Valiant Lady 8 day cruise 1/28/23

[cantgetin]

St.Croix has long been one of our favorite islands.  The ship docks, but I don't know which of two docking areas will be used on your cruise.   Some people complained about "not a lot to do" but we found the people very friendly, the beach areas decent, etc.  We were there on their "Independence Day."  I don't know what it was called, but it was to celebrate their becoming independent  from being a  Danish colony.  There were people who had a table set up at the dock just to invite us to their parade in the afternoon.  It was actually fun--it was a very old fashioned parade like we had in the small town I grew up in.  They had several dance schools, a (?) high school band, political officials in vehicles, etc.  

[rebeccac]

We did a really fun food tour in St. Croix which aside from good food provided some history and sightseeing.  

 

https://www.vifoodtours.com/

[_tacocat_]

On 2/2/2023 at 4:49 PM, surfone said:

We sailed on VL the week before last and my DH and I both noticed the air conditioning at night did not work properly.  It seemed it would begin to get warmer and stay that way for awhile before the air would kick in again to cool the room.  We had no neighbors, in fact we asked our attendant and he said on our entire hallway there were only 4 rooms occupied. Most people we noticed were on decks 13 and 14. We were on 11...so quiet. We like having a flat cover sheet as well (did not like the sheet connected to the duvet) especially when it did turn warm you could not just use a sheet. 

We also found that there was one type of lightbulb (the hallway area and the one right above the bed) that burned REALLY hot.  If we tried to keep that light switch off most of the time and the curtains closed during the day, it was cooler when we went to bed.  Obviously not a perfect solution, but a decent workaround until they replace those freaking things w led bulbs!!

[MLJS]

I think the biggest disappointment is the lack of entertainment. The band SPF5 was good. They played an hour here and there on various days. We heard the Don’t Sleep Alone show was being discontinued which is not a big loss. The Ship Show was okay-nothing great. Dual Reality is awesome. They originally had it scheduled for the 2nd (Sunday) & 3 rd (Monday) nights, both of which we planned to attend. Then both were rescheduled for our 7th day, Friday, at 7:30 & 9:30.  This is one event you don’t want to miss. Hopefully they will improve on this. 

[MLJS]

Dominican Republic was not a place we generally wanted to visit. On our 5 day we opted for Cozumel over DR. We were impressed with the port at Taino Bay in Puerto Plata and will definitely go back. The port area is new, with shops and a gorgeous pool. They are working on a lazy River. At the entrance are Parrots and there are several restaurants and bars.  The area is exclusively for cruise passengers. 

Edited February 5, 2023 by MLJS

[MLJS]

Our plan had been to take a taxi to the Cable Cars and ride up to the top of the mountain. There were many, many taxis around and lots offered to take us to the cable cars. Only problem was, there were 15-20 mph winds and we never saw any cable cars going up and down the mountain. That along with low clouds, we decided to skip that and walk downtown. It was about a mile. A mainly flat walk with police at every intersection directing us. I don’t think they would let you wander down the side streets.  We did walk up the hill to the cathedral, which was beautiful. The streets were lined with shops and restaurants. 

[MLJS]

Prices on things were much better in town than at the port. Laramar is a stone only found in the Dominican Republic. We purchased a cross and earrings with the Laramar stone from a shop (on the left, up the hill just before the cathedral). The price started very similar to the port. $80 for the cross and $20 for the earrings. Unlike in the port shops, they negotiated in town. We ended up paying $50 for the set. My husband purchased hand rolled cigars from a shop just before you got into the main section of shops. It had a counter in front and a cigar lounge in back. He was able to get 12 cigars for $50. 

[MLJS]

Some more pictures leaving port

[MLJS]

In San Juan, we were the fourth ship to dock in Old San Juan. There is not much to the port area, just the piers. Outside the gate were tents set up selling jewelry, bags, sunglasses and more. Unlike the DR, where everyone was pestering you to buy, the people here were very laid back. Never really interacted with you even when looking at items unless you asked. We walked around the area. Lots of restaurants and shops. About 3-4 blocks up from the ships, was a large fort you could visit. A very easy walk. 

