Review Southern Caribbean Cruise from Puerto Rico Jan 18th -25th on the Valor

[Dirkgun]

More from Sea Day... sunset

 

 

 

 

Tonight was our first Cruise Elegant night. Everyone got dressed up and, was looking good. It was fun; we got a few pictures at the photographer’s stations on our way to hear the family show from the comedians. We really love the comedy club both sets of comedians they had on this cruise were funny. Especially in the late night shows. After a really great dinner we came back to the late shows in the Punch liner comedy club, In between shows we were seated in a booth and just talking when some people came and sat on the bench in front of us. They sounded like they were having a fun time, laughing and talking…. They realized the bench turns around, they turned it and said hi to us as a joke but then we started talking and introducing ourselves. It turns out they are from Utah as well, and actually live in the town just west of us….It is a Small world. We watched the show, made new friends. It was a good night. After the show we went back to the rooms and turned in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Dirkgun]

Some more pics... just for fun.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our towel Animal tonight....

 

[Dirkgun]

Tues Jan 21st Barbados When we woke up we were docking in Barbados. It is a very industrial port area, so not much in the way of Caribbean beauty but it is interesting to see the workings of the dock… loading and unloading containers from cargo ships etc. We did our normal breakfast in the MDR. After breakfast we went and got our swim/snorkel gear and headed off the ship. Today we had arranged with a driver/tour operator Patsie Nurse (with JP’s Taxi service) she met us just outside the port area gates at 9:00 am. We first went to Payne’s Bay to be able to swim with the Sea Turtles. She (Patsie) dropped us off at an entrance to the beach and made sure there was a guy that would kind of look out for us… get us chairs and hook us up with a guy to take us out to the turtles in his boat. We purchased couple of chairs from him and made the deal with the guy that has the boat. We were able to go out to the turtles and snorkel and swim with them for half an hour for $15 a person.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Dirkgun]

 

 

 

 

 

The guide also feeds the turtles so they come close. We used this same guy the last time we were there and he did a great job. Got some great pics and video of the turtles, it is an awesome experience. We went early enough that the ship excursions and big catamarans that also come here had not arrived yet so we almost had them all to ourselves. Just before we were to leave… Surprisingly Capt Fluffy lost his snorkel (yay for me) I was trying to fix my goggles and I did not realize it fell off…. But when I looked in the water with my mask on… sure enough, there it was about 40 ft down on the bottom. So for the rest of the time there I just held my breath. Luckily they don’t let you wear fins or I might have lost them as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

continued...

[Dirkgun]

More Paynes Bay ......

 

 

GoPro video...vv

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Dirkgun]

We went back to the beach and spent some time just watching the scenery/people as well as drying off. At 11:30 we were scheduled to go back to the ship to change/shower and get lunch. Patsie came and picked us up and took us back to the Valor. When we got back some of us had to take advantage of the free WiFi in the port building to email some stuff for school back home. My wife also made sure to order the flower arrangements that she has done the last couple times we were there. There is a lady in the port shops that really throws together some stunning arrangements.

 

 

 

 

 

We do not know these people but his sunburn just looks painful....ouch

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Video of Patsie dropping us off at the first of the day and making sure someone was helping us...

 

 

 

 

 

[Jenny in TX]

Great review....thanks for sharing!

[Dirkgun]

At 1:15 Patsie met us to take us to the Barbados Wildlife Reserve. We wanted to be sure to be there by 2:00 pm because that is when they feed the animals….We got there just before 2:00 so kind of had to walk with pace to get up to the top where they feed. The place they feed has benches and room for people to stand around and watch…. Can you say Noah’s ark? Every animal in the park came to get food. It is pandemonium watching all the different animals interacting over the food. It Kind of reminds me of the buffet lines on board lol. The caretaker that brought the food out has a few monkeys that really interact with him. He plays with them and throws food to them as well as letting them pick which hand something is in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Video of the craziness...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Dirkgun]

Great review....thanks for sharing!

 

Thank you for reading.

