Aruba, Curacao, Grand Turk, La Romana

[FloridaGirlLovesToCruise]

We leave on Feb. 18, 2012 on the Valor with this itinerary. Can you tell me what excursions you went on? Haven't booked any yet, but we're thinking about the Bayhibe Beach Break in Dominican Republic, an island tour in Curacao and the best of Aruba & beach tour.

[AmandaKaye79]

We leave on Feb. 18, 2012 on the Valor with this itinerary. Can you tell me what excursions you went on? Haven't booked any yet, but we're thinking about the Bayhibe Beach Break in Dominican Republic, an island tour in Curacao and the best of Aruba & beach tour.

I hope you will do a review. I've been searching these boards for a while and I haven't seen hardly any reviews for these ports. The port boards are also pretty empty!

[FloridaGirlLovesToCruise]

Did you book Dreams on a ship excursion or on your own?

[USA41018]

We sailed this itinerary in October of 2010. We did the Bayhibe Beach Break and it was very nice. A ride through the outskirts of La Romano to the Canoa Resort (goggle this) on Bayhibe Beach. The pool was large and beautiful. The beach was OK, nothing special. The resort itself was spacious. Free rum drinks topped the beach break off. We are sailing this itinerary again in October but will probably try another excursion, maybe Catalina Island.

 

In Aruba, we did the Jolly Pirates and it was fantastic. We will be doing this one again this year. If you are interested in more info, let me know.

 

In Curacao, we did the Beach Break Express. We rode to the the northwest coast of Curacao which meant crossing the island. A guide in the bus pointed out landmarks and filled us in with history of the island. Upon arriving, the beach was beautiful. To the right were a lot of rock formations in the water which attracted lots of fish, snorkling was amazing. To the left was a beautiful beach to sunbathe and swim in crystal clear water. They had food and drinks for sale. Free showers. We will probably do this again.

 

Grand Turk was a beach day at the port and Margueritaville.

 

Any questions.

[dodger501]

We did the post-drydock 2-day followed by this itinerary on the Miracle.

You can see my pictures here:

 

http://dodgerdigital.smugmug.com/Vacation/Caribbean-Cruise-2012

 

They are not all up but all the ones from the port visits are.

I recommend Slideshow view and invite you to click the Map This button to see where on Google Earth each picture (that was geotagged) was taken.

[mara93]

We did the post-drydock 2-day followed by this itinerary on the Miracle.

You can see my pictures here:

 

http://dodgerdigital.smugmug.com/Vacation/Caribbean-Cruise-2012

 

They are not all up but all the ones from the port visits are.

I recommend Slideshow view and invite you to click the Map This button to see where on Google Earth each picture (that was geotagged) was taken.

 

 

Thanks for sharing your link. I've been waiting for someone to post pics of these ports.

[inseason]

My cruise is just around the corner...I will post a complete review of these ports when I return.

Grand Turk- We've rented a golf cart from Nathan to take an early morning tour of the island before we head over to Jack's Shack.

 

La Romana- We are booked with SeaVis Tours to do the Speedboat to Saona Island.

 

Curacao- Meeting up w/ a resident friend of Curacao for personalized tour (not sure where she is taking us)

 

Aruba- taking windsurfing lessons (booked this excursion through shoretrips)

 

~Happy Sailing to All!

[blue_water]

Looking forward to it, we're doing the Seavis tour in April. Can you share the contact info for your guide in Curacao? I'm contacting one but no reply as of yet.

[inseason]

Looking forward to it, we're doing the Seavis tour in April. Can you share the contact info for your guide in Curacao? I'm contacting one but no reply as of yet.

.

 

Our "guide" is not an actual guide, but a friend and actual resident of the island. She is taking off from her real job to show us around. I will pick up as much info as possible and pass it along when we return :)

 

Happy Sailing!

[mara93]

Blue Water, we're doing an excursion with Henry Leo Plaate in Curacao. Have you tried contacting him?

[sonicbuffalo]

The snorkeling in Grand Turk is awesome. Hope you enjoy it.

[w8ing2cruz]

We just finished this itinerary and had a blast:

 

Grand Turk: One couple in our group rented a jeep from Nathan - they felt so unsafe in it that after 1/2 hour they returned it and met us at Jack's Shack as orginally planned. In the past I have rented a golf cart from Nathan and had fun touring the small island.

