Come Join The Valor Voyagers 6/12/05 Western Caribbean

[lhall85917]

Wow, talk about traumatized - if I show up with just a thong and my hat the whole ship might be in shock. :eek: ; however, I like the idea of doing this just to save a deck chair - I may just have to print that idea up and put in my notebook with other cruise tips! :D
I may have to start spending more time on the fashion board - maybe get advice for waxing, swimsuits, hair,... I could totally embarrass my daughter and the rest of the family! :o

Other than Carlos and Charlies :eek: , is anyone doing anything beside the beaches in Cozumel? We were planning on renting a car and driving around the island and still might do that, but we are also interested in the dune buggy trip. Is anyone familiar with this? Its $89/person - so I'm trying to see if there are discounts or some way to make it a bit cheaper, but it sounds like fun. The one we have seen is through Eagle Ray Divers.

[Marcys]

Here's a link to the new thread called "Live from Valor." [url="http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=172035"]http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=172035[/url]

Sharon, we're still debating what to do in Cozumel...the dune buggy excursion which my son really wants to do, SNUBA at Chankanaab, or back to Paradise Beach. I think we'll be exhausted by the 4th port following late nights on the ship. Maybe sleeping in and moseying over to Paradise Beach for lunch might be the thing...before the wild night at CNC!! ;)

[Snowball]

I plan sleeping in that morning, then relaxing at Paradise Beach for most of the afternoon when we are in Cozumel. That way I'll be well rested for Carlos N' Charlies that night. I'll probably eat dinner on the ship, then go to the bar afterwards. I heard that the dining room has a good dinner that night (I can't remember if they said it was prime rib or filet mignon), so I'd hate to miss out.

[VOLEYMOM]

Maybe that is how we could find each other. All of us in thongs!!! Do you think our husbands and kids will get in the spirit of things and wear one too? Wish I had the body for a thong, but really have never seen anyone that looks good in one, except maybe for the airbrushed models!!!
Hope everyone had a great weekend. Spent the whole weekend at my daughters waterpolo tournament. Very exciting. They won and now will play in the NCAA Womens Waterpolo Championship at the Univ. of Michigan. This is the first time that a div 3 team has been invited. Of course they will get their butts kicked but it will just be fun getting to go. I will be going with other parents and now will get to see Michigan. Anybody with some good ideas for Ann Arbor? I am trying to wrap up cruise shopping before too long. My month of May is crazy.
I will try and start buying somethings for the orphange also. Thanks for the list of needed items. When you hear of such needs it really makes you appreciative of how much we have.
I love the book thread and Debbie I have a great series of books that I have read. The first book in the series is Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. It is a long book, perfect for cruising. I think I have read the whole series during my cruises.
Hope everyone had a great week.
Rebecca

[lhall85917]

Its good to hear we are all on the same page about thongs - we can get together and gawk at those wearing them with our noses high in the air knowing we would NEVER do anything so gauche! :eek:
Rebecca - sounds like you had an exciting weekend! Good luck to your daughter and her team.
I dont know if anyone is still looking into dune buggies for Cozumel. I received an email today from Eagle Ray Divers. Their tour is $89 (16th person free if we have a group). I was concerned about times because their tour starts at 10:15 local time and we dont dock until 10 their time. They told me that if all 5 of us book they will wait for us, they have had others from the Valor and they usually make it by 10:45. Just wanted to let you know that in case you were thinking about it.

[Marcys]

Sure, I think wearing a thong to our meet and greet is a great idea!!:D

I just got home from my son's track meet. It was soooo cold, 38 degrees with snow, sleet, and hail! On May 2nd!!:eek:

Rebecca, good luck and have fun in Michigan!

[Marcys]

Sharon, I know you've been looking at dune buggies in Cozumel. Here's an older thread that I saved on the different companies. don't know if it's helpful.

[url="http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=98361"]http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=98361[/url]

[lhall85917]

Thanks Marcy its perfect. They mention booking onboard the ship for the same price but I don't see an excursion for the dune buggies through Carnival when I look at "my reservation". Am I missing something or do you know if there is one?

[Marcys]

Sharon, I don't think all the excursions are online. Don't we have a full list of excursions on our website? I know that Solita said the Eco Jeep and Snorkel through the ship was good, too. Did you see that one?


A few minutes later.....

Actually, I just went to the excursion list on our web page. There seeems to be jeep, truck, ATV tours, but I don't see one that days "dune buggy."

