Victory Review - May 8-15, 2011 - Long and Lots of Pictures

[shwabob]

More Pics:

 

 

 

 

 

[shwabob]

We found Cosol's group right as we got off the ship. We let him know we had apples in our backpack, and he was quick to say "You'll be riding in my bus!". Today was Cosol's birthday, so he was in quite a jolly mood and throughout the tour people would see his van and give him his birthday presents. He joked that he would need an entire van to carry all the presents he was expecting to get today. This was absolutely the most amazing excursion experience we've ever had, and I highly suggest booking a tour with him if you are going on this cruise. While I initially balked at paying $65pp, I left the tour beyond satisfied and Cosol earned an extra $20. You get so much more than what you pay for and these guys deserve a little extra for the hard work they put into it.

 

Cosol himself was at the dock getting everybody together:

 

One of Cosol's drivers was a huge Steeler's fan (as was Cosol). It was awesome seeing Steeler hats and stickers...the Steeler Nation truly knows no bounds!

 

Inside the roomy air conditioned van:

 

First stop:

 

 

Cosol's van that everybody recognized:

[shwabob]

The Hess Oil Storage depot for the island. Cosol called it "where the black liquid gold is stored", we laughed at that:

 

 

Stopping to get fresh coconuts and take in the view:

 

 

 

Banana Plantation:

 

 

Cosol was very knowledgeable about the bananas, as he worked on the plantation as a youth:

 

 

Fresh fruits we could munch on at the plantation:

 

[shwabob]

Cosol stopped and let us know this house just sold for $129,000. When can I move here?

 

 

Holy Stilt House, Batman:

 

 

The Blue Bus full of drinks and snacks that followed everyone around. I really wish I could get this bus to follow me around all the time back home.

 

 

 

 

[shwabob]

People washing their clothes in the river:

 

 

This big bus was full of people on a Carnival Excursion. Cosol noted that they were stopping at one or two places then back to the ship, and they paid much more. They didn't know what they were missing.

 

 

Stopping at a nice overlook for food and drinks:

 

 

DELICIOUS local food...this stop was great, all the food was fresh and homemade.

 

 

 

Cosol and his lady friend that made all the delicious food...

 

[Bubbles3]

Great review and photos. I'm so pleased that I've booked the Cosol tour for our trip - yay :D

[shwabob]

Again, the Steeler Nation knows no bounds...and he had a funny shirt too.

 

 

Back on the road again:

 

 

 

First sight of the Pitons:

 

 

We have a funeral home back home that has similar billboards:

 

 

Simply breathtaking views:

 

[Cigar Dude]

Nice pics! St. Lucia and the Pitons are amazing! We loved seeing them and riding out between them in the boat! Victory's cruise is fantastic!!!!

[shwabob]

Nice pics! St. Lucia and the Pitons are amazing! We loved seeing them and riding out between them in the boat! Victory's cruise is fantastic!!!!

 

Oh...there are more to come. Between both of our cameras, there were well over 1000 pics taken just in St. Lucia. This was without a doubt the highlight of the cruise for us.

[shwabob]

More pics at the Pitons:

 

 

 

 

Cosol cut open a fresh cocoa plant and offered the beans for people to sample along with sugar cane sticks. Tara liked the cocoa beans, but you couldn't bite into them or they'd be terribly bitter.

 

 

 

[blacksheep2]

St. Lucia was our favorite as well...I think I remember seeing you guys in the big Cosol tours group coming off the ship. We had Cosol as our driver and it was an amazing experience. We're seriously thinking about doing a trip just out there in the coming years.

 

Yep, we had Cosol's brother, Yellowbird as our driver and it was one of the best excursions we have ever done! How about all that food huh? And that rum punch was soo good. We too have been saying that we need to get off the ship and spend some days in one of those ports. We love St. Thomas and this was our second time going there. But now I'm thinking I would rather spend some more time in St. Lucia instead. Wish y'all had been on the roll call so we could have met up around the ship. Great job so far with the review and pics.

 

We had Cosol as a guide for the 8 of us cruising together-have never had a better day with a guide-will go back some day to see him-so far have not made St Lucia a stop again-St Thomas is also one of our fav's going back there from San J next spring--enjoying the review!!

[blacksheep2]

We had the same noise issues on the Dream-we were above the com club/dance club-very bad--also will never do that again--

[shwabob]

Then we headed to the volcano where a tour guide gave us a brief talk about the history of the volcano and all that geological stuff:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once done with the volcano, we headed to the water taxi for a break at Jalousie Beach:

 

[shwabob]

The water taxi ride was only about 5 minutes or so and we were at the beautiful beach nestled in between the Pitons. Tara rented some snorkel gear for $10 and snorkeled out in the beautiful crystal clear water.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[shwabob]

After about an hour or so, we got back on the water taxi and headed back to the docks.

 

This guy was funny...he said he wanted to come to Miami and make rap music with Rick Ross, along with being a Red Sox fan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Lyncoya]

We were getting off the Victory as you were getting on. (my review is in my signature) we did the tour with Cosul also. We LOVED it. I'm a little jealous because it looked like you had BEAUTIFUL weather in St Lucia. It rained a little when we were at the beach.

 

I'm loving your review and your pics are great. You are a cute couple.

[moonandsun]

We did this cruise on May 1st. We also enjoyed it. One of our favs for sure.

