Summer Cruise on the Valor--A Family Review! June 19-26

Overview:

I'm Kelly and I hope you enjoy my family's review of the Valor. The main players are me (36), DH (36), DS (11--almost 12), and DD (9). We're from Tampa and for the past three years we have taken a summer cruise vacation. Cruises are a great fit for our family and we really enjoy spending the week together:)

Here's a picture of me...your narrator for the review...

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Pre-Cruise:

We left Tampa on a Thursday and drove to my in-laws in Boca Raton for a quick visit before we embarked on Sunday. DH and I stayed at The Wyndham as a treat from his parents while the kids bunked with them. We had a great time and spent some time at the beach as well.

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Of course it's hard to concentrate on life when a cruise in mere days away....

Good start -- Looking forward to reading this review :) !

DH and I woke up around 6:30 a.m. so we could finish packing and get over to the in-laws. I was *smuggling* a bottle of tequila on board so I packed that in with my shampoos/body washes and "beauty liquids" to try and fool the x-rays (you can read how that turned out for me a little later).

We arrived at the in-laws around 8:30 and the kids were bouncing off the wall with excitement:D Everyone was ready to kick our vacation into high gear and get on-board.

My MIL was kind enough to drive us to the Port of Miami (about an hour from Boca) so we piled in her CRV and hit the road. It was a smooth drive until you get near the Port as there are some quick twists and turns. The Port was hoppin'! We arrived at 10 a.m. (I thought it would take us longer to get there so we were a touch early). People were everywhere and we actually had to drive out of the Port and back around to get in the correct lane for drop-offs.

We unloaded all the luggage and DH ran around trying to track down a porter to check-in our bags and get them to the correct area (I was praying they didn't get mixed in with the debarkation luggage!). A very nice porter helped us out and pointed to where we should go next. We tipped him $10 for our 5 suitcases and walked through the doors!

After going through security and showing our documentation, we made our way to the main terminal. First we checked in using a kiosk and scanned DH's passport and a credit card. Next, we visited a ticket counter where the rest of us showed our birth certificates/IDs and received our Sign and Sail cards.

Though it was still early (about 10:15 a.m.), there were plenty of other early birds already seated. I knew it was going to be a while though as we could see people disembarking from the last cruise directly overhead.

Quick Note: You do not want to bring drugs back from your cruise when disembarking (if you are into that sort of thing:() There is a large wolf-like German Shepard that will snatch you out of line! We actually witnessed two men being hand-cuffed and detained thanks to these incredible dogs!

As we waited, I quickly noticed hundreds of red shirts walking around/sitting down/checking in. It was certainly too large to be a family so I asked a woman who her group was. Apparently, a company organizes Quincinera (sp) cruises that people can sign up for to celebrate this special day. I was a little nervous that this large group would be taking over the ship during the week but I am happy to report that once they were out of the red shirts, they blended in with the rest of the passengers. On one of the sea days, the girls had their ceremony so you could see these young ladies in their beautiful gowns roaming the ship.

Here we are waiting to be called:

Finally, around 11:30 a.m. they started to board VIPs! We were in Zone 5 but they made an announcement to look under your seat for special VIP one tags (there were 4)--not us--of well, only a few more minutes...

At 11:45 our zone was called and we headed up the elevators, took our picture and began to board!

Can't wait to read the rest...especially how the smuggling turned out! LoL

I am also looking forward to seeing how the smuggling went. Of course I will not be doing it in september........:rolleyes:

Thanks for posting this review!

:) Looking forward to the rest of the review. We'll be on the Valor in October!!

And with the first "ding" of our Sign and Sail cards, we entered the atrium!

The Valor is very tastefully decorated with a patriotic theme. I'm not one to really notice the fine details of design and decor so I won't really comment much about the overall look of the ship. I'm on a cruise--who cares:p

Truly, we chose this ship for a few different reasons. First, we have been on a bunch of western routes and we really needed to try out some new ports. Secondly, I wanted to try a new class of ship. I believe in working your way up the classes instead of jumping ahead. We were on Spirit class last summer so it was time for Conquest class. Lastly, we were able to combine this with a trip to see family. We stick with Carnival because the price is unbeatable. DH and I are both teachers and summer is really the only time we can travel. It's high season but Carnival still offers a reasonable price for us.

