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

[emarismom]

Good morning!

 

Well I'll add my excursions here now, even though they may change some, as I'm not 100% sure on Roatan and Cozumel:

 

Belize

Cave Tubing w/Marvin - Sharon, Lance, Greg, Kristen and Stephen

Marcy, Dave, Sarah, and Greg (The 4 Caplin's)

Debbie, Jasmine, Lisa, Sheila, Amy and Carol, plus three Franks -- Kathy, Emilie, and Michael; Kim & Steve; Michelle, Everett, Emily, and Tristan.

Coral Breeze shark/ray snoreling tour-Brian, Rebecca, Corinne & Jeff

 

Roatan

Orphanage and island tour - Sharon, Lance, Greg, Kristen and Stephen. Also, Ren, Kathy, Emilie and Michael

Victor Bodden tours (canopy tour + Island tour)- The 4 Caplin's & Brian, Rebecca, Corinne & Jeff

Victors Friend (canopy tour + island tour) Kim & Steve

Tabyanna Beach (ship excursion) - Debbie, Jasmine, Lisa, Sheila, Amy and Carol

Tabayanna Beach on own- Michelle, Everett, Tristan, Emily

 

Cayman Islands

Captain Marvin's Glass Bottom Boat - Sharon, Lance, Greg, Kristen and Stephen

Parasiling/7 Mile Beach-The 4 Caplin's

Soto's swim with the stingrays - Debbie, Jasmine, Lisa, Sheila, Amy and Carol; Ren, Kathy, Emilie and Michael, Kim & Steve, Michelle, Everett, Tristan, and Emily

Aqua Boats - Brian, Rebecca, Corinne & Jeff

 

Cozumel

Eagle Ray Divers Dune Buggy Tour - Sharon, Lance, Greg, Kristen and Stephen; Kim & Steve

TBD-The 4 Caplin's, maybe Paradise Beach

Paradise Beach by day, Fat Tuesdays by night - Debbie, Jasmine, Lisa, Sheila, Amy and Carol

Deep Sea Fishing - Brian & Jeff

Nachi Cocom Beach Club, followed by massages by Sally - Rebecca & Corinne

Nachi Cocom -- Ren, Kathy, Emilie and Michael

Paradise Beach and Chank- Michelle, Everett, Emily, Tristan

 

Tropical depression looks to be out of the area by late Friday, so maybe all of you flying in will get to see some sun here in Miami.

 

Have a great day!!

Michelle

[lhall85917]

Good Morning!!!!

Rebecca and Kim, I'm sure we can work out getting things to the orphanage. We will have about a suitcase full and 5 of us are going so it shouldn't be too big a problem to take others people's things. Our driver will meet us right off the ship with a van so it should be fine. Rebecca, feel free to use whatever suitcase is easiest for you to handle getting on the ship.

Big news at our house last night - DD (Kristen) got engaged! They are both with us on the trip so it should be an exciting time for them. They have been dating for about 5 years so it didn't come as a huge surprise. They are both still in school so will wait a while to get married.

Although our thread was quiet yesterday, there were some interesting goings-on on the board. It was funny watching some of the Carnival posters getting things stirred up on the HAL board - pretty silly, but still funny. :rolleyes:

I'm going to pay some last minute bills today, figure out exactly what I need to get from the bank and get a haircut.

Enjoy your day - getting so close I can almost touch it!!

[Marcys]

Kim, I think it was Peter, Paul, and Mary who packed their bags and were ready to go!

 

Yesterday was a hectic day! My DH went on a business trip and was really hassled by security. He was pulled for a full search and it took 1-2 hours for the full search. People were missing flights! After emptying his pockets he had things missing when they gave the stuff back. Told him he was lying and they called over the police when he insisted they return his stuff. At that point he shut up and submitted rather than get arrested. But he was livid. But he won't do anything about it. I told him he should be making phone calls today and reporting his treatment. But I don't think he will. Oh well!

 

Then daughter failed her driving test for the third time! Don't say anything as she doesn't want anyone to know!

