Jump to content

Thanksgiving day cruise review - Carnival Valor 2017


Quilcruisers
 Share

Recommended Posts

Thanksgiving Day 2017 cruise

 

We decided to go on acruise for Thanksgiving pretty late in the year. My husband and I had justcruised in October but my sister and mom wanted to cruise again. We booked a cruise for me and my son(13), my sister and her girls (18 and 16), my mom and my cousin and her husbandand son and sons friend.

 

We booked 1 oceanviewroom, 1 inside and 1 balcony on the Carnival Valor. Since it was a holiday cruise, we bookedat the going rate, but were lucky enough to find and get a price protection inwhich we got back about $500 between 2 cabins. Price protection does work and itworked fast. The rate we used for price protection was a guarantee, but we gotour cabin assignments in about 2 weeks and were assigned 1406 (OV) and 1416(inside). We were happywith the room assignments. My cousin was on deck 8 and they were happy withtheir room. My sister had some friends that cruised too with a group.

 

Cruise day could notcome fast enough, the cruise was short so we had to pack a whole lot of funinto a short amount of time. Mysister wanted to book FTTF since she wanted to debark early Mondaymorning. I was able to gether FTTF but didn’t think to get it for my cousin until it was too late.

 

We had all of ourThanksgiving celebrations the Wednesday before and I wrapped up all of my workthat week so that I could relax on my cruise, I took off for Monday afterward.We met at my sisters house at about 10am and prepared to leave for Galveston.She lives in South Houston so it is not far. My brother in law drove us anddropped us off and my cousin drove her car. We got to Galveston at about 1130.We decided not to park our car, but my cousin did. The lot I normally use - EZcruise, was full anyway so my cousin prepaid for another lot next door to theport.

 

My cousin had 1130boarding time, my sister had FTTF and I am platinum so as soon as we got to theterminal, we went inside. Quick check of our documents, wine, soda and we wereon our way to the ship. We did not have to sit, just like our Octobercruise. I had a credit cardon file but my sister and mom did not, so they went to the line to add theircards/cash while we waited. We were in that line at 1210pm and by 1230, wewalked onto the ship. This is my son and I waiting to board.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We went to our rooms todrop off our stuff, our keys were in the mailbox for all of the rooms. We didnot intend to stay long, we didn’t want to be in the way of the room stewardsand they were very busy getting the other rooms together. People were pretty good about notcoming tthrough the fire doors, they were closed shut, not partially open likenormal, so I think that stopped the people from opening them. We knew we could go through thembecause of FTTF and Platinum status. Once we dropped our stuff off, we checkedthe other cabin and went up to 9th floor to eat. It was crowded but nothing wewerent used to so we just fell into a line for burgers, mongolian wok and thebuffet. My mom, sis and cousin and husband had reservations for the Steakhousethat night so we didn’t want to eat too much.

 

Once we finished lunch,it was about 2pm so we went to the rooms to get settled, hang our banners, andunpack. My mom, sister and I were in the oceanview room and we put my son andnieces in the other cabin. Their room steward said he would come later and letthe bunks down, it was weird seeing the 2 beds and knowing the room was for 4people but we quickly remembered.

 

We settled down in timefor the Muster drill at 330pm. It was quick and painless (as much as it couldbe). Once Muster was over,we went to the sailaway party. Frankie was the cruise director and he was a lotof fun. The sailaway party was nice but it was freezing, we had unexpected coldweather this year and I could not wait until we got to warmth. We danced andstayed outside on the deck for about an hour and then went inside. We didn’twant to go through the trouble of changing the room assignments on paper so wewent to guest services and had them make "key only" room cards for mymom, sister and my son. Whenwe originally booked, my mom and sister were in the inside cabin with mynieces. This plan worked out well and we didn’t have to move $$ or cards oranything around, just give everyone access as they needed.

 

 

My 16 year old niece wasgoing to entertain my cousins son and my son while we were at the Steakhouseand they were going to eat pizza or the buffet, go to the gameroom and watch amovie. The buffet was awesome,we scoped it out while they played at the gameroom. They had Clam Chowder,Smoked duck breast, Crab cake, Grilled black tiger jumbo shrimp, NY stripsteak, Broccoli, baked potato and pumpkin and gingerbread pie. We grabbed asample plate and took it back to the room for them (not us), and the food wasvery good.

