Willdra’s Valiant Venezia Review

willdra · Saturday at 04:12 AM

When Josue returned, he brought me 32oz of pure rum y’all. There was hardly any mix in it at all. I had to call on W to help me drink it. In our family, we have a saying that lets everyone know you are lit, and it's about to go down. It’s “Bonesaw is ready!” So I text “Bonesaw is ready!” to our adult offspring and their spouses and they immediately responded. They knew what was up. This is one of the many reasons why parenting millennials is chef’s kiss. The inside jokes are always inside joking. I love this for us.

willdra · Saturday at 04:20 AM

We took pictures and hung out enjoying the vibe. San Juan has always been one of favorite ports and I’m sure it always will be. It is very near and dear to our hearts, cuz our first Platinum cruise was on the Victory out of San Juan. That was such a phenomenal voyage. A and Z want to do that one again with us, so hopefully Carnival will bring it back. If not, we may have to *wheeze* explore other options.

willdra · Saturday at 04:27 AM

Unfortunately, our back on the bus time was 1:00. I don’t know who in the world decided this, but they will be getting a very strong email of disapproval from me when I find out who to send it to, and when Bonesaw evicts himself(he’s not as sweet as me).

W and I were back on at 12:56. 6 people were still missing. We waited a few minutes and they showed up. We finally shoved off and the guide gave us more info on the way back. He was very good and we did learn a lot. Even down to where to buy the best rum while in port. Tip your tour guides.

Bonesaw has entered the chat

willdra · Saturday at 04:34 AM

Once we got back to the terminal W and I hit the ground running. We needed to visit the Walgreens and the ATM. The Walgreens was crowded and the line was long, so W stood in line as soon as we got there. I ran around the store getting stuff.

My first problem was my bladder. I had to go really bad. There are restrooms in there, thank God, but the women’s was occupied. I stood there waiting in line. A minute later, a woman came out of the men’s room, and I was like “say less” and I started going in there. There weren’t any men waiting to go. There was a guy waiting on his wife who said “I know that’s right! You go girl” when he saw me going in the men’s room. OMG he made me LOL and I almost had an accident! Walgreens was very close to needing a cleanup on Aisle 6!

W often asks me what takes us so long to potty and to this day, I don’t have an answer. I have no idea. What I do know is that I will go in the men’s if it’s one of the single stall, self locking ones, which that one was. There is zero shame in my game when I gotta go. W will even stand guard for me if its sketchy. He would’ve that time, except he was standing in line for me. Choices.

After that, I felt a million times better and I could focus. I got a couple more things and I was good. W wanted some of the little shortbread cookies that I’d picked up for myself, so I went back, and they were 2 for $2. I told him Walgreens normally has better prices when you purchase multiples. I ended up spending $12. God bless whomever thought to put that Walgreens there. That was $12 very well spent.

Next we went to the ATM across the street at Banco Popular. I gave all my cash to Josue for that bucket of rum so I needed to replenish. I didn’t want to use my credit card cuz they have to take your card somewhere to preauthorize it and I don’t like when they have to leave with the card. When they have the mobile machine I’m ok with that. But taking my card away gives me the ick. Especially when I will be out to sea for a long stretch with no access to the innanets.

willdra · Saturday at 04:39 AM

All of our errands were done after that and we got back on the ship around 2:15. Officially back on board time was 3:30. I went back to the cabin to finish notes and get my life together, while W went to find food. I took a few pictures on the balcony, then suddenly my eyelids weighed 20 pounds each. I was losing the fight to keep them open and I was ok with it. When W came back, he took one look at me, closed the curtains, and we were out within seconds. Down goes Frazier.

Cruising_Addict · Saturday at 05:07 AM

1 hour ago, willdra said:

While W and I were standing there waiting for the group to catch up, a lady passed by us with a BBL looking like some bent back paper clips. Now, I’m not a BBL aficionado by any means, however, I do know what a normal derrière should look like, and what it should not look like. I am 100% certain that it should not look pointy like a Dorito chip. I am also certain that a refund is due unto you if you emerge from the BBL procedure, and your body has taken on the shape of an impacted wisdom tooth. Not ideal.

What's a "BBL?"

willdra · Saturday at 05:19 AM

When we woke up it was time to see what we wanted to do for dinner. I checked the menus and the MDR didn’t really appeal to me. W said he wanted to try the Bonsai Teppanyaki on this cruise and this seemed like as good a night as any so I made the reservation for 7:30. It was 6:40, I had no time to waste.

