REVIEW: Carnival Valor to Southern Caribbean Oct 6-13, 2013 OUR FIRST CRUISE!

[valentinebaby1]

We're booked on the Valor next November it seems like such along ways away can't wait to go. We were on the Breeze in April and loved the ship.

 

 

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Nov 2014? I thought we had a long wait! You'll have so much fun over next year anticipating your trip!

 

I'm loving your review so far. Thanks for taking the time to post it. We'll be on the valor next Sunday! I can't wait.

 

Sent from my XT907 using Forums mobile app

 

Thanks! I've spent so much time over the last 10 months reading reviews and studying everything I could to plan our trip, I hope I can help others with their planning too!

[valentinebaby1]

We decided to go back to Luquillo Beach and the Kioskos. We got a couple amazing drinks there and relaxed in the ocean.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[valentinebaby1]

More from Luquillo Beach:

 

 

 

 

 

 

After awhile we headed back to San Juan and walked a couple blocks to a restaurant called Don Jose's for Mofongo for dinner. (we had another Gustazo coupon for it). This place was more casual and cheaper, but the food was great! It was much later than the night before and we felt very comfortable walking around the Isla Verde area even at night. I decided to stop at Walgreen's on the way home and see if I could find anything for my tooth pain, but they were closed already :( so we just went back to hotel and spent a little time walking along the beach and collecting shells, and relaxed on a hammock. It was so peaceful! I went to sleep pretty early, I thought hubby was asleep too, but he woke me up at around 3:30 am to tell me he could see the Valor! So we went out on the balcony and watched it cruise past, way off in the distance. We knew it had to be the Valor because there was no other cruise ship scheduled to be in San Juan on Sunday.

[cruisecrazy82]

OMG loving your review!!! We have the Valor booked for December 2014 and absolutely cannot wait!!! Thanks for taking the time to post the review and awesome pics!!! Looking forward to more :D

[hockeyluver]

LOVING YOUR REVIEW so far :D I love reviews with lots of pictures! Cant wait until its our turn!!

 

You can add hubby and me in as a "couple that wont make it" We met on Feb 12th, went out for my birthday on the 13th, went out for dinner on Valentines day and then on the 15th he asked me to marry him :eek: Everyone thought we were crazy!! That was 26 yrs ago and two beautiful daughters (24 and 22) later we are as happy as we were way back then.

[pghsteelerfan]

Another Valor review...Yeah!!! We were on Valor this past May and love reading the Valor reviews to relive our trip. We also booked in January for our cruise in May, so we only had to wait about four months. We flew in one day early and also stayed at the Courtyard by Marriott Isla Verde and really enjoyed it there. I just saw where you mentioned that you were able to see Valor passing by at 3:30AM...no wonder I didn't see her when I got up at 5:30AM and went on the balcony too look for her!!! I waited out there till 7:00AM and at that point we were just hoping she was there so we could get on later that day. She was. LOL!!! We were on the 8th floor, kind of to the side but still had great views of the beach. You mentioned you were on the top floor, which floor was that? Afterwards, I was trying to remember how many floors there were. Thank you for taking the time to do a review and really looking forward for more. Your pictures are beautiful. Happy 25th Anniversary to you both!

Edited October 20, 2013 by pghsteelerfan

[michiganredrose]

Love Valor reviews! February 16th can't come soon enough!

[FM1061]

Thanks for posting this. I enjoyed reading your review and seeing all the great pictures. I hope you will continue your review of your time on the Valor. We have read several posts about the mattresses not being as comfortable as they used to be. People saying they are very firm and even hard. We will be on the Valor 12/1/13 and it will be our first cruise. Getting really excited and your review is adding to the fire.

[Lovefuninthesun]

I am really enjoying your excellent review -- thanks for posting it!

I am looking forward to more -- we are booked on the Valor for October 2014, so I am making notes!:)

[valentinebaby1]

OMG loving your review!!! We have the Valor booked for December 2014 and absolutely cannot wait!!! Thanks for taking the time to post the review and awesome pics!!! Looking forward to more :D

 

Thank you, glad you're enjoying it! Dec 2014 is a long ways off, hope you survive the wait!

[valentinebaby1]

Love Valor reviews! February 16th can't come soon enough!

