All things Valor

[MAO]

I found some pics (hope folks don't mind) and thought maybe others could add stories, pics and hints about the Valor.

 

We are going on her Jan '09 and love to have all the info we can get. And of course love to get excited too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anyone want to add.

Whats the Valor like? Did anything memerable happen? PLEASE ADD YOUR STORIES.

 

Hope you will all add to this thread:)

MAO

[Nando52]

I don't have a specific memory from the Valor, but she is my favorite ship so far. I sailed for the first time in November of '07 for a 7 day western out of Miami. I had booked a balcony on the empress deck. Much to my surprise, my PVP somehow got me bumped up to suite 7249. She said something about my original balcony being given away. Not really sure, and trust me I didn't care. The great thing is that the VIP priveleges came automatically with the room which was a nice bonus as well. Anyway, the Valor is a gorgeous ship. I especially love the heroes theme. The decor is extremely patriotic and being a proud American, I loved it. Some feel that it is too patriotic. Although the Valor was three years old when I sailed her, she still seemed brand new. Very clean. I recently read that they installed the outdoor theater screen on the Lido deck. Fortunately for me, I've booked an aft balcony for a 7 day Eastern on Nov 2nd, 2008. I convinced several family members and friends to come along as well. I'm sure they'll love the Valor as much as I do.

[desperatehousewife]

Here is a review I posted back in April for my friends over in the Floataway Lounge. I aways meant to post it over here!!!! Sorry it's way late!!

 

Leaving On A Big Jet Plane....

 

 

The morning we were to leave, my DSister came over early to see us off and to be here to care for the 2 yr old once we left.

I had hardly slept a wink the entire night before, so I had sprang outta bed long before I was supposed to…

Everything,as you all know, had already been weighed,packed weighed,packed and weghed again so we were all good there. However, she took one look at my 311 bag and immediately busted out laughing at the bursting seams and barely closing top. She pointed out that the TSA entire point behind that was not organization, but rather to be able to see what passengers were bringing on board and limit it!

Yah…, what’s your point?

She made me put ½ my crap into Eric’s 311 so the stupid thing would lay flat b/c she was convinced they would immediately make me dump at the site. OK.

Our driver was supposed to arrive at 7:30 am to take us to O’Hare Int. Airport in Chicago.

I,( Eric too) am always prepared early though, and it is a good thing because he showed up at 7:10am! All our luggage was already out on the porch waiting for him so we were set.

Ahem..Please ignore my dead plants....)

We said goodbye to my sister and Ashleigh. Brian and Autumn had been picked up the night b/f by their father and we had said goodbye then, plus they had stayed home from school all day and we had spent the whole day together at the park and making cookies.

The driver asked if we had everything….

Uh… I guess?

I checked through everything 3 x’s while Eric taps his foot…

The driver tells him it is better to be safe than sorry actually as 2 weeks ago he took a couple form this area to the airport who rudely insisted they had EVERYTHING upon being asked as if it was a stupid question he said.

¾ way to the airport… you guessed it, they realize they forgot all cruise docs on the table back home. They missed the only flight going that day and the ship, as they were not

flying the day before. ( Lesson #1) Always fly the day before.

Ride was great, no typical Chicago traffic, and arrive 2 hrs before schedule flight time.

 

Proceed to lug all our crap to the baggage counter for the moment I had been dreading…..

THE WEIGH IN…..

I begin to get twirly birds in my stomach and see stars….

Put the baggage on and we are all ok!!!! Cha- Ching!! I am golden and home free from here….

I basically kiss the counter lady and we are off with her blessings, as I do not think she has ever seen a happier clothes horse, barley made it passenger.

Arrive at our gate eventually after a great breakfast to find our flight is on time and waiting for us. The other passengers are getting off…. Awesome!

We wait…. and wait… and wait…

I tell Eric, this is not good.

Of course, I am right, and our plane is taken away and thrown in the junk yard.

They make an announcement that “ due to mechanical problems there will be a delay in boarding….”

Yup… here we go. Out comes the laptop and the Mp3 player, while my dh leaves in search of sustenance.

Now, here is what always ceases to amaze me….

After the “big” announcement.. I watched the same scenario unfold that I have watched in countless airports across this country for years and it still leaves me stupefied.

I watched as these poor counter/ticket people were converged upon by irate passengers who were demanding that they be put on that aircraft.

Now, I completely understand their frustration at being stranded and having to wait.. after all, my Mystic Tan time clock was ticking and only had a seven day grace period! But these people wanted that plane… not a new plane.

They did not “give a flying hell what was wrong with the damn thing” and so on…they had connecting flights, places to go.. blah blah.

Well, my question is….does it ever occur to this individuals that those above obligations will seem meaningless when you are soaring face down 300 miles per hr toward the pavement!!!???

The aircraft is broken!!!! It did not go on a lunch break or out for a flavored lube…

Yeesh!!

These poor counter peeps…

Finally get an aircraft at 3pm something at begin boarding around 3:20pm Chicago time…(we were supposed to board at 10:45am)

We board a 777… big plane!

It was actually a plane that they snatched straight in from London and the crew had not even gotten off yet, and now were turning around going to Miami!

I felt soooooo bad I was profusely thanking all the steward people (who were all flamboyant men… they rawked and were soooooo funny and cool, I could not stop talking to this one in particular.. we “ dished” way too much!) and I wanted to help pass out peanuts or something!

