Carnival Valor PHOTO Review, April 28 - May 6, 2012

[summerspirit]

Thank you everyone for your kind words, I'm so glad everyone is enjoying the photos!! :) I'll be posting more today, hopefully soon.

 

Wow! These are some of the most beautiful pics I have seen on this site! I am interested in the kayaking tour. Would you say it was exhausting? Or did you go at a leisurely pace? How much did it cost? How long did it last? (jeesh! All these questions. :p:o)

 

For us, the kayaking tour was not very exhausting (my husband did a lot of the paddling from the front/steering position since he's the heavier one out of the two of us.) You are not pressured to paddle very fast or anything, everyone kind of leisurely goes at their own pace, generally following the same path, so some people would be up near the guide in front, and others would be way in the back going slower. We also stopped quite a few times to check things out, as seen in the photos, so you get some breaks as well. I believe it was about $70 per person, and it lasted a decent amount of time - I didn't actually time it, but it felt like a good length, not too long or not too short. I'd *guess* it was about an hour and a half?? It was my favorite excursion on the whole trip though! :D

[summerspirit]

Great review so far, georgeous Pictures. Looking forward to more. What Camera did you use ? The pics so great.....

 

Thank you! :) My husband used a Canon 5d Mark II (and he also brought his Canon 7d for night/ship photos because it has a pop-up flash) and I used a little Sony Cybershot point-and-shoot.

 

I'm interested in the Kayak tour as well. Were you afraid of getting your camera wet? I use a DSLR and we were thinking of doing the Kayak but I think I would only bring out maybe my waterproof camera....

 

Well the only way I'd let my husband bring our 5dmkii was if he used a waterproof backpack. We purchased an Overboard brand waterproof backpack before the cruise, and we definitely used it since it rained almost every day of our cruise. While kayaking, I think my husband only took his 5dmkii out of the waterproof bag when we were sort of 'stopped' so there was no danger of capsizing. I stored my little Sony Cybershot in an Overboard multipurpose waterproof case that I wore around my neck with a lanyard (you can probably spot it in some of the photos of me), so I could take it in and out very easily. Also since I was in the back of the kayak, it was much easier for me to take photos during the kayaking since the person in front does most of the steering. The kayaks are flat-bottomed so there really wasn't much fear of flipping over into the water, just make sure you both don't lean out the same side of the kayak when searching for conch! ;)

[welshcorgie]

We want more!! Awsome pictures!!!

[summerspirit]

Our next port of call was San Juan, Puerto Rico. We chose to do the horseback riding excursion since we read such great reviews on the Carnival website, and the tour did not disappoint!

 

We decided to have breakfast in the MDR on this day since we weren't expected to arrive to port until later in the morning. I had the pancakes and bacon, it was alright but we stuck with the buffet breakfast the rest of the days.

 

Morning view off our balcony as we get closer to San Juan.

 

View(s) from our starboard side balcony as we get closer to port...

 

Unfortunately we were late coming in to port at San Juan. We were supposed to arrive at 11:00am, but we weren't able to get off the ship until a little after noon. Our horseback riding tour was supposed to start right at 11, but we didn't actually leave on the bus until 12:30pm.

 

And then our bus broke down, boo!! So we had to pull over and wait for another bus to come pick us up, which took about twenty minutes or so. We were bummed at this point because we had planned to walk around Old San Juan when we returned from horseback riding, but it looked like that wouldn't be possible with all the unexpected delays.

 

We FINALLY arrived to the horseback riding ranch, Hacienda Carabali, after over an hour in the bus.

[summerspirit]

I was a little nervous about this excursion as well, because I had never ridden a horse before! (Well, technically once when I was about 8 or 9 but that doesn't count because I don't remember it haha.) They first separated us into two groups - experienced riders, and inexperienced riders. It made me feel much more comfortable when my group had A LOT more people in it. There were only a handful of experienced riders, so it made me feel more at ease that others were in the same boat as me. They gave us a few simple instructions and then we began pairing up with our horses.

