Carnival Valor Review: 4/28 sailing from Puerto Rico

[Chitownlou]

DAY 7 CONT'D

 

BOO! It was the last night of our cruise! Not to be missed, we headed to the MDR to catch our Florence (in my head, I called her Flo because she was so NOT a Flo) sing to us!

 

(she's top left on the staircase)

 

Armed with a bottle of champagne, DW went to sleep but MIL and I went 'asplorin' the ship. We stopped everywhere including the dance club (that was dead silent at 10p - not sure if it was too early or if people were packing up or drinking in their rooms or what), the big monitor with the maps to show us where we were, the upper decks to do a few walking laps around the track and our adult only pool (though in fear of having to walk around with wet swimsuits to disembark, we didn't swim).

 

 

 

After reading some more, I went to bed around 1a knowing I'd be woken up at some ungodly hour by the ship to haul our butts home.

 

I will pause here to say our cabin steward, Anthony, was super friendly and great. Towel animals every night, bed turned down, clean towels and champagne was always iced!

 

It was Sean again making announcements that morning and we headed to the Washington DR for breakfast. After a leisurely 2 hours (knowing full well we would get off the ship until 10 or 11), we headed up to Rosie's (Lido) to charge phones and wait with heavy backpacks until called. While MIL had #10, we were #27. We were called ahead of schedule, made our way down to collect our bags and were in a taxi by 10:45am, heading for the Caribe Hilton.

 

Overall, we really, REALLY enjoyed the cruise. The Valor, while needing some updates for sure, was still a great boat to sail on. The ports made it totally worth it though for us to go on her again. In ranking order of excursions, I'd say I enjoyed (from most to least):

 

1. Barbados

2. St. John's

3. Sint Maarten/St. Martin

4. St. Lucia

5. St. Kitts

 

Would I do the itinerary again? Maybe on another vessel. Having been to two of the ports twice already, getting to go on the Sunshine would get me to do it again. I think we really go for itinerary vs. ship as cruisers though.

 

Next up, our last few days in Puerto Rico. Thanks for reading!!!

 

AWESOME REVIEW JENNN! Makes me even more anxious to go on our honeymoon on July 7th!

[JennN]

AWESOME REVIEW JENNN! Makes me even more anxious to go on our honeymoon on July 7th!

 

Thanks so much! You are doing to have a blast. Remember to not sweat the small stuff and GO ON THE SLIDE!

[etwright]

Thanks for the awesome review. We are sailing the Valor in August. I was wondering about the steakhouse the first night and free bottle of wine since the ship sails at 10 pm. So I guess you can eat there and still attend the safety drills????

 

Again, Thanks for the review. Gave us some ideas for ports since the only one that we have been to is St. Thomas. And we also went to Trunk Bay and loved it!!!

[JennN]

I drank the wine myself (yes the entire bottle) before muster and was able to stand the 30 minutes it take. Our reservation was for 6:30p and we were done with about 30 minutes to spare before they started calling for muster.

[hayloburger]

Jenn...

Great Review! I love reading about other's experiences, ideas, etc.

 

I am a sea glass "hunter"....do you know the name of the beach in St Lucia (i think it's where your excursion began), where you said there was tons of sea glass?

 

Thanks!!

[SwellBee]

I'm headed out on the Valor in February. Thanks for the great review! I am soaking up all the knowledge I can about the ship and the ports. :D

[JennN]

Jenn...

Great Review! I love reading about other's experiences, ideas, etc.

 

I am a sea glass "hunter"....do you know the name of the beach in St Lucia (i think it's where your excursion began), where you said there was tons of sea glass?

 

Thanks!!

 

It was a beach near Gros Islet. They never told us the name of it. Literally, there was a piece of sea glass every step. We brought home a handful!

[JennN]

I'm headed out on the Valor in February. Thanks for the great review! I am soaking up all the knowledge I can about the ship and the ports. :D

 

Let me know if you have any specific questions - you will have a blast I am sure! How can you NOT have fun!?!?

[JennN]

AWESOME REVIEW JENNN! Makes me even more anxious to go on our honeymoon on July 7th!

 

Happy honeymooning (and wedding!)!!! :D

[Blasian]

Great review! Thanks for sharing.

[Chelleum]

Great review and pics! ! I'm doing this cruise in Oct., and can't wait. This will be my first time visiting these islands except Barbados. I been there as kid. I'm also planning in staying in PR. One day early but we are staying in the Isla Verde area we got a great deal that includes breakfast and transportation to the port . Look like you all had a blast, unfortunately my BF is not a swimmer so I have to do a mix of beach days and Island tours.

 

Going to St. Johns sounds really nice, but since it's going to be our first time in St. Thomas I don't know if my group will want to go. Maybe, I have to this itinerary twice. Lol!! :)

Edited May 18, 2013 by Chelleum

[JennN]

Great review! Thanks for sharing.

