GAPearl's Second Valor Review- Solo Southern Caribbean Cruise! (2/24/13)

[deetrayn]

Yes, please help me to encourage him to do a review! Even if just a short one. And happy birthday to your little lady!

 

 

I will do that, and a happy birthday to you as well! My little lady will be 18. :D

Edited June 5, 2013 by deetrayn

[pghsteelerfan]

Hello GAPearl! I've commented earlier on your review (some great ideas, BTW) and was on the 5/5/13 Valor sailing. I just wanted you to know that we had the best time and really enjoyed the whole cruise. Unfortunately we didn't get to "see" much of St. Kitts since it pretty much rained the whole day but it was still fun. I think I took over 2000 pictures (some will be deleted). As for a review??? I'm still thinking about that. I practiced with a small review on the ports of call boards, just to see what went into it, and it took 4 hours (lots of pictures & less than one page), but it ended up being deleted. Yes, my bad, I didn't read the "rules" ahead of time. In that review I included what tour company we went with in the review and CC rules state that is a "no, no" and if I read the rules ahead of time I'd have known better. Oh well, lesson learned. LOL!!!

 

I just want you, and everyone else who post the beautiful, detailed reviews with pictures, to know I really, really, really appreciate the time and effort that go into them, definitely a lot of work. I did want to let you know how much we enjoyed our cruise. I think this might be my favorite but I'll always be partial to our honeymoon cruise, which was almost the same itinerary.

Edited June 6, 2013 by pghsteelerfan
grammar error

[gapearl]

I will do that, and a happy birthday to you as well! My little lady will be 18. :D

 

Thank you! And I thought you were going to say she was 7 or 8. You look too young to have grown children! ;)

 

Hello GAPearl! I've commented earlier on your review (some great ideas, BTW) and was on the 5/5/13 Valor sailing. I just wanted you to know that we had the best time and really enjoyed the whole cruise. Unfortunately we didn't get to "see" much of St. Kitts since it pretty much rained the whole day but it was still fun. I think I took over 2000 pictures (some will be deleted). As for a review??? I'm still thinking about that. I practiced with a small review on the ports of call boards, just to see what went into it, and it took 4 hours (lots of pictures & less than one page), but it ended up being deleted. Yes, my bad, I didn't read the "rules" ahead of time. In that review I included what tour company we went with in the review and CC rules state that is a "no, no" and if I read the rules ahead of time I'd have known better. Oh well, lesson learned. LOL!!!

 

I just want you, and everyone else who post the beautiful, detailed reviews with pictures, to know I really, really, really appreciate the time and effort that go into them, definitely a lot of work. I did want to let you know how much we enjoyed our cruise. I think this might be my favorite but I'll always be partial to our honeymoon cruise, which was almost the same itinerary.

 

Welcome home! Glad you had a great cruise! Sorry you had a rainy day in St. Kitts but I know you still had fun.

 

I didn't know either that you can't include a tour company name in a review on the ports of call board so don't feel bad. I had considered writing a San Juan review since I spent so much time there before and after the cruise. Glad I didn't now!

 

It took me about 2 weeks from start to finish to get this done, and a few of those days, I literally worked on it allllllllll day. I was sick of looking at my computer screen by the time I was done. Thanks again for the nice words and I would love to see a review from you if you can find the time to do one! :)

[Mi paddler]

Thanks a lot! Have a great time on your cruise!

 

 

 

I couldn't believe he was going to climb in flip flops either! :eek: No way could I do that! Out of all the guides we passed along the way, not a single one was sweating, tired, or breathing hard like the rest of us were. You wanna get in shape? Move to St. Lucia and start giving these tours.

 

Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for the next one! :)

 

I know I'm late on this, but the elevation in St. Lucia gets to about 2000 feet higher than Altlanta, Georgia. I don't think you're a wimp, I think you're not used to exercising where there's less oxygen. Happened to me on a trip to the Grand Canyon.

 

 

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[krispykreme97]

Thanks for the review! It certainly helped me know what to expect.

[gapearl]

I know I'm late on this, but the elevation in St. Lucia gets to about 2000 feet higher than Altlanta, Georgia. I don't think you're a wimp, I think you're not used to exercising where there's less oxygen. Happened to me on a trip to the Grand Canyon.

 

 

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Definitely no wimp here (unless I see a spider zipping across the floor :o). Elevation and the heat could have gotten to me though it didn't feel like it at the time. It was overall just a ridiculously hard workout. Won't be doing that again!

 

Thanks for the review! It certainly helped me know what to expect.

