First time cruisers Valor review ~ 2/13/11 sailing

[Half Pint]

As I trudged through the snowy airport parking lot in my sandals and capris at 5:30am, I just kept thinking “warm breezes, sandy toes and palm trees”. It really wasn't making the 15 degree temps feel any warmer, though. I knew by the late afternoon I'd be enjoying sun and warmer temps.

 

 

Our flight from ATW to DTW was uneventful until about the last 15 mins. Then it was up/down, and side to side until we landed. I'm an uneasy flyer to begin with, so it was making me very nervous. DH is a frequent flier and even he was getting a bit white-knuckled!

 

 

Our flight from Detroit to Atlanta left many of us on the plane steaming mad. We were told (after we boarded the plane) we would be waiting for about 40 mins for a pilot. Okay, we have a two hour layover in Atlanta...no problem for us.

 

 

WELL, we ended up waiting about 2 hours and 15 mins for a pilot. MAJOR screw up on Delta's part. Why in the world they boarded the plane when they KNEW we didn't have the pilot is beyond me! Many passengers ended up missing connecting flights. We hoped we wouldn't and were going to try our best to make it. Our flight landed at 1:25 and our connecting flight left at 1:40.

 

 

We came into Atlanta in Terminal A...and our connecting flight left out of Terminal E. The exact opposite end of where we were currently standing. We looked at each other ~ could we make it? We're sure gonna try!! We knew it was a slim possibility, and even if we did make it, no way our bags would!

 

 

They were literally giving away our seats when we ran up to the podium, boarding passes in hand...while the gate agent yelled at us “what's your name?” They didn't even scan our passes. We just ran down the gangway and dropped into our seats, breathless. They shut the boarding door as soon as we got on.

 

 

Whew!! Made it!! And that my friends is why you fly in the day before you set sail! There is no way you can plan on having a pilot not show up for work!

 

Unbelievably, our bags made it to Miami with us (kudos to the Atlanta ground crew!) We checked into La Quinta and enjoyed a nap (it was an early morning) while waiting for the rest of our group to arrive.

 

 

We ate at the adjacent Bennigan's (don't waste your time, order pizza instead) and headed back to the hotel for the evening.

 

 

Looking forward to our first cruise experience tomorrow!!

[megmno]

Looking forward to your review! Hope it gets less stressful!

[Half Pint]

Looking forward to your review! Hope it gets less stressful!

 

Thank you! It does! :D

[Half Pint]

Sunday, February 13th (Sail day!)

 

 

We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and some time by the pool afterward, as our shuttle for the Port didn't leave until 1pm. We encountered quite a few fellow Badger state residents at the hotel that were going to be on the same ship and chatted with them a bit.

 

 

The shuttle (actually a motor coach) picked us up right at 1pm and we took the short ride to the Port of Miami. Driving in, we could see the ships and oh my word, are they HUGE! We've never been on a cruise or even seen a cruise ship, so it was a bit awe-inspiring to see them close up. Along with Valor, Glory and RCCL Allure of the Seas were also in port.

 

I knew the Valor was just out of drydock and I was impressed with how clean she looked on the outside. Fresh paint and the funnels looked brand new!

 

 

The many different lines moved very quickly (I was surprised at how quickly!) and we boarded about 2:30. The entire check in (security and then registration) only took about an hour and went smoothly, with no problems. I had registered online, so I think that helped smooth the process.

 

 

We found our room, grabbed a quick bite to eat on Lido, and then had muster drill. I told DH muster drill was the only thing we HAD to do the entire week, since we were on vacation. ;)

 

 

After muster, went back to the room and our bags had been delivered already. We unpacked quickly and went up top for Sailaway! No way were we missing our first sail away!!

 

Me at Sail away

 

DH and I

 

 

It was windy!!

 

We had chosen the early seating, so it was time for us to have dinner. We found our table in the dining room and met our waiters. Our waiters the entire week were fantastic and we had no complaints.

 

I had had some concerns about feeling the motion of the ship, so I brought Bonine with me. I felt a lot of motion once the ship started to move, but I never felt sick.

 

We took in 2 comedians in The Eagle's Lounge and came back to the cabin to find out my excursion in Roatan had been cancelled (parasailing).

 

We went to bed, looking forward to tomorrow. Formal night, my spa treatment and Valentine's Day! :D

[Half Pint]

I do have pictures of our cabin, but I figured no one wants to see them, so I didn't post them. :p

[megmno]

Just wondering -- was the TV in your room upgraded to a flat screen?

That was something that was supposed to have been done during drydock, but a poster last week said he had the old style TV in his room.

