My AMAZING Birthday Cruise on The Valor June 8-15

[pbxtech]

The Valor

Loved the ship & crew, everyone was super helpful & friendly. After sailing on the Glory with the 2.0 upgrades just 6 months prior I thought would miss them… especially Guys Burgers & The Blue Iguana Bar, but nope not at all. I was very pleased with the majority of my meals, especially after experiencing The American Table on the Glory. I was very shocked at how relaxed the photographers were, they weren’t pushy like all the other ships I’ve sailed & never came to our table during dinner.

 

The Itinerary

Tiring, but great!!! The best so I’ve done so far & I really think its gonna be hard to top.

 

San Juan

OSJ is was beautiful city, with so many sights to see & delicious places to eat. You need at least 2 days to experience all. The Flamenco show at Barrachina’s, The Bacardi Factory & The Forts are a must see.

 

St Thomas

With so many beautiful beaches, its hard to decide which one. So far I’ve done Megan’s Bay & Coki, both are gorgeous but if you’re looking to snorkel I say Coki.

 

Barbados

If you’re looking for a great relaxing day at the beach, try The Boatyard. Snorkeling with the sea turtles is a must.

 

St Lucia

OMG!!! Two words….Cosol Tours!!!

 

St Kitts

Beautiful countryside & black sand beaches. Beware of the monkeys, their everywhere & the view from Timothy Hill is a must.

 

St Maarten

Loved seeing both the French & Dutch sides of the island. While on the French side, be warned…those nude at Orient Beach really shouldn’t be.:eek:

Sarafina’s is a must. On the Dutch side, I must confess I really don’t get all the hoopla over Maho, but hey you should experience it at least once.

 

This was truly an amazing trip & even though after every cruise I say “this was my best cruise” this time I really mean it. I let go of my fears & did so many things that I would have never done. Although I still don’t think I’m ready for a solo cruise, I think I’m almost there. I really enjoyed doing what I wanted & when, but it was also nice knowing the others we around. I also realized (upon writing this review) that rum is not all that bad. If you recall I started pre cruise day saying I’m not much of a rum drinker, however the majority of my drinks on the islands was Rum Punch…go figure.;)

 

And last but not least…

If you are thinking about taking this cruise, but not sure….Stop Thinking & Book It, you wont be sorry!!!

 

Thank you for allowing me to re-live My Amazing Birthday Cruise with you. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did living it :D!!!

 

 

We took your advice and booked it Last nite. :) And happy Belated Birthday:)

Dave

[teetee6263]

Loved your review!! Thanks for taking the time to do it. Happy cruising!!

Susan

 

Thanks for reading!!!

 

We took your advice and booked it Last nite. :) And happy Belated Birthday:)

Dave

 

Thank you!!! Thats great, you wont be sorry:D

[olcar]

Loved the review.

[teetee6263]

Loved the review.

 

Thank you:)

 

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[gapearl]

What an awesome review! I so relived my Valor cruise through you. I couldn't help but chuckle at you getting frustrated with your friends being late all the time. I'm like that's why I go by myself! LOL I think you'll find the courage to go solo one day. I'm glad you did everything you wanted to do, like swimming with the sea turtles, even though you might have been afraid. I might book this itinerary again one day. It's the best one I've taken yet. Oh and thanks for the shout out! :D

[ragethjj23]

This may be a silly question, as I open to anyone to answer. How do you get your rum and other goodies home? Put it in you checked bag?

[CP3545]

Wow! Thanks for your excellent review! I appreciate your openness in sharing your feelings "in the moment" as it was happening. Amazed that you remembered to take pictures of the food. I usually don't think about it until halfway through the meal. :) Great job!