 

Then a girl from a previous CC cruise IM'd my son and told him that her 16 year old brother was killed in a car accident. I was really upset for them and with having a 16 year old myself on the verge of driving. I was able to reach the dad in Texas last night to talk with him and son is alive and well and doing just fine!!:mad: Walked away from totalling his car. The girl told her parents "It was just a joke.!" Please tell your kids that things like that are NOT jokes!

 

OK, now I will try to lighten up and get into cruise mode!!:p

 

Sharon, congrats on the engagement!! You must be so excited! Now you can wear an engagement hat!!:D

 

Today I will get the suitcases from the basement, clean off the dust and spiders and start to lay things out!

 

Sharon, is it possible to remove the background from our bios on the website? I wanted to print our the bios and pics to bring along to try to recognize everyone and remember their names?? Also, Sharon, what is your cabin #? I checked the site and yours isn't listed. I think you did tell us many, many pages ago!

 

You will all be able to recognize me as I will be the one in an orange lei and orange legs!! Remember, the self tanner???:o

 

I will also be bringing a bag of about 100 leis...and I will give them out. But, you have to be at our party at 2 at the aft pool bar by the pizza parlor (did I get that right??) to get one!:D

[emarismom]

Sharon, congratulations on your daughters engagement!!

 

Marcy, an orange lei with orange legs! Now all you need is the orange thong:D

 

My husband just told me last night that he does not have to go into work on Sunday morning, so we will definitely be at the pier by 11:00. I can't wait.

[lhall85917]

Hi Marcy, sounds like you didn't have such a great day. I hope things go better today. Maybe your husband suffered for all of you yesterday so that your trip Saturday goes without a hitch. Its so hard on kids to get their license, not that they can't drive, but its so nervewracking that sometimes they just freak out. Kristen got hers a week after knee surgery and was on crutches - I think they felt sorry for her. I'm sure your daughter will come back from the cruise ready to do whatever she needs to get it done.

 

I took the background off the page with the bios and the page with the room numbers in case anyone else wants to print those. Let me know if you have any problems with them - I test printed a page from the bios and it came out fine. Our room number is 9267, the kids are in 6304.

 

Ok, deep breath - we can do this! The weather is looking better, the tropical disturbance shouldn't bother us and if time spent planning is any indicator of how the trip will go then we've got it in the bag!! :D

[Snowball]

Good morning everyone!!!! Today is my last day at work before vacation, and I can't wait to get out of here!!! :D

 

 

***Important Reminders***

• Our onboard meet & greet will be held on Sunday - embarkation day - at 2:00pm at the aft bar on the lido deck.
  
• For those that did not have their cruise critic lanyards mailed to them - I will be handing them out at the meet & greet. I am not provided with a list of everyone's cabin numbers, so I think giving them out at the meet & greet is the most logical time to hand them out.
  
• If you don't make it to the meet & greet, it is up to you to contact me and set up an alternate time and place where I can give you the lanyard.
  

Kim - I'm so happy that you are still coming. You had me worried there because I remember you saying that you might have to cancel, then hadn't heard from you in a while. I'm glad that things have worked out so that you can still go. It sounds like you've had a houseful of kids lately, so I'm sure you are ready for a break. :)

 

Sharon - congratulations on your daughter's engagement!!! How exciting! :D

 

Marcy - I'm sorry to hear about your hubby's problems yesterday. I agree that he should report it, but can understand why he doesn't want to be bothered. Also, please make sure all of the spiders are out of your luggage before you get on the ship - I don't want any creepy crawly critters roaming around on the Valor when I'm on there. :eek:

[VOLEYMOM]

Good Morning everyone.

Sharon, how exciting. Everyone will have to have a toast for them on the cruise. I expect the same news sometime this year also. My daughter and her boyfriend have been going togther for 3 years now. At least you will have a good long time to plan everything!! I think you might need a massage after wearing all those hats. Your neck will be really tired! Will try and get all my stuff into a small roll-away for you. Not sure if I will make it.

