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Just spent last week on the Valor, any questions?

BENNETT531

By BENNETT531,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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BENNETT531

BENNETT531

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Hello,

 

I apologize for not having a ton of time to write a detailed review, but I figured someone might have specific questions I could help with. We just got off the Valor's Thanksgiving cruise, and it was fantastic. This was our second time on the Valor, our first time with this itinerary. There were 4 of us, my husband and I, plus our two daughters. They are 11 and 14, and did not participate in any kids club activities on the ship. (they didn't want to)

 

Here's what we did:

 

Segway tour in Puerto Rico

Coki Beach in St. Thomas

Calabaza Catamaran in Barbados

Janus Ryan/Real Tours of St Lucia

Carambola Beach Club in St. Kitts

Captain Bob/Soualiga All Day Tour in St. Maarten

 

We LOVED each company we dealt with, all of which were first class. We had no problems, and would highly recommend each one. We also ate in the Washington Dining Room each night, and on two mornings. The Lido was always crazy packed with people...morning, noon, and night. We had two rooms. Room 8442 (premium balcony) and 8438 (standard balcony) We had the divider taken down between the two and had a super large balcony. We saw a couple comedy shows, and a few shows in the theatre. We didn't hang out in the bars or stay up partying. So now that you know roughly what we did...if you've got questions, just ask. By the way, it was the most AMAZING itinerary. YOU will LOVE it!!

 

-Lisa

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mavvie

mavvie

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What side of the ship were the majority of the ports of call on when entering? We are on the port side and hoping to be able to see most from our balcony in the morning. Probably one of my favourite things to do while cruising?

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hirent

hirent

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What side of the ship were the majority of the ports of call on when entering? We are on the port side and hoping to be able to see most from our balcony in the morning. Probably one of my favourite things to do while cruising?

 

St. Thomas, Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Maarten, St. Kitts - Starboard

San Juan - Port

 

This can of course change at any time depending on port conditions.

Edited by hirent
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BENNETT531

BENNETT531

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Glad you enjoyed your cruise. My DW and I will be doing the same intenerary in August on the Liberty. Can you give some details about the Carambola Beach Club in St Kitts. I saw it was about a 30 min cab ride from the pier

Thanks

Tom

 

Carambola was great. However, I highly recommend reserving chairs ahead of time. By the time we got there it was about 10 am. The place was virtually full already. Thank goodness we reserved our loungers. It was clean, with padded lounge chairs, and food & beverage close by. The wifi wasn't working, but it was still a Beautiful day.

My only real gripe was the taxi service there. Like most islands, they try to squeeze 12 people into one van, to make the most money. Then the driver stops off at a couple vista points...basically where you can buy trinkets, donkey & monkey pics, etc. It's just annoying. It's at least a 30 minute ride. More if you have to wait for extra people to load the van, and even longer if they all want to get out and take pics etc at the stops. I would have paid extra to go straight there, by ourselves. Not sure if that is available. I would ask for sure if I had to do it again. Overall, Carambola was great.

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BENNETT531

BENNETT531

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Hi Lisa,

 

Glad you enjoyed your cruise! We sail in Feb. Can you tell me what shows were playing in the theater? Any chance you caught any movies playing at the Dive-in theater? Thanks in advance.

 

Monday night was the Welcome Aboard Show(didn't see)

Tuesday night was Nightclub Express - watched about 10 minutes and left. Sorry, we thought it was terrible.

Wednesday night was Gravity Defying Comedy - this was a juggler/comedian show and was fantastic

Thursday night was Far from over - basically an 80s show. We've seen this before, and it was still fantastic again.

Friday night was Game of Love show (didn't see)

Saturday night was the Legends show (didn't see)

 

I should point out that my husband and I are 40. So, the 80's music show was right up our alley. It seemed like Nightclub express was more for the "older" crowd. So, our likes might not be YOUR likes. As far as movies on the Lido Deck, we didn't see any of them. According to the Fun Times...Divergent, The Fault in our Stars, Guardians of the Galaxy, Transformers, Grown ups 2, Ride Along, Iron Man 2, Kung Fu Panda 2, The other woman, Maleficent, & How to Train your dragon2 were shown.

 

Let me know if I can help in any way...

-Lisa

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BENNETT531

BENNETT531

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What side of the ship were the majority of the ports of call on when entering? We are on the port side and hoping to be able to see most from our balcony in the morning. Probably one of my favourite things to do while cruising?

