. I woke up Dave around 5:15 and told him we needed to get ready but he clearly wasn’t up for going to the Steak House (too many rum punches!) So I called and changed or reservations to the next night.

Victoria woke up and got ready for dinner so since Dave wanted to sleep her and I went to the main dining room alone. Still no table mates so it was just the 2 of us.

After dinner we checked on Dave and changed clothes he was still sleeping so we decided to the show and see the magician.

They were playing bingo so I decided to play and get a good seat for the magician. I won $25 with some pull tabs that they gave away with the bingo cards.

We stayed and watched the magician who I thought was pretty good. He used a lot of audience participation and that made it even funnier.

After that we went and watched the break dancers in the main lobby – they were really good.

Time to head back to the room as San Juan was tomorrow.

Dave was up and just ordered room service so we hung out and I packed the bag to San Juan – we were going zip lining…..

[tammi0916]

 

 

Victoria and Diego

 

the Capt & the guys

 

 

 

[tammi0916]

 

Open Air Taxi

Senor Frogs (from our balcony)

 

Victoria with her Yard Shirley Temple!

 

 

Shots!

 

[tammi0916]

Hi Tammi,

 

Love the review so far. I am sailing with my ds who is your dd's age. It sounds like she spent a lot of time with you. How much did she like the circle c and its events? Were there a lot of children her age?

 

Thanks!!

 

 

Hi yes- she spent alot of time with us. She went to Circle C once to a dance and had an ok time. Alot of the kids were on the older side (she is 12 and that group goes from 12 -14 and they were a bit wild for my taste. They also were very clicky according to her.) We really enjoy our time together as hubby works nights so we don't see him at night.

 

We usually do most things together and I really like it that way! Especially since after this trip she was going to spend about 3 weeks with my parents in Florida.

[rhondab0511]

That's cool. I am still on the fence of how much time to let him spend away. I guess I just have to wait and see. I really don't think there will be a lot of kids his age since we are going in October. His school has a fall break which is not common in our region, but who knows!!

 

I'm glad you all had such a great time!

[CruisingAgain]

Great review. The pictures of St Thomas and Half Moon Cay make me so anxious to get there on my next cruise.

 

Questions about Senor Frogs because I spent a lot of vacations on St Thomas in the 90's and I don't know where it is. Is it in Havensight? The pool looks empty in your picture - was it crowded earlier? Is it a good place for my son (11) while we have drinks (in a table close by, of course)

[daisitroy]

I am loving your review. It makes me feel like I am there enjoying the trip. Thanks you for taking the time to post your pictures and share your vacation!

Dot

[nikita]

I am loving your review! We went on the Valor 5 years ago. We had a great time but also struggled with very rude people...so strange. Also the shows were really awful - the singers were just plain bad - I hope the shows are better now...we are the type of people who just have fun anyways no matter what! Your daughter is a cutie pie and that's great that she enjoys hanging out with her parents! Can't wait for more!! Thanks so much for taking the time to write this - I know it takes so much time and I am LOVING the pics too!!!

[joydisney]

Love the review. We want to take this agenda next year with the extended family. Thanks for the details about HMC. Looking forward to reading more

[kwab]

Thanks for the great review! We are on the Valor on 8/28 with this same itinerary! We also booked the Baths excursion in St. Thomas and had to switch and we also picked the Champagne Catamaran trip. Just wondering if there was beach time or if you just stayed on the boat and what time you got back? Looking forward to the rest of your review!!

[tammi0916]

Thanks for the great review! We are on the Valor on 8/28 with this same itinerary! We also booked the Baths excursion in St. Thomas and had to switch and we also picked the Champagne Catamaran trip. Just wondering if there was beach time or if you just stayed on the boat and what time you got back? Looking forward to the rest of your review!!

 

Hi - we really enjoyed this excusion. The beach is in the same location that you snorkel so you can either swim to the beach or they will take you in a small dingy to the beach and pick you up. (we had a family with a baby and they used the dingy to go to the beach and hang out).

 

We were back around 2pm.

 

Have a wonderful time.

[tammi0916]

Great review. The pictures of St Thomas and Half Moon Cay make me so anxious to get there on my next cruise.