Oh Marcy, your poor husband. How irritating. I hope that never happens to my husband, he would probably end up in jail. He should write a letter, but who does it go to? How can you prove it. Hope your flights go better than that.

Glad to see the weather looks better. Can't wait for sun and fun!

Have a great day everyone!

Rebecca

[gabbygirl123]

Snowball,

After reading your post about the stingray excursion I started to worry because I had made a reservation for my excursion for 9:00, I then emailed the company and this is the reply I got (below). Maybe we can post something on the Carnival board and one of the people who just got back van let us know. I really want to do the morning excursion so I have the rest of the day to do something else. Let me know what you think.

 

 

Good morning,

 

The Valor arrives at 8:00am local time during summer months, you may keep

your reserved time or switch to the 12:00pm ride.

 

Thanks,

 

Matt

[Snowball]

Gabby - who did you book your stingray excursion with? I think that the information that Soto's provided is correct - that the afternoon excursion will work best for us. According to recent Valor cruisers, the ship has been switching its clocks so that ship time matches local time in Grand Cayman. We are scheduled to be in GC from 9am to 5:30pm, so there's no way we'd make a 9am excursion - especially considering the fact that we have to tender in.

[gabbygirl123]

Debbie-

 

We've done the stingrays before, and this time we are actually doing a horseback ride through Honeysuckle's Horses. That was who sent me the email. I left you another message on the message you posted about the time. I hope that I'm not making things more confusing than they need to be. It just seems weird that two different excursion operators would give us conflicting information.

 

Gabby

[Corl4]

Hi everyone!

 

NO MORE SCHOOL!!! Now I can get started with packing! I have my orange leis and my orange thong....getting my manicure and pedicure tomorrow but I won't be getting orange polish! Suitcases are out but nothing is packed yet.

 

Sharon - Congrats to your daughter..that is really exciting! Are you guys still staying at the Springhill Suites? What time do you get in...I think I remember you saying it will be pretty late. Maybe we could meet at breakfast! They have a nice buffet at the hotel.

 

Marcy - How awful for your husband! I got pulled out of a boarding line once to do the "baton" thing....did it right there is front of everyone! It was kind of embarassing.

 

BTW - DH and I are in cabin 8217 and the kids are in 2217, six decks directly below us! I'm sure I'll be using the steps a lot!

 

Just saw the Caribbean weather on the Weather Channel - by Sunday they are predicting the storm to be well in-land in Louisana so we should be fine!!

 

Debbie - Is tomorrow the deadline for next summer's cruise? I think we are going to do it, just haven't gotten around to calling yet.

 

Well, I'm off to tan and then get my haircut...talk to you all later!

 

Beth

[CruiseAwayWithMe]

I hope everyone has a great time. I'm on the July 10th Valor Cruise (only a month!!!) but you guys only have a few days.

[emarismom]

Beth- I know you are excited now that work is finally done with!! Now the real fun begins!!

 

I picked up my documents a little while ago (they came in two weeks ago but my TA was trying to get an upgrade still) Anyways we didn't get visited by the upgrade fairy so we are in 1381. It actually works out well for the kids as my friend, with her three boys is just around the corner from us!

[Snowball]

Debbie - Is tomorrow the deadline for next summer's cruise? I think we are going to do it, just haven't gotten around to calling yet.

Actually, we just got an extension thru next Friday, but that won't help you since you'll be on our Valor cruise at that time. :p

 

Come on - give Kevin a call and get around to booking it!! Maybe you could ask him to wait until next Friday to put the charge through??? Then we can have a buddy system where we both watch out for good airfare prices again. :)

 

Oh yeah, I'll expect you start posting on the roll call thread for next year's cruise too!!! :D

[jfritz126]

Hey Debbie!!! Have a great cruise......I hope you have as much fun as we did last month on the Legend!!! But do try to walk off at the end instead of going off "in style" as we did!!!!!

[Snowball]

Thanks Jill! I still think you and Mike had a lot of nerve going on a cruise without me! :p :D

[jfritz126]

Yeah........but I just don't like to sail in the summer when there are scads of kids!!! Mine are grown now (physically!!!) so I just like to go when there aren't as many sailing!! But now you are sailing without us so you got us back!!

