Carnival Valor 8 day Cruise 6/17-6/25 – St. Maarten, St. Kitts, San Juan and GT

[Daonlyone2000]

I am fresh off of my 8 day Carnival Valor Cruise to St. Maarten, St. Kitts, San Juan PR and Grand Turk. It was 4 of us traveling (3 in our early 40’s and a 16 year old male) from Charleston SC to Port Canaveral. Left Charleston the day before the cruise at 930am and arrived in Port Canaveral around 3:30/4pm (we stopped a couple of times and the rain was terrible in Jacksonville and around the Daytona area). We stayed at the Radisson Resort and I actually would not pick to stay there again. Why? I do not like hotels where you have to walk outside to access your room. Yes I am picky and the next time I cruise, I will look at the hotels that offer the 40% discount rate to park at the port. Originally we picked the Radisson because of parking but decided to park at the port instead because of convenience. (by the way this review is long and doesn't have any pictures)

 

Day 1/Embarkation

Arrived at the Port around 11:00 or 11:30 and dropped off Passengers and luggage. I parked the car at the Port and found a space quickly. You have to pay up front so for the 8 day cruise it was $144. The lines are kinda long, but moved rather quickly for the most part. It was sort of like organized chaos. I would say the process took about an hour. I think I will pick to do FTTF the next cruise because one of the people traveling with has a hard time standing for long periods of time.

Once on the boat, we went to the lido deck and grabbed lunch. This is the first cruise I did not get the drink special for the day. Mainly because we were hot and tired and didn’t feel like a drink at that moment. We sat around waiting for a while (130pm) before the rooms were ready. Warning, there was no announcement that they were ready. They could have been ready earlier but no one ever said anything so we headed to the room at 130. We were staying in rooms 7297 and 7293 – both inside rooms. The rooms are small but after moving the beds around to be against each wall, we had a lot more space.

If I remember correctly, we received luggage before the muster drill, so we were able to unpack every rather quickly. BTW, I use packing cubes so it’s rather easy to just toss each bag on a shelf in the closet and move to toiletries. I also use an over the door shoe rack in the bathroom for all toiletries which is very convenient when showering and keeps the counters clear.

Muster drill – it takes entirely too long. I don’t mind going but standing there in the heat while people pass gas is not very bearable. Plus it takes them a good while to count the people. If you have anyone who can’t stand for long periods of time, please have them talk to special services so that they can sit in the theater for muster.

After Muster, we made a drink in the room (order a bottle for the room along with several packs of water) and headed to Lido for the sail away party. It was very entertaining. The cruise Director led the crowd doing several line dances (some old and some new). I did enjoy this.

Before I move any further, I would like to make a comment about the cruise director - Chris. He wasn’t annoying at all. Some cruise directors constantly stay on the speaker system giving updates, but this guy was a quiet as a mouse. I enjoyed the quiet time except on port days. It would have been nice to hear the announcement about when we were docked or even the weather for the day. The only day he mentioned anything about docking was on Grand Turk day and that is because we almost didn’t dock that day (I will talk more about that later).

We did eat in the Main Dining room that night and the food was good. The Valor is not on the American table and they still have table cloths.

 

Day 2 – Sea Day 1

I spent part of the morning looking for my cruise mates. It was really a lack of communication of where we would be. I did bring stickies, so I left notes on doors of where I would be. Once we linked up, all was good. This day was spent either in the adult pool (aft) or lounging around the adult pool. Food – Breakfast is always awesome. Lunch was good (either had guys or fish and chips) and we went to the dining room for dinner. This night was elegant night. I do not have menu pictures or food pictures to offer. I can tell you I had the shrimp and lobster. I only ate one bite of the lobster as it tasted like soap. I did not complain as it wasn’t important to me. There was a comedy show that night and I can’t remember if we went this night to the comedy show or the following night (if I had my funtimes with me, I could tell you, but they are at home). The comedian was good…well okay. There were some funny parts, but many blank stares from me moments. I am probably not the best person to judge because I don’t find most comedians funny.

