Valiant Lady 8 day cruise 1/28/23

[MLJS]

We drove past some sugar cane fields. He stopped and got some for us to try. Don’t eat too much of the raw sugar cane, it will give you a tummy ache. Then drove through the rainforest. Beautiful trees along the way but the road had lots of pot holes. He pointed out the different trees including the silk cotton tree that the Indians made canoes out of and the tablet wood, also called moth-in-law tongue.  Mahogany also grows on the island and they even save trimmings to carve small spoons. At Mt Pellier Hut, you can stop and see a beer drinking pig. I think he said it was $2 a can to feed to the pig. We did not stop. Later he told us that it used to be beer, now it’s a non -alcoholic beer they feed the pigs after animal rights people got into them. 

Edited February 6, 2023 by MLJS

[MLJS]

Next stop was Cane Beach. Nice beach area but you had to bring your own chairs…so not so great for cruisers looking for sun but a great place to snorkel or dive from the beach 

Edited February 6, 2023 by MLJS

[MLJS]

There was also a bar and restaurant across the street. My husband got a drink made of the Mutiny Vodka (more about this later) which was very good

[MLJS]

The drive along the ocean to Christiansted was beautiful. Along the way we saw old sugar mills or the remnants of ones from many years ago. They are not allowed to tear the sugar mills down. hurricane Hugo in 1989 and more recently Hurricane Maria in 2017 both did major damage to the island and some spots you could see were still waiting for repair 

[MLJS]

He then took us to Christiansted for an hour stop. We walked around the pier, shops & the park. There is a resort -Hotel on the Cay- on an island in the cove. 

[MLJS]

We could see Buck Island. Buck Island is part of the National Park Service. The Buck Island Reef National monument is there. The only natural, under water monument in the United States & territories. The island is uninhabited and has a gorgeous beach. The snorkeling and diving is supposed to be spectacular 

[MLJS]

I took pictures of some of the different tour operators. Have no idea if they are good or not, but at least a place to start if you are looking for a trip. These were all in Christiansted.  I’m sure if you emailed Clifton Jacobs, our driver, he could help too. 

[MLJS]

Around the boardwalk there were lots of fish and sea weed. We were told they are currently experiencing a lot of sea weed right now. 

[MLJS]

There is a lot of history here. Many of the buildings are quite old. At the end of the boardwalk is a park. There is an old fort, gazebo and then different signs with the history. It is part of the US park service. 

[MLJS]

Cruzan Rum and Captain Morgan’s are both produced in St Croix. Part of the normal tour is Captain Morgan’s for a tour of their facility.  My husband really liked the Mutiny Vodka that is also produced on the island and wanted to take some home. We looked in a shop along the boardwalk, it was $28 a bottle. Our driver stopped a local store owned by a friend-he only had one bottle for $25. Then our driver got the idea to take us to the Mutiny distillery. He had never been inside. There is not a tour but there is a restaurant and small gift store. We bought bottles here for $20 each and they packaged them in a nice carry box.  My husband had the Ginger Lime that he really liked. He bought several other flavors that I will let you know what he thinks about them when we get home and try them. Outside the distillery, there were horses just walking around 

Edited February 6, 2023 by MLJS

[surfone]

7 hours ago, MLJS said:

I got the deep blue extras with status match from Carnival. The $100 drink credit was great. My husband got coffee several times at the Grounds Club- either on the 7th floor between the atrium & social club or on Deck 15 in the front of the Galley on the starboard side. You can order from the crew in the Galley. The $10 credit is only for the coffee, tea or hot chocolate. When we asked originally, they told us $10 for anything from the Grounds Club, so my husband got coffee with Bailey’s Irish cream several times. They did not take the $6 off for the Bailey’s. The cappuccino & espresso were good but my husband did not think the regular coffee was much different than the free coffee in the galley. 
 

There was a cocktail hour on Monday night for the deep blue extras that was during our scheduled dinner, so I did not go. 
 

when we checked in, they gave me this bracelet to wear. Once you tighten it, it will not loosen to take off, so you have to wear it the entire cruise. I’m not sure why, there were not any perks other than the cocktail party that you got with it. The “Romance Package” also had the same bracelet but said romance on it. 

We got deep blue perks, too but no bracelet.  I wondered what those were for and now I know.

