June '16 Valor - 8 day Southern Caribbean Review - with pictures

[ohiokate]

Subscribed! We leave on the Valor next week. Different ports, but I hope the menus are the same!

[themerle]

Really enjoying your review. Love all the food photos! I'm bad about ordering the same dishes. Your photos make me want to try some new dishes! Thanks!

[TJ92813]

Enjoying your review

[bailey57]

We went to Divi Aruba All Inclusive Resort. I didn't take any pictures of the chairs but there are some GREAT pictures on tripadvisor. Especially the traveler photos.

 

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g147248-d150688-Reviews-Divi_Aruba_All_Inclusive-Oranjestad_Aruba.html

 

Hi - Thanks - that looks beautiful, and not as crowded as I'd imagine it would be at Eagle... (any thoughts on that?). Do you have any tips on how to find Carl? Name on the van or anything? And did you snorkel from there? If it's a really sandy bottom, probably not the best spot for that. Thanks!! :)

Edited July 21, 2016 by bailey57

[missync]

Hi - Thanks - that looks beautiful, and not as crowded as I'd imagine it would be at Eagle... (any thoughts on that?). Do you have any tips on how to find Carl? Name on the van or anything? And did you snorkel from there? If it's a really sandy bottom, probably not the best spot for that. Thanks!! :)

 

I don't know about Eagle Beach. I had read up on it but we just went with this guy instead. I know I have his card somewhere so I'll look for it tonight and try to get that info on here tomorrow.

There wasn't really any snorkeling there. Water was very clear but there wasn't any reefs or anything so no fish. My nephew tried but said he didn't see anything. We didn't go out super deep though.

Resort was quite private. We didn't see many people at all (which was nice). Pool was actually busier than the beach which I find kind of odd but to each his own. I'll try to find that info about Carl!

[missync]

Aruba continued...

 

So after dinner my brother, SIL, and nephew got back off the ship to look around the city. We went to the open air market across the street for gifts to take home. They all had pretty much the same stuff for the same prices. One thing to note...Arubans don't really haggle much like a lot of other islands. It wasn't a problem, just letting you all know!

 

We continued wandering a looking at the shops but found that my nephew, who is 17, wasn't allowed in a lot of places (casino, bars, etc). It's not surprising really but just something we hadn't really thought about. I did make a quick pit stop in the casino so my SIL could use the restroom but didn't play. Looked like a decent place. She said the bathroom was very fancy lol

We eventually got a cab and went to Palm Beach to look around. I'd definitely like to go back to explore more but we had to be back on the ship by 10:30pm or so so we didn't get a lot of time to explore. A quick gelato stop - DELISH - and we were headed back to the ship.

 

[missync]

like most nights I went to the Dive in Movies but tonight was especially exciting!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I LOVE Star Wars!! I'm a huge fan so I was really excited to watch this on the ship.

[wendynat]

Aruba continued...

 

So after dinner my brother, SIL, and nephew got back off the ship to look around the city. We went to the open air market across the street for gifts to take home. They all had pretty much the same stuff for the same prices.

 

Do you remember what time you got back off the boat? I'd heard that all the shops near port closed by 5 or 6, but it sounds like the open air market for souvenirs is open later - am I reading that right? If so, that's awesome :)

[SummerXU]

Anxiously waiting for more! :D

[missync]

Do you remember what time you got back off the boat? I'd heard that all the shops near port closed by 5 or 6, but it sounds like the open air market for souvenirs is open later - am I reading that right? If so, that's awesome :)

 

We got back off around 7:30-8pm after dinner. A lot of the big shops were closed by that time but the souvenir shops all stayed open later than that.

[TNShadyLady]

Our last cruise there really wasn't a dive-in movie that tempted us, so we never watched one. Sounds like you had some great movies to watch! So I'm wondering, is it easy to hear what's going on in the movie, like normal conversations and such? Are there just giant speakers, or speakers placed around so it can be heard from everywhere?

[siestakeys04]

Nice review we're leaving from nc for the valor in November also. Enjoying the food pictures

 

 

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[easyboy]

Great photos.thanks for the review.

[missync]

Our last cruise there really wasn't a dive-in movie that tempted us, so we never watched one. Sounds like you had some great movies to watch! So I'm wondering, is it easy to hear what's going on in the movie, like normal conversations and such? Are there just giant speakers, or speakers placed around so it can be heard from everywhere?

 

Sorry I've been MIA for so long. I have more and intend to finish my review but work has been insane!

 

Yes you can hear the movie well and still have a conversation. It's not as loud as a movie theatre would be especially if it's really windy on deck but i never had a problem hearing anything.

[missync]

sorry ya'll!! After many many weeks of nothing, i'm back to try to finish this or at least get a little more done!

 

Curacao

 

We docked at the port in Curacao and a few of us immediately went to pick up our rental cars. We had a group of 8 adults and all the larger vehicles were gone so we settled with 2 small ones. The price was actually about the same and we figured this way we could split up if we really wanted to (we didn't lol). There are a few different locations you can rent from in Curacao so be aware of then when you rent. I booked from Avis at the Howard Johnson (about 10 min walk from port). The ONLY reason why we rented there is because they had vehicles available and the Avis at the Megapier did not. It was a quick and easy walk and we were actually able to return the cars at the port BUT i would confirm that wherever you rent. The original agreement did not mention this. I was told by the lady at the Avis desk that we could return there. Like i said...double check whatever you do.

