Carnival Valor, 9/25/11: A "pink" review of the Eastern Caribbean.... PICTURES!!!

[gapearl]

Topher is such a cool dog! He looks like he enjoys the water so much.

 

Yes he was! Makes me want to buy a dog and move to the beach. I looked at your signature and golly, you've got a lot of cruises planned before the group's next big one on the Freedom!

[atinys]

My outfit of the night.

 

 

OMG You are wearing that dress gurl....i love that dress. you look beautiful

Edited October 10, 2011 by atinys
changed text

[gelo7]

Tonight was our second elegant night. Once again, everyone really dressed up. Rex did some more magic tricks for us. I’m still baffled. I mean, these were the kind of tricks you see on tv. He made 2 red balls disappear and then pulled 3 from my hair. WTH? Simply amazing. You’ll be very lucky if Rex is your server. There was another magician on board, Elton (not the Sir). He came around and did some card tricks for us. My mom still has the card with her name and code word on it he used for her scrapbook. Needless to say, I’m VERY happy I switched tables after the service I received on day 1.

 

I think this was Romy's escargot appetizer.

 

 

My mom's grilled shrimp something. She said it was ok, but wouldn't order it again. She only ate about half of it.

 

 

My grilled chicken breast with veggies and an extra side of veggies.

 

 

Mmmmmmm, cheesecake.

 

 

My outfit of the night.

 

 

What in the world is this? A gorilla maybe?

 

 

The 10 pm comedy show of John Knight was packed and I couldn't find a seat, so I skipped it and went to the photo stations for some more pictures. I caught the 11 pm show of Frank Del Pizzo and the midnight show of John Knight. John was funny, but my goodness, I caught a stomach cramp from laughing so hard at Frank. He was HILARIOUS! We headed to the disco where I danced and danced and danced until 3:30 am.

 

Up next: Fun day at sea and last day of the cruise!

Very nice...

[CDorsey1981]

What a great review!!! Loving it!

[gapearl]

OMG You are wearing that dress gurl....i love that dress. you look beautiful

 

Very nice...

 

What a great review!!! Loving it!

 

Thank you, thank you, and thank you everyone!

[gelo7]

Thank you, thank you, and thank you everyone!

Your reviews really bring out the peeps....

Edited October 10, 2011 by gelo7
spelling

[lovecruzing]

Oooooohhhh,I wanna hear the scoop!!!! We need to facebook each other or something cause I would love to hear about it! Yes,I am so nosey lol

 

 

Gosh, I am right there with you, so wanna hear all about it.

[Oakman58]

Your review of the Valor is just killing me. I'm just dying as I wait to go on the Dec 11th cruise. Great report and your outfits really reflect what a classy lady you are. Thank you so much for sharing.

[KrystalWaters]

GAPearl: were are ya girlie! Missing the rest of your review:D And oh...i wanna know the "juice" too:p

[scgamecock]

golly, you've got a lot of cruises planned before the group's next big one on the Freedom!

 

Yes! And I plan on squeezing in a Victory cruise out of San Juan sometime before Freedom as well. I found some killer deals ($199 FL resident rates) on 5 day cruises, so I'm doing a couple of cheapie back to backs. I am determined to get platinum before they change it from 10 cruises to 75 days sailed... Valor was go, go, go all the time. I got no sleep. Next few cruises will be all about rest & relaxation. I'm going to read a book or two, sunbathe, drink some dod's & eat. Might not even get off the ship if I don't feel like it... :D

[gapearl]

Your reviews really bring out the peeps....

 

Yep, I love it. I'm thinking about starting a personal travel blog for my cruises and all my other travel too.

 

Your review of the Valor is just killing me. I'm just dying as I wait to go on the Dec 11th cruise. Great report and your outfits really reflect what a classy lady you are. Thank you so much for sharing.

 

December 11 will be here before you know it. I'm glad you're enjoying it and thanks for the nice compliment.

 

Yes! And I plan on squeezing in a Victory cruise out of San Juan sometime before Freedom as well. I found some killer deals ($199 FL resident rates) on 5 day cruises, so I'm doing a couple of cheapie back to backs. I am determined to get platinum before they change it from 10 cruises to 75 days sailed... Valor was go, go, go all the time. I got no sleep. Next few cruises will be all about rest & relaxation. I'm going to read a book or two, sunbathe, drink some dod's & eat. Might not even get off the ship if I don't feel like it... :D

 

Lucky!

[gapearl]

Gosh, I am right there with you, so wanna hear all about it.

 

GAPearl: were are ya girlie! Missing the rest of your review:D And oh...i wanna know the "juice" too:p

 

I'm still here Krystal! I've been working some long days, some 12 hours, and working at night, so I haven't been able to get this done as quickly as I would have liked. Honestly y'all, I don't remember everything they told me. I wish I did. I do know they didn't like her. lol

[gapearl]

DAY 7- SEA DAY AND LAST DAY OF CRUISE :(

Sleeping beauty decide to awaken from my coma at 10 am with a headache. Man, we really had fun the night before. :D Today was going to be a completely lazy day. I didn’t have anything planned and wanted to keep it that way. I showered and headed up to the lido for some of that really, really good French toast, then I walked around the ship for about 30 minutes taking pictures. I bought a few more pictures from the photo gallery and was ready to eat again, most likely because of the potions I had the night before resulting in said headache. :cool: I ordered a grilled chicken sandwich from the lido grill and had some fries with cheese sauce to go with it. It took them about 5 minutes to get my sandwich to me. They weren’t immediately ready like the burgers and hot dogs were. It was very good and worth the wait.

