Review: Carnival Valor - Southern Caribbean - October 5-12, 2014

[Tennessee Rose]

I love your video! We are going on this very itinerary---leaving in 7 days for OSJ. We ended up choosing to stay in OSJ because of all the historical sites to check out before our cruise. Unfortunately, I know we won't have enough time to see it all.

 

Your pics and video certainly look professional to me! Can't wait to take my very own! Oh, and I love that you had Brudda Iz (Israel K.) at the very end---love him--especially his Over the Rainbow version.

 

Can't wait for the rest of your review!

[xrosario]

Thanks for sharing, looking forward to hearing more.

[pghsteelerfan]

I LOVE reviews from the southern itinerary out of San Juan and will definitely be following. We did the same cruise, on Valor, in May 2013 and loved it and this is one itinerary I would not hesitate to do again. Since we have no future cruises planned, I get my cruise fix by reading reviews. I am really enjoying your review and your pictures are wonderful and I also love that you've added video. We were in Trunk Bay on a Carnival snorkeling excursion on our Glory cruise (eastern Caribbean) in 2010 and would love to get back. Last year on Valor, we just stayed in St. Thomas (Sapphire Beach) with plans to take the Skyride to Paradise Point. Unfortunately both were shut down (Skyride due to road widening project; Paradise Point was undergoing renovations) a couple weeks before our trip. We'd definitely love to get back to St. John, but on our own. I'm really enjoying your review and looking forward to the rest. Thank you for taking the time.

[Oceanborn]

Been following your review since you started. We're headed out on the Valor in 7 days on the same itinerary. We're also headed to St. John, but are so far planning on Cinnamon Bay. It was really a close call between that and Trunk!

[Arizonagirl14]

So we are going in December to St. John's. I would assume if I want to take similar taxi pics heading to St Johns I would want to be on the left side of the taxi? Theses pics are beautiful, and we can not wait to go.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[just4steven]

Keep it coming man! I know the Buckeyes start in about 10 minutes so you won't be posting more or I won't be reading, lol, but after that looking for more! Thanks for the detailed review!

 

Also, I stay on St Thomas at times for like a week or two, but that is always in January or February and it is amazing seeing how much calmer the water is in the fall! I am definitely going to have to make a visit then! When we go over to St John in the winter Trunk Bay usually has the sign up that the snorkel trail is closed because it is so rough. Great to see the vids and pics you have for this time of year, I must get there in the fall!

 

Looking forward to more! :D

[timenprayer]

So we are going in December to St. John's. I would assume if I want to take similar taxi pics heading to St Johns I would want to be on the left side of the taxi? Theses pics are beautiful, and we can not wait to go.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

I was seated on the left side of the taxi. It was an open air taxi on St. John and the driver was kind enough to stop and let any passengers that wanted to take pictures. We also went back the way we came after our beach day was over so you could take more pictures then if you wanted. The second time, of course, the taxi driver did not stop.

[Donh44]

My wife and I recently returned from the October 5, 2014 sailing of the Carnival Valor out of San Juan. Prior to the cruise, I read a lot of reviews here that were very helpful and informative. I figured that I'd try my own hand at writing a review to pass along our experience and help others relive their experience or get excited about their coming cruise.

 

First, a little about us. This was our third cruise - all on Carnival. We took our honeymoon in October of 2012 on the Victory, so this was our second cruise on this itinerary. In 2012, Superstorm Sandy was happening, so our last port of call into St. Maarten was canceled due to sea swells. Last October, we cruised on the Pride out of Baltimore to Port Canaveral, Freeport, and Nassau. we had a good time on that cruise, but our honeymoon cruise on the Victory and this itinerary drew us back. There is just something incredibly majestic about the beaches of the Southern Caribbean and we LOVED the ports on this itinerary.

 

My wife and I are pretty laid back and really enjoy cruising. We are not complainers and try to see the best of every situation. We have absolutely loved every Carnival cruise and ship that we've been on. We began planning for this cruise in November of 2013, so we almost had a full year of planning and excitement prior to sailing. We have always had a balcony cabin and love being able to be out there as much as we can. This year, we invited some close friends of ours to come along for the cruise and they booked an inside cabin across the hall from us.

