Valor Southern Caribbean review with pictures and Fun Times - better late than never

[pghsteelerfan]

Day 7 – Friday, May 11, 2013 – Philipsburg, St. Maarten

 

 

Today's Fun Times

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[pghsteelerfan]

This was also included with today's fun times. A reminder that our cruise would soon be coming to an end, but...

 

 

 

...we still had one more full day to enjoy.

 

This was another day that we had really been looking forward to. We were in St. Maarten on our honeymoon cruise and that time we booked a snorkeling/beach break excursion to Pinel Island through Carnival. After booking this cruise, we looked to see if Carnival still offered any excursion to Pinel Island and they didn’t. We loved Pinel Island and wanted to go back. We also researched several other beaches, both in St. Maarten and the French side of St. Martin. Some looked really nice but I really wanted to get back to Pinel Island. Pinel Island is a small island off the northeastern coast of St. Martin near Cul-de-Sac, which is just north of Orient Bay. From Cul-de-Sac, there is a ferry that runs every half hour to and from Pinel Island. The information I was able to get here on CC Ports of Call section, it would be easy to get a cab from the ship to Cul-de-Sac, but it’s not a very popular spot for cruise passengers so cabs aren’t waiting there to take passengers back to the ship. The other option was to rent a car and drive to Cul-de-Sac but that’s not something we felt comfortable doing, although many do. We finally decided that we would just take a cab to Maho Bay and watch the planes come in for several hours. About a month before our cruise, I saw a thread here on the CC Ports of Call section where someone mentioned going to Pinel Island (St. Martin’s best kept secret) every time they cruise so I asked how they got there. They attached a link to a local tour operator that they always use, SXM Deals, and gave me a lot of helpful information. I got on SXM Deals’ website and they offered a Pinel Island Daily Beach Break Tour. The tour included transportation from the ship to Cul-de-Sac, a beach chair with umbrella for each person, full snorkeling equipment, and return transportation from Cul-de-Sac to the ship. The charge for the ferry from Cul-de-Sac to Pinel Island (round trip) is $7.00 per person. There is also a $2.00 per person Marine Reserve Fee for anyone visiting the island. I got on the website’s chat section to see if they had availability for the day we’d be in St. Maarten and there was. It was Michael who I chatted with and he was very helpful with any questions I had. There was a $29.60 USD down payment (they accept PayPal) to reserve and the balance was due in cash or by credit card to be paid when you get there. I made the down payment and booked a reservation. Michael was great with the initial correspondence and follow up communication. All of the instructions were very clear and there were set times for everything getting to and from Pinel Island. So, we had our plans for our day in St. Maarten.

 

Since our scheduled meeting time was at 9:30AM, we slept in till 6:30AM. That’s not really sleeping in, but I love being up as Valor approached each island and we were scheduled to be in St. Maarten at 7:00AM. I went out on the balcony and couldn’t see anything at first but did notice a beautiful blue sky with some clouds, nothing like the previous day. While I was out there, Valor started to turn and when she did we had an excellent view of Philipsburg’s Great Bay and the surrounding mountains as she was backed into the dock. DH also got up, so again we were out there taking pictures and video.

 

Pictures from our balcony after Valor turned around to back into the dock

 

 

 

[pghsteelerfan]

More pictures coming into St. Maarten

 

 

 

 

 

[pghsteelerfan]

 

 

 

 

 

[pghsteelerfan]

 

It was caffeine time for me, so I went upstairs to the Lido Deck and got a cup of coffee. I brought that down and had it out on the balcony while DH was getting ready. When he was done it was my turn and since we had plenty of time, we just stayed on the balcony for a while. I noticed a shadow in the water of Valor’s “Whale Tail” funnel and got pictures of that. I thought that looked really cool.

 

Strange shadow in the water - Valor's funnel

 

 

We finally made our way up to the buffet for breakfast and took our time. There were others up there going through the buffet, but just like the other days there no long lines to wait in. We got our breakfast and went to a table by the windows and ate. When we were finished, we went up to Panorama Deck 10 for better views and more pictures then went back to the cabin to get ready and get what we’d need for our day in Pinel Island.

