Just off the Valor on 1/24

[chukeee]

Kruzergrl,

OMG, We ARE checking out the Freedom for 9/11 for my DIL, GDs and I along with 2 0r 3 other cruises. Wouldn't that be somethin'?

[Trplnckl]

No, it doesn't. You stay on ship time the whole cruise.

Ship time is EST...correct?

[Geek Squard]

Ship time is EST...correct?

 

Correct.

[Kruzergrl]

Kruzergrl,

OMG, We ARE checking out the Freedom for 9/11 for my DIL, GDs and I along with 2 0r 3 other cruises. Wouldn't that be somethin'?

 

Chuckie!

OMG that would be sooooooooooo cool . We have a roll call started already, not much activity yet, but it's there!!!! Hope you pick ours!!!

 

Brenda

[Trplnckl]

Correct.

Thanks

[dancemom3]

Also booked on the Valor this summer. Great review! Thanks so much for all the details and pictures.

[chukeee]

When we get to Victor's, 6 of us decide to zipline, 3 choose not to. they stayed back and got to spend the entire time with the monkeys and other animals. They had a blast. Those of us who decided to zipline sizgned our releases, got into our harnesses and headed to the first platform with 2 guides. They were explaining to us that it was very easy and soon we would be hanging upside down. (I thought to myself, "Yeah right"). The hill to the first platform consisted of a long set of stairs. DF Barb was concerned, but didn't really have a problem with a few short rests on the way.

Here we go!

 

I think there were 12 different lines (may have been 15) of various heights and lengths. There were a few more stairs to some of the platforms and a swinging foot bridge (short) but we didn't have any difficulty with this. My daughter is very afraid of heights, but really wanted to do this and overcome her fear. The guides were excellent, helping her all the way.

And before you know it..... we were hanging upside down :)

 

GRRRRR.... this is not letting me upload pictures right now so I will try again later. I REALLY want to post the monkey pictures.

[chukeee]

This was a great experience. No one in our group had zip lined before except DF Cheryl who did it in Jamaica last year. She said this was much better with more lines, some were higher and the guides were better. I know I had a great time!

 

Now off to my favorite part... the monkeys! We didn't have a whole lot of time to spend ans we still wanted to go to a nice lunch stop and have more sight seeing time, but I truly wanted to stay with these fun little guys all day!

If you don't zip line, it will cost $5 to interact with the animals at Victor's. This was THE best $5 spent on the entire cruise!

And one more:

 

Much to our sadness, Marty informed us it was time to go if we still wanted to continue our tour. We said good bye to the monkeys, tipped our guides from the zip line and did a quick stop at the shop that had some beautiful souvenirs. They had some really reasonably priced things. We bought a few more items but I am still kicking myself for not picking up a pair of the sandals. They were beautiful and so cheap so if anyone gos there and would like to pick me up a pair, i will pay for shipping :)

On to see more of Roatan......

[chukeee]

We had requested not to go to a hotel beach for lunch, but wanted something more laid back and reasonable. Marty showed us his house and took us to a little beach bar. ( I think it was at a beach he called Baby Cay or Little Cay) , it was beautiful.

DH and I shared a grilled Lobster platter (yum), had a couple of Corona's and enjoyed the view.

Some more views on the way back to the ship. I was hoping we were late and the ship left us here, but no, there it is:

We tip Marty, say good bye, and still have about a half hour for some last minute purchases. I remember 2 years ago not wanting to leave St Lucia and this is how I felt about Roatan. Don't let people scare you about this beautiful place. I read that many people just stay on the ship. If you do that, you are truly missing out. Just use common sense and do your home work before going off on your own. I highly recommend Victor Bodden and his drivers. Going back here for a week or two land vacation would be something I would love to do!

Good bye Roatan, Victor, Marty and the monkeys and thanks for the memories!

[Froufie]

Hey chukeee - must have passed you on the way on? Sailed the Valor on the 24th just as you were leaving!!! Here's my review!: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1143537

[emuangel]

How much did you pay for the tour with Victor Bodden? What was all included in the price? I am looking to do zip lining with him when I'm on the Valor in June. Did you book ahead of time and how much trouble was that? Thanks for the review and all the answers.