 

I will be posting more details as time permits, but here is the youtube video I made from our trip. The video is 17 minutes long and I am not a professional video taker or editor. :)

 

FrQHbv_9GPI

 

Very nice job. Loved the combination of photos and videos. Friends of mine took that same cruise on the day that you got back and they loved it. Congrats on a very nice video review.

[timenprayer]

For our day at Sea, we decided to do the Behind the Fun Tour. My wife and I did this tour on the Carnival Pride last fall, and we really enjoyed the tour and thought it was a great experience. We strongly encouraged our friends that were traveling with us to do the tour and they went ahead and booked it. They shared with us that it cost $55 per person, and I was nearly confident that when we did it on the Pride it was closer to $95 per person! When they told us that it was only $55, my wife and I talked it over and we decided to do the tour as well. For that price, I considered it worth it - even though there would be a lot of repeat information.

 

We met for the 8:45 AM departure time for the tour. They gathered everyone in the Library of the ship and had a few refreshments available. Once they had everyone gathered, they provided lanyards and badges that everyone was to wear throughout the tour. They also had the ships security come and wand each guest to verify that there were no cell phones brought along on the tour.

 

Once the tour begins, we were able to go into several of the crew only areas of the ship. Many of these were the exact same places as the Pride tour, with a few notable exceptions. Areas that we visited on both ships included behind stage, the cast dressing rooms, the engine control room, the ship's bridge, the Human Resources office, the staff lounge, the staff mess hall, the waste disposal room, the main staging area below the ship (where all luggage and cargo is loaded), the laundry area, the galley, the beer and soda refrigerator, the meat freezer, and the Steak House. Because of the Valor's design, we were able to go the crew area all the way forward, where there is a great view while at sea as well as a crew hot tub. (The Pride does not have such an area). We also got to walk through the Captain's dining room on the Valor, which we did not do on the Pride. On the Pride's Behind the Fun tour, we went into the Pixels developing room, which we did NOT do on the Valor. On the Pride we also were able to see some pictures of the crew accommodations, and they really did not show these as much on the Valor. The Bridge was the final area we visited on both the Pride and Valor tours, after which they took you to the Steak House to give out the goodie bags. I was impressed that on the Pride tour, the captain himself came out and took a group picture as well as individual or couple pictures with each couple. On the Valor, the captain was busy with paperwork (read: in the restroom :D) and did not come out, one of the ship's officers came instead. There was only a group picture and no individual or couple pictures taken. Also - on the Pride they gave us a Behind the Fun hat, lanyard, and bookbag. On the Valor, it was only the lanyard and hat - there was no bookbag. Also, on the Pride we had mimosas in the Steak House - on the Valor, it was just orange juice.

 

For me, the tour was great - I enjoyed going into all the areas even though most were very similar to what we had done on the Pride. Again - for $55 it was worth it for me - even just to experience a few different areas of the ship and to see how each ship is similar / different than before. Our friends that were with us definitely enjoyed it and appreciated all that the Behind the Fun tour has to offer. Both times that we did the tour, the guide was really great and showed energy, enthusiasm, and pride in their work on Carnival.

 

After the Behind the Fun tour ended, it was probably around 12:00 PM. I'm not really sure, but I do remember that we had plenty of time to go down to the sea day brunch, which we are big fans of. My wife and I have always enjoyed the sea day brunch and we felt like the food was very tasty. I remember that I got the steak & eggs as well as the bacon mac & cheese. Both were very tasty. My wife and I got our free bar drinks, and we both had a kiss on the lips. To me, as a non-beer, non-alcohol drinker in general - this drink is the epitome of Carnival Cruises and it brings the whole Caribbean experience together in tasty, frozen perfection. :D Everyone in our group seemed to enjoy the brunch.

 

After the sea day brunch, my wife and I had the most excellent intentions of going to the tea time at 3:00 and the bingo session at 3:30. We really liked the tea time on the Pride last fall, and I loved, loved, loved, the scones. But, because we were on vacation and because our nap lasted longer than we anticipated, we didn't make it to either! We basically slept the entire afternoon and then got ready for dinner, which was the first cruise elegant.