 

Pictures from Panorama Deck 10

 

 

[pghsteelerfan]

This yacht, named "Nirvana" was also in St. Maarten that day

 

Valor's seaside theatre and pool area

 

We walked to the other side of Valor on Panorama Deck 10 to see what the views were on the other side

 

 

 

[pghsteelerfan]

 

We were instructed to meet at the Hertz Car Rental building at 9:30AM for taxi pickup, so we got off the ship at 9:00AM and walked over to Hertz Car Rental, which is right near the cruise center shopping area. First we had to stop at the "Welcome to St. Maarten" sign for pictures.

 

 

We were going to take individual pictures of us in front of the sigh, but a lady in a group offered to get one with our camera of both of us, so we took her up on it. We did the same for her and her family.

 

After getting those pictures, we walked over to Hertz and we were at least 15 minutes early but they had our reservation and we only had to wait a few minutes for our taxi.

 

 

 

A few pictures I took while waiting for our ride

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our driver’s name is Julian and our taxi was an air conditioned van. Julian was great and told us about both St. Maarten and St. Martin on the way to Cul-de-Sac and pointed out things of interest. The taxi ride over was only about 20 minutes, a lot shorter than we remembered, but the last time was 21 years prior. The 10:00AM ferry was getting ready to go over to Pinel Island when we got there, so Julian called out and asked if they had room for two more, they did and we got on and paid the $14.00 for both of us, which was round trip. The ferry ride over is only a 10 minute ride. Pinel Island had changed a lot in 21 years, but they aren't bad changes. The first time there was nothing there, not even loungers. There is a sand bar that we all put our towels on. Now there are two restaurant/bars, loungers, umbrellas, a gift shop, a snorkeling hut, restrooms, and trails all over leading to the other side of Pinel Island.

[pghsteelerfan]

Once we arrived, we proceeded to the snorkeling hut to meet with Isabelle. Isabelle is the manager of the Pinel Island Beach Break tour and is also a snorkel guide. Isabelle greeted us and we paid her, in cash, the balance that was due. We could have paid the balance with a credit card, but there is an extra 2% charge to cover credit card charges, so it was worth it to just pay in cash. The total cost was $148 USD for both of us, so it was $118.00 in cash since we made the down payment before the trip. This was very reasonable for all that was included. We also paid Isabelle $4.00 to cover the Marine Reserve Fee for both of us. After settling our debt, Isabelle told us all there was to know about Pinel Island and pointed to where the trails were and what we’d see. She also told us about the snorkeling and what and where we’d be able to see certain things. They had pictures and names of the types of fish that we would likely see and also examples of coral, which were labeled with names. I forget most of that now, but it was interesting to see it displayed. Isabelle told us she was so grateful that we had a sunny day and told us that there was also rain most of the day in St. Maarten/St. Martin the day before. We were so glad that weather cleared out. Isabelle had a guy working with her, but I don’t remember his name. He was also very nice. We had the option of snorkeling then or getting our loungers first – it was up to us, whatever we wanted to do. Since we were there we decided to snorkel first. They have a large wooden bench that doubles as a box to keep our belongings in, so it was nice to know our stuff was secure. Isabelle got us snorkeling gear and after some brief instructions on where we could see certain things in addition to mentioning to stay within the roped in section (for protection from boats and other water craft). We spent about an hour snorkeling and thought it was really good. It was different from St. Lucia but we saw a lot of fish. I had my underwater camera and was able to get pictures, but since fish move it’s sometimes hard to get good pictures of them. On our way back in I saw a shell animal of some kind. The animal was half out of the shell and it was obviously eating something, but I don’t know what. The pictures of him came out well since he’s a slow mover.

 

 

 

I got some pictures on our walk over to met Isabelle at the snorkeling hut.