Anyhow, flight was awesome…. All chairs have dvd players in the headrests and turned into beds! Yippee!

 

Arrive in Miami at around 7 something , just in time for rush hour on Saturday night. So the taxi ride that would have normally cost us probably $10..cost us $40 ( $30 really but our cabbie was so great we threw him 2 twenties)

We arrive at the Bayside Continental ( Remember this name forever)..not to be confused with the Bayside Intercontinental.

Holy cannoli… this was by far the worst… the worst hotel/motel I have ever been in in my entire life.( Lesson #2..NEVER stay here)

Situated directly across form the Bayside Marketplace and across from the Intercontinental, is in a prime location for sure.

From the outside, appearances will not give way to what lies inside these walls… I swear, and I took pics to prove it.

The first room we entered … the room smelled soooo bad, that I cannot put into words. The walls were covered with scratches, dirt, black marks from luggage ( I presume… hmmm..or someone heels?)

The bed? The bed was literally in the shape of a “U” !

I kid you not…

I immediately phoned the desk and asked if it was a joke and told her very sternly that in all my life I had never been in a filthier establishment and that I would rather go sleep in the park across the street. I meant it.

She did not care and did not seem surprised… at all.

Problem was that weather was calling or rain… and the only reason we had THIS place was when I booked it in Feb… there was nothing 3 stars (which is my limit usually) available anymore due to all the ships in port that weekend!!

So I was screwed and I knew it!

She offered another room and if I did not like it I would have to check out b/c she had nothing else!

Luckily… the next one was waaaaaay better and so we regretfully took it and slept on top of the sheets and drunk!

Here the pics, but these are only of the new room because it wasn’t until I had spilled the drink ( that is coming) and had to call Curt that he reminded me to take pics. By then we had left the first room. I took these after we got back from speaking with him.

 

 

Wall next to bed

Wall next to window...

Stellar view out that window to back of dirty building...

 

 

[desperatehousewife]

 

Bathroom Floor... I swear....

 

 

Missing baseboards!!

[desperatehousewife]

Spent the evening at the Bayside Marketplace. I really like this place.

For those who have never been… it is located right on Biscayne Bay… you have a direct view of where the cruise ships come in to dock ..one right after the other all lined up. There all all kinds of yachts docked there as well as sailboats and a marina. A shopping center is here with all kinds of shops… hand made crafts to high-end brand name, open air martini and daiquiri bars( YUM and strong), bands galore playing, party boats to get on, tour boats, all a gazillion restaurants.

We ate at Bubba Gumps seafood.

It was ok….

I was in need of a serious drinkif I was to sleep in that room, so after I slurped down my first, I ordered this Strawberry Lemonade Margarita thingie…

Well, Eric aand I are in the fresh air ( open air restaurant) and I am slightly buzzed… and happy as all hell.

Waitress had told me I had to “shake” before I poured the rest of what she left in the shaker… weird margarita.. looked more like a martini , but hey!

So I shaka, shaka, shaka, and ….

DUMP!!

The lid and all the contents behind it come flying out like white water rapids …

All over the table… all over me.. all over my lap…

Did I mention what I was wearing?

O.. well I had on this adorable little crinkle, cotton ( hence :see thru when wet ) skirt , tank and denim jacket.

O Yes……

I squealed like a pig!!!

To say it was cold it ridiculous…..

Eric was crying… literally… not out of embarrassment, but out of hysterical laughter.

Hmmph..

Eventually I found the humor too and … hey, ordered another!!

It was at that point Eric dug out the phone… still crying with laughter.. and begged me to call Curt and tell him what a dork I was…. Hoping of course, I’m sure it would make it all of you!

I read that it did….

Somehow…we did manage to stay out really late. We met some people form our hotel who were equally as disgusted as we hung out with them .

We actually were able to sleep in and get up late … hey we were VIP so no hurry!!

Hotel was a mob scene early too when we did get up, so I took my time getting ready and by the time we made it down we literally walked out of the elevator into a shuttle to the port.

[desperatehousewife]

Port of Miami….

It was really quite empty this morning as it was a Sunday I guess . I have seen mob scenes and chaos before… there was none.

On the way in, we passed RCI’s Freedom Of The Seas… that thing unreal in size. Beautiful ship….

Next was the Carnival Victory, I have been in her before and I was happy to see her again. She looked as good as when I was on her!

As we pulled up to the Valor, again I was amazed at the size of the ship. You really never get over the awe I don’t think… especially of the larger ships.

Eric, having never seen anything before was stunned into silence.

He was literally speechless….

He made a few noises and sounds,… but no words were actually formed those first few minutes…. Just stood there.

 

( Those are little people on the ground!!)

 

 

Dropped the luggage with the porter and we were in such a daze… gave him our carry-ons too!! Here ya go , buddy!!!

It was not until I was about 50 yards away did I realize…. CRAP!!! I saw it being driven away by those little men driving those forklifts like crazy people.

O.. when we gave him our bags we were still listed as TBA on docs with no official room #, even though Carnival had tentatively given us the # of PH Suite 7307.It was not yet official.

He checked his sheets… Said “ You folks will be in stateroom # 7307 and I jumped up and hugged him w/o thinking!!

Yipeee!!!

He was as happy at that point as I was!!!

