Cruising on the Valor

[ragethjj23]

I am trying to plan a cruise on the Valor. Any advice? Any good excursions my wife and I should do? Ive heard the boatyard on Barbados is fun...anything else? Thanks

[girlscruise2011]

I am trying to plan a cruise on the Valor. Any advice? Any good excursions my wife and I should do? Ive heard the boatyard on Barbados is fun...anything else? Thanks

 

I just sailed on the Valor in January. My favorite cruise to date. If you want a great excursion in Barbardos, check out Calabaza catamaran. It is a bit pricey but first class all the way from the minute you step on that catamaran. I would highly recommend it.

 

St. Martin I love Maho Beach and watching the planes. It was fun.

 

I hope to get back to that itinerary again.

[Shanwow88]

I went on the Valor last summer, it's an excellent itinerary. I would highly recommend Spencer Ambrose Tours for St. Lucia. It was one of the best excursions I've ever taken. I also thought Brimstone Fortress in St. Kitts was pretty interesting and worth checking out. The Boatyard in Barbados and Maho Beach in St. Maarten were fun as well.

[jmcancruise]

If you are looking for a relaxed day by a pool in st. Kitts, Palm Court Gardens is lovely. It is inexpensive and an easy walk or cheap taxi ride from port. They have a website you could check out.

[cbMcruiser]

I am trying to plan a cruise on the Valor. Any advice? Any good excursions my wife and I should do? Ive heard the boatyard on Barbados is fun...anything else? Thanks

 

We just did this cruise in February. My advice is a little different.

 

Since the cruise does not leave PR until 10:00 pm on Sunday and there wouold be time to explore Sunday afternoon, it was fun for us to stay in another area of PR for our pre-cruise day. We stayed in the Miramar area. There were 5 excellant restaurants one block awat from the Hotel Miramar. The hotel was very was nice. It does not have all the amenities, but it does have a great rooftop deck where you can sit and enjoy a wonderful view of the sunset.

 

You can also take your time getting to the pier on Sunday. We didn't leave for the ship until 11:30, got there around noon. We were back out on the streets of OSJ by 3:00.

 

Finally, there are a lot of small, intimate eateries all around OSJ. How about a nice local cuisine dinner there before getting back to the Valor, you will be eating there for the next 6 nights!

[ragethjj23]

Thanks for the ideas! Any more will be appreciated. Are any of the ports tendered?

[titanic27]

I am trying to plan a cruise on the Valor. Any advice? Any good excursions my wife and I should do? Ive heard the boatyard on Barbados is fun...anything else? Thanks

 

 

The Boatyard Was fun if you want to go snorkling go with Nevil yellow boat for 20$ he will take you see turtles and a sunk Ship, if you do , try going out early (they feed the turtles , the later you go less chance of the turtles coming...

 

In St.-Marteen take the water taxi for shopping, and there is a beach with chairs for rent for a cheap day.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[ragethjj23]

Great I will add that to the list of things to look into! Thanks!

[Samm116]

Read the review by pgsteelerfan (I think that's right). Awesome review of all ports and excursions.

 

 

03/01/2014 Carnival Breeze

11/24/2013 Carnival Valor

4/28/2013 Carnival Glory

4/14/2012 Carnival Valor

3/26/2011 Carnival Freedom

3/13/2010 Carnival Freedom

10/22/2006 Carnival Pride

10/5/2003 Carnival Elation

4/25/2002 Carnival Imagination

1/12/2002 Carnival Imagination

1/07/2002 Carnival Imagination

[faroozi]

No tenders. At least there weren't on our trip in March.

[twocruiseguys]

A wonderful . . and exhausting . . itinerary. So much to do and see. So many options. I will list our experiences, many of which were echoed above. But I urge you to explore all of the reviews you may find on the Ports of Call pages for each of these islands.

 

• St Thomas - taxi to Red Hook and catch the ferry to St John. Trunk Bay, Honeymoon Beach, etc. Shopping in Cruz Bay.
  
