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Carnival Valor 6/9/13 Review and Information

Daonlyone2000

By Daonlyone2000,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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Daonlyone2000

Daonlyone2000

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We (group of 4 friends) went on the Valor from June 9-16. It was a fantastic trip. Here is what we did.

 

We arrived in San Juan on June 8th and stayed in Condado at the Doubletree- great hotel!. Our taxi ride from the airport to Condado was very quick. Our taxi driver and hotel staff were very helpful and welcoming. We walked to a beach which was a few blks away and got water and drinks at the SuperMax across the street. We did try Gasolina but hated the flavor we purchased (either Sea breeze or Pink Martini). At this point you could not pay me to buy another 5 pack ($5.99). Everyone was friendly and very helpful at the hotel and grocery store. Saturday night, after some other friends arrived, we headed via taxi to Old San Juan to go to a restaurant called Punto de Vista across the street from the cruise terminal. The atmosphere was great (you eat outside) and the food was great and my friends really enjoyed the Flavored Mojitos (I am a rum and coke kinda girl). The prices were also great. The service was a little slow towards the end but it was still an enjoyable experience. We then walked around the waterfront area at the cruise terminal which was very lively and festive, with music, dancing, and vendors selling their items. A great great night!

 

Sunday Morning we got up and ate breakfast at the hotel and then got dressed to head to the Cruise Terminal via taxi. We purchased FTTF and it worked out great. We were on the boat and in our rooms to unpack by 12:15/12:20. TIP: If you want to bring on Alcohol to your room without checking it, this is the BEST port to do it in. After your carry on bag goes through the screening, security will tag your bag with an orange tag to indicate that alcohol is in it; After you leave the screening checkpoint with your orange tag, the staff does not pay you any attention to verify that you walked to the alcohol drop-off table. The alcohol drop-off table is a good distance from the screening checkpoint. You can easily cover up the orange alcohol tag they put on your carry-on bag and keep walking. Don’t be nervous, act like you belong! You have two options to buy alcohol – CVS – near port or the Duty free store right in the terminal on the second floor (it’s right before security). I recommend the duty free store in the terminal – they pretty much have ANYTHING you want at really good prices.

 

After we boarded, unpacked, we went straight to lunch on the Lido deck. They do have many options (buffet, 24 hour pizza, deli (open until 11pm), burrito bar and fish and chips (normally close around 3 or 4). We ate from the buffet and had a drink of the day (which was nice and strong!!). We then left the boat so we could explore Old San Juan. On this particular day it was Hot in PR so we made sure we had plenty of water to drink. We did enjoy OSJ very much….it was very hot though. Our plan was to make it to the other side where the fort is located, however the terrain was hilly and it was hot so we didn’t make it to the other side. We enjoyed the many squares and parks where there was lively festive music and locals dancing and enjoying their Sunday. We got back on the boat around 5:30 or so and showered and went to dinner. We had Your Time dining which worked perfectly for us. NOTE: The only day we had a long line was the first formal night on Tuesday. We waited a good while before being seated. We decided to eat later in the evening (around 815) after that. I guess we could have done assigned seating.

 

Okay, I don’t want to bore you all too much more so here is what we did in port and I will give more helpful hints

 

St. Thomas – we went to Magens bay. It’s on the other side of the island and cost 4 bucks to get in. We took a taxi- very nice taxi driver who answered all of our questions about the island and culture. If you want to rent a chair two chairs and umbrella it cost around 24 bucks, but you get 10 back when you return. The restaurant is a little pricey, but the drinks are moderately priced. I didn’t like the rum punch because it had too much grapefruit juice. There was a lifeguard on duty, and whenever anyone went out far near the roped off area, he would whistle them back in. I think we spent about 4 hours on this beat. By far my favorite beach. The water was very calm and relaxing. No waves- it really was a bay, with white sand beach. Easy for children and anyone who cannot swim to relax in (and maybe even learn to swim). We don’t recall any seaweed or anything ‘bothersome’ in the water. There was a changing area, bathrooms, and showers to rinse off.

 

Day at Sea – we really didn’t do much. Didn’t even pool it. The Lido deck was very crowded so we avoided that area. This was formal night so the people were out taking pictures that night and eating in the main dining room. We enjoyed people-watching on the Promenade deck. It was quite hilarious. Went the comedy show and laughed a lot at the two comedians. Not sure if they are on all of the boats.