 

Right before we left for dinner, the chocolate covered strawberries from the chef that we met on the Behind the Fun tour were delivered to our stateroom. We didn't want to spoil our appetites so we saved those for later on.

 

 

7CYQ55WReMU

 

 

 

 

We had an excellent dinner that night. I don't remember what I ate, but I am sure I had copious amounts of meat. On the first elegant night, we took a couple of Pro Portraits, but we didn't end up buying any of those that we had taken on the first elegant night. I love to have a lot of fun with those things, and my wife is gracious and kind and she loves me so she takes pictures with me.

 

After dinner, we went to the 8:15 PM show, which was "NightClub Express." We also enjoyed another tasty fruity frozen drink from the bar. I think I tried the Twilight Zone. It was tasty, but it's no Kiss on the Lips! Overall, we enjoyed the show and were entertained, but it wasn't my favorite show of the cruise.

 

After the show, we did our normal - wander around the ship - stop at the casino bit for awhile. As I mentioned before, we don't stay up super late so I'm sure we were back to room before it got too late and in bed.

 

Up Next: Barbados and the 5-Star Catamaran and Turtle Encounter - Take Two!

Edited November 2, 2014 by timenprayer

[timenprayer]

We woke up on Wednesday morning ready to go for the day ahead. When we cruised this itinerary two years ago on the Victory, Barbados day was definitely one of my favorites of the whole trip. We loved it so much, actually, that we ended up booking the exact same excursion this time around - the five star catamaran and turtle encounter.

 

We had a terrific view from our balcony that morning as we came into port. We were also able to see some dolphins jumping in the water off the front of the ship. If you watch the video in the first post that I made, you can see some of them there. We really enjoyed being able to see the dolphins in the water and it was a big deal for us being from Ohio.

 

vD2mJruM4zE

We ate breakfast up on the Lido deck, I think. I don't really remember for sure, honestly. We either did that or we got room service. In any case, we had to meet fairly early for our excursion since it lasted most of the time that we were in Barbados.

 

A bus met us at the designated location in the Barbados cruise terminal. After a very short, 5 minute bus ride, we arrived at the Tiami catamaran company that operates the tour. They had us sign the obligatory waiver and board the catamaran. There was ample seating on the catamaran. You could choose to sit up front on the ropes, with the open water below, or you could sit in the back on comfortable seats - either in the sun or in the shade. Having done the tour before and remembering how hot it was a times, we sat in the back and had some shade.

 

Then they started the engines and we headed out to sea. After a short ride, they opened the catamaran sails and we sailed along the coast of Barbados, in the warm Caribbean sun and surf. The excellent bar staff came by and made sure that our cups were never empty - no alcohol prior to snorkeling, but after that, the rum drinks flowed freely and endlessly - to our heart's content.

After a while of sailing, they came to the spot where the sea turtles swim. They allowed snorkelers to freely swim with the turtles in all their underwater majesty - making sure, of course, that the turtles are protected (They asked for no touching of the turtles). They had food to entice the turtles and attentively watched all swimmers to make sure everyone was safe and having no issues.

Snorkeling equipment was provided by the tour and was in good repair. On this particular day, the seas were a bit rougher than the first time we did this tour. They advised that only advanced swimmers enter the water, as the current and the waves were a bit rough. The staff was excellent - attending to needs of those who struggled at all times. We were able to see turtles and enjoy the snorkeling portion of the tour.

 

 

 

7DGNdgrR8Lw

 

 

 

 

(We saw the Jolly Roger Pirate Ship excursion as we were headed back to the ship. It looked like those folks also had a great time as there was loud music, cheering, and some dancing.)

 

 

WLEIGMr72Ik

 

 

 

 

After everyone has snorkeled for some time, they moved the catamaran to another location for some more snorkeling - this time with a view of the coral reefs of Barbados. The reefs where nice enough, but not super duper colorful (just being honest). It was still a great time. The staff continued to be attentive and helpful at all times.

After the second snorkel stop, it was time for lunch. They had super tasty chicken, fish, and cole slaw. Everything was excellent. They also opened the bar for rum drinks and everyone had a good time.

Throughout the tour, there was music playing and the staff were fun and interacted with guests as well as each other. The jokes, fun, and staff were great.