[chukeee]

Froufie: We must have passed. Too bad, I think we would have a blast together as I am reading your review and loving it!!!!!

[chukeee]

Emuangel: We paid $25 for the tour of the island. When we got to Victor's, the ones that Zip lined paid $45 (which included the Monkeys) and the ones who didn't paid $5 for the monkeys. I did book ahead of time with him and it was no problem at all. He gets back to you quickly with answers to all your questions. You pay nothing upfront.

We picked where we wanted to go on the island tour and he was very accommodating. If you want to add something else, he will tell you the cost and work it in to your tour. I can't say enough good things about him and his operation.

[chukeee]

Well, we are back on the ship, grabbed an ice cream(certainly wasn't hungry but because it is there and we don't have to pay for it, my hubby eats massive amounts of this stuff every cruise), and headed to our balcony to enjoy the views of Roatan one last time.

We sat on the balcony for awhile, he dozed and I reflected on our lovely day and before you know it, we had to get moving. Tonight was the second Elegant night and we had some exploring to do before dinner.

[Froufie]

Froufie: We must have passed. Too bad, I think we would have a blast together as I am reading your review and loving it!!!!!

 

Thanks Chuckeee!!! We'll have to plan better next time!!! :D;)

[chukeee]

After checking out our pics, getting a few more taken, and dropping another $20 in the casino in record time, we headed to the DR for the second Elegant night. The dress was much more relaxed this time and I think it was due to having this on a port day. To me, it would have made more sense to have the second elegant night on the last sea day, but I guess their reasoning is that they would lose $$ on the photos taken.

I must apologize that since it is taking me so long to write this review, what we ordered is somewhat of a blur. I remember having a shrimp dish, which I liked and a beef dish which I didn't. As I stated before, I think most of the food was a little better this time, except for the beef which seemed to get worse as the week went on. Can't really explain it and maybe it was just me. Most of our group did not order it as a rule. I think tonight was the night they had an eggplant appetizer which was fabulous!

Guess the escargot is not for her!

And my favorite part of the dining room......Lucio!

 

After dinner, we decided to have a few more pics taken, shop and meet up to attend the show. GD went off to find her friends, which was the norm and I was so glad she was having fun.

The show that night was Far From Over and was very good. It got extremely crowded and at the very last minute, I saw Amanda and her friends come and and look for a seat. They ended up right in the front and I'm sure they were happy to be there when I saw the costumes for the evening. Or should I say lack of costumes... I asked her later how she liked the show and she said "OOOHHHHHH YYEEAAAAAHHHH" sigh, they grow up so fast, lol. they had two special male dancers called G-Force and they were fabulous!!! Again, the vocals of Aimee Gallagher and Trent Webb were great, better than any on our other cruises.

There was another adult comedy show but it wasn't in the cards as I couldn't keep my eyes open.

Good night all! Tomorrow our last port...........

[chukeee]

Friday, Jan. 22

Hello Grand Cayman, it's my birthday, it's my birthday, woohoo!

Today we were not docking until 10 a.m. and it was kind of nice to have more balcony time, extra time to get ready and a leisurely breakfast.

The 4 ports in a row were kind of exhausting. It would have been nice to have a sea day in the middle, but I guess it is a sign I'm getting old. The tender tickets were being distributed in the Invahoe theater at 9:30. By 10, they started calling numbers and with number 11 we were called about 20 minutes later. We were on the pier by 10:30.

Anyhow, this was the ONLY port in four cruises that we did not have a private tour scheduled. Last year, when we visited, we had booked a stingray tour for 25 of us. It did not turn out to be the best experience. The main issue was that in addition to the ocean being very rough that day, the catamaran we were on did not, in my opinion, do a very good job. When we got to the sandbar, we could see people standing in waist deep water and having a great time. He stopped the boat about 75 yds. further out and none of us could stand. We had to fight the current and most people just got back on the boat and sat there. Then he made a nasty remark when one of the kids accidentally splashed him when they were getting back on the boat. It just was not a good excursion.

