The Palm Trees are Really Cool: A Pictorial Review of the Valor's Southern Route

[Crusin Karen]

I just spent the past couple hours reading from the beginning to the end. Great review and pictures. Are you going to do a "wrap up?" I am hoping you'll do a review of the Breeze when you sail her. HAPPY CRUISING and thanks for taking me along! ;)

[DHnDWplus2]

Where's the like botton ?

 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Forums mobile app

[MizzCard]

Your review was awesome! Just like a good book, I couldn't stop reading. (took two afternoons) Sailing this itin with a large group of friends on October 26th. This review has helped me out immensely. I've recommended it to friends who will be arriving in SJ a few days earlier. Will definitely help them to get around.

[dfmeeks]

Absolutely loved your review! I've made a few notes as I'm taking the same cruise in May & staying at the Caribe for 2 days post cruise. You mentioned that you have been to St. Thomas many times. I was hoping you could offer advice on what you consider a "can't miss." We (my husband, college age daughter, & me) enjoy history, a beautiful beach &, of course, my daughter loves to shop. My husband collects coins so shops with treasures from ship wrecks would probably interest him. Any advice from you would be much appreciated! Thank you so much!!

[Brangwen]

Great review! I agree about barrachina, very overpriced and very "mix" tasting pina colada. :confused:

 

As this will be our 4th trip to PR I had been wondering if maybe we should "finally" do the Bacardi tour but I think I'll be skipping that trip if you don't get to SEE anything about the rum making. #fail :rolleyes:

 

Last time we did this was itin was on the Victory.... with no sea days! :eek:

[Nicole721]

Thanks for the review, love it and the pictures! We are doing this itinerary on the Liberty in April....can't wait!

 

 

Kathy

Mom of four (girls 16 & 13) (boys 13 & 11)

Central Indiana

Carnival Conquest (11/13) Repositioning

Carnival Liberty (4/13) Eastern

Carnival Destiny (6/04) Southern

 

Have a fantastic trip! The Liberty is a beauty! :)

 

Thanks so much for doing this review! We are on the same sailing in April as KatPem and trying to read as much as I can about all the ports.

 

Love your writing style and all your pics. Looks like you all had a really good time, and I got lots of ideas of things to do at some of the islands we haven't been to before. St. Maarten and St. Thomas are our only repeat ports, all the rest will be new to us and we can't wait.

 

Thanks again!

 

Thanks for the note! :)

[Nicole721]

I still think about those Macaroons in St. maarten.

 

Sooooo good!

 

Enjoying your review. Great pictures! This is my favorite itinerary.

 

It's one of my favorite itineraries, too :)

[Nicole721]

I just spent the past couple hours reading from the beginning to the end. Great review and pictures. Are you going to do a "wrap up?" I am hoping you'll do a review of the Breeze when you sail her. HAPPY CRUISING and thanks for taking me along! ;)

 

Yep! Gonna work on a wrap up tomorrow (hopefully! I'm in the midst of promotion so work is kind of consuming me right now) and I'll definitely do a review on the Breeze. Since we did the Breeze (same itinerary) last Halloween, I'm hoping to find enough new to make it an interesting review :)

 

Where's the like botton ?

 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Forums mobile app

 

[Nicole721]

Your review was awesome! Just like a good book, I couldn't stop reading. (took two afternoons) Sailing this itin with a large group of friends on October 26th. This review has helped me out immensely. I've recommended it to friends who will be arriving in SJ a few days earlier. Will definitely help them to get around.

 

I'm so glad you found it helpful! :) Thanks for reading!

 

Absolutely loved your review! I've made a few notes as I'm taking the same cruise in May & staying at the Caribe for 2 days post cruise. You mentioned that you have been to St. Thomas many times. I was hoping you could offer advice on what you consider a "can't miss." We (my husband, college age daughter, & me) enjoy history, a beautiful beach &, of course, my daughter loves to shop. My husband collects coins so shops with treasures from ship wrecks would probably interest him. Any advice from you would be much appreciated! Thank you so much!!

 

Hmmm. Not sure if any of the shops have coins (I've admittedly never looked), but your daughter might enjoy Southern Exposure (one of my favorite stores to pick up fashion jewelry and small souvenirs).

 

I'm not sure if Carnival still offers it because this was a ways back (2008, maybe), but we did an excursion on one of our trips that included a tour around the island, a stop at Drake's Seat (a scenic overview looking down upon Magen's Bay), a stop at Blackbeard's Castle and a beach stop at Magen's Bay (widely regarded as one of the most beautiful beaches). And then the tour ended downtown for those who wanted to shop. Might be a way for your family to get in history, beach and shopping in one fell swoop :)

[Nicole721]

Great review! I agree about barrachina, very overpriced and very "mix" tasting pina colada. :confused:

 

As this will be our 4th trip to PR I had been wondering if maybe we should "finally" do the Bacardi tour but I think I'll be skipping that trip if you don't get to SEE anything about the rum making. #fail :rolleyes:

 

Last time we did this was itin was on the Victory.... with no sea days! :eek:

 

Oh man. I can't even imagine doing this itinerary with no sea days! I say that, though, as I look at Europe itineraries for this spring with, like, ten ports and one sea day :eek: That trip is gonna take me allllllllll winter to plan and a week to recover from.