 

Day 3 –Sea Day 2

This day was less chaotic as we all stuck together (except the teen boy who decided he wanted to swim all day and night at midship pool). We spent most of the day at the aft pool relaxing the day away and soaking up some rays. This night we ate dinner on Lido. Okay, here is my rant about Lido dinner buffet. I think it totally sucks. The food is not very tasty and the deserts are bad. You would think it would be similar to the main dining room, but for me it wasn’t. Some people seemed to enjoy the food, but I can be a picky eater. Oh the salads were good! Okay rant done. Not sure what I did this evening after dinner.

 

Day 4 – St. Martin/Maarten

We arranged for taxi service to meet us at 930am to take us to Pinel Island. We got off the ship around 910/5 as the lines were really long and made our way to meet the driver. It took us about 15 mins to get there and when we looked lost a man asked us if we needed help. We told him where we were going and he found our driver for us. We waited for another couple (they did not show) and after a while the driver took us to Cul de Sac. I would say it was about a 15-20 min drive as we arrived a little after 10. After paying for the cab service through the Paddling company, we made our way to the dock. We had to wait until 1030 for the next departure. When 1030 came we walked down this pier to our boat and paid 12 bucks pp (6 each way) for water taxi service. The boat ride is about a 5-10 min ride. The guy driving gave us instructions (when the last boat leaves and times) and we made our way off the boat and onto the island. Can I say this was a great choice! I have been to St. Martin twice before and this was the best thus far (Great bay wasn’t bad either 2 years ago). We decided to stay at the first restaurant as the water had some seaweed at the second. We didn’t explore the island but I want to warning those afraid of animals that they have HUGE iguanas at this beach. They don’t bother you, but they look scary. We did buy some drinks at the bar and if you take your cup, they will put it in there for you. We paid 10 bucks for each drink. We also go cheeseburgers and fries. They aren’t cheap and look to spend 20 for each, but they are tasty and the portion size is good. We left Pinel at 2 because our driver would be back at 230 to take us to front street. The driver was prompt and we got back to Front street in no time. We did some shopping all to the right size (facing the water). If you are looking for liquor the further you travel down the cheaper the prices get. I picked up some of the Guavaberry liquor (Passion fruit flavor). Very tasty! Once we were done shopping we headed for the water taxi and rode back to the pier. The one way fee was 5 or 6 bucks. I don’t really remember as I had a lot to drink this day, but if anyone wants to know I will check with my original notes and let you know. For some reason I want to say we ate dinner on the Lido deck after taking a nap, but I can’t remember at this point. I do know one night we went to Men vs women (women won). We tended to be tired after a LONG day of drinking and the sun, so we went to be early most nights.

 

Day 5 – St. Kitts

We were eating Breakfast this morning and noticed A LOT of rain in the area, so we didn’t rush to get off the ship. When we finally got off, it started to rain as we walked to this covered area on the Port. It did rain pretty good so we waited it out and found a taxi. This particular guy had a big van and didn’t want to take us so he had a friend name Smokie to take us. Well before we could make it to his taxi, it started to pour again. Well at this point we were undecided and told Smokie we would like to wait. We went to a few stores and guess what…it stopped raining and the sun came out, so we had Smokie take us to Cockleshell beach to Reggae beach bar. We had been there before and thought it to be decent. One thing I must say about St. Kitts is that they have done much to improve the roads since we came the last time back in 2013. I was pleasantly surprised. Anyway, we made it to the beach about 30 mins later and then Smokie was like well I knew a better beach to take you too, but we are here now. COME ON SMOKIE! I said next time we will look for you to take us to that beach (I don’t remember the name). So of course as soon as we get to the beach looks like it’s going to rain. Smokie told us he would wait for a little while to make sure we were good. Well, it did rain….bummer…..but only for 15 mins. Long enough for a drink. Once it stopped raining we made our way to the beach (we always go past that pier to the other side because it’s less people) and we snagged chairs for 5 bucks. It was because of the rain they went so cheap. The one good thing is we did get in a good 2 to 3 hours on the beach before it rained again. By this time we were hungry and ended up at the bar with some light food before time to head back. Once back in port, we got some souvenirs and was back at the boat in no time. If I recall correctly, we ate a light late lunch. I didn’t want to nap so after my shower, I walked around solo checking out the boat. I think we ate at lido again or maybe I didn’t eat because I had a late lunch. Not sure.