 

Also, tell us about the Serenity Deck, please!

[Half Pint]

Valentine's Day (Monday)

 

Today is a Sea Day, so we eventually found our way up to the upper decks to hang out in the sun before my spa treatment around lunch time.

 

We are traveling with DH's two brothers and their wives, celebrating one of the couples 25th wedding anniversary and our 15th (even though our's technically isn't until summer :p).

 

My spa treatment wasn't that great...the walls are very thin, so I could hear everything going on in the rooms on either side of me and the I didn't care for the hard sell of products at the end. It was very off-putting to me.

 

I was so looking forward to dressing up, though! I'm a stay-at-home Mom, so it's rare for me to put on a fancy dress. I felt great and DH couldn't tell me enough how great he thought I looked. :D

 

 

 

 

Our Valentine's Dessert

 

We did end up purchasing a couple of the pictures from formal night, so we have "real" photos of us. :)

 

After dinner, we saw the show in the Ivanhoe theater. I didn't really enjoy it (too much girl butt-floss), but the theater was packed.

 

We ended the evening with a nightcap in BIL's room and just hung out for a bit.

 

Tomorrow, Grand Cayman and the Jeep 4x4 Excursion!

[Half Pint]

Just wondering -- was the TV in your room upgraded to a flat screen?

That was something that was supposed to have been done during drydock, but a poster last week said he had the old style TV in his room.

 

Also, tell us about the Serenity Deck, please!

 

Our TV was not upgraded to a flat screen. We were on Riviera Deck, cabin 1263.

 

I loved our cabin location. We didn't have anyone across the hall from us, since we were the first cabin off the elevators. To one side was a storage space, so we only had a cabin on one side. We never heard the people next door and only heard people in the hall a few times (which was no big deal).

 

Though the people having a LOUD conversation outside our door at midnight on the last night could have put a lid on it. :rolleyes:

 

We didn't spend any time on the Serenity Deck. We took a stroll around it one night at about midnight and were perplexed to see the Camp Carnival splash pool in the middle of it. We thought that was odd...and Camp Carnival is right next to the Serenity Deck.

 

It looked nice, but we didn't spend any time there. It was closed a day or two while they finished up some work there, I guess.

[Half Pint]

February 15th (Tuesday)

 

Grand Cayman day today. The tender was very easy (and it helped being on the lowest deck!) and we got on shore with no problems.

 

The weather was cloudy and cool, though we stayed dry. Our excursion picked us up at the dock and away we went to the starting point on Seven Mile Beach.

 

Grand Cayman Harbor

 

 

Beach we returned to after excursion

 

Driving on the other side of the road was an adventure!

 

DH and I on excursion...it was really windy that day!

 

After driving through the National Forest (Preserve?) we went to the Tortuga Rum Cake Factory and stopped in Hell.

 

 

 

 

Coral in Hell

 

We returned to the beach, enjoyed some sun and lunch and I had my first taste (literally) of sea water. Blech!

 

When our excursion was over, they returned us to the dock area and we decided to browse amongst the shops there. There was a lot of traffic and islanders didn't seem all that happy to see us. LOL

 

We went to Margaritaville and were seated, but then no one came to take our order. We waited with BIL and SIL for about 15 mins before we gave us and left. BIL and SIL stayed and were eventually served. It was LOUD and chaotic in there, and I really didn't mind leaving.

 

Next up, Isla Roatan!

[lgerrish]

I can't wait to hear all about Roatan and Belize - two ports we haven't been to. We'll be on the Valor in April - same itinerary!

 

Thanks for the great review and pictures!:D

[Half Pint]

I can't wait to hear all about Roatan and Belize - two ports we haven't been to. We'll be on the Valor in April - same itinerary!

 

Thanks for the great review and pictures!:D

 

You're welcome! I'm never sure how much detail I should include. Sometimes reviews get bogged down with stuff that doesn't really matter and I'm trying not to do that.

 

If anyone has a question about something I left out, please ask!! :D

[theMrs]

Keep the review coming you are doing a great job!!

 

Question about the Valor, did you use the new adult serenity area, if so was there a charge??

 

TIA

[Half Pint]

February 16th (Wednesday)

Isla Roatan

 

Docking in Mahogany Bay was something to watch! The ships have to back in and DH and I were up on top, watching the buoys as we passed. I think we passed buoy number 2 with about 5 feet to spare!

 

The HAL Ryndam was also in port with us and it was exciting to see how different the ship looked from the outside.