All the way to the port building I kept telling everyone…” we got upgraded!!”

 

Entered the port facility itself and were immediately hit by the crowds now.

Long, long lines….

Eric groans and I grin because I know!!

I find a Carnival person and ask where is VIP and she brightens up like I just announced I was the first lady! Well Helll-O to u too!

She says “ follow me” with a friendly wave of her hand and a wink just for us….

Eric and I look at each other like “ now we’re talkin’”…and gladly followed.

She takes us past all these crowds and lines… just like that.

She opens a big door finally, and says “ here you go, Enjoy your trip!” Well thank you!

We turn and look and we are in an AC office now ( BIG) with a pretty woman sitting behind an important looking desk with a huge smile that we assumed was just for us!

We were welcomed again and she asked to see all our docs after offering us a seat in her big, oversized leather chairs.

We complied, she stamped, we watched… she says we are done.

What?

What about all the lines?

What about all the aggravation?

What about all the grueling anticipation and waiting?

What about all the sweating I was prepared to do?

 

Nope… done.

“Just walk down the hall, stay in the VIP lane and proceed to Xray. After that.. board the ship, and have a wonderful cruise!”

We love you!

That is exactly what we did and the entire thing .. from the time we entered to crossing the ship’s gangway was under 8 min. ( I will leave out the part about how I did accidentally try and get back in line and had to get told by a crotchety old Carnival geezer that “DUH” you are done and already checked in, that is what that big RED stamp is and say……that part is not important, right? I did not think so either.)

 

As we cross the gangway we are handed our sign and sail cards now instead of at check in back in the port building like before….Fine, whatever.

We see we have gotten the 8pm dinner time instead of the 8:45 as requested but no biggie as it is not the early so we decide to leave it and be happy!

We cross into the lobby of the Valor and there is Titanic-like music being played by real musicians which is a beautiful touch, but kinda gave me the willies for that exact reason for just a second and then it was gone.

It was a gorgeous lobby, all done with the red, white and blue theme that it is know for. Tasteful, but not overdone IMHO.

No screaming neon lights hit you like on some of the ships, just glass , gold and wood.

There are eagles perched upon pillars and nea

rly every turn, but somehow I did not ever get sick of them I guess as I are representative.

The lobby’s perimeter ( near deck 5) is done up with Mount Rushmore type carvings of Presidents heads or something….

 

Artrium view up....

 

Hallway of elevators....

 

 

 

 

We can’t yet get to our room , not until 1:30 and it is only 1:15pm.

Eric and I are starving as we did not eat breakfast so we almost run to the Lido deck for grub.

We head straight to Rosie’s which was in full swing with their buffet. I was quite surprised at the size of this space. Much bigger than I remember on the Victory, but then it is a bigger ship.

It is all done is blue and greens set against chrome, shiny chrome. At first I was not really sure how I liked it, I’ll tell you, it really grew on me and I really thought it was pretty in the end. We filled our plates, high and were immediately offered, by a bar waiter, the drink of the day, the“ Fun Ship Special”.We grabbed two and Eric was immediately broken in on the workings of the sign and sail card…. which would catch fire by mid-week from so much usage!

We find a window seat looking out to Miami at … AHHH… sit.

Our drinks are gone in 60 seconds and 2 more are in front of us within the same amount of time.

I finally aske Eric… “So…. What do you think?”

He paused with glazed eyes.. not from alcohol ( his alcohol tolerance is sickening and I am a really cheap date) but from awe…. He looks around at all the people ( he likes people) he sees the food everywhere… and I do mean everywhere ( hot dogs hamburger, pizza, Chinese, deli, sushi, fish and chips, ice cream, the buffet and a dessert buffet all within a couple of steps, and alcohol flowing like fountains, beautiful views out of the window and all around, staff treating you like royalty, a happy wife…. And he finally responds:

“Heather…, I swear, it is like the garden of Eden!” said with all the wonderment and innocence of a child seeing something for the first time. I was happy,giggled and kissed him.

1:30 pm we practically ran to our room to see it. We opened the door and OMG!!!

Balcony was 18 ft long by our measurements…probably cutting it short.

We had granite for all our counters which included a large bar area that we used for a computer/media area, a HUGE private vanity /dressing table for moi, double bowl vanity in the sink, wall to wall shelf that flanked the wall behind the bed.

King sized bed with a wall of mirrors behind it that had the most luxurious bedding on it that I am seriously considering purchasing.

The entire wall that faces you as you enter the room is basically windows… floor to ceiling windows.

The bed skirt and drapery were matching and were a gorgeous silk, swiss dot, salmon colored material that was slightly iridescent in that when in moved in turned different depths /shades of the salmon. Wide crown molding was found all around the ceiling in a rich cherry wood tone and well as the base boards. Our flooring was either a rich carpeting, wood, or marble. We had tons of recessed lighting on the ceiling that was easily controlled by a dimmer that we had at the bed. Two gorgeous yellow/white lamps murano glass lamps on each bedside table had both a regular light as well as a nightlight.

There was perimeter lighting all around the room that was operated by switches both at the main door, balcony door, and vanity door.

We had 3 huge closets that were literally large enough to stand in almost. When you opened them a light automatically came on. One had a shoe shelf on one side that was perfect…

The bathroom was enormous….period.