[MLJS]

Sorry I have been busy with life and haven’t had time to sit and finish this review. Hope to in the next day or so.  

Scarlet Night was our 6th night on board. Many of the guests were wearing scarlet.  The lights around the ship were turned red including on the balcony.  There was entertainment and performances around the ship. 

[MLJS]

We arrive in Grand Turk at 7am on what was suppose to be our second sea day. The weather was beautiful.  

[MLJS]

The port area was awesome.  There were hundreds of chairs available. All are FREE except for a few places where umbrellas were set up with the chairs in the first two rows by the water. There is little shade.  But you can move the chairs around under the palm trees. We found a spot to right of the pier that provided a little shade. The restaurant next door had some great music 

[MLJS]

There are shops, including a craft market with items made locally. There is a small section with the history of John Glenn splashing down at Grand Turk

[_tacocat_]

1 hour ago, MLJS said:

We arrive in Grand Turk at 7am on what was suppose to be our second sea day. The weather was beautiful. 

did you end up only having 2 sea days on this voyage, or did you miss a different port?  grand turk looks gorgeous!

[MLJS]

There is a pool with lots of chairs & some umbrellas.  You can go around the back of Margarittaville to get in to the pool. 

[MLJS]

2 hours ago, _tacocat_ said:

did you end up only having 2 sea days on this voyage, or did you miss a different port?  grand turk looks gorgeous!

Instead of having day #6.& #7 as sea days and #8 at Bimini, we were at sea day #6, Grand Turk day #7 and at sea day #8

[MLJS]

Some more pics of Grand Turk

[MLJS]

As we were about to leave port, it started raining and produced a gorgeous rainbow

[MLJS]

On our last day,  that originally should have been at Bimini, but because of weather conditions was canceled and it turned into a sea day. About 11am the captain announced a rare occurrence. The Valiant Lady would be passing the Scarlet lady shortly. It was great to see all the crew & passengers waving to one another.  Turn up the volume on the video and you can hear them. 

[MLJS]

Our favorite restaurants were The Wake, Extra Virgin and Pink Agave. 
 

the wake is open for breakfast/brunch. Filet Minion and another steak (can’t remember name) are available after 12 noon. 
 

Gunbae, the Korean BBQ is very authentic. My husband loves it. He was able to explain things to everyone at the table. My parents skipped this meal and another couples and mom/daughter joined us at our table. The mom/daughter left about half way through the meal. The young couple tried a little of each item but my husband was the winner, getting everything left.  After we were finished at Gunbae, we went to the Wake, where I got a steak. 
 

our previous cruise last year, we had skipped Razzle Dazzle & the Test Kitchen. 
 

we had brunch at Razzle Dazzle. The bacon was good as was the chicken sandwich and avocado toast . The food was good but definitely not our favorite. 
 

My husband has lived around the world, living for months in India, Philippines, & Europe. He loves to cook & eat. The Test Kitchen pushed him to his limits on food. He tried most things. Said the lamb chop was good. He didn’t like the shrimp pasta and said the other items were “interesting “.  We probably would skip the Test Kitchen on our next cruise. 
 

the shrimp & skirt steak at the Dock House were excellent- had a Greek/Mediterranean flare. The octopus looked too real for me to eat. 
 

The social club diner has good snacks. Was disappointed they did not have the gummy bears they had on our previous cruise. Hot dogs were good as was the popcorn & pretzels.  The liquor smoothies/milkshakes were also good for a unique change. They do not make regular milkshakes, just the 3 or 4 listed   Wish I had taken a picture of them. 
 

we did not eat at the Pizza place but my parents did. The first time, they just ate what had been premade. Said it was OK. They went back and customized their pizza and said it was great!Noodle Around Ramen  and Miso Soup along with the sushi are some of my husbands very favorite food onboard. 

 

The morning Bento boxes in the Galley have fruit in them. 
 

although the app said that we could eat at each restaurant 3 times on an 8 day cruise, it would only let us register twice. For our third time at Pink Agave, the person at customer service scheduled it for us. They also encourage walk-ups if you don’t get the reservation you wanted. 

[MLJS]

The last afternoon, it rained some, so we got a beautiful rainbow

[MLJS]

The sunset was beautiful too

[MLJS]

An the moon