Just off the Valor on 1/24

[cruisingbajan]

Is anyone even interested in reading this review? No one has even looked at it today.:(

 

I check on your review EVERYDAY(sometimes 2 times)...just waiting for the next installment.:eek: Just call me a Valor Stalker.:D:)

[chukeee]

More from Belize:

Daughter, BF and Tony, the guide. This is one of the types of boats we had. They usually use RIBs but when they are broken, they use these as backup.

My friends in the RIB boat: Norma (driver) Bev With the nice towel hat) and Virginia. This is the normal type of boat and the one that my GD, DH and I also had.

This was the lead boat. The guy in the red shorts is the guide Tony. There was Tony, the girl from the pier, and 2 other guys that went with us. the two guys would jump on and off the other boats if there was a problem. They were very helpful The rest of our group (5) road in the lead boat.

They would keep a careful watch on the rest of us and if someone got too far behind, back they would come to see what was wrong.

we were in the back so I apologize for most of the pics being the backs of people.

[chukeee]

A few more shots of Belize, but before I start I just want to mention one thing here. My daughter and friend Norma are familiar with boats and have driven them many times. These boats are easy to drive, but they make it look like a piece of cake where myself or other women might have a little more difficulty. Not to say that we couldn't do it, it just might not have went so smoothly as it does involve turning, following simple hand signals, speeding up, slowing down, etc. Just wanted everyone to be clear on that.

This is a termite nest. Apparently the termites don't bother the homes on the islands but attach themselves dying trees and feast on them. Kind of recycling :)

Saw lots of crocs. This was the biggest though. It was just really hard to get good pics with 4 boats all trying to get a good spot.

The guides were very quick to point things out and to make sure each boat got to see. The one even tried to catch a baby croc. The other people in the boat weren't really thrilled about that.

 

Life is good in Belize!

 

 

We didn't see any manatees. My GD and I saw a glimpse of a monkey as we were entering the mangroves, but the guide said that they are nocturnal and due to the heat they probably had retreated farther into the trees. He said there is more chance of seeing them earlier on the tour.

It really was a great tour. We had a few with mobility issues on this trip so didn't want to try the river tubing. We also didn't want a beach day. This was a perfect tour for us with the only glitch being the late start.

Turns out there was no need to rush as were were back to the pier with over an hour until we had to meet the tender. So I guess i will have to swallow my pride and say (I'm choking here) "No Worries" .

We got back to the pier and went to the Wet Lizard for some eats and drinks. Hint: The nachos are fantastic! Then we shopped for a few minutes and headed back to the tender with no waiting. We were back on the ship by 4:20. Good bye Belize.

[chukeee]

Don't get me wrong, I love early seating because i don't like to eat so late at night. However, with a port intensive cruise like this one and wanting to make the most of every stop, it is a rush to get ready for dinner when just returning to the ship. It seems like we miss the sail away or part of it each time. But I did manage to grab a few balcony moments while DH was showering and he grabbed forty winks while I got ready. And off to dinner we go!

Now this is the first cruise where I didn't take pics of everything I ate and write down what I had each night. I thought I could remember. Well, they say the mind is the first thing to go. I think this was the night that our friends decided to skip dinner so another couple in our big group joined us. I believe I had the French onion soup for a starter, which was good, not as good as before. I am pretty sure I got another beef dish, (maybe braised short ribs) which were not as fall apart tender as usual, and I know I got my fave dessert, the cheese plate. I love this and will sometimes get it as an appetizer. I got my daughter hooked on it and she ordered it every single night. My granddaughter had the choc. melting cake every single night but one. I only had it once this year and it was great. She said hers varied in consistency from really runny to just right, but she likes it either way. I do know that I had the sliced rye bread and my friend Cheryl and I fought over it. Then because we were fighting over it, Bill decided he liked it too,lol.

Now the three of us fought over it the rest of the week.;) Poor Neptali, I think we scared him.

