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June 2, 2013 Valor with FTTF

bunchesofun

By bunchesofun,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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takevtr1

takevtr1

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excellent review of the Valor. Well written and great pictorial review.

 

we sail her on 8/4 (second time) - can't wait. I sorely need a vacation.

 

of all the excursions that you did, were they all book via Carnival or privately??

 

Thanks,

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bunchesofun

bunchesofun

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excellent review of the Valor. Well written and great pictorial review.

 

we sail her on 8/4 (second time) - can't wait. I sorely need a vacation.

 

of all the excursions that you did, were they all book via Carnival or privately??

 

Thanks,

 

Everything but the BioBay tour was booked through Carnival. Costs more, but don't have to worry about missing the ship if the vehicle or boat breaks down.

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bunchesofun

bunchesofun

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Nice review. It was nice meeting you in person. We all absolutely loved this cruise.

 

Yes, it was so nice to put faces to the names and nice to see familiar faces during the week. We really enjoyed this cruise. We were worried about there being so many ports that we wouldn't get a chance to relax, but we did.

 

By the way, are you still rocking? We are!

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bunchesofun

bunchesofun

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Did you have a porter take care of you luggage from the Taxi?

 

We used a porter when we arrived at the ship and when leaving the ship. We had put our bags out the night before and they were waiting in the Zone 1 section. Had the porter take them to the taxi for us. Only $4 with two bags, so worth it to us.

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bunchesofun

bunchesofun

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Thanks for the review! Was there a sailaway party leaving San Juan? Also do they still have the live bands around the ship or is the DJ used everywhere? Thanks again!

 

I'm afraid I can't answer those questions. After our excursions we'd head to the room for a nap. :) Cruising for us is about no responsibilities, not really the events on the ship.

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takevtr1

takevtr1

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Everything but the BioBay tour was booked through Carnival. Costs more, but don't have to worry about missing the ship if the vehicle or boat breaks down.

good point on using Carnival tours. I have always done private tours, but I think this for St. Thomas, I may take a cArnival tour. Would love to visit St. John.

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bunchesofun

bunchesofun

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good point on using Carnival tours. I have always done private tours, but I think this for St. Thomas, I may take a cArnival tour. Would love to visit St. John.

 

St. John was beautiful. We were lucky the water was like glass the day we visited the bay. I've heard that it can be rough sometimes.

 

Because the ship sails around 5 or 6 every day we decided that Carnival sponsored excursions were best for us. That way we really didn't have to worry. We had two tours that actually got back an hour later than scheduled which put us close to the all aboard time.

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CRU1Z1N

CRU1Z1N

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DH and I would love to do a tour at the Bio Bay. May I ask how much is it through East Island Excursions per adult? Did they include transportation from the hotel? We are staying in Old San Juan at a hotel on San Francisco St.

 

Day 3

San Juan

 

Back to the room to await the call from East Island Excursions to confirm the pickup time for our BioBay tour. She told me on the phone yesterday, somewhere between 3:45 and 4:00 in front of the hotel, but she would call today to confirm the time.

 

Confirmed that they would be picking us up at 3:40 PM. Had lunch at the Patio grill again. This time Irina and I shared a cheeseburger and fries as the order was so large. Went back to the room and watched a couple of hours of the history channel about the Titanic! Not sure that is the greatest thing to watch before getting on a ship though.

 

Headed down to wait for our ride and they were on time. However after we boarded the shuttle we had to wait for around 5 minutes for another couple who were late. Picked up at two more hotels before heading out. It was around an hour drive to the dock where our catamaran was waiting.

DSCN0355_zpse8ff7aaa.jpg

 

DSCN0356_zps17f6a138.jpg

 

Got checked in and another ½ hour wait then we boarded the boat. The booze was flowing freely on this ride and it’s a good thing too as this was a wild ride! The boat was going up and down and side to side and frankly I was a bit frightened. Maybe it was watching all the Titanaic stuff! It was about an hour ride to Viquennes where they split us into two groups. Those who were eating first, and those who were going to the bay first. We were in the first group. So it was back in a shuttle and on to the restaurant. It was a nice restaurant with an outdoor covered patio. It was lovely sitting outside with a light breeze blowing. I had steak fajitas, Danny had chicken quesadilla, and Irina had a cheeseburger. It was yummy.

 

DSCN0357_zps14a7c923.jpg

 

After the meal was over they showed us a short video about the bay and the organisms that create the glow in the water. By the time the video was over our bus had arrived. They loaded us into an old yellow school bus for the ride to the bay and our boat. To say the road is in bad shape is an understatement! We pitched side to side violently almost the entire way once we had gotten to the dirt entrance road. By now it was dark out. We followed our guides to the boat in the dark, walked a narrow ramp to board and then we were ready to go. My camera would not capture the glow and there were no lights aboard the boat to change settings on the camera, so I did not get any pictures. At one point they brought a couple of buckets of water aboard so you could put your hands into the water and make the water glow. Irina cupped her hands and got a hand full of water and you could see the creatures lighting up in her hands. It was beautiful. I’m not really sure how long we were on the water, but eventually it was time to leave. So the process was reversed. Onto the yellow bus, to the dock, wild ride back in the dark, more rum punch! Shuttle to the hotel. We were back to the hotel around midnight. Tired but happy.

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bunchesofun

bunchesofun

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DH and I would love to do a tour at the Bio Bay. May I ask how much is it through East Island Excursions per adult? Did they include transportation from the hotel? We are staying in Old San Juan at a hotel on San Francisco St.

 

It's $119 per adult for the tour. They charge $120 for hotel pickup per van. They divide the cost depending upon how many people are in the van. Verify with them though as there might be a minimum per person charge, I can't remember. It was expensive but worth it. Dinner is included. The only bad thing is that most camera's can't capture photos of the light. So we have no photos of it.

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