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We zoomed directly to the Lido Deck (also our cabin deck!). At first I was a little taken aback by the deck layout. The stadium was new to me and I wasn't sure I liked it but I think it was just something new I had to get used to as I did end up really enjoying the extra deck space later int he week.

The buffet was already packed even though we were one of the first few groups on. Pretty chaotic up there and is always one of my least favorite moments of the cruise because its a total crowd jam. One old man had already lost his wife:eek:

I took a deep breath and hit the Mongolian line. I wanted to sample this station as I heard it was more difficult to do so later in the week. There are probably 15 different varieties of produce to fill your bowl. Then the chef adds meat (chicken, steak, shrimp, clams/scallops) and stir fries the whole shebang with your choice of sauce (mild black bean, medium thai bbq sauce, or super hot schezuan sauce). I loved this station and it was an excellent way to get your veggies in;)

After lunch, we took a quick look around the ship. As we passed the casino, I noticed they were offering free games on the new Blackjack Pro tables. These are automated tables but are set-up just like a BlackJack table. The benefits are that the bets are usually only $2 or $3 minimums. The negative is that of course you wonder if it is a fair system. I tried out the table and quite liked it (of course I wasn't using real money but I was winning some hands).

We still had a little time so we decided to take the Spa Tour (WHY?!?!?). This is a total waste of time and not something I will do again. You are shuttled to a bunch of different rooms and pitched over and over again: weight loss, barber shop, acupuncture, personal trainer, blah, blah, blah. We really just wanted to see the fitness area and locker rooms!

Speaking of locker rooms, we were so disappointed to see the spa showers. We had a fantastic time last summer using the gorgeous spa showers on the Legend with jets spraying out from the walls and personalized changing areas. These showers (even though its a newer ship???) are YMCA showers (if that). We did not make a point to use them.

It was finally 1:30p.m. so we headed to our room. We had Balcony Cabin #9274 on Lido Deck. It was a great cabin and so convenient to everything: elevators were right outside our cabin, pools/buffet, and even the laundry room! The only negative would be that it would be quite loud at night. The elevator bings and people chatter would drive me nuts if I wasn't an earplug wearer. But I am so it didn't concern me one bit. My kids were so pooped by bedtime that it wasn't a problem for them either. I would definitely book this cabin again...loved it!

We quickly changed into our bathing suits and hit the deck! I ordered my first DOD and took it all in! Believe it or not, it would be days before I had another drink...

We enjoyed using the pool and hot tubs while they were virtually empty! Somehow I managed to get sunburned in the short amount of time we were out there.

My husband went back to the room to see if our luggage had arrived. Four of the 5 suitcases were there....yeah! Which one was missing? Can you guess? Of course you can...the one with my tequila:p

Time for life boat drill. This was annoying! If you've ever been to one of these bad boys in the summer, you know its about 100 degrees out there and they are packing people in like sardines. I get it...has to be done. What doesn't have to be done are constant sales pitches over the loud speaker in the middle of the drill. Seriously????? Art auction? Spa services? Goose, I'm seriously drowning in my own sweat right now and you're chillin' in your mic room giving me a rundown of opportunities to spend money? Not cool.

Finally time for sail away! We checked the room again and the last suitcase had arrived! Inside we found a note that Carnival had confiscated a certain item and it would be available to me the last morning of the cruise. Ha! No big deal---I had to laugh as they really worked for it!

Next up....Sail Away!

I was on this same cruise. We also loved it! I plan on posting a review a little later in the week also. But, I just wanted to add that both myself and my dad had smuggled some alcohol and ours both made it with no problem. But, my sister had packed a bottle of Febreeze and they went through her bag...of course, they left the Febreeze, but there was a note saying it had been searched.

We headed on deck to check out the sail away festivities. Not too much going on but they had music and loads of people out and about. The Legend last summer had a bunch of games going which was really fun (DS even won us a bottle of champagne) but Valor was more music/line dances.

It was kind of funny though because they could not get even one song to play through without something going wrong. I guess it was so humid that it was interfering with the sound system.