 

Barbados – Took a taxi ($5 each) to the Boat yard. When the taxi first drops you off outside of the Boatyard entrance, the scene looks a little iffy from the street. The buildings aren’t modern and the area looks a little shoddy. But do NOT let the appearance of the street or from the outside of the Boatyard scare you away. As soon as you walk up to the entrance, pay your $12 (very friendly staff), and walk in, you will see PARADISE! They maintain their facility very nicely and offer a lot. It cost $12 to get in and that gets you a chair, umbrella, drink and taxi ride back, as well as a changing area, bathroom and shower to rinse off. $12 may seem like a lot but you get a lot for the money. Remember, everywhere you go you will have to rent a chair. It ranges from 5-10 dollars. I think it was a good deal considering we got a free drink and ride back to the cruise terminal. The surf was a bit higher than St. Thomas, but we really enjoyed it. Since my drink of choice is rum and coke, they had Mount gay for 3 bucks. Yes 3 bucks. It made my day! Also they have free shots (they pour in mouth). The drink prices were excellent for everything. Also, they have happy hour a various different times, so you get two for one. So if you buy a rum and coke, you get two for 3 dollars! Again, the $12 entry includes: Free drink, umbrella, chair, taxi ride back to terminal, use of two floating platforms out in the water which are easy to swim to, a pier which you can dive/jump off of and/or swing on a rope out into the water and drop in. Lively atmosphere. I believe there was a lifeguard there. The vendors and jet-ski dudes can be annoying, but if you are firm and insist ‘no thank you’ they will eventually leave you alone. The Boatyard staff put up a large sign warning you that they are not affiliated with these jet-ski vendors and suggest that you NOT do business with them, as they may or may not be licensed. 2nd favorite beach, GREAT atmosphere.

 

St. Lucia – We decided against Cosol because we didn’t want to be on land riding through all the hills (plus I don’t like eating from people that I don’t know). We did a sea excursion with Irwin’s company (dolphindiveadventures.com). They had 5 star reviews on Trip Advisor and everywhere else that we googled. We reserved our spot about 3 weeks in advance by emailing Irwin (his email address is on his website). We didn’t pay any money online- we paid when we arrived at the cruise terminal. At the cruise terminal he has a kiosk set up when you exit the boat just outside the terminal building. His boats are located at a small pier right outside the terminal building. It was $52 pp. It was really fun. He has two boats so we didn’t ride with Irwin (though I requested it). The 2 guys in charge of our boat were very nice and gave good information, and they knew the coastline very well. We felt safe with them. One even helped one of my friends snorkel so it was great. We saw the Pitons, the place with Dr. Doolittle had some filming done and the Love Arch. My only complaint was it was a little too long, but all of the tours are long because of where the Pitons are located. Also, we wished our boat had gotten closer to the Pitons. I would do the tour again. They also provided beers, water and rum punch (it was spicy) on the way back and water on the beach. You could purchase lunch from them for like $12 where they would leave you on the beach and go get everyone’s lunch. BTW, it did rain most of this day, but the rain didn’t spoil our boating or beach experience. There is a nice restaurant/bar on the beach but it is very expensive. Our boat left his little pier around 10:20am and arrived back at the boat by 4pm.

 

St.Kitts – We almost decided not to do anything at this port, but at the last minute decided to go to Cockleshell/Banana Bay. We were supposed to dock at 8am but our cruise director came on the PA system and announced that the captain was having a hard time docking due to very high winds. It was possible that we wouldn’t be able to dock at all. The captain eventually was able to dock the ship at 10am. Since we docked late, they gave us an extra hour in port which was announced at 10am. It was an awesome decision to go to Cockleshell/Banana Bay. We didn’t catch a taxi inside the gates but exited the terminal and teamed up with another group of cruiser girls to catch a taxi together. We felt safer by teaming up with as many other cruisers as possible. It cost us $6 each. Don’t pay more than $7. The ride was about 20 mins and our taxi driver was very very helpful and gave lots of info about the island during the ride. Along the way on top of the mountain our taxi driver stopped and let us get out to take pix of the scenery. The area where we stopped was where you have a very clear view of the Atlantic Ocean on one side of the mountain and the Caribbean on the other side. We were able to take lots of pix here. Cockleshell/Banana Bay beach on the southeastern peninsula was really nice. Nevis is right across the water in viewing distance. I think chair rental was $5 but I had a lot to drink here. They have a bar/restaurant called Reggae Beach Bar. They have this drink called a BBC….try it- awesome!. I met a monkey name Jimmy. His owner let us play with him for free. Don’t expect this because they normally charge. Jimmy loves alcohol and so do most of the monkeys on the island. This island is the best place to see these monkeys. They have women giving aloe vera massages, $35 per half hour. Many tourists were indulging in the experience and appeared to be enjoying it.