 

Of course just my luck, I was chosen to be the very first person to get on their horse! It actually wasn't too bad though, these horses are VERY well trained, you almost don't have to do anything at all. Once I got on the horse, it knew to just walk over to the fence to wait for the others. My only 'complaint' was that it took quite a while to get everyone on their horses, but we did have a fairly large group.

 

We were finally off! One thing to keep in mind if you do this tour, the horses like to organize themselves into a particular 'pecking order', so you won't necessarily ride next to the person you came with (for instance, my husband's horse liked to stay in the back while mine liked being closer to the front.) It was still a lot of fun and I enjoyed relaxing and enjoying the beautiful scenery!

 

Our guides were awesome, he saw that I had a camera, so he offered to not only take MY photo on my horse, but he asked who I was with - so I gave him my husband's description and he galloped off to the back of the line with my camera to get a nice photo of my husband as well!

 

Here comes the rain!!! Well, it was the rainforest after all, so what do you expect, right?! We came prepared though with our waterproof jackets and bags, so, no worries!

 

Soaked and loving it!!

[summerspirit]

Enjoying the beauty and serenity...

 

 

 

We finally all came to a stop and got off our horses to rest for a little bit next to the river.

 

The horses enjoying a much earned rest.

 

Our guides were taking photos for everyone in front of this really cool looking tree. This is our "now do something crazy!!" pose...

[summerspirit]

Then they showed us how they used to use natural minerals for 'makeup' and offered to paint faces...

 

My husband accepted the offer!

 

I'm sorry, I just had to include this one! We were having a blast!

 

After about fifteen or twenty minutes, we all got back on our horses and headed back.

 

[summerspirit]

So we finally made it back to the bus and started the drive back to the ship. Unfortunately for us, due to the delays, we didn't have any time left to explore Old San Juan. Although our bus driver offered to drive us through Old San Juan before taking us back to the port, so at least we could see some of the sights out the bus window. He did a great job explaining some of the sights as well. Here are some "out-the-dirty-bus-window" photos I grabbed as we drove by...

 

The infamous El Morro fort. I was really looking forward to exploring it a little bit, but I guess we'll just have to come back!

 

 

 

 

Home, sweet home!

[summerspirit]

We grabbed a few photos of San Juan from the ship as the sun was setting and before we pulled out of port...

 

 

 

 

 

Dinner time!! We ate in the MDR again for dinner, I had a delicious turkey dish - I can't remember the name, but it was my favorite meal of the cruise!

 

My husband ordered a hamburger. Really good as well!

[FL Naturelover]

I love your review! And your picture are awesome and fun to look at. I do agree that Grand Turk is beautiful. I call it Heaven On Earth.:) I have thought of doing an Kayak Eco Tour but two things hold me back:

1. Getting my DSLR or any camera wet

and

2. I once many years ago did a kayak on the ocean and we flipped over and I gott hit pretty hard on the head.:eek:

[crewsweeper]

Enjoying the review. Like taking the cruise.:)

[piratefan86]

Loving all of the pictures! We will be on the Valor on June 17! I'm so happy to see that you guys took advantage of an empty Serenity area and hot tub when it was raining... my husband and I almost look forward to a rainy day on our cruises - we love getting in the Serenity hot tubs when it is raining!

[my3boysmom]

wonderful review! Keep it coming!

[BenjiRodney]

Loving the review, loved Grand Turk when we stopped in 2010. Going back to San Juan in November for the 3 rd year in a row. Love Old San Juan. taking 4 first time cruisers with us on the Victory.

[summerspirit]

I love your review! And your picture are awesome and fun to look at. I do agree that Grand Turk is beautiful. I call it Heaven On Earth.:) I have thought of doing an Kayak Eco Tour but two things hold me back:

1. Getting my DSLR or any camera wet

2. I once many years ago did a kayak on the ocean and we flipped over and I gott hit pretty hard on the head.:eek:

 

Ouch! I'm glad you're ok! My husband and I had the same fears, but as he always says, why have it if you're always too afraid to use it, so we decided to bring it along and take the risk. For this kayaking trip, we weren't actually out on the open ocean so the water was very smooth (and shallow.)