 

LaRomana: Chartered a private yacht from the marina directly in front of the ship as it's docked. The yacht was called No Worries and it was great!! We had to take a two minute cab ride to the marina and then headed over to Sanoa Island. That part of the sea is fairly rough but we still had a good time and the boat handled it well. Chilled on Sanoa for awhile and had a few beers. Could've bought some fresh lobster but we passed on that. There was a small souvenier type area there that was fun to walk through. On the way back we stopped at Pamilla (the starfish place) and snorkeled. We had one more swim stop on the way back and drank em dry :p. They dropped us off right at the ship. Great way to spend the day!

 

Aruba: Took a catamaran snorkle tour with Delphi. Much confusion - Aruba is one hour ahead of ship time. We even confirmed this with them before we left home and they told us not to worry. So in the end we missed the first snorkle stop - they got us out to the cat on a fast motor boat and have us 1/2 our money back. So for $20 we got to snorkle, open bar, rope swing, twister slide and a t shirt. Not bad. One couple in our group stayed up on Palm Beach and gambled - my husband and I went back to the ship and showered and then walked into town. There was a place I was looking for to have dinner however we just weren't that hungry and the prices were outrageous so we just had a couple of beers at those two main tourist bar places near the ship and headed back.

 

Curacao: Again - watch the time differences. Four in our group played 18 holes at Blue Bay Resort and the rest of us were supposed to have a Segway tour with Irie Tours. First - we were an hour late - second, one of their segways was broke and they were going to send us out on our own :eek:. Not knowing where or what we'd see we decided to take a pass. We walked over the floating bridge and checked out the town. Headed back to the ship - through the Renassance to take pictures of the infinity pool - and then grabbed a cab up to the beach at Blue Bay to meet up with the golfers after their round. This was actually the best snorkeling we did in all four ports. Nice beach (Cas Abou was better in 1999 IMHO) but this plan worked out very nice for our group.

 

All in all - fabulous cruise - way too short as usual. Any questions, let me know!! Anyone sailing this itinerary you won't be disappointed!

[AmandaKaye79]

Thanks for the awesome review! We are doing this in July. I've booked the Seavis tour for LaRomana. I went with a Carnival sponsored tour in Curacao because we aren't arriving until 2pm. That doesn't give us much time for a beach day or anything so we are doing the Coastal and Country Drive with a stop at Boca Tabla. In Aruba, we booked the Natural Pool Jeep excursion. I was a little dissapointed that the time difference wouldn't allow us to do the all day tour. We are in port from 8-4 and the tour is exactly 8 hours. So we had to do the 1/2 day. I am looking forward to reading more reviews as others come back from this cruise!

[AmandaKaye79]

We just finished this itinerary and had a blast:

 

Did u happen to bring back copies of the fun times?

[barbsie8]

Hi All,

 

We are doing this itinerary in March on the Miracle. For Aruba, I emailed Sonny, Bully and Ivan and they are all booked. Sonny recommended Corinthian Kerr. Has anyone used him? Or should I just go with a Carnival excursion?

 

Thanks for any help

Barbara

[Cigar Dude]

If anyone sees this itinerary for September, 2013 how about letting me know. Nothing shows up at this point. Yes, I know the Valor is moving but surely some other ship will take her place!

 

ticotych@hotmail.com

[PhotogalMB]

Has anyone been on this itinerary? If so, what did you like or dislike about it? We're leaving to go on it in a few weeks. We'd like to know as much as possible about it?

While we did not do this exact itinerary, our cruise included Grand Turk and La Romana. La Romana..forget downtown! Dirty and you are dropped at a plaza full of pushy vendors selling junk. Altos de Chavon..take the shuttle for $7 pp. It's ok, we didn't see a lot of artists but you can get great deals on Amber and the stone buildings were nice. Not much else there, worth an hour or two max. Grand Turk..beach day unless you rent a golf cart and tour the island. That was our plan but DH got the dreaded ship virus the night before and spend the day in the bathroom and bed. I went ashore long enough to look at the jewelry shops and walk on the beach for a bit. We haven't been to the other two ports...yet!

[blue_water]

LaRomana: Chartered a private yacht from the marina directly in front of the ship as it's docked. The yacht was called No Worries and it was great!! We had to take a two minute cab ride to the marina and then headed over to Sanoa Island. That part of the sea is fairly rough but we still had a good time and the boat handled it well. Chilled on Sanoa for awhile and had a few beers. Could've bought some fresh lobster but we passed on that. There was a small souvenier type area there that was fun to walk through. On the way back we stopped at Pamilla (the starfish place) and snorkeled. We had one more swim stop on the way back and drank em dry :p. They dropped us off right at the ship.