 

St. Maarten – The ship docked in Philipsburg on the Dutch side. Caught a taxi to the French side ($6 pp for 6 people) to a beach called Le Galion, next to Orient Bay. The water was very calm here and there is a restaurant there. They do not have a shower. Lots of locals hang out at this beach and picnic and bring their kids. We were slightly bored and walked over to Orient Bay, a more lively beach with a long strip of beach bars. It was about a 10-15 min walk over from Le Galion to Orient, through a winding path that seemed like a maze. We had to walk through some vines that were covering the path. We knew we would have to walk through the nude beach at Club Orient, but didn’t realize so many people would be in their birthday suit. It was the longest walk ever! Most were not attractive so don’t go there thinking you are going to see some fine specimens. On the other side of Club Orient was the party like atmosphere at Orient Beach. Lots of bars and chairs for rent at $7 each. After an hour or so we walked back to Le Galion and were very tired and ready to go. We just had to wait on the taxi.

Now here is my biggest warning for Orient Beach. The surf is VERY rough here. If you get in (which I did) please pay attention. One could be hurt here. One of our St Lucia excursion friends got hurt at Orient Beach at the same time we were there. She was on a boogie board we think, and a wave smacked her in the nose and busted her nose open requiring her to have an ambulance ride and stitches. They made it back to the boat just in time.

 

Here are some tips.

- Again, bring alcohol onboard PR. (I also got mine on in Barbados)

- Cockspur Rum punch isn’t that good – rather spicy as with all rum punches served at the beach bars

- Take sandwiches in port if you are beaching it. You can make them on the ship either the night before or at breakfast . We packed ziplock bags for this purpose.

- Don’t take the middle elevators on the boat if you are going to floors 3 and 4. You will have to either go back up or down.

- I liked your time dining, but if you feel you are going to mostly eat early or late, choose assigned seating

- If you are beaching it, the sun is hot, use lots of sun block and reapply

- Carry water with you if you are going onshore

- If you get back on the boat around 4 or so, You will have burger, chicken tenders , fries etc, available, but burrito bar and fish and chips will not be available.

- The fried Chicken is really good….on the first couple of nights in the dining room. After that not as good.

- The meat loaf really isn’t good

- The fish is good on the first couple of days, but after that it’s too greasy.

- I took a lot of 10s, 5s, and 1s. Very helpful to give exact change

- There are safes in the room – use them whenever you leave your cabin (jewelry, money, passport , ipod, ipad, etc)

- If you just have to fly US Air, don’t use Philadelphia for your departure or connection. We were delayed twice and missed our return connecting flight because of maintenance issues (to be honest I probably will not fly them again in the near future)

- I found the ship night club to be boring. They have themed music nights so didn’t attend for more than 5 mins – plus they have smoking there

- The Promenade deck 5th floor allows smoking in most areas so if you have bad allergies or just don’t like cig smoke don’t stay long on this floor (unless you are going to Comedy show to others shows)

- Pack quart size and gallon size ziplock bags for food or other items

- If you plan to beach it at every port, pack less clothes. I didn’t use most of my items that I packed.

- They have a washer machine and dryer on most floors. It cost $3 to wash and $3 to dry. Just pack dry laundry detergent in zip lock bags, label it and there you go.

- If you have lots of toiletries, buy the over the door shoe bag from Wal Mart and put your items in here. Saves TONS of counter space in the bathroom and while in the shower you can easily access the items hanging on the door

- The ship moves a lot in the front of the boat and I did feel some in the lounge at the back. Take Bonine at night (every night) if you have problems with being sea sick. This stuff worked for me. I also forgot to take one night and the boat was moving pretty good, so took two Bonine in the middle of the night and in 15 mins I felt better.

- Pack a surge protector because I only saw one outlet in the room

- I could get service on Verizon in PR, but could not get it in St. Thomas. The Boatyard in Barbados has wifi at the bar and that worked great.

- When catching your taxi from the cruise terminal to your desired port location, you can ask the taxi driver to come back to pick you up at your desired time. Most locations we went to had plenty of taxis waiting, with the exception of Le Galion in St Martin.

 

Okay I think that is all. If you have any questions let me know. I can post some pictures later if you like, but didn’t want to bore you too much. I can post a few pictures of Jimmy the Monkey in St. Kitts though.

