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

[pghsteelerfan]

Even though it's the same view, it constantly changes

 

 

We stayed in the loungers a little longer and started getting hungry so we went back to our cabin to drop off our towels and beach bag then went back to the Lido Buffet for lunch. After lunch we went to the cabin and got our cameras to get pictures of Carnival Valor.

 

A few pictures of Valor's wake from our balcony:

 

 

 

[pghsteelerfan]

I got another Blowfish cup but decided to try the DOD, Pomegranate Lemonade, in it instead. Since it was in the Blowfish cup, it was the more expensive price, but I didn’t care, I wanted a set of the Blowfish cups. The DOD was good, but not as good as the Coral Crush drink that normally comes in the Blowfish cup. What was funny about this one was that Stiliyan, one of our favorite bartenders, took the empty blowfish cup before he put the drink in it, he put the straw in it and then put another straw in his mouth, held the blowfish cup up and puffed out his cheeks to mimic the blowfish. I asked him if I could get a picture of him doing that, so he did it again. He was hilarious.

 

Stiliyan's imitation of a blowfish

 

After getting the DOD, we walked the whole ship, starting on the top decks then went inside and got a ton of pictures of Carnival Valor since we hadn’t done that yet.

 

Skylight above Rosie's Restaurant (buffet) - Lido Deck 9

 

Rosie's Restaurant

 

Prometheus Pool (Lido Deck, aft)

 

 

View of Prometheus pool from Panorama Deck 10

[pghsteelerfan]

Panorama Deck 10 - back of Valor

 

 

 

 

 

[pghsteelerfan]

Spa Deck 11

 

 

 

 

 

[pghsteelerfan]

Sun Deck 12 and Spa Deck 14

 

Dolphin Pool & Waterslide

 

 

 

Serenity Area (Adult 21 and over)

 

 

[faroozi]

 

We got off of Valor at about 8:30AM and went to find a taxi to take us to Sapphire Beach. We were directed through the Havensight Mall to the taxi pick up area, which was a five minute walk. When we got to where the taxis were, we were asked where we were headed and were directed to a taxi that was headed that way. The taxis were open air busses that held about 20 – 25 people. This one would be going to Red Hook (ferry to Cruz Bay, St. John), Sapphire Beach, Coki Beach and Coral World. There was one more stop, but I forget what that was. They wait until the taxis are full before leaving, but we knew that ahead of time. Our taxi was almost full when we got on so we didn’t have much of a wait before we left. We sat with another couple who were going to Coral World and we really enjoyed talking to them on the way over. Our driver gave us a narrated tour and pointed out things of interest to us on the way. The first stop was Red Hook and Sapphire Beach was the next and not too far from Red Hook. The ride was only about 20 – 30 minutes. Our taxi driver dropped us off right in an area between two resorts and we were able to see the beach from there and were already impressed and felt we made a great choice of beaches for the day. The sand was white, water a beautiful blue and there were excellent views of the island of St. John and several nearby small islands. We could also see the larger islands of Jost Van Dyke and Totola, British Virgin Island, in the distance.

 

How much was this taxi?

[pghsteelerfan]

 

American Atrium and elevators (from Lido Deck 9 interior)

 

 

 

 

[pghsteelerfan]

 

We got off of Valor at about 8:30AM and went to find a taxi to take us to Sapphire Beach. We were directed through the Havensight Mall to the taxi pick up area, which was a five minute walk. When we got to where the taxis were, we were asked where we were headed and were directed to a taxi that was headed that way. The taxis were open air busses that held about 20 – 25 people. This one would be going to Red Hook (ferry to Cruz Bay, St. John), Sapphire Beach, Coki Beach and Coral World. There was one more stop, but I forget what that was. They wait until the taxis are full before leaving, but we knew that ahead of time. Our taxi was almost full when we got on so we didn’t have much of a wait before we left. We sat with another couple who were going to Coral World and we really enjoyed talking to them on the way over. Our driver gave us a narrated tour and pointed out things of interest to us on the way. The first stop was Red Hook and Sapphire Beach was the next and not too far from Red Hook. The ride was only about 20 – 30 minutes. Our taxi driver dropped us off right in an area between two resorts and we were able to see the beach from there and were already impressed and felt we made a great choice of beaches for the day. The sand was white, water a beautiful blue and there were excellent views of the island of St. John and several nearby small islands. We could also see the larger islands of Jost Van Dyke and Totola, British Virgin Island, in the distance.

