Valor Southern Caribbean review with pictures and Fun Times - better late than never

[pghsteelerfan]

Once we were all in, we headed out for the Sea Tour, stopping at the bat caves where we could see and hear all of the bats. We also stopped near Soufriere; made another stop were we had a great view of the Pitons; we went by the “Keyhole”, which is a rock formation that looks like a keyhole; Anse Chastanet Resort where one of the “Bachelor” episodes was filmed; the fishing village of Canaries, where we could see and smell smoke from a volcano; Marigot Bay; and the last was the “Lady Slipper” or arch, famous from one of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies. All along the way, Spencer had the cooler so there was plenty to drink on the way back. Before we knew it, we were coming back into Castries and had more excellent views of Carnival Valor. After we docked and got off the boat, Spencer used our cameras for group pictures and we got pictures of him, Shequana and Sharmine and said our “good byes”. That was one of the best, if not the best, tour that we’ve ever done while on a cruise. Everything was organized but it was also very scenic and a lot of fun. I would definitely recommend any of Spencer’s tours, they’re well worth it.

 

 

 

Pictures of the Sea Tour

 

 

 

Jalousie Beach from the boat as we were leaving

 

 

Jalousie Beach

 

The snorkeling area (roped off section for safety)

 

 

Jalousie Beach

 

 

 

Shequanna, Spencer's daughter

 

 

 

Good bye Jalousie Beach!

 

[pghsteelerfan]

Petit Piton

 

 

 

 

The coastal town of Soufrier, St. Lucia, one of our stops

 

[~Christie~]

do you have an external link that you could share, I can't get the pictures to load on my computer for some reason.... thanks!

[pghsteelerfan]

do you have an external link that you could share, I can't get the pictures to load on my computer for some reason.... thanks!

 

I will try to attach now. It's in Photobucket. I have the pictures from this cruise separated into separate folders. I had so many that this was the best way to get them organized. I'll attach the link to my photobucket "library". The different albums are separated by each day. Please let me know if this works. If not, I also have a Shutterfly album that I shared with family members and I can attach that link if this doesn't work.

 

http://s934.photobucket.com/user/H_B_G/library/?sort=6&page=1

[~Christie~]

I will try to attach now. It's in Photobucket. I have the pictures from this cruise separated into separate folders. I had so many that this was the best way to get them organized. I'll attach the link to my photobucket "library". The different albums are separated by each day. Please let me know if this works. If not, I also have a Shutterfly album that I shared with family members and I can attach that link if this doesn't work.

 

http://s934.photobucket.com/user/H_B_G/library/?sort=6&page=1

 

 

for some reason photobucket is blocked on my pc. I will try a different pc later and see if it works - lol!

[deetrayn]

I am loving this review. I will be visiting these islands in Decemeber, and now I am even more excited to go after viewing these pics. Thanks for sharing them. :)

 

Dee

[~Christie~]

for some reason photobucket is blocked on my pc. I will try a different pc later and see if it works - lol!

 

 

I was able to get to see them on a different computer! They are BEAUTIFUL!!!!!! Thanks so much for sharing all of this with us!

 

Now I am wanting to do the Southern for sure if we don't choose an All-inclusive in St. Lucia or St. Maarten....

[pghsteelerfan]

I am loving this review. I will be visiting these islands in Decemeber, and now I am even more excited to go after viewing these pics. Thanks for sharing them. :)

 

Dee

 

Thank you Dee! :) I just noticed your signature that you're doing a B2B. Will you be doing the same itinerary both times? It's just my opinion, but I think this would be a wonderful itinerary to do a B2B. With the five different islands and San Juan, there is just so much to do but not enough time. We would love to do this same itinerary again just so we can see and do more.

[kteachcruiser52]

We thought about doing B2B -one on Carnival and the other on RC. RC has 2 different islands than Carnival.

[pghsteelerfan]

I was able to get to see them on a different computer! They are BEAUTIFUL!!!!!! Thanks so much for sharing all of this with us!