 

 

 

 

We started getting readyfor the Steakhouse about 6pm, we had a 7pm reservation. My sister and I hadbanners made for the rooms and we were very pleased with them. Mine said "our other car is acruise ship" and hers said "take us to your lido". Her banner was super cute and she hadlittle flip flops that they decorated and blinged out with our names but theywere too heavy to hang so we didn’t hang them. They stayed on the floor outsideof the cabin all week. Next time, we will make a separate decoration for theflip flops, maybe something that could sit outside and not hang on the door,unless we make an additional something to hold them up on the door. We used commandstrips to hang them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We arrived at theSteakhouse at about 645pm and asked to be seated together, if possible. My 18 year old niece decided to comewith us. They were able to seat us together, the steakhouse was not crowded atall this night.

 

About the steakhouse --OMG!! The best thing ever. I made the reservation since we were leaving onThanksgiving day because I wanted a nice meal for Thanksgiving since we wouldnot be home. Next time, I won't make it so late. I could have made it for 6pm,but just would have had to get my cousin FTTF to ensure they would get theirluggage in time. We all had our luggage in plenty of time but had we booked itearlier, that might not have worked out that way. They didn’t want to dress upfor the departure, so they packed their nicer clothes in the suitcases.

 

 

The steakhouse staffcame to the table and gave us an overview of the selections and we were askedto choose our main entrée. While we waited for our food to come, they broughtus the cutest little tiny hamburgers, I think it was a lamb burger, but it wasvery good. We ate salad, lobster bisque, crab cakes and baked potato for oursalad/appetizers, and for entrees', we got surf & turf, I got the lobsterand shrimp ravioli, my niece got a lobster, someone else ordered a sirloin. Itwas so much food and the portions were very nice. We were offered dessert, I got thechocolate sampler, they also had cheesecake and a fresh fruit/berrydessert. We got 2 bottlesof wine because we were booked on 2 separate reservations. The wine is free thefirst night. We didn’t have any wine drinkers, besides myself, so I took a fullbottle back with me. Right when we finished eating, a magician came to thetable. He was so awesome, and everyone was blown away at his tricks. His name was Suresh. He told us thathe would be performing later that week but we never saw a performance, althoughwe did see him again at the brunch on the final sea day. We were given our bill to sign for andfinished dinner at about 10pm. This was very well worth $35.00, no one couldeat their full meal and they did pack it up for us to go but it would be hardto finish since it was cold. I think if you go to the steakhouse, you need toallow a lot of time to work through the courses. I forgot to mention, they served freshbread that was delicious too.

 

Shrimp and Lobster ravioli:

 

 

My sister and niece

 

 

When we left thesteakhouse, we wanted to go back and change and go to the nightclub. My niecehad just turned 18 and was excited that she could finally go to the club andcasino, so we took her there and we had a nice time dancing the nightaway. We were back in thecabin at about midnight and started to settle down for the next day.

 

Coming up next: My favorite - Sea day

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You packed in a lot of details. How did you like the ship overall?

I really enjoyed the ship. It is small enough to maneuver but not too small that it's crowded. Even with everyone out on deck or in the lobby it didn't seem crowded. Until the debarkation day of course.

 

Sent from my SM-N950U using Forums mobile app

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I cant see the pictures....I think they are supposed to be here? Lol

 

We get on board the 29th.... will be following this!

 

Thanks. :cool:

Awesome. Yes I tried to get on the December 22 cruise but no takers. I am working on the pictures. I tried to load them but kept spinning. When it finally submitted they were not there.

 

Sent from my SM-N950U using Forums mobile app

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanksgiving Day 2017 cruise

 

We decided to go on acruise for Thanksgiving pretty late in the year. My husband and I had justcruised in October but my sister and mom wanted to cruise again. We booked a cruise for me and my son(13), my sister and her girls (18 and 16), my mom and my cousin and her husbandand son and sons friend.

