My Carnival Valor Southern Caribbean review!! With 2 days in Old San Juan !

[PS1818]

Spencer's boat

 

Sorry...all the cool kids do it...so I had to.

 

Our view from our hut

 

The snorkel area...the sun is coming out!!

 

A vendor that everyone seemed to know. He wasn't pushy at all. Lots of people bought really good looking assorted fruit bowls from him.

[PS1818]

If you get the chance to snorkel at Jalousie beach you need to snorkel all the way to where the roped off area ends before you turn around and come back. Because when you first start off from the beach there isn't that much to see. But once you get out a little ways it is beyond cool. I swam along the rocks and I felt like I was swimming around in an aquarium or a tide pool. It was pretty cool. Also- when you walk into the water it's pretty rocky so you should think about water shoes if you aren't using fins.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[PS1818]

 

This fish blended in well..

 

 

 

 

[PS1818]

Can you spot the flounder?

 

 

 

Puffer!!

 

[PS1818]

After snorkeling for awhile we decided to get out and relax. By now the sun was out and it was a beautiful day! Spencer provided a buffet style lunch that his daughter prepared for us. It included jerk chicken, green banana salad, rice, beans, plantains, and noodle salad. They also provided endless amounts of water, beer, pop, and rum punch. Everything was delicious and the service was great.

 

Lunch being prepared

 

 

After lunch we snorkeled again and then decided to relax on our loungers. I think we both fell asleep. I was so comfortable and relaxed. It was just perfect. A bit after that it was time to go. We were all loaded back onto the boat and sped off to our island tour. We were shown the bat cave, and the rock arch that appears in the movie "Pirates of the Caribbean" (sorry no pic), we also went into Marigot Bay which is very pretty. After seeing everything it was time to head back to the port.

 

Even though we got a wet start on this tour, it turned out to be one of the best things we have ever done. I loved this tour and would highly recommend it. Once back at the port we went shopping and bought a couple tee-shirts, a magnet, and an ornament. The port area of St. Lucia was also my favorite. It was very nice and clean and easy to navigate.

 

Bat Cave

 

 

 

[PS1818]

Port area

 

 

Bye bye Pitons!

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We boarded the ship, had some lunch and watched sail away. I was really hoping we would pass by the Pitons when we sailed out to sea but we didn't. It was still gorgeous scenery and I can't wait to go back.

 

Tonight was our second formal night. I decided to do laundry before jumping in the shower and getting ready. I wasn't about to force P to wear his incomplete suit again so I let him just get away with a nice shirt and slacks. We took a couple more proportraits. I am telling you...the smiles on our faces were so genuine in everyone of those pics because the photographers are so hilarious. They aren't even trying to be funny but some of the poses and the things they say to you are just really funny! We only ended up buying one...Not my favorite background but I liked our smiles. Dinner was very nice and after we went to make our nightly donation to the casino.

 

Up next...St. Kitts and Javins "my Island" tour.

 

 

 

 

[gizmo911]

I am so enjoying this review. Can't wait to read more.....

[Jennifer925]

Ahhhh I can't see the pictures!!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Th3CruiseGuru]

You may already know this, but Photobucket is going to force you into one of it's paid plans to continue your review. :(

[babsee101]

I sure hope that you are able repost the pics from St. Lucia. I bet they are amazing!

 

FYI - Something I learned from the fine folks here in CC. If you have the same pictures posted on Facebook you can click the picture on Facebook, select copy and then paste where you want in your review on Cruise Critic. Facebook acts as the host site.

[LzyCruiser_NWA]

I'd suggest imgur dot com also for hosting your pics as they don't have a bandwidth limit.

[Froufie]

I'd suggest imgur dot com also for hosting your pics as they don't have a bandwidth limit.

 

Never heard of this site - are you able to make your own 'albums' and keep them 'private' (only to be shared with those you wish?).....

[justme_85]

No Sure if anyone realizes this, but if you click on the pictures that didn't show up, it will take you to the photobucket website where you are able to view :)

 

I was very excited to discover this as I was really looking forward to St Lucia pics! :)

[uprivermama]

Well, you're not a Seahawks fan, so that's a strike against you....

