OZjones12

ABSOLUTELY....go for it. Plan your day to be off the ship ASAP and buy your return ferry tickets on your initial purchase.

 

When we visited St. John on our own the 1st time there were 6 ships in port including Oasis and we had no issues with crowds.

 

If you REALLY are doubting yourself, look for an excursion to St. John, but it probably will not allow you the time you are looking for to spend on St. John.

 

You CAN do this!

Ok thanks! Ive been to St Thomas with 6 ships but not the 2 big ones and only went to Sapphire Beach...Wasnt sure how crowded St john would be with that many people. I NEVER pay for excursions, doing it on your own is 1/2 the fun! :D

Question for my St. John experts. I was planning on going to St. John till I saw 7 ships in port including the Oasis and Dream. Something like 22k people!!! WOW!!!

The one good thing is we have a later arrival 11-7pm, is it worth the risk to see St john?

Thanks in advance!

I'm going on the Glory in a few weeks and we're scheduled to get into St. Thomas at 10 and St. Maarten at 8 a.m. I just wanted to know how soon we can expect to be off the ship. We are looking at tours that begin 1 hour after the docking time - is this feasible?

You should have no problem... Just dont listen to the CD and go down before they tell u you can to leave. Their will be a line and it can get long. GO down and wait 15 min and be off the ship 1st...

HAVE FUN!

I am going to try and answer the last few in one post...

I was on the Lido deck interior 9247. Great room and very nice pillows...

The chair at Saphire was 7 bucks and their were tons of taxis waiting for people. I didnt bother with a time but did get a number just in case... ENJOY!!!!

They didnt do customs in St Thomas... Very quick

Did you use Radisson's shuttle to get to the port? Or did you get a cab?

 

Thanks for the review!!

Radisson was very nice but we got a shuttle from Hertz. just an FYI their are TONS of people waiting for the shuttle and the radisson. I would rather pay for a taxi than wait in that crazyness!

Any pics from the naked beach for those like me who want to know what it is like? Greg :D

The nudist will smash you camera so no pics... :D

Wonderful review. We just booked for 10-31-09. Question? Did you ever find out why you can't smoke cigars in the cigar bar?

Sorry for the late responce... I have not been on in a while. Harder when you dont have a cruise comming up. People who want to go to the internet cafe have to walk through the Cigar bar (BAD design!) so they moved it to the sports bar which is too small for cigars if you ask me... The old cigar room had a great feel to it. It was for cigars! LOL

Did you see the creepy naked, old, fat man strutting his stuff?

I am glad to say that I didnt see that one... :D

Alot of people dont like the Loud America dacor on the Valor. Dont get me wrong I love the ship and it was just out of dry dock so everything was new! The Glory is a more colorfull decor and I just liked it better... I would go on either ship again! ENJOY!

Sorry no capers... PS try the fish and chips on the lido deck!!! They are hard to find...

I had to put the Vette pic in here... ALso we did use the Smiley face in St. Maarten for pairasailing (sp?) It was great!

Here are some pics for you guys... Let me know if you have any questions!!!!

Ok I am going to keep this sweet and simple…

First off we flew in Jacksonville to see my grandmother for a ½ day and then drove down to P-Canaveral. What a great ride! It was a gorgeous day and we rented a brand new corvette. We stayed at the Radisson which is the Best bang for your buck! And a great way to start our vacation!!!!

Embarkation was the best and fastest out of the 3 cruises I have been on. We got to port around 10:30 and were on the ship by 11:20!!! We had our bathing suits in our bag and went straight to the Lido (: Had a bunch of drinks and before I knew it our room was ready. I did the corny Bon voyage anniversary decorations but my wife loved it. So it worked for me!!! We spend time at the bar and in the hot tub afterwards and the hours flew by and it was time for the muster drill. Went smooth without any hang-ups and it was time for more lido drinks…. Moving on… Things got a little fuzzy after the drill.