[Dirkgun]

It is a good time. There were actually a lot more people there than the last time we were there in 2012. Our driver then was kind of surprised that cruise ship people went there. It is a cool place with a bunch of animals to see as well as some nice trails to walk on and see pretty plants and surroundings. I think the admission price is $12 for adults. I know our admission was included in the price we paid Patsie.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Dirkgun]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Dirkgun]

When we were done we headed back to the ship… actually Patsie first wanted to take us to Cherry Tree Hill where we could view the Atlantic side of Barbados. In 2010 we went over to Bathsheba and it was very pretty but this overlook was very pretty as well. We got some pics and bought a trinket or two and then headed back to the ship.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Dirkgun]

The entire day Patsie was acting as a tour guide, describing things, not just transporting us. She was very good with us and I would definitely use her again (her contact is patsietaxie at hotmail dot com). She charged us a flat fee for all 6 of us the only thing we had to pay on top was the chairs and boat at Payne’s Bay. At the end of the day we gave her a nice tip when we said goodbye. When we got back to the port area we wanted to do some shopping/interwebbing etc. My wife and I went to pick up the flowers and then met everyone for a picture in front of the Barbados sign with the Valor in the back ground.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is where the flowers came from...

 

 

 

 

Not sure where they lost it but my DD and SIL lost their camera somewhere between the taxi and the ship. Really hate to lose cameras but even more to lose the pictures they had taken. Other than the snorkel and camera… Barbados had again been a good host to us. Barbados is really one of the only ports that still take the time to have a steel drum band playing. It is a great sound.... really sets the Caribbean mood. :D :cool:

[Dirkgun]

Tonight was another great night on board in the MDR. I don’t remember mentioning it before… but there was a singles group on board of what I hear consisted of over 300 people. Now most of them were pretty harmless but some of the guys, in a testosterone induced 20 something strutting routine, were just embarrassing. There were a few guys (and girls for that matter) that you wanted to shake and say there is no wonder you are still single. A couple of them really were starved for attention apparently as they took every opportunity to try to be the main focus of attention… whether it was in the comedy club or the Dining room when the wait staff performs. I guess they were having fun but a little over the top. On our way back to the cabin After dinner we saw these towel animals set up around the pool. They were very cute, and some were downright amazing. After looking at the animals...we enjoyed an earlier night in the cabin and the balcony.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and in our room, just hangin around.....

 

[Dirkgun]

 

 

 

 

Thurs Jan 22nd St Lucia This morning I was going to try to get up and get pictures of the Pitons as the Valor sailed by; however when I got up and went out on the balcony we had already passed them. Oh well the light was not that great yet anyway so pictures would not have turned out. So I went back to bed for an hour or so. This time in St Lucia we docked at the more industrial pier across the bay from Point Serraphine (the new cruise pier) I guess the port makes the decision based on size, so not up to Carnival. There was actually a MSC ship out in the bay that had to tender in as well.

 

Today we were going with Spencer Ambrose on his Land and Sea tour. We were supposed to tour the island in a van on the way down to Soufriere where we would catch a water taxi to Jalousie beach and spend a couple of hours snorkeling and have lunch. Then we would take a speed boat up the coast line back to the port of Castries and the ship. However when we met Spencer at the pier we were told that they had discontinued the Land and Sea tour and now we just take a boat to Soufriere and then get in a van to tour the things close there. I guess there were too many complaints of too long of a ride in a van and getting carsick etc. One thing we noticed for sure is you get down to the Mud Baths or Volcano and the Waterfall before the big ship excursions. It makes for a much more private setting. So we went with the flow and got in our boat and away we went. On the way down the boats were flying (the site-seeing part of the tour was on the way back) in fact one time Spencer hit a set of waves that sent me flying…. There were a few other couples on the boat with us. You can only imagine the look of fear when they see this big guy flying through the air possibly about to land on them. Luckily I did not land on any one but it did make for a laugh.