It offered a marble floor, whirpool tub /shower with hand held shower head. There was a double bowl vanity, granite counters, three large glass shelves stood in each corner for ‘stuff’ and we had two large storage cabinets underneath for more ‘stuff ‘. The towels were bath sheet sized, plenty of them and I use two every time I shower.

A toilet and a bidet rounded out the room!!

 

We were in heaven!!

The phone began ringing as w were gawking as it was “Paula” our Wedding Coordinator ( from Brazil) welcoming us and wanting to know if we had any special requests?

Yes…. Don’t wake me if I am dreaming, please.

She let us know that they would let us know with 2 hrs when the wedding would be and where. Okey Dokey!

Immediately after hanging up we were introduced to our room steward Chantai from Tawaiin .

I ADORE this little man!!!

He made sure there was nothing we were without the entire week…

He was soo cute because he kept bowing to me. I would hug him and he would get all embarrassed. We made a point to leave him notes if we had not seen him before we left each day thanking him for his hard work and wonderful job….

He left us soooo many cute towel animal throughout the week as well…

 

We were off to explore !

I wanted to get a hole punched in my SS card but the line was 5 miles long so no way. We went to the all over the ship exploring….

 

Eagles on top of pillars....

 

Some artwork at the top of stairs....

[desperatehousewife]

Shops.....

 

 

 

Another view of lobby ...looking up and elevatos are to the right of this picture ( your right)

 

yet another view...

[desperatehousewife]

Casino view.. a bad one, but still!

 

And another...

 

Part of the main Promenade hall....( also where the Coffe bar is you will read about later!)

 

And the Coffee bar...( more to come on that)

 

Offerings at the coffee shop, just some...

[desperatehousewife]

We checked out the arcade for the kids for reference, the theater, the shops ( although closed until sail away), dining rooms… EVERYTHING!!

In the middle of it the announcement was made that the muster drill was to begin so we went to that 15 min no biggie. Eric was irritated b/c I kept trying to video tape it… Hey Curt said take pics of everything !!! Oh well, I could not operate the thing over that big’ol clunkie vest anyhow!

Once I knew how to save Eric from sinking…. He were off to the sail away!!! We went to deck 11 where we met some awesome people and chatted with them awhile.

At sail away, there were these crazy guys on wave runners following the ship out to sea and we could not believe how far they followed us!

I mean, what did they plan on doing if they ran out of gas? They were boppin’ along yelling and waving at the boat like little children!

 

 

Victory pulling out and getting ready to saily away!

 

Back of Eric looking out to Miami before sail away....

 

 

Miami...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After sail away, we resumed our exploration of this mammoth vessel until it was time to transform ourselves for dinner

[desperatehousewife]

We are walking to dinner… and I am standing in front of the elevator to go down one deck to our dining room level ( lower)..

“ding”

Out walks none other…by himself.. than good ol’ boy.. Richard Simmons!!!

I squeal like a pig for the second time in 24 hrs ….simply out of reflex for sight of a famous person…..

To my horror, he reacts right back… the EXACT same way!!!!

He smacks his hands on either side of his cheeks, make a big “O” with his mouth and squeals right back at me!!!

Then he starts hopping up and down as if I am the famous person and runs over to me and hugs and kisses me!!!

Eric snaps a quick picture and he talks a minute to me and then he says he is starving!!!

Yes, he was in full Richard regalia … Hot red shorts and tank top and curls galore!

I almost wet my pretties, I swear at the whole thing… because it was so unexpected and he reacted so animatedly!! The pics came out really crappy b/c we had the setting on the camera set to take night shots and Eric did not think to change it… just shot!!

 

Don't worry better pics of me to come... that hardley looks like me, but it is Richard!!!!!!!

We met our waiter Komar, form Indonesia and thought he was great! We were set up at table #357 which was a booth over by a wall of windows ( don’t ask me which side of the ship as I could barely find my room alone) set for 4 people. We waited for the other two guests, but they never came. We later found out that they changed us to a table for 2 when they found out we were getting married again! Fine with us!

Dinner was excellent and did not disappoint us one single time.

I will not go into each and every single meal that I had, but I will tell you that several nights we tried more than one appetizer (to share), and the Warm Chocolate Melting Cake is something to sell your blood for.

Eric and I had this every single night… although he added to it sometimes!

It is like a rich chocolate cake with powdered sugar on the outside… then you dig in and it is all warm and gooey, almost like pudding. It is served with a tiny ramekin of vanilla ice cream and a piece of chocolate sunk in it. I would consider doing outrageous things just to have this again.…..

 

Komar ....our waiter ( and his assistant next to him)

 

 

After dinner ended at about 9:15pm we decided to go into some shops as Eric was in dire need of some sunglasses (had lost his) and a cigar, and I just wanted to look in general. Plus we were easting time until the late show at 10:30pm. I did not find much… Eric got both his sunglasses and a $15 cigar to smoke later on the balcony with a drink. Ok honey…

 

We head to the “Welcome Aboard Show” and here is where we first meet our cruise director Chris Jefferson. He was freakin’ hilarious… I mean stinkin’ roll me on the floor funny. Not at all annoying, did not hear him all week long til’ you wanted to choke him or tie his larynx in a knot! Made his announcements with humor and was done. Funny, informative, fun. Just right…

The show was great and I think Eric loved all the dancers in the skimpy little uniforms even though he denied it vehemently. (This show was one of 3 we went to this week )

 

Eric decided he was hungry by the time the show was done so off to find food we go.

We were not alone…. The pizza,deli and hamburgers joints were packed. There were people milling all about, everyone in great spirits.

I was not hungy, as we had just eaten half of the ship stock of food just a couple of hours ago at dinner, so I became a bystander to his escapade of filling his gullet to near bursting. I drank water and laughed….

 

Finally it was time for bed…..

I finally noticed that the ship was really cruising now and I did notice it. Hmmm… I did ponder Bonine for a minute but decided to see what happened…..Mistake.

I have to tell you that that evening was the best night of sleep I remembered having in a very long tme, if not forever, no lie….

We slept with the balcony door open so that the sound of the ocean was pouring into our room as were balmy sea breezes. The bedding I already told you about is simply wonderful and is like a cocoon. I swear it is laced with drugs that make you sleepy…

I do not know the thread count or whatever… but this stuff is heavenly…fluffy, billowy and heavenly.

[desperatehousewife]

NASSAU

 

Awoke refreshed and renewed and about 30 min. prior to pulling onto Nassau so we were able to see it from the balcony.

Very colorful buildings from this view and the water had finally turned more turquoise.

Very flat terrain….

view from our balcony early in morning....

 

We showered, dressed and headed off to the Lido deck to eat breakfast.

We were in no real hurry as we had no excursion planned here.

Breakfast is the standard grub,( pancakes..sometimes w/fruit, French toast, eggs, omelet station, fresh fruit, sausage, bacon, grits, oatmeal, cereals of all kinds, pastries, breads etc) which we found great for breakfast, and if we had wanted something different we could have always headed to the dining room for more formal fare. No need….

Milk ( all kinds) and juices, coffee, hot chocolate and tea are all provided at no cost during the buffets and the juices, coffee, teas and hot chocolate all day.

At this point Rosie’s décor was really growing on me…

View of Rosies facing an empty buffet station....taken at night

 

 

 

We left the ship at approx. 10 am to head to a water taxi as our plan was to head over to the Atlantis Hotel and look around.

 

 

Our ship parked next to a smaller one... WOW!!! I almost felt sorry for these folks....

 

 

**Disclaimer: The following is only my opinion and view and is not meant to dissuade or offend anyone.

 

 

We stood in line for the water taxi and a group of local began fighting (verbally) between whose turn it was to take us. It eventually turned pretty nasty and almost turned physical , which was really scary because the family in front of us had little ones and they were really scared. We had not been off the ship more than 15 minutes…. Not a good first impression of this island , but we tried to blow it off.

Eventually boarded what was supposed to be a glass bottom boat that was no where near that… instead it was a very old boat that barely look like it would float and I was really nervous. We questioned if this was the right one and he just muttered something…

Everyone was leary…

Everyone aboard the creaky water taxi looking quite scared... our ship in the background!

 

The ride over was quite informative though, as the tour guide gave us a lot of info about the island and it’s history. We arrived at Paradise Island in under 20 minutes and the cost was $12 total for us both, roundtrip.

Atlantis Hotel is stunning really. The grounds are amazing and the scenery is breath taking. Immaculately clean, décor is astounding. There are lagoons, aquariums and pools everywhere it seems. The hotel inside is enormous, beautifully decorated and spectacular…

However…

The staff was rude, unbelievably so. This was shocking to me because we were there actually scoping the place out as a tentative vacation spot for the next vacation with the kids… I am sure we were not the only ones with this mindset.

I am not talking a little rude… I am talking “get outta my face” rude…You would have thought we were destroying their economy , not supporting it. Hello?

I saw it, it was beautiful, it was enough. Kids would love it I am sure….

[desperatehousewife]

Atlantis..

 

 

Atlantis Hotel from the water taxi as we are arriving....a very small part of it as the hotel alone goes on for hundreds of acres.

 

View across the marina to another side.....Private yachts were parked here with many folk out on deck sipping coffee.

 

 

View down a shopping boulevard inside the Atlantis property.hundreds of high end shops and boutiques.

 

Approaching .....

 

 

 

 

 

This is one of the aquariums...It can be viewed underground in a huge , elaborate exhibit.

 

[desperatehousewife]

Atlantis continued....

 

 

Some kind of globe atop a huge pillar inside the casino...

 

And another...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gold, glass art piece in a domed circle entry/corridor....

 

Shopping is available everywhere.....this is still inside the hotel, main level.Notice the seahorse light piece? It was gorgeous!

[desperatehousewife]

We left the Atlantis and headed back to the water taxi. We were approached many times along the way by very pushy people doing the time share thing… move along.

Back on the other side I wanted to check out the straw market I had heard so much about so that is where we headed.

This is where I lost Eric on this little adventure… not literally, but figuratively.

To say he hated this place would be an understatement. I did not find it bad… but did not find it enjoyable either. I did not see one thing worth purchasing… although the knock-off bags were making some women almost beside themselves with joy. (guess they hadn’t gotten word yet that they are illegal and support child labor)

I quickly realized that it is aisle after aisle of the same “items” and that the “items” (at least very, very few) are not at all local or handcrafted.

It reminded me of a huge open-air dollar store…. Sorry.. just being honest.

I got my poor husband out of there before he lost consciousness … and this is a man that likes to shop!!

