Diego and Amadeus Take Us Away
Saturday, September 30, 2017
This was the day Natalie had been counting down for several years. She wants to be a Marine Biologist/ Dolphin Trainer when she grows up and has wanted to swim with the dolphins for well over 3 years. Her day had finally come and it was AMAZING... for ALL of us!
Morning
Once again, I woke up at the very crack of dawn (well before it really) due to the swaying of the ship. The swaying of the ship was due to the sailing in Yucatan Peninsula and this swaying caused the closet doors to vibrate and there were lots of noises coming from our cabin. There was one noise that woke up me and GiGi and we could not for the life of us figure it out. We got up and closed closets. We moved toiletries around and everything. Come to find out, it was a lonely can of Diet Dr. Pepper in the refrigerator that kept rolling back and fourth on the shelf.
Since I was up and awake, I got dressed and ready for the day and then spent the rest of the morning on the balcony before the sun came up. Since we were still on the west side of the ship, I had to leave the room to catch the sunset but I caught it just moments before the sunrise. It was not the most clear sunrise but it was gorgeous nonetheless! It was raining on the main Mexico land and we were able to see a FULL rainbow and even a double rainbow over the peninsula. It was breathtaking!
Cruising the Mexican Peninsula!
My attempt at a sunrise picture... Ha!
I wasn't able to get the full rainbow but it was gorgeous!
We are ready for this day!
I love the sass!
Good morning Carnival Valor!
We all got up and made our way to the Lido deck for breakfast. We were supposed to port in Cozumel from 9AM to 6PM (Cozumel Plus) and we wanted to see the arrival so we went to breakfast early, or so we thought. It was about 7:30AM and it was a lot more crowded than I thought it would be. Tip- On port days it is best to either be early or late for breakfast. In my experience, if you plan to eat breakfast about 1.5 hours before or 1.5 hours after the official arrival time it will not be very crowded. The hour before and hour afterwards are the worse times as far as crowds are concerned. Another tip is to pre-order room service. The options are very limited and more of a continental style but this allows you more time to sleep and less worry about timing and crowds. We ate either the buffet, Blue Iguana breakfast burritos or the omelet station. Tip- The Valor offers an omelet station in the mid-ship buffet AND the aft buffet. The aft seems to be less crowded in my experience.
Breakfast Selfie!
I love this!
In the past few years Carnival has created a "towel animal zoo" on certain days. This takes over the whole main pool deck area and a towel animal is on every chair. I just love the idea and we all like seeing the various towel animals.
This one is always my favorite!
After we walked through the "zoo" we wanted to watch the approach so we went to the forward stern of the ship and found the "secret" deck. The Conquest class ships have this walkway area on decks 5, 6, 7 and 10. This allows you to see the very far forward of the ship and great views of your destination. Tip- You walk to the very forward of any of these decks and you won't see the door out to the walkway in the front. The door will be on the left or the right and it doesn't seem like a door you would go out but that's the door you want. We love this walkway on Carnival ships!
The Carnival Fantasy- The smallest and oldest Carnival ship in the fleet.
I am sure I will sail on her at one point... She is in Mobile, AL!
It was windy!
I love to watch the ships pull into port!
We were docked at pier 3 and at this point the Fantasy was the only other ship in port, which seemed odd as Cozumel is a HOT SPOT (especially since the 2017 Hurricane season) but it was a Saturday!
We watched our approach into Cozumel and looked at the Carnival Fantasy, which was also in port and had already arrived, before making our way back to our room to collect our things and get off the ship. We made our way down to deck 0 and the gangway in about 10 minutes and while it was crowded, it was not the worst experience I have ever had. Tip- Carnival has now made a large water bottle carrier that keeps the bottled water cold and allows you to carry it cross-body. It is $5.95 and well worth it if you, like us, take lots of water into port. We bought ours on deck 0 as we exited the stairs.
We got off the ship and took a few pictures before making our way through the pier shops to our excursion check point. We arrived at 9:15AM for a 9:30AM departure and this departure was delayed until 9:45AM so we walked around the shopping area while we waited. We all love shopping in Cozumel and are now so familiar with the shops we knew exactly where to go with our short time frame. GiGi was even able to snag some jewelry before our excursion started.