[_tacocat_]

9 hours ago, MLJS said:

I think the biggest disappointment is the lack of entertainment.

i see you have ~800 pax onboard.  it seems that they REALLY scale back on activities when there are fewer people to entertain.  on our 8 night in december with 2200, we had ample opportunities to see all the shows, there was plenty of music events around the ship, and we were up late partying in the manor almost every night.  there was also always something going on around the ship on port days, whether it be trivia, jigsaw puzzle contests or a DJ at the pool in the afternoon.

 

flash forward to 800 on our early january sailing, and we were legitimately bored on multiple occasions.  the manor wasn't open every night, there were much more limited options to see shows, they had a movie screening of jurassic park (i don't go on vacation to watch a freaking movie, but that's a whole other post haha), and it seemed stuff wrapped up a lot earlier than in december. there were a few more fitness classes, but i think that was due to overlap of old fitness crew wrapping up their contracts and new crew coming onboard to start their new contracts.  i don't think there was anything going on during port stops, so if you didn't feel like getting off, you had to make your own fun.

[tinkr2]

7 hours ago, _tacocat_ said:

i see you have ~800 pax onboard.  it seems that they REALLY scale back on activities when there are fewer people to entertain.  on our 8 night in december with 2200, we had ample opportunities to see all the shows, there was plenty of music events around the ship, and we were up late partying in the manor almost every night.  there was also always something going on around the ship on port days, whether it be trivia, jigsaw puzzle contests or a DJ at the pool in the afternoon.

 

flash forward to 800 on our early january sailing, and we were legitimately bored on multiple occasions.  the manor wasn't open every night, there were much more limited options to see shows, they had a movie screening of jurassic park (i don't go on vacation to watch a freaking movie, but that's a whole other post haha), and it seemed stuff wrapped up a lot earlier than in december. there were a few more fitness classes, but i think that was due to overlap of old fitness crew wrapping up their contracts and new crew coming onboard to start their new contracts.  i don't think there was anything going on during port stops, so if you didn't feel like getting off, you had to make your own fun.

Thats good information. I hope our cruise on the 11th has more people. It has Super Bowl and Valentines Day.

[MLJS]

6 hours ago, tinkr2 said:

Thats good information. I hope our cruise on the 11th has more people. It has Super Bowl and Valentines Day.

There were the playoff games when we were on board. The social club has 2 big screen TVs but not the greatest seating.  Booths right under the TVs and then stools at the counter. People pulled chairs from all around in there to watch. They did have to go get a manager to put the nfl games on. They were originally showing soccer. 

[MLJS]

Here are pictures of the other ships departing San Juan

[MLJS]

San Juan at night. We should have gotten off the ship and taken pictures. Later in the cruise I asked our cabin attendant about how to get the balcony lights to turn red. I had noticed several around us on various evenings were red rather than blue. She said it was all controlled by the bridge and the often sent a message to those on shore with “we love San Juan” or St Croix. It would have been cool to see from shore

[MLJS]

I got the deep blue extras with status match from Carnival. The $100 drink credit was great. My husband got coffee several times at the Grounds Club- either on the 7th floor between the atrium & social club or on Deck 15 in the front of the Galley on the starboard side. You can order from the crew in the Galley. The $10 credit is only for the coffee, tea or hot chocolate. When we asked originally, they told us $10 for anything from the Grounds Club, so my husband got coffee with Bailey’s Irish cream several times. They did not take the $6 off for the Bailey’s. The cappuccino & espresso were good but my husband did not think the regular coffee was much different than the free coffee in the galley. 
 

