Come Join The Valor Voyagers 6/12/05 Western Caribbean

[sebastian01]

debbie, my husband and I are interested in the cave tubing. I was going to book it separtely when you filled up the other van, but we would be happy filling the 20 seat van. Kim

[Snowball]

Hey Kim - good to see you here. Don't be so much of a stranger, would ya? ;) I'm sure Kathy will see your post and add you to the list for the cave tubing.

I think that leaves us with two spots left. I'm still waiting to hear back from my SIL's friends to see if they want to go, but it's first come first serve so if anyone else is interested make sure you post something here.

Sharon - the Valor should definitely have a chocolate buffet, since the rest of the Conquest class ships have it. I've never been on a ship that has the chocolate buffet, and am really looking forward to it too. :D

This will be my first time going to Cozumel, but I think a cab to Paradise Beach is only around $4 per person, and I'm not sure if they have big vans that can take all of us or not. Maybe someone else from our group will know the answer to that. If not, we could always just take separate cabs and meet up there at the beach.

[Marcys]

Hi Kim! Glad you'll be joining our excursion in Belize! Have you seen our web page? [url="http://home.cinci.rr.com/valorvoyagers/"]http://home.cinci.rr.com/valorvoyagers/[/url] Hopefully you'll post your bio and pics (only if you want to;) ) so we can get to know you!:)

It's snowy, windy, and cold here in Ohio. I guess winter has arrived!

[Snowball]

I just wanted to remind everyone that today is the last day to pay the remainder of your deposit. I'm going to contact the t/a in the next day or two to get an updated list of our group members.

Did everyone see the thread with pictures of the Valor's arrival in Miami? [url="http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=2558084&posted=1#post2558084"]Click here for a link. [/url]Enjoy!!! :D

[Marcys]

Hey, when you get your cabin numbers, post them here so we can find you on board! :D What do you think of posting them on the website? Last year, just before leaving home we were able to print our a final list of cabin numbers, dinner seatings, excursions, precruise hotels (some of us met for dinner in Miami the night before), etc. I had people who never posted, must have been lurking, stopping me onboard saying, "Hey, you're Marcy, aren't you?"

It sounds like someone is putting a log book onboard Valor in the library. We'll have to follow the postings and see exactly where it is so we can all sign it.

The first sightings and pictures of Valor are so exciting! Can't wait to read those first reviews!

Had 12" of snow today. Schools all around us were cancelled, except us!!!! Yikes, this is only the beginning...

[lhall85917]

It starting to seem a little closer now that the Valor is finally in Miami! I must just be fooling myself though - we still have quite a wait! I'm anxious to see all the inside pics and reviews too!
We have had snow flurries the last couple of days - nothing to get excited about. I'm not looking forward to the next couple of months - not a winter person at all! :o

[Snowball]

[quote name='Marcys']Hey, when you get your cabin numbers, post them here so we can find you on board! :D What do you think of posting them on the website? [/QUOTE]I think if we are going to post our cabin numbers here on the board or on our group website (which is fine with me but I'm not sure if everyone would be comfortable with it), then we should start a new thread on our group board for cabin numbers. That way it doesn't get lost in the mix here. Just a thought.

I can't believe you have a foot of snow!!! :eek: I really don't like the snow, so anything over 3-4 inches is too much for me.

Just think - the Valor will be having her first cruise tomorrow. I hope someone comes back and posts their pics right away so we can see them! :cool:

[Marcys]

I read that Grand Cayman got hit by an earthquake yesterday! What a shame, they're just getting back on their feet following the hurricanes.

Bon voyage to those sailing on Valor today. Yes, Debbie, I hope they do post pics and reviews right away!!

[Marcys]

For those going cave tubing in Belize with Wet and Wild here's a link from yesterday to a great review. We are using W and W, aren't we??:confused:
[url="http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=110197"]http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=110197[/url]

[Snowball]

Thanks Marcy!! That was a great review! :D I am really looking forward to our cave tubing excursion, although I'll pass on the mud facial :rolleyes: and definitely won't be eating any termites. :eek: I'll leave the eating of bugs to the people on Fear Factor and Survivor. :p

[Marcys]

Looks like the first Valor review is in!! :D Here's the link:
[url="http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=111020"]http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=111020[/url]

Can't wait to read more reviews!!

Debbie...mud facial...maybe...eating live termites..I'm with you...leave for Fear Factor and Survival!!:eek: Even escargot in the dining room and sushi make me queasy!