I really wanted to go back to stingray sandbar and have a better day because I have read so many wonderful reviews. We didn't want to do the two reef stops. After many emails and realizing that we were the only ship scheduled for that day, I decided that maybe we could just grab an excursion when we got off the ship. There was only going to be 6 of us so as soon as we hit the pier, the guides were out trying to get our business. We found a company that wanted $45, talked them down to $25 and ended up negotiating an island tour afterward for $10. Our friends Gary,Amy, Barb, and Bill were just looking for an island tour, but when they heard the price, they decided to go with us for the boat ride although none of them had swimming stuff with them. This was the first port in 3 days that Bill felt well enough to leave the ship so the boat ride was relaxing for him.

Enjoying the boat ride on the way to the sandbar!

Our new friend Juan Carlos. He was the photographer and is a wonderful person. We had a great talk, exchanged info. and hopefully he will be visiting us in PA. some day. He says not in the winter though, lol.

Notice the depth of the water, now this is what I'm talking about!

We took some pics with a disposable underwater camera that turned out really well, but I don't have a scanner so can't post them. I did buy a disk from the tour and I will try to post a few of them.

[Froufie]

Friday, Jan. 22

Hello Grand Cayman, it's my birthday, it's my birthday, woohoo!

Today we were not docking until 10 a.m. and it was kind of nice to have more balcony time, extra time to get ready and a leisurely breakfast.

The 4 ports in a row were kind of exhausting. It would have been nice to have a sea day in the middle, but I guess it is a sign I'm getting old. The tender tickets were being distributed in the Invahoe theater at 9:30. By 10, they started calling numbers and with number 11 we were called about 20 minutes later. We were on the pier by 10:30.

Anyhow, this was the ONLY port in four cruises that we did not have a private tour scheduled. Last year, when we visited, we had booked a stingray tour for 25 of us. It did not turn out to be the best experience. The main issue was that in addition to the ocean being very rough that day, the catamaran we were on did not, in my opinion, do a very good job. When we got to the sandbar, we could see people standing in waist deep water and having a great time. He stopped the boat about 75 yds. further out and none of us could stand. We had to fight the current and most people just got back on the boat and sat there. Then he made a nasty remark when one of the kids accidentally splashed him when they were getting back on the boat. It just was not a good excursion.

I really wanted to go back to stingray sandbar and have a better day because I have read so many wonderful reviews. We didn't want to do the two reef stops. After many emails and realizing that we were the only ship scheduled for that day, I decided that maybe we could just grab an excursion when we got off the ship. There was only going to be 6 of us so as soon as we hit the pier, the guides were out trying to get our business. We found a company that wanted $45, talked them down to $25 and ended up negotiating an island tour afterward for $10. Our friends Gary,Amy, Barb, and Bill were just looking for an island tour, but when they heard the price, they decided to go with us for the boat ride although none of them had swimming stuff with them. This was the first port in 3 days that Bill felt well enough to leave the ship so the boat ride was relaxing for him.

Enjoying the boat ride on the way to the sandbar!

Our new friend Juan Carlos. He was the photographer and is a wonderful person. We had a great talk, exchanged info. and hopefully he will be visiting us in PA. some day. He says not in the winter though, lol.

Notice the depth of the water, now this is what I'm talking about!

We took some pics with a disposable underwater camera that turned out really well, but I don't have a scanner so can't post them. I did buy a disk from the tour and I will try to post a few of them.

 

Did u end up with Nativeways? That looks like JC (Juan Carlos) from our Nativeways Rays, Reef and Rumpoint excursion??

[Poohbear75]

Oh no where did you go. Come back. I am so addicted to this thread I checked three times last night to see if you did anymore updates.

[chukeee]

Sorry for the delay!!! Had some issues and other commitments.

Yes, that is Juan Carlos from NativeWays. Is'nt he wonderful?

[chukeee]

Getting our stingray massage! Priceless!!!

DD wasn't sure she was going to kiss this thing or not, but her Dad insisted as he is convinces that is why he won $1199 playing bingo on last year's cruise.

I couldn't have asked for a better birthday!

We said goodbye to the stingrays and traveled a short distance to snorkel with the starfish.

