Aviendah

January 4th ~ Cozumel

Chankanaab ~ We decided to try Chankanaab since the boys wanted to snorkel. Based on reviews it had everything we wanted; sand, drinks and shore snorkeling. The reef there was pretty much dead but there are some fish and statues to be seen for beginner snorkelers. We did experience some stinging from small jellyfish we couldn't see closer to shore. I don't think this was a common occurrence but many people were complaining as they exited the water. Chankanaab is beautiful and we enjoyed the atmosphere greatly.

Spotts Bay ~ Long line back to the ship. This was only the first part of the line!

Love the photos! What lens did you use?

 

I am a photographer and have been going back and forth about bringing my 5D MKII...I don't want to break it or tote it around, and all my lenses (besides the kit) are for portraits. I am torn. I have a crappy P&S I could use instead or when we are near sand.

 

Decisions decisions....

I really debated hard on this one! I haven't taken enough time to figure out my camera but I love taking photos. Most of what I shoot is in the Auto mode to be honest. I brought my Crumpler 5 Million Dollar Home camera bag and put chargers in a separate case. It was a lot to lug around but it was worth it to me to have the visual memories. I make Shutterfly albums of all our trips so even though the family gets tired of holding cameras at times, they love the books. I put my Crumpler bag inside my beach bag when in port. I found myself using the Sigma for most of my shots. I got it right before we left and I couldn't put it down! It does create some distortion at the widest point but I'm not a professional so it doesn't bother me overmuch. I can fix some of it in Photoshop Elements if I take the time.

• Nikon D40 (got the super wide lens instead of upgrading the camera body)
  
• SB 400 Flash with diffuser
  
• Tamron AF 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD LD
  
• Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM
  
• Canon PowerShot SD980IS with Canon underwater housing
  
• Sony HD Handycam
  

I visited the photography discussion forum on these boards and got some really good advice. I'll post the link here.

Super Wide Lens Discussion

The Westin Casuarina Resort ~ 7 Mile Beach

Our intentions were to spend some time on the beach and then snorkel at Eden Rock. Due to the strong surf we opted to stay on the beach at the Westin. While they do offer a day pass with a room rental we took our chances and just showed up. The beach wasn't busy due to the high winds so we hid our Carnival towels and adopted some empty chairs that had resort towels sitting on them. We were offered drinks by the wait staff but we turned them down letting them know we were drinking water for the day. It was a beautiful location and not overwhelmed with crowds. I did note that when they farmed us off at the port onto the buses they were taking us all to Sea Grape without really asking where we wanted to go. I talked the bus driver into dropping us off at the Westin to the surprise of the rest of the passengers. If you get on a bus, make sure you know where you are headed! There were so many cruise ship passengers that it was somewhat chaos.

Spotts Bay ~ Due to high winds we had to dock at Spotts Bay. We were thankful we didn't miss this port!

January 2nd ~ Sea Day

Sunrise ~ Do not miss these gorgeous views! Sunrise and sunset remain some of our greatest memories of this cruise.

Benefits of the balcony

Bunk Bed ~ 1112

Lido Deck ~ Our first night

Door at the end of the hall leads to deck door

Pizza before Sail Away

Luggage is delivered ~ 1112

Sail Away ~ Balcony view

Ivanhoe Theater

Lincoln Dining Room ~ Anytime Dining

Circle C Club ~ 12-14 year olds

Soda Card sign up ~ Bottomless Bubbles

Thank you for the kind comments about these photos! I'm really a newbie with my DSLR. For this cruise I purchased a super wide angle lens and I was amazed at how much I could get into the picture. I didn't realize how many photos I would post on this review and I have many, many more. I also have the Fun Times and other papers I'll post as well. When we booked the Valor I searched this forum for days looking for detailed photos so I hope my efforts will prove useful for someone else. Thank you for reading!