[Snowball]

Marcy and I just chatted while we watched the christening of the Valor. Did anyone else watch it? It was really nice to be able to see it live over the internet. Now I'm just waiting (not too patiently) to see some interior pictures.

[lhall85917]

Waiting to see the pics too. I'll take the first reviews with a grain of salt knowing that it sometimes takes a while to get things running smoothly.

[Marcys]

That was exciting watching the christening of the Valor! :p There was a very interesting group ...uhmm...singing and gyrating to the star spangled banner. Hopefully, they're not the onboard entertainment.

The first few brief reviews were fun to read and mostly postive. :) It will take time for a new crew to gel together and work out kinks. Hopefully, they accomplish this within 176 days, 15 hours, 51 minutes, and 28 seconds!

[Marcys]

Just saw the pictures from the first Valor cruise.The decor looks very...busy! There didn't seem to be any empty wall space that wasn't taken up by pictures, artwork, etc. I thought I saw what appears to be huge bean bag chairs in the piano bar?? Was I seeing right?

Here's the link for the pictures!
[url="http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=111148"]http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=111148[/url]

[Snowball]

The decor Carnival ships does tend to be rather busy. I guess Joe Farcus (the interior designer for the ships) doesn't believe in having any plain spaces anywhere. :rolleyes: But from what I've heard the decor on the newer ships are a little more subdued than the older Fantasy class ships. Just remember that just because the decor is busy doesn't necessarily mean that it is ugly. A lot of times your eyes just can't take in all the details at first. I always have fun by trying to find different things throughout the week that I didn't notice at first glance. :)

[Marcys]

Debbie, one of the reasons we wanted a new cruiseline (besides price) was that we were totally familiar with RCCL and were looking for a change. And...this will certainly be a change!!

Last year, a little of the excitement was gone because we thoroughly knew the ship (Explorer of the Seas), its activities, shows, parades, shops, bars, routines, games, etc. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with the familiar but, yes, a change will be nice!

Funny how you said you look for different things throughout the week...we did find one new thing last year on Explorer that we had never seen before...the oceanographic center.

We are looking forward to a new cruiseline, a BRAND NEW ship, and new CC friends!!:p

[Marcys]

I have a question. In January you will be able to book excursions on line at Carnival.com. The only one I would consider this trip is the Canopy tour in Roatan, IF we couldn't book on our own. You need your booking number to book online.

The problem: when I went to check my resrvation online on Carnival.com, I couldn't. The booking number didn't work since we are a group cruise (I had checked with Kevin on this). Does this mean if you're on a group cruise you won't be able to use the online feature to book excursions?

A very snowy day again here in Northeast Ohio! Those new Valor pics are sure giving my spirit a lift today!

[Snowball]

I would assume that we would still be able to book our excursions online, just like we are able to do the funpass online. The only thing that I know of that we can't do is add our booking to Carnival's website so that it shows up on there every time we visit their site. I know that as long as you know your cabin number you can still order things from their gifts & services department, because I was able to order drink coupons for my Miracle cruise, which was also a group booking.

[Marcys]

Thanks, Debbie, that's good to know! So far, Carnival doesn't have the canopy tour listed for Roatan anyway. Still not able to get any further info on whether you can do the tour without being part of a ship's tour. It seems like only NCL is offering it so far. Any further word, Kathy, from Brad in Roatan?

[Snowball]

Good morning everyone!!! With the high temp here expected to only reach 22 degrees, I could really use a cruise right now! :eek:

I received an updated list of our group members from Kevin, and some people have cancelled while other new members have booked, so we currently have 20 cabins booked. Hopefully the newer group members will start posting here soon and join in the pre-cruise excitement. :)

Kathy - I was thinking maybe you should e-mail me the list of people you have for the cave tubing excursion, that way I could let you know if any of them cancelled. I know that you used your credit card to pay the deposits, and I don't want to see you penalized for any cancellations.

[Snowball]

[font=Comic Sans MS]Ok - here is the current list of our group members. If you are listed here with a question mark, please post here and introduce yourself. The more people we have posting, the more pre-cruise excitement we can share with each other! :D[/font]

