Valor Southern Caribbean review with pictures and Fun Times - better late than never

[TrqoisWtrs]

but am using Photobucket for CC since I wasn't able to post pictures through Shutterfly

 

Super easy to post via Shutterfly. Go into one of your albums. Click on a photo to make it larger. Right click and copy. Then come back here and paste into your reply.

 

[pghsteelerfan]

on our cruise:

 

San Juan - I agree, starboard side has the best view when leaving.

 

St. Thomas: we were docked starboard side.

 

Sea Day: Sunrise on port side, sunset on starboard side.

 

Barbados: We dock starboard side again. The only good thing is that at the end of the day when guests were coming back to the ship, there was a steel band playing which was nice. The view was of the industrial area though on starboard. Port side would have a view out to the Caribbean Sea.

 

St. Lucia: We had cabins in the aft/starboard side specifically because we too got up early to see the Pitons as we passed St. Lucia at about 5:30am - breathtaking! We docked port side but I think starboard side had the prettiest views of the water and the small airport.

 

St. Kitts: We didn't back in :( and we docked on the port side. This is a late day, ship sails at 6pm. We caught sunsets on the port side when leaving.

 

St. Maarten: We were ported starboard side.

 

Figure this, port side is sun setting on your sea day. Once you get to Barbados, the ship meanders up and at night you get beautiful views of the lights on the islands if you are on starboard side. We passed so many islands that I also suggest you bring a map if you are starboard that will tell you what islands you are passing in the night.

 

Thanks for adding sunsets into considering balcony location because I didn't even think of that. I think we backed into the pier in St. Kitts because Valor was getting refueled later that day.

 

Oh, one more good thing about being starboard in Barbados (besides the steel band) was pier runners. First time we got to witness that. LOL!!!

 

Thanks for mentioning passing the islands at night, I forgot about that. :) I love the Caribbean map postcards that Carnival passed out on one of our cruises (2006). They don't have every island listed but it gives a good idea of where a lot of islands are. I'll attach a scanned copy.

 

[pghsteelerfan]

Super easy to post via Shutterfly. Go into one of your albums. Click on a photo to make it larger. Right click and copy. Then come back here and paste into your reply.

 

 

Thank you!!! I'm going to try that right now:

 

[pghsteelerfan]

Super easy to post via Shutterfly. Go into one of your albums. Click on a photo to make it larger. Right click and copy. Then come back here and paste into your reply.

 

 

Just tried it...it worked!!! :) :) :) Thank you so much for letting me know how.

 

I love your picture of the towel animal chair hogs. Which cruise was this on?

[dianel720]

I'll do a day by day list so my answer doesn't get too confusing. :)

 

San Juan: When leaving San Juan at sail away that first night, the fort (El Morro) was on the starboard side, so we'd have had great views from our balcony, but were up at the Mega Deck Party on Panorama Deck 10 - also great views. Best views - Starboard

 

St. Thomas: The morning we were coming in, we were heading due east into St. Thomas. I got up at 6AM, just after the sun rose and went to the balcony. Looking straight out from the balcony we couldn't see much (besides Sail Rock), but when I looked towards the front of the ship I could see St. Thomas in the distance and also the sun rise. I missed what I think would have been a great picture, but my camera lens fogged up due to taking it out into the humidity from an air conditioned cabin. We docked at 7AM. Now when the ship is docked in St. Thomas, the port side cabins have the view out over the water and we (starboard) had the views of the land side and Havensight Mall. Best views coming in - either; docked - port

 

Sea Day: We were out in the middle of the ocean and we did not see any other islands that day, so it didn't really matter. For sunrise, my guess would be port side since we were heading south. We didn't get up that morning until 7AM, past sunrise. Best views (for sunrise) - probably Port

 

Barbados: We couldn't see from our balcony because the ship was heading straight into the island. Barbados does have higher points but is not as mountainous as the other islands. We were docked that morning at 8AM.

Best views: It didn't matter since we went straight in. When actually docked, Starboard had the view of the island (industrial area) and Port had view of the second dock and ocean.

 

St. Lucia: I got up at 5:30AM because I wanted to see if we could see anything that morning and we could. When coming up from Barbados, we were heading north along St. Lucia's western coast, with great views of the Pitons. The feeling that morning to wake up, go out on the balcony and having the Pitons being the first things we saw, was, hard to describe, but awe inspiring. Valor docked in port at 8AM. Best views - Starboard and while in docked, either side had nice views

 

St. Kitts: I got up at 6AM and went to the balcony and saw Nevis and St. Kitts from our balcony. The ship is heading north along St. Kitts/Nevis' western coast, so it's the starboard side that has the best views. This is also the side where you'd see the sunrise. Best views - Starboard for coming in and Valor also backed in here, so while docked, both sides had views of the island.

 

St. Maarten: I got up at 6:30AM but since I couldn't see anything from our starboard balcony at first, I don't know which view would have been best for sunrise or to see the island as the ship was coming in. We were scheduled to be docked at 7AM, so I'd only been on our balcony a few minutes before the ship turned and started backing in to the dock. Best views - Starboard while docked because that side had the views across the bay and of Philipsburg.