Gift Shop

Photo Gallery

Guest Services

Atrium

Promenade Deck

Shower ~ Shampoo and shower gel on the wall

Closets ~ 2 closets with hangers and 1 closet with shelves and a full length mirror

Safe ~ My Kindle is in the red case

Spa Deck 11

Balcony Cabin 1112 ~ We loved this cabin. DH suffers from motion sickness but with Bonine nightly and gusty winds, he never got sick. We will choose this deck again.

Balcony ~ We enjoyed that our balcony was open even though people on Deck 12 could look down on us. If you didn't want to be seen, you just didn't sit up against the guard rail. We didn't have any issues with this balcony and we loved the openness.

Bon Voyage T-shirts ~ Cookies arrived later in the afternoon

Deck entrance to Spa Deck 11

Our family of 4 enjoyed our New Year's Western Caribbean cruise on the Valor immensely. Though the weather was cooler and the winds gusty, this cruise was everything we imagined it would be. Our 12 year old twin boys snorkeled in the Caribbean for the first time; a thrilling adventure. We needed a relaxing vacation so we spent our 4 port days at the beach. I will make a few brief comments and let the photos tell the rest of the story.

• The twins ate more ice cream in one week then they had all year.
  
• Room service is wonderful on the balcony. They have PB&J!
  
• The steakhouse was fantastic.
  
• I'm glad we brought a highlighter for the Fun Times.
  
• We had several 30 minute waits for Anytime Dining. I believe the holiday impacted our wait times. We would still book Anytime Dining again for the convenience.
  
• Our Belkin surge protector was very necessary for charging electronics.
  
• I'm happy I brought my DSLR and wide angle lens.
  
• Roatan and Maya Key were our favorite port.
  
• The hot chocolate machine was wonderful.
  
• We had a balcony cabin; number 1112. Ironic that we were on the New Year's cruise for 2011/2012!
  
• The food was really good. I'm not sure where all the complaints are coming from. We truly enjoyed our dining experiences.
  
• The Valor staff are very friendly and seem to really enjoy their jobs.
  

Hampton Inn and Suites Downtown Miami ~ Brickell

The Oceanaire Restaurant ~ Within walking distance; bring your checkbook

Port of Miami

I really did not believe it would work, so I gave it a try for a week trip for thanksgiving, using a similar size carry on as in the video.

2 pairs of shoes

2 jeans

2 dress pants

1 knit lounge pants,

2 sweaters

9 shirts

1 lightweight jacket

1 lightweight top

1 short

2 tshirts

1 small eBay with underwear, etc....

And my flat eBay toiletry bag

 

I didn't believe it would work, it did.....If I expanded the zipper I could have fit a bit more in.....perfect training for my cruise in 48 days.....I think Ill have even less clothes.

Wow...great job! I'm traveling to Louisiana for a week for business so I'll have suits and skirts to deal with. I got some new silicone travel bottles that are 2oz and I love them. 3oz is huge but might be ok for longer trips especially for shampoo and conditioner. I got different colors for lotion, hair gel, cleanser etc. Don't put liquid eye makeup remover in though...it made the silicone expand like crazy. The liquid didn't seem to be the problem, just the Nutrogena eye makeup remover solution. http://www.ebags.com/product/travelon/smart-tubes-set-of-2-2-ounce/203407?productid=10106897

If anyone tries this at home you'll have to let us know how you do! I believe toiletries are supposed to go in the second bag style carry-on. He forgets however that somewhat high maintenance women have lots of hair products that need to be checked. So I think we will still end up checking one large suitcase for the 4 of us and trying to fit the rest in carry-on's. And yes, we all have snorkel gear as well so we may end up with 2 checked bags. When I get my clothes around I'm going to roll my clothes like usual and then take them out and try this new method and compare the two.

If you go to the actual website for Packing Light they do go into more detail about suits and whatnot. http://www.packinglight.net/packinglight_video_library.aspx?dept_id=1960

I usually roll our clothes and separate them into packing cubes to keep organized. I just watched this video on "Packing Light" however and now I'm intrigued. I travel for work so I thought my system was pretty good until I saw how much this guy got into a carry on. I'm tempted to trial this method before we leave just to see if there's truth to it.