[lhall85917]

I don't see one either. I guess we'll keep checking - we're interested, just want to be sure we can get there on time, also want to be sure there's not a better deal out there. Or.... a better thing to do. Just call me :confused:

[Corl4]

Rebecca - I LOVE the Outlander series...I've read them all! I actually have a hard time reading on the ship. If I'm sitting by the pool, I do more people watching than reading and then end up reading the same page over and over again! Congrats to your daughter and her team. I really miss watching my DD play field hockey and going to all those tournaments!

Marcy - It;s really cold here in PA too! I'm ready for some nice spring weather..looks like we might get it this weekend!

Debbie - Thanks for the directions...we ended up taking a tour of north Philly but we got off 95 too soon! Oh well, got there in plenty of time and had a great brunch at the Continental Mid-town. Have you ever been to Cuba Libre? It looks awesome! We're going to try that next time we're in town!

HAve a good week!

Beth

[Marcys]

Sharon, here's a copy of an e-mail I got from Solita about the Eco Jeep tour:

Hola Marcy,

Sorry it took me long to answer. Mahahual was just wonderful - I am ready to move there!

Anyway, unless you are coming on RCCL, you book directly through the ship. If you are on RCCL, then I can still help you. More in a second on that.

What makes the Eco Jeep excursion so great in my opinion is a combo of things...first is the staff. They are safety consious and have personality oozing out. They sincerely enjoy their job. Second is Punta Sur. You get to go all the way to the most southern point of the island and see this lush nature habitat. You get a tour of the lighthouse with its incredible view, a guided tour/talk about the crocodiles in the lagoon, and the best part...the snorkeling! It is some of the best here I think. The guides have an inflatable dingy they use to assist snorkelers either with getting out to the reef or a sag wagon. Gorgous little beach area.

Then the off roading is on dirt/gravel trails...not sand like the other tours. I personally can´t stand driving or even riding in sand.

If you are coming in on RCCL, then you can still do the tour. Just let me know when you are coming. They guys will let you know what time to be on the pier. The only thing is you can´t charge it to your ship card - you have to pay cash when you get here.

If you are interested or have any other questions, just let me know.

hasta luego,
Caro

[sebastian01]

I guess I haven't posted in a while, but I sure have enjoyed reading all the interesting posts. I mean thongs and personal choice of reading material. I have to say my dimpled bottom will not look very fetching in dental floss.

Sharon, I just wanted to let you know that I have also been searching all over for the dune buggy tours for cozumel. Eagle Ray is the only one that will allow us to show up late. They have a 10am departure, but said they will wait for us till 1045am. This one is a much longer trip than the buggy/snorkle one that the cruise offers. I have booked with them. They require a deposit sent to them to hold the spot.

I've also decided to book the holiday inn bayside. I just kept going back to that hotel due to the convenience of location. I will try and get the cruise package that they have.

I decided to go the same route as sharon in roatan. I am waiting to hear back from victor to see if I can book with him. We want to do the zip line, iquana farm, and general site seeing.

I think I have all my shopping done for myself. Now I just have to get my husband's done.

Sharon, when do the documents go out. Also thanks for the stuff in the mail.

Kim

[cruiserkathi]

Hello: I think we'll all sleep in and then head off to the beach in Cozumel. We'll join you at CnC after dinner. The dune-buggy excursion sounds great, though. I've found our room numbers!! 9283 and 9285. I e-mailed Brad at the orphanage in Roatan again to double-check about letting people on the ship know about taking boxes/suitcases etc. off the ship. I'll post his response. It was sleeting here today in Indiana! Can't wait to "sail away." Have a good week, everyone.

[Snowball]

Kim - we'll probably get our docs somewhere between 20-30 days before the cruise. I wouldn't count on getting them much earlier then that, but if we do I certainly won't mind doing the doc dance a little sooner than expected. :cool:

Kathy - congrats on the upgrade!!! :D I think some others in the group were upgraded to the same deck as you, but I don't remember who it was. What beach are you going to in Cozumel? I'm going to Paradise Beach, and was wondering if you were going there too.

Beth - your tour of North Philly must have been interesting (for lack of a better word :o ). I'm glad you like the Continental. Is Cuba Libre on Walnut Street? If so, I've walked past it, but never ate there.

I bought a few cruise essentials this weekend - sunblock and bug spray with DEET. I definitely don't want to take my chances with the mosquito bites and botfly larvae. :eek: Oh, and I painted my toenails for the first time this season. Must really mean that spring is here.