We tried to walk around a bit but were discouraged by several more street arguments turned quite heated.

We decided we had had enough of Nassau and headed back to the ship for lunch…..

If I were to go back to Nassau on this same route I would not get off the boat… nothing to see I am afraid worth seeing at all for us. ..just our feelings. We would make it a great

”parked” day at sea!! No problem…

 

This afternoon we had planned to meet with our roll call group at the atrium bar at 3:30pm. We had a great showing and I had a blast meeting with all of the people I had been chatting with over the last several months, anticipating our cruise.

One couple in particular, we really connected with and actually had already planned tours with them in both St Thomas and St. Martin. Eric and I both agreed after the meet that this would be a great thing as they seemed like a great team… and they definitely were!!

 

As if this day had not held enough plans… tonight was also our first formal night. After our meeting, we hurried back to the room to get ready, taking a couple of cocktails with us along the way!

 

I wore the black dress with the blue flowers and shimmer blue wrap I made. We were so exhausted after this night that we crashed shortly after dinner!

Okay... really horrible pic here showing the whole thing .

The angle I am standing does nothing for my shape ( my waist is not that wide) and no I do not have implants...

 

 

Trying to show the hair clip thing... It was a silver clip with these blue swarovski crystals on it. It was really pretty and I got a lot of compliments on it!

 

 

[desperatehousewife]

Fun Day At Sea

 

 

Wedding bells are ringing!!

We had found out that today was to be our ceremony at the Piano Bar..The Lindy Hop at 5 pm.!!We decided that after our breakfast we would head up to the deck to sun ourselves and relax until my spa appointment at 3 pm. We ate really, really late because we slept until nearly 11am…LAZY feels good!!!

The deck chair hogs were horrible, in full glory and proud of it so we headed straight up to the F-Deck for some solitude.

 

 

I am happy to announce that the F-deck is alive and happening on the Carnival Valor…no shut down of the boobies here!

My girls did not come out to play, but you can definitely find quiet up here and chairs so we were happy .

The wind was sooooo strong this day that it was almost chilly and your drinks had to be supported in between two shoes to remain upright, otherwise the wind tipped the tall ones over!!

Made for an interesting fight with my bathing suit top straps….

I did not want the halter ties around my neck as they would leave marks, right?

So, I always untie and tuck them under my arms…. No biggie.

Well today.. the wind kept trying peek at my girls by whipping that wind right under my triangles and making them heave-ho. It was a challenge, but to my knowledge.. no got a free sneak peek.

Took off for the spa/salon at 2:50pm and almost fell asleep in there! They play this amazingly restful music…. I had them do my hair and got a facial. Loved it…

 

Headed back to the room and we headed for the Lindy hop Piano Bar @ 4:45pm w/ many butterflies….

 

Inside.....

 

 

 

**I will cover the wedding in another segment……..hang tight!**

 

After the ceremony, pics and champagne… I was positively exhausted!!!

For some reason I actually felt drugged,too!

We had a couple hours before dinner and I told Eric we should just “rest” before then, he agreed.

Well, when it came time to finally get up… I swear to you I could not do it!!!

It was horrible!!!

The room was spinning and I was soooo tired!!

Eric asked me a bunch of questions which I could barely answer…. Then he put it together.

 

I had forgotten to take my migraine medicine 2 days in a row so I took it that morning and again right before the ceremony. Well, we drank 3 glasses of champagne with the captain…

My 2 yrs old and I do not exactly sit around a shoot shots during the day so my tolerance to booze is very, pathetically low!

Let alone, here it was pure alcohol when all I ever drink is foo-foo drinks! Combine that with the medicine, which was now reacting full force with the alcohol and I was totally schnockered!!!!

Poor Eric……

He kisses me on the forehead and says to "go back to bed" and he will bring me something back to eat….and he did.

I woke, sat up, ate, laid back down and never woke again!!!

Some wedding night!!!

[desperatehousewife]

St. Thomas

 

The newlyweds woke early…. and one of them woke profusely apologizing.

Thank God, Eric is easy going and realized I had not done anything on purpose!

We watched the sun come up and the ship slowly sail into port from our enormous private balcony….these are the mornings we will have the rest of our lives locked in our minds.

 

 

Off in the distance.....St. John

 

 

 

Getting closer.....

 

 

The water was amazing… crystal clear and turquoise, the breeze was warm against our faces, our hair air drying from our showers in the wind. Room service delivers coffee to those who ask, does it get any better?

St.Thomas is very green and hilly in comparison to Nassau. Along those hills and valleys are brightly colored houses /villas/stores dotting the entire landscape.

Every so often you would see a huge, fancy, posh resort of some kind, yachts, boats of all kinds.

 

This day the sun was vibrant and clear in the sky.

 

__________________

[desperatehousewife]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Approaching the pier....

[desperatehousewife]

We had cell service in St. Thomas at no charge as it is a U.S port so we called everyone at home. Talked to the kids before they left for school for quite awhile.

Although it is a U.S port we still had to go through immigration. That is because we had stopped in Nassau I guess. If we had come straight there we would not have had to …

It was painless and moved extremely quick, Carnival has this whole process down to a science, I say!

 

We had booked the Sunny Liston tour with several of our roll call members and were ready to have a blast!