 

You're welcome, thanks for reading. Not sure when you're sailing but have fun when you do! :D

[queenofkings]

GAPearl, your review helped me to make up my mind to take this very cruise...what an awesome review. Is this the best place to ask questions? Thanks.

[Ladybug525]

We are 13 days out from our cruise on Valor! Tell me, what do you do with your belongings when you're on a trip? For example, we're going to do the swimming with the dolphins on St Thomas. What do we take with us from the ship in terms of ID, credit cards, cell phones, camera and money? How do we secure that when we are in the water?

[deetrayn]

Thank you! And I thought you were going to say she was 7 or 8. You look too young to have grown children! ;)

:)

Awe, thank you. She happens to be the youngest DD. I have another who will be 21 in Aug.

 

 

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[gapearl]

GAPearl, your review helped me to make up my mind to take this very cruise...what an awesome review. Is this the best place to ask questions? Thanks.

 

Awesome, thanks a lot! You'll love this cruise. You can absolutely ask questions here. If it's something really specific, you might want to start a new thread. But go ahead and ask here if you wish. I'll try my best to help, and I'm sure others will too! :)

 

We are 13 days out from our cruise on Valor! Tell me, what do you do with your belongings when you're on a trip? For example, we're going to do the swimming with the dolphins on St Thomas. What do we take with us from the ship in terms of ID, credit cards, cell phones, camera and money? How do we secure that when we are in the water?

 

Most places have lockers that you can use for a few dollars. For the most part I always have my valuables on me. Inside my beach bag, I keep a small over the shoulder purse with my camera, money, id, etc. If I get up to use the bathroom or get a drink, I'll take it with me and leave my beach bag on my chair. I'm pretty positive there wherever you will be swimming with the dolphins will have lockers for rent, so be sure to have some cash. Have fun on your cruise! :D

 

Awe, thank you. She happens to be the youngest DD. I have another who will be 21 in Aug.

 

 

Sent from my HTC Desire C using Forums mobile app

 

Whatever you're doing keep it up! :)

[kimba9615]

Hey GApearl!

Your review of the Valor is the best. I took so many notes from your review to use when when we take the same cruise in just a few weeks. I have a quick question. I noticed the picture in your signature of you on the horse in the water. We were thinking about doing an excursion like that in St. Maartin. I posted a question on the St. Maartin board asking for feedback from anybody that had done it. I got a few responses and one response linked an old thread about horseback riding in the Caribbean and the dangers of it. I was just wondering about your experience with it. Did you feel safe? Was it fun? Would you do it again on another island?

 

Thanks,

Kim

[myfamilyluvs2cruise]

Our nanny is sailing on the Valor next week at the recommendation of our cruise savvy 13 year old. It will be her first. Our kids and I read your review to get ideas to share with her. GREAT review!

Edited June 26, 2013 by myfamilyluvs2cruise

[HeatherC430]

Great photos & review! Thanks for posting!

[gapearl]

Hey GApearl!

Your review of the Valor is the best. I took so many notes from your review to use when when we take the same cruise in just a few weeks. I have a quick question. I noticed the picture in your signature of you on the horse in the water. We were thinking about doing an excursion like that in St. Maartin. I posted a question on the St. Maartin board asking for feedback from anybody that had done it. I got a few responses and one response linked an old thread about horseback riding in the Caribbean and the dangers of it. I was just wondering about your experience with it. Did you feel safe? Was it fun? Would you do it again on another island?

 

Thanks,

Kim

 

Hi Kim! Love that name. ;) That picture was in Grand Cayman a couple of years ago. I NEVER felt unsafe once. Of course, there are risks when doing something like this, but I never felt in danger. I almost fell off the horse once, but it was more funny than scary. I absolutely 200% would do it again. Just make sure you do your research. Once you find a company that offers a swim with horses, get on trip advisor and read their reviews.

 

A little side note about that picture- Carnival ran a contest 2 years ago for passengers to send in their favorite photos from excursions for a chance to be featured on a Carnival billboard. I sent in that picture, and they emailed me back wanting to use it! I had to sign a waiver saying they could use it for up to 5 years. I don't know if they ever did, but they posted about 15 billboard pictures with customer photos on their FB page and I never saw mine. But because they still have 3 years from the time I signed on the dotted line, technically they can still use it. So, if you happen to see that picture on some official Carnival publication, don't be surprised! :D

 

Anyways, have fun on your cruise!!!

 

Our nanny is sailing on the Valor next week at the recommendation of our cruise savvy 13 year old. It will be her first. Our kids and I read your review to get ideas to share with her. GREAT review!

