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Carnival Valor for southern caribbean cruise

quiksilver23

By quiksilver23,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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Newbie41

Newbie41

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I did this same itinerary in 2012, but it was on the Victory. It is a great itinerary. I especially loved St. Lucia, go to the pitons. St. Martin was also beautiful.

I'm not sure what time the bars close. Around 2 AM I had enough and had to be up early to enjoy the island. The night before our only sea day, the bars were still full at 3 AM.

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Sundown331

Sundown331

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Fantastic intinerary

 

I did this cruise over Easter in 2013 so there was a large number of families and kids off for spring break. The night clubs seemed fairly empty and most things were pretty quiet by 1:00 AM but that could've been due to the amount of families or just exhaustion from all of the ports. There is only one sea day so not much time to just unwind unless you skip going ashore.

 

I'd love to do this cruise on the Valor again.

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Dirkgun

Dirkgun

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We have done this itinerary twice on the Victory before her and the Valor switched places (see reviews in signature) .... and we are also doing the Valor the week after you. It Is the best itinerary in the Caribbean IMHO. The islands are the best. I don't think the crowd is as rowdy s some itineraries that carnival does because of the lack of sea days. Depending on how many locals are on the ship (Puerto Ricans love to party :eek:;)). You will have a great time.

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pghsteelerfan

pghsteelerfan

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We did this itinerary on Valor in May 2013 and LOVED it! This is, by far, one of our favorite cruises. This is just my opinion, but I think this is one of the most scenic itineraries and all the islands are just gorgeous. Since we went in May (early May), we didn't have the "Spring Break" crowd but there were some kids on the ship but they weren't "running wild" as I've seen in other complaints. I don't know if we just lucked out or not, but we ended up with a very fun and laid back crowd. We didn't see the pushing and shoving, just seemed to be a lot of folks having fun and enjoying themselves. I think you made a good choice...I'd love to do this one again.

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CMM

CMM

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We were on the Sept 28 sailing. The passenger makeup was about 1/3 American, 1/3 Puerto Rico and the remaining third from Barbados or Europe. I met Bajan, English, and Scottish cruisers who explained how they embarked and disembarked from Barbados instead of PR.

 

The large number of Puerto Rico was different than the other cruises I have been on as it was not uncommon that the people you encountered were Spanish speaking. Some lounges were exclusive to Latino music.

 

I thought this was the most well behaved group of cruisers. From an adult and youth stand point. Not the pushy greedy crowd at all. We have been on several cruises out of NY since it is closer for us and large groups saving seats and shouting out etc turned us off. A good number of the children on this sailing were Puerto Rican and were by far the best behaved. Very polite and well mannered which makes for pleasant cruising for others. Keep in mind my sailing would not have been popular with public schooled US families considering they were just back in school.

 

This itinerary was the most exciting of all our cruises. With 5 ports it was a bit exhausting. All of them were awesome stops and Puerto Rico is an great place also. We found we spent much more time off the ship on this trip with all the cool options. Although we loved all the stops we missed the sea days. We came home tired!

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ChelleBee

ChelleBee

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we did this cruise on the valor in feb 2014. it was amazing. we arrived in san juan on Saturday and explored the city most of the day. got on the ship sunday morning around 11:30 so we had lunch and explored the ship. we were in our cabin by noon. it was the most relaxed and easy embarkation we've ever experienced. we unpacked and went out on deck to enjoy the sun and pools until our friends arrived around 3pm. once they were settled, we all left the ship and explored the city and had dinner at a local restaurant and got back on board around 8pm.

 

the ports were all great. I didn't think the ship felt crowded at all. I do have to say it is a very port intensive cruise. only one sea day. you may need a vacation to recover from your vacation if you do lots of excursions.

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deladane Great Review Rare

deladane

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I loved this itinerary so much when I did it on the Victory in 2012, that I booked it again for March on the Valor. I really enjoy the port-intensive cruises, and every one of the islands are beautiful! I have a link to my review from the Victory cruise posted in my signature below if you want to get an idea of things to do in each of the ports. I definitely recommend spending a day or two in Puerto Rico before or after your cruise because that island has so much to offer. Enjoy your cruise and come back to let us know how it went!!

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Stinger-pr

Stinger-pr

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I gotta tell you... I did this itinerary as recent as Sept. 2014. I am born, raised and living in Puerto Rico which means that I went into this itinerary thinking "Caribbean island are all the same...been there done that every day in PR." Boy was I wrong!! Yes, climate is the same but every island has its own personality, culture and unique settings. I truly enjoyed my time in every one of those islands and also learned so much from what I consider "my neighbors". My next cruise might not be on the Valor (which is a shame), but it will be on this itinerary again. The ship and it's crew is top-notch in my opinion. The negatives I encountered were minimal and in no way detracted from an awesome experience on this ship. As far as Puerto Rico goes... Let me put it this way: After 38 years living here, I still take the time every once in a while to be a tourist in my own Island. That's how awesome this place is inside and beyond the walls of San Juan. You did good. You won't regret booking this trip!!

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amcg96

amcg96

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I'm doing this itinerary next Sunday and it will be our (DH & I) first time with Carnival. I'll be sincere, we have give this lots of thoughts because of the usual sayings about the crowd and service vs. RCCL. At least from what i've been reading all over CC my enthusiasm level has raise. Hope to share reviews over Thanksgiving week!

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Margarita Mom

Margarita Mom

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I did this cruise a couple of weeks ago on the Valor and after this cruise my husband and I both agree we won't cruise out of San Juan again. I never met so many rude people in one place both on land and on the cruise. From the taxi driver that over charged us and thought if he repeated the same thing in Spanish several times we would some how understand what he was talking about to very rude port staff and women who bathed in perfume every night before coming to dinner. This was our 23rd cruise with Carnival so we have cruised out of a lot of different ports, this was by far the worse. The ports were amazing so we absolutely enjoyed that part of the cruise but if we want to see these ports again we would do a longer cruise on another line out of Florida.

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MotheringInstinct

MotheringInstinct

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Im going on the Carnival Valor in January on the southern caribbean itinerary. has anyone ever done that itinerary? what is the crowd like on the ship and what time do the bars close? did i pick the right choice of picking this ship over the adventure?

 

There are some great reviews here on cruise critic about this cruise. It was my first cruise ever just 3 weeks ago. I read every review and planned out our excursion ideas in advance since it is such a busy cruise. Lots of folks recommended Cosol Tours in St Lucia. We paid $75 each for a full day and amazing tour of that beautiful island with food and drinks throughout the day. I highly recommend that to you!!! Also, in Barbados we got a taxi to The Boatyard Bar/beach. Cost $15 there for a drink, chairs, umbrella, and taxi ride back. We rented a locker for $5 so we could relax without worrying. Best afternoon of our trip!

Also, if you like seviche or other seafood, upstairs from Rosie's buffet on the Lido deck is the Fish and Chips place. It is only open at lunch but had great seafood! Not just fish and chips! It is up the staircase that has a big picture of Rosie the Rivetor.

Enjoy!!!

And remember -- woohoo!!!

Andrea

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