 

 

 

The first stop was the sand bar at Pinel Island

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Views from right near the snorkeling hut

 

 

 

Snorkeling pictures

 

 

[tomsgirl84]

Thanks. I found out about Spencer's tours through reviews with pictures posted by others. We booked the cruise in January 2013 (for May 2013) and as soon as the cruise was booked, we booked with Spencer. Which of his tours are you going to do? If we ever get back, we'll go for the Land & Sea Tour to see more of the island.

 

We are going to do the beach tour like you did. We are going in late February so I've got awhile, but I'm still excited!:) You've gotten a lot of business form him, maybe you can get a discount when you go back!;)

[pghsteelerfan]

More snorkeling

 

I don't know what this little mushroom-line thing was, but they were growing in the grassy section

 

 

 

 

 

[pghsteelerfan]

We are going to do the beach tour like you did. We are going in late February so I've got awhile, but I'm still excited!:) You've gotten a lot of business form him, maybe you can get a discount when you go back!;)

 

I'd love to go in February to get away from winter, but DH would rather go in May. He actually suggested September...hurricane season. I told him "no way" will I set foot on a ship during hurricane season. I know the cruise lines will avoid hurricanes, but I don't think being on a ship in rough weather would be my idea of a vacation. I get motion sickness and use something that works so I never had an issues, but I'm afraid nothing would work in rough seas. I've seen those pictures and videos. LOL!!!

 

I could ask...:) He'd have to give so many discounts. They have their website, but I've seen so many others comment that they've booked based on reviews right here on CC. I know we did. ;) You are really going to love it!

[pghsteelerfan]

Some kind of coral. I thought it looked like the head of a deer with really small antlers.

 

I think I know the name of this one, Blue Tang

 

There was some nice coral here too

 

There were a lot of these fish here but I forget what they're called

 

 

He was really neat too - there is a marking that looks like an eye on his tail

[pghsteelerfan]

I don't think they were expecting to see me...

 

...saw me coming and turned the other way

 

It looked like he was eating something

 

He was definitely enjoying "lunch", whatever "lunch" was

 

 

The water was a little cloudy but we think it's because of all the rain they had the previous day. We were still able to see a lot though.

 

 

Will have more later....

[lyndilouwho]

We have gone in October the past few years, which is considered part of hurricane season, and haven't had any problems!

[Dirkgun]

Your water pics are great also. Didn't I see that you use a Canon D10? That is what I use also and love it for underwater and compromising conditions. I also carry around a DSLR (Canon EOS rebel t3i) and I definitely understand what you are saying about it being more complicated to get great pics with those. Lovin your photos and your review still. keep it up.

Edited September 26, 2013 by Dirkgun

[TrqoisWtrs]

Great information and pics! We're sailing Valor in November so can't wait. fyi- these are actually sponge baskets. :)

 

[chosbor2]

Great review! We leave in just 24 days for our cruise! I too love Pinel island, I will have to keep that in mind for our next cruise! This time we are going with captain bob and have 1 hour there, but I would live to spend the whole day!

 

 

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[Katemusical]

Love your review. Makes me so excited for my trip at Xmas.

[MegnJoe]

I'm loving your review, as I said a few pages back. But I wanted to say THANKS again because after reading your review, we just changed our plans for St. Lucia and booked the Land & Sea tour with Spencer. I'm so excited now!

 

 

We did this tour and loved it. You can read/see it in my review.

[pghsteelerfan]

We have gone in October the past few years, which is considered part of hurricane season, and haven't had any problems!

 

I'm not superstitious or anything, but we haven't had the best of luck with vacations (all land) during hurricane season. Actually, as I'm thinking of it, EVERY time we've had a vacation during hurricane season, we're usually directly affected or sweating bullets wondering if we'll get to go.

