Stacey's Solo Southern Caribbean Valor Adventure!

[babsee101]

I was enjoying this review. But, now it's like getting part of the way through a good book and someone ripped the rest of the pages out. :(

 

I feel the same way! Hopefully she is okay and has just been busy. With the hectic holiday season that is very possible.

[Ecshirln]

Oh shoot! Did she not finish? I started reading it last night came back tonight to read more...doing this trip on jan 25...I don't want to read more now and just be left hanging..how far into the trip did she get? Hope she's ok

[abcsteward]

Darn, was loving the review... Hope all is well and she will be back to finish it soon... :)

[EpcotBill]

I feel the same way! Hopefully she is okay and has just been busy. With the hectic holiday season that is very possible.

She hasn't posted since October 24th so I doubt it's the hectic holiday season. I'm following several reviews that just died. She doesn't owe us anything so we move on.

[rob6465]

Hi all, and welcome to my review! This is my third cruise review,first for Carnival,though Ive done 8 cruises now in total:)

Some background on me...

I am a single 30 something female, living in NYC currently. I love to travel, and I've started doing a lot of solo travel due to family/friend unavailability to travel on the types of trips I like to take, and also have not had a significant other willing to travel as well.

Just to pre warn you, I have a dry sense of humor and can be a bit sarcastic, so if you are easily offend,you may not enjoy my review. Im also not shy about expressing my opinions on something,which may or may not jive with yours,so again, the above disclaimer applies.

Another note...as I was reading a recent review on here, I feel compelled to add that as a solo traveler, I WILL have a lot of selfies...so to the sweetheart who complained about the amount of selfies on said review...you probably won't like mine either:)

Finally,as this cruise was my first return to carnival after two NCL cruises, I will have my thoughts comparing the two throughout.This is not bashing or praising either line,just showing my thoughts on what worked better for this one or that one. Hope its helpful!

Also-since my photos are uploading EXTREMELY slowly, for this post only, I will add on the pics in separate posts, so apologies ahead of time...this is a long text only post!

OK enough disclaimers....

This particular cruise was almost a last minute choice for me- I had initially wanted to do the NCL Breakaway out of the city, but due to a new job, I wasn't able to secure the time off during the timeframe that BA hits Bermuda this summer. Since I didn't NOT want to take the BA to Florida, I began to explore other options. My initial thought was on finally splurging the big bucks to take the really big ship on the other major cruise line that shall not be named. Pricing initially came out at $1900 for a solo supplement( that line is not solo friendly, hence my lack of cruises with them) for a balcony overlooking one of their interior themed areas( a complete interior was $1850). Naturally, I needed to talk myself into this one some more,especially since the destinations were not ones I was particularly wanting to explore.

So, for comparisons sake, I looked at NCL's other new ship, going to the same itinerary I did in January- when I decided to check out Carnival's Southern Caribbean prices. I had done five cruises on Carnival,and had always wanted to do this itinerary, but had never done Carnival solo, and wasn't sure how it would be going back to it after two cruises on NCL Epic, which I absolutely loved. Anyway,it ended up that the Valors prices for October were very very cheap for a solo...so I ended up booking an interior porthole cabin initially for $600- not a bad deal of solo prices and for a weeklong cruise to some amazing places!

In preparation, I read many blogs,including two by fellow solo female travelers,who exuberantly described awesome solo trips on the Valor. I joined my roll call,which was already quite active by the time I came along. I booked a flight about six weeks out on momondo.com, and bit the bullet and used PL bidding for the hotel in San Juan, two nights pre cruise, winning the Sheraton Convention Center(not the OSJ by the pier) for a cool $85 a night.

Then, two weeks prior to the cruise, I was filling out my online check in when I noticed that balcony prices were bottoming out....as in, it was only $300 more for me to get one. I hemmed and hawed a bit, even threw out my dilemma to the fine folks here at Cruise Critic. When most of the responses came back overwhelming in favor of jumping on it( I had one notable negative which I'll address more in depth later), that, combined with the thought that I probably won't have this opportunity again, propelled me to call my PVP and be my own upgrade fairy.

So now everything's booked, I'm ready to go....on to the review!!!

Day One-Friday October 3-Pre Cruise Day

I had a 9am flight out of JFK this morning, and due to the enormous amount of paperwork I have to complete for my job, I ended up resting for a mere two hours the night before. I also had my niece for Ohio planning on using my apt for part of the time that I was going to be away, so I had to really scrub down the place as well.