We showered and left the cabin at 7:22. It was nice to be able to just walk down 1 flight of stairs and arrive at our destination. We were seated on sight and I got the party started by ordering a Geisha. W ordered an Asahi beer. That Geisha was great! It packed just the right amount of punch. After we got our drinks the hostess took our food orders. We had one shellfish allergy at the table so they would cook all of the crustaceans last. I chose filet mignon and shrimp. W asked for lobster and shrimp. The meal started with the small appetizers which were all nice. They were brought out one by one, and we didn’t have to order them. The salad and pork belly was my fave of those. I like miso soup too, I just liked those better.

willdra · Saturday at 05:25 AM

Jose from the Philippines was our chef. He did a great job keeping us entertained while cooking. That garlic butter that they use really adds a lot of flavor to the dishes. There were 3 dipping sauces also which complimented the different entrees. I found that I could eat the food with or without the sauce they were good either way.

Needless to say I couldn’t finish it all. Especially not all of that rice. I ate my proteins tho.

willdra · Saturday at 05:28 AM

After dinner we got a bento box of dessert. The green tea ice cream was the best for me. All in all it was a very tasty meal and I’m happy that we went. We will definitely be adding this into the rotation in the future.

Edited Saturday at 05:38 AM by willdra
Editing

willdra · Saturday at 05:44 AM

Entertainment was lacking that night. W and I walked around a little and perused some shops. The main lobby was bustling with activity so we sat out there for awhile talking to a couple who’d been married for 62 years. When it was obvious that nothing interesting was going to present itself we went back to the cabin. We got on the elevator and 8 people got on too. 6 of them got off on the next floor. Wow. We are doing that? Yeah it's really time to go back to the cabin.

willdra · Saturday at 05:54 AM

Back in the cabin we watched something on TCM read our books, talked at the tv and each other then turned in.

Before I fell asleep I said a prayer for the city of Nashville where our male millennial currently resides. Oh he’s doing fine. The reason for the prayer is cuz the word on these innanet streets, is the cicadas in Nashville are spinning the block and wreaking havoc on folks up there. Cicadas are jacking cars, catalytic converters, and little kid’s bikes. They’re stealing Uber Eats and Amazon packages off of porches y’all. Gangsters aren't buying bullets anymore, they’re robbing people with cicadas! Just throwing cicadas at folks to make ‘em give up the goods. It’s not safe to walk out to your car with your mouth uncovered, cuz they will fly in your mouth. IN.YOUR.MOUTH! Imma tell y’all right now. If a cicada so much as flies in my general direction, my soul shall depart my body, and ascend to the pearly gates. Anything of mine that a cicada touches, will immediately without question, belong to said cicada. I’m talking purse, wig, dog, ponytail, car, house, W, ANYTHING.

God please eradicate Beelzebub’s beetles expeditiously. Whatever Nashville did, they are sorry, they learned their lesson, and they promise they won’t ever do it again. Amen.

P.S. Please don’t let them (cicadas) come to the ATL, cuz we tote that iron, we want all the smoke, and it’s on sight. JK, we're terrified!!!!!!!

willdra · Saturday at 06:10 AM

49 minutes ago, Cruising_Addict said:

What's a "BBL?"

A Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL) is a surgery where a doctor transfers fat from the belly, hips, lower back, or thighs to the buttocks. Unfortunately, results may vary. 😱

Destaw71835 · Saturday at 07:08 PM

I am considering the same excursion in San Juan for my December cruise but the Carnival reviews on the beach part of the excursion 😱. It looks like you guys had a great time though.

cruises42 · Sunday at 01:44 AM

21 hours ago, willdra said:

We walked around some more, getting a lot of history and taking pictures, then it was time to get back on the bus. We couldn’t even get on the bus right. W and I were done early, so we went to get back on, but there was a lady in front of me talking to the driver. Alright,no problem, but she stopped right at the top step, thus blocking me from getting on. I waited a couple of minutes for her to either step to the side so we could pass, or conclude the conversation. She did neither. Ok. We’re on vacation, no stress. I give her another couple of minutes, since the rest of the group was still making their way back. I was just standing 1 step below her mind you, doing the mannequin challenge. Nada. She kept on with the “bok bok bok”. After waiting very patiently, I had to say “Um excuse me”. Then she huffed and moved. How come? Was she not expecting anyone to get back on the bus? Ever? W laughed, he knows I don’t like to have to be assertive like that, but there are times when I refuse to suffer in silence. Her grace period expired.

