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MY VALOR ADVENTURE!!! (TAKE 2, had issues with photobucket) With a lot of pictures..

skidawg79

By skidawg79,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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Strycker

Strycker

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Do you have any contact information for the off duty officer who took you guys out to see the Turtles in Barbados? Or is it just luck that he was there the day you were in port? We are hoping to have the same luck you did. I was hoping maybe I could contact him before our cruise. We are cruising September 14th-21st. Thanks in advance. Loved reading your review. It is making me even more excited for our upcoming adventure.

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taxcruisermom

taxcruisermom

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I have been following your review all along and love it!!! We will be there in October and can't wait. Can you tell me about what time you got to Maho beach in the morning? Just wondering because last time we went I don't remember chairs and umbrellas at all and would like to be able to get a couple of chairs. Love the planes landing. I am looking forward to the rest of your review. Thanks!!! Tina

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jdog99

jdog99

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Going on the Valor next week (July 13th). Your review is very interesting. I was going to wing most of the ports, but you have given me some very definite ideas at several of the ports. Thanks for the info...

Jim

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Boss302LS

Boss302LS

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Thanks so much for the review. I'll be on this cruise in a few days. Can't wait. So one big question. How much cash do you suggest we (my wife and I) take? Sounds like we need plenty for cabs, cosol, drinks, etc.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone

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skidawg79

skidawg79

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This is such a great review I am so interested in seeing the turtles at the boatyard so I hope you can tell me a little more about the snorkeling experience.

 

What would it be like for a person like myself who is a very beginner snorkeler and is out of shape? How is entry/exit to the water etc. and do they have vests or is there a lot of swimming? I want to be prepared, but would really like to do this and your review has me even more interested.

 

Thanks!

 

 

The boat that we were on it was accessible by a ladder that hung out of the back of the boat. It was just a regular ski boat. If you take an excursion they have vests or "floats" that will help you while your snorkeling. I am not sure if the guys that took us had them or not, none of them used one if they did. If you can float and once you get used to breathing through the snorkle, it isnt much more than floating around and looking down at the fish. So i would say that if your an intermediate swimmer you will be fine, even a beginner swimmer if you use the float and are comfortable in the water.

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skidawg79

skidawg79

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Do you have any contact information for the off duty officer who took you guys out to see the Turtles in Barbados? Or is it just luck that he was there the day you were in port? We are hoping to have the same luck you did. I was hoping maybe I could contact him before our cruise. We are cruising September 14th-21st. Thanks in advance. Loved reading your review. It is making me even more excited for our upcoming adventure.

 

 

I do not have any contact information unfortunately. I would say get there somewhat early... 10-10:30ish at the latest and you should have no problem finding someone to take you out. Look for the boat that has a banana boat attached to it......they also offered us a banana boat ride if we wanted.

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skidawg79

skidawg79

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Thanks so much for the review. I'll be on this cruise in a few days. Can't wait. So one big question. How much cash do you suggest we (my wife and I) take? Sounds like we need plenty for cabs, cosol, drinks, etc.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone

 

 

Sorry i didnt get back to you before you left. Have a great cruise!!!

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skidawg79

skidawg79

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ST. MAARTIN CONT……

So as we were headed back towards the cruise terminal, we asked the cab to stopped at this place in the downtown Philipsburg area that has amazing Mojitos. Here is the road that goes right along the Great Bay Beach (downtown area), it was really nice in there…..

31126fd0-4330-4301-9c66-5b46f97823d4_zps10aaf404.jpg

Emily wanted to get some liquor for her parents and herself to take home with her, so as we were driving down that road we passed a liquor store. Emily, in here somewhat already inebriated state, yells out of the cab, “how much is your Jamison!?!”, the worker yells back, “$16.99”, Emily says to our cab driver, “stop the cab!” lol. So he stops and Emily jumps out, her bag was in the trunk so I handed her my wallet so she would be quicker….

 

Well as you can see, that road is not large enough for a cab to stop and wait, so we yelled out to Emily that we were going around the block. As we go around the block, we get back to the liquor store and there was no Emily! The worker said that she jumped in another cab!

 

At this point, our cab driver, Rona and Toby (the Texans) were really worried that she was going to get lost and miss the ship, I was less worried as I have traveled with her and know that she is smart and would most likely be ok, regardless I had an uneasy feeling in my stomach. However, I did know that she had my wallet and knew she had money to take whatever cab she hopped in.