A storm was brewing in the distance but our timing was impeccable and we literally sailed away from bad weather into the tropics!

After a bit, the Assistant Cruise Director Squishy invited people to visit him and enter the Master Mixologist contest. Five entrants would be selected to participate on stage on the first sea day. DH and I decided to give it a go! This is what we had to fill out:

After turning in our concoctions, Squishy told us on the spot that we would be 2 of his 5 participants! I guess not that many people "tried out" so I think if you filled out a form and seemed upbeat, you were in!

We had to cut the deck party short and head down to the Eagle's Lounge for a Camp Carnival orientation. I had filled out the paperwork online before we left so I just handed those over. DS is going to be 12 next month so I asked if he could hang with the 12-14 year old group. They said to note it on the top of the form as a request. A few minutes later a woman came to tell me it would not be a problem and he could move up. DS was VERY excited about this as even last year in the 9-11 group he was feeling a little "old" for the activities. It was a good thing this worked out. DD was in the 9-11 group and it was comprised primarily of 9 year old girls.

Since it was approaching 6 p.m., we decided to go hit the showers and get ready for our first dinner in the MDR.

Great review so far!!

Thank you for letting us share your experience!

Thank you for doing this review. I will be sailing her in a little over 2 weeks and this makes the wait a little more tolerable.

I can't wait.

Tell me if you know if other cruiselines have the Mongolian line. This is the first I've heard of it and it sounds super.

We arrived at the Lincoln Dining Room around 7ish (I think). We had Anytime Dining as we did last year as well. There are certainly pros and cons to this.

Pros: No need to rush through activities, sit as a family only, no pressure to show up, can schedule dinner around other ship activities (especially if the kids have activities to get to that night)

Cons: No pressure to show up (easier to skip instead of making the effort to go), no connection with waiters/tablemates, might have to wait to be seated

We do really enjoy Anytime but I also miss the formality of dining at a specific time. I may have to think this through again for next cruise. Very hard decision!

There was a fairly long line to check in when we arrived but after waiting in the line, we were shown directly to a very nice booth.

I almost always have the tilapia for dinner the first night. Last year I switched it up and had sweet and sour shrimp but it was not good at all. I stuck with what I know.

Apps were gazpacho (good), caesar salad (DH always gets this so it must be fine), and shrimp cocktail.

Tilapia dinner

Flat Iron Steak

We were really craving the melting cake and DH and I ordered a bonus dessert to taste which was the Vanilla Creme Brulee. It was super tasty!

After dinner, DS went to his activities/party and DD went to hers. I'll be honest, if your kid is in Circle C, you probably won't be seeing much of them. Even when there aren't activities, they get together and go their thing around the ship. It was a really nice group of kids and my son loved the independence of the older group. DD also loved the 9-11 program. She did Night Owls this night (after hours babysitting) and ended up making a little gang of friends. She was constantly in her camp. Believe it or not, my kids only ended up using the pool twice the whole cruise!

DH and I went to the Welcome Aboard Show which was quite fun! They had the usual singing and dancing as well as two comedians give a quick taste of their act for the next few days. The comedians were hilarious and I looked forward to seeing a full show.

I think we called it a night after that and tried to get some sleep for Half Moon Cay tomorrow.

Hey Flashdog, I'm not sure if other cruise lines do the Mongolian Grille. I sailed RCCL a couple times many, many years ago and they did not have it. Even our Carnival ship last year did not have it. I think its a Conquest Class thing for Carnival. It was delicious and I had it a few times throughout the week!

Looking forward to more since we are leaving on the Valor this Sunday!

We woke up around 8ish, had breakfast and headed down to the Ivanhoe Theater for tender line-up. When entering, you are handed a numbered sticker which indicates your tender group. We waited around 30-45 minutes before our number was called. They were playing something similar to America's Funniest Home Videos on the screen to keep people entertained (it worked!).

We hopped aboard our tender for the quick trip to the island. We actually had to stand on the way there and back--no big deal for us.

Because I'd gotten a sunburn the day before, we rented a clamshell ($20) for some shade. There is just about no shade on the main beach. We could have walked further down and searched for some trees but I knew my kids would be playing on the slides so I wanted to stay in that general area.