 

Day 6 – Puerto Rico

We got up pretty early this morning because we were only in port from 7-2. We didn’t get off the boat at 7, but were probably off around 8:15. There were no lines getting off. I have been to PR once before on a cruise so we knew that we wanted to do some walking around. We originally were going to catch a taxi to the Fort because one of the people in my party has some standing issues, but when we got off she said she could walk. So we took the low road and walked around the City wall. The first time we were there 3 years ago we walked up the hill. This was a better option, plus it was a pretty walk. One thing I can say about PR is that it is HOT. OMG, if anyone is going to sweat, I will. So I was pretty drench from sweat this day. Oh, it was a milder day with some breeze…. So anyway we went all the way to the fort (I think Morrow) and then we found the church that Ponce de leon is buried. After that we made our way back to the boat and returned around 1pm. We were all hungry and ate lunch when we returned. Two of us decided to head to the 3rd floor to watch the boat sale off while my roomie took a nap and the teen went to the pool. We said we didn’t want to nap and initially we didn’t. The sail off was beautiful and I would recommend watching it if you are ever leaving during the day. Anyway, We were relaxing and next thing you know I was waking up an hour later and so was my buddy. It was rather hilarious as we said we didn’t want to nap. Oh well! We did go to the main dining room for dinner and the food was good. I was sort of tired of eating so didn’t eat much and don’t remember what I had. Oh it was elegant night and I had Tiger shrimp and it came with mash potatoes. My cruise friends had the prime rib and they loved it.

 

Day 7 – Grand Turk

I think we were to dock at 9am, but this did not happen. This is one of the few times I heard the Cruise director over the PA system. We noticed bad weather approaching Grand Turk and when the CD announced that we would not be able to stop there because of the weather, everyone was sad. Some might have been upset, but I didn’t care either way. I knew that we would be refunded port fees and the CD said they were going to revise the schedule. Anyway, about 30 to 45 mins later he made another announcement they were going to attempt to dock again. If you were outside you could see the boat had turned around and the weather was much better. Well, we were able to dock and get off. This was not a good day for me. I had developed a heat rash on both arms and I was just not feeling being in Port. For those that have never been to GT, please know that there are rocks in the water near the boat. You will need water shoes if your feet are sensitive like mine. It turned out to be a good weather day, but I went back to the boat early and left my travel mates. If you have any questions about GT, I am sure I can still answer. Later that evening we did eat on the Lido deck. I remember specially they had this Spinach Lasagna with beef…sounds good right? NOT. Horrible. I did enjoy the steak they had and ate a salad. Oh for lunch I just ate a salad as I wasn’t feeling any of the choices. I did go to bed early this night.

 

Day 8 – Sea Day 3

Since this was the last day and I wasn’t tired of being out in the sun, we mainly just hung out. We walked around the ship and hung out on Deck 3. For dinner we decided to go to the Main dining room and the food was good as usual. Oh we also packed so we could leave our luggage to be picked up between 630 and 9. I don’t think they picked up our luggage until closer til 9. This day was non eventful.

 

Day 9 – Debarkation

We got up early and ate breakfast. After that we got dressed and finished packing everything else in our carry on. I also picked up the one package of liquor I checked on St. Martin Day (sorry I didn’t mention this earlier). Our zone was 6 and they were to call us at 830 to debark….that didn’t happen. You can only wait on Lido or deck 5. Deck 5 is way too smoky and two of my friends have asthma so we didn’t go there. We were really just ready to get off the boat. Every time we went to deck 3, they would tell us we had to go back up. We finally said forget it and just got off the boat. I probably would not suggest this because our luggage wasn’t cleared yet and we had to wait in that warehouse until that area became clear. I now can speculate that is why they had not called us yet. We had to get a porter because we had way to many pieces to carry. This was a bonus because we were able to go through customs a lot faster. That process went smooth. I picked up the car and we loaded up the luggage and headed home.

