BenjiRodney Posted May 10, 2012 #26 Share Posted May 10, 2012 Thanks for sharing, looking foward to doing this again in November. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chill636 Posted May 10, 2012 #27 Share Posted May 10, 2012 Loving this review so far!! we just booked a cruise leaving in Aug on this boat from San Juan!! Cant wait!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOOSTED98MITSU Posted May 10, 2012 #28 Share Posted May 10, 2012 Scraphappylady.... I grew up in Pottstown, went to Owen j. Roberts! As soon as you said Philly airport I had to check your location. Small world! Can't wait to hear more! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kclvt Posted May 10, 2012 #29 Share Posted May 10, 2012 Going on the Valor in March of 2013 so I have to read the Valor reviews for the ship reviews and Victory reviews for the ports. Looking forward to your port reviews....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sooner33 Posted May 10, 2012 #30 Share Posted May 10, 2012 great review so far - Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tracyktn Posted May 10, 2012 #31 Share Posted May 10, 2012 We are taking this cruise in October, looking foward to your review. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nae418 Posted May 10, 2012 #32 Share Posted May 10, 2012 Can't wait for more..... I'm on Victory in August along with 29 friends and family. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmiller Posted May 10, 2012 #33 Share Posted May 10, 2012 Thank you in advance! I'm looking forward to the rest of your review... I can't wait for my own adventures on Victory. Next Jan seems like forever away! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slewiss1 Posted May 10, 2012 #34 Share Posted May 10, 2012 My cruise may be leaving before you finish this review.:( Could you please give a quick recap of your excursions? Our excursions planned St Thomas--Champagne Cruise Barbados-- ariel trek Zipline/ Cave tour St Lucia-- COSOL St Kitts--Beulah(tourstkittsandnevis.com) St Maarten--Bernard I look forward to your long review, too :D:D Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scraphappylady Posted May 10, 2012 Author #35 Share Posted May 10, 2012 Scraphappylady.... I grew up in Pottstown, went to Owen j. Roberts! As soon as you said Philly airport I had to check your location. Small world! Can't wait to hear more! Small world indeed! :eek: The kids go to Boyertown. Lots of good football games between the two there! Going on the Valor in March of 2013 so I have to read the Valor reviews for the ship reviews and Victory reviews for the ports. Looking forward to your port reviews....... I heard! I'm kinda sad that Victory is leaving there. Haven't ever been on Valor, so can't comment to the ship, but I think you're going to love the ports. Just remember - try to plan in lots of little naps and down time as well! My cruise may be leaving before you finish this review.:( Could you please give a quick recap of your excursions? I'll try to type faster! Recap: St. Thomas - undersea helmet trek // Barbados - Calabaza swim with turtles // St Lucia - divided group here to do ziplining through Carnival and Cosol tour (if you don't mind a bit of driving, this will be an awesome tour for you!) // St. Martin - did our own thing; 1/2 day at Marigot and 1/2 day on beach at Little Divi Bay Resort // back in San Juan - 2 hour Segway tour Thanks again everyone for your encouragement and kind words!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scraphappylady Posted May 10, 2012 Author #36 Share Posted May 10, 2012 Sunday, April 1 – embarkation day!! This was it! The day we finally set sail again! By 8:30 am we were all up, showered and ready to go. The hotel offered a full, complimentary, cooked to order breakfast from 7:30-10:30 am, and by the time we reached the lobby, it was getting pretty crowded. We ended up sitting at two tables around the corner from each other, but overall the meal itself was great, with plenty of food and drink options. The eggs were a little on the bland side, but according to the others, the waffles, pancakes and French toast scored high on the list. Mandy & my aunt sat right next to the glass elevator You want soda for breakfast? Ok, go for it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scraphappylady Posted May 10, 2012 Author #37 Share Posted May 10, 2012 Since we finished up quickly, we had plenty of time to relax out by the pool. It was even nicer in the daytime. Tim was dying to take another dip, but we persuaded him to hold off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ibcnusoon Posted May 10, 2012 #38 Share Posted May 10, 2012 I'll try to type faster! Recap: St. Thomas - undersea helmet trek // Barbados - Calabaza swim with turtles // St Lucia - divided group here to do ziplining through Carnival and Cosol tour (if you don't mind a bit of driving, this will be an awesome tour for you!) // St. Martin - did our own thing; 1/2 day at Marigot and 1/2 day on beach at Little Divi Bay Resort // back in San Juan - 2 hour Segway tour Thanks again everyone for your encouragement and kind words!! Oohhh! Can't wait for your Barbados review - we are scheduled with Calabaza too!!!! And St. Martin, we are also doing 1/2 day at Marigot but the other 1/2 we are going to Maho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scraphappylady Posted May 10, 2012 Author #39 Share Posted May 10, 2012 (Okay, now I know some of you have been patiently – or not so patiently - waiting for the cruise part (just the facts, ma’am!), so here we go!!) By 10:40 am, we were taxiing over to the port. Cost this time: $21 taxi plus $1 each luggage, plus tip. The driver didn’t mention a fuel surcharge this time, so my guess is that it was wrapped into the total cost. A twenty-minute drive and we were at the dock. By now it was nearing 11 am. Since passengers