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Valor Southern Caribbean Questions

MeghanJ

By MeghanJ,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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MeghanJ

MeghanJ

Posted
Posted

Okay,

Here is the deal. My family has cruised three times before--the Dream, Liberty, and Breeze. We are booked for the Valor, March 2015. My questions are: I would like to try FTTF, but we don't sail until 10 pm. We should be to the ship by 10:30am. Do you think it is worth it on this particular cruise?

 

Another question I have is: Lord help us, how much will we miss Guys and the Blue Iguana? How is the lunch food? Do the burgers and burritos even compare??!! We will survive no matter what--but just wondering what your thoughts are for those who have sailed the Valor out of San Juan.

 

Thank you!

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Sundown331

Sundown331

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We didn't have FTTF .... We got to the terminal about 12:30 and were onboard the ship by 1:15.

 

We ate lunch and a short time later our cabin was ready, we unpacked then went back into old San Juan for soda and water, got back onboard about 4:00 with no wait to get back on.

 

I'd spend the $$$ on other things.

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MeghanJ

MeghanJ

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We didn't have FTTF .... We got to the terminal about 12:30 and were onboard the ship by 1:15.

 

We ate lunch and a short time later our cabin was ready, we unpacked then went back into old San Juan for soda and water, got back onboard about 4:00 with no wait to get back on.

 

I'd spend the $$$ on other things.

That sound about right! What about the food--will we miss Guys and the Blue Iguana? Or not so much?!!

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Sundown331

Sundown331

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Valor was my only cruise .... so far ... So I have never had Guys or Blue Iguana, but there is a place that makes a great burrito as far as Mexican food goes.

Almost everything we tried was very good though and there was plenty of variety.

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Bases5

Bases5

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I agree although we are platinum I advised my friends cruising with us not to buy FTTF for this cruise, Its a long strung out boarding process.

We have sailed out of San Juan 4 times and have never had issues with crowds. It's very laid back.

The only time I would conceder it would be if I had early flights home and wanted to get off the ship faster,

 

On a side note, This will be our 15 carnival cruise and we have yet to have a Guys burger joint. We still don't know what we are missing.

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fishtaco

fishtaco

Posted
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I agree although we are platinum I advised my friends cruising with us not to buy FTTF for this cruise, Its a long strung out boarding process.

We have sailed out of San Juan 4 times and have never had issues with crowds. It's very laid back.

The only time I would conceder it would be if I had early flights home and wanted to get off the ship faster,

 

On a side note, This will be our 15 carnival cruise and we have yet to have a Guys burger joint. We still don't know what we are missing.

 

Ive seen plenty of pics of them and I know I am not missing out:D

Edited by fishtaco
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Crazy4Cruisin225

Crazy4Cruisin225

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I wouldn't bother with FTTF for this cruise. The boarding time is so spread out that there is never really a crowd and there are no tender ports so priority tendering doesn't matter. As far as the food goes there is always plenty to eat. I sailed the Breeze last year and absolutely loved Guys and the Blue Iguana, but I actually found myself missing the old burger station that they replaced. I always loved going there for a late afternoon snack and load up a plate with chicken fingers, fries, chili, and cheese. Couldn't find that on the Breeze. Also, the new shows with the 2.0 upgrades are nowhere near as good as the live orchestra shows, IMO. So, while the upgraded ships are nice and have their benefits, I wouldn't pick my cruise based on whether or not the ship is 2.0. I always pick based on the ports and the Southern Caribbean is beautiful!

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txmom11

txmom11

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We just got off the Valor about an hour or so ago. We are Platinum and enjoy the ease of boarding but I don't think it would be worth it for this cruise.

 

I missed Guy's burgers and the Blue Iguana even more on the trip. BUT I loved this itinerary so much! The ports of call were beautiful and we had a blast. Today I am just a little bitter that they made me leave the ship though.

 

 

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MeghanJ

MeghanJ

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Yes, the itinerary really rocks on this cruise. I figured I'd miss Guys and the Blue Iguana. Totally agree with you about having to leave the ship! On our last cruise my daughter was actually teary eyed and said she didn't want to leave! We will skip FTTF and try the other burritos and other food!! [emoji5]️

 

 

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lunagirl

lunagirl

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We did this itinerary on the Valor on May 4. We weren't able to get FTTF because it was sold out, but I never saw a single reason to need it on this cruise. We boarded at Noon and our room was ready by 1:00pm. The only real line I encountered was at Guest Services (batteries died in our cabin lock and we couldn't get in the room).