 

Questions about Senor Frogs because I spent a lot of vacations on St Thomas in the 90's and I don't know where it is. Is it in Havensight? The pool looks empty in your picture - was it crowded earlier? Is it a good place for my son (11) while we have drinks (in a table close by, of course)

 

Senor Frogs is right where you dock - you get off of the ship and it is right in front of you - just go thru the chain fence gate and you are there!

 

The pool was empty but not sure about earlier as we were on our excursion. We had our 12 year old and she loved being in the pool - we had a table right next to the open wall so we could see here but there are tables outside by the pool too. SF's is open and no windows - just half walls so you can see the pool from pretty much anywhere.

 

it was alot of fun!

[tammi0916]

I was really looking forward to going to San Juan. This is a port we had not been too and we have never been zip lining so I was excited.

As usual I was up early and waited for everyone to get up and then we got ready to go to breakfast and see San Juan.

We had breakfast on the Lido and it was pretty crowded today! But after breakfast we went on an upper deck to view the city and take some pictures.

 

You leave the ship and walk into a terminal in SJ and meet your excursion guides there. They have signs set up and you just line up behind your excursion sign.

 

The line for the Rum Tour was enormous! Once our guide showed up (she was about 5 minutes early) we left so make sure you are at your line a bit early; there were several people that missed their excursions because they were not on time and their group left – they do not wait!!

She walked us out of the terminal and onto an air conditioned bus that would take us to the Canopy Tours.

The bus ride was about 45 minutes and was a nice ride. I will say that I was not really impressed with San Juan – it’s just not what I expected and very run down.

We then transferred to a small bus so it could make it up the steep hills and sharp turns to the place.

Once there you are fitted for your gear and helmet. They give water and they have bathrooms.

Once everyone in our group was ready our guide led us up the first path. The first path is very long and quite the incline. I have a bad knee and it was a difficult walk for me but the stop after the first path and take a short break. You continue on for about another 10 – 15 minutes and then you make it to the first platform. It was really hot and sticky!

They give you a brief safety talk and then one by one you head up to the top of the platform.

When it was our turn – I went first so I could get across and take pictures; Victoria went next as I didn’t want her left on the platform with out one of us. Then David went.

This was a BLAST! We all loved it – especially Victoria….we had so much fun – there are about 8 or 9 platforms that you go thru and you have to keep the line moving so there were times that Victoria would go and I was already on to the next one but she seemed ok and was having a blast!

On our last line it started raining but it didn’t stop anything. I always felt safe and thought the staff was very good.

After the last one you walk back down the first path to your starting point.

The whole thing took just over an hour. We turned in our gear and had some water and waited for the bus to return (this seemed like forever – it was so hot and humid after the rain!)

He showed up and we walked down to the bus and headed back. Again changing buses at the bottom of the hills.

Once back to the ship we went straight to lunch which was not crowded at all and then changed to go swimming.

We hung out at the pool for a bit and Victoria did the slide – it felt really nice to be in the water.

We then headed back to our room to relax and watch sail away from our balcony.

We stayed in our room relaxing and watching TV until it was time to get ready for dinner. We were going to the Steak House tonight. We had previously gone on the Glory and really loved it. This time Victoria wanted to go with us and so the 3 of us had reservations at 6pm.

Scarlett’s was decorated beautifully and we had a table by the window; the food was delicious and plenty! We have a wonderful dinner talking about our great day zip lining.

I think it is worth the extra fee even if I couldn’t finish it all! I had the best Cheese cake I have ever had (as well as the largest slice I have ever seen). Victoria really enjoyed the meal and we were out within 90 minutes.

For those of you who wonder if a young child can handle the steak house – my advice if first you know your child; so keep that in mind but it is a really nice experience for them and Victoria was not bored, fidgety or intrusive to anyone else so I say take them if you think they would enjoy it.

After dinner we headed to the piano bar (now that it is non – smoking it is a great place to hang out) and listened to music and met up with friends. It was a great relaxing evening.

We all had a long day so we headed back to the cabin and decided to skip the late show.

Tomorrow was Grand Turk…..