 

Thanks so much!

[JennN]

Great review and pics! ! I'm doing this cruise in Oct., and can't wait. This will be my first time visiting these islands except Barbados. I been there as kid. I'm also planning in staying in PR. One day early but we are staying in the Isla Verde area we got a great deal that includes breakfast and transportation to the port . Look like you all had a blast, unfortunately my BF is not a swimmer so I have to do a mix of beach days and Island tours.

 

Going to St. Johns sounds really nice, but since it's going to be our first time in St. Thomas I don't know if my group will want to go. Maybe, I have to this itinerary twice. Lol!! :)

 

We had a few non-swimmers on our snorkeling excursions (the life vests help keep you afloat) - one couple BECAME swimmers because the guys gave them free lessons!

 

I had a bad experience (or two) with island tours so, we don't do them anymore.

 

We had been to St. Thomas before and so we got the bonus of St. John. The beach is BEAUTIFUL and worth it - mix of things to do for everyone. When we were in St. Thomas on a prior cruise, we did Captain Nautica's snorkel and had a really good time!

 

You all will have fun no matter what you do (and yes, repeat itineraries! So much to do, you have to go back :D)!! Thanks for the kind words!

[sugaangel601]

Hey, JennN!

 

I just happened to stumble upon your review (I was also on this sailing... and someone recently posted in the roll call for our sailing and it notified me... then I saw the link in your sig...) and it was so nice to remember all the fun we had on that cruise. :D It seems so long ago, doesn't it? :( Definitely time to book another one!

Thanks for the (virtual) trip back to the Southern Caribbean aboard the Valor!

[jaxie001]

Yeah!! Awesome review, thanks so much for sharing :) Just booked this for end of November and I'm so pumped lol....questions for you if you don't mind? Snorkel...never done it...would love to...not a strong swimmer...they provide life vests you said? Can still see fish if your floating on top? LOL

ok...embarking in San Juan..close by place to buy alcohol if staying the night before...embarkation was pretty easy?

 

thanks again for sharing...love the pics...:)

 

Jackie

[JennN]

Yeah!! Awesome review, thanks so much for sharing :) Just booked this for end of November and I'm so pumped lol....questions for you if you don't mind? Snorkel...never done it...would love to...not a strong swimmer...they provide life vests you said? Can still see fish if your floating on top? LOL

ok...embarking in San Juan..close by place to buy alcohol if staying the night before...embarkation was pretty easy?

 

thanks again for sharing...love the pics...:)

 

Jackie

 

Thanks! Yes they provide vests and will even hop in the water with you. I am not a strong swimmer (I can float an doggy paddle!) and was scared the first time but nothing to it! And yes, even if you float on top you can see the fish. The only times you might want to dive down are when there are sunken ships but even then, you can see it all by floating on the surface of the water.

 

There are liquor stores all over OSJ. I went to a liquor store near Condado so I can't help you there but I asked our taxi drive and googled it and was able to find something with decent prices. But they also sell alcohol in the port itself before you get on the ship. Super easy and they give you free samples!

 

Embarkation was SUPER easy. I think easier than Miami and Port Canaveral. Disembarking wasn't as easy as it was harder to find luggage and customs took a bit longer but nothing crazy.

 

Thanks for reading!

[JennN]

Hey, JennN!

 

I just happened to stumble upon your review (I was also on this sailing... and someone recently posted in the roll call for our sailing and it notified me... then I saw the link in your sig...) and it was so nice to remember all the fun we had on that cruise. :D It seems so long ago, doesn't it? :( Definitely time to book another one!

Thanks for the (virtual) trip back to the Southern Caribbean aboard the Valor!

 

Ack! Sorry I never replied! I love re-reading and reliving :D:D

[pghsteelerfan]

I love reading reviews from this itinerary and finally got to do it last May. I was wondering how the heck I missed your review (I just came across it today) then went back to the beginning...we boarded Valor the day you got off and were actually on Valor when you did most of this. I just wanted to let you know I really enjoyed your review and it looks like you had the better week, weather wise. Ours was good, but we did have rain in St. Thomas during the afternoon and our day in St. Kitts was pretty much a washout but we still had fun. Good excuse to plan another soon, this is my favorite itinerary. We did fly down to San Juan a day early but would love to spend more time there next time. Noticed one of your comments that you wouldn't mind doing this itinerary again on another ship...Liberty will be there starting next March. We were just on her (Liberty) this April. She's got the 2.0 upgrades and is a beautiful ship and has my favorite interior decor so far.

Edited November 11, 2014 by pghsteelerfan

[dolphin2012]

Im planning this cruise now for june! I think i will pick that St John trunk bay trip after seeing your pics.. its such a hard choice... cant wait to read more!