[teetee6263]

What an awesome review! I so relived my Valor cruise through you. I couldn't help but chuckle at you getting frustrated with your friends being late all the time. I'm like that's why I go by myself! LOL I think you'll find the courage to go solo one day. I'm glad you did everything you wanted to do, like swimming with the sea turtles, even though you might have been afraid. I might book this itinerary again one day. It's the best one I've taken yet. Oh and thanks for the shout out! :D

 

Thanks!!! Yes it should feel like you were reliving through me, since it was basically your cruise...minus the hike of course, lol.:D I swear I must have re-read your review over a dozen times trying to plan my days!!! If I had the time I would go on "Dat Cruise" solo, I'm sure it wouldn't be bad since half of CC & FB are going. I might have to find an active roll call first, then book solo. I am sooo happy I did the turtles, it really took alot especially since Neville wasn't there. And Barrachina's, I was ready to turn around but thought about you saying "go hard or stay home" It's definitely the best itinerary I've done. The only thing I think that might top is is a Mediterranean cruise, which is on my bucket list. But until then, I'm doing this one again in January!!!

[teetee6263]

This may be a silly question, as I open to anyone to answer. How do you get your rum and other goodies home? Put it in you checked bag?

 

Yes in my checked bag, which is why it took me forever to pack...couldn't get my weight right. Had to actually split it up between both my bags & pay to check my carryon. Jetblue is my airline of choice, but next time I flying Southwest for the 2 free checked bags.

 

Wow! Thanks for your excellent review! I appreciate your openness in sharing your feelings "in the moment" as it was happening. Amazed that you remembered to take pictures of the food. I usually don't think about it until halfway through the meal. :) Great job!

 

Thanks for reading!!! Writing theses reviews are great beacuse its really takes you back to the moment, so I just type it as I feel it;). LOL I really try to remember to take the picture first, but sometimes it just doesn't work out that way :eek:

[JAGR]

Well...techinally you are supposed to take your bottles to the security table which is past the elevators, however I'm not going out of my way to give it to them. So I just keep walking.

 

Thanks for commenting back! Again, thanks for an excellent review!

[Chelleum]

[quote name='teetee6263']Thanks for reading. I completly understand about not getting around to doing a review. It can be time consuming, but doing it does bring back all the memories.:)

Really, its quite possible our paths have crossed along the way. Are you in the 40+ club?[/QUOTE]

Lol!! Yes I'm in the 40 + club.

Sent from my LGMS659 using Forums mobile app Edited July 18, 2014 by Chelleum

[JennN]

[quote name='teetee6263'][SIZE="3"]Random thought....

For someone who doesn't really drink rum, I sure did brought a lot home :D

[IMG]https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-T6X4SgRizNc/U6DM4ib3O6I/AAAAAAAAEjA/FAwynxmA-GM/w737-h553-no/DSCN8055.JPG[/IMG]

[/SIZE][/QUOTE]

hahaha! PS I love those pouches!!!

Great review. Thanks so much for sharing!

[cruzin2010]

Great review and photos!!

[CMM]

Looks like from the funtimes there isn't a show every night? Some nights just the punchliners comedy?
Great review. I took a lot of notes! Thanks

[babsee101]

Excellent review! Thanks so much for taking the time to do this. Loved it! :)

[teetee6263]

[quote name='JennN']hahaha! PS I love those pouches!!!

Great review. Thanks so much for sharing![/QUOTE]

Going back to San Juan in Sept & definitely plan on getting more. :D

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[teetee6263]

[quote name='cruzin2010']Great review and photos!![/QUOTE]







[quote name='CMM']Looks like from the funtimes there isn't a show every night? Some nights just the punchliners comedy?
Great review. I took a lot of notes! Thanks[/QUOTE]







[quote name='babsee101']Excellent review! Thanks so much for taking the time to do this. Loved it! :)[/QUOTE]

Thanks for reading :)

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[SMSACE6]

I loved your review and photos! Especially enjoyed your info and photos on San Juan, (going there in Nov), and loved your section on St Lucia. I spent two weeks there many years ago and fell in love with the place, but have never gotten back there "yet". I would love to do this cruise some day. Thanks again for all your effort in putting together this great review.:)

[begandme]

I'm doing this cruise in May and absolutely enjoyed the review! Much Thanks!

[Biffer1997]

Thanks for awesome review! Nice to read about some of the excursions I'm thinking of taking!