The main hub of the Cozumel Puerta Maya pier!
Waiting for our excursion to leave!
We met our tour guide, Idalia, and she explained all about our excursion before making our way to the taxi stand. We got in the 1st taxi to Chankanaab and as we approached the resort I noticed there was lots of traffic and cars on the side of the road. I asked her what was going on and she said ti was the International IronMan triathlon. Chris and I are (well perhaps "used to be" is a better phrase) big time runners and we love watching the IronMan when it is in our hometown of The Woodlands, TX every May. This was a real special treat for me and I thought it was AMAZING. It did prove to be a headache as far as travel and communication but it was cool nonetheless. We had to get out of the taxi ON the Mexican highway and then walk about 3 blocks onto the entrance to Chankanaab. It was at this entrance where all of the athletes were making the switch between the biking and running. We literally had to cross in front of the athletes to get to our resort. Again, I thought it was cool but the locals and athletes were mad at us and yelling as we were crossing!
Our 1st glimpse of the IronMan!
Another view of the bike and run switch at the IronMan!
Check this off my bucket list!
We finally made it!
You can still see the pier from Chankanaab!
There is our home away from home!
(The IronMan started the swimming section and the entire race in the ocean just outside of Chankanaab so you could still see it roped off at this point... Again, VERY cool for me)
We finally made it in to Chankanaab around 10:10AM but we were excited and ready to go. We got geared up in our life-vests and made our way to our "pool" to swim with the dolphins. Diego, a male dolphin who was 6 years old, and Amadeus, a male who was 8 years old, were our friends and would be swimming with us.
We purchased the "Dolphin Push, Pull and Swim with Buffet and Drinks" excursion through Dolphin Discovery at Chankanaab. This allowed us to be "pulled" by the dolphin on a belly ride, "pushed" by the dolphins on a boogie board as well as the traditional kiss, handshake and other photo ops. We opted to purchase THROUGH Carnival and since the IronMan was in town, I am sure glad we did! This excursion included the dolphin swim, entrance to Chankanaab, lockers, all you can eat buffet lunch and unlimited domestic drinks as well as transportation to and from the resort. The cost of the excursion was $125/ adults and $99/kids. Looking back I think it is a fair cost but do feel it could be a little lower, especially if you do not drink! If I were paying for a family of 4 that would be $450 total and THAT would sting a little for what you get! Both Natalie and Allison had never swam with the dolphins and GiGi and I had never experienced the "push" part of our swim.
The belly ride... Pull!
This is PRICELESS!
This is PRICELESS too!
She was so happy and content!
You can see ALL 42 of the pictures I purchased HERE!
Our swim started with the belly ride and then we got to kiss and play with the dolphins before experiencing the thrilling "PUSH". The push was very exhilarating and all 4 of us loved it. That is what makes the excursion worth it. Tip- You are not allowed to bring cameras of ANY KIND onto the dolphin platform. Be forewarned that the company takes their own pictures but they are OUTRAGEOUSLY priced. The cost for a CD of all of the pictures they took of our group of 4 and 1 print (6X9) was going to be $375! That is about what I paid to DO IT! Even just a CD for Natalie and I would have been $175. I walked away from the selling groups and then came back to try to talk them down at the end of the day knowing they have to reach a "certain quota". That business tactic paid off as I got a CD of all of Natalie ONLY (42 pictures) for $60. I basically told them "Here is all I have" and they made it work. Again, I did this 20-30 minutes before closing time! Unless you are made of money, use this tactic to get your pictures!
Diego the dolphin!
Amadeus gave her the belly ride and she liked him more!
"I got to swim with the dolphins"- She was STILL SO EXCITED!
At the completion of our dolphin swim and after having looked at the pictures we dried off and then made our way to the pool at the resort. This is one of the best pools I have been at because it had various depths and even offers a swim-up bar. This came in nice with my unlimited drink bracelet and I had several drinks while relaxing in the pool.
Besides the dolphin swim this was her favorite part of the resort!