 

We booked 1 oceanviewroom, 1 inside and 1 balcony on the Carnival Valor. Since it was a holiday cruise, we bookedat the going rate, but were lucky enough to find and get a price protection inwhich we got back about $500 between 2 cabins. Price protection does work and itworked fast. The rate we used for price protection was a guarantee, but we gotour cabin assignments in about 2 weeks and were assigned 1406 (OV) and 1416(inside). We were happywith the room assignments. My cousin was on deck 8 and they were happy withtheir room. My sister had some friends that cruised too with a group.

 

Cruise day could notcome fast enough, the cruise was short so we had to pack a whole lot of funinto a short amount of time. Mysister wanted to book FTTF since she wanted to debark early Mondaymorning. I was able to gether FTTF but didn’t think to get it for my cousin until it was too late.

 

We had all of ourThanksgiving celebrations the Wednesday before and I wrapped up all of my workthat week so that I could relax on my cruise, I took off for Monday afterward.We met at my sisters house at about 10am and prepared to leave for Galveston.She lives in South Houston so it is not far. My brother in law drove us anddropped us off and my cousin drove her car. We got to Galveston at about 1130.We decided not to park our car, but my cousin did. The lot I normally use - EZcruise, was full anyway so my cousin prepaid for another lot next door to theport.

 

My cousin had 1130boarding time, my sister had FTTF and I am platinum so as soon as we got to theterminal, we went inside. Quick check of our documents, wine, soda and we wereon our way to the ship. We did not have to sit, just like our Octobercruise. I had a credit cardon file but my sister and mom did not, so they went to the line to add theircards/cash while we waited. We were in that line at 1210pm and by 1230, wewalked onto the ship. This is my son and I waiting to board.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We went to our rooms todrop off our stuff, our keys were in the mailbox for all of the rooms. We didnot intend to stay long, we didn’t want to be in the way of the room stewardsand they were very busy getting the other rooms together. People were pretty good about notcoming tthrough the fire doors, they were closed shut, not partially open likenormal, so I think that stopped the people from opening them. We knew we could go through thembecause of FTTF and Platinum status. Once we dropped our stuff off, we checkedthe other cabin and went up to 9th floor to eat. It was crowded but nothing wewerent used to so we just fell into a line for burgers, mongolian wok and thebuffet. My mom, sis and cousin and husband had reservations for the Steakhousethat night so we didn’t want to eat too much.

 

Once we finished lunch,it was about 2pm so we went to the rooms to get settled, hang our banners, andunpack. My mom, sister and I were in the oceanview room and we put my son andnieces in the other cabin. Their room steward said he would come later and letthe bunks down, it was weird seeing the 2 beds and knowing the room was for 4people but we quickly remembered.

 

We settled down in timefor the Muster drill at 330pm. It was quick and painless (as much as it couldbe). Once Muster was over,we went to the sailaway party. Frankie was the cruise director and he was a lotof fun. The sailaway party was nice but it was freezing, we had unexpected coldweather this year and I could not wait until we got to warmth. We danced andstayed outside on the deck for about an hour and then went inside. We didn’twant to go through the trouble of changing the room assignments on paper so wewent to guest services and had them make "key only" room cards for mymom, sister and my son. Whenwe originally booked, my mom and sister were in the inside cabin with mynieces. This plan worked out well and we didn’t have to move $$ or cards oranything around, just give everyone access as they needed.

 

 

My 16 year old niece wasgoing to entertain my cousins son and my son while we were at the Steakhouseand they were going to eat pizza or the buffet, go to the gameroom and watch amovie. The buffet was awesome,we scoped it out while they played at the gameroom. They had Clam Chowder,Smoked duck breast, Crab cake, Grilled black tiger jumbo shrimp, NY stripsteak, Broccoli, baked potato and pumpkin and gingerbread pie. We grabbed asample plate and took it back to the room for them (not us), and the food wasvery good.

 

 

 

 

We started getting readyfor the Steakhouse about 6pm, we had a 7pm reservation. My sister and I hadbanners made for the rooms and we were very pleased with them. Mine said "our other car is acruise ship" and hers said "take us to your lido". Her banner was super cute and she hadlittle flip flops that they decorated and blinged out with our names but theywere too heavy to hang so we didn’t hang them. They stayed on the floor outsideof the cabin all week. Next time, we will make a separate decoration for theflip flops, maybe something that could sit outside and not hang on the door,unless we make an additional something to hold them up on the door. We used commandstrips to hang them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We arrived at theSteakhouse at about 645pm and asked to be seated together, if possible. My 18 year old niece decided to comewith us. They were able to seat us together, the steakhouse was not crowded atall this night.