 

Honestly, I only remember the pier being on the Port side for San Juan and St. Maarten. However, our rooms were on Port side, and let me say that I was never disappointed in our view. Every island is breath-taking, and scenic. I never felt like I "missed" out on any view. Since sail-away is at 5 most nights, you can take it all in because the ship had to spin around quite a bit. It was fabulous.

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BENNETT531

BENNETT531

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Thanks for opening up to questions- we sail the 28. Cant wait! Did they show any football games on the big screen? Also, any must dos or anything to stay away from? Thanks!!

 

We did not see any football on the big screen, which was surprising. On our last cruise, it was on the Lido, but not this time. We were kinda bummed since the Buckeyes were playing. However, it could have been on in the sports bar...we didn't go searching for it. I would avoid the "safari buses" in St. Thomas. Get a direct taxi if available for your excursion. Also be prepared for long lines at debarkation. So as we joke about in our family..."pack your patience" lol. You will need it. Do everything...have fun.

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BENNETT531

BENNETT531

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Hi Lisa,

Do you by any chance have the "fun times" from your trip?

Thanks!

 

Yes I do. I don't have a scanner though. If you have any specific questions, I will be happy to find something for you. Somebody posted the Fun Times from last year, and I have copies of those in my Dropbox if you need them. I think they are pretty much 90% the same.

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BENNETT531

BENNETT531

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Other than the Carnival staff shows, were there any other shows? Magician, juggler, ventriloquist, etc?

 

The juggler/comedian was Wednesday night in the Ivanhoe Theatre. He was great!! We also were approached by a magician while dining in the Washington on Thurs or Fri night. He was amazing. Ian was his name. He wore a Carnival name tag.

 

Also wanted to mention Carnival had an employee by the name of Ben who played the guitar and sang many nights on the ship. He was fantastic. Check him out if you get a chance. He's a one-man show, but very talented.

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BENNETT531

BENNETT531

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rferr, My kids were actually in that room, so I can't tell you 100%. They never complained. 8442 which was right next door, was our room. A few times I did notice light scraping sounds above. It was never anything that was over noticeable. I was worried before we got there, but personally it wasn't at all bothersome. There's not a ton of people generally right above that area. Unlike the rooms further down, above Rosie's.

 

However...The last night of the cruise, my husband and I were awakened multiple times with strange metal scraping sounds. They were loud too. I'm talking at 2:00 in the morning! I honestly think someone was cleaning or painting (who knows) in the crew stairwell next to our room. I only knew it existed because we took it down for the Muster Drill. It was the most bizarre thing. Every other night we slept like babies, no sounds at all. It will remain a mystery...

 

I would not hesitate to book these rooms again. Loved the location too. One floor from the Lido. Short elevator trip to the Eagles Lounge and Washington dining room. Only seemed inconvenient when getting off at port at deck 0 forward. (every day) That's how we got our exercise lol.

Edited by BENNETT531
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rferr

rferr

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Wow. You will have a great Christmas trip!!! We had early seating in the Washington. I believe Your Time Dining was in the Lincoln dining room.

 

Yea we have been on a lot of cruises but never over Christmas. I have a 13 year old daughter who is pretty skeptical about going over christmas but I am up for it anyway!

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phunny

phunny

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Hi to anyone that was on the valor thanksgiving week , great cruise.... wish I had some of the emails from the people we met, especially my canadian new friends and ons from Utah

 

Write!!!

 

Crus'in along;)

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lrodsangel

lrodsangel

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We cruised on the Valor 2 years ago and it was one of the best cruises we ever had! We found a little hideaway on the very front of the ship where we spent a great deal of time. Awesome HUGE round lounges that we can relax in and watch the sunset. We were blessed to be there when a stunning rainbow appeared in front of us and the ship went right through it! We were in a Grand Suite. LOVE this ship!

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  • 4 weeks later...
cruisexlife

cruisexlife

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What is here to do within walking distance of St.Kitts? We want to make that our DIY day. I have seen many pictures of mountains, are there nearby walking trails? Or do you need a tour?

 

What did you do in St.Lucia? We want to go to the waterfalls and mudbaths, or maybe snorkeling between the Pitons.

 

Glad you enjoyed your cruise, hopefull you write a review and we can see all of your pics!

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phunny

phunny

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Hi! Glad you had a great time! How long did debarkation take? Did you take a zone assignment or self assist? Thanks!

 

Debarkation at each island was quick, the last day when we got back to PR we did self assist because we had a 11am flights. A lot of cabs out on the street was an easy 15 bucks plus a $1.00 each bag. Was like $18.00 to the airport and was fast.

 

We rolled off with fours bags two each.

 

EnJoy

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