[color=blue][size=3][font=Comic Sans MS][color=blue]1. Kimberly S. & Steven S. – Sebastian01 - Early[/color][/font]
[font=Comic Sans MS][color=blue]2. Kathleen F. &[/color][color=blue]Emilie F. - CruiserKathi[/color][/font]
[font=Comic Sans MS][color=blue]3. Reinhold F. &[/color][color=blue]Michael F. - CruiserKathi[/color][/font]
[font=Comic Sans MS][color=blue]4. Richard W., Daniel W. & Lyndsey K. - ???[/color][/font]
[color=blue][font=Comic Sans MS]5. David C. & Gregory C. - marcys - Early[/font][/color]
[font=Comic Sans MS][color=blue]6. Lynda R. & Ronald C. – lyndamr - Early[/color][/font]
[font=Comic Sans MS][color=blue]7. Robert R. & Kelly R. – lyndamr - Early[/color][/font]
[font=Comic Sans MS][color=blue]8. Bradley F., Brandon F. & Darren F. - ???[/color][/font]
[font=Comic Sans MS][color=blue]9. Cynthia W., Kristi R., Michael R. & Adam W. - ???[/color][/font]
[font=Comic Sans MS][color=blue]10. Marcy C. & Sarah C. – marcys - Early[/color][/font]
[font=Comic Sans MS][color=blue]11. Sharon H. & Kristen H. – lhall85917 - Early[/color][/font]
[font=Comic Sans MS][color=blue]12. Lance H., Stephen P. & Greg H. – lhall85917 - Early[/color][/font]
[font=Comic Sans MS][color=blue]13. Jeanette J. & Matthew J. - ???[/color][/font]
[font=Comic Sans MS][color=blue]14. Christopher M. & Heather M. – Heather307 - Late[/color][/font]
[font=Comic Sans MS][color=blue]15. Daniel R. & Sharon J. – Snowball - Early[/color][/font]
[font=Comic Sans MS][color=blue]16. Stephen T. & Erin T. – Sebastian01 - Early[/color][/font]
[font=Comic Sans MS][color=blue]17. Debrah W. & Robert W. – Snowball - Early[/color][/font]
[font=Comic Sans MS][color=blue]18. Lisa W., Jasmine B. & Marie W. – Snowball - Early[/color][/font]
[font=Comic Sans MS][color=blue]19. Kathleen F., Alyssa F. & Jeremy F. - ???[/color][/font]
[font=Comic Sans MS][color=blue]20. Carol K., Sheila R. & Amy M. – Snowball - Early[/color][/font]



[font=Comic Sans MS]Please post here and let me know if any corrections should be made to the list. Thanks! :) [/font][/size][/color]

[cruiserkathi]

I haven't been on the boards for a while. Appreciate the updates. I did hear back from Brad in Roatan (orphanage). They have two drivers, Andrew and Cardi (not sure how many each of them can take). They're willing to meet us at the pier, take us on a tour of the island, to the orphanage about 9:00, on to the canopy tour/beach and back to the ship. So, obviously, we can just show up for the canopy tour; it doesn't have to be a ship excursion. Andrew and Cardi will stay with us for the day. They charge $10.00/person. I'll ask Brad again about numbers, etc. There are just four of us. So, whoever else is interested in this kind of a day can certainly join us. Marvin from Wet-N-Wild (that's our cave-tubing tour) said that if we have 6 for Lamanai and if they depart right away, they'll do a tour for us (6 hours minimum he's telling me). I agree that's cutting it close, so maybe people would feel better about booking a hip excursion. Kim -- I'll be glad to add you and your husband to the cave-tubing excursion. I think I need a confirmation, though, from the people booked so far. Help me out here by sending me your name and number going cave-tubing. I just booked "14" -- no names except mine. (I told you I was trusting.) It's easy to get taxis/vans in Cozumel. They have a big board with beaches listed and cost per taxi. Happy holidays to all.

[lhall85917]

We should be down for the cave tubing - there are 5 of us- Lance, Sharon, Greg, Kristen and Stephen. I think we are also interested in the orphanage/canopy tour - do we know the cost for the canopy tour that will be in addition to the $10/pp?
Thanks so much for taking care of this. Hope you have a great holiday too - we are sitting here waiting for the snow to start in the morning - expecting about 6-10 inches.

[Marcys]

Kathi, I think you already know that our family of 4 is in for both cave tubing in Belize and for the orphanage/island/canopy tour/beach in Roatan. Has Brad had drivers take people to the canopy tour lately? The price for the drivers is great!

Here's a link to a post today about the canopy tour and whether you can do it without a ship excursion:
[url="http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=111283"]http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=111283[/url]

I thought we might do an all day dune buggy tour in Cozumel, but I think my family might want to sleep late, go back to Paradise Beach (and rest after the full days in Belize and Roatan), and parasail next door at San Fransicso Beach. We went to Paradise Beach last year and the kids really had fun, plus my daughter got a henna tatoo, there were massages on the beach, and we got to meet PB Tom.