 

How much was this taxi?

 

This is were DH and I are both drawing blanks (I just asked him and he "can't recall"), but I'm pretty sure it was $10.00 per person.

[pghsteelerfan]

Verandah Deck 8 hallway near our cabin

 

Elevators on Verandah Deck 8

 

Stairs on Verandah Deck 8 (near elevators)

 

Promenade Deck 5 (near the atrium)

 

Promenade Deck 5

 

Bronx Sports Bar (behind casino, Promenade Deck 5)

[pghsteelerfan]

Promenade Deck 5 stairs around the atrium

 

Promenade Deck 5 - Shogun Club Casino

 

Promenade Deck 5 - Caboose Teen Club

 

Promenade Deck 5 - King Boulevard (Casino Stage on left and Java Cafe on right)

 

Promenade Deck 5 - Caboose Video Arcade

 

Promenade Deck 5 - One Small Step Dance Club

[pghsteelerfan]

Promenade Deck 5 - Jeanne's Wine Bar

 

Promenade Deck 5 - Lindy Hop Piano Bar

 

Promenade Deck 5 (aft) - Eagles Lounge (Punchliner Comedy Club)

 

 

 

Glory Atrium from Panorama Deck 5

[pghsteelerfan]

Glory Atrium from Panorama Deck 5

 

Promenade Deck 5 - Paris Hot Bar (entrance)

 

Promenade Deck 5 - Paris Hot Bar (interior)

 

Promenade Deck 5 - King Boulevard & Casino Stage (where Trivia is held)

 

Promenade Deck 5 - King Boulevard

 

Glory Atrium

[hockeyluver]

Loving it, and so far 2 of my favourite things my drink of choice the Blue Margarita (:D I am drinking one right now out of my carnival tervis tumbler) and Sapphire beach. We have been to both Sapphire and Meagan's bay and we loved Sapphire, Meagan's was meh ok :rolleyes:

[pghsteelerfan]

Atlantic Deck 4 - Winston's Cigar Bar

 

Atlantic Deck 4 - Winston's Cigar Bar (the bar)

 

Atlantic Deck 4 - Lincoln Dining room

 

Atlantic Deck 4 - Lincoln Dining Room

 

Atlantic Deck 4 - Lincoln Dining Room

 

Atlantic Deck 4 - Ivanhoe Theater

[pghsteelerfan]

Loving it, and so far 2 of my favourite things my drink of choice the Blue Margarita (:D I am drinking one right now out of my carnival tervis tumbler) and Sapphire beach. We have been to both Sapphire and Meagan's bay and we loved Sapphire, Meagan's was meh ok :rolleyes:

 

I LOVED those Blue Margaritas! Fortunately for me they weren't super strong because they were going down well. I was having Rum & Cokes this weekend in my Blowfish cup and also use the coconut monkeys - the cat's can't get into them and I don't have to use a coaster. :) We were at Meagan's Bay on our honeymoon in 1992 and after seeing both now, we definitely prefer Sapphire. We lucked out in going to Sapphire too because it rained in Trunk Bay,St. John and also rained in Meagan's Bay but it was sunny and beautiful in Sapphire.

[pghsteelerfan]

Atlantic Deck 4 - Ivanhoe Theater

 

Atlantic Deck 4 - View of Atrium

 

From Lido Deck 9 interior - view through Skylight of the waterslide

 

Lido Deck 9, heading back out toward the Argonaut Pool

 

We spent a couple of hours doing that then went back to the Argonaut Pool bar, got drinks and visited with Stiliyan and Benji, who was also bartending, and several other passengers. They had the dance music going and there were several people dancing on the deck area around the Argonaut Pool, but we weren’t really paying attention until the song “Gangnam Style” by PSY was played. It was all adults dancing but when that song came on, a little boy who was only about six or seven got up there and danced and he knew the dance moves to that song and was actually very good. A bunch of other people got up and danced. The adults formed a circle and got the little kid in the middle and danced around him. It wasn’t long before everyone out on the lido deck in that area was mesmerized with the little kid dancing. It was so cute. DH got some good video but I wasn’t able to get pictures from where I was sitting. When the song was done, everyone was clapping for him.

We stayed up on the lido deck for a while then went back to start getting ready for dinner. This was the first cruise elegant night, so we were just going to the buffet. Before we got ready for dinner, we spent some time out on our balcony and got pictures.