 

All in all - fabulous cruise - way too short as usual. Any questions, let me know!! Anyone sailing this itinerary you won't be disappointed!

 

You said you took a "private" yacht out of the marina at La Romana. Did you pre-book that personally or through the ship? Or find out about it when you went ashore? Sounds like a different option fro the Seavis tour (which also looks great).

Did you have lunch on Sanoa?

You never got to Bayahibe, right?

What was the price for this excursion? What time did the boat leavecand return?

Thanks for the report!

[blue_water]

.

 

Our "guide" is not an actual guide, but a friend and actual resident of the island. She is taking off from her real job to show us around. I will pick up as much info as possible and pass it along when we return :)

 

Happy Sailing!

 

An "actual" resident or pretend?

Sorry, couldn't resist! :p

 

Please do give us a report and enjoy your trip!

[blue_water]

Blue Water, we're doing an excursion with Henry Leo Plaate in Curacao. Have you tried contacting him?

 

I have not and I will - thanks! We have friends there but they're on vacation while we are there. Where do Curacaoans go on vacation you ask? These go to Africa on safari.

Hmmm....Maybe someday!:eek:

[Wants to be rich]

We just finished this itinerary and had a blast:

 

Did u happen to bring back copies of the fun times?

 

I have the Fun TImes from 1/29/12 thru 2/4/12. I cannot find the one from 2/5/12. If you have any questions, I check them for you.

[EmmasNana]

Just marking this to save

[S.Jersey Adventure]

We just finished this itinerary and had a blast:

 

Grand Turk: One couple in our group rented a jeep from Nathan - they felt so unsafe in it that after 1/2 hour they returned it and met us at Jack's Shack as orginally planned. In the past I have rented a golf cart from Nathan and had fun touring the small island.

 

LaRomana: Chartered a private yacht from the marina directly in front of the ship as it's docked. The yacht was called No Worries and it was great!! We had to take a two minute cab ride to the marina and then headed over to Sanoa Island. That part of the sea is fairly rough but we still had a good time and the boat handled it well. Chilled on Sanoa for awhile and had a few beers. Could've bought some fresh lobster but we passed on that. There was a small souvenier type area there that was fun to walk through. On the way back we stopped at Pamilla (the starfish place) and snorkeled. We had one more swim stop on the way back and drank em dry :p. They dropped us off right at the ship. Great way to spend the day!

 

Aruba: Took a catamaran snorkle tour with Delphi. Much confusion - Aruba is one hour ahead of ship time. We even confirmed this with them before we left home and they told us not to worry. So in the end we missed the first snorkle stop - they got us out to the cat on a fast motor boat and have us 1/2 our money back. So for $20 we got to snorkle, open bar, rope swing, twister slide and a t shirt. Not bad. One couple in our group stayed up on Palm Beach and gambled - my husband and I went back to the ship and showered and then walked into town. There was a place I was looking for to have dinner however we just weren't that hungry and the prices were outrageous so we just had a couple of beers at those two main tourist bar places near the ship and headed back.

 

Curacao: Again - watch the time differences. Four in our group played 18 holes at Blue Bay Resort and the rest of us were supposed to have a Segway tour with Irie Tours. First - we were an hour late - second, one of their segways was broke and they were going to send us out on our own :eek:. Not knowing where or what we'd see we decided to take a pass. We walked over the floating bridge and checked out the town. Headed back to the ship - through the Renassance to take pictures of the infinity pool - and then grabbed a cab up to the beach at Blue Bay to meet up with the golfers after their round. This was actually the best snorkeling we did in all four ports. Nice beach (Cas Abou was better in 1999 IMHO) but this plan worked out very nice for our group.

 

All in all - fabulous cruise - way too short as usual. Any questions, let me know!! Anyone sailing this itinerary you won't be disappointed!

 

What was the cost of these trips Like the La Romana etc.

thanks

[Notion_of_the_Ocean]

 

I have the Fun TImes from 1/29/12 thru 2/4/12. I cannot find the one from 2/5/12. If you have any questions, I check them for you.

 

Hey Wants to be Rich, do you know if the Fun Times has any events listed for 18-21 year olds?

 

Thanks :cool:

[Cigar Dude]

Carnival still does not have this cruise set for 2013 and I WANT it!

 

Surely they will continue to do it...right? :confused: