Valor July 2013 plus Vieques - Take 2

[ILUVCRUIZN]

Loving your review!!!

[lostdart1]

I was also pleasantly surprised by the live music...[/color][/size]

 

Of course your cruise was 8 months ago......there may not be live music on it now.

[Aplmac]

Enjoy this scenery when you stop at St.Thomas on Monday

 

 

..and see if you can find your way here, on the Tuesday sea-day following!

 

.

[cra-z-2cruise]

I woke up early Saturday morning, a little in disbelief that this was our last full day on the cruise!

It's been a week already?

 

This morning I decided to watch the sunrise from the Serenity area.

 

 

This was my third trip to St Maarten, but had not made it over to Maho Beach.

 

No rush to get off early, so we went and had a nice relaxed breakfast.

 

 

Around 10:30 we gathered our stuff and headed downstairs.

 

What the...?

Is that rain?

It was pouring outside the gangway. Pouring!

 

We just looked at each other, shrugged and headed off down the pier. ;)

 

By the time we reached the St Maarten sign the rain had stopped and the sun was shining again.

 

 

Feeling adventurous, we decided to walk to town and take the bus to Maho instead of a taxi.

 

We walked into town to catch the bus on Back Street.

As soon as we reached the corner, her comes the "bus" with a sign that said Maho in the front window.

He stopped and asked if we needed the bus.

Was it really that easy?

Sure was! :)

$2 each.

[cra-z-2cruise]

We arrived at the beach at around 11:45.

We walked down to Sunset Bar and Grill and rented two chairs and an umbrella for $20.

View from our loungers.

 

We went and checked the surfboard for arrival times.

 

 

So, there was one small mishap of the day. Somehow, I managed to delete ALL of the photos off my camera for the entire day! Fortunately DH took these shots and I took a few with my phone.

 

It wasn't long before our first arrival.

- DH stayed farther back to take his pic, I ran to get more up close and personal.

 

I have to admit, that as I stood directly between the oncoming plane and the runway, a little lump developed in my throat...

 

 

...but how awesome was that!

 

 

 

 

 

 

So we shared a few drink of the day's, watched planes take off and land, enjoyed the beautiful scenery, and periodically cooled off in the spectacular Caribbean waters of St Maarten.

 

I'd say it was a pretty good afternoon! :D

[cra-z-2cruise]

The big Air France plane came in around 1:30. (Unfortunately, no awesome photo to share) :(

 

 

There were plenty of Taxi drivers at the bar, so we headed back to town.

We were able get a nice shot of the Valor on the way back.

 

 

Made one last stop at the Guavaberry stand, then headed back on board around 4:00

 

 

Enjoyed sail away out on the balcony with a couple slices of pizza.

 

 

So we only made it to the dining room a couple time during the week. While the staff were always pleasant, they seemed over worked and constantly rushed. I'm sure the anytime dining had something to do with it.

 

Our room steward, Arnold, took really good care of us all week. I had asked if I could keep all my towel animals...

 

 

Thanks Arnold!

 

Spent the remainder of the evening out on our balcony with the warm sea breeze and the sound of the ocean.

[cra-z-2cruise]

Up early for sail into Old San Juan.

Thank goodness, photos from my camera are intact! :):)

 

 

 

Couldn't ask for a better finale to our amazing week!

 

Self assist debarkation was a breeze and we were off the ship and through customs in about 15 minutes.

 

Walked down to CVS, restocked our sunscreen, and grabbed a cab for the airport.

 

Next up, part two- Vieques! :D

[cra-z-2cruise]

If anyone can manage a few days pre or post cruise, I highly recommend a visit to Vieques!

 

I had not even heard of this small island of the coast off Puerto Rico until a few months ago.

I accidentally stumbled upon it while looking for things to do post cruise.

A biobay tour topped the list.

Where is the best one? -Vieques

Where's that?

Google search revealed a small, laid back island with loads of beautiful beaches.

http://wikitravel.org/en/Vieques

 

After a busy, action packed, port intensive, week long cruise around the Caribbean, I figured laid back was precisely what we needed.

We're in! :D

 

 

 

Had a nice relaxing lunch at the airport then, finally, it was time for our 20 minute flight to Vieques.

 

The flight was $79/pp each way on Seaborn airlines.

 

 

 

 

So we were looking forward to a relaxed, laid-back, no pressure kind of experience...

 

...and that's exactly what we got! :D

 

As soon as we landed, we were introduced to the concept of "island time"

 

[cra-z-2cruise]

There is a W retreat on the island, but it is a bit pricey and we didn't want a resort atmosphere anyway.

Instead, we opted to stay at Bravo Beach Hotel.

 

I had read great reviews online, but still didn't know exactly what to expect.

Upon arrival, Carl greeted us and gave us the option of a complimentary upgrade to a poolside room! :D

 

He gave us a tour of the property, recommended places to eat, and pointed out different beaches on the map he provided us.

 

 

Our room was big and bright with a beautiful view right outside our patio door!

It had a nice size fridge, an ipod dock, comfy bed, and a flat screen TV with dish network.

The only downside, was the bathroom was a little small and the room could have used a desk or small table.

 

 

The property has two pools, complimentary breakfast, beautiful gardens, an honor bar, and free beach equipment to borrow.

 

 

The honor bar is essentially a large closet with a fridge full of soft drinks, juices, water, and other mixers. The shelves above house large liquor bottles, plastic cups, and a bunch of can/bottle openers.

You just mark what you take on a clipboard- $1 each.

 

 

[cra-z-2cruise]

Bravo Beach was just beautiful and Jenna, Carl and the entire staff were wonderful!

 

They say one picture is worth a thousand words, so...

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was the patio outside our room

[cra-z-2cruise]

The property sits on a small, rocky beach that is home to thousands of sea urchins.

Therefore, swimming was not an option.

 

However, it was so nice to walk along the beach, looking for shells and sea glass, while enjoying the beautiful skies, especially during sunrise and sunset.

 

We even made a friend on the first day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[cra-z-2cruise]

Al's Mar Azul is a laid back beach bar with great reasonably-priced food and drinks, friendly staff and patrons, and beautiful views of the sunset. It's a short walk from the hotel.

Sunday is "Taco Night"

 

 

Monday, 7/22

We arranged pick up for our rental at 10:00, so we enjoyed a nice breakfast at the hotel, walked along the beach, sat in the gardens, studied our map, and planned out our day.

 

 

I have included a couple links with a little info on the island.

Info from The Travel Channel

http://www.travelchannel.com/interes...es-puerto-rico

Beach guide

http://gopuertorico.about.com/od/vie...uesBeaches.htm

 

 

 

We rented a Jeep 4x4 from Maritza's Car Rental for $60/day, plus $5 for an extra driver.

They provided complimentary pick up from your hotel and even drop you off at the air port at the end of the rental.

 

 

 

We drove from Isabel II to Esperanza and walked down the sea wall.

We stopped at Duffy's for a quick lunch and a little refreshment.

 

 

 

[cra-z-2cruise]

We walked down the steps of the sea wall in Esperanza and spent the rest of the afternoon walking along the coast.

 

 

 

 

After a few hours, we headed back to Bravo Beach.

We took a refreshing dip in the pool, sipped on a tropical drink, and watched the sun set.

 

 

 

 

[scgirlatheart]

Beautiful pictures!

[huntm]

What a wonderful review! We will be going in July and just starting to research the ports. ;)

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[cra-z-2cruise]

What a wonderful review! We will be going in July and just starting to research the ports. ;)

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Glad you are enjoying the review. We are planning a return trip next January! :)

[cra-z-2cruise]

Beautiful pictures!

 

Thanks scgirlatheart :)

[cra-z-2cruise]

Tuesday, 7/23/13

 

We had decided on Secret Beach, or Pata Prieta, for the morning.

A little adventurous drive, but it was well worth it!

 

 

 

Notice that no one else is on the beach... we had it to ourselves the majority of the morning.

 

After a swim we went for a little hike...

 

 

 

When we returned, a few other people arrived and we made another beach buddy...

 

[cra-z-2cruise]

After a great morning at the beach, we headed back to Esperanza for lunch.

 

 

Bananas served up good food, good music, and awesome painkillers in a funky, cool beach bar!

...with an amazing view!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[cra-z-2cruise]

After lunch, we headed to Playa Grande.

We spent the rest of the afternoon walking along the beach.

 

We only saw two other people the whole afternoon!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MomofTheBoy]

I am hoping to be able to take this cruise next New Years Eve. Just waiting for Carnival to have a special where I don't have to put soooooo much down for three of us!

[cra-z-2cruise]

Up early for the sunrise at the beach down the road.

Spent a couple hours looking for sea glass.

 

Stopped back by the bakery, then had breakfast by the pool and planned the rest of the day.

 

 

While we found sea glass on virtually every beach on the island, I would say we gathered 80% of it on our morning walks along this beach.

 

 

 

 

The bartender at Bananas had suggested Punta Arenas, or Green Beach, for snorkeling, so we loaded up and headed in that direction.

 

Now is a good time to discuss the roads and traffic. The ferry landing was a few blocks from our hotel and we had to pass by it almost every time we left the property.

Traffic was pretty intense when the ferry arrived, but after a few trips we became used to it.

 

 

[cra-z-2cruise]

Other than that, driving on the island was not difficult.

The maximum speed limit is 35mph, but lower in many areas.

No traffic lights.

Most paved roads were in good condition, but many were on the narrow side.

Roads to the remote beaches were unpaved, full of holes, and a little challenging at times.

A jeep was definitely a plus and I'm pretty sure we added a few scratches to the top! (There were plenty there before we started)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also, horses roam freely pretty much everywhere on the island.

 

 

 

[cra-z-2cruise]

 

 

The beach was beautiful!

Snorkeling was nice, but couldn't really compare with St Thomas or Barbados.

...not complaining, the privacy really made up for it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[cra-z-2cruise]

 

 

 

 

 

We headed back to Bravo Beach and relaxed in the pool.