 

It's just around the corner!

 

Thanks for posting this. I enjoyed reading your review and seeing all the great pictures. I hope you will continue your review of your time on the Valor. We have read several posts about the mattresses not being as comfortable as they used to be. People saying they are very firm and even hard. We will be on the Valor 12/1/13 and it will be our first cruise. Getting really excited and your review is adding to the fire.

 

I'll post more of the review tonight. After staying at the Courtyard, with super soft beds that you just melt into, I was kind of disappointed when I first laid down on the bed in our cabin...the bed felt hard and I was worried that I wouldn't sleep at all. But I actually slept VERY well, and I don't normally sleep well on a hard bed. The bed was more comfortable than it initially seemed, and maybe it was the gentle rocking of the boat, the extra alcohol consumption or the fact that we were very tired at the end of the day, but both hubby and I commented on how well we slept on the ship! I ended up sleeping better on the ship than I did in the hotel!

[valentinebaby1]

LOVING YOUR REVIEW so far :D I love reviews with lots of pictures! Cant wait until its our turn!!

 

You can add hubby and me in as a "couple that wont make it" We met on Feb 12th, went out for my birthday on the 13th, went out for dinner on Valentines day and then on the 15th he asked me to marry him :eek: Everyone thought we were crazy!! That was 26 yrs ago and two beautiful daughters (24 and 22) later we are as happy as we were way back then.

 

Wow, that's a pretty crazy story, but when you know, you know, right? Congrats!

[valentinebaby1]

Another Valor review...Yeah!!! We were on Valor this past May and love reading the Valor reviews to relive our trip. We also booked in January for our cruise in May, so we only had to wait about four months. We flew in one day early and also stayed at the Courtyard by Marriott Isla Verde and really enjoyed it there. I just saw where you mentioned that you were able to see Valor passing by at 3:30AM...no wonder I didn't see her when I got up at 5:30AM and went on the balcony too look for her!!! I waited out there till 7:00AM and at that point we were just hoping she was there so we could get on later that day. She was. LOL!!! We were on the 8th floor, kind of to the side but still had great views of the beach. You mentioned you were on the top floor, which floor was that? Afterwards, I was trying to remember how many floors there were. Thank you for taking the time to do a review and really looking forward for more. Your pictures are beautiful. Happy 25th Anniversary to you both!

The hotel is 12 floors total. I must have read your review or someone else posted about waiting for the ship at 5:30 am. I mentioned that to my husband awhile back, but I didn't think he'd even remember about waking up early to see it. I'm not even sure if he went to bed and woke up to look for it, or if he just stayed up, but I think he found some website to track the boat so he knew when to look for it or something. Glad you're enjoying the review and photos!

[valentinebaby1]

I am really enjoying your excellent review -- thanks for posting it!

I am looking forward to more -- we are booked on the Valor for October 2014, so I am making notes!:)

 

Thank you! I loved traveling in October! It was nice being the only ship in port for our sailing!

[valentinebaby1]

Sunday morning we got up pretty early because we had an amazing adventure planned for the morning! We checked out of the hotel and lugged our suitcases to the car and headed to a smaller airport closer to the cruise port area. We had found a deal on Gustazos for a helicopter ride! We checked in around 10 am and before we knew it we were sitting inside a small 4 person helicopter, it was just the 2 of us and the pilot. Neither of us had been in a helicopter before so this was a new experience for both of us!

 

 

The takeoff was so smooth. I really thought I was gonna be scared, but it wasn't scary at all, except when we banked to turn.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[valentinebaby1]

We flew all the way down to Isla Verde and saw our hotel, flew back up the beach and past Condado and the forts and Old San Juan...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[valentinebaby1]

This was the area known as La Perla, a very dangerous part of Old San Juan that apparently the police won't even enter. It looked so pretty, it's a shame it's such a bad place.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[valentinebaby1]

And then we flew over the Valor in port!

 

 

 

The ride was too short (it was supposed to be 15-20 minutes, and hubby videotaped it and it was 12 min long) but it was still worth it!

 

After the ride, we decided to drive around Old San Juan for a bit...that was kind of a mistake. We were looking for a restaurant called Fatty's that we heard about from another reviewer.