[cliffjumpergirl]

Thank you so much for taking the time for writing such a detailed review. We will be setting sail on the Valor on Aug. 3, 2014. I was booking my cruise for my 50th birthday in Sept. when my travel rep told me I had a FREE one if I could go in July or Aug...so to save some $$$$ we changed our date to Aug. (playing a little in the casino has payed off twice for me and this is my second free cruise....except for taxes and tips)
We have also booked our St. Lucia outing with Cosol tours and your right I have not read a bad review!. Wonderful to see your review of them along with your photos. We had the same idea you had in Barbados and will also be doing just that!. As for the rest of the cruise we shall wing it. I love San Juan and we will enjoy a few extra days there when we return back to port. You have been the only review that said you got on the ferry in San Juan with no problem and quickly so we just might give it a try. I think we are going to rent a car for one day to go to the rainforest and the beach.[FONT="Arial Narrow"][FONT="Impact"][/FONT][/FONT]

[teetee6263]

[quote name='SMSACE6']I loved your review and photos! Especially enjoyed your info and photos on San Juan, (going there in Nov), and loved your section on St Lucia. I spent two weeks there many years ago and fell in love with the place, but have never gotten back there "yet". I would love to do this cruise some day. Thanks again for all your effort in putting together this great review.:)[/QUOTE]







[quote name='begandme']I'm doing this cruise in May and absolutely enjoyed the review! Much Thanks![/QUOTE]







[quote name='Biffer1997']Thanks for awesome review! Nice to read about some of the excursions I'm thinking of taking![/QUOTE]

Thanks so much for taking the time to read it, I'm glad you enjoyed it. I'm pretty sure you'll enjoy your cruises just as much!!

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[teetee6263]

[quote name='cliffjumpergirl']Thank you so much for taking the time for writing such a detailed review. We will be setting sail on the Valor on Aug. 3, 2014. I was booking my cruise for my 50th birthday in Sept. when my travel rep told me I had a FREE one if I could go in July or Aug...so to save some $$$$ we changed our date to Aug. (playing a little in the casino has payed off twice for me and this is my second free cruise....except for taxes and tips)
We have also booked our St. Lucia outing with Cosol tours and your right I have not read a bad review!. Wonderful to see your review of them along with your photos. We had the same idea you had in Barbados and will also be doing just that!. As for the rest of the cruise we shall wing it. I love San Juan and we will enjoy a few extra days there when we return back to port. You have been the only review that said you got on the ferry in San Juan with no problem and quickly so we just might give it a try. I think we are going to rent a car for one day to go to the rainforest and the beach.[FONT="Arial Narrow"][FONT="Impact"][/FONT][/FONT][/QUOTE]

Thanks for reading:) You are gonna have a great early birthday cruise. St Lucia & Barbados were my favorites, I'm sure you will enjoy them as well. Actually I know you will love Cosol Tours, they're the best. If you get Baptiste as your driver, tell him Tee from Long Island said hi.
Getting to Bacardi was very easy for me, thankfully.

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[Flytko]

[quote name='teetee6263'][SIZE="3"]Random thought....

For someone who doesn't really drink rum, I sure did brought a lot home :D

[IMG]https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-T6X4SgRizNc/U6DM4ib3O6I/AAAAAAAAEjA/FAwynxmA-GM/w737-h553-no/DSCN8055.JPG[/IMG]

[/SIZE][/QUOTE]

That must of been quite a duty to pay ;)

Glad you were able to get all that liquor home in one piece, I work at an airport, and see first hand how the ramp agents handle baggage and am quite surprised that anything gets to a destination in one piece...:cool:

Also happy super belated happy birthday!!!! Loved the review

[kteachcruiser52]

I enjoyed reading your review. Were took this cruise in March and also did Cosol's and Bernard's tours and swimming with the turtles. This was my favorite cruise! On St. Kitts, We went on the Sky Sarari zip line which was on my bucket list. At 62, I thought maybe I was too old for this, but our guide said he had a 90 year old and a blind man do it. Stepping out of your comfort zone can be so much fun. I could go back to St. Martin's for the pastries alone.