 

I love seeing the sun reflecting off the water

 

[pghsteelerfan]

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 22, 2013 by pghsteelerfan

[pghsteelerfan]

After getting ready for dinner, I went out and joined DH on the balcony. He said it was a pretty good sunset and I was able to get a couple of pictures before the sun went below the clouds. After the sun disappeared, I stayed out on the balcony while DH got ready for dinner.

 

 

 

On our way out the door on our way up to dinner we ran into the couple we sat with in the taxi over to Sapphire Beach – they were our next door neighbors! We never heard noise from their cabin and they said the same of us and they told us they thought no one was in our cabin and we thought no one was in their cabin either. We talked to them for a few minutes then made our way up to the buffet in Rosie’s Restaurant. We wanted to go to the “over 18” comedy show that night and there was a “Guess that 70’s Song” trivia contest at 9:15 that we thought we’d try. We’ve never done any trivia or any other games on a cruise. If they would have been showing the playoff hockey games on the TV’s in the Bronx sports bar, we’d have been parked there watching our Penguins, but none of the hockey games would be on. We went to the buffet and they had the one thing I really wanted to try…Spaghetti Carbonera. I’ve heard so much about it here on CC and really wanted to try it. It was the best, even from the buffet. When we finished eating, I wanted to go down to the dining room to see if there was any way we could buy the shot glass that was served between dinner and desert. The hostess at the front desk told us that they might have them in the Atrium Lobby/bar, so we went there. They had both colors that I didn’t have, the blue and the yellow, so I was able to buy each of them. I just got the shot glasses and not the liquor that comes with them and now had my full set. It's actually cheaper just buying the glass, obviously.

 

 

 

Our next stop was the “Guess that 70’s song” trivia, which was held at the casino stage. What they did was play a short clip of a 70’s song (there were a total of 20 songs) and you had to write down the correct song title, only the title and not the artist or year. After the fourth song, the rules changed. Once they started playing a bit of a song, if someone knew what it was they could yell “stop” and they’d stop playing. There was a couple at a table near ours who really put up a stink about that and didn't think it was fair. That's the rules of the game and it made it interesting. We knew about 15 of song titles and the person who won had 19, with several having 16 - 18 right. I thought we did pretty good considering. One of the songs that we definitely knew was “We Are Family” and I’ll always remember it because of the 1979 World Series when our Pittsburgh Pirates were playing the Baltimore Orioles and the wives of the Pittsburgh Pirates were dancing on the Pirates dugout to that song. I remember watching and at that time, I thought that was the coolest thing to be dancing on the dugouts and wished I was there with them, even though I don't dance. I’m sure everyone who was living in the Pittsburgh area, who was old enough to remember anyway, remembers that moment. There was also a picture of that in the newspaper the next day. When they were doing the answers, I mentioned something about it being the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates’ theme song. When I said that, a man came up and said he couldn’t believe I remembered that and I told him I’m from the Pittsburgh area and would always remember that. He told me he now lived in Barbados (last night of his cruise and would be getting off Valor the next morning) but I can’t remember if he was originally from Pittsburgh or had relatives there. He is a Pittsburgh fan and remembered that moment. We talked to him for a few minutes and when the contest was over, we went to the Bronx sports bar to see how the Pittsburgh Penguins did or were doing. They lost. We each got Captain Morgan Rum & cokes and took them with us to the Eagles Lounge to see the 10:30PM “over 18” comedy show. There were no seats left as most of the people who saw the over 18 show by the previous comedian, Al Romero, were staying through for the next one by the comedian Roman. The “over 18” shows are at 9:30, 10:30, and 11:30. We ended up standing in the back, right by the bar, with some of the rest of the “standing room only” crowd. I’m not really into comedians but DH is, so I go with him and usually end up enjoying it and I enjoyed Roman. There was a woman who was obviously offended by something he said because she got up and walked out. As she walked out, Roman started making fun of her but she just ignored him and continued on. In a comedy show, if you don’t want to be picked on, don’t sit up front and don’t walk out. Anyway, he was hilarious but it IS adult comedy and any topic is fair game.