One of the advantage of my apt location is awesome subway access, and I was near a train that had direct access to JFK, so I wanted to take advantage of it and save on a cab/shuttle cost. However, living in upper Manhattan, this meant it was easily an hours ride, assuming there weren't any delays.thus, I ended up leaving my apt at 530am to have enoyght time to make it to the airport and check in.

As I said, living near this subway was supposed to be an advantage. I'm glad I had the opportunity to partake in it, because from now on? Never, Never again. To start, dragging tow full suitcase and a purse uphill for three blocks was tiring. But then,a block away, a gentleman who was retiring for the evening strolled past me and decided to launch himself at me,offering his services with the romantic declaration,"Come here,baby."

Needless to say, I declined, and proceeded to RUN up the last block,with two suitcases. Not a good idea AT ALL.

So I run into the subway station and down three flights of stairs with minutes to spare before the Rockaway A train pulls up. I'm sure I was quite the sight for the early AM commuters.

Thankfully,the train was somewhat empty, and I managed to get a seat,though two suitcases does take up a bit of space and elicit some glares further down the ride.Also thankfully, the ride in was timely(minus the inevitable traffic jam at 59th...never fails).

I connected to the Airtrain easily and got to T2 by 7:05. One of the thing I do love about JFK is how they don't conform to this silly notion that the airport tram needs to actually connect to the terminal. It's so enjoyable to take an elevator down, weave through a garage,walk across a street, and then go up another flight to the check in counters. I especially loved how upon finding said flight of stairs and lugging tow suitcases up, an airport employee ,meets me halfway up the stairs and tells me that there was an elevator at the other end of the building, then chants "Sorry!" before dashing up the rest of the staircase.

GRRR.

But all of that aside, the bag drop line went quickly, as did security, and before I knew it, I was settled in at a pretty cool bar/restaurant outside my gate that has individual iPads for your use. You could order food and drink,pay, and surf the web free of charge,as well as plug in your devices. No pesky waiting for a server to bring your tab and take payment- it was all done and good to go, so you could chow/drink/surf right up until your flight is boarding!

Sure enough, I did exactly that,including indulging in an adult beverage,as I am an extremely nervous flier. Like, if I don't have alcohol or Xanax in me, I'm the idiot screaming at every bump or word sound and passing off the FAs )and probably other passengers). My relatives refuse to sit near me on a flight because I may have clawed their skin off during takeoff once or twice. Believe it or not, I've flown a lot- not frequent flier status, but probably an honest hundred times in my lifetime,including three transatlantics and a TPAC to Australia. Desensitizing techniques do not work,nor does distraction. My ex BF introduced me to Xanax years ago during a flight to Guatemala, and it's been heavenly ever since. Yes, I could refuse to travel, but I love to do it,so flying is just a necessary evil I need to endure to be able to do so. I just need to be in an altered state of mind to get through it, and since I haven't established a primary care doctor since moving to NYC, alcohol is my substitute anesthetic.

Back to present flight...

Th flight to San Juan was definitely full, and I found my aisle seat next to a Spanish speaking couple who helped themselves both to the complimentary blankies provided.other than that, they were actually good seatmates- I certainly saw some troublemakers during the flight and was thankful not to be near them.

Troublemaker #1- just after they closed the main cabin door, one lady strolled to the back of the plane to use the toilet. The FA explained to her that the pilots were ready to leave the gate,but couldn't do so until everyone was seated. "well,I gotta go,so they're just gonna have to wait," was this passengers surly response. To prove her point, she stayed in said toilet for ten minutes. After two snappish announcements came on explaining the reason for the delay, she strolled out, grabbed something out of the overhead compartment before leisurely sitting down.

Thankfully, takeoff was smooth and the flight was otherwise uneventful(minus some screaming babies here and there). I was pleasantly shocked to discover that we were actually being fed in steerage during this three hour flight.

At one point, another troublemaker marched up the the first class cabin bc the line for the back lavatories was three deep. Upon receiving her scolding from the FA, she stomped to the end of the line.. I got into said line behind her and listened to her complain that having only TWO lavs for over a hundred people was just lousy business.

Seriously? Was this her first flight? EVER?!?