Sunny Liston himself

 

 

He arrived a little late in a bright red open-air taxi truck and off we were to see St. Thomas! Sunny plays this crazy, addicting music, really loud as he drives crazy all around the island . His narration breaks through the music when he has something to say, which is often and good!

We did some shopping… bought lots of liquor to take home at A.H. Rise and I got some Chanel makeup.

 

Funny thing.. Good 'ol Richard was shoppin' too!! After saying hi I snapped a few more for ya!!

Here he is runnin' throught the streets!!!

 

 

Bye Richard!!! He's on his way.....

 

 

Shopping.....

 

[desperatehousewife]

Sunny drove us up to the top of Mountain Top, which had a panoramic view of St. Thomas and neighboring islands.

Truly amazing…..

On our way up up the the mountain!!! Hang on tight, really tight!!!

 

Higher...it's a loooooong way down if you fall out!!

 

View of our ship...

 

 

Gorgeous!!!!

 

Arrival!!!!

 

 

 

Here you can buy their infamous banana daiquiri , which we did and I highly recommend! The amount of rum that goes in one of these is insane … but you will need it for the ride in Sunny’s bus back down the mountain!!!

After this he dropped us off at Sapphire Beach… gorgeous here!!

I loved this beach.

It was free and very peaceful, not at all crowded and simply gorgeous. Lots of private areas.

We had lunch outside with our new friends and then separated to “ do our thang” which for Eric was to launch his fins for the first time in the water for snorkeling !!!He turned into my little Ariel ( C’mon…remember Little Mermaid?) I told him… I found a cozy spot on the beach and relaxed….

We took a long walk down a secluded path that lead to nowhere it seemed, it was pretty and kinda romantic!

Back to Sunny’s bus for more sightseeing and he took us literally to the gangway for our dropoff. People were looking and smiling as we all pulled up because we were all singing and bopping to this music of his “ I love you baby…” Oooops , sorry ,started singing again that darned song of his!!

It was a great day!!!

[desperatehousewife]

 

Views from the Mountain Top....

This is Magens Bay here off to the left.

 

 

 

 

 

View looking to the right.... Hear the birds?

 

 

Zooming in on Magens Bay...

Map telling you what you are seeing..

[desperatehousewife]

Here are some pics of sapphire beach....really gorgeous, I thought!

 

 

Awww...High school again....

 

 

 

 

 

Typical evening: drinks, dinner, show, drinks, disco, food….

 

 

 

Here is Eric before dinner waiting for me as usual....

 

This little guy was waiting for us upon our return!!

 

 

 

 

 

[desperatehousewife]

I must at this point interject and tell you that at this point in the cruise we had made several “friends’ on the boats and there were lots of familiar faces around.

Eric and I will talk to anyone…

However, at the ‘Java’ which is the coffee bar.. this girl that worked there was totally flirting , right in front of me, with Eric…every time we went. I want to say she was from Slovakia

This had gone on for days, as he drinks tons of “special” leaded coffee!

These cruise workers as we all know, work just insane, long hours… so she was always there it seemed.

Anyway, one this night she asked if “we” would be back for coffee in the morning and when he responded he did not know she told him she would miss us. But is was the way she said it…. and that was it.

From then on, I ran with it.

I teased Eric about his girlfriend at the coffee bar and helped to swell his head by encouraging the little rendezvous ( in my presence of course) and watching his ego swell to new heights! I even took pics!!

 

 

I have never been a jealous person and believe stroking the ego never hurt anything so I had fun with it.

 

Eric had made him self very at home in general and as I told you before was talking to anyone and everyone on the ship. Bopping all around, but never going far. He was afraid I would fall overboard…I am clumsy, get taken .

So, he never really went anywhere by himself or at least for long… so I got to see all this interaction.

We fell into this really sick routine of ordering room service in the middle of the night!!! OmG.. I just said it aloud!!

Yep, after all the gorging and eating, we would still wake up or still be up and order up all kids of crap and eat in bed like a bunch of teenage girls at a slumber party!

We did vow to take the stairs at all times except for dinner in my 4” heels, and we did do the stairs, which is the only thing that saved us!!

[desperatehousewife]

St. Martin

 

Again, another early morning as we had another tour booked at 9 am this time. Again we were to be with some CC roll call members that we knew pretty well at this point and we were really looking forward to this.

Awoke to really gray skies and heavy clouds, but that did not hamper our moods at all as the surroundings were still beautiful!!

We sat on the balcony again as we pulled into port and were amazed at the height of the green, lush mountain here. Reminded me of the pics of Hawaii I have seen.

The morning air was mixing with the heat at mist was settling over these mountains right at the peaks and then just the green tips were peaking through.

The flowers on this island are so vibrant and colorful…. They pop off the landscape and almost look fake.

The port/dock here is really nice and has a lot of shopping right off the pier.

We happen to pull right up to and dock side by side with the Crown Princess.

That is a weird thing…..cool but weird.

Sitting in your ship’s robes on your balcony facing all these little faces in matching little white robes in their little boxes and their coffee and Danish!

Think about it… when you are out to sea on a balcony you see no one…. Then to suddenly be face to face with all these people… quite close really… as it is just a stretch of cement separating you after all.

You all look like little robot twinkies….and you can “hear” the comparisons going on in the heads/minds of these people, including your own “ is that balcony bigger than ours?. OR .mmm, do they have a larger table out there?” It’s like a faceoff at sunrise in the old west!