 

 

 

When the comedy show ended at 11:30, we went back to the Argonaut Pool bar and got another Captain Morgan Rum & coke. I sat at one of the tables, probably the one right above our cabin, and DH went to the bar. He came back with the drinks, laughing. I asked what was so funny and he told me he asked the bartender (another one of our favorites but I never got his name) if he could leave the lime out of the drinks. The rum & cokes are served with a slice of lime. The bartender told DH “oh, you want it NFL”. DH knows that NFL stands for National Football League but what did NFL have to do with a drink and knew it meant something else, so he asked what "NFL" meant. The bartender told him “No bleeping Lime” and DH knew which word filled in the blank. We found that to be pretty funny and I told DH I was going to use that one on Stiliyan the next day, if he didn’t already know what it meant. When we were half way finished with the drinks, we said good night to our bartenders and went back to our cabin, where our towel animal, a dog, Fun Times, and chocolates from Camelo were waiting for us. We finished the drinks on our balcony then got ready for and went to bed.

 

 

 

[pghsteelerfan]

Our day in Barbados coming up next. To be continued...

Edited September 22, 2013 by pghsteelerfan

[jrmende63]

Thanks for the nice review! Hubby and I will be sailing next October and I am enjoying the pictures so much.

 

For the person who asked about a wine store near the hotel. I don't know about that but I do know there is a CVS right across the street by where the Valor docks in SJ. They have wine and you can leave the ship and go get more. : )

[cruisingfool44]

Loving your review !! We leave next Sunday on the Valor........CAN'T WAIT !:)

[pghsteelerfan]

Thanks for the nice review! Hubby and I will be sailing next October and I am enjoying the pictures so much.

 

For the person who asked about a wine store near the hotel. I don't know about that but I do know there is a CVS right across the street by where the Valor docks in SJ. They have wine and you can leave the ship and go get more. : )

 

Thank you. I don't know when we'll get a chance to sail again, but I'm hoping soon. Thanks also for helping out with question about where to get wine. I totally forgot about CVS!!! We were in there and I remember seeing wine.

[pghsteelerfan]

Loving your review !! We leave next Sunday on the Valor........CAN'T WAIT !:)

 

Thanks! I guess you're doing that "single digit dance" right about now and it will be here before you know it. Enjoy!!! :)

[pghsteelerfan]

Day 4 - Wednesday, May 8, 2013 – Bridgetown, Barbados

 

 

 

 

 

 

[pghsteelerfan]

I set the alarm for 7:00AM and got up when it went off. I couldn’t tell how close were because I couldn’t see anything from our balcony. It was very clear out with only a few clouds. I got ready then went upstairs to the Lido Deck to get a cup of coffee. I took my camera with me and went up to Panorama Deck 10 to see if we were close enough to see Barbados yet and we were and the pilot boat was guiding us in. I got a few pictures as we were approaching the island then went down to the Lido Deck to get a cup of coffee and took it back to our cabin.

 

 

From the balcony we were able to see where we’d be docking in Barbados. It was and industrial area, so it wasn’t scenic like St. Thomas is. The water was gorgeous though. As we got closer to the docks, we could see that there were two docking areas and also saw a cargo type ship at the one closest to the island. Believe it or not, our captain maneuvered Valor between the two docking areas and into that spot right behind the cargo ship. We finished getting ready then went to the Lido Deck and had breakfast at the buffet then went back to the cabin to get what we’d need for the day.

 

From our balcony before we went up to Lido Deck 9 for breakfast. There are two ship docking areas and our captain got Valor docked on the side closest to the island and behind that other ship

 

After seeing pictures of Bathsheba, which is on the other side of Barbados, we wanted to go there for a couple of hours. We were basically “winging” it. We got off Valor and walked through the cruise center and shops to some kind of tour/help desk. We asked what it cost for a taxi to Bathsheba would cost, round trip, and I’m pretty sure he said it was $80.00, each way. Now that I look back, I should have asked if that was Barbados or US dollars and if that was per person. We decided to just go to a beach near the port. On our honeymoon in 1992, we walked from the ship to Brandon’s Beach, which we could see from the ship but decided to take a cab this time. We had to wait for a while till they filled up the cabs, which were vans that held about 8 – 10 people. There was one other couple in the cab who were going to the rum factory, which was right near Brandon’s Beach. It seemed to take forever for this cab to fill up, but it finally did and the other six people were headed to the Barbados Hilton at the southern end of Carlisle Bay for the day. Our driver was a woman and she told us her name but I’ve already forgotten it. She dropped the first couple off at the rum factory and before heading to Brandon’s Beach she let us know that there were no facilities, not even a restroom or a bar. I thought I read on a Barbados website that Brandon’s beach had a bar with loungers and restrooms, but I guess not. We told her we’d just go to Carlisle Bay where everyone else was going. The ride to the Hilton was only about 15 minutes and again, I forgot how much we paid for the cab, but it very reasonable. Our driver asked all of us what time we wanted her to pick us up and all agreed that 1:30PM was a good time and she told us that we could pay her when she took us back to the ship.