After a short two hour and seventy minute flght(that was actually a flight attendant joke,LOL) we landed, and I found myself and usage in a taxi line minutes later. As other reviewers have said, the taxis are zoned by district,so the price is set. To my hotel,it was $19, plus $2 for my luggage. The drive was only about ten minutes,and in that time,my initial impressions of San Juan's decor and enveloping huniditiy reminded me of Miami.

Upon arrival to the Sheraton Convention Center and Casino,I was VERY pleasantly surprised. Being that it was 1. My first time at a Sheraton, 2. I was a Priceline guest, and 3. The reviews on this hotel are mixed, I was a bit hesitant about what the experience would be like.

The front desk staff was extremely welcoming, and upon a simple question as to whether or not I could have a bayview room,the clerk cheerfully replied, "oh certainly! We can upgrade you free of cost,no problem! Thank you for staying with us!"

I had honestly not been expecting that they would, at least not without charging, so I was thrilled. I was even more so upon getting to my room with a huge window overlooking the convention center,pool area and the Pan American pier( where RCL and Disney dock). I didn't think I would see the Valor when it came in, but it was still a beautiful view. The room itself was very nice,similar to any Hilton,Hyatt,Mariott,etc. I unpacked a little bit for e next two days and then headed down to the pool,which was one of the positives of this hotel.

I'll stop here and give those who are wondering a quick breakdown of this hotel's pros/cons. It is just outside the old San Juan area, right across a little bay, and is sort of behind Condado. It's a $15 cab to OSJ or Condado, $21 to airport/Isla Verde area. There IS a public bus that you can take for 75 cents a ride,it runs every 30 min and stops at 9pm. For those who are really brave, it's about a twenty minute walk across the bridge to the Caribe Hilton beach.

So. If you think you are going to spend a LOT of time in OSJ, or at the beach,this may not be the hotel for you. However, I mentally reviewed what I wanted to do there, and decided that, excluding a trip in for dinner one night, most if my OSJ activities could be done on embarkation and debarkation days, so I allowed for two cab rides and was okay with that. I was happy enough to stay near the pool most of the time, as I'll outline, and ended up being perfectly satisfied being at this location.

The other main complaint from reviewers are the food choices...there are only three venues inside the hotel,a basic restaurant called Choices, a churrascara, and a bar with bar food. There's not a LOT of options immediately by the hotel, but there is a Mexican restaurant right outside the entrance, and a Sizzler down the street. Again, for the few meals I had here,it sufficed. I knew Id be on a cruise shortly with endless feeding opportunities.

Back to present day...

Once I arrived at the pool , I settled into a lounger(towels provided) surrounded by palm trees with a view of the infinity pool and the bay behind it,with OSJ finishing the backdrop. The pool bar was steps away, with an infinity hot tub( is there such a thing? Check out the pics and you decide) and several couches and cabanas around the deck.

Upon obtaining my first ( of MANY) umbrella drinks for the week, I finally began to relax and rested with my iPad.

A couple hours later, while watching small planes take off, I began conversing with a guy who was there for a conference. While chatting, he told me about a small convenience store a few blocks down,unadvertised by the hotel, where you could get toiletries,beverages,etc. not wanting to venture into OSJ at that point, I took his directions and found the place...can't recall the name, but if you walk out the back of the hotel,cross the green hill in front of the street, and keep going through the neighborhood on that same street, it's a few blocks away. It's a local little place,sells a few snacks, a deli counter and some wine/beer/soda, as well as a shelf or two of toiletries.

I returned to the hotel just as it was getting to be evening, and decided I was ready to crash for the night- I did only have two hours of sleep after all! Plus, I wanted to be well rested for my adventure the next day. I lounged around my room for an hour or so, then went downstairs and settled on bar food for the evening. It was ok...enough to keep me from starving for the night but no gourmet meal by an means! However, the cup of plantain chips were a great snack.

After a quick stroll through the quiet casino and hotel store,it was bedtime!

 

As one who grew up in NYC(now houston) and born in PR and want to cruise to PR or from PR. Thanks for review.

[babsee101]

[quote name='EpcotBill']She hasn't posted since October 24th so I doubt it's the hectic holiday season. I'm following several reviews that just died. She doesn't owe us anything so we move on.[/quote]

Right. Well I guess it's time to unsubscribe. Again, hope she is okay.