[tammi0916]

 

 

Steep hill!

 

 

First Ride!

 

 

[tammi0916]

 

 

 

 

 

[sp29488]

Great review!! Did you go to any of the production shows and if you did how were they?

[tammi0916]

 

 

 

 

Cheese Cake! Yummy

[tammi0916]

Today was Grand Turk; this is another port we have never been to so I was excited to see it. We did not dock until 11:00am so we took our time getting up and ready today.

I was up early and went for a walk around the Promenade deck while Dave and Victoria hung out.

Shops were not open but the Casino was so I decided to play $20 on the slots. After about 3 spins; I won $103! So excited; so I decided to play another $20 on another machine so after a few spins – I won again!! This time around $400! Couldn’t believe it!!! Very exciting as I never win!!!

Went back to the room to share my good news with my family! Then got ready to go up to lido for some food and hand out and watch us arrive in Grand Turk.

 

Not much to see as you sail into the cruise port except for Margaritaville!

We were off the ship pretty quickly as I wanted to get a spot by the pool with an umbrella as I knew it was going to be really hot and a long day if we didn’t have any shade!

 

There were plenty of umbrellas so we got one straight across from the entrance to the pool – our friends saw our towels (we had our own beach towels) and set up camp next to us!

 

We had an awesome day! Loved this port!!! So relaxing just hanging out in the pool and listening to music.

Drinks are really expensive (bucket of beer was $40) it made the cruise drinks look cheap! But it was so much fun.

Victoria found her friend Tyler and they walked the huge circular pool all day – stopping by as they passed. (the pool is only 3 feet deep all the way around) She had such a good time…

It did get crowded about 3 hours into it (a second ship got there at 1pm) and the section of pool we were in was packed but still had a blast. We order out $15 burgers (yup) and hung out for the rest of the day.

We left around 4 since it was elegant night and we had to get ready.

We arrived back on board and headed to the room. Victoria was a bit hungry so we ordered room service and started to get ready.

I got a phone call from Everson, the Entertainment staff and asked if we would be in our room for a bit so I said yes.

He showed up a little while later with a picture of the Valor and 2 Ship on a Sticks from Victoria. I had mentioned on John’s blog that we would be sailing and how excited Victoria was and he had them sent to her.

She was so excited! John Heald is a really super stand up guy and really is hysterical! I love reading his blog and his FB page – I know not everyone gets his humour but I love it!! It was really nice of him to do that.

Tonight was the second elegant night so we headed down to dinner and the picture gauntlet….

After dinner – which we were alone again! We headed to the spot we planned to meet our friends (outside the casino bar) we hung out and had a few drinks while listening to music and then Victoria had an appt to do the Ice Cream Party at the Nail Salon – which was pedicure, manicure and ice cream for 12 years old and older – it was for an hour at 8pm so I took her and made sure she was set – she was excited to go to the spa.

I met back up with Dave and our friends and we decided to go to our suite to hang out and have a drink.

We were all just chatting and have a nice evening in our room when the someone knocked on the door………it was a delivery of Champagne and a huge plate of chocolate covered strawberries from the Cruise Director Goose and another photo of the ship signed by him – the card said “Wishing you a fabulous cruise” Goose. Not sure why we got these – unless because John Heald sent Victoria something they added these for the adults. But either was it was such a nice treat. So we all enjoyed the delivery.

I went to pick up Victoria and brought her back to the room and we all just hung out and chatted some more and then called it an night.

Tomorrow would be our last day!

[tammi0916]

 

 

 

 

[tammi0916]

 

 

Miracle along side of us

 

 

swim up bar

 

[tammi0916]

Ship Picture

 

Elegant Night

 

Valor and the Miracle

[bobmal99]

Really enjoying your review.

Was on the Glory Feb 2011.

Had similar cabin. Loved the

vanity and double sink..

 

I see you are from CT, and

have only cruised in the summer.

 

Ever thought of taking your DD out of school

for a week, and going to the caribbean in

the winter vs the summer.

 

I have done this a couple of times with my

10 yo niece. Now she wants to go

every winter.

 

The first two weeks in December

you can get some great deals..