There was a cocktail hour on Monday night for the deep blue extras that was during our scheduled dinner, so I did not go. 
 

when we checked in, they gave me this bracelet to wear. Once you tighten it, it will not loosen to take off, so you have to wear it the entire cruise. I’m not sure why, there were not any perks other than the cocktail party that you got with it. The “Romance Package” also had the same bracelet but said romance on it. 

[MLJS]

There are three drink stations in the Galley. Two in front on each side and one in back on the port side. The one in back never had ice on our trip. The soda was the same at each but the juices were different at each one. I got pictures of 2 out of 3. 

 

Edited February 6, 2023 by MLJS

[MLJS]

On the ship, between the Grounds Club and the Social Club in a mural with where you can take your picture 

[MLJS]

The Lick Me til Ice Cream on deck 7 was fantastic. The ice cream is made fresh on board.  Some of the flavors vary from day to day like butter pecan, pistachio, rocky road, cookies and cream. You can get it in a cup or your choice of 3 different cones including chocolate & red velvet 

[MLJS]

The elevators are color coded.  The front elevators are purple, the mid elevators are red, and the back elevators are blue. To get to The Wake, you must use the back elevators. To get to Pink Agave, Rassle Dazzle, Sailor Services and the Redemption Spa, you must use the mid ship elevators.  The medical center is on deck 4 forward. 
 

On port days, in the elevators was port information 

[MLJS]

Love the shower on board with an actual shower doors. The rain head is high and even very tall people will fit under. The hand held is nice too! But be warned, if you warm up the shower with the hand held and then switch to rain shower, you will get a blast of cold water for a short bit until the shower gets the warm water. The shampoo, conditioner and body soap are nice. The toilet paper & tissues are more like sand paper but eco friendly. The cabin walls and door are metal and magnets will stick to them. 

[MLJS]

St Croix -there was very little info out there on Saint Croix. We decided to take a tour of the island. Outside the port gate were lots of taxi drivers. We found Jacob’s taxi service. He offered us a tour for $40 each of the island. He asked us to wait a little bit to see if he could find any other passengers. After about 15 minutes, he had not, so off we went.  He was fantastic!! HIGHLY RECOMMEND HIM. He is a navy veteran, born on the island. He runs the taxi service, fixes up houses on the island and does a radio show 2-5pm during the week when Cruise Ships are not in port. You can email him to set up tours in advance. He had a 15 passenger van, but 9 would fit comfortably 

[MLJS]

We walked around town while waiting. There were wild chickens all over the island. Lots of shops, vendors & restaurants. Franklins (off the pier to the right) had a lot of very unique items in the shop. The area around the port was quite nice. 

[MLJS]

There is a beach close to the pier. Frederiksted Beach. Our driver said the locals did not like this beach because of the sewage canal right next to it. 

[_tacocat_]

2 hours ago, MLJS said:

There were the playoff games when we were on board. The social club has 2 big screen TVs but not the greatest seating.  Booths right under the TVs and then stools at the counter. People pulled chairs from all around in there to watch. They did have to go get a manager to put the nfl games on. They were originally showing soccer. 

and it gets LOUD in the social club with the rowdier games on.  we had a bunch of bigger games in jan on valiant, and we consciously avoided the social club, loose cannon and arcade because everyone was screaming at the TVs and the ceilings are so low there.

[_tacocat_]

35 minutes ago, MLJS said:

There is a beach close to the pier. Frederiksted Beach. Our driver said the locals did not like this beach because of the sewage canal right next to it. 

yep, the first time we were there, we hoofed it all the way to rainbow beach (20ish min walk down the street).  a bunch of people in our sailing's FB group were absolutely raving about how nice this beach was and it was only 5 mins from the port vs. our 20. 

 

we caught a cab back to the ship from rainbow beach, and our driver told us about the sewage canal.  it had also been raining a ton that week, which means everyone was swimming directly in sewage runoff 🤢 didn't want to burst anyone's bubble in the group but still gross haha