 

Loving all of the pictures! We will be on the Valor on June 17! I'm so happy to see that you guys took advantage of an empty Serenity area and hot tub when it was raining... my husband and I almost look forward to a rainy day on our cruises - we love getting in the Serenity hot tubs when it is raining!

 

It was very nice! I could do without the crazy wind though, it was blowing the water up into our faces so we had to look away from the hot tub to be able to keep our eyes open - luckily we had a great view ;) Enjoy your cruise in June!!

[Family Travel Story]

Great pictures, I especially like the Warm Chocolate melting cake. (indeed no description needed to Carnival fans):)

[cruisinsly]

Love your pictures and review. Cant wait for the rest.

[summerspirit]

Next port of call was St. Maarten, and we chose to do the scenic coastal hike. The weather started out nice in the morning but again, rain clouds moved in about halfway through our hike. Our guides said that they just had a very bad drought for about four months prior to our visit, so I can't complain because I know they really needed the rain.

 

View of St. Maarten from our balcony. Again we had the worse of the two views out our starboard side balcony, but I really can't complain!

 

And THIS is the view that all those lucky port side balcony roomers got!

 

 

At the end of the pier, they have an area with some shops, bars, etc. You can also get a water taxi here that will take you over to Philipsburg and the beaches, or you can walk (it's about 15 minutes) which is what we did after our hike.

 

The amazing view at the start of our hike.

 

[Spaniel Lover]

Has your husband posted his time-lapse photos on YouTube? If so, could you provide a link? I'd love to see them. I recently bought the little timer thingie so I could do time-lapse cruise photos, too.

[summerspirit]

The trail behind us as we continued down the path. The guides explained that this path has been here for hundreds of years, and it may have been originally used as a route for slaves to bring the sugarcane from one end of the island to the other so it could be sent off by boat. It's now maintained by the many goats and sheep that inhabit the island. FYI, if you want to tell the difference between the goats and sheep on the island (they both look very similar)... goat's tails will be up, sheep tails will be hanging down!

 

You can see the rain clouds creeping in...

 

Some of the sights along the trail included cactus, flowers, birds, and a creepy spider (thanks to our guide Juan Pablo for pointing it out to us!)

 

 

 

[summerspirit]

Has your husband posted his time-lapse photos on YouTube? If so, could you provide a link? I'd love to see them. I recently bought the little timer thingie so I could do time-lapse cruise photos, too.

 

He's working on putting his time-lapse video together, and I'll definitely post the link once it's done! He's a bit of a slacker, so I have to motivate him to get it together ;) I'm hoping he'll have it done and posted by next week though.

[SeminoleFan]

Your photos and review are wonderful. Thank you for sharing.

[summerspirit]

 

Rain is coming...

 

The rain finally arrived as we got to the end of the trail, so cameras went bye-bye into their waterproof bags. At the end of the trail, there was a rocky beach, and when the waves pulled back out, they made this really interesting sound - I forget what the guides called it, but it was cool!

[summerspirit]

We then turned around and hiked back out the way we came in. The rain stopped about halfway through the hike back, so not too bad!

 

Thanks for a great time Juan Pablo! We enjoyed hearing your stories and learning all about St. Maarten.

 

We went back to the ship to shower and change, and then headed back out to walk over to Philipsburg. The walk took about 15 minutes, and it was clearly marked as the "walkway to Philipsburg" so no worries about getting lost (if you're paranoid like me lol!) Or you can always take a water taxi.

 

I know I'm a dork!

 

After our 15 minute walk, we arrived to Philipsburg.

 

We enjoyed walking around checking out all the street vendors and shops. We're not big shoppers, but it was fun to look.

 

[summerspirit]

Some more boardwalk photos...

 

 

 

 

 

Ugh, more rain!?!? I know they need it, but couldn't it have waited until we left... We hid under an overhang until it let up before making our way back to the ship. My husband didn't bring his waterproof backpack with him to protect his 5dmkii (camera), so we didn't want to take any chances!