Friends Bill and Barb. Poor Bill, he had been having some heart problems in the weeks leading up to the cruise and had a procedure done the week of the cruise. His heart went out of rhythm this morning and he had to return to the ship. He missed Belize and the next day in Roatan. His wife did find him a Belize Fire co. t-shirt which he loved. DH got one too and tries to get one wherever we go. I cant remember the exact location but it was a small open stall right near where we met the tender boat returning to the ship.

After supper we checked out some photos, stopped by the casino and lost $20 in 1 min.:(, and headed to play bingo and watch the show. Didn't win bingo. the show was a juggler and comedian. Comedian was good, juggler, not so much. He dropped everything! The ship was not rocking but I don't know what the problem was . After losing his balls somewhere in the audience, it just went from bad to worse. Big Tex came out at the end and it kind of ended on a better note and then the comedian was decent. Me thinks the juggler had to many drinks of the day.

We wanted to stay up and watch the midnight comedy show , but this wasn't meant to be so we headed back to the room. DH was out like a light, I grabbed a quick 5 min. on the balcony, checked out the caper for the next day, and actually fell asleep doing it. The next thing I know i awoke to the phone ringing. My DH answered it and when I asked him who it was, he said the granddaughter was just checking in. I asked him what time it was and he said it is 7:15. I became very wide awake in .001 second and said "What the h---- is she doing just getting in now!" He, turns on the light, puts on his glasses and mumbles "Oh sorry, my watch was upside down, it is only a quarter to one." Scared the crap out of me. Good Amanda, Bad Pop Pop Bud. Well, there went that night's sleep. Tossed and turned for another few hours and was up bright and early at 4:30 am to welcome Roatan.

[zandk]

Love your review!! Keep it coming Chukeee!!:p

[tess18]

Is anyone even interested in reading this review? No one has even looked at it today.:(

I check it every day -waiting for the next installment.:D

[INTERLINER13]

I am also awaiting the next installment

[GinDon]

Me too!

[gecko2gecko]

We're leaving on the Valor on the 28th. I'm super excited about the review you're posting. I can't wait to read more.

[chukeee]

Thursday, Jan 21 Roatan

 

Up early anticipating a great day in Roatan. Enjoyed the balcony and a cup of coffee, showered got husband up by 5:30, packed bag for the day and gave a wake up shout to DF and GD. We were to be docking in Isle Roatan by 7:00, so we headed to the Lido deck for some eats around 6:15.

You would think with an early port at 7:00, they would open the buffet a little early, but not to be. They started opening a few things at 6:30 so we

grabbed some fruit, bagels and drinks and headed back to the room after delivering breakfast to the Princess next door.

I realized at this time that there was no way we were docking by 7:00.

That's ok, now I have time for a few pics

In a few minutes the Captain announced that we would not be docking at Mahogany Bay Cruise Center as there had been wind damage so there would be a delay as we headed to the Port of Roatan Cruise terminal. I had a private tour booked for 16 of us but was not worried, as the tour operator had informed me that he would be keeping close contact on the ship's progress and would meet us wherever and whenever the ship docked.

(More about this fantastic tour to come.) About 7:50 we arrived at the other port and the Captain announced that after the carnival excursions got off they would announce that others could leave the ship. We waited, with DH making several trips to the other side of the ship to see if people were leaving or not. After 30-40 minutes he was happy to report that others were getting off and off we went to fall in love with beautiful Roatan.........

[AryMay]

Looking forward to the rest of Roatan...one of my favorite ports!

[Geek Squard]

Wonderful review - thank you so much for sharing!

[chukeee]

So sorry for the delay in my review. This 48 hr. stomach bug thing had me not able to even sit up much less look at the computer screen without hurling:(. It is getting a little better, so bear with me please.

I had a tour booked with Victor Bodden for this port and was very much looking forward to it. I had had probably 10 or so emails back and forth with him and it sounded like he was very in tune with what we wanted and would give us a wonderful day. He did not disappoint.