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jlk806

jlk806

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Ahhh, Ill be on this cruise in 1.5 weeks, a group of 4 girlfriends! I couldnt tell from your post were you a group of girlfriends or guy friends?? Just wondering because we are a group of 4 friends doing the same cruise!

 

Did you eat in the MDR? Did they give you table mates or a table for just your group? Last year we were a group of 6 (on another carnival ship) and though we kinda hoped for tablemates they gave us a table for just us, this year we are kind of hoping they will give us tablemates.

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Daonlyone2000

Daonlyone2000

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Ahhh, Ill be on this cruise in 1.5 weeks, a group of 4 girlfriends! I couldnt tell from your post were you a group of girlfriends or guy friends?? Just wondering because we are a group of 4 friends doing the same cruise!

 

Did you eat in the MDR? Did they give you table mates or a table for just your group? Last year we were a group of 6 (on another carnival ship) and though we kinda hoped for tablemates they gave us a table for just us, this year we are kind of hoping they will give us tablemates.

 

4 girls. Yes we ate in the MDR every night except the last night. The other two ladies had assigned 815 seating. We choose Your Time dining. At your time dining you could either choose to sit alone of with other people. I believe at assigned dining you have a better chance of getting a table with others.

 

I also failed to mention that we had a balcony room on floor 7 (7376) and our friends were on the 8th floor. Don't remember their room number.

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LDR

LDR

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Thanks for your review! We are on the July 14 cruise and are counting down the days:)

 

I am glad to hear another good review of Papa Irwin's tour, our group is booked. How did you like Reggae Beach Bar? I'm sort of the activity planner for the group and we are doing a lot of beach days. I am torn between this beach and South Friars. If you have any pics you can post that would be great! TIA:)

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Daonlyone2000

Daonlyone2000

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Thanks for your review! We are on the July 14 cruise and are counting down the days:)

 

I am glad to hear another good review of Papa Irwin's tour, our group is booked. How did you like Reggae Beach Bar? I'm sort of the activity planner for the group and we are doing a lot of beach days. I am torn between this beach and South Friars. If you have any pics you can post that would be great! TIA:)

 

Glad you liked my review. I will post Pictures later. I did like Reggae Beach bar. I basically only got drinks from the bar. We actually didn't stay on that side of the beach, we walk over (pass the pier) and paid for a chair and umbrella (we only get one chair (my roomie and i) because we spend 90% of the time in the water. Anyway, we walked to and from the Reggae Beach bar to get drinks. Oh the service could be slow at times. Another TIDBIT, there is a Dollar store at the Port of St Kitts that you can buy $1 beer and water. Stock up on beer there if you like the stuff and get a bucket of ice on the beach.

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bigdaddyvoges

bigdaddyvoges

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We arrived in San Juan on June 8th and stayed in Condado at the Doubletree- great hotel!.

 

We did try Gasolina but hated the flavor we purchased (either Sea breeze or Pink Martini). At this point you could not pay me to buy another 5 pack ($5.99).

 

TIP: If you want to bring on Alcohol to your room without checking it, this is the BEST port to do it in. After your carry on bag goes through the screening, security will tag your bag with an orange tag to indicate that alcohol is in it; After you leave the screening checkpoint with your orange tag, the staff does not pay you any attention to verify that you walked to the alcohol drop-off table. The alcohol drop-off table is a good distance from the screening checkpoint. You can easily cover up the orange alcohol tag they put on your carry-on bag and keep walking.

 

Barbados – Took a taxi ($5 each) to the Boat yard. When the taxi first drops you off outside of the Boatyard entrance, the scene looks a little iffy from the street. The buildings aren’t modern and the area looks a little shoddy. But do NOT let the appearance of the street or from the outside of the Boatyard scare you away. As soon as you walk up to the entrance, pay your $12 (very friendly staff), and walk in, you will see PARADISE! They maintain their facility very nicely and offer a lot. It cost $12 to get in and that gets you a chair, umbrella, drink and taxi ride back, as well as a changing area, bathroom and shower to rinse off. $12 may seem like a lot but you get a lot for the money.

 

- Again, bring alcohol onboard PR. (I also got mine on in Barbados)

 

Good morning, I have a few questions for you since we will be on this cruise in September and haven't sailed out of PR in a few years.

 

1. We are staying in the Condado area for 2 days prior to our cruise with our 3 year old, will the "night life" be an issue for us, or is it still a family friendly area?

 

2. We are definitely looking to bring liquor on in PR. So at security, they will see the liquor, tag your bag and only "assume" you are walking it to be checked? Also, we were thinking on getting back off the ship after we check in and bring the liquor on the way back and not stop at the liquor table once we pass security. Is this how you got liquor on in Barbados?

