2/9/2014 Carnival Valor Southern Caribbean Cruise

[cbell21219]

Carnival had a special dessert that night as well because it was Valentines day. A special chocolate cake was served, and it was great.

 

 

 

A few other random shots from St. Kitts.

 

 

 

 

Edited February 21, 2014 by cbell21219

[dawnvan]

Thanks for a Great review looking forward to more!! One year from today for me!

[babsee101]

Looking forward to the rest! :)

[Jenna1983]

Loved this itinerary when I did it. I agree with you on Barbados water but think overall St. Kitts beach etc was the best I've ever been to @ the Marriott. I'm on the Splendor repo too and debated this itinerary again but ended up choosing Splendor. I'm looking forward to martinique probably the most!

[kathy884]

Kathy, we are the same cruise with you. and also have a couple days in SJ before we go.

We are in a B&B about 1/2 way between the airport and Old San Juan

Doing the Rain forest on Sat :)

3 weeks from today we will be in San Juan...it is getting so exciting :)

And this review is just making it all that much more exciting

 

How cool that we'll be on the same cruise. That's wonderful that you have a little time in San Juan before you go too. I think you'll really like El Yunque and it's really neat the way the cruise doesn't leave till 10 p.m. allowing extra time in Old San Juan. // I agree too that hearing the great reviews and raves about this cruise itinerary makes me even more enthused about going. And with the winter we've had all over the continental US, warm weather and crystal clear Caribbean waters sound so appealing.

[audcc77]

Thanks for taking the time to post your review. We leave mid-March and can’t wait. Your comments about the volcano sulfur smell makes me want to skip this. The fact that you’d welcome the smell of the local garbage dump in lieu of it, really cemented it.

 

On a side note, also thanks for pointing out the Barclay Arrival card on another post. Per your advice, I went ahead & got a couple of these and we now have $800 off our next cruise. I feel like I owe you a commission. :D

[cbell21219]

Loved this itinerary when I did it. I agree with you on Barbados water but think overall St. Kitts beach etc was the best I've ever been to @ the Marriott. I'm on the Splendor repo too and debated this itinerary again but ended up choosing Splendor. I'm looking forward to martinique probably the most!

 

I hope this trip ends up changing my viewpoint, but I am trying to put together an excursion for the repo cruise and the people their are just not helpful at all. The island in general is not very friendly toward American tourists. There is a reason there are hardly if any at all mass market American ships that call on Martinique. If you take a look at the schedules for the Fort-De-France Port you can see very rarely does a Carnival or Royal Caribbean even Holland only makes an appearance every couple of weeks. Seems they only want French people to come visit.

 

http://ports.cruisett.com/schedule/Martinique/211-Fort_De_France/March_2014/

 

It's the French. Do I really have to say much else lol.

Edited February 24, 2014 by cbell21219

[bolk]

Kathy, we are the same cruise with you. and also have a couple days in SJ before we go.

We are in a B&B about 1/2 way between the airport and Old San Juan

Doing the Rain forest on Sat :)

3 weeks from today we will be in San Juan...it is getting so exciting :)

And this review is just making it all that much more exciting

we are also on the same cruise as well Kathy, and from st charles. We have been on this trip 4-5 times and enjoy it very much. My wifes spring break as well. Hope you enjoy it as much as we do

[MapleCruiser86]

How was Da House? My GF and I are staying two nights before the cruise and one night after the cruise at Da House. We are both in our late twenties.

[cbell21219]

How was Da House? My GF and I are staying two nights before the cruise and one night after the cruise at Da House. We are both in our late twenties.

 

Well, we stayed in the noisiest room in the hotel, our window faced the alleyway where next door the club / cafe was. I slept fine all night and my wife said the music put her to sleep after a little while, if your a very light sleeper I could see there being a problem but if not you will be fine. The people are very nice, but go into the hotel understanding this is not luxury. Very small rooms and tiny bathrooms, but for the price staying in the heart of Old San Juan it's a great deal.

 

You should go down to Cafe Malloraca for breakfast. The Malloracas are simply to die for. Think funnel cake except for biscuit like with bacon fresh cheese and powdered sugar!!!!

 

We also are in our late 20's. I can't wait to be back in November!

[cbell21219]

DAY 6: ST. MAARTEN

 

 

Once again we wake up to a brand new island and go through the morning routine. Breakfast in the MDR, Go up top to get a look at the amazing views then head down to get our island on. The plan was pretty simple for this last day, go walk around on the boardwalk and up Front Street to see what all the UN LOCALS had for sale then we would go find a true local and buy the exact same thing from them, usually for a better price. Then we caught a cab to Maho to catch some plane landings and a few hours of just basking in the sun.

 

 

This is the Windsurf, she was with us in quite a few different ports.

 

 

 

Front Street

 

 

 

Maho Beach

 

 

Now supposedly this is not a nude beach, but that didn't stop a few folks, didn;t bother us but just a FYI don't be surprised or shocked if you see somethings you were not planning on. The beach is on the Dutch side but very close to the French border.

 

 

Planes taking off would cause a sand storm and the fools who would lay down in the sand in line with the runway got a rude awakening. Folks, I have been jetblasted before and cannot see why people allow themselves to have it done voluntary.

 

 

Amazingly blue water.

 

[cbell21219]

And of course, you can't go to Maho without the signature plane shots.

 

 

 

 

Ok so last day is winding down we are back on the boat and go have one fabulous dinner in the MDR. Guys I cannot tell you how fortunate we were to be able to meet these guys. They were great, all of them. Arnold, Clifford, and Clara just great people who by the middle of the cruise it was not like a wait staff but real friends. We had a ball and they made this fantastic vacation just a gazillion times better.