 

I'm kind of glad we hit Barrachina to say we've been to Barrachina, but having been once, I have no desire to ever go again, to be honest. No aspect of that meal was above passable.

 

Re: the Bacardi tour, disappointment on not seeing the rum being made aside, it was actually a fun experience. And you get free booze. I'd do it again, I think. I'd just do it with the full knowledge that I'm not going to see where the magic happens. (Or maybe I'd just ride the trolley around OSJ for awhile. I liked sitting back and riding around town).

[pghsteelerfan]

I just want to let you know I really enjoyed your Valor review as much as the others you have done, but this is probably my favorite since the southern itinerary out of San Juan is my favorite and I got to relive our Valor cruise (we were on her in May 2013). I love your pictures, beautiful. Next cruise I will see to it that we get into the pool at night, at least once. I've always wanted to do that but DH isn't up for that so I'll have to do some arm twisting next time and insist or just go up by myself. Thank you for taking the time to share with us.

[dfmeeks]

Thank you Nicole! I'll check to see if Carnival still offers that excursion!

[Brangwen]

(Or maybe I'd just ride the trolley around OSJ for awhile. I liked sitting back and riding around town).

 

Was totally thinking of that Lol! Maybe find some areas we haven't been to ;)

[MotheringInstinct]

Thanks so much for your details and tips. My first cruise is Oct 26 on the Valor. I chose it for all the stops. I came home from dinner out with my hubby about 8pm thinking I was going straight to bed. Instead I found your review and couldn't stop reading! It is now 11pm and I have to get to bed! Please finish up before Oct 21 so I can be fully prepared for my trip. :)

Also, how did you get those 5 bottles of liquor home? Does the store box them?

 

Andrea

[Nicole721]

I just want to let you know I really enjoyed your Valor review as much as the others you have done, but this is probably my favorite since the southern itinerary out of San Juan is my favorite and I got to relive our Valor cruise (we were on her in May 2013). I love your pictures, beautiful. Next cruise I will see to it that we get into the pool at night, at least once. I've always wanted to do that but DH isn't up for that so I'll have to do some arm twisting next time and insist or just go up by myself. Thank you for taking the time to share with us.

 

So glad you enjoyed this one!! :)

 

Thank you Nicole! I'll check to see if Carnival still offers that excursion!

 

Good luck!

[Nicole721]

Was totally thinking of that Lol! Maybe find some areas we haven't been to ;)

 

That was kind of the mentality we took -- there's only so much reviews and guide books will tell you. We found some interesting places we never would have thought of to look around by taking a few loops around :)

 

Thanks so much for your details and tips. My first cruise is Oct 26 on the Valor. I chose it for all the stops. I came home from dinner out with my hubby about 8pm thinking I was going straight to bed. Instead I found your review and couldn't stop reading! It is now 11pm and I have to get to bed! Please finish up before Oct 21 so I can be fully prepared for my trip. :)

Also, how did you get those 5 bottles of liquor home? Does the store box them?

 

Andrea

 

 

I will, promise! The last part is up on my blog now, and I'm reformatting it for here to be posted tomorrow!

 

Re: the liquor in St. Thomas, the store (Dynasty Dazzlers) boxed them up for me and I checked them as a piece of luggage on the way home (we flew home first class, so we were allowed up to three pieces of checked luggage each). I buy my liquor at Dynasty Dazzlers every time we're in St. Thomas and always check it on the flight home and it has always held up. They know what they're doing :)

[Nicole721]

Hot. Bright. Muggy. Sunny. Ending.

 

We were already docked in Old San Juan when I woke up. My cellular-services-are-available sense failed me. So did that liter and a half of water I drank the night before.

 

The sun streamed into our cabin, blinding our eyes and waking us to the harsh reminder that we had met the conclusion of this adventure.

 

 

But before we could close the book on this trip, we still had to get through debarkation and a long flight home. We had a quick breakfast up on Lido before sitting out our wait near the pool. Not even 8:00 am and the sun was pulsing hot.

 

[Nicole721]

Debarkation was a bit sloppy, but it didn’t take long for us to get off the ship, gather our suitcases and get through customs. We stepped foot out into Old San Juan as we walked towards our transfer and it was almost like the past week had never happened – that we were back a week before looking forward to this huge adventure in all of these new places.

 

 

The ride to the airport was short – it didn’t take longer than a half hour or so. We took a Carnival transfer because it seemed like the most convenient option. It’s probably cheaper to take a cab because of the pre-published zoned rates, but the parking area is incredibly small and congested at debarkation, and finding and boarding the transfer was quick and easy and we were at the Luis Munoz Marin Airport in no time.