• Barbados - Calabaza Catamarans
  
• St Lucia - Cosol Tours
  
• St Kitts - Thenford Grey Tours
  
• St Maarten - Bernard's Tours
  

But don't forget about Puerto Rico. A destination in and of itself. Some may disagree. But we loved it so much after our first cruise in 2008, we came back the next year and stayed on the island for a week. The Arecibo Observatory, El Yunque Rainforest, the Lechoneras lining the "pork highway" on the southern part of the island, the bio-bays of the island of Vieques, renowned Flamenco Beach on the island of Culebra, and of course the culture and history of Old San Juan. And when we came back last fall, we tacked on a couple of days post-cruise to try and catch up on some more PR adventures. Perhaps your plans will allow you to fly in a couple of days early to experience some of this.

 

Hope you have a wonderful cruise !

[kteachcruiser52]

San Juan We printed a walking tour off of the internet.

St. Thomas. We walked to Charlottr Aimee. The shorter route goes through the marina. We did a walking tour. Ten dollars admission covered Blackbeard's castle, the pirate museum, and a museum/house. We took a break in a open air casual restaurant that was on top of one of the stores. The views were great as we watched the boats while we relaxed. We walked back, but you can take a Safari bus both ways.

Barbados. We took a taxi to Harbor Lights which is on the Carlsie Bay like the Boatyard, but a little farther down. We paid $15 for 2 chairs and an umbrella; however, admission is free if you do not want these. Three places on this beach are Boatyard, Lobster Alive, and Harbor Lights. They all have websites. We had our own snorkeling gear so we just swam out to where the boats that were feeding the turtles. I read on Trip Advisor how to get to the shipwreck from the shore at Harbor Lights, but it seemed a little far out for us to try that.

 

St. Kitts. We did the Sky Safari zip line which was awesome. (We are in our 60's). You can only do this through the ship as they have an agreement with Sky Safari.

 

St. Lucia We did Cosol Tours. It. Was a great tour, but Our guide, Jean Paul, was not too informative. He did answer questions when asked. Sit near the front as the guide does not wear a microphone.

 

St. Maarten. We did Bernard's tour and loved it. Our guide was the "Mailman" and he was awesome. Try to get him for your guide. he told us so much about the islands and each stop we made. he wore a microphone so everyone could hear what he was saying as he drove.

 

it is a great cruise. We loved the fact that it had so many ports.

Edited April 20, 2014 by kteachcruiser52

[bunchesofun]

But don't forget about Puerto Rico. A destination in and of itself. Some may disagree. But we loved it so much after our first cruise in 2008, we came back the next year and stayed on the island for a week. The Arecibo Observatory, El Yunque Rainforest, the Lechoneras lining the "pork highway" on the southern part of the island, the bio-bays of the island of Vieques,

 

Hope you have a wonderful cruise !

 

We came in to San Juan a couple days early and did the bio bay tour. There are two ways to do it. On is in kayaks, and the other is on an electric boat. We did not want to kayak so opted for the electric boat. They pick you up around 3 and you are not home until 10 or 11 (can't remember). First you drive quite a ways to a boat. Then the boat takes you to the island. We had supper next, then a bus takes you to the electric boat. It's quite an experience. We are so glad we did it.

[jwalk03]

Barbados go to the Boatyard. And if you want to swim with turtles (which you most definetly should!) go out with Neville. It's only $20, and you go with a very small group unlik the $80 ship excursion!

 

St. Lucia, Spencer Ambrose tour to the Pitons was phenomenal! And the Pitons are not to be missed.

 

St. Maarten, while we thought Maho Beach was cool because of the planes, the beach itself was very very crowded, and very very small! (and we were the only ship in port, I can't even imagine it on a day with multiple ships!). It's also not somewhere I would spend a whole day, a couple of hours was plenty. If you looking for a picture perfect beach day, this isn't it, but definetly worth a visit at least once for the novelty of planes landing that close to you.

 

This itinerary is absolutely awesome! 6 ports in 7 days! Don't forget to check out the forts in San Juan, the view cannot be beat. With only 1 sea day it is not a relaxing cruise, at all. Very busy, but very awesome as each island is so different from all the others. It's the best port itinerary that Carnival offers by far.