DF Gary brings one up to show the folks on the boat.

DH brings one up to show me. The water is now about 10' so I put on my life jackets so I can basically just bob around and look at the beautiful starfish, shells and fishes. I really enjoyed it and this is the kind of snorkeling that I think I am best suited for. Enough of those near drowning experiences :(

[chukeee]

Glad I saw this fella from the boat. I think they're creepy.

And this one was big enough to eat small children :0

We returned to the dock, thanked Captain Solomon and Juan Carlos for a great day and instead of returning to the pier, met our taxi driver for the second part of our excursion. For $10 per person she took us around the island,

took us to Hell,

where I made a deal with the Devil (the deal was that I would never contact him again and he would do the same ) :) and then to the turtle farm. I didn't choose to go in but did buy some really cute souvenirs (ornaments) and had some delicious soft serve ice cream that was really unique and wonderful.

DH got his fire department fix and we headed back to the ship.

After the experience on the stingray excursion last year, I didn't even care to return to Grand Cayman, but I am so glad I gave it another chance. This time was great! The place is beautiful, guides were excellent, and it was a totally different experience. May I suggest, if you hear bad things or have a bad experience at one of the ports, just chalk it up to a bad day and give it another shot. It just might turn out to be one of your favorite memories!

[bam7058]

you cracked me up on this post. I am having fund reading this. We will be on same boat/itinerary 4/25/10--1st cruise. What do you know about cave tubing, water clean? We booked with Major Tom. I was reluctant to do private since this is all new, stuck with Carnival tours for stingrays in Cayman and Beach Buggy's in Cozumel. Stingrays are a little higher priced, but Buggy's were same price at Travelocity.

[chukeee]

Returning to the ship in Grand Cayman, I love this picture.

Good Bye Grand Cayman. Didn't like you when I first met you, but you are growing on me :)

We shopped at the pier for a short time and returned to the ship. No time for relaxing today, so showered, dressed and headed to the dining room.

don't remember what I had, but here's me with my birthday cake and the waiters singing Happy Birthday. Note my beautiful ribbon Tiara that my DF Lori gave me that morning and I wore most of the day.

Tonight was the Mexican buffet and we really wanted to stay up for this so we decided to meet at the show (10:30), watch the comedian Allyn Ball who was pretty good and then head to the buffet.

We walked around the shops, picked out the pictures we thought we would buy the next day and I decided to check out the Ivanhoe to see what was happening while DH checked out the casino. I walked in when they were picking 4 men and 4 women for the battle of the sexes, saw my friend Mary get picked, raised my hand and got picked too! WooHoo!

I am always in pursuit of another ship on a stick and one from the Valor was calling my name. I had no idea what I would have to do in this game to win one but thought I would give it my best effort. Now the drink I had before dinner while waiting for DH to shower and the champagne I had during dinner and the drink I had in my hand when I went in the theatre to check out the happenings, may have clouded my judgement just a tad.

We are on stage waiting and the host tells us we are going to stick a quarter between our butt cheeks, waddle across the stage and drop the quarter into a cup, without losing the quarter on the way :0. This normally may have been my cue to just turn around and walk away....but no.... I stayed. When it came my turn, I placed the quarter, started my treck across the stage, got half way, decided to do a birthday dance, dropped the quarter right smack into the cup and won my Ship on a Stick!! Thank you alcohol! Without you I never could have done it! I slithered back to my seat only to find my DF Cheryl had pics of the deed. Oh well, it's my birthday.

DH returned shortly after and didn't seem too sorry that he missed it. We decided to hang out for the bingo game and watch for our friends to enter the theater for the show. didn't win bingo, friends came and we watched the show. The comedian was pretty funny but the pace of the last four port days was catching up with everyone and not to many showed up for the buffet. Now I don't know what it is, but the Mexican buffet is my favoriet food on the ship. I love it! We enjoyed the food and the party atmosphere on the deck for a while.

DGD and friends partyin' on the deck and watchin' themselves on the big screen.

Goodnight all, tomorrow last fun day at sea :(

[bam7058]

How do you find out how many ships will be in port on a certain day?