[TaraLynne]

Hi everyone! I was directed here from another board. My husband and I are sailing on the Valor on June 12th also...and I can't wait!!! Joining us on the cruise are my parents and my two younger sisters. I'm happy to find a board with such a lengthy thread on this particular cruise! :)

[lhall85917]

Hi Ickle....!! Glad you found us, we have had a great time getting to know each other before the cruise - can't wait to meet all my new friends! I'm sure there is no way to go through all the threads, perhaps you can share some of your plans? If you want to get to know us a little better our website is [url]http://home.cinci.rr.com/valorvoyagers[/url]. There's a link at the bottom of the page to email me your bio if you want to add it to ours. :D
Kathy, we are close to you - 9267, it looks like a great place to be.
Kim, you have booked with Eagle Ray for sure? I know they'll wait if there are several of us. We haven't booked yet, but maybe we can get busy and make up our minds!! It helps to know that there will be others they have to wait for.

Sharon

[VOLEYMOM]

Looks like they put some of us together. We have room 9279 and 9243. We will all be neighbors. I think I should start training for stairs. We usually try and never take an elevator. I might just have to break our rule. I am not sure I would make it up all those flights of stairs.
Sorry you are having crummy weather. Think we sent it your way. Was cold and rainy here on Thursday. Supposedly another storm to hit us on Thursday. Can hardly wait for warm sun and cold pina coladas. Hey, think there is a song there!!!
Have a great week everyone,
Rebecca

[sebastian01]

Sharon, I plan on sending my deposit today when i get home from work, then emailing eagle ray to tell them the money is on the way and to have them hold two spots. My husband wants to drive a dune buggy on the beach and this is the only one that I could find. Kim

[Marcys]

Hi! Still haven't decided on what to do in Cozumel. My son and I would love to go with you on the dune buggy excursion, but the rest of the family isn't so excited. BTW, do you guys know how to drive a stick??? I think by then we will be exhausted and may just sleep in and meet Debbie over at Paradise Beach! They do massages...so maybe just relax with a beach massage. Debbie, last year my son ran into a big group of teens from the ship and hung out with them on the water trampoline, away from the parents!! We also met PB Tom...he's handsome!!;)


ickletarakins, welcome to our group! The more the merrier!! Like Sharon said, check out our website and, if you want, post your info, too! What's your name??

Kim, we'll also be at the Holiday Inn, Bayside. This will be our third time staying there. Unfortunately, we don't get in until late Saturday night! If you wear your thong to breakfast I'm sure I'll recognize you!!:eek:

[Snowball]

Hi Tara!!! Glad you found us!! Reading through this long thread ought to keep you busy for a while. :p Most of our "get to know you" info is on the website that Sharon posted a link to - you should check it out and e-mail Sharon to put your bio on there. What are you planning to do at each port? Is this your first cruise?

Marcy - I'm hoping that my daughter will have friends to hang out with at Paradise Beach. She's not much of a beach person, but if she has friends there she'll be fine.

For those of you that were upgraded to the lido deck - I think you'll love having your cabins there. I had a balcony cabin on the lido deck when I sailed on the Destiny, and thought it was so convenient and didn't experience any extra noise.

[TaraLynne]

My real name is Tara, for those of you who don't know :)

So far, our plans for the cruise are as follows: In Belize, we're doing the Goff's Caye tour through Carnival; on Grand Cayman, we're doing the big general tour that takes you to see Hell, the Turtle Farm, and the Stingrays, once again through Carnival; and in Cozumel, my father and husband are going deep sea fishing, while myself, my mother, and my two sisters spend the day at Chankanaab. On Roatan, we just plan on having a lazy beach day :) I'm most excited about Cozumel, because we're going to be there until 11...we plan on going back to eat dinner on the ship, but I know that there is a Fat Tuesdays (great bar!) at the port, and we definitely plan on hanging out there until we *have* ;) to get back on the ship.

I've only been on one cruise before, and that was five years ago, so I am going stir-crazy right now waiting for this one!

[Marcys]

Hi Tara!! In Cozumel, a group of us are planning on going to Carlos N Charlies, if you want to come. We even have a designated "Get us to the correct ship on time" person!! :eek: What dinner seating do you have?

[TaraLynne]

We have the earliest dinner seating...either 6:15 or 6:30? I'm not 100% sure of the exact time, because we booked our cruise so long ago and I've contacted my travel agent so many times with different questions because to be truthful, I was so excited when I booked it that I didn't really write anything down! What is Carlos N Charlies? I assume some sort of bar, but I'd like to hear more!

[Marcys]

hmmm....yes, it's a bar...a very wild and crazy bar!!:D Guys, help me out here! How else would you describe CNCs??

Many of us also have early seating at 5:45 or 6:15.