After the lunch, the catamaran went to a beach in Barbados (all beaches there are public) and we did some swimming. The catamaran anchored off the beach and there was a short, can't-touch-the-bottom swim to the beach. They did offer noodles and they helped keep guests buoyant as they swam to shore.

 

 

 

After some time swimming in the crystal clear blue waters of Barbados, it was time to head back to the catamaran and head back to port. A short bus ride back to the terminal and the tour was over.

I can't say enough about the tour - it was great. The staff, food, and set-up of the day really stand out. Having done the same tour twice, we were still impressed and we had an excellent time.

 

 

 

I am not so much of a snorkeler, but my wife does really well. On this day, the seas were much rougher than two years ago and I struggled a bit with the snorkeling. I still had a very good time, though.

 

 

 

 

The last picture above was taken from the cruise ship once we returned. If you look next to the long white building, you can see a couple of little yellow houses. This is the Tiami company and where the catamaran sets out to sea.

Once we were back on board, I think we went back up to Lido for some food. I think we then took it easy for a little bit in the room and then went to dinner. That evening, we had thoughts of going to the show, but we ended up changing our mind. We instead went up to Lido for one of the Dive-in Movies: Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

 

We were able to find some loungers without and difficulty and it was really beautiful and refreshing out on the open deck. My wife wanted some popcorn, so I went down to get some and brought it back. We both quickly discovered that it was very bad and not seasoned at all. We didn't finish it needless to say.

 

We probably watched about an hour to an hour and a half of the movie before we got really tired and headed back to the cabin.

 

Overall, Barbados day lived up to it's memory from two years ago. We had another incredible time doing the same excursion. The blue waters of Barbados will always be in my memory when I think of a Caribbean paradise.

 

Next up: St. Lucia and the Land & Sea Combo to Soufrier

 

 

[Jenny in TX]

Enjoying your review so far!

[timenprayer]

Sorry for the delay! Now back to the review!

 

As I was looking through our pictures, I found some more beautiful sunset pictures from when we were leaving Barbados:

 

I also found a picture that we had taken at dinner on Barbados night.

 

After our excellent day in Barbados, we were looking forward to another day in St. Lucia. Because we did a snorkeling and water-based excursion in Barbados, we were looking for something more land-based for St. Lucia. After looking through the Fun Ashore guide, our group decided to go ahead and do the Land and Sea Combo to Soufriere tour. The Combo tour had everything that we wanted for the day - to see a lot of the island of St. Lucia, to see the Pitons, and to spend some time in the water as well. Two years ago on the Victory, my wife and I did the Carnival Adventure Zip Line tour. We had an excellent time zip-lining in St. Lucia and we'd certainly recommend that tour as well - but this time we wanted to actually see more of the island and the Pitons. The Combo tour also offered food, which we have really liked on our previous excursions that we've done through Carnival.

 

Pictures coming into port at St. Lucia:

 

Next post coming soon - I took a lot of pictures on St. Lucia and I can only post six at a time.

 

 

[timenprayer]

I'm not exactly sure what time our excursion left, but I remember that we had breakfast on Lido again that morning. The offerings on Lido are pretty much the same each morning, but they do change out the kind of potatoes. I remember that some mornings were better than others - but again, we're not picky and we're not complainers.

 

A lot of the Carnival excursions on the Valor meet in the Ivanhoe Lounge prior to departure. They then walk you of the lounge, off the ship, and directly to the area from where your tour is departing. This was the case for St. Lucia and we were ushered to a bus that was waiting for us. There were a lot of people doing this tour on this day, so there were actually three buses of excursion goers. I will have forever etched into my memory that we were on Bus 33. The woman that served as our guide was very fun and had a great personality. There were several times throughout the tour that she commented that we were the fun bus. She would say things like "look at those other people on the other buses - no smiles - no fun." She would also do really well at congregating our bus passengers and keeping us together. More than once she said things like "Bus 33 - we make it happen every day." I loved her on-vacation so anything-fun goes mentality. She also seemed to be very proud of the island and her culture.