So, we picked up 2 Kia Picante cars. They are pretty small and not meant for more than 4 people but you might be able to squeeze 5 if they are small. my family is not lol. Another thing to note, they were manual transmission...aka stick shift. I don't think they have a lot of automatics on the island but definitely check into that if you don't know how to drive a stick shift. It had been a few years for the two of us who drove but we figured it out pretty quickly!

Another thing to note about Curacao...GET A GOOD MAP!! We got a small map from the info kiosk right at the pier...it was garbage. I got a better map from the lobby of the Howard Johnson where we picked up the cars. It still wasn't great but better than the one from the pier. GPS would be extremely helpful if you have that availability also. The problem with the maps? not all of the streets were on the map. the problem with driving in Curacao? not all the streets are marked. doesn't make for a good combo :(

Many of the local streets were missing signs or only had half of the sign. we guessed a lot and ended up in the wrong place frequently so that was frustrating but we finally figured it out! the moral of this story...get a good map!

 

Our main plan in Curacao was to find a decent beach and my nephew and I were doing a Sea Trek helmet dive. I had an address but with the streets not being well marked, we searched for the Sea Trek location for a very long time. Thankfully we didn't miss our scheduled time.

 

 

 

The helmet dive was awesome. It was kinda windy that day so the water was pretty wavy and we were tossed around a bit but the divers helped with that so we didn't just fall over lol. The helmets are really heavy apparently but when you are underwater you definitely don't notice it. It kinda feels like it's going to fall off but i don't think it actually would. That's why were both have our hands on it. it's not necessary but just feels more secure that way.

I HIGHLY recommend it!! Sea Trek has a website but there is no way to sign up online for the Curacao location so you just email them and they'll set everything up. Hans was super easy to work with and communicated well both before we got there and while we were there. They use a GoPro to video and take pictures (hence the pictures on here) but that is an additional cost of $30 US for all of it on a flashdrive. We got a lot of pictures and videos. Cost of the dive is about $78/person but it was truly a once in a lifetime thing! So much easier than scuba (your face never even gets wet) and you are so much closer to everything than snorkeling.

There are divers with you the entire time and you are only about 20-30 feet down so even if something were to go wrong, you'd be able to get to the surface really easily. We had absolutely no issues so I don't anticipate anyone else having any either.

[missync]

 

 

 

 

 

Those pictures are all views from the Sea Trek headquarters. I loved that you could see the ship from there. It looks a little closer than it actually was because it definitely wasn't easy to get to lol

The white bouys in the water were the area that we did the helmet dive. you walk out there and then move to the right where it gets deeper and you can see more. There were tons of fish and they give you a bottle with fish food in it so you can feed them which was neat. The area at the breakers marks where the water gets REALLY deep. The guys told me that it is at least 400 metres down and gets deeper from there. obviously we didn't go that far

 

I have no idea what this sign means but it was huge (letters were probably 10-15 feet tall) and it made me laugh. It was in a small park across from a few cafes and not far from some shops and a small outdoor market. very close to the water as well.

[missync]

Dinner time!!!!

 

app menu

 

peach soup - very good! creamy and tasted just like what you'd expect...peachy

[missync]

dinner menu

 

farfalle with roast turkey - good. creamy and flavorful. possibly a little too thick but i enjoyed it.

 

pork loin - very good. nice and tender and had great flavor. veggies were a little too done for my mom's liking but she enjoyed it!

 

stroganoff - not mine - my brother loved it! didn't like the egg with it but said it was delicious overall!

 

lamb - not mine - very good! my uncle said it was just the way he liked it and he really enjoyed it.

[missync]

dessert menu

 

bitter and blanc - LOVED IT!!!! this is one of my favorites!! a little crunch to it (just crispy edges) but soft inside and very flavorful but not too sweet

 

coconut cake - also amazing! nice and sweet but not too sweet. very creamy and light

[FlaParrotHead]

Thanks for the review and pictures!

 

 

 

We've been on the Chef's Table a few times and have been told that they always make WCMC 3 ways, Well Done, Medium and Rare (so mostly cake, balanced and mostly melted). You can ask for it that way.

 

 

 

I've also had some servers look at me weird when I ask for it that way the first time, but by the 2nd or 3rd day our server always says "Mr Bloom, WCMC, medium rare, 2 ice-creams?" ;)

 

 

Wow!! 25years of WCMC and I've never heard that. It just shows that we can all learn something new every day (even here on CC).

 

 

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[cruisequeen4ever]

Mi Dushi means "my sweet/sweetie" [emoji3]

 

 

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[missync]

Mi Dushi means "my sweet/sweetie" [emoji3]

 

 

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Good to know lol. We just kept making jokes about douche. very mature, I know. :p

[missync]

Sea Day!

 

I got up around 9am and went to the buffet for breakfast. It was pretty much the same fare every day but it's decent so no complaints here. Then i found a spot by the pool. It was a struggle, like every day, but I found one and relaxed to enjoy the sun.

There was some trivia that afternoon that I went to with some of the family as well...Hunger Games trivia (they need to work on the questions and make sure they have the correct answers lol) and a 90's music trivia. There was also Star Wars trivia. I won none of them :( but it was fun.

I wish I had more excitement to report about today but it was a good day.

Dinner time!!!

[missync]

appetizer menu

 

Corn chowder - DELICIOUS!! I really enjoyed it. It had a great flavor but could have had more chunks!

 

seafood platter - not mine - I'm told it was very good but was a VERY small amount of food.

 

Bing Cherry Soup - this is how it starts and then they pour the cream soup on top

Cherry Soup - very good! nice and creamy with a great flavor. tasted kind of like a melted cherry milkshake

[missync]

Escargot - not mine - He said it was really good but could have used more cheese. good flavor though.