 

 

Video of walking down to meet Spencer's Tours.... Then the next one is on the boat.... just before the flying incident...Lol

 

 

 

 

 

 

We got to the dock and all 4 or 5 of his boats unloaded into vans to head to the Mud Baths or the drive in Volcano (we needed to pick one) we chose the mud baths. They were pretty fun I hear. I did not get in because I was getting a headache and the last thing that sounded good was more heat. So I stayed out and took pictures and some Advil. First they have you get in the hot water… then they bring mud and you get it slathered all over you… some people get more creative than others as I am sure you can imagine. Then, after it dries you go back in the hot pool and rinse/rub it off. It exfoliates your skin when you rub it off in the water. There are also some fresh water showers there. It was a fun experience.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Dirkgun]

More mud bath pics.....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Dirkgun]

Continued... Then they needed to clean off the sulpher mud after it dried.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The water pressure for the fresh water showers was not real strong... or warm Lol. It worked though.

 

 

 

 

 

After the mud we headed to Toraille Water fall. It is a very pretty water fall with a pool you can get in… quite cold and refreshing but very pretty.

If you go in remember to wear some sort of water shoes as the bottom is very rocky (not the fun little flat smooth rocks… the angry sharp kind). and for yours truly my sensitive baby feet were crying...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[SMSACE6]

getting caught up with your review. I remember that waterfall from my land trip to St Lucia (but way back in 1985:eek:). Nice to revisit though. Loving your review and great photos:)

[deladane]

Do you happen to know if the Valor always docks at the other pier, or if it was just for your sailing? And did the tour operators seem to know to pick you up from a different pier? Or did you have to find your way around the water to the new pier to meet your tour operators?

 

Thanks again for writing the review!

[Dirkgun]

getting caught up with your review. I remember that waterfall from my land trip to St Lucia (but way back in 1985:eek:). Nice to revisit though. Loving your review and great photos:)

 

Thanks for the comments. It is nice to relive memories.

[Dirkgun]

Do you happen to know if the Valor always docks at the other pier, or if it was just for your sailing? And did the tour operators seem to know to pick you up from a different pier? Or did you have to find your way around the water to the new pier to meet your tour operators?

 

Thanks again for writing the review!

 

The tour operators do know where you dock and they will come to you. I think it all depends on the ship traffic that day. I know the Valor does dock at the new one sometimes.

[babsee101]

Really the Land and Sea Tour has been discontinued? I have had it booked for our cruise in April for months. Seems he would have let us know.

 

Is that all you do, mud bath and waterfall?

[Dirkgun]

Really the Land and Sea Tour has been discontinued? I have had it booked for our cruise in April for months. Seems he would have let us know.

 

Is that all you do, mud bath and waterfall?

 

 

Yes they discontinued the land and sea tour. It really does work almost better now though. You get down there faster and still get to see almost as much. You have lunch in a different place and get to spend more time at the beach. I just have not posted that portion of the tour yet....

[Dirkgun]

Then we head down and get lunch at a little restaurant. They have a buffet set up with a bunch of local food with some BBQ chicken and as always the cooler full of drinks was there so you could help yourself to whatever drinks you wanted. The food was all good. I think everyone had their things they preferred but pretty much thought overall it was great. Spencer goes to great lengths to make sure everyone is happy. He is definitely one of the most thoughtful hosts anywhere. After lunch we went the short ride down to the boats again and got in and went around the Petite Piton to the beach that is nestled in between, Jalousie (French for jealousy). This is where some of the best snorkeling in the Caribbean is found IMHO. The water is clear and there is lots of great habitat for all kinds of fish. All of the vendors that bring people here have access to the chairs and facilities on the left hand side; the right hand side is for the guests of the Sugar Beach resort. Beaches in St Lucia are all public but, the facilities are owned by the resort. Usually there is plenty of space for people. The water here is so clear and nice it is hard to believe.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The area past the dock here is the property of the resort... you can go on the beach just not their facilities/chairs and equipment.

 

 

 

These chairs and facilities you can use... there is plenty of shade and space.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Dirkgun]

More Jalousy Beach.... snorkeling

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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