 

Now I am wanting to do the Southern for sure if we don't choose an All-inclusive in St. Lucia or St. Maarten....

 

I'm glad they're showing up on the other computer and thank you. All of these islands are so pretty that it's hard not to get decent pictures and the weather cooperated...most of the time. That's one thing we like about going on cruises, seeing what the different islands look like to see if we'd like to go for a week. After this cruise I think we're going to have a tough time deciding.

[pghsteelerfan]

We thought about doing B2B -one on Carnival and the other on RC. RC has 2 different islands than Carnival.

 

Good friends of ours are going on RC over Thanksgiving. There are a few different RC cruises doing the Southern route. The one the'll be on leaves from San Juan and goes to St. Thomas, St. Maarten, St. Croix, Antigua and Martinique. We were in Martinique on our honeymoon. Very scenic out of city where the ships dock. We've never been to St. Croix or Antigua, so I can't wait to hear all about their trip when they get back. I'll say if you can do the B2B, do it. :)

[michiganredrose]

Awesome review! Thank you, can't wait until February. Was there an entrance fee to Sapphire Beach? I was planning on Magen's Bay but your pictures may have made me change my mind.

[pghsteelerfan]

One of our first stops was the bat cave, which is right off the coast of Soufrier. Spencer actually stopped the boat here and cut the engine so we could hear the bats.

 

The bat cave...

 

...and the bats. I used the zoom for this one. I couldn't tell when I took the picture if I'd be able to see them or not, but it came out. It was so bright that I couldn't see "review" picture screen.

 

When Spencer turned the boat around so the people on the other side could get a good look at and pictures of the bat cave, I got this one of Soufriere.

 

I also took this then too. I loved all the colors in the water

 

We also went past the "key hole" rock formation

 

Spencer made one last stop in the spot where we had a full view of the Pitons. This is the same area we were at on the way to Jalousie Beach, but it looks different in the afternoon.

[deetrayn]

Thank you Dee! :) I just noticed your signature that you're doing a B2B. Will you be doing the same itinerary both times? It's just my opinion, but I think this would be a wonderful itinerary to do a B2B. With the five different islands and San Juan, there is just so much to do but not enough time. We would love to do this same itinerary again just so we can see and do more.

 

 

Hi there. The itinerary changes. The 1st leg of our B2B goes to Tortola, St. Maarten, St. Kitts, Dominica and Barbados. The 2nd will be visiting St. Thomas, St. Croix, Antigua, Martinique and St. Lucia.

 

And I agree with you. A B2B itinerary would be nice even if the same ports are visited a second time. There is so much to do, and not enough time in one day at each place. :)

 

Dee

[pghsteelerfan]

Awesome review! Thank you, can't wait until February. Was there an entrance fee to Sapphire Beach? I was planning on Magen's Bay but your pictures may have made me change my mind.

 

Thank you for taking the time to read it, it's getting pretty long but I'm having fun doing it and reliving our cruise.

 

No, no entrance fee to Sapphire Beach. I think the loungers were $7.00 each and that's all we spent there besides transportation to and from. We saw that several people just put their towels in the sand, but you might run the risk an iguana lumbering over and sitting on it. That happened to someone else and it was hilarious (DH got that on video). There is a restaurant/bar area and they also walk the beach to take orders but I don't know how much they charge. You can also rent snorkeling gear (I think I read it's about $15.00 and hour, but I'm not positive on that). We brought one set our our own and shared it. We were in Magen's Bay on our honeymoon and it is nice, but after being to both now, we both thought Sapphire was prettier.

[pghsteelerfan]

Hi there. The itinerary changes. The 1st leg of our B2B goes to Tortola, St. Maarten, St. Kitts, Dominica and Barbados. The 2nd will be visiting St. Thomas, St. Croix, Antigua, Martinique and St. Lucia.