 

All aboard Bus #33 for our day of fun:

 

 

Leaving the cruise terminal area of St. Lucia:

 

 

Sights from the tour bus as we make our way through Castries, St. Lucia:

 

 

 

 

As we made our way up the narrow, windy streets outside of Castries, we were able to have a photo stop for a good view of the Valor as she was in port that morning:

 

 

Up Next: St. Lucia and the Land & Sea Combo to Soufriere, Continued

[Andoria]

Really great review.

 

I'm going with my parents in 10 days (yay!) and I'm interested in the Barbados tour but I'm wondering if my parents would have a hard time getting on or off the catamaran? My dad isn't in great shape and both my parents are in their 70's. Do you have an opinion?

[timenprayer]

Here is a youtube video that I shot as we were making our way on the streets outside of Castries. You can hear our tour guide and also see how narrow and windy the streets were.

 

GHWD7utWSEQ

 

One of the buildings we saw on the tour - I'm afraid that I don't remember what the guide said it was. Sorry!

 

 

As I mentioned, sitting in the back of the bus as we made our way up and down the hills and over the narrow streets was a bit of an adventure! Some people (my wife) have a different way of dealing with adventure:

 

 

After a while, our tour made a short stop at an area that overlooked Marigot Bay. I was able to take several nice pictures from here:

 

 

 

We probably had 15 or so minutes at this stop and there were a few vendors there selling goods. We looked around for a few minutes but didn't buy anything. There were vendors that came up to folks in the tour and tried to get us to buy stuff, but they weren't overly pushy to my mind.

 

We then continued the tour and stopped in front of some banana trees that were on the island:

 

 

We then headed to the next stop on the tour which was in Anse la Raye. There, we probably stopped for about half an hour for more pictures and shopping. There were many more vendors set up in this area.

 

I was able to make my way to the beach area behind all the vendors to take a few photos:

 

 

More photos from Anse la Raya in the next post...

[timenprayer]

Really great review.

 

I'm going with my parents in 10 days (yay!) and I'm interested in the Barbados tour but I'm wondering if my parents would have a hard time getting on or off the catamaran? My dad isn't in great shape and both my parents are in their 70's. Do you have an opinion?

 

Thanks for reading the review and for your question! We really loved the Barbados tour and can't say enough good things about it.

 

To answer your question, I would say it depends on how well you feel that your dad gets around. The staff on the catamaran from Tiami are excellent - they will certainly offer a hand to help anyone get on or off the catamaran. There were steps to get on and off, but the crew was there to assist. They did ask all guests to remove footwear while getting on (I think because everyone had flip flops on). If your dad can get on and off of an escalator at a shopping mall, I would say that he could get on and off the catamaran. Remember that being at sea comes into play - you'll want to consider how your dad would do with his "sea legs" on. There will be several moments on the tour where he may want to get up and move around the catamaran - lunch is served buffet style - so he would either need to get his lunch himself or I suppose someone could bring it to him.

 

One other thing to consider, there aren't really too many forward facing seats on the catamaran, if that makes sense. There are some rear-facing seats and there are some side-facing seats. All seats are plastic bench style seats, if that makes sense. They are regular height - not too high or too low, but they may be hard to get up from if your dad has any problems standing from a sitting position.

 

Hope this helps! If you have more questions, please ask. :)

[Andoria]

Thanks for reading the review and for your question! We really loved the Barbados tour and can't say enough good things about it.

 

To answer your question, I would say it depends on how well you feel that your dad gets around. The staff on the catamaran from Tiami are excellent - they will certainly offer a hand to help anyone get on or off the catamaran. There were steps to get on and off, but the crew was there to assist. They did ask all guests to remove footwear while getting on (I think because everyone had flip flops on). If your dad can get on and off of an escalator at a shopping mall, I would say that he could get on and off the catamaran. Remember that being at sea comes into play - you'll want to consider how your dad would do with his "sea legs" on. There will be several moments on the tour where he may want to get up and move around the catamaran - lunch is served buffet style - so he would either need to get his lunch himself or I suppose someone could bring it to him.

 

One other thing to consider, there aren't really too many forward facing seats on the catamaran, if that makes sense. There are some rear-facing seats and there are some side-facing seats. All seats are plastic bench style seats, if that makes sense. They are regular height - not too high or too low, but they may be hard to get up from if your dad has any problems standing from a sitting position.