Nine of us left the ship and waited for 30 min. or so on the others in our group to join us. I went to find Bodden tours (right where they said they would be) and DH went back to the ship to find our friends. In the end, there had been a mix up and they had gone on ahead, but this was no problem and Victor himself arranged for another guide to take us. His name was Marty and I highly recommend him and the services of Victor Bodden tours. We had a blast.

When I contacted Victor, I was very specific in that we wanted an island tour with information and stops that would let us learn about the island. I asked for photo ops, a laid back beach for a lunch stop, a stop at Victor's home for interaction with the monkeys, zip lining (for some of the group), shopping and return to the dock at least one hour before we had to return to the ship. Marty was right on top of things and did not miss one thing that we had asked for.

Marty started us off with a tour of the town and a quick stop for some souvenir shopping and drinks.

Don't know about staying at the Hotel Emanuel, but it might be a "Diamond in the rough." Right next door was the souvenir shop that had beautiful carved mahogany and other wood items that were gorgeous. You could really bargain here and I purchased 2 wooden boxes for our Mothers and a wooden puzzle box for my GD. They had beautiful items. If we had not been on a ship and having to fly home, I would have been dragging a chest behind me for the rest of the day.

The local car dealership. This just cracked me up.

A view of the ship wrecks.

To the delight of DH, a stop at the fire department.

This was an EMT and Nurse we met who showed us around. They were so

nice. We asked if they had any t-shirts for sale. They said no unless one of the firemen would be willing to trade one of theirs. We asked the one fireman we saw and he said the only one he had was the one he had on but he would ask the chief. The chief told him he could not give it to us dirty but if we would stop back in an hour or so, they would launder them for us. Talk about giving you the shirt off their back. (We have been a lot of places and talked to a lot of firemen and this is how firemen act toward each other. It truly is a brotherhood.) We thanked them, but politely declined as we knew we probably couldn't stop back. What nice, nice people!

More to come!

[stanner2009]

Hope your feeling better......was waiting patiently for more;)

[cruisingbajan]

Keep it coming chuckee.

 

Hope you are well on the road to recovery from that stomach flu:(

[dkb363]

You said only a few in your group went ziplining. What did the rest of the group do while they ziplined? We're going to be in this position end of March with Bodden tours?

Thanks, I'm enjoying your review.

[chukeee]

The ziplining was right at Victor's, so while we did that, the others had some refreshments and played with the monkeys, birds, etc. They had a blast. After seeing their pics, I almost wish I would have stayed with the monkeys the whole time, but zip lining was awesome too!

[Esmee]

We will be on this ship on April 25th

So waiting for more info

[luvz2cruze22]

We'll be on the ship April 25th as well! I'm loving your review and can't stop reading it. We also booked with Victor Bodden and this is the one thing that I am the most excited about! I do have a couple of questions. My husband is also a firefighter and loves to visit fire stations. Did you request to go there or was it just part of the tour? Also, did you dock at Mahogany Bay or was your ship rerouted to Coxen hole?

[Kruzergrl]

Hi Chuckie!

I too was on that cruise and I had a BLAST!!!

 

Brenda

[chukeee]

Kruzergrl, It was a great cruise, wasn't it? I wish we would have met. Maybe next time, lol.

Esmee, You will love the Valor!

Luvz2cruz2, We were rerouted to Cozen Hole. You will be so pleased with Victor's tour. We mentioned that my DH was a vol. fireman and would like to pass the firehouse. Marty asked us if we would like to stop. I'm sure your guide will stop wherever you want him too!

[chukeee]

Beautiful view of the ship.

A gorgeous place!

And now we're off to Victor's!

[Kruzergrl]

Chucke, I'm headed out again in Sept. on the 9/11 Freedom wanna go?<laughing> This was by far THE BEST cruise yet!

 

Brenda

[apdchief]

We are on the valor in 3 weeks. Does the Valor change ship time to match port time?

[jdbmga]

We are on the valor in 3 weeks. Does the Valor change ship time to match port time?

 

No, it doesn't. You stay on ship time the whole cruise.