 

About the steakhouse --OMG!! The best thing ever. I made the reservation since we were leaving onThanksgiving day because I wanted a nice meal for Thanksgiving since we wouldnot be home. Next time, I won't make it so late. I could have made it for 6pm,but just would have had to get my cousin FTTF to ensure they would get theirluggage in time. We all had our luggage in plenty of time but had we booked itearlier, that might not have worked out that way. They didn’t want to dress upfor the departure, so they packed their nicer clothes in the suitcases.

 

 

The steakhouse staffcame to the table and gave us an overview of the selections and we were askedto choose our main entrée. While we waited for our food to come, they broughtus the cutest little tiny hamburgers, I think it was a lamb burger, but it wasvery good. We ate salad, lobster bisque, crab cakes and baked potato for oursalad/appetizers, and for entrees', we got surf & turf, I got the lobsterand shrimp ravioli, my niece got a lobster, someone else ordered a sirloin. Itwas so much food and the portions were very nice. We were offered dessert, I got thechocolate sampler, they also had cheesecake and a fresh fruit/berrydessert. We got 2 bottlesof wine because we were booked on 2 separate reservations. The wine is free thefirst night. We didn’t have any wine drinkers, besides myself, so I took a fullbottle back with me. Right when we finished eating, a magician came to thetable. He was so awesome, and everyone was blown away at his tricks. His name was Suresh. He told us thathe would be performing later that week but we never saw a performance, althoughwe did see him again at the brunch on the final sea day. We were given our bill to sign for andfinished dinner at about 10pm. This was very well worth $35.00, no one couldeat their full meal and they did pack it up for us to go but it would be hardto finish since it was cold. I think if you go to the steakhouse, you need toallow a lot of time to work through the courses. I forgot to mention, they served freshbread that was delicious too.

 

Shrimp and Lobster ravioli:

 

 

My sister and niece

 

 

When we left thesteakhouse, we wanted to go back and change and go to the nightclub. My niecehad just turned 18 and was excited that she could finally go to the club andcasino, so we took her there and we had a nice time dancing the nightaway. We were back in thecabin at about midnight and started to settle down for the next day.

 

Coming up next: My favorite - Sea day

 

I am now able to post my pictures, let me try again to get these to appear:

 

Our banner -

16i5fn6.jpg

Sisters banner -

 

 

33ax5xf.jpg

 

 

 

Flip flops -

 

 

efgox5.jpg

Mom and the banner -

 

 

26067tw.jpg

 

The young peoples' cabin (1416) -

 

 

dbjukj.jpg

 

Me and the banner

 

 

2d14a4p.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Love the review. We will be on the Valor in March for the first time

 

Sent from my Z982 using Forums mobile app

 

 

 

Thank you so much. I will be posting more shortly. My first time on the valor was my birthday cruise in October. Nice, good sized ship, it was so quick getting from one end to the other.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Friday night -continued - I love sea days, so much to do. This is a continuation of my previous post:

 

Once we left Bingo,we went to the casino because my mom won on the pull tag lottery cards at Bingo. She won 5.00. We went back to the cabin and got our things ready, we wanted to take showers in the spa/gym. My nieces and I went down to take our showers and I go to the steam room. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to go into the steam room because we waited too long. I never made it back to the steam room.

Let me tell you, I try to make it to the gym to shower each night so that I can sit in the steam room and decompress. THe showers in the gym are very spacious and you are able to spread out to get ready for the evening. It is so relaxing in there and something I look forward to on the older ships. On the newer ships,like the Breeze, the steam room is not as large and if I recall correctly, does not have windows/views of the ocean. The freedom, triumph and valor still have this great option for free.

 

Once back in the room, we got dressed for elegant night and went down to meet the captain in the atrium. The captain was scheduled to be there at 7pm and when we got there about 705pm, all of the heads of departments,the cruise director and a lot of other people were standing outside of the shore excursion desk. There was no direction and nothing said about where the captain was or when he would be joining. So we just stood there until one of us went and asked. They said"the captain is on the way". He came there without any type of fanfare or announcement, which was a little odd to me. Nevertheless, we took pictures with him and shook his hand.