 

But I noticed a WSU cup in your photobucket pics, which leads me to believe you're a Coug, so you must be OK :D

 

Loving your review--did this itinerary last year, and really enjoyed it. We had a kind of bad experience with Spencer Ambrose on the Jalousie Beach Break tour, but we made the best of the day. He was a boat short and ended up delaying our departure by nearly an hour--I would guess this was an anomaly, as most reviews give high marks to Spencer's tours.

 

Anyway, keep up the good work!

[deladane]

No Sure if anyone realizes this, but if you click on the pictures that didn't show up, it will take you to the photobucket website where you are able to view :)

 

I was very excited to discover this as I was really looking forward to St Lucia pics! :)

 

Woohoo! Thanks for the great suggestion! I never knew that before but will have to keep it in mind as this seems to happen in a lot of reviews. It's certainly not a permanent fix, but at least it'll hold us over for a little while :)

[LzyCruiser_NWA]

Never heard of this site - are you able to make your own 'albums' and keep them 'private' (only to be shared with those you wish?).....

 

I believe so

[PS1818]

I have been extorted by Photobucket. Capitalist pigs!! Highway Robbery!! Just kidding...haha... Hopefully all my photos are showing up for everyone! I probably won't be posting about St. Kitts tonight because My professor is demanding I write a paper for her....Isn't that ridiculous?? But, barring any setbacks, I will hopefully finish this weekend!

[PS1818]

Well, you're not a Seahawks fan, so that's a strike against you....

 

But I noticed a WSU cup in your photobucket pics, which leads me to believe you're a Coug, so you must be OK :D

 

Loving your review--did this itinerary last year, and really enjoyed it. We had a kind of bad experience with Spencer Ambrose on the Jalousie Beach Break tour, but we made the best of the day. He was a boat short and ended up delaying our departure by nearly an hour--I would guess this was an anomaly, as most reviews give high marks to Spencer's tours.

 

Anyway, keep up the good work!

 

Haha! I Can't win em all I guess! Good eye...but I am not a Coug, P's daughter is a Coug and Majors in Sports Management. So she gets us lots of cool gear!

 

I'm sorry to hear you had a bad experience. We thought we were going to...but it actually turned into one of our best. Not because Spencer was so great...we actually only saw him twice, once when we met up before the tour, and again when he showed up on the beach with another group of his and was collecting payment. Our guide was someone else. He was very nice but I wouldn't say spectacular. He kept bumming smokes from the people in our group who smoked. Didn't bother me...just kinda weird. The reason I loved it so much was just because of the beauty and relaxation of that place. I think it reminded me of where I grew up.

[PS1818]

I sure hope that you are able repost the pics from St. Lucia. I bet they are amazing!

 

FYI - Something I learned from the fine folks here in CC. If you have the same pictures posted on Facebook you can click the picture on Facebook, select copy and then paste where you want in your review on Cruise Critic. Facebook acts as the host site.

 

Thanks for the tip! It should be fixed now!

[jtwitch]

Thanks for paying money so we can see your pictures! It seems to be working now! :)

[PS1818]

You may already know this, but Photobucket is going to force you into one of it's paid plans to continue your review. :(

 

I didn't know...but now I do :mad:. The photos should be working now.

[PS1818]

Thanks for paying money so we can see your pictures! It seems to be working now! :)

 

You're welcome lol! I do my best to keep the people happy !:D

[PS1818]

I'd suggest imgur dot com also for hosting your pics as they don't have a bandwidth limit.

 

Thanks! I will be using them next time!

[pghsteelerfan]

I finally got a chance to get caught up with the St. Lucia portion of your review and really enjoyed it. I thought the snorkeling at Jalousie Beach was the best we've seen yet and couldn't get over the colors of the coral. Your underwater pictures came out really nice. The spot you talked about is where we spent most of our time. So glad you you enjoyed Jalousie Beach, it is just gorgeous there and I LOVED it. We did the same tour with Spencer that you did, the "Jalousie Beach Break" and when we did it, Spencer, his daughter and another gal were our guides the whole day. We were also on the same boat, the Me See Dye II, to and from Jalousie Beach. When we did it in 2013 we had use of the snorkel gear, all day, so they obviously changed that part. I'd like to do his land/sea tour to see more of St. Lucia next time. I love that you did the Piton Beer bottle picture with the Piton in the background. We did the same thing and I've seen it in other reviews too! LOL!!! I use that picture as my computer wall paper (desk top background). :D Love the picture you got of the rainbow, btw. I see that framed and displayed. :)