We were on this tour with you and are in one of the pictures above.

DebOinKC · Sunday at 09:51 PM

@willdra what was the name of the excursion that you did in SJ?

noshoobie · 2024-07-01T13:35:11Z

On 6/29/2024 at 12:20 AM, willdra said:

We took pictures and hung out enjoying the vibe. San Juan has always been one of favorite ports and I’m sure it always will be. It is very near and dear to our hearts, cuz our first Platinum cruise was on the Victory out of San Juan. That was such a phenomenal voyage. A and Z want to do that one again with us, so hopefully Carnival will bring it back. If not, we may have to *wheeze* explore other options.

Ahhhh.... the first 3 pictures in this post shows the ESJ. This is where we stay when we go to PR. It has such great views of Isla Verde. We love that beach and I highly recommend for anyone visiting San Juan. Thanks for the pix.....brings back great memories.

willdra · 2024-07-02T00:04:55Z

On 6/30/2024 at 5:51 PM, DebOinKC said:

@willdra what was the name of the excursion that you did in SJ?

It was "Explore San Juan & Pristine Beach". The reviews are horrendous, but I will admit, I didn't read them ahead of time, so I wasn't disappointed. I also neglected to read the description of the excursion, I had no idea (until just now) what we were "supposed" to be doing and seeing. I think this is one that W picked and I just said "ok" cuz he liked it. Yeah that's it. We'll go with that. 😉

DebOinKC · 2024-07-02T00:32:36Z

26 minutes ago, willdra said:

It was "Explore San Juan & Pristine Beach". The reviews are horrendous, but I will admit, I didn't read them ahead of time, so I wasn't disappointed. I also neglected to read the description of the excursion, I had no idea (until just now) what we were "supposed" to be doing and seeing. I think this is one that W picked and I just said "ok" cuz he liked it. Yeah that's it. We'll go with that. 😉

It's not even listed on my shore excursions. But my cruise isn't until next October 😁

willdra · 2024-07-02T00:42:52Z

Venezia Day 7~Amber Cove

We had another excursion on this day. We were doing the “All Inclusive 2 Reef Snorkel by Sailing Catamaran”. The tickets said meet at 8:30 but we didn’t dock until 9. The departure time was 9:15. We decided to just go to the Marco Polo Restaurant at 9 to meet our tour. I was also going to check my emails when I got home cuz I found it hard to believe that I selected all of these early morning departure times. Who was getting up this early everyday? Not even happy vacation me wanted to do that!

This particular morning is one of the reasons I set 2 alarms. I never heard the first one. That second one tho. It went off at 7:15. At 7:17 I heard it and got up. Look, don’t judge me, judge your ankles. We’ve had a lot going on, for people of W’s age.

When W popped up, he was congested. I threw the Mucinex in my bag before leaving the house as an after thought. I told W “this is just in case you get sick, cuz we will be gone a long time”. Of the two of us, W will always be the one to get sick. I rarely catch whatever he has, thank God. I still think it’s cuz my mom used to make me and all of my siblings take a teaspoon of cod liver oil every night before bed without fail. That stuff was disgusting, it tasted like anger and agony, but it worked. We never got sick. Still don't.

I dug the Mucinex out of the suitcase and just handed it to him, with a look that said “Do I know you or what?!!”. I did low key feel a little bad for him tho. I had him walking across the Brooklyn Bridge (and all over New York) in the cold rain. This was almost inevitable. Shhhh. Don’t remind him tho.

W took the meds and we handled our hygiene. We still had time, so I checked us into the Canal Grande Restaurant for sit down breakfast. W and I usually eat the same stuff every day and I didn’t feel like going up and standing in Lido lines for it. I already knew he didn’t want to either. The wait was nonexistent, as soon as I checked in, our table was ready. It was 8:01.

Edited 15 hours ago by willdra
Editing

willdra · 2024-07-02T00:51:29Z

We got down there quickly and sat down. W realized he didn’t have his phone when we went to look at the menu. He ordered from the paper one, then went back and got it. I can’t say enough about the service so far in the restaurant. There have been some exceptions, but overall it has been positive. They checked on us throughout, and they really seemed to care. I ordered the Waffles, Ham and Cheese Omelet, and Bacon. Our food came out super quick, and everything was delicious. No complaints.