 

So our cab drops us off right outside of the security checkpoint at the cruise terminal, as we go through the checkpoint I realized that I did not have my ID, cruise card because I gave it to Emily!!! So they refused to let me through, I showed them Emily’s ID and cruise card because I had her bag, but they did not believe me. I think they felt like i stole this bag, Rona and Toby said they would stay with me and refused to go in unless i was allowed to(they are great people). I had to get the cab driver to come over and explain what happened, so they escorted me over to the main security area and explained what happened. They also would not let me in the pier area and called in the head of security. He comes up, I explained the situation to him and that there would be a girl named Emily trying to come through with my ID. Well the head of security wanted to see if she somehow got on the ship with my ID’s and to verify my information was accurate and i was who i said i was. He makes me hop in a golf cart police car and drives through the cruise terminal, past all the shops, past all the people walking around up the pier where there were hundreds of people getting back on the boat to the second entrance to the boat that wasn’t open to the passengers and walks me in.

 

Now it usually takes a lot for me to get embarrassed, but driving in a police golf cart past all the passengers made me feel a little weird. The looks I got were definitely not the ones of “oh I hope he’s ok”, they were mostly the looks of, “I wonder what he did?” lol.

 

After verifying my identity and making sure Emily did not get on the ship, I asked him to drive me back out to the pier where Rona and Tony were waiting and I would wait for her there. He wanted me to just get on the ship, but i refused to do so until i found Emily. So I sat by this bar right outside the pier with Tony and Rona, Toby bought me a drink (since I didn’t have my wallet lol) and we waited. At this point it was about 4:10, had to be on board by 4:30 so I was getting concerned. Sure enough, at about 4:15 I see Emily walking down and I put my hands up and yelled, “Emily!” She saw me and she throws her hands up in the air with a huge smile and yells, “WOOHOO!” she was having a blast and safe, so all was good! I go up to her and she tells me what happened….

 

After she got out of our cab, our friends cab drove by a few cars behind us, she said the door flew open, she heard people yelling “Emily!” so she was like, “this looks like a fun cab, ill go with them” lol It turned out to be our friends from Chicago, Brandon and Naomi and two other people we were at Maho Beach with. She told me they ended up going to the Mojito place, and she treated them to a Mojito since she “found a wallet” (Thanks a lot Em! Lol) then made their way back to the terminal. I asked her how she got through security and she was like, “they knew exactly who I was, you did all the work on that one….thanks!” lol So we had another drink on the pier before we got back on the ship…..

 

Toby and I saying, “Cheers to an amazing vacation!”

5bf1c8c0-8b72-4762-a31e-6236d617e106_zpsd421e18e.jpg

 

Brandon, Naomi and I…..

b9c4865e-bd2f-41b3-8d44-4210da96cd12_zpsa79b0556.jpg

 

Next up, last night on the ship, and debarkation ……

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Dirkgun

Dirkgun

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Great review.... sounds like you had a great time. We have done this itinerary twice (on the Victory before they switched ships in Mar 2013) and we do it again this coming Jan. The islands are awesome and there is so much to do. Thanks for taking the time to do the review.

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skidawg79

skidawg79

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Great review.... sounds like you had a great time. We have done this itinerary twice (on the Victory before they switched ships in Mar 2013) and we do it again this coming Jan. The islands are awesome and there is so much to do. Thanks for taking the time to do the review.

 

 

Absolutely love this itinerary. I would do it again in a second. Thank you for taking the time to read my review!

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CMM

CMM

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The boat that we were on it was accessible by a ladder that hung out of the back of the boat. It was just a regular ski boat. If you take an excursion they have vests or "floats" that will help you while your snorkeling. I am not sure if the guys that took us had them or not, none of them used one if they did. If you can float and once you get used to breathing through the snorkle, it isnt much more than floating around and looking down at the fish. So i would say that if your an intermediate swimmer you will be fine, even a beginner swimmer if you use the float and are comfortable in the water.

 

I appreciate your response. I would want a life vest for security reasons (I always worry I will float away or be left behind- I know ridiculous fear) so will ask around with the various vendors.

Your review is a entertaining read, I would have flipped if I couldn't find my friend! Glad it had a happy ending

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Strycker

Strycker

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I do not have any contact information unfortunately. I would say get there somewhat early... 10-10:30ish at the latest and you should have no problem finding someone to take you out. Look for the boat that has a banana boat attached to it......they also offered us a banana boat ride if we wanted.

 

 

Thank you so much! Loved your review!

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