were still disembarking from the last cruise, the guards held everyone outside the main gate for another 15 minutes or so. To get through, we had to show our printed sea pass and id/passports. On prior cruises, we had dropped our luggage off with the porters right inside the main building and to the left, and had it immediately whisked away to the luggage carts, but this time there was a pile growing in front of the scanners. Although the porters didn’t ask for a tip this time, I was a little hesitant about leaving our luggage piled up there out in the open. We ended up just leaving the checked bags and wheeling our carry-ons with us. We headed up the escalator, had our embarkation picture taken, and barely waited two minutes in line before we were at the desk getting signed in. This was definitely the time to come!! Since we were in two separate rooms, I wanted the adults to have spare keys to both rooms, in case of emergency. However, these could only be made on board at the main desk. They were simply blue ship cards with “key only” written on them. We had a short wait before boarding began, about half an hour, during which time my aunt and I checked out the liquor store at the boarding area, met Beerman and his group from our roll call (Hi, guys!!) and punched our sign and sail cards to put them on our lanyards. Dorky? Maybe, but it was the only way I could guarantee that the kids wouldn’t lose em! We were in Zone 3, but within 5 minutes or less of calling Zone 1, they called ours as well. A short walk to the entrance, more showing our cards and id, and we were heading up the gangway. We got our security pix taken for our cards (No, Tim, you cannot look like that for your picture!!) and once again, we were onboard a cruise ship. The kids were suitably impressed as we entered the lobby, but not as awed as they had been on their first cruise. Sigh. Jaded by the second cruise already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scraphappylady Posted May 10, 2012 Author #40 Share Posted May 10, 2012 Next we took a short 15-20 minute tour around the ship. Elevators in lobby Ceiling in lobby Takes after her mom, she does! Lobby bar Shop corridor While they weren’t as impressed with the shops and bars, the kids certainly took time to thoroughly check out the arcade. Each of them used up about $30 here throughout the cruise. Tokens were $0.25 each, and each game took 3-4 tokens to play. Outside the arcade Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scraphappylady Posted May 10, 2012 Author #41 Share Posted May 10, 2012 Near the casino I told 'em it was about as close as they would get for a few years! When one does it . . . . they all want to do it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scraphappylady Posted May 10, 2012 Author #42 Share Posted May 10, 2012 Casino bar Sushi stand Checking out the view Specialty coffee bar Caspian bar We could trace our route throughout the cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunny4jj Posted May 10, 2012 #43 Share Posted May 10, 2012 Near the casino I told 'em it was about as close as they would get for a few years! When one does it . . . . they all want to do it! Wow! Aunties got some guns! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scraphappylady Posted May 10, 2012 Author #44 Share Posted May 10, 2012 Caribbean Lounge One of the many stairways And it’s the little things the kids noticed this time that made me appreciate how their minds work. For example, while the rest of the ship didn’t impress him as much, Tim loved that the elevator had an electronic arrow that moved up and down as the elevator did. Nothing earth-shattering, but something I really didn’t pay attention to until he pointed it out. After that, we all teased him about it every time we got in the elevator. He took it good-naturedly, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scraphappylady Posted May 10, 2012 Author #45 Share Posted May 10, 2012 Wow! Aunties got some guns! Ya know, I bet she'd be flattered you said so. She tries to work out every day and does karate on the side!! No nursing home for her!! :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scraphappylady Posted May 10, 2012 Author #46 Share Posted May 10, 2012 Next, a little outside touring . . . Aft pool and hot tubs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scraphappylady Posted May 10, 2012 Author #47 Share Posted May 10, 2012 Big outside movie screen Middle pool and hot tubs Slide - right up Master Tim's alley!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scraphappylady Posted May 10, 2012 Author #48 Share Posted May 10, 2012 By this point, it was only around 1:15 pm, but we decided to see if we could sneak into our rooms and drop off our luggage before heading to the Lido for lunch. When we got to our floor, we were surprised to see the doors to the hallways were open. The stewards were just finishing up, but we were able to access the rooms, stowing our valuables in the safe and the luggage under the bed for the time being. Interior room shared by my DD and aunt Hallway leading to closets on left and bathroom on right Bathroom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scraphappylady Posted May 10, 2012 Author #49 Share Posted May 10, 2012 Long walk to get to our rooms! Our aft wrap. Actually, these pictures were taken on our last cruise, but with the exception of the trundle bed, everything was the same. And even with the trundle, which they would fold up during the day, we had plenty of room for everyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scraphappylady Posted May 10, 2012 Author #50 Share Posted May 10, 2012 Hair dryer Bathroom cabinet Trundle bed - very comfy, according to DS. He certainly never had a problem falling asleep each night! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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