[moonandsun]

Yep, we had Cosol's brother, Yellowbird as our driver and it was one of the best excursions we have ever done! How about all that food huh? And that rum punch was soo good. We too have been saying that we need to get off the ship and spend some days in one of those ports. We love St. Thomas and this was our second time going there. But now I'm thinking I would rather spend some more time in St. Lucia instead. Wish y'all had been on the roll call so we could have met up around the ship. Great job so far with the review and pics.

 

We had Cosol as a guide for the 8 of us cruising together-have never had a better day with a guide-will go back some day to see him-so far have not made St Lucia a stop again-St Thomas is also one of our fav's going back there from San J next spring--enjoying the review!!

 

 

We had Colsol as well. He is great. Nothing like following the blue bus.

[shwabob]

We were getting off the Victory as you were getting on. (my review is in my signature) we did the tour with Cosul also. We LOVED it. I'm a little jealous because it looked like you had BEAUTIFUL weather in St Lucia. It rained a little when we were at the beach.

 

I'm loving your review and your pics are great. You are a cute couple.

 

Thanks a lot for all the awesome comments. We did see a few clouds, but we were lucky that everything blew over. It was really hot all week, but at the beach there was a nice beach and it was just amazing.

 

We had Cosol as a guide for the 8 of us cruising together-have never had a better day with a guide-will go back some day to see him-so far have not made St Lucia a stop again-St Thomas is also one of our fav's going back there from San J next spring--enjoying the review!!

 

We had Colsol as well. He is great. Nothing like following the blue bus.

 

That blue bus was beyond excellent. Some of the best rum punch I've ever had and the Pitons beer is really good too...downright refreshing. I'm going to have to try to find me some.

[shwabob]

More Water Taxi Pics:

 

 

 

 

 

Quick stop after getting fresh hot bread which was sooo good:

 

 

[KCfamilyof5]

Enjoying your review and photos! We leave for San Juan on Sat. and cruising on the Victory on Sun. Staying at the Caribe Hilton before and after, which we've been to once before and loved. Hoping to take the kids to El Morro on Sun., so we'll try to go early. Praying for good weather. Chance of showers/storms every day next week throughout the Carib. We've booked the Atlantis sub excursion in Barbados, but were really hoping to swim w/ sea turtles, too. Also booked a Spencer Ambrose Land & Sea tour in St. Lucia, and that's the port I'm most excited about. Anxious to hear what you did in the next 2 ports, since we're still undecided.

[shwabob]

Enjoying your review and photos! We leave for San Juan on Sat. and cruising on the Victory on Sun. Staying at the Caribe Hilton before and after, which we've been to once before and loved. Hoping to take the kids to El Morro on Sun., so we'll try to go early. Praying for good weather. Chance of showers/storms every day next week throughout the Carib. We've booked the Atlantis sub excursion in Barbados, but were really hoping to swim w/ sea turtles, too. Also booked a Spencer Ambrose Land & Sea tour in St. Lucia, and that's the port I'm most excited about. Anxious to hear what you did in the next 2 ports, since we're still undecided.

 

I'll post a bit more the next few days, but here's what we did on the last two islands:

 

St Kitts we caught a cab with Tatem's Taxi and Tours (he also did tours of the island) to the Shipwreck on South Friars Bay. This was excellent as it was a beautiful beach and the food was good, the drinks were strong, and the prices were reasonable. Very laid back attitude there.

 

Here's the info on Tatem's taxi...I'd shoot him an email before you go.

 

Note that there is free wi-fi at the port in Barbados, and you should be able to get internet access on your phone no problem in St. Thomas. We had T-Mob and Sprint which had no problems.

 

St Maarten we took a cab to Grand Case beach. This was a highly recommended spot and was beyond excellent. Hardly anybody there, nobody from the cruise. There was a nice little series of restaurants that were serving delicious homemade BBQ ribs, chicken, and fresh-cut fried potatoes. So delicious...I want to say it was called "La Bodega". If you get a cab to Grand Case, make sure you set a time for him to come back. We had him come back around 2:15 which gave us a couple hours to shop and walk around Front Street. She shopped, I went and saw the Yoda Guy which was awesome.

[South Alabama Cruiser]

Thank You so much for your review. We will be going this weekend and we are glad that you shared your info with us. We also have an extended balcony on the Empress deck. This was the first time that we have gotten to see what the balcony looked like. We have planned several excursion but did not have any idea for St. Lucia. I hope that you will have something on St. Kitts and St. Maarten before we sail. Thank You so much !!!!

[RicheyCruiser13]

This is awesome thanks so much for the pictures! Headed out from Tampa tomorrow morning to SJU and I can't wait!

[shwabob]

Thank You so much for your review. We will be going this weekend and we are glad that you shared your info with us. We also have an extended balcony on the Empress deck. This was the first time that we have gotten to see what the balcony looked like. We have planned several excursion but did not have any idea for St. Lucia. I hope that you will have something on St. Kitts and St. Maarten before we sail. Thank You so much !!!!

 

You're very welcome. I'll try to get more posted here today in between conference calls. I've got the pics uploaded but I need to write everything that goes with it. If you want to have a great time in St. Lucia, get some Skype credit and give Cosol a call. He's got his blackberry all the time and would be quick to get you scheduled. Have a great trip!