[lhall85917]

Beth - we are still at Springhill Suites, but don't get in until about midnight. :( We have asked Tony to pick us up at 10 so we would love to meet for breakfast before we go. Are you early risers, do you want to meet early or do you prefer later?

[Snowball]

Here is the answer regarding the time changes, and posted by someone on another thread.

 

We indeed changed our clocks...

 

The first night on our caper (Sunday) it said not to forget to set your clocks back one hour before going to bed.

 

On Friday night in Cozumel on our caper it said not to forget to set the clocks forward 1 hour before going to bed.

 

(Just looked at my capers to double check)

[gymbrat33]

Michelle, I've been at a workshop this whole week so my vacation starts tomorrow at 3:30. I signed up for it because they pay you your daily rate per day.

[emarismom]

Olga,

We had the same workshop, for cirriculum mapping right. I did not want to work at all. It's hard for me now because then I have to think about where to put my kids and all of that. Besides my mind can only focus on the cruise these days:eek: Only two and 1/2 days!!

[VOLEYMOM]

Oh Dear think I waited to the last minute to do this but can anyone tell how they are getting back to Ft. Lauderdale on Sunday? I was going to rent a car again, but it seems that it is taking quite awhile to get off the ship. I thought I read that someone was doing Super Shuttle. If someone is can you tell me how you contacted them? Our plane leaves at 1:00. I know we can do self disembark which is probably what we will do. I know we could take a taxi but that would really add up. On our other cruises we could on the ship sign up for the shuttle thru Princess, but I hate riding on those buses. Any suggestions? Thanks a lot now off to pack some more!

Rebecca

[lhall85917]

Rebecca- if you have an Entertainment book, they have a coupon that you can use for Super Shuttle - it is buy one, get one free. I'm not sure if you have to book in advance. I'm not even sure if there is an actual coupon in the book or if you call their number and do it that way. I'll check my book in a little bit and repost. If you just have to call in and give them your membership number, you can use mine.

Otherwise - we have made arrangements for transfers both ways through a gentlemen recommended by our hotel. We're crossing our fingers that it works out - of course we have a back up plan just in case! :eek:

[Snowball]

Good morning everyone!!! Only two more days left!!! And one more day until I fly down to Miami! :D

 

My clothes are packed, but hubby isn't and I still have all the "other" stuff to pack (toiletries, cameras, carryon, etc). Plus errands, cleaning the house, getting nails done, and everything else. But what am I doing - checking the boards. This addiction is bad!!! :o

 

***Important Reminders***

• Our onboard meet & greet will be held on Sunday - embarkation day - at 2:00pm at the aft bar on the lido deck.
  
• For those that did not have their cruise critic lanyards mailed to them - I will be handing them out at the meet & greet. I am not provided with a list of everyone's cabin numbers, so I think giving them out at the meet & greet is the most logical time to hand them out.
  
• If you don't make it to the meet & greet, it is up to you to contact me and set up an alternate time and place where I can give you the lanyard.
  

I also would like to tell all of you what a pleasure it has been to plan this cruise with all of you. I can't wait to meet you onboard, and hope that everyone can make it to our meet & greet. :)

[emarismom]

It's so exciting to hear that all of you are getting ready to fly down:) How will you all handle not being able to check the board for all that time. We may have some serious withdrawel symptoms:)

 

Debbie- is there any way to print the capers from our website? I've tried everyway I can think of. Each time I print I only get the left hand corner of the page. The only way I can get a whole page is print all four corners and tape it together, but then it would be the size of four pages:eek: Any suggestions?

 

Gabby- a friend of mine just confirmed one of her kids on the cave tubing.

I counted the number of people from our group including you and your hubby

and this child. We are at about 30-31. I'm going to email Marvin and ask him if that is enough to get the discount rate. I'll let you know as soon as I know.

 

Everyone else happy packing today and have a safe flight to Miami!!

 

Michelle