The ship was docking while we were eating breakfast. Them thrusters were thrusting. We could tell cuz suddenly, the ship was shaking its aft.

willdra · 2024-07-02T01:06:25Z

Since our tickets were printed in conflict and confusion, W decided we should leave at 8:50. When we got to Marco Polo we sat for maybe 2 minutes then they led us all off of the ship. This meetup was just the “express lane”. We had to go down into the crew area at the end. While we were leaving, they stopped letting people off, and everyone else had to wait for us to exit together. As we were walking out, one guy said very loudly, “half of these people don’t even have tickets”, when we passed him. Somebody please tell me how he could possibly know what “half of these people had or didn’t have?” See this is how one F’s Around and Finds Out. Minding your own business is free Cleetus. #myob2024

When we got outside, we walked thru the Dufry to our tour meetup in Zone 3. Our tour was assembling when we got there. They told us we had an hour bus ride, so we should go potty. You don’t have to tell me twice. I went. The bus pulled off at 9:30. As we were leaving, W said “Is this the first time we’ve left the cruise area here?” You know what. I think it is. Of the times W and I have gone to Amber Cove, we’ve always just stayed in the cruise port area. We didn't think there was much need to travel outside the gates until we started looking at shore excursions. We were shocked at how many options there were, and it really made us want to explore the area some.

One of these days, I will put together all of the pics of me following W. I do that a lot!

willdra · 2024-07-02T01:09:38Z

rwest898 · 2024-07-02T01:17:18Z

32 minutes ago, willdra said:

Venezia Day 7~Amber Cove

We had another excursion on this day. We were doing the “All Inclusive 2 Reef Snorkel by Sailing Catamaran”. The tickets said meet at 8:30 but we didn’t dock until 9. The departure time was 9:15. We decided to just go to the Marco Polo Restaurant at 9 to meet our tour. I was also going to check my emails when I got home cuz I found it hard to believe that I selected all of these early morning departure times. Who was getting up this early everyday? Not even happy vacation me wanted to do that!

This particular morning is one of the reasons I set 2 alarms. I never heard the first one. That second one tho. It went off at 7:15. At 7:17 I heard it and got up. Look, don’t judge me, judge your ankles. We’ve had a lot going on, for people of W’s age.

When W popped up, he was congested. I threw the Mucinex in my bag before leaving the house as an after thought. I told W “this is just in case you get sick, cuz we will be gone a long time”. Of the two of us, W will always be the one to get sick. I rarely catch whatever he has, thank God. I still think it’s cuz my mom used to make me and all of my siblings take a teaspoon of cod liver oil every night before bed without fail. That stuff was disgusting, it tasted like anger and agony, but it worked. We never got sick. Still don't.

I dug the Mucinex out of the suitcase and just handed it to him, with a look that said “Do I know you or what?!!”. I did low key feel a little bad for him tho. I had him walking across the Brooklyn Bridge (and all over New York) in the cold rain. This was almost inevitable. Shhhh. Don’t remind him tho.

W took the meds and we handled our hygiene. We still had time, so I checked us into the Canal Grande Restaurant for sit down breakfast. W and I usually eat the same stuff every day and I didn’t feel like going up and standing in Lido lines for it. I already knew he didn’t want to either. The wait was nonexistent, as soon as I checked in, our table was ready. It was 8:01.

You brought back memories with the cod liver oil..lol..we had to take one teaspoon every night before bed, worse tasting thing ever but I didn't get sick too often

willdra · 2024-07-02T01:23:32Z

After the long bus ride, we parked on the side of the road and walked through a public beach area. It looked like a place where someone would pester you all day long to buy stuff. I was right too cuz even as we were getting ready to do what we were doing, boosters were trying us. Señor. I do not want fried plantains and pineapples right now. Don’t you see we are trying not to die??

We had to listen to important instructions. First we needed to take our shoes off and get all the sand off. They did not want sand on the catamaran. Then we had to put them in our bags. After that, we put on life jackets and jumped in a little speedboat. The little speedboat took us to the catamaran in groups. I don’t remember doing that before so I really needed to pay attention. W and I were in the second group.

It was a short ride to the catamaran. When we climbed aboard, we rinsed off our feet. They are serious about not getting excess sand in the boat. After everyone boarded, we rode out a few minutes to the first snorkel point. I stayed on, and messed around with my gadgets. I swear by the time I learn how to operate my GoPro, it will be obsolete. I remembered to bring the clip which is helpful. I can clip it to my hat, my dress, or my bag. I made videos with the clip in different places to see which ones came out the best. Have I looked at those videos since we've been back? Absolutely not!