We also rented a tube for DD which served as a nice flotation device ($13) when we swam out to the ropes.

HMC was very pretty and the water was pool clear. Almost nothing to see in the water (i.e. fish) but we did catch a glimpse of a stingray near the buoys.

Now I know I'm going to be in the minority here as there is a lot of hoopla around HMC but for me it was just a nice (albeit crowded) beach. And maybe being from Florida and near some beautiful beaches (Siesta Key) is part of it. I would not book a ship just to go there again. My kids were kind of bored but again, I think a lot of that has to do with our access to beaches where we live.

Nice review. Thank you. Have you sailed the destiny class of ships. I believe they were before the conquest class and after teh fantasy class. They have the tiered seating on the lido also.

I'm really enjoying your review and pictures. Very nice looking family; your daughter looks just like you. Keep it comin' :)

Looking forward to more since we are leaving on the Valor this Sunday!

Me too!

Me too!

Me three!

Love it!!! We are sailing on Valor at the end of August with a group of 19!! Can't wait to read more!!!!

Great review so far, I'm looking forward to the rest.

Thanks everyone for reading and your supportive comments!

We left HMC around 2 p.m. so we could avoid the tender line that I had read about before we left. We had great timing and did not have to wait (but we did have to stand). Getting back onto the cruise ship takes some time once the tender arrives at the ship. Lots of standing and waiting...the tenders are VERY large.

After showering and having a snack on Lido, DD and I decided to take a quick tour of the ship and snap some photos. I wish I would have taken more but here's a couple...

Arcade Entrance (The Caboose)

Picture Window (Deck5)

One Small Step Dance Club (Circle C uses for parties also)

Piano Bar

Statue outside Paris Hot (Jazzy Club)

Traditionally, most cruises have a sea day their second day and formal night that night but because we stop at HMC on Day 2, it is just a cruise casual dinner.

Apps (French Onion Soup and Shrimp Cocktail)

Entree (or 'Tre 'Tre if your a Parks and Rec fan) Short Ribs

Dessert ('sert) Fig Cake (kinda dry)

I think we watched Karaoke after dinner for a bit. I did not feel well at all! I'm not sure if it was dinner or what but we got back to the room and I got the chills and could not get warm.

I started to have visions of getting really sick that night...I mean really sick.

DH had taken DD to another camp party and I decided to build a bed on the balcony--the only place where I felt okay. I reclined the lounger out there, brought out my two pillows and a few blue pool towels and wrapped myself in a cocoon. I actually fell asleep and was awoken when my family opened the balcony door wondering what the heck I was doing.

My husband was not at all comfortable with me being out there sleeping but I could not come in yet so we compromised and opened the curtain all the way so he could see me through the window:p (I really wish I had a picture of all this!)

At some point in the middle of the night, I was jerked awake with rain pelting me in the face so I made my way back to bed feeling somewhat better than earlier.

I woke up feeling marginally okay--I could function but did not have much of an appetite. I think I had half a bagel for breakfast and not much more for lunch. I really just laid on the balcony and read that morning. The Mixologist contest was at 1 p.m. so I was trying to conserve my energy for my performance;)

At 12:45 p.m. DH and I headed to the stage area to meet Squishy, Goose, and the rest of the competitors. The staff encouraged us to have fun and Katja the bartender would help us along.

I made a frozen drink ("Sand Between My Toes") with mango mix, tequila, and peach schnapps. It was way too sweet and one of the judges about puked when he drank it.

DH made an on the rocks bev ("Silver Surfer") with vodka, blue curacao, and sweet n sour mix. Also pretty bad!

Neither of us won but we did each receive a Carnival Cocktails recipe book:p

I think the key to winning is an on the rocks bev. The mix they use for the frozen drinks is just too sweet and you can't add much liquid to it or it won't retain the frozen consistency (I originally wanted to add pineapple and OJ to mine but they had to nix that from my recipe).

We each also got to drink our concoction! It was a lot of fun participating but then you have to watch yourself act a fool on TV the rest of the week (I got to be pretty quick with that remote!).