 

 

 

We didn't have any luck finding it, but there was a lovely young lady named Veronica walking by so we asked her if she happened to know where it was. She said she would be happy to show us, so she hopped in the car and directed us to where Fatty's was located. We had tried to call Fatty's several times but the number was no good, so we were afraid it had closed. Veronica knew Yvette (the owner of Fatty's) well and had her personal number so she called her to see if she was going to be open that day. Yvette didn't answer but Veronica left her a message. Veronica said she was headed to church so we drove her there and drove around Old San Juan a bit more and in the meantime we got a call back from Yvette of Fatty's. She said she was out of town and wasn't opening her restaurant that day but said she would be open the following Sunday when we returned. So we decided to head out of Old San Juan and drop off the rental car and get to the ship! We left to find the drop off for the car rental. Charlies/ACE has a free shuttle to/from the airport and the cruise port. The drop off is in Condado but we had some trouble finding it. We drove past it and had to get back into Old San Juan and back around. Traffic in that area was crazy, and we were getting really stressed at this point. We really discovered that we did not like the Condado area or the old San Juan area at all. We called ACE/Charlies to find out exactly where they were and got some help, found it the 2nd time around and by this point we were more than happy to drop off the car and let others do the driving! The shuttle took us to the cruise port and dropped us off there and we were ready to get on board!

 

[valentinebaby1]

It was around 12:30 or so and it was quite crowded getting through the check in process. The porter took our luggage and we went to check in. The line was very long, it was very hot and humid and my medication for my tooth was not helping me at all. We decided we'd get checked in and then leave the ship and walk back to CVS for our wine/soda and other last minute purchases, including something for my tooth pain. I'm not sure exactly how long it took to get through the check in process, but I would guess it was about an hour for the check in and security lines. But before too long we were on the ship!

 

Entering the lobby for the first time:

 

 

We entered the ship on the 3rd floor lobby, which we would see a lot of in the next week. It was so beautiful! We walked through the lobby and went to the elevator and took it to the 10th floor, to our room 1059, a balcony room very near the elevators.

 

 

We had some concern with being able to hear the noise from the elevator, but decided to risk it, and aside from hearing the occasional dinging, it wasn't a big deal. It was very easy to get around being so close to the elevator and getting to and from the lido deck was a piece of cake, just a few steps down the hallway, out the double doors and you were there!

 

 

 

[valentinebaby1]

 

 

 

 

 

[valentinebaby1]

 

 

 

 

 

[valentinebaby1]

The door to our room was open, and it was ready for us except for being vacuumed. We saw our steward in the hall and made introductions and asked if we could drop off our carry on luggage in our room. He said that was fine, so we put it in the closet out of the way for him to finish getting it ready for us. We headed out to explore the ship and get some food. The buffets were open and the burrito bar, we opted to try the burritos.

 

 

By this point my tooth was in excruciating pain and I could barely eat. Within a few minutes of trying, I was in such severe pain I was in tears. I told hubby we needed to walk to CVS...NOW. So we headed back to our room, took an empty rolling carry on suitcase with us and headed back off the ship.

 

From the following photo you can see Senor Frogs, and the next building down is where the CVS is located. It wasn't very far to walk.

 

Around this time it had started to rain...and rain hard! We left the ship, it was very easy (and for those who board in Barbados, San Juan is a regular port for them). We were to be back on board at 8 or 8:30, I can't remember which. So we walked to the CVS which is a few blocks away. CVS was a madhouse! We bought 3-8 packs of coke and 2 bottles of wine, plus I bought a tube of Anbesol and 2 other tooth pain remedies just in case. I also purchased a small bag to keep my passport in, because I didn't bring my drivers license with me and it was my only form of photo id, so I had to take my passport with me at every port with my sign and sail card. I couldn't find a waterproof bag for it, so I settled on a little bag that I used for the rest of the trip instead of carrying a purse. It was just large enough for my pain meds, my Anbesol, my passport, my sign and sail card, eye drops and contact case.

 

Because it was still raining, and I wasn't feeling great because of my tooth, we decided to just walk back towards the ship. We stopped at Senor Frogs and got a drink.