Best Saturday EVER!
This is how we chill in Cozumel!
Afternoon
We were once again feeling our sunburns so we decided to get out and try the buffet. Even in Mexico, this was a sub-standard buffet to say the least. I hardly ate anything but everyone else seemed satisfied. (Sorry missed taking any pictures).
After lunch we made our way down the resort to the beach area. Tip- The beach at Chankanaab is very rocky and doesn't offer the typical sandy entrance. There are stairs available and it drops off to a very deep section within feet of the ladders. We did not bring our own snorkel gear but I will not make that mistake again. We saw TONS of fish (gorgeous and colorful) even without snorkel gear right near the entrance. You can rent gear for $12-15 for an hour but if you have your own, I would suggest bringing it! Some of the most gorgeous waters I have ever experienced.
The Chankanaab Beach area!
Natalie is still learning how to swim well so she was a little scared. I helped her and she floated on me for well over an hour. She even swam by herself between two of the ladder entrances. I was VERY proud of her but once we returned home Chris said she really needed a life vest for now own. The currents were fierce that day and he is right, we could have easily been swept away. Another reason to bring your own equipment.
We got out of the beach and then made our way back towards the entrance of the resort to swim in the lagoon area of Chankanaab. We swam here back in December 2016 when we came as a family of 4. Luke and Natalie loved it because it was kinda like a kiddie-pool but it was a beach. The water was never deeper than 3.5 feet and the kids loved it. Tip- The entrance to this lagoon is VERY rocky! I would recommend water-shoes.
By this time it was after 2:30PM and the last taxi back to the pier was at 3:30PM so we made our way back to the lockers to shower and get ready to go back to the ship. This is when I went and offered my $60 for the pictures. We took a few pictures and I made a few social media posts and we were headed back to the highway to get in our taxi. As we made our way back to the highway I noticed it was now KIDS IronMan. There were tons of kids and family members riding their bikes and running!
This was the best day ever for Miss Natalie!
Girls Gone Cruising... Best day ever!
Seriously mom?
One more before we leave!
Then of course... Natalie asked to take another picture!
Waiting to cross the highway again!
Peace Out Chankanaab... Until next time!
We got back to the pier in what seemed like a very short time. We had about 1.5 hours until all aboard so we shopped around in various shops. Natalie got gifts for her teachers and friends and I made a few must-have purchases before we all met up again to get back on the ship. We got in line on the gangway at 5:12PM and were back on the ship by 5:21PM.
Once last picture with our birthday shirts!
The Royal Caribbean Empress of the Seas joined us in Cozumel while we were gone!
Evening
I immediately took Natalie to Guy's to get some food to hold her over til dinner! She got a massive plate of fries and I got a cheeseburger. We took them back to the balcony to eat while we got ready. Natalie was one of the last ones to get ready and left a plate about 1/2 empty. By the time she got out of the shower the fries were gone. She was so funny "Joey doesn't share food"... a Friends reference that I am sad to say my kid knows! She was fine and laughed about it for a while.
We got ready and then went to deck 5 to check out a sale happening on fine jewelry. Allison got a gorgeous necklace and Natalie got... CANDY! We went to dinner late but had a good location in the dining room. We were not in John Alex's section and this meant poor service. This was the only night our service was considered poor and the menu was terrible. Tip- Carnival night #3 menu is always the worst in my opinion!
Time for dinner... FEED ME!
After dinner we went up to the SPA deck to use our $50 gift cards since they expired on this day. GiGi got some softening oil, I got some facial toner and Allison opted to do a manicure all for FREE. Natalie didn't get anything but she wanted to check out the gym so she did the elliptical and treadmill in a sequin dress for 30 minutes.
Only on a cruise ship can you work out in a sequined dress!
After Natalie built up a sweat in the work-out room she thought she needed some ice cream. But not just regular ice cream. She wanted to go get candy and then put in in her ice cream... Well, of course we did just that!
Spoiled rotten!
We ended our night on the Lido deck with Frankie for the Mega Deck party. We had experienced this with Chris Williams (The Flying Scotsman) and Schwartz our previous 2 cruises and it was a blast. Frankie's party was a little less entertaining but fun! Natalie was shy at first but eventually let loose and we all had a blast!
She was reluctant to let loose but she finally did and it was a blast!
Mega Deck party with Frankie!
We made our way back to our room after 11PM. They all got ready for bed and I went and laid out on the balcony! I dozed off and when I woke up it was 2 hours later... but the lights inside the room were still on. All 3 of them were asleep so I am not sure what happened. It was 2AM so I came back inside and turned everything off but I could have easily spent the night out there. It was very peaceful.
It was a very exciting day for all of us and really made the whole cruise special. The next day would be our last day on the Carnival Valor and we were excited for yet another sea day!
Stay tuned for our FINAL day at sea! Thanks for following along!
God is good... ALL the time!
Morning
Once again, I woke up at the very crack of dawn (well before it really) due to the swaying of the ship. The swaying of the ship was due to the sailing in Yucatan Peninsula and this swaying caused the closet doors to vibrate and there were lots of noises coming from our cabin. There was one noise that woke up me and GiGi and we could not for the life of us figure it out. We got up and closed closets. We moved toiletries around and everything. Come to find out, it was a lonely can of Diet Dr. Pepper in the refrigerator that kept rolling back and fourth on the shelf.
Since I was up and awake, I got dressed and ready for the day and then spent the rest of the morning on the balcony before the sun came up. Since we were still on the west side of the ship, I had to leave the room to catch the sunset but I caught it just moments before the sunrise. It was not the most clear sunrise but it was gorgeous nonetheless! It was raining on the main Mexico land and we were able to see a FULL rainbow and even a double rainbow over the peninsula. It was breathtaking!
I wasn't able to get the full rainbow but it was gorgeous!
We are ready for this day!
I love the sass!
Good morning Carnival Valor!
We all got up and made our way to the Lido deck for breakfast. We were supposed to port in Cozumel from 9AM to 6PM (Cozumel Plus) and we wanted to see the arrival so we went to breakfast early, or so we thought. It was about 7:30AM and it was a lot more crowded than I thought it would be. Tip- On port days it is best to either be early or late for breakfast. In my experience, if you plan to eat breakfast about 1.5 hours before or 1.5 hours after the official arrival time it will not be very crowded. The hour before and hour afterwards are the worse times as far as crowds are concerned. Another tip is to pre-order room service. The options are very limited and more of a continental style but this allows you more time to sleep and less worry about timing and crowds. We ate either the buffet, Blue Iguana breakfast burritos or the omelet station. Tip- The Valor offers an omelet station in the mid-ship buffet AND the aft buffet. The aft seems to be less crowded in my experience.
I love this!
In the past few years Carnival has created a "towel animal zoo" on certain days. This takes over the whole main pool deck area and a towel animal is on every chair. I just love the idea and we all like seeing the various towel animals.
After we walked through the "zoo" we wanted to watch the approach so we went to the forward stern of the ship and found the "secret" deck. The Conquest class ships have this walkway area on decks 5, 6, 7 and 10. This allows you to see the very far forward of the ship and great views of your destination. Tip- You walk to the very forward of any of these decks and you won't see the door out to the walkway in the front. The door will be on the left or the right and it doesn't seem like a door you would go out but that's the door you want. We love this walkway on Carnival ships!
It was windy!
We watched our approach into Cozumel and looked at the Carnival Fantasy, which was also in port and had already arrived, before making our way back to our room to collect our things and get off the ship. We made our way down to deck 0 and the gangway in about 10 minutes and while it was crowded, it was not the worst experience I have ever had. Tip- Carnival has now made a large water bottle carrier that keeps the bottled water cold and allows you to carry it cross-body. It is $5.95 and well worth it if you, like us, take lots of water into port. We bought ours on deck 0 as we exited the stairs.
We got off the ship and took a few pictures before making our way through the pier shops to our excursion check point. We arrived at 9:15AM for a 9:30AM departure and this departure was delayed until 9:45AM so we walked around the shopping area while we waited. We all love shopping in Cozumel and are now so familiar with the shops we knew exactly where to go with our short time frame. GiGi was even able to snag some jewelry before our excursion started.