 

Hope this helps! If you have more questions, please ask. :)

 

Very helpful, thank you.

[Jfslp84]

I would just like to point out that I closed my eyes on the tour bus as a way to deal with the very windy roads of St. Lucia. I tend to get a little car sick and we were towards the back of the bus. It's not that I didn't care or want to see the beautiful sights of St. Lucia, it's just that I needed to close my eyes for my own sake to make it through the trip without getting sick on anyone. So, if you get car sick I would recommend taking something before this excursion or sitting toward the front of the bus.

 

Also, I hope this isn't too rude, but the food was terrible on this excursion. We got on the boat part of the tour and the crew really hyped up the food and I was very excited to try some local cuisine like we had in Barbados. However, the food was awful- so bland and I don't think any of us finished our meals. The only redeeming point was that our gluten free friend was able to eat the food as well.

[timenprayer]

I took a lot of photos from Anse la Raya and even a video:

 

 

S4put7FDZjs

 

 

 

As I mentioned, there were several vendors here and plenty of places to buy souvenirs if you were into that sort of thing. I also took some pictures of the artwork in the town as we were leaving.

 

 

There were some great views from the bus as we continued to make our way toward Soufriere.

 

 

As we continued on our way, we at last were able to catch a view of the Pitons. This was the first time that I had actually seen them with my own eyes and I really enjoyed just staring at them. The sky was beautiful with the clouds.

 

 

The bus made a quick stop (with no getting off) when we first caught site of the Pitons. There would be several opportunities for more pictures later and we would be making a stop at a nice overlook a bit later in the tour.

[timenprayer]

Hi everyone! After an extended break, I'm back to finish the review. Sorry for anyone that was awaiting more.

 

After our first view of the Pitons, the bus tour continued to a stop in the road that served as a nice overlook of them. The bus stopped again and we were able to get off and walk around and take some more pictures:

 

 

 

There were lots of vendors there selling local items. There were also folks selling soft drinks and Piton beers. I thought "when else will I be able to do this?' and therefore there is the obligatory Piton beer shot:

 

It was beautiful from this spot to overlook the town of Soufriere. I can't describe the feeling, but it was peaceful and relaxing. To me, it was a very beautiful spot and I will certainly remember it from this trip.

 

After this stop, our bus continued on to the St. Lucia Botanical Gardens. We spent probably about an hour to ninety minutes there. I was able to take several pictures using my new iPhone 6 plus, and I was pretty happy with some of them:

 

Our bus driver actually narrated and led the tour of the botanical gardens as well. She moved at a pretty quick pace, but we were able to keep up and get all the pictures that we wanted. There was a Pixels staff from Carnival with us on this tour, and we took several photos with him, but we never learned exactly where our photos went that he took that day. I'm not sure where those went. We even went to the Pixels desk later on in the cruise to ask, but we never did find the pictures that the photographer took.

 

Next up: The sea portion of the Land and Sea Combo Excursion to Soufriere.

[just4steven]

Thanks for continuing on! Love the double Pitons pic (beer and peaks of course) :D

 

I'll keep checking for updates until The Game next week, then I'll be occupied :D

[timenprayer]

After our time at the St. Lucia Botanical Gardens, we boarded the bus again for a short drive to the pier in Soufriere. On the way there, the tour guide told ridiculous jokes that I thought were funny and family friendly. Once we arrived at the pier, our tour guide had to say good bye, but the tour guides from the other two buses joined us.

 

Everyone from the three buses joined up for this part of the tour and we boarded a large catamaran. On the catamaran, there were patio chairs for sitting on the deck and there were "pew" type seats along the edges, facing the water. As one of the first on board, our group went toward the "pew" type seats along the edges so that we could be closer to the sides to see for pictures. In hindsight, I wish that I had not done that as they were not comfortable at all. The plastic patio chairs that were on the center of the deck were much more comfortable.

 

First of the pictures from the catamaran:

 

 

 

After everyone was seated, the catamaran set "sail" via the powered engine. After about 15 minutes or so, they served lunch.