 

3. Is the Boatyard in Barbados kid friendly? We are looking to visit this spot.

 

4. Is Reggae/Cockleshell beach kid friendly? We are looking to go here as well.

 

Thanks for your help.

 

Bob

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Daonlyone2000

Daonlyone2000

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Good morning, I have a few questions for you since we will be on this cruise in September and haven't sailed out of PR in a few years.

 

1. We are staying in the Condado area for 2 days prior to our cruise with our 3 year old, will the "night life" be an issue for us, or is it still a family friendly area?

 

2. We are definitely looking to bring liquor on in PR. So at security, they will see the liquor, tag your bag and only "assume" you are walking it to be checked? Also, we were thinking on getting back off the ship after we check in and bring the liquor on the way back and not stop at the liquor table once we pass security. Is this how you got liquor on in Barbados?

 

3. Is the Boatyard in Barbados kid friendly? We are looking to visit this spot.

 

4. Is Reggae/Cockleshell beach kid friendly? We are looking to go here as well.

 

Thanks for your help.

 

Bob

 

1. The hotel we stayed at was very child friendly. Matter fact the neighborhood was as well. I know the Hotel (Double Tree) had a sister hotel about 15 mins away and they had better ammenities.

 

2. Yes buy whatever you want, let them tag your bag and continue on to the platform of the Terminal then you will walk on the walkway that they hook up to the terminal to the boat (it's a long walk). Once you exit that covered area and step on the boat, the table to check alcohol will be on the left. If you are iffy, just buy a bottle you don't mind checking and check that one bottle while you have the others in your bag. Honestly, they really slow here and i would just put my hand over the orange tie and keep walking (you can't easily take it off because its a zip tie). In Barbados, when we returned from the beach i went to the Duty Free liquor store right by port (they have two). I purchased 3 bottles and for whatever reason when I went through security they didn't say anything to me. Note, I do know ppl who had liquor taken in St. Kitts. I say if you buy 3 bottles and you want to drink one, seperate them and be prepared to check one or two of the bottles.

 

3. I only saw a few children at the boat yard. I would say that it's a party atmosphere, but mainly in the bar when they are doing shots. If I took a child with me, I would take them to this beach. Note, the surf is a little high, but not terrible. You would need to probably hold them in the water if they are young.

 

4. Yes this beach is kid friendly. Saw lots of children on this beach. Also note you may see monkeys on this beach as St. Kitts has a high population of monkeys.

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jlk806

jlk806

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4 girls. Yes we ate in the MDR every night except the last night. The other two ladies had assigned 815 seating. We choose Your Time dining. At your time dining you could either choose to sit alone of with other people. I believe at assigned dining you have a better chance of getting a table with others.

 

I also failed to mention that we had a balcony room on floor 7 (7376) and our friends were on the 8th floor. Don't remember their room number.

 

Girlfriend trips are the best! All 4 of us (in 20's) are sharing one room though, we have a balcony on Deck 7. Originally there was 6 of us like last year and were booked 3/3 then 2 girls ended up not being able to go so we moved the remaining 4 into a balcony. We have a lot of stuff but we can manage!

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Daonlyone2000

Daonlyone2000

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Girlfriend trips are the best! All 4 of us (in 20's) are sharing one room though, we have a balcony on Deck 7. Originally there was 6 of us like last year and were booked 3/3 then 2 girls ended up not being able to go so we moved the remaining 4 into a balcony. We have a lot of stuff but we can manage!

 

4 women in one room? That's a lot. Make sure you get that walmart shoe bag for toiletries. It's easy to reach into in the shower. Too bad you couldn't upgrade to a suite. If you are beaching everyday, cut down on your casual out fits by 1/2 If you were bringing 6 shirts and shorts, bring 3 shorts and 4 tops. That is all you will need. You can always wash clothes.

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jlk806

jlk806

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4 women in one room? That's a lot. Make sure you get that walmart shoe bag for toiletries. It's easy to reach into in the shower. Too bad you couldn't upgrade to a suite. If you are beaching everyday, cut down on your casual out fits by 1/2 If you were bringing 6 shirts and shorts, bring 3 shorts and 4 tops. That is all you will need. You can always wash clothes.

 

 

I know... We are good about sharing space tho... we had 3 in a room last year and we never felt crowded we were hardly in there... We all share shower stuff to cut down on everyone packing everything and having room for 4 of each thing...

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