We met our tour guide, Idalia, and she explained all about our excursion before making our way to the taxi stand. We got in the 1st taxi to Chankanaab and as we approached the resort I noticed there was lots of traffic and cars on the side of the road. I asked her what was going on and she said ti was the International IronMan triathlon. Chris and I are (well perhaps "used to be" is a better phrase) big time runners and we love watching the IronMan when it is in our hometown of The Woodlands, TX every May. This was a real special treat for me and I thought it was AMAZING. It did prove to be a headache as far as travel and communication but it was cool nonetheless. We had to get out of the taxi ON the Mexican highway and then walk about 3 blocks onto the entrance to Chankanaab. It was at this entrance where all of the athletes were making the switch between the biking and running. We literally had to cross in front of the athletes to get to our resort. Again, I thought it was cool but the locals and athletes were mad at us and yelling as we were crossing!
This was at the highway entrance to the resort!
We finally made it!
There is our home away from home!
(The IronMan started the swimming section and the entire race in the ocean just outside of Chankanaab so you could still see it roped off at this point... Again, VERY cool for me)
We finally made it in to Chankanaab around 10:10AM but we were excited and ready to go. We got geared up in our life-vests and made our way to our "pool" to swim with the dolphins. Diego, a male dolphin who was 6 years old, and Amadeus, a male who was 8 years old, were our friends and would be swimming with us.
We purchased the "Dolphin Push, Pull and Swim with Buffet and Drinks" excursion through Dolphin Discovery at Chankanaab. This allowed us to be "pulled" by the dolphin on a belly ride, "pushed" by the dolphins on a boogie board as well as the traditional kiss, handshake and other photo ops. We opted to purchase THROUGH Carnival and since the IronMan was in town, I am sure glad we did! This excursion included the dolphin swim, entrance to Chankanaab, lockers, all you can eat buffet lunch and unlimited domestic drinks as well as transportation to and from the resort. The cost of the excursion was $125/ adults and $99/kids. Looking back I think it is a fair cost but do feel it could be a little lower, especially if you do not drink! If I were paying for a family of 4 that would be $450 total and THAT would sting a little for what you get! Both Natalie and Allison had never swam with the dolphins and GiGi and I had never experienced the "push" part of our swim.
This is PRICELESS!
This is PRICELESS too!
She was so happy and content!
You can see ALL 42 of the pictures I purchased HERE!
Our swim started with the belly ride and then we got to kiss and play with the dolphins before experiencing the thrilling "PUSH". The push was very exhilarating and all 4 of us loved it. That is what makes the excursion worth it. Tip- You are not allowed to bring cameras of ANY KIND onto the dolphin platform. Be forewarned that the company takes their own pictures but they are OUTRAGEOUSLY priced. The cost for a CD of all of the pictures they took of our group of 4 and 1 print (6X9) was going to be $375! That is about what I paid to DO IT! Even just a CD for Natalie and I would have been $175. I walked away from the selling groups and then came back to try to talk them down at the end of the day knowing they have to reach a "certain quota". That business tactic paid off as I got a CD of all of Natalie ONLY (42 pictures) for $60. I basically told them "Here is all I have" and they made it work. Again, I did this 20-30 minutes before closing time! Unless you are made of money, use this tactic to get your pictures!
Amadeus gave her the belly ride and she liked him more!
At the completion of our dolphin swim and after having looked at the pictures we dried off and then made our way to the pool at the resort. This is one of the best pools I have been at because it had various depths and even offers a swim-up bar. This came in nice with my unlimited drink bracelet and I had several drinks while relaxing in the pool.
Best Saturday EVER!
This is how we chill in Cozumel!
Afternoon
We were once again feeling our sunburns so we decided to get out and try the buffet. Even in Mexico, this was a sub-standard buffet to say the least. I hardly ate anything but everyone else seemed satisfied. (Sorry missed taking any pictures).