 

Mom and my son -waiting to meet the captain -

 

28vtzsm.jpg

 

Mom and the boys waiting to meet the captain -

 

2z8zte8.jpg

 

Me, mom and my son -

 

2cwu8ol.jpg

 

Me mom and son -

 

11aiaaa.jpg

 

Cousin's son, his friend and the captain -

 

w5jf4.jpg

 

Group with the captain -

 

2hre91x.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

These are a few more pictures of us with the captain.

 

My son and the captain

 

2w30vi1.jpg

 

Captain and me, sister and niece

2vc96y8.jpg

 

With the captain -

 

2co4mee.jpg

 

After meeting the captain, we left for dinner. This was elegant night and we had a party of 10 so we had a wait. We ended up waiting about 45 minutes for a table but they gave us a pager.

Our dinner was in the Lincoln dining room, mid-ship. I feel like this ship is pretty small so it took no time getting from one place to another. The dining room was right on the other side of the atrium.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This was elegant night (Friday) and we had to wait about 45 minutes because it was 10 of us in our party. We took more pictures while waiting. I had already told everyone that since this was a 4 day cruise, no free lobster. Even without free lobster, the menu was very good and everyone found something they enjoyed.

 

My cousin and her husband -

 

2njj02h.jpg

 

Sis and nieces -

 

pumaf.jpg

 

Sis and nieces -

 

jzv1ie.jpg

 

Nieces and my son -

 

1zw2r6b.jpg

 

We were able to get a table together after a long wait. This was my second time with YTD in all of my cruises. Overall, I enjoy YTD because you can plan the day better and decide if you want to go to a different show or event. In the past, we always had late dining and really enjoyed getting to know our wait team. The downside to that is that we often had to miss things because of the timing. We didnt want to shortchange dinner, so we would spend a lot of time there. I feel that the best value for your dollar is eating in the dining room, and plus I enjoy being waited on. Usually we will decide 1 day on the cruise that we are not going to the dining room to eat, that night, we will eat at the deli, lido buffet or burgers/pizza. I don't know if I would choose YTD if we have a big party again like we often do, but for 6-10 people, it works out well. We only had that 1 night that we had to wait a long time.

 

 

Our wait team wasvery efficient and even brought my niece a birthday cake (her birthday was theweek before).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I know there have been many, many reviews on the American Table and the tablecloths (or lack of), service in the MDR, food choices, etc. In this review, you will hear no such things. I will say it this way, I cannot understand why it is hard for anyone to find a great meal each night. My husband is a very picky eater and thoroughly enjoys cruise food. If you cant find something you like or get a bad meal, try something else.

 

I am pretty easygoing and guess I have never experienced any bad times in the MDR, no cold food, no food I didn’t enjoy. There were a couple of times that our orders were incorrect, but with all that we ask for and as many meals as are being served, it is a drop in the bucket for me. Those people work really hard and even if they make a mistake, I am very forgiving and they are always so eager to make it right. I work in the service industry too, so I have a soft spot for people who work directly with customers and also people who work in service and the food industry on top of that. I have nothing but admiration for the whole team that allows us to have a phenomenal time on our cruises.

 

I often talk to people about my love of cruising and how everything is so well executed and such a great value for what we pay (even with increasing costs). Because of my excitement about cruising (and I tell everyone), my cousin and her husband booked the cruise. They never cruised before so they were very excited at all of the choices available on the menu and throughout the ship. They kept asking, "is this included too?" LOL . They also kept commenting how hard the people worked on the cruise, they saw several people in different spots and jobs on the cruise and held such a high appreciation just seeing the way they work. They are ready to book again next Thanksgiving.

 

Since we went to the Steakhouse on the first night, they didn’t get to experience the MDR until the 2nd night.