 

 

 

We had a large one in a keeper cup and shared it. I opened the Anbesol and applied it and immediately felt better! It became my best friend over the next week! After finishing our drink we decided to just head back to the ship, as it was still raining. Originally we had planned to take the free trolly to the forts and see them, but the forts were closed due to the gov't shutdown, and it was still raining so we decided we were done with Old San Juan for the day. It was maybe around 4 or 4:30 at this point and getting back on the ship was much faster this time than the first time. Of course we only had ot get through the security, but there was no line at the check in counter and very little at security at this hour.

 

Back on the ship, things were wet, but inspired by someone else's review (I'm so sorry I don't remember which one, I read a lot!) I captured this shot and loved it!

 

[valentinebaby1]

For anyone wondering, we had our bottles of wine in our carry on suitcase. It went through the scanner and they put an orange zip tie on the handle to indicate bottles were seen. We had to walk through a screening, but there was no physical pat down. The screening picks up any metals but does not pick up plastic or glass items. Once through security, we had to walk a few feet and check in at the alcohol table. They opened the carry on, confirmed we had just 2 bottles of wine and sent us on our way. I heard that many people were able to walk right by the alcohol table by simply covering the orange zip tie on their bag handle...

 

We headed back to our room, emptied our mini bar and put everything in a drawer and filled the fridge with our soda. The fridge did not get very cold, barely cold at all, but it was better than nothing. We brought with us a small dry erase board and left a note for our room steward to ask him to bring us an ice bucket. He brought us one that evening, had it filled with ice and kept it filled morning and night for the rest of the trip without us ever asking again!

 

I was exhausted, I think I took a nap for a bit, I don't even remember for sure. We decided to head to dinner, I was starving since I didn't really eat my lunch. Since people were still boarding and luggage was still arriving in the rooms, there was no dress code in the dining room. Our luggage had arrived, but we were too tired to get all fancied up and we figured no one else would be either.

Our first dinner in the MDR was very nice! We were seated in a corner table for 2, and we were pretty early in the evening...maybe around 6pm or so. I don't remember exactly what I ate every night, but I'm pretty sure I had a Caesar Salad to start and Sweet and Sour Shrimp for the entree. Hubby had chicken tenders and I think Linguini with Italian Sausage. We also had our first taste of the Chocolate Melting Cake and Creme Brulee. I had read so much about the Chocolate Melting cake but it was way too rich for me to enjoy. I had a couple bites and didn't order it again. The Creme Brulee was very good! We ended up talking to 2 other couples seated very near us. One couple was celebrating their 8th anniversary on the 8th, same as ours, and the other couple was celebrating their 40-something anniversary on the 7th! We all had a pleasant chat over dinner and we didn't feel so alone in the corner anymore! We bought a B-52 shot in a keepsake shot glass for each of us, which is something hubby and I realized we had never done together before! Yummy! This would become our nightly ritual for the remainder of the trip!

 

Some time in the evening we headed to the guest services desk to see if they could tell us if our only Carnival booked excursion was still on. We had booked the Snorkel Trails of Trunk Bay/St John excursion after much debate back and forth on if we wanted to try to get to St John on our own or take an excursion. We decided since this was our first port, on our first cruise that we should play it safe and let them take us, since we figured the cost wasn't much different than what the taxis and ferry would cost. But St John is part of the US National Parks and with the gov't shutdown we didn't know if we'd be able to get to Trunk Bay at all. We tried calling Carnival several times a few days before to see if they knew, but no one knew anything yet on if the excursion would be canceled or not. So when we stopped at guest services, they said they had received an email that morning that the beach was accessible and the excursion was still on! Yay! We both wanted to see Trunk Bay so bad so we were very happy with this news!

 

After dinner we headed to the the photo gallery to see our boarding photo, which we purchased. We wandered around some more and eventually headed to the Lido deck for the sail away party. It was loud and fun and they did all of the usual dances.

 

 

Before we knew it we were sailing away and saying bye-bye to San Juan!

 

 

We knew we had to be up early in the morning for our excursion, and we were super tired, so we headed back to our cabin and I think we were asleep before midnight.

[SailingRNC]

Awesome review. Looking forward to the rest !!

 

 

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[shawne71]

Great review so far! Lovin' all your photos. We sail on the Valor in January. Staying at the Marriott Resort on Condado Beach, which I saw in one of your photos! :D