 

I must tell you that the food on this excursion was amongst the worst that I've ever had while on vacation. This is just my opinion, but the food lacked any kind of taste and it was severely under seasoned. They served some chicken (on the bone, legs and thighs - they called this Creole chicken but I don't think any Creole chicken could ever be seasoned so poorly). They also had some rice, some salad, and bread fruit. The bread fruit was an abomination and tasted really bad. I can't really remember much about the food on this excursion, other than it was really bad. For drinks, they had coke and they later served rum punch after the swimming portion was over.

 

After everyone had eaten, we continued to sail around the shores of St. Lucia. On this day, it was cloudy and there were hit or miss rain showers. The rain would come with a quick down pour and then it would stop just as abruptly as it started. The sun would come out in between the rain and all in all it was a nice day.

 

 

You can see the rain patches on the water:

 

 

After about an hour or so (at least it seemed that long) of sailing, we came to a place where we were going to do some swimming. The pulled the catamaran close to shore and then tied to a palm tree on the beach. We were able to swim there for maybe 45 minutes or so. The beach was not as nice here as in St. John - but it was still a great time. The catamaran was parked far enough out that you still could not touch bottom when you jumped off - but it was only a short swim to where you could touch.

 

One thing that really amazed me was the local vendors that would come right up next to the catamaran and try to sell their goods. They would bring their canoe or boat right next to the catamaran to sell their things. We did not feel comfortable leaving our belongings on the catamaran while we were swimming - that is how close they came - so we had one of group stay behind on the catamaran.

 

You can see one of the vendors in the canoe below headed toward another group that was also on the beach for a swim:

 

 

After the swim, we continued to sail around the edge of St. Lucia toward Marigot Bay. They took the catamaran into the bay so that we could take some pictures:

 

 

Up next: Final thoughts on the land and sea combo tour to Soufriere.

[timenprayer]

Sorry again for the long break. My wife has made it clear to me that I often don't finish what I've started, so I'm back to work toward proving her wrong...

 

I'll pick up where I left off with some final thoughts on the Land and Sea Combo tour that Carnival provides:

1. The tour is really LONG. Both the land and sea portions of the tour seemed to be longer than they needed to be. I was honestly ready to be back to the ship by the time the tour was over.

2. The land portion was extremely bumpy with many twists and turns along the way. If you are easily car sick, I would not take this tour.

3. The food on the tour was terrible. Often when browsing the Fun Ashore excursions book, I like to find tours that offer food so that I can sample the local cuisine - but for this tour, I would NOT recommend the food at all.

4. If you are looking to experience a catamaran, I would also NOT recommend this tour. The "catamaran" we were on was older and much larger. It was also not comfortable at all.

5. All in all - this tour was not my favorite and I would not do it again. That being said, I enjoyed it all right and it was a very nice way to see the island of St. Lucia. I got to see more of the island than I ever had it was a great way of doing that.

 

After the tour had ended, everyone in our group was pretty hungry and tired - so we went up to Lido for a bite to eat before heading back to the stateroom to get cleaned up for dinner. Tonight was the second formal night of the cruise.

 

Prior to dinner, my wife and I visited probably six or so of the ProPortraits backdrops to take some pictures. Up until this cruise, we had never purchased any pictures, but after taking six different poses, we were able to find a couple that we really liked - so we splurged and bought them.

 

Dinner was very good on the second cruise elegant night. I was also impressed because our bar waiter, Gabriel, had pre-populated the table with the soft drinks that we would have ordered anyway. To me, that is the epitome of excellent service - knowing me well enough to anticipate what I want and having it ready to go. To me, Carnival really stands out with how they do this.

 

When we arrived back to our stateroom for the evening, I received a notice that the golf excursion that I had booked for tomorrow in St. Kitt's was cancelled because not enough people had booked the excursion. My buddy that I was traveling with had agreed to go golfing with me while the ladies had a beach day. Honestly, this worked out for the best that Carnival canceled the excursion - because I was able to buy some internet time and get online and book the golf myself. It was a significant savings from the Carnival price and I was happy to save the money.

 

Next Up: Golf at Royal St. Kitt's Golf Club

[rzyjzq]

Thanks for coming back to finish up your review. I know they can be very time consuming, but it is appreciated. I'll be doing the same itinerary in April so looking forward to the rest of it and your great pics!

Susan

[gizmo911]

what a great review