takevtr1

so far so good.

leaving on sunday 8/4 for the Valor.

DH and I toured with one other couple with Tyrone on July 18th. It was a Great day. Tyrone gave us a wonderful tour from 9:10-2:10 and then dropped us off at Carlisle beach and the other couple off at the port and he picked us up as planned at 3:50. We were back at the port around 4:15.

 

We were never were rushed and we saw a lot of the island and Tyrone was a really nice and sincere guy. His tour cost us $25 each for a 5 hour tour, beer, water, and rum punch and then dropped at the beach and picked up. Book him early because the word about Tyrone's gret tour and great deal will spread fast here on cc.

ok, we are bookedwith Tyrone for next week, but Paul will be taking around since his van is bigger.

Anybody have any thoughts on Paul?

Have a great time! Tell him Luis from Chicago says hi!

 

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certainly, if I remember. lol.....

just glad to hear a positive review (not that I heard any negative ones)

Definitely a great trip! Ian was awesome! It was just my DW and I the entire day with Ian a/k/a The Lion King.

 

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thanks for the good recommendation.

I feel a little better now.

I tried many times to reach Rose and Jim, but was able to connect with them.

Going with Ian - The Lion King.

Booked with Tyrone for our stop in Barbados on Thursday July 11th. Upon disembarking from the ship he was nowhere to be found and only through the intercession of some local port workers was he located. He then gave us over to an associate who had a van with very poor air conditioning and no speaker system so that even when he did provide some info about local sites, the people in the back of the van could not hear him. Although both Tyrone and his associate Paul were very pleasant guys, the combination of poor AC and little site info made it an unpleasant afternoon. By the way, I got a look at Tyrone's van and it didn't look much better than the one we were in.

well that is NOT good to hear as we are using Tyrone in about 2 weeks, and I think he is handing us off to Paul since we are a group of 10 and Tyrone"s van does not hold 10.

Adam. thanks for posting another GREAT Valor review.

Sailing her on 8/4 and this review just makes my mouth water and my eyes tear.

I am also traveling with my in-laws (mother, father, sister and brother) plus my family.

Glad you had a great time.

Keep it coming.

Mitch...

Glad to hear all the good comments on Tyrone.

My only issue is, we are a group of 10 and he can not take 10, so he uses his friend Paul who has a larger van.

I assume nobody has ever gone with Paul??

EXCELLENT Review and writing style.

GREAT pictures.

Will be sailing the Valor on 8/4 and your review makes the time pass faster.

Mitch.....

thanks for the info.

I will keep this in mind while I am planning my shore excursions for Barbados.

I will also be booking Tyrone for our 8/4 visit on the Valor.

Just working out some of the finner details with him.

Thanks to all for suggestiing Tyrone.....

My only issue is, we are a group of 10 and he can not take 10, he can only take 8. He is suggesting someone named Paul. I would rather go with Tyrone... not sure how this will end up. I was "hoping" Tyrone could use Pauls van to take us around.

thanks,

thanks everybody for the advice.

I think I am going to go with Ian N. from Sugar Land Tours. He had some good reviews on cc and trip advisor.

If anybody has used him, I would love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks for sharing all these pics with us. Looking at pictures of other people's cruises keeps me entertained during the long stretches between my own cruises. We did the Cosol tour in St. Lucia and had a much different experience than you did. Perhaps if we'd been taken to a beach like the one in your pictures, it would have made a big difference, but instead we were taken to a dirty beach right next to a private resort beach and it was clear that we could not step onto that private beach for any reason. There were hardly any lounge chairs or chairs of any kind on our portion of the beach, and the ones that were there were dirty and falling apart. Almost no kind of shade was available. Some dirty public bathrooms that you had to walk quite a ways to get to and nowhere to get any kind of refreshment. The web site made the beach sound much more like the one you went to. Not sure what happened. It also didn't help that people on our tour had to keep stopping the driver to get out and vomit because of how much they drank and the way the roads kept winding in and out. One guy barely made it out of the van. I'm glad you had a much nicer experience. At this point, the only way I'd want to return to St. Lucia would be to stay in one of the private resorts. But for now, I'll get back to your review and pictures. :)

is the beach you are referring to "between the pitons?" That is where Cosol took us too. While the beach was not the nicest, the water and snorkeling was awesome. It was attached to a resort, and there were no chairs where we were, which was fine since we spent a lot of time in the water.

I LOVE your screen name. LOL If I was in St Lucia 100 times, I would do Cosul Tours 100 times. We enjoy it that much. You really can't beat what he provides. Comfortable air conditioned transportation, food, unlimited liquor, a beautiful beach and a VERY thorough tour of St Lucia...all for $65. He's one of the reasons we did this itinerary again.

totally agree about Cosol - that is why we are taking his tour for a second time and not really changing anything from the first one.