 

 

[gapearl]

Today was the chocolate buffet. Chocoholics of the world, come together and unite at the lido buffet!

 

 

 

 

 

Fresh fruits (pineapple and melons) on a stick were available to go with the chocolate fountain.

 

 

YES INDEED!!!!!!!

 

[gapearl]

After waking up late and doing nothing but aimlessly roaming the ship and eating for 4 hours, it was time for a nap. I woke up at 3:45 to start packing. You saw how much stuff I brought, so yeah, it was gonna take a while. The fun farewell party was later that afternoon. I debated between going to it and the gym. Free alcoholic drinks vs. exercising.

 

DUH! I went to the party!

 

The blue margaritas were never ending. Rum punch, whiskey sours, and wine were also available. The band played and a few people came on stage to dance. Goose came on stage for a minute and said a few words, and then it was back to the band. I found out about the fun farewell party through cruise critic, so thanks guys! I sat with Romy and another new friend, Maria. Maria was on the tour with us in Grand Turk and hit the disco with us also that night. I have a really cute picture of the 3 of us on Facebook. I hope she signs in soon and accepts my friend request so I can tag her in it!

 

I went back to my room and decided to sit on my secret deck. It was so quiet and peaceful out there. The view was spectacular and there was a light breeze that felt SO good. On the way back to the room, our cabin steward Juan was in the hall. He and I talked for a bit. He’s from Honduras and said he loves the job. He gets to visit home every couple of weeks when the ship does the western itinerary and docks in Roatan. He and his assistant, Arthur, were such nice guys (and total cutie pies too). They always had the biggest smiles on their faces and we would have multiple conversations throughout the day in passing. Arthur would affectionately call my mom “Mama Dorothy” every time he saw her. He also teased me when he would see me in my workout clothes, saying he figured out my secret- work out and then eat whatever you want at dinner. Yep, that’s it! On my last cruise, I met my cabin steward when he was yelling for us to all come to the muster drill and never saw him again. Juan and Arthur gave absolute top notch service. I felt like I was chatting with a friend every time I saw them. I tipped them both extra at the end.

 

Juan and I.

 

 

Are you ready for some pictures of the ship?

 

The lido deck.

 

 

The lido pool.

 

 

The serenity deck is up there at the top by that big ball on the far right.

 

 

Another pool next to the waterslide.

 

 

The slide looks like a curly fry. LOL

 

Edited October 11, 2011 by gapearl

[gapearl]

The aft lido pool. I think it's adults only. The 24 hour pizza cafe is back here as well.

 

 

 

Club O2.

 

 

 

The arcade.

 

 

[gapearl]

 

Captain, you're going the wrong way!

 

 

 

The gym.

 

 

 

The aerobics room.

 

[gapearl]

The ship has a very patriotic theme, as you'll see in these pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

The library.

 

 

[gapearl]

In case you're wondering....

 

 

 

One of the lounges, can't remember the name of it, was decorated in tribute to Josephine Baker.

 

 

 

[gapearl]

One Small Step Disco.

 

 

 

 

Ivanhoe Theater.

 

 

Looking down into the lobby.

 

 

[gapearl]

I took a shower and headed for my last dinner of the cruise. My mom decided not to come to the MDR tonight because she wanted to play in the casino instead. She grabbed a small bite from the lido deck. The dining room was very empty. Our waiters sang “Leaving On A Funship” for us. One waiter got to be a soloist and everyone else backed him up. Rex did a final magic trick for us. He and Dennis got extra tips from Romy and I, and so did our fabulous hostess.

 

I don't remember what this is.

 

 

Frog legs from the didja menu.

 

 

Chicken fettuccine with mushroom cream sauce.

 

 

Bacon mac and cheese. Note: bacon is mixed in, it's not just on top.

 

 

 

Frank Del Pizzo did two different shows at 10 pm and 12 midnight and I saw both. Not only did I catch more stomach cramps as I did the night before from laughing so hard, I almost fell out of my chair at one point. I’m not going to repeat the joke on here, but I still LOL every time I think of him telling it. The comedy shows are supposed to last 30 minutes, but his second show went on for 45 minutes because the audience wanted more. I would love to see Frank again. He. Was. So. Friggin. Funny. He was selling cds of his comedy act for $10 after all shows and he donates a portion of all sales to breast cancer funding. I talked to him after the last show and told him how I thought that was wonderful and that I was also raising money for breast cancer. He offered to make a donation to my race. Not only is he funny, but he’s a genuinely nice guy. After the comedy was the disco until 2 and then off to bed I went.

 

Up next: Debarkation and final thoughts!

[ratherbecruzn]

Thanks for the great review! I cannot wait until we cruise in January! :)

[cruisinsly]

Great review! Love the pictures. Thanks for sharing.

[NeuroQueen]

I am sad your review is coming to an end. I've enjoyed it, thoroughly. I think the pink dress is my favorite, but you look beautiful in all of them. You have soooo much fun on your cruises and I think you should come with us in May. Keep cruising and writing such great reviews!!!

[Cruisecrzy3]

Love, love, love your review! Just ditto to what everyone's said...you're gorgeous, love your dresses, your wit, etc. etc.!! Let's not forget the cornbread :D!! I'm going to bookmark the rest of your reviews now so I can catch up on your adventures. I feel like I've gone on vacation with you. Thanks for sharing your time with all of us and if you do start that blog please let us know! ;)