 

San Juan: I got up at 5:30AM since we were scheduled to be in port at 7AM, but the ship gets in early. Best views for sunrise and to see Fort El Morro as the ship comes in - definitely port.

 

I hope this wasn't too confusing and of some help to you. If you have any more questions, please feel free to ask or want more details or even pictures as the ship was coming into certain island, please feel free to ask.

 

Thank you for your kind words about the review and I hope it can be helpful to you in some way in planning your cruise. :)

 

 

WOW!!! Thank you soooo much for all the information. I think I'm going to switch to Starboard side!

[dianel720]

on our cruise:

 

San Juan - I agree, starboard side has the best view when leaving.

 

St. Thomas: we were docked starboard side.

 

Sea Day: Sunrise on port side, sunset on starboard side.

 

Barbados: We dock starboard side again. The only good thing is that at the end of the day when guests were coming back to the ship, there was a steel band playing which was nice. The view was of the industrial area though on starboard. Port side would have a view out to the Caribbean Sea.

 

St. Lucia: We had cabins in the aft/starboard side specifically because we too got up early to see the Pitons as we passed St. Lucia at about 5:30am - breathtaking! We docked port side but I think starboard side had the prettiest views of the water and the small airport.

 

St. Kitts: We didn't back in :( and we docked on the port side. This is a late day, ship sails at 6pm. We caught sunsets on the port side when leaving.

 

St. Maarten: We were ported starboard side.

 

Figure this, port side is sun setting on your sea day. Once you get to Barbados, the ship meanders up and at night you get beautiful views of the lights on the islands if you are on starboard side. We passed so many islands that I also suggest you bring a map if you are starboard that will tell you what islands you are passing in the night.

 

Thank you also for all the helpful information! I'm going to make the switch! Thanks for your help!

[TrqoisWtrs]

I love your picture of the towel animal chair hogs. Which cruise was this on?

 

That was the Imagination in February. I've seen other pics from other ships where they've done it also. Nothing on the Valor? bummer. :(

[JohnTRN]

Are you planning to do a review? If so, I'm subscribed! Would love to see the pictures you get.

 

I'm crediting/blaming this partly on you!!! :D

 

NOOB LEGEND (wait for it) -ary Trans Atlantic

 

I'm just getting started . . .

 

John

[cincycruisincouple]

Excellent review! I loved all your pictures. We will be on the Valor on the 20th!

[Samm116]

Did you get the cheers program. I've gotten it in the past, but was worried about how many port days there were and if I'd get my moneys worth.

 

Great review. I'll be cruising her over thanksgiving. Once I show DH the review we will be doing a few of the same things as you.

[pghsteelerfan]

That was the Imagination in February. I've seen other pics from other ships where they've done it also. Nothing on the Valor? bummer. :(

 

I didn't see it, but they could have done it and I just missed it. We had five ports of call and on those days we didn't get to the Lido outside decks until afternoon when we got back. On our sea day, the loungers were all occupied by people by the time we got out there. I'll have to look for that next cruise, whenever that will be. :) Was this on a sea day on Imagination?

[pghsteelerfan]

I'm crediting/blaming this partly on you!!! :D

 

NOOB LEGEND (wait for it) -ary Trans Atlantic

 

I'm just getting started . . .

 

John

 

Hi John! I just go on here a few minutes ago (today) and did see you started your review yesterday and am loving it and looking forward to more! Thank you for the credit/blame. :) I hope it was more inspiration than "arm twisting" on my part. :)

 

Holly

[pghsteelerfan]

Excellent review! I loved all your pictures. We will be on the Valor on the 20th!

 

Thank you and glad you liked the pictures and hope it was helpful to you in some way since it won't be long for you now. I loved this itinerary and Valor so much that I'd love to do the same cruise again.

 

Did you get the cheers program. I've gotten it in the past, but was worried about how many port days there were and if I'd get my moneys worth.

 

Great review. I'll be cruising her over thanksgiving. Once I show DH the review we will be doing a few of the same things as you.

 

No, we didn't get the cheers program. We were thinking about it but decided against it due to the port heavy itinerary and we weren't sure if we'd get our money's worth. There is another review that I mentioned at the beginning of my review, by MegnJoe, for anyone to check out if they would be on Valor before I finished. They were on the May 12, 2013 sailing and getting on the ship the day we got off. I'm pretty sure they got the cheers program and I think it worked out for them. I'll try to attach the link to their review (it was great, BTW): http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1867814

 

So glad you enjoyed the review and glad it was helpful. We definitely had a great time and loved what we did. I hope you have as good a time as we did.

[ibcnusoon]

Did you get the cheers program. I've gotten it in the past, but was worried about how many port days there were and if I'd get my moneys worth.

 

Great review. I'll be cruising her over thanksgiving. Once I show DH the review we will be doing a few of the same things as you.

 

We did this same itinerary on the Victory for Thanksgiving 2012. The weather was BEAUTIFUL that week, no rain at all, clear skies and sunny and in the upper 80s every day. I hope you get the same weather! Enjoy the cruise, I would love to do it again!