 

Nags Head, NC - August, 1991 (Hurricane Bob, evacuations voluntary, so we stayed, fortunately the strong side of the storm stayed east)

Nags Head, NC - Sept. 1993 (Hurricane Emily, hit a few days before we went, luckily no problems to place we stayed)

Hilton Head, SC - Sept. 1999 (Hurricane Floyd, evacuated, 3 hours just getting off the island and another 8 just to go about 100 miles, then drove up I95 with heavy rain the rest of the way back)

Negril, Jamaica - Sept. 2007 (Hurricane Dean 2 weeks before we hit - missed most of Jamaica but hit Costa Maya, MX, which is now rebuilt with a new cruise center)

Paradise Island (Nassau), Bahamas, Sept. 2010 (Hurricane Igor turned and hit Bermuda but beaches in Bahamas were closed)

 

Would you chance it? LOL!!! :) When DH suggested September, I reminded him that we seem to "attract hurricanes" for some reason and he decided to go in May. With only one vacation a year where we can go somewhere, I'd rather not risk it. He was getting two weeks and the other week he'd use days around Thanksgiving and a few at Christmas. I have read here on CC that if the weather holds up, October/November are great times to go. This would have been a great year...so far, and I hope it stays that way. :)

[pghsteelerfan]

Your water pics are great also. Didn't I see that you use a Canon D10? That is what I use also and love it for underwater and compromising conditions. I also carry around a DSLR (Canon EOS rebel t3i) and I definitely understand what you are saying about it being more complicated to get great pics with those. Lovin your photos and your review still. keep it up.

 

Thank you again Dirkgun. The one I have is the Canon D20. I wanted the D10 after seeing so many great underwater pictures here but they stopped making it. DH got it for me...ok, he let me get it...for my birthday. We would have been able to get the D10 online, but he told me to go ahead and order the D20, so I did. I really like it though. That's also what I used for the night pictures when we sailed out of San Juan. They came out better than the pictures on my other two cameras. Last night I looked through your Christmas cruise review again, and loved your night pictures of San Juan. I love the way Old San Juan is decorated. With the Canon Rebel, I'm getting a little used to some of it, but still have a ways to go. I'm getting ready to work on it a little more. Now if I can only figure out how to answer multiple questions. LOL!!!

[lyndilouwho]

Hahaha I see your reasons on not wanting to cruise during hurricane season!

[pghsteelerfan]

Great information and pics! We're sailing Valor in November so can't wait. fyi- these are actually sponge baskets. :)

 

Thank you and thanks for the correct name of the sponge baskets. :) A group of us were talking about what we were seeing after we snorkeled and someone said he asked and was told "basket coral", but I don't know who he asked (might not have been Spencer, he just said "he asked") but he could have also just gotten the name wrong. Do you know much about sponge baskets? If so, are they just baskets made of sponge set there for effect or are they a type of sponge that actually grows like that? I just tried looking it up and found other types of sponges (natural) but also found "sponge baskets" to be used in the kitchen for sponges. Whatever they were, I really thought they were neat and saw several.

 

Do you have any plans on what you will be doing yet? There is just so much to see and do, but I really enjoyed it. I hope you have as good of a time as we did on your cruise in November.

[pghsteelerfan]

Great review! We leave in just 24 days for our cruise! I too love Pinel island, I will have to keep that in mind for our next cruise! This time we are going with captain bob and have 1 hour there, but I would live to spend the whole day!

 

 

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Thank you! I really wish I was going again soon. We love Pinel Island too and were so happy when someone told us how they arranged to spend the day there. Carnival used to offer a snorkel/beach break tour there, but no longer do but maybe they stopped doing that since it's been somewhat developed. In 1992 there was nothing there. It's still pretty and what they have put there blends in well. I researched other beaches and when I saw pictures, nothing compared. That's just me though. So glad you at least get to see it on Captain Bob's tour.

 

With 24 days, you don't have much of a wait left. I hope you have a great time and great weather.

[pghsteelerfan]

Love your review. Makes me so excited for my trip at Xmas.

 

Thank you and I also hope that it's helpful in some way. I'd love to be able to go on a cruise around Christmas to see all of the decorations on the ships and in ports that decorate. We've also never been on a cruise in winter when it gets dark before the ship leaves port and that's something I'd also like to do. It might sound silly, but I'd just love to get a different perspective seeing the ports after dark and also to see the ship all lit up at night. I thought I'd be able to in San Juan on this cruise, but as our luck would have it, it was pouring down rain. Maybe sometime soon. I hope you have a great cruise.