 

Okay so here is my take away…

I really don’t have many negatives. I would say the biggest thing that bothered me is the Lido Deck food for dinner. Lunch didn’t bother me to much because there are more options. I think that Carnival needs to open up the lunch choices for later in the day. Guy’s burger is open until 6. Deli is open 11-11pm which is fine and Pizza is 24/7. Burrito/taco/lunch buffet/fish/wok all close at 230pm. I think they need to keep maybe the burrito/taco place open until 6 as well….maybe even 5. I don’t really eat late so that doesn’t bother me that much isn’t open. I really didn’t do much in the evenings because much didn’t grab my attention, plus I go to bed early mainly because when working I get up at 430am. I do think there is something for everyone. I noticed many people playing cards and I think you can get a free deck from the Customer Service desk.

 

Well that’s all. Thanks for reading and let me know if you have any questions. BTW, I forgot to mention that we washed clothes twice. There was a laundry room on our same hall and they take your sail and sign card. I brought change with me because I had read otherwise, but they do not take quarters anymore.

[Clarea]

Nice report, thanks!

[rtap23]

Thanks for your review. We will be on the Valor next week with the same itinerary

[myangel]

Thanks for the review! We will be back on the Valor August 19th, same ininery as in January we loved it so much! In January they did not have the 2.0 upgrades yet, so I am excited!

[True Texan]

Dinner on the Lido is quite often sketchy. How was the condition of the ship?

[Shelloz]

Thanks for the great review and the laundry tip. Do you happen to have the fun times to share?

[RTRMom]

Great review, we were also on the that cruise. The cheers were loud when they announced about attempting to dock again. I am glad they did, it was a great day in Grand Turk.

Edited June 30, 2016 by RTRMom

[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[Keith1010]

I enjoyed your trip report/review.

 

Keith

[Daonlyone2000]

Thanks for the review! We will be back on the Valor August 19th, same ininery as in January we loved it so much! In January they did not have the 2.0 upgrades yet, so I am excited!

 

You will enjoy her. I think the updates are great. Red Frog pub looks great, but never saw alot of people there. Guys is good and I love there fries more than the burger. Only had burritos once on this cruise.

[Daonlyone2000]

Thanks for the great review and the laundry tip. Do you happen to have the fun times to share?

 

I did bring all the funtimes homes. Right now my office is down as I just moved but I will see if I can get someone to scan them for me. If you have a particular day or days you are interested in, I can just take pictures of them and attach. BTW, for some reason I wasn't charged anything to wash my laundry....at least it wasn't on my bill.

Edited June 30, 2016 by Daonlyone2000

[Daonlyone2000]

Thankyou all for taking the time to read, it took me a few days to put this together. I will also try to upload pictures in the next few days of some of the ports.

[Daonlyone2000]

Great review, we were also on the that cruise. The cheers were loud when they announced about attempting to dock again. I am glad they did, it was a great day in Grand Turk.

 

Yes they were very loud. As you read Grand Turk wasn't my best day, but I do really like that port overall.

[wendynat]

I did bring all the funtimes homes. Right now my office is down as I just moved but I will see if I can get someone to scan them for me. If you have a particular day or days you are interested in, I can just take pictures of them and attach. BTW, for some reason I wasn't charged anything to wash my laundry....at least it wasn't on my bill.

 

I'd love to see the Sea Days in particular - we'll be on a different itinerary, but imagine the Sea Days will be mostly the same :). Thanks!!

[Daonlyone2000]

I'd love to see the Sea Days in particular - we'll be on a different itinerary, but imagine the Sea Days will be mostly the same :). Thanks!!

 

I will work on it and post it soon.

[pugsley1992]

Thanks for the review. We enjoyed the Valor last year and looking forward to the upgrades. We sail the same itinerary on 9/30.

[cincicruisers]

Thanks for sharing.

[Hobbsey]

Thanks very much for this thorough review. I just made final payment on this same cruise for September and am glad for any information about the ship and the port stops.

 

I am so glad you did this in just one post, trying to keep up with long reviews that are serialized can be exhausting.

 

I am with you that having Guys and Blue Iguana open later would make some sense. I'm surprised they aren't open for the early part of dinner time.

[toolman1953]

Thankyou all for taking the time to read, it took me a few days to put this together. I will also try to upload pictures in the next few days of some of the ports.

 

 

 

Nights 2 and 6 were Formal?

[marlynnp]

Thanks for the review! I am cruising this itinerary later this month. :D