Edited October 1, 2013 by ibcnusoon

[girlscruise2011]

pghsteelerfan, can you confirm with me what nights were the Elegant nights on this sailing? I'm looking into reservations for the Steakhouse and want to make sure I don't miss the 1st Elegant night since I like to get dressed up and take pics with the family. The Steakhouse is just me & DH so the kids won't be with us that night.

[pghsteelerfan]

pghsteelerfan, can you confirm with me what nights were the Elegant nights on this sailing? I'm looking into reservations for the Steakhouse and want to make sure I don't miss the 1st Elegant night since I like to get dressed up and take pics with the family. The Steakhouse is just me & DH so the kids won't be with us that night.

 

Sure! The first Elegant night was on Tuesday, the Sea Day (or Fun Day at Sea) and the second was on Thursday, the day we were in St. Lucia.

[jen1016]

So the Serenity area was just that one row of chairs with a hot tub at the end? I was on the Legend this past February and the Serenity Area was a nice size!!

[pghsteelerfan]

So the Serenity area was just that one row of chairs with a hot tub at the end? I was on the Legend this past February and the Serenity Area was a nice size!!

 

No, it only looks that way because of the picture I posted but definitely larger. It's at the front of the ship (forward) and includes both sides (port and starboard). There are also two decks that it's on, the Sun Deck (12) and the Sky Deck (14).

 

I'll attach a Valor deck map with more details. http://www.shipcruise.org/carnival-fun-ship-refurbishment-schedule/

Edited October 2, 2013 by pghsteelerfan

[Alexlee]

No, it only looks that way because of the picture I posted but definitely larger. It's at the front of the ship (forward) and includes both sides (port and starboard). There are also two decks that it's on, the Sun Deck (12) and the Sky Deck (14).

 

I'll attach a Valor deck map with more details. http://www.shipcruise.org/carnival-fun-ship-refurbishment-schedule/

 

I think this link is the dry dock one... I couldn't find the layout on this site

:confused:

[pghsteelerfan]

I think this link is the dry dock one... I couldn't find the layout on this site

:confused:

 

Hi Alexlee! :)

 

Ooops, you're right. I copied and pasted the dry dock link to answer another post. I'll go ahead and try this again. Thanks so much for pointing that out. Oh, I saw that with the Government shutdown that the Forts (El Morro & Castillo de San Cristobal) are also closed over in the Port of Call section of CC. I was wondering if that would affect them too. Just a shame.

 

Jen1016, let me try this one again. So sorry 'bout that. Serenity is Sun Deck (12) and Sky Deck (14). It starts with Riviera deck, just click on the arrow and it will give you the layout for all decks.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/carnival-valor-deck-plans/dp/

Edited October 2, 2013 by pghsteelerfan

[Alexlee]

Hi Alexlee! :)

 

Ooops, you're right. I copied and pasted the dry dock link to answer another post. I'll go ahead and try this again. Thanks so much for pointing that out. Oh, I saw that with the Government shutdown that the Forts (El Morro & Castillo de San Cristobal) are also closed over in the Port of Call section of CC. I was wondering if that would affect them too. Just a shame.

 

Jen1016, let me try this one again. So sorry 'bout that. Serenity is Sun Deck (12) and Sky Deck (14). It starts with Riviera deck, just click on the arrow and it will give you the layout for all decks.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/carnival-valor-deck-plans/dp/

 

Yes this is true, its something about some federal funds, I hope the government resolves this as soon as possible. There are a lot of offices that have to do with federal help that were also closed.

[pghsteelerfan]

Yes this is true, its something about some federal funds, I hope the government resolves this as soon as possible. There are a lot of offices that have to do with federal help that were also closed.

 

I hope it resolves soon too. I'm just glad we were on our cruise in May and I feel bad for anyone on an upcoming cruise or vacation in Puerto Rico who had planned to see the forts, El Yunque and anything else affected.

[Alexlee]

I hope it resolves soon too. I'm just glad we were on our cruise in May and I feel bad for anyone on an upcoming cruise or vacation in Puerto Rico who had planned to see the forts, El Yunque and anything else affected.

 

Yes, I was thinking the same thing about all the tourists visiting PR.:(

[girlscruise2011]

Sure! The first Elegant night was on Tuesday, the Sea Day (or Fun Day at Sea) and the second was on Thursday, the day we were in St. Lucia.

 

Thank you. Now I can look at the ports to try to see which night works best

for us.

[jen1016]

Hi Alexlee! :)

 

Ooops, you're right. I copied and pasted the dry dock link to answer another post. I'll go ahead and try this again. Thanks so much for pointing that out. Oh, I saw that with the Government shutdown that the Forts (El Morro & Castillo de San Cristobal) are also closed over in the Port of Call section of CC. I was wondering if that would affect them too. Just a shame.

 

Jen1016, let me try this one again. So sorry 'bout that. Serenity is Sun Deck (12) and Sky Deck (14). It starts with Riviera deck, just click on the arrow and it will give you the layout for all decks.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/carnival-valor-deck-plans/dp/

 

Great thanks ... awesome review and pictures!!! Can't wait till my cruise in Feb 2014!