We met Joyce Prince at the specified meeting place and time with all our other friends .She arrived in a newer mini van that was fully AC’d …YES, as it was humid at hot as blazes!!

She talked like a parrot and was soooooo friendly and informative. I never got tired of listening to her talk… and she never stopped.

If you had a question.. shout it out, she’ll answer and go right back into full swing.

Gas on the island is over $4 a gallon we learned!

It started to rain shortly into the trip but did not slow her down one hair.

She was like speed racer….yet would stop at all the “ picture ops” as she called them and we would all pile out and shoot away.

She said the clouds cast a darker color to the water, which was much brighter in St. Thomas. I believe that … it made sense.

There is nothing I did not see, nothing I did not learn I do not think!

[desperatehousewife]

St. Martin con't...

 

(near Orient Beach..non nude side)

 

 

 

She took us shopping downtown Phillipsburg for a bit .

We were able to but our Guavaberry Liquor!

Holy crap… do NOT drink that on a near empty stomach or you will be stumbling through the streets!!

You go in there and these 2 large women rack up several shots glasses in front of you for tasting…. Mind you it is before 10 in the morning.

One is guavaberry rum, one is the liquor, then there is mango flavor of the same.

Yup, your damn skippy… I was blitz before I knew what hit me and Eric thought it was hysterical.

(He calls me his princess) He kept saying “ My poor princess’’….and I would hiccup…

Everyone in the van thought it was funny too b/c by now they all knew me well and it was like a race to see how fast I could tie on.

Eric bought cigars… again…

We went to a beach we were told was the Orient.

Cool, great… I have heard it was beautiful!!

It was still drizzling though so she warned us that “ there may not be many people sunnin’ their bones.’ Okey Doky…..

We pull up next to this area where she tells us we will not be getting out ( unless we want to) but are there to see the other end. Ok

I look up to see the biggest pair of 70 yrs ‘nekkid’ testicles swaying in the breeze that I have ever seen!

Fir the 3rd time in a week now, I squealed again like a pig, which got the attention of the other passengers!

Various noises, sounds, exclamations came form all of them at the same time. Our heads swirling all around trying to figure out what the heck…

Naked boobies, wankers, buns and all parts of the anatomy ( both genders) were everywhere all at once,converging on us!! ( Like the movie The Birds!)

Wankers swaying like elephants trunks . breasts boppling as excited women reinacted a story in conversation with another naked person drinking from a coconut…

I start to laugh uncontrollably…..and I do mean uncontrollably…..and it flowed to all the other passengers.

(THIS ONE SHOULD BE SAFE)

 

I start cracking jokes left from right and by now some of us are actually near tears!

I reminded Jim( Our buddy from CC) that yesterday he was envious of the Bratwurst I had been eating because the hamburger he got was awful….

I wanted to know if his mouth was still watering for that Bratwurst now?!!?

OMG… even Joyce was near tears……..

Needless to say, we did not get out at that stop…..

 

 

Onto Maho Beach where we were supposed to watch the planes come in. We did get to see some small planes, but the large AA had just landed and the other was not due for 2 hrs. Maho beach is right in front of the only airport and the planes literally fly right over your head… very, very, very close as they nearly land.

Eric and I were supposed to go horseback riding, but unfortunately by the time we got there in was a torrential downpour and they cancelled it.

We don’t let things like this slow us down……next time.

 

We went to the French side of St. Martin to Marigot. I though it was really pretty. It is really modern and has a lot of neat little boutiques and some neat architecture.

I think next time I would like to spend a little more time here….Lots of little cafes and shops right on the ocean.

Eventually we made it back to downtown where she dropped us off. We still had almost 5 hrs before we had to be back on the ship, so we debated what to do. Eric did not feel like going all the way back to a beach just then and we were getting hungry so we decided to look around for a stop.

We then noticed how close to the ship we were ( or so we thought).We decided it might just be a great idea to hoof it back to the ship really quick , drop off all this heavy crap we had bought and freshen up. We could then catch a taxi and come back out.

Sounded like a great plan….off we went.

30 min later and lots of sweating we were still not at the ship.

It seems that when you sails a ship that large, they appear quite close … when really they are not… they are just really BIG!

So, it took us almost 45 min to get there and I can walk fast… I do it at the gym every week. We estimated we walked at least 4-5 miles to that damn boat….

By the time we got there we were do freakin’ hungry, we literally dumped our crap in the room and almost ran to the food on the ship. We ate there, got cleaned up and hailed the nearest taxi we could find. By now, my ankle is welled up HUGE ( I hurt it b/f we left… long story) oooooo were my cookies frosted!!!

 

We finally make it back out there and had a great afternoon after all.

We swam at the beach ( Divi) collected shells and sand for the kids, ate local stuff, and shopped a tiny bit more.

( believe it or not, the only thing I bought for myself this entire trip was the Chanel makeup… a blush and a wrap on the ship!!!) I like to buy for other people even more than anything!!

[desperatehousewife]

St. Martin con't...

 

This and all of the following on a boardwalk near Front Street ...

 

From a chair...and a drink!

 

Little beach cafe...

Came back to the ship within an hour of sailing and missed dinner this night in the dining room. We just could not must the strength to gussey…..

So, instead we headed for the buffet and then to a show in the theater and to bed!

I know, WIMPS!!!