Certainly not true. We boarded at around 4 which was really late.

I believe you can board even earlier than 4pm. I have heard you can start as early as 11:30am-12pm.

Thanks for the review! I can't wait to read more. Did y'all ever make it to the piano bar or club? If so, how was it? Also, I've been going back and forth over transportation once we get to San Juan. Carnival is $12 pp both ways which is $48 not including tips and the taxis in San Juan are $19 plus $1 per bag. I know I'll have 2 suitcases for sure but do you know if they charge for backpacks? Just based on having 2 suitcases I'm looking at $42 not including tips. They're really both about the same as far as price but I wouldn't have to wait for the Carnival bus to fill up which is a PITA. I love your cabin by the way. I have an aft wrap on the Valor in August and I cannot wait!

Hi Shante - go for the taxi - don't wait for the bus. We are taking the taxi as a group of 10, and just hoping it will not be a problem getting a large enough van/taxi. Others on this board said it should not be a problem. Mitch.....

We had a great time on cosols tour. Baptist was our driver and he was great. Very knowledgeable. The bread on the way back was amazing. I definitely recommend it, it's well worth the money. The only thing is the car ride on the way back was long! If you are prone to motion sickness I would take a pill for the ride home.

depending on where you end the tour, you can take a speedd boat back to the pier for a few $$ more like we did.

BUT, this is no ride for the faint of heart. It was a VERY bumpy ride and some of my people had some neck and back pain at the end....

you are a SAINT.

Thank you for sharing your adventure.

We sail on the Valor on 8/4.

Thanks again St. Kim.

You didn't say how many you have but she takes a minimum of 4 at $45 per person. She includes the entry to Brimstone Fort in her fee! It was a GREAT day, and she is a kind woman, her husband is a native there. Knowledgable and proud of her island! We only had 4 & no one else had requested, so the day was most excellent, and we ended our day on Cockleshell beach. We saw monkeys at Romney Manor and the beach, and they are super cute in the wild! :D. Enjoy your day. http://www.roseandjimstaxi.com/ourtours.htm

would you know is she can take a group of 10 people in her vehicle?

I am tryingto reach out to her via her web site, but have not heard back from her just yet.

Is there anything else you can tell me about her tour?

thanks very much,

Hello Fellow Cruise Addicts!!

 

After an extremely longggg hiatus from cruising (not by choice I might add) I'm finally booked and ready for August and the Valor. However, this time will be different. I've only cruised as a single gal but I'm a mommy now and my daughter will be an almost 2 year old when we sail. I've been so excited the past couple days, I've been doing research on each port and everything. During bath time I had an "Oh s***!" moment...the cabins only have showers?!?! And then I realized I had a ton of questions. This will be my first time cruising with her and it will just be her and I in a cabin (other family plan to come along but have yet to book a cabin so we could very well be going alone).

 

Where do you bathe baby/toddler? She only gets baths and has never had a shower before. I always where flip flops in the showers but what about her?

 

How does eating in the MDR work? I'm assuming they have high chairs and booster seats?

 

Do they have activities for the younger than 2 age group on the Valor like story times etc. in the mornings or at all during the cruise?

 

Any tips and tricks from experienced parents? I'd love to hear them all.

 

Thanks!

what exactly is your sail date in Aug.

I am sailing on 8/4. While I really cant answer your baby questions, I am sure that that there a tons of people here on CC that can.

a little late to the party, but I am also subscribed.

WOW - these pictures got my juices flowing.

Sailing the Valor on Aug. 4 southern itinerary.

Very nice job !!!

I think the children will enjoy the tour.

Cosol is VERY entertaining and he make numerous stop for food, of which it will be like having a feast.

He can also customize the tour like he did for us. If there are things that you want or don't want to do, just ell him.

St. Lucia is our favorite caribbean island - and having Cosol show it to us during our first ever visit made it even better.

If you are lucky enough to actually have him as your guide, it will be that much better.

Used Cosol in 2008 AND WILL BE USING HIM AGAIN for our 8/4 Valor cruise.

He is the BEST and we were lucky enough to actually have him as our tour guide - not sure why we got so lucky to have him, but this is why we are going to use him again.

You will not go wrong using Cosol.

Thanks to Pellaz and AdobeRN for the info.

That is what I was hoping you would say.

I did not want those upgrades to cost me more money "out of pocket"

They nickel and dime you as it is.

THANKS....

Great Review and Great Pictures.

Question, what is included in the cruise price and what is not?

Specifically, Guys Burger Place and some of the other new features that are part of Carnival 2.0.

I have not sailed Carnival in several years, especially since they started tyhis 2.0 program so I am curious what extras may have to come out of my pocket.

Seriously considering the Liberty for Aug. 2013.

thanks in advance,

Mitch........