After lunch we made our way down the resort to the beach area. Tip- The beach at Chankanaab is very rocky and doesn't offer the typical sandy entrance. There are stairs available and it drops off to a very deep section within feet of the ladders. We did not bring our own snorkel gear but I will not make that mistake again. We saw TONS of fish (gorgeous and colorful) even without snorkel gear right near the entrance. You can rent gear for $12-15 for an hour but if you have your own, I would suggest bringing it! Some of the most gorgeous waters I have ever experienced.
We got out of the beach and then made our way back towards the entrance of the resort to swim in the lagoon area of Chankanaab. We swam here back in December 2016 when we came as a family of 4. Luke and Natalie loved it because it was kinda like a kiddie-pool but it was a beach. The water was never deeper than 3.5 feet and the kids loved it. Tip- The entrance to this lagoon is VERY rocky! I would recommend water-shoes.
By this time it was after 2:30PM and the last taxi back to the pier was at 3:30PM so we made our way back to the lockers to shower and get ready to go back to the ship. This is when I went and offered my $60 for the pictures. We took a few pictures and I made a few social media posts and we were headed back to the highway to get in our taxi. As we made our way back to the highway I noticed it was now KIDS IronMan. There were tons of kids and family members riding their bikes and running!
Girls Gone Cruising... Best day ever!
Seriously mom?
One more before we leave!
Then of course... Natalie asked to take another picture!
Waiting to cross the highway again!
Peace Out Chankanaab... Until next time!
We got back to the pier in what seemed like a very short time. We had about 1.5 hours until all aboard so we shopped around in various shops. Natalie got gifts for her teachers and friends and I made a few must-have purchases before we all met up again to get back on the ship. We got in line on the gangway at 5:12PM and were back on the ship by 5:21PM.
The Royal Caribbean Empress of the Seas joined us in Cozumel while we were gone!
Evening
I immediately took Natalie to Guy's to get some food to hold her over til dinner! She got a massive plate of fries and I got a cheeseburger. We took them back to the balcony to eat while we got ready. Natalie was one of the last ones to get ready and left a plate about 1/2 empty. By the time she got out of the shower the fries were gone. She was so funny "Joey doesn't share food"... a Friends reference that I am sad to say my kid knows! She was fine and laughed about it for a while.
We got ready and then went to deck 5 to check out a sale happening on fine jewelry. Allison got a gorgeous necklace and Natalie got... CANDY! We went to dinner late but had a good location in the dining room. We were not in John Alex's section and this meant poor service. This was the only night our service was considered poor and the menu was terrible. Tip- Carnival night #3 menu is always the worst in my opinion!
After dinner we went up to the SPA deck to use our $50 gift cards since they expired on this day. GiGi got some softening oil, I got some facial toner and Allison opted to do a manicure all for FREE. Natalie didn't get anything but she wanted to check out the gym so she did the elliptical and treadmill in a sequin dress for 30 minutes.
Only on a cruise ship can you work out in a sequined dress!
After Natalie built up a sweat in the work-out room she thought she needed some ice cream. But not just regular ice cream. She wanted to go get candy and then put in in her ice cream... Well, of course we did just that!
We ended our night on the Lido deck with Frankie for the Mega Deck party. We had experienced this with Chris Williams (The Flying Scotsman) and Schwartz our previous 2 cruises and it was a blast. Frankie's party was a little less entertaining but fun! Natalie was shy at first but eventually let loose and we all had a blast!
We made our way back to our room after 11PM. They all got ready for bed and I went and laid out on the balcony! I dozed off and when I woke up it was 2 hours later... but the lights inside the room were still on. All 3 of them were asleep so I am not sure what happened. It was 2AM so I came back inside and turned everything off but I could have easily spent the night out there. It was very peaceful.
It was a very exciting day for all of us and really made the whole cruise special. The next day would be our last day on the Carnival Valor and we were excited for yet another sea day!
Stay tuned for our FINAL day at sea! Thanks for following along!
God is good... ALL the time!
Click on a link to see our past cruising adventures:
Our Cruise Ship Experiences 2006-present
Carnival Breeze- 2017
Carnival Dream- 2017
Our Cruise Ship Experiences 2006-present
Carnival Breeze- 2017
Carnival Dream- 2017
No comments:
Post a Comment