 

 

Welp there ya go. That was our vacation and I know it was not very detailed but I always like the more picture oriented reviews anyways! So feel free to ask any questions and if you have this itinerary lined up in the future, please ask for Arnold s team if your on My Time dining. Make sure to tell Clifford Chris and Miriam say hello!

 

[MapleCruiser86]

We are not looking into anything luxury. We did our research on Da House and know what we are getting our selfs into :) We will deff be visiting Cafe Malloraca. There is a bunch of restaurants we will be visiting on San Franciso st.

You coming back in Nov?

[girlscruise2011]

We are on the Splendor re-positioning cruise in November that leaves out of San Juan and goes to Martinique. I have been trying to put together a catamaran excursion for a group of us and it has been like pulling teeth. Martinique has a very bad reputation of not wanting Americans to call on their port. That is why if you look at the port schedule of Fort-De-France there are very VERY few mass market American cruise ships that go to the island.

 

I would be just fine skipping Martinique and putting in place of it somewhere like Anguilla or Barbados.

 

What can you do though (/sigh) you know how the French are :rolleyes:

 

Chris, I know you are doing alot of work on that Catamaran tour in Martinique for us but I'm with you. I'd go back to Barbados in a heartbeat. We did Calabaza in January when we were there and it was the best excursion of the whole week, even in all my cruises. Gina & crew are the best and I would love to get back to her.

 

Maybe we should send a group email to Carnival and suggest they skip Martinique ;)

 

Great review by the way. Subscribed so I can relive my cruise.

[cbell21219]

We are not looking into anything luxury. We did our research on Da House and know what we are getting our selfs into :) We will deff be visiting Cafe Malloraca. There is a bunch of restaurants we will be visiting on San Franciso st.

You coming back in Nov?

 

Yeah, we booked the Splendor reposisition cruise and will leave San Juan November 1st and end in Miami 8 days later. It hits five different islands then the valor itenerary does. Grenada, St. Croix, Martinique, Dominica, Grand Turk

[cbell21219]

Chris, I know you are doing alot of work on that Catamaran tour in Martinique for us but I'm with you. I'd go back to Barbados in a heartbeat. We did Calabaza in January when we were there and it was the best excursion of the whole week, even in all my cruises. Gina & crew are the best and I would love to get back to her.

 

Maybe we should send a group email to Carnival and suggest they skip Martinique ;)

 

Great review by the way. Subscribed so I can relive my cruise.

 

Yup, I am about to pull the plug on the Cat in MArtinique. I feel like I am just wasting my time. Hopefully Carnival can come up with some decent excursions there.

[girlscruise2011]

Yup, I am about to pull the plug on the Cat in MArtinique. I feel like I am just wasting my time. Hopefully Carnival can come up with some decent excursions there.

 

I wonder if they are in talks with Carnival to do their excursions and thats why they aren't getting back to you. There isn't much else on the island to do it seems.

 

I would just lay low for a while and see if they get back to you. At this point there is nothing on Carnival.com yet to book so I'll wait to see if you hear something.

[pghsteelerfan]

I really enjoyed your review and thank you for taking the time to post. I really enjoyed it and you got some great pictures (I'm a sucker for picture reviews). We did the same cruise last May and LOVED it, probably one of our best ever. It was nice to finally see another Valor review since it's been awhile. I hope you have a great cruise on Splendor and hope you do another review.

[TrqoisWtrs]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cbell21219

Yup, I am about to pull the plug on the Cat in MArtinique. I feel like I am just wasting my time. Hopefully Carnival can come up with some decent excursions there.

 

I wonder if they are in talks with Carnival to do their excursions and thats why they aren't getting back to you. There isn't much else on the island to do it seems.

 

I would just lay low for a while and see if they get back to you. At this point there is nothing on Carnival.com yet to book so I'll wait to see if you hear something.

__________________

 

Hi Chris -

Totally understandable if you want to bail on the excursion. Can't imagine how annoying it must be. Tough enough trying to organize a group that large with everything else going well. :)

 

I emailed Carnival and was told the excursions for Martinique should show up online sometime during the summer - I thought I remember it saying 90-120 days out. So guess we can just wait and see.

 

Great review - don't you love that itinerary? DH and I just did it in November.

[jen1016]

Great review! I just got back from the Valor on Sunday and miss it already!!!

[Ladybug525]

Thank you for the awesome review!

[Dirkgun]

Thanks for the great review. Love that itinerary. We are doing it again in January of 2015 during the San Sebastian Street Festival (think Carnivale only on a smaller scale) those Puerto Ricans can really party.:eek::D As far as Martinique goes you are right about them not really liking Americans especially cruise ship Americans. We went there on our very first cruise on the Celebrity Horizon in 1993. While the island was very beautiful and lush, once we got back from our snorkeling excursion and were walking around the town the people were not friendly at all. However the snorkeling was one of the best excursions ever. I wish I still knew who we went with. Again thanks for the review so we can relive memories.

[LVDFW]

After a pilot boat came and got the passenger that needed urgent medical care it wasn't long before we were off back on track to Barbados. The captain once again came over the intercome and promised this would not delay our arrival into our next port of call and we would make up ground over night. You could definatly tell he was making up time to, normally I cannot even feel the boat moving, but we were bookin it across the ocean at a pretty good rate. So we waved good-bye to Martinique....or I guess it was more of a see you soon wave and went inside for dinner.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our sea day was very rocky too. We were out running a storm, and took a pretty wide western route to Barbados.

[Anyislandwilldo]

Thanks for posting your review. Asking a general question here for those who cruised Valor recently.......were your rooms ready when you boarded? Not looking to buy FTTF so wondering what times the rooms will be ready.

[Tip_the_clown]

I did the FTTF so I could get my luggage check in and explore Old San Juan before boarding the ship.

I discover I could have done this without the FTTF option.

 

 

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