 

Wow, your kids have already caught the bug and are reading reviews at 13! Love it! I imagine if I had kids it would be exactly the same. LOL Tell your nanny I said have fun! :D

 

Great photos & review! Thanks for posting!

 

Thanks Heather! I appreciate you reading! :)

[Cruiser 2 too]

When are you going on the Breeze? I must have missed that anno! Still enjoying your review postings! I too am hooked on the maxi dresses. Waiting for your next review!!!

[gapearl]

When are you going on the Breeze? I must have missed that anno! Still enjoying your review postings! I too am hooked on the maxi dresses. Waiting for your next review!!!

 

Not until September but it's quickly approaching. I'm already shopping for new dresses! :D Last week I bought a maxi dress from Old Navy, 3 cute dresses for dinner/night time from Express, and some fabulous Steve Madden 4" hot pink pumps with rhinestones. Those shoes alone will be worth reading the review. :p

[MsMot]

Can't wait!! Make sure you take plenty of pictures of the ship. We sail her next year. Which itinerary are you doing?

[kgriff]

Great review. We want to do the Southern Caribbean cruise but we want to wait until the Valor has gone through the Fun Ship 2.0 upgrade. Gotta have our Guy's Burger! mmm mm mmmm

 

Anyway, I have a question for you...

 

 

With all the cruises under your belt, how is it that you just achieved Gold status?!?! We hope to achieve that next year.

[gapearl]

Can't wait!! Make sure you take plenty of pictures of the ship. We sail her next year. Which itinerary are you doing?

 

I'm doing the 8 day southern itinerary- Grand Turk, La Romana, Aruba, and Curacao. No worries, I'll definitely have plenty of ship pictures. ;)

 

Great review. We want to do the Southern Caribbean cruise but we want to wait until the Valor has gone through the Fun Ship 2.0 upgrade. Gotta have our Guy's Burger! mmm mm mmmm

 

Anyway, I have a question for you...

 

With all the cruises under your belt, how is it that you just achieved Gold status?!?! We hope to achieve that next year.

 

Thanks for reading. I hope you get to book this soon. The Valor having the upgrades would have been awesome.

 

Remember, Carnival just changed the loyalty program a year ago. My first few cruises were shorter ones, and I believe gold status is 25 days (someone correct me if I'm wrong here). I had 31 days at the start of this cruise. If they didn't change the program, I would have been 2 cruises away from platinum after this one.

[meme2manthajoe]

Thanks for an awesome review. I am sooooo excited for my upcoming Valor cruise.;)

[gapearl]

Thanks for an awesome review. I am sooooo excited for my upcoming Valor cruise.;)

 

Thanks for reading! Have a GREAT time! :D

[icecreammondays]

Thank you for posting this I am already super excited about my trip but after looking at this I am next level! Thank you again for taking the time to write all the deets out. You gave me some great ideas for excursions. One question, you had jerk chicken for lunch on the cruise. Where were they serving this at (don't want to miss out)!?!

[msucooper]

Did you know Carnival was allowing you up to the end of this year to get your platinum status under the old program? So if you have the time and money take 2 more short cruises? You deserve your platinum status.

Edited July 4, 2013 by msucooper

[gapearl]

Thank you for posting this I am already super excited about my trip but after looking at this I am next level! Thank you again for taking the time to write all the deets out. You gave me some great ideas for excursions. One question, you had jerk chicken for lunch on the cruise. Where were they serving this at (don't want to miss out)!?!

 

You're welcome! The jerk chicken was served at the lido buffet I believe on St. Thomas day. It was pretty good! Be sure to look for some hole in the wall restaurants on the islands. You might stumble upon some more places for some good jerk chicken. Have fun on your cruise and have fun planning the meantime! :)

 

Did you know Carnival was allowing you up to the end of this year to get your platinum status under the old program? So if you have the time and money take 2 more short cruises? You deserve your platinum status.

 

Yes, I knew, but it's not gonna happen. I was going to book the Glory to Canada, last minute cruise last month for my bday for $179 pp, but I couldn't find anyone to go with me and I didn't want to pay double. My 15 year class reunion is scheduled for the Elation (if it's even still on because it seems like it's not). I planned to make it a B2B when we first started planning a reunion cruise, thinking it was going to be in the summer, but it's the exact same weekend as my Breeze cruise. Then there's a 2 day on the Glory to Nassau in November, but I'm a bridesmaid in a wedding that weekend. I sure wanted to try, but I guess it wasn't meant to be. :(:rolleyes:

[msucooper]

Wow to be so close to it. Well it is what it is. I am 5 cruises from it and I am only going on 2 this year. I notice you were planning or thinking about going on the Miracle for the Alaskan cruise. I'm going next August.