 

 

 

 

My SIL and I had originally booked a parasailing excursion in Roatan, but due to "technical difficulties", it was canceled. So we decided to take the "Magical Flying Beach Chairs" to the beach ~ not realizing we could have walked there for free. LOL

 

Oh well. They were inexpensive ($12 a person) and you can go back and forth as many times as you wish throughout the day. It was something different and fun.

 

This picture shows the free walkway to the beach.

 

 

We enjoyed a fun day at the beach. There were plenty of chairs in the shade to just hang out in (it was HOT that day) and we did swim a couple times.

 

We enjoyed some drinks at Fat Tuesdays in the market area and then shopped a bit. The market area was clean and everyone we came into contact with (shopkeepers, etc) were friendly and smiling and seemed genuinely glad to see us (unlike Grand Cayman). The shopkeepers we bought from (and used credit cards) went out of their way to let us know about the extra charge for using our cards and showing us how they converted it to Honduran money.

 

As far as shopping went, this was my favorite stop.

 

The entrance in the market area to the walkway to beach.

 

 

Goodbye beach!!

 

Up next is Belize and this is not a port I'm looking forward to.

[Half Pint]

Keep the review coming you are doing a great job!!

 

Question about the Valor, did you use the new adult serenity area, if so was there a charge??

 

TIA

 

Thank you. :)

 

We did not use the serenity area, but we did walk around in the serenity area. From the little time we spent there, I didn't see a charge for using it (I don't think there is).

[Half Pint]

February 17th (Thursday)

Belize City, Belize

 

This was the port I had been dreading and was not planning on even getting off the ship here (due to security concerns and the LONG tender). I had read in various places (not just cruise critic) that you should not venture outside the secured port area unless you were on an excursion, due to a major crime problem in the surrounding area.

 

DH convinced me that since we had come this far, we HAD to at least get off the ship and say we had been to Belize. LOL So, I put my concerns aside and boarded a tender for the long (25 min) ride to shore.

 

 

 

 

 

Really, I have nothing positive to say about our "visit" here. After being hounded non-stop (from vendors and people trying to get us to take a tour) from the time we got off the boat until we climbed the stairs to The Wet Lizard, I was ready for a drink!!

 

There were armed guards walking around and I didn't feel safe even in the "secure" area. It was a quick stop here...we were back on the boat within 2 hours (and that includes the hour it took to tender back and forth LOL).

 

The BEST thing about our stop here ~ a fantastic Dirty Banana!! ;-)

 

Goodbye Belize! I doubt you'll see me again!

[Half Pint]

We did see most of the shows in the Ivanhoe Theater and enjoyed the majority. The Marriage Show was our favorite. :p

 

We also did a few games of bingo and some other miscellaneous things they had in there (trivia, gender wars, etc). Henny (the assistant cruise director) was my favorite out of the entertainment staff. :)

 

We saw a few comedians in the Eagles Lounge, and had the "privilege" of being picked on by Percy Crews during one of his adult shows. :rolleyes: I guess that's what happens when your SIL deliberately picks a table right up front and you have no say in the matter.

 

Other than having to walk past the casino to get to the Eagles Lounge, we didn't spend any time there (too smoky). The same went for the piano bar and other bars on board. They were too smoky to spend any time in (for us, as non-smokers).

 

It took me about a day to find the internet cafe. It's INSIDE Winston's Cigar Lounge. You have to walk through the cigar lounge to the back to get to the internet cafe. I'll save everyone the problems I had finding it! :p I only used it during the day and it was mostly deserted during the times I had to walk through there.

[VAN2222]

I'm enjoying your trip report. We are also first time cruisers from the midwest and leave for our cruise on the DREAM on Friday of this week.

 

Can't wait to hear about your exprience in Belize!

[VAN2222]

Oh, I now see your write-up on Belize. I'd also been reading about the place and have booked an excursion with cave-tubing.com ... not getting any younger, so decided to do something "exciting" - LOL.

[Half Pint]

February 18th (Cozumel)

 

We had not planned an excursion for this port, but the night before our stop here, part of our group convinced us to do the same excursion they were doing ~ Isla Pasion by Twister.

 

Sunrise over Cozumel

 

The lonely Valor in the morning....

 

Our excursion left on time and we were strapped into our lifejackets and harnessed into the boat. By this point, I was looking at DH and thinking "oh my goodness...what have I gotten myself into!!" LOL

 

One of the jetboats we took to Isla Pasion

 

Oh my goodness! The ride was SO much fun!!! The waves were pretty rough that day and we got some good air going over a few of them. LOL It was exhilirating having the wind rush through your hair, while flying over the waves!