 

 

 

 

[Nicole721]

The transfer will not drop you off at your terminal, however it’ll drop you off in between the two major ones, and it’s a short walk to the check-in desks. Prior to debarkation, they warned us that we’d have to go through an agricultural check at the airport and to make sure we weren’t taking any produce/flowers/plants/etc back with us. Sure enough, right before security, we had to put our bags through an x-ray for the agricultural check. Our bags were stickered to note that we passed and we made our way through security.

 

Luis Munoz Marin is a small airport. There wasn’t much to do, it wasn’t even 10:30 am and our flight wasn’t until later in the afternoon. I’m used to O’Hare, where there’s shops and restaurants and champagne bars and people. So we browsed some of the shops (and found Mom that YOLO shirt she was looking for). And we hit up the Margaritaville for some early lunch (food options in the airport are extremely limited). We walked around.

 

 

 

We bought some Gasolina at the Dufry shop. We checked through our emails and texted our friends back home and we waited. And waited. And waited.

 

 

American only flies direct into San Juan from Chicago once a day, and it only returns to Chicago once a day. And just when we thought we couldn’t bear the wait anymore, our plane landed and we began the boarding process.

 

[Nicole721]

The in-flight purser offered us a choice of orange juice and water before takeoff and after a smooth departure, we were soon amongst the clouds, taking one last look at Puerto Rico.

 

 

 

 

So remember when I mentioned in the previous post that I do dumb stuff sometimes? Around the time I mentioned drinking a liter and a half of water to force myself to wake up during the night to check for service on my phone? Well, that liter and a half of water went somewhere and that somewhere was straight into my ankles and feet. It was fortuitous we were flying first and I had plenty of legroom to stretch out in because I knew I had to be up frequently to try to reduce the swelling. Less fortuitous was the fact that I booked the window seat for the first time in over a decade and Stephanie had to get up to let me out to walk up and down the aisle every hour.

[Nicole721]

The purser came around to take drink and lunch orders and soon thereafter, a glass of champagne and a ramekin of warm nuts appeared.

 

 

This flight did not have wi-fi service, but I was mesmerized by the reflection of the low-laying clouds on the water.

 

 

 

And when the turbulence shook the plane? Another glass of champagne appeared. Ding.

 

[Nicole721]

Lunch was served just under an hour into the flight. A delicious chicken dish served with a fresh salad. American has recently changed their first class meal service and the reviews haven’t been great. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for something decent on our upcoming flights.

 

 

Stephanie, however, was too congested to taste what she was eating.

 

 

Dessert was a cookie baked fresh onboard. Supposedly American doesn’t do that anymore, either. Another round of something boozy (for me) and another glass of water for Stephanie. Across the aisle, my mother alternated between shooting daggers at me and asking Stephanie if I was drunk. The flight was bumpy and the alternatives to the drinks were either one, Dramamine (but after the Tropical Storm Barry incident of 2007, Stephanie says I’m not allowed to take Dramamines anymore) or two, over-analyzing every bump (and after the post-Tropical Storm Barry flight of 2008, where I had a quasi panic attack from buckling myself into my seat and the woman next to us on the plane said she’d pray for me, that wasn’t an ideal option, either). Lady Purser Fantastic Being Person kept ‘em coming and I rode a wave of bubbles all the way to Chicago.

 

 

[Nicole721]

We hit some heavy clouds and turbulence when we re-entered the United States and I subsequently…fell asleep.

 

 

I woke up with the jolt that came when we broke through the clouds, just in time to play my favorite game: spot my apartment building from the airplane.

 

 

 

And then…we landed. We got our luggage. We got in a cab. We stopped at Mom’s house and Stephanie drove me back to my apartment. The adventure du jour ended and the world kept spinning.

[Nicole721]

So that (finally) closes the book on this trip. Thank you all for indulging me and coming along on this journey as I re-lived it through written word and way too many pictures :)

 

A busy year of travels lays ahead -- 8 days on the Breeze next week. A Mediterranean cruise (with a bonus jaunt to Paris) in May. Another trip to San Francisco, probably. Seattle and Vegas, maybe. I've got a lot to cross off of my travel bucket list before I turn 30 next year. If you're interested in following along on any of those, you can look out for my threads here, or you can subscribe to my blog here.

 

((And in the meanwhile, cross your fingers for some sunshine in Florida for us -- the forecast for later this week shows a lot of rain!))

[TexasRed]

I am SO glad I found you again! I had read a couple of your blog series a couple of years ago, a Miracle cruise and a Disney trip, I think. Anyway, I have a question, as we are doing the Valor this coming Sunday...quick squeal of delight.....after booking it in July, of 2013! You mentioned buying Gasolinas at the airport dufry shop, so I am guessing that they don't count as liquids and you can just carry them on in your carry-on? Forgive me if that sounds like a "Duh!" question, it's been years since I have cruised. :)