 

There are SO many ports on this cruise, I really don't think you will miss Guys or the Iguana. We weren't a fan of the Burrito window (think terrible Chipotle) or the Deli, and the Grill wasn't amazing, but we never went hungry or lacked for food options. We tried them in the afternoons when looking for a snack to tide us over from shore excursions til dinner. Since there was only one Sea Day, we ate lunch on the islands and dinner in the MDR every night except for one. I had the Wok on embarkation and the sea day and enjoyed it both times. The one night, we had slept through our early dinner time and tried the buffet. I was actually impressed with the dinner buffet. This was my 3rd Carnival cruise, but had never tried the dinner buffet.

 

If you have any other questions, let me know.

 

Enjoy!

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erby2283

erby2283

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I am a huge FTTF fan and even i agree to skip it on this trip. The other thing I advise to skip, if applicable, is a soda card! I am a heavy soda drinker and felt it was a huge waste of money bc it was so port intensive, I was rarely on the ship to use it! So if anyone was thinking about it, just lug some on from the CVS down the street!

 

Happy Sails. I did this itinerary but when the Victory was doing it, not the Valor. It was my favorite cruise to date but boy was I exhausted every night!

 

 

 

 

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MeghanJ

MeghanJ

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Thanks for your advice about FTTF and the soda card. I hadn't thought of that and with 5 port days, makes sense to just bring our own on and get a can here or there when needed.

We too skipped the dinner once in our last cruise and had plenty to eat at the buffet. Might have to check out the wok!!

 

 

 

 

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  • 4 weeks later...
guidobiker

guidobiker

Posted
Posted
I am a huge FTTF fan and even i agree to skip it on this trip. The other thing I advise to skip, if applicable, is a soda card! I am a heavy soda drinker and felt it was a huge waste of money bc it was so port intensive, I was rarely on the ship to use it! So if anyone was thinking about it, just lug some on from the CVS down the street!

 

Happy Sails. I did this itinerary but when the Victory was doing it, not the Valor. It was my favorite cruise to date but boy was I exhausted every night!

 

 

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

 

How far is the CVS from the cruise terminal. Sailing in Aug and looking to bring some sodas on board. Thanks.

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michiganredrose

michiganredrose

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We arrived at 10:30 for our Valor cruise, we were one of the first to check in and then we waited, and waited. They started boarding at around 12ish. It wasn't bad because we were so excited to be there and getting on the ship but FTTF definitely wouldn't have helped anything.

 

The CVS is not far from the port at all.

 

I got my son a soda card and he got plenty of use out of it so I think it depends on the person. He generally was up until around 2:00 am so he had plenty of time to use it.

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cbMcruiser

cbMcruiser

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How far is the CVS from the cruise terminal. Sailing in Aug and looking to bring some sodas on board. Thanks.

 

The CVS is several blocks from where the Valor docks. This was a little surprise based upon our other visit (a port call). The port call we were at Pier 1 or 2 (can't remember which). The cruise from PR, we were berthed at Pier 6. So my guess is another block and a half (city block length) to get to CVS. VERY busy street to cross, so do it at a light.

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audcc77

audcc77

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How far is the CVS from the cruise terminal. Sailing in Aug and looking to bring some sodas on board. Thanks.

 

I was dragging around my carry-on and didn't think it was too far to walk. Google maps has it as a 5-min walk from the pier. Walk down the pier & turn left. it is on the right side, very easy to see.

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jazm2011

jazm2011

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The CVS is down the block from the pier. It's not far, but a good distance to lug soda and water.

 

On our April cruise we grabbed our wheeled duffle bag to head down to CVS and ended up just buying water and soda in the shop in the terminal instead. It was a little more expensive than we probably would have paid at CVS, but the convenience outweighed the hassle. Although, embarkation at that port is a hassle in itself, lol.

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LVDFW

LVDFW

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There are no tender ports, so unless you want to be on the ship first no real reason. You can drops your bags off and explore San Juan.

 

Also with it being a port intensive cruise, I doubt you'll have lunch on the ship much anyways.

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