 

And I agree with you. A B2B itinerary would be nice even if the same ports are visited a second time. There is so much to do, and not enough time in one day at each place. :)

 

Dee

 

Wow, I would just LOVE to do that B2B!!! Valor does the same itinerary each week. The second one you'll be doing is the same one our friends are doing over Thanksgiving and I think even the same ship. Are the cruises Saturday to Saturday? I'm sure you are going to have a wonderful time. I'm so jealous. :)

 

Holly

[pghsteelerfan]

I really loved these views of the Pitons.

 

 

 

 

 

After seeing that we were all able to get the pictures we wanted, we were off again to see some more sights.

[pghsteelerfan]

Our next stop was Anse Chastanet (Anse Chase) Resort. It's the one where one of the episodes of one of the seasons of the TV show, "The Bachelor" was filmed. We don't watch "The Bachelor" but Shequanna told us it was the season where Jake picked the wrong one. I think she also told us we could stay there too...for $2000 per night.

 

 

 

 

This would be our last view of the Pitons and I took this picture while the boat was moving and am so happy that it came out. I liked the way we could see them over the top of the other hills.

 

 

The coastal fishing village of Canaries, St. Lucia, was our next stop.

 

 

The smoke coming out of the mountain above the village was was a sulfur steam from a volcano and we could smell it from the boat. It smelled more like fireworks to me than rotten eggs. This may even be where the "drive-in volcano" is that is a popular stop on a lot of tours offered in St. Lucia, including Spencer's "Land and Sea Tour" and "Land Tour"

 

[pghsteelerfan]

Zoomed in view of the sulfur steam

 

 

 

After spending a few minutes at Canaries getting pictures of and learning about it, we continued on. There were a few more things that were pointed out to us, like a couple of celebrity homes and another resort, but I didn't get pictures. The next place we went to was Marigot Bay, which is the "safe harbor" where boats are taken if there is a hurricane. The very first movie that I saw as a little kid in a movie theater was the original "Dr. Doolittle" and some scenes in that movie were filmed here. I don't know which because the only thing I remember about the movie was the whale and also I was finally old enough to see a movie in a theater. We'd pass the theater and remember asking my parents what that building was (had a domed top) and they said it's where "grown ups go to see movies".

 

Marigot Bay

 

 

[pghsteelerfan]

More of Marigot Bay

 

 

 

 

 

Shequana and Spencer

 

[deetrayn]

Wow, I would just LOVE to do that B2B!!! Valor does the same itinerary each week. The second one you'll be doing is the same one our friends are doing over Thanksgiving and I think even the same ship. Are the cruises Saturday to Saturday? I'm sure you are going to have a wonderful time. I'm so jealous. :)

 

Holly

 

Hi Holly, yes it is a Saturday to Saturday on RCCL Jewel of the Seas. Your friends will be cruising the week before us. We're flying to San Juan on the day after Thanksgiving.

 

Dee

[pghsteelerfan]

Few more of Marigot Bay

 

Another of Shequana and Spencer

 

 

The next three pictures are of celebrity homes. I already forget who they belonged to but one of then was Sophia Loren (I think).

 

 

 

[deetrayn]

Those pictures of St. Lucia are beautiful! I love it!! :D

[pghsteelerfan]

Hi Holly, yes it is a Saturday to Saturday on RCCL Jewel of the Seas. Your friends will be cruising the week before us. We're flying to San Juan on the day after Thanksgiving.

 

Dee

 

Hi Dee, we're getting together with our friends this weekend. It IS the Jewel of the Seas that they'll be on. They like to have everything planned out ahead of time so we're excited to see what they have planned out for their cruise. They will also flying in a day early and I think they're either staying at the Caribe Hilton or the Marriott in the Condado area. We also flew in a day early and enjoyed that extra time in San Juan. Have you made plans for any of the islands you'll be going to yet?

[pghsteelerfan]

Those pictures of St. Lucia are beautiful! I love it!! :D

 

Thank you. We LOVED St. Lucia and definitely want to get back there some day. A couple of the others that were on the "Jalousie Beach Break" had been to Hawaii and said that St. Lucia reminded them of Hawaii. I wouldn't know since I've never been there. That's another place I'd love to visit.