[marshalltp]

Just got back.......second best itinerary (Hawaii).....

San Juan....stayed night before at Caribe Hilton was pricey but very good, ate dinner at Raices, long wait but excellent authenitc Puerto Rican,

St. Thomas....Sail and Snorkel for the second time with Fury Charters....good but better snorkelling last time in 2012

Day at Sea....plenty of early chair savers but we found 5 together eventually....steakhouse was very good

Barbados....skipped Boatyard scene to go to one of top beaches in World Rockley/Accra....Tiki Bar charges $30US for umbrella and two loungers, but gives you same in food and bar credit....full when we arrived but told us to go down the beach and found similar....great beach with decent swimmable waves (even for 8 yr old)

St.Lucia...did Spencer's Land and Sea....land part was interesting but a little long....not for those prone to car sickness....snorkelling between Pitons was good

St.Kitts....relaxing infinty pool day overlloking port on the cheap at Palms Court Gardens....phenomenal

St.Maarten...Pirate sail and snorkel and Maho planes aboard the galleon Lord Sheffield....awesome

 

feel free to question

[kteachcruiser52]

We came in to San Juan a couple days early and did the bio bay tour. There are two ways to do it. On is in kayaks, and the other is on an electric boat. We did not want to kayak so opted for the electric boat. They pick you up around 3 and you are not home until 10 or 11 (can't remember). First you drive quite a ways to a boat. Then the boat takes you to the island. We had supper next, then a bus takes you to the electric boat. It's quite an experience. We are so glad we did it.

 

Which company has the electric boats. We would be interested in that. Thanks

[Dirkgun]

Read the review by pgsteelerfan (I think that's right). Awesome review of all ports and excursions.

 

 

 

 

I agree her review is awesome. Very informative. I have not been on the Valor yet.... (going in Jan 2015:D) but we have done this itinerary 2 times on the Victory when she was doing this route and have two reviews linked in my signature. They both list some things to do and have pictures.

Come in early a few days and stay after a few if you can there are some great thing in Puerto Rico also.

 

The things that I think are great and will do over again are:

 

San Juan: tour the forts, walk the streets especially around the wall.

Other Puerto Rico: Bio Bay kayaking or electric boats, El yunque tour (drive through and/or hiking also) Camuy caves.

 

St Thomas: we have gone to Coki beach for snorkeling/swimming and then toured the island after lunch with a taxi. THis time I think we are going to St John's.

 

Barbados: Taxi to Paynes bay, then in a small boat out to the turtles. We have then gone over to Bathsheba (long drive but very pretty). The last time we were there we also went to the Wild Animal Preserve (kind of an interactive zoo).

 

St Lucia: Spencer Ambrose all the way here. We love the Land and Sea tour, stopping at lots of interesting places on the way down to the Pitons then snorkeling between the Pitons after a very good lunch is an awesome experience. The boat ride back to the ship is also fun and picturesque.

 

St kitts: We usually go to timothy hill to get the view of the Atlantic and Caribbean on either side of the narrow (about 200 yards) part of the Island, then to Shipwreck beach. This next time we are going to Cockleshell. We also have done the Thenford Grey tour to Brimstone and Caribelle Batik, it also ends up at Shipwreck beach. (he is a great tour guide)

 

St Maarten: We did Bernards tours and went to the Iguana farm, orient beach (the nude part is only at the one far end so you have to try to walk there) then to the French open Market in Marigot, Then to Maho for a little while watching the planes (lots of fun).

 

We did all of these with independent tour operators. Some of which you can just get off the ship and set up with the taxis waiting there at each port if you want. It is a better idea to try to schedule with someone if you know you want to do something but there are other options. Great intinerary IMHO. you will love it. Then stay in San Juan after in you can even if just to relax for a day or so.:eek::rolleyes::D

[cgmiller63]

I was on the Valor from April 6 to April 13 and I just posted my review. You can read it and get some ideas on what to do. The Boatyard in Barbados and Maho Beach in St. Maarten are two places you should definitely visit. The Marriott Resort in St. Kitts is another great spot.