 

We all had to go to the Hilton’s lobby and there were a couple different packages they offered for day passes for non-hotel guests. We got the basic one which was for use of loungers and an umbrella on the beach and also included beach towels. That was $80.00 per person ($40.00 US dollars), so we decided on that one. There was one that cost more that included more, but loungers and an umbrella were all we needed for a few hours. We really didn’t need the towels since we had the ones from the ship with us, but got them anyway. The beach is very pretty there and even though we didn’t use the pool, it looked very nice. We picked out loungers on the beach and after getting situated, I went down to the water, which was a very pretty blue. The waves seemed to be pretty large but broke out from the beach. As soon as I got down there and into the water, I heard the lifeguard’s whistle but saw others in the water and didn’t think anything of it. Another lady came up and told me I was the one getting the “whistle”. OK, what did I do??? I just went into the water to cool off. I looked at the lifeguard and he waved me over so I walked up to him, still wondering what the heck I did. He was laughing and told me he only whistled me over to say “hi” then said I didn’t do anything wrong but he did want to warn me, and any others coming down to the beach, to stay away from the rocks because they were sharp and since the water was rough, someone could really get hurt and they didn’t want vacations ruined. After cooling off in the water I went and grabbed my camera to get pictures of this beautiful beach. I saw a wall that looked like it had some cannons at the top at the edge of the resort so I walked over to see what it was. That is called Needhams Point. It looks like it may have been an old fort. There were a couple of rock jetties in that area. While getting pictures in that area, I found this really neat shell but thought a shell like that would either be broken on the other side but picked it up to be sure. When I saw it was whole, I looked to see if it had a resident living in it and it was vacant. A keeper!!! A few minutes after that I found another one just like it and a few other really neat shells, all whole and empty. Free Barbados souvenirs! I tried getting a few more pictures and that’s when my camera decided to quit working. I didn’t think it was the battery because I brought two batteries and recharged and changed them every day. I know the camera is older by today’s standards (got it in 2007), but it’s been my favorite for years because it gets good pictures and is easy to use. It hadn’t gotten wet or anything, just died on me. I did have another camera with me, the DSLR that I’m still learning how to use and those pictures, even on auto, aren’t coming out to my liking. I had been using it, but the other camera was the one I used mainly. That’s just great. I went back to our loungers with DH and told him and we both agreed it was time for me to learn how to use the other one. I took it and walked the beach in the other direction. There isn’t anything there, no loungers, just beach and a few people walking by now and then. I got several pictures there but because the other camera stopped working, I didn’t know how they would come out and didn’t get as many as I wanted. I also didn’t feel real comfortable having the DSLR down on the beach. I took it to get practice and because I saw many others with DSLR’s on the beach in St. Thomas. I kept it, and my other one, in zip-lock freezer bags inside my beach bag when I wasn’t using them. After I got back from getting pictures of the other side, DH said he was going to go and get a coke since he finished his water. He came back and told me it was the most expensive coke he ever bought because it cost him $20.00. I couldn’t believe it, but then he told me it wasn’t $20.00 for the coke, but the change he got was Barbados dollars, useless to him. I told him I wanted to see it, he showed me and I asked him if I could have it and he gave it to me. I like to collect other currency if I’m out of the USA. I asked if he got any coins but he only got bills. Barbados’ money is really pretty and colorful, unlike ours. I went up to the bar DH got the coke at with $2.00 US dollars and asked one of the gals working there if I could change it for Barbados coins and she said it was not a problem and gave me a bunch of different coins in the different amounts. After that I went back and got in the water one more time since it was about 1:00PM and our cab driver would be meeting us in a half hour. We got our stuff and went up to where we were to meet our cab driver and one of the other couples was also making their way to the meeting spot. Our driver was already there and waiting for us. We were waiting on the others but they didn’t show. Our driver spotted them and went down to the beach where they were swimming in the water. They wanted to stay a little longer so she told them she’d take us back to the ship and then she’d go back to get them. I thought that was really nice of our driver.

 

All from the Barbados Hilton, southern end of Carlisle Bay

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 23, 2013 by pghsteelerfan