 

Stuffed mushrooms one of my favorite appetizers

-1ylemu.jpg

 

Dining room - jumbo shrimp

- 16l0olf.jpg

 

Elegant night menu - notice Creme Brulee? It had gone away a few years ago and seems that it is back

-5flsm0.jpg

 

Chocolate mousse cake

- e1dcag.jpg

 

These are a couple more pictures from the steakhouse

 

Steakhouse - tiny burger -

 

5ahv8m.jpg

 

Steakhouse - my crabcake appetizer

 

 

2cxvvhi.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wanted to post more pictures from the Steakhouse. We went to the steakhouse on Thursday, Thanksgiving day and had a great meal and 2 bottles of wine, for $35.00 per person. There was so much food we could not finish it all. It was served in courses and by the time they got to dessert, we were all stuffed. Actually, by the time we finished our appetizer, we were getting full.

Also, since we booked on 2 separate requests,we got 2 free bottles of wine. There was no way we could drink the wine and eat all the food in one sitting. I knew this, so I intended to take my wine back for later. Besides, I am the only one who really enjoys wine.

 

Steakhouse - lamb chops - this was one of the choices for your entree

 

vfaumh.jpg

 

Steakhouse - Lobster tails - entree choice

 

23kx4jb.jpg

 

Steakhouse dessert - This was some kind of sampler - the choices for dessert: Sampler, a chocolate sampler, cheesecake, fresh fruit. I got the chocolate sampler but for some reason, didnt get a picture.

 

swu2rq.jpg

 

Steakhouse fruit-this was an option for dessert.

 

14afvqe.jpg

 

After we left dinner, my sister, niece and cousins went to the nightclub. Everyone else went to the cabin or to the movies out on deck.

 

Sister and niece -nightclub -

 

2v2xety.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Saturday - Cozumel, Mexico

 

After dancing the night away at the nightclub, we made it to bed and prepared to sleep in the next morning. My cousin and her family booked an excursion - ATV, Speedboat and snorkeling, but it was not until 11am the next morning. We planned to eat breakfast with them before they got off the ship and initially planned to just hang around the ship and maybe get off for a little while to walk around.

 

We got to Cozumel,Mexico on Saturday morning. We slept through all of the announcements and got up about 930am. My sister and I went to the track and I was so happy to get the text that said "Welcome to Mexico" our calls, data and text were included with our plan. Everyone was very happy to turn their phones on while in Mexico just to refresh.

 

We did get the internet package, it was $48.00 for the week. I always purchase the mid-range package and my son and I and husband will share it throughout the week. We also subscribe to the Hub for all of our phones as we use the chatf eature and the fun times schedule regularly. The hub app is really great because you can mark your events that you want to attend and as long as you stay logged into the app, you will get reminders about the events.

 

We met up on the lido for breakfast. The buffet was crowded but not too terrible. I went to the line to get an omelet and just got bacon , potatoes and fruit in the buffet line. I went with my sister to get her a breakfast taco at the blue iguana. I found Arepas at the taco place and got one for my mom to try.

 

Arepas - from Blue Iguana -

 

30ixdth.jpg

 

Bacon and omelet -lido deck -I have heard people complain about the quantity of bacon served and I didn’t have a problem, they gave me this bacon, I didn’t say a word. It was plenty for me. I guess sometimes they ration it off, and sometimes they are generous. I never experienced a shortage of bacon, not saying it doesn’t happen, I just don’t experience it.

 

cte1t.jpg

 

Breakfast - Huevas Rancheros - from Blue Iguana - and my sisters taco

 

soww02.jpg

 

When we finished eating breakfast, we went back to the cabin and helped my cousin and her group to find their way off the ship. As we were talking about what we would do for the day ON THE SHIP, my niece reminded me that I promised to parasail with her for her 18th birthday. Oh darn, I sure did. Well after a little hem-hawing around, we decided to get off the ship and go to the beach "for a minute". My sister and I, my son,and my two nieces packed our things and got ready to go to the beach. My mom didn’t want to go, said she would just walk around, sleep off breakfast, enjoy the peace and quiet. We told her we would see her later - it was about 5 hours later - we were off the ship until 5pm.

 

We decided to walk to the end of the pier and get a taxi. On the way there, we took pictures.