 

Once we got to the shallow lagoons around the island, we started doing 360's...over and over. Everyone was shouting and laughing as the water soaked us. Truly one of my favorite memories of the trip.

 

We arrived at the island and were pleased to see it was deserted. Ida met us and showed us where the food and drink would be for the day, as well as other amenities (restrooms, water toys, kayaks, etc).

 

 

 

DH said "this looks exactly like a Corona commercial!" Come to find out, he was right. ;-) Ida said Corona commercials have been filmed on the island. It was so beautiful. The sand was raked and the beach was deserted. It was wonderful to get away from the hordes of people and just relax with the sea breezes and warm sand.

 

 

 

Ahhh, I could get used to this!

 

I think DH could, too! He loved our day on the beach.

 

This day was both of our favorites for the entire cruise. Truly a great day.

 

It was also the anniversary of the day my FIL lapsed into a coma (he passed the next day) so I'm very glad DH was able to make some great memories to try and help take some of the sting out of this particular date.

[Half Pint]

Oh, I now see your write-up on Belize. I'd also been reading about the place and have booked an excursion with cave-tubing.com ... not getting any younger, so decided to do something "exciting" - LOL.

 

The rest of our group did a cave tubing excursion in Belize...and they really had a good time. I know they booked through Carnival. :)

[Half Pint]

Cozumel (continued)

 

When our day at the island was over, we loaded onto the boat again and did some 360's in the lagoon and then were off, back to the port area!

 

We did a bit of shopping in the Puerta Maya area and more drinks at Fat Tuesdays.

 

 

The balloon guy charmed me by making me a hat AND corsage to match my dress. :-)

 

There were rickshaws you could hop on and take down the long pier back to the ship.

 

By the end of the day, there were four or five ships docked at the same area we were...and four or five more at the dock north of Puerta Maya. Cozumel was busy that day!!

 

Goodbye Cozumel. What a great day this was! We'll be back!

 

As a midwestern girl, I have never seen water this color. I couldn't get over how BLUE it was!

[Half Pint]

February 19th (Sea Day)

 

This day was a (another!) day of relaxation. We slept late and just hung around the ship, enjoying the company of our group. :)

 

February 20th (Debarkation day)

We had decided to do self-assist, since we had a fairly early (12:30) flight and wanted to make sure we made it on time. If we would have used Zone Boarding, we were in Zone 29, which meant we wouldn't be getting off the ship until 10am or later. That was no good for us, so we did the self-assist and had absolutely no problems.

 

Since our entire group was sharing a shuttle, we had to get off at the same time. We waited until their deck was called (about 35 mins after ours was) and we all walked off the ship, walked through customs and out to the street. We were back in the USA! :D

 

I had never been out of the country, so I was bit disappointed the customs agents never even looked at my declaration form that I had so earnestly and honestly filled out. LOL

 

We had heard there was a huge blizzard on the way at home and were a bit worried, but there was nothing we could do about it, so we put it out of our minds and basked in our "after-cruise" stupor. ;)

 

We flew from Miami to Cinci...and ended up getting stuck in Cinci overnight, due to weather! Yes, traveling to and from was a huge pain this trip. Luckily, I have a girlfriend that lives in Cinci and graciously opened her home to us.

 

Our trip was "extended" by a day, but we finally made it home on Monday evening. Our two kids were happy to see us and we were happy to see them, too!!

[Cruisin Christi]

great review, I love, love your sun dresses, where did you get them?

[Half Pint]

Things we learned on this vacation ~

 

We both had our apprehensions about cruising, but were determined to go into it with a good attitude and open minds. We ended up loving it! We had so much fun and made some great memories.

 

We both enjoy DH's brothers and their wives as friends AND family. :D

 

DH and I can live in close quarters for a week and still come home in love. :p

 

DH and I enjoy spending time together and are friends, as well as partners.

 

There is nothing better than enjoying a true belly laugh with people you love.

 

I drank more alcohol in those 7 days than I have in the last 15 years ~ and I enjoyed doing it!! :D

 

DH learned he can let go and spend money...and he enjoyed it!! LOL

 

We love Cozumel and are already planning a land trip back in the future.

 

Really, I can't stress how much fun we had. Writing this trip report has made me re-live all the memories and smile.

 

So those that asked me to write a review once we got back, here it is! Many of you were right when you told me I would fall in love with crusing.

 

I don't know if it was the particular ship, the group we traveled with or the staff on the ship, but we did love it. Even with all the travel hassles ~ getting there AND home! LOL

[Half Pint]

great review, I love, love your sun dresses, where did you get them?

 

Old Navy! :D