The ships Décor us very nice, The Glory is my favorite ship by far! I love the Valor but enjoyed the Glory décor much better. I did miss the Mongolian Bar and Seaside Screen but I managed.

Food was great, as always, I never have a complaint except for their cheesecake… They have a horrible recipe but maybe being from NY I am spoiled. We had a great time with our tablemates!!!! TABLE 190!!! Actually was sat at the table with a couple I was talking with in the roll call and missed them at the Radison bar the night before…The shows and entertainment was great as always, something’s a little boring but over great. The comedians they had the hilarious as always….

Bahamas- I have never been here and what a gorgeous island and if you have never been to Atlantis it is a must do! We only had 6 hours in port so enough time to see the Dig and walk the grounds of the resort. Very nice place, I would stay here for a week for sure with my family. Stopped by the straw market and left soon after annoying people and iffy stuff… Just a hint you can’t get a Cuban for 5 bucks! LOL

St Thomas- We went to Sapphire Beach because we didn’t want it to be soo busy like Coki beach… The beach was perfect like it was out of a postcard but the snorkeling was not what I thought it would be. Small nice coral but not as visible and I thought it would be. Much better at Coki but I was glad that we went to Sapphire because it was very quiet. You could rent chairs and there was a bar right behind us that had 3-dollar Carib’s and coronas… We spend the day there, which was great and went to paradise point for the sunset, dinner and some mean Baileys Bushwhackers! Those drinks are dangerous! Paradise point is a must do!!! Great place to watch the sunset!!!!

St Maarten- (Anniversary!) Got in early and were the 1st of the ship that day. Went to the taxis and no one was around. We wanted to go to Orient Beach for the day and because we were early had to pay $18 per person but we got to the beach and were the only ones there! Maybe a few walked but it was quiet and empty… Very nice! We got some chairs over near club Orient because we wanted to give nude sunbathing a try… With in no time we walking and swimming in our b-day suits and if I would have known it was that much fun I would have done it a long time ago. What better way to spend your anniversary than naked! Spend the day on the beach and went back to the ship an hour early so we didn’t deal with traffic.

Days at sea- the chair hoarders were the worst on this trip. My wife and I got up and 6am one morning to get chairs for our table group and had people already getting them as well! We didn’t go back to bed like most do… Took a nap in the chairs and waited for our friends to wake up… Enjoyed the pools, slide, golf, food, dodge ball, ect…. Again I missed the large screen but loved the live entertainment. We went to the whirlpool and hot tub in the Gym and it was quiet and not always crowded. I do not know why they took it out of the Valor. Very relaxing, used the steam room a much as possible. Great way to start the day.

Spa- this was the 1st time that we opted to spend the high prices in the spa. We got couples massage on the last day and it was great. My wife loved it!

Misc- Did well in the casino on the blackjack tables, Loved the super club as last time but did get charged a corking fee unlike last year. (no biggie) Why cant you smoke cigars in the cigar bar??? Dumb layout for the comp lab. Debarkation was very quick. Self disembark is the way to go!!! Off the ship in 30 min! Nice job in customs!!!!!

Glory is now my favorite ship and St. Thomas is my new favorite Island!!!!

CANT WAIT TO GO ON CARNIVAL AGAIN!!!!

forgot one!!!

Here are some of mine...

I love this desert so much that when it came to the table she was like how good could this little thing be... but with one taste she WAS HOOKED! We both had it every night with some ice cream... EMMM GOOD I cant wait to have it again!

Exactly. They are not looking for a bottle cheap rum, they are looking for items more sinister. Seriouly folks. The rule prohibiting alcohol is an unenforceable rule. If they hand searched and removed alcohol from every bag that contained it, then every ship would be leaving a day late. I wish I had invented rum runners, an item that has no value, but one that too many people spend money on..

I do not see how Rumrunners have no value? Even if they are not needed to get liquor onboard, which they are because I have seen many people cought with bottles. They help transport the liquid without breaking. Not to mention they can be used for sporting events, camping, concerts, ect... They only cost 20 bucks! I dont see how they are not worth it! :D