 

Son and niece -cozumel -

 

2yovhbk.jpg

 

Cozumel - with the DJ from the ship - he photo bombed us -

 

 

1ev3f5.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We have been to Cozumel many many times, almost every cruise from Galveston stops here so we know our way around the place. We went to the end of the pier to get a taxi. All we asked for was a place we could go parasailing. They recommended we take a taxi to a free beach and could then get all of what we wanted on that beach. Mr. Sanchos was full because that was the first place we thought of. It was fine, the driver told us the other choice was Carlos and Charlies. I had been to all of the beaches before but it didn’t matter which one I went to so we got in the taxi. There were 5 of us and the guy quoted us $21.00 to ride to the beach and it was free entry. He also said there were no extra charges for chairs, umbrellas or showers/pools, restrooms, etc. Sold!!

 

Me in the taxi -cozumel -

 

dev75s.jpg

 

Me and niece -

 

2yoptvm.jpg

 

Soon as we got there, we went and got chairs and sat all of our stuff down. We immediately went to check on parasailing. Unfortunately my niece failed to get cash the night before and so did I. (remember, I wasn’t planning on going off the ship). She used the ATM to get cash and I had a little cash with me. We found parasailing for $50 per person and they were ready for us immediately.

 

We left to go parasailing and the people were so good and professional. They explained everything to us, and helped us onto the boat. They strapped us into the harness and life vests and took off. There were 2 guys, one driving the boat, the other was the one that helped set us up. It was so beautiful as we took off and we were taking pictures and recording videos the whole time. I don’t know what I expected but I think I expected there to be big drops and I thought it would be scary up in the air. I also had the impression that they would "drop" us into the water, but they didnt. It was not scary at all, it was truly beautiful. Now that I have done it once and gotten over my fear of the unknown, I want to do it again and really be able to capture pictures and videos. We were able to see the whole island, and at some points, we saw the cruise ship. We were in the air about 25 minutes and they slowly brought us back down. I am glad we decided to go.

Getting ready to parasail -

 

15dw9av.jpg

 

 

 

In the air -

 

1548u2p.jpg

 

Shot on the beach - my son and younger niece

 

14v1f9g.jpg

 

Me and my son on the beach -

 

iyct4p.jpg

 

 

When we finished parasailing, my sister, son and niece were sitting under the umbrellas, so we decided to get some food and let my niece get a fruity drink. She was so excited to be able to have a little alcohol. We ordered off the menu and got a couple of drinks and took pictures. There was a photographer on the beach too. Wish I would have found him sooner, he got some really good pictures of us. I bought a couple of pictures and ended up buying a frame, although I had no need for it, it was really cute so I got it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Saturday - still in Cozumel…..We wanted to stay at the beach until 3pm ship time. We constantly checked the time to make sure we were not cutting it close. I like to play it super safe, I do not desire to get caught missing the ship. I am not about that pier running life. I always make it back to the ship with 2-3 hours to spare.

 

We also wanted to do a little shopping once we got back. We spent about another hour on the beach and then started to pack up to leave.

 

The sand was so nice, no water needed, it just brushed away. This warmth was very welcoming to us since it was freezing cold on Thursday when we left home. To pur it in perspective, we are all native Houstonians, so 40 degrees is freezing to us. Thanksgiving day was about 40-45 degrees and was a clear day, no sun in sight. The first day of the cruise was very cold too, but on Friday, it warmed up once we got out in the ocean.

 

These are more pictures from Cozumel. We wanted to take pictures by the famous sign but had done that 87,000 times before and it was crowded so we didn’t wait. The taxi was$21.00 to go back, so we ended up paying less than $10.00 for the trip there and back and the beach, which was pretty good. We did not have to buy anything at all and that was a welcomed change.

 

More pictures here from our day in Cozumel

 

Me and my son on the beach -

 

iyct4p.jpg

 

In cozumel - carlos and charlies sign -

 

10pc5sx.jpg

 

Beach -

 

iwq29w.jpg

 

Me and my son -

 

xgbequ.jpg

 

Son on the beach -

 

31317hk.jpg

 

Selfie on the beach-

 

 

2w54tnq.jpg

I will post more tomorrow about the rest of our day Saturday and our final Sea day - Sunday.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Loving the pictures! What beach is this?

 

Was muster inside?

 

Been a long time since Cozumel, we need low key 5 days since it is for NYE and my birthday :cool: lots of drinking and dancing in 18 days!

 

Nothing better than the spa shower for us ladies!

 

Parasailing is so peaceful!

 

Was there a glow party?

 

Thanks!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...