Valor review 10/4-10/11

[DreDay]

Foreword: Let me preface this review with a little background about our trip, myself, etc. First, this was our fifth cruise; all on Carnival. But, this was my first time on the Valor and I really liked this ship. It is identical to the Conquest which we have been on before, so we took to the layout well.

This was our first cruise with our new baby. (Well he’s 15 months, but he’s still new to us) I was totally worried about how this would work out, as my other kids were all over five when they first cruised. For the rest of the review I'll just refer to him as Baby. Baby is an angel at home. He is well behaved, and so easily entertained. However, I’m no fool and I know a new environment can break even the most well adjusted infant. Since we are not parents who would allow our child to scream in public and ignore it, I’d mentally prepared myself that I might be spending more time than usual in our room, and trading dining room dinners for lido deck food. Oh, this was SO NOT THE CASE…but I'll get to more of those details later.

We were with a group of 14: My family, (kids aged 14,10,8 and 15 months) my sis and her two daughters (12 & 10) , my parents, my brother, and a niece (18 months) and nephew (9). Just for the record, we probably won’t be traveling with a group this size again anytime soon…but again, I’ll get to that later

With all of this in mind, I will try to load the review with all things essential to a great review like tons of details, info on shows, capers, and some pics. But since we are family cruisers I am also going to add some tips and tidbits of how we dealt with the two infants in our party. I hope nobody minds, and I double hope it’s helpful to other family cruisers out there.

[DreDay]

Okay now on to the really good stuff…. Embarkation (& the Journey leading up to it)

We had a redeye flight out of Phx with a layover in Atlanta and an arrival time of 9:20am in Miami. Once at MIA it was super easy to get our bags. One person in our party had a bag missing but after a few tense minutes (the bag had medications in it), it was brought out to us, and we were on our way.

Just outside baggage claim was a line for taxis, so we asked for three vans and we all piled in. The attendant at the taxi line confirmed that we had a car seats for the little ones. We would not have been able to use the taxi without it. We brought flat portable car seats so we were good. I believe it was $25 to the cruise terminal, plus tip of course.

We were at the terminal by 10:45 and let me tell you, it was feverishly hot. I’m from AZ so I’m used to the heat, but this was icky icky hot and HUMID!!!:eek:

A porter promptly helped us get our bags down. I magic packed so I only had two suitcases and a garment bag. I carried on my laptop bag ( I know, I know…but it was essential), a small stroller, and a backpack/diaper bag. Security was a breeze and we were making our way up the elevator to the check in:D!!!!

By this time it was around 11:15 and there wasn’t a lot of people yet. Check in for us was a little bit of a hassle because we had two of our kids booked in other rooms, so we had to do a bit of running back and forth between agents. We were give zone 6 and we parked ourselves in some seats to wait. Not long after they started calling zones and by 12:00pm we were on board!!!! W:D:D H:D:D!!

[giftcard]

Looking forward to reading more! :)

[TakeMeAway1001]

Great start, can't wait to read the rest :)

[WAcruisers]

Cant wait to read the rest of your review!

[CMM]

Wow you have a family of 6 and only had 2 suitcases & a garment bag? You must be a very organized packer.

[letsgocruz1]

I was on this sailing and had a great time. Looking forward to reading your review :)

[DreDay]

Wow you have a family of 6 and only had 2 suitcases & a garment bag? You must be a very organized packer.

 

I'm still really shocked about that still, myself!!! I made it a point to get everything into those bags, and it was not easy...lol!!!

 

I'm normally an overpacker, but after five cruises I knew I came home with stuff we never even wore. I packed very light, thin sundresses for the girls and I, and mostly swimtrunks and light shirts for the guys. I also backed some "staples" that we all wore more than once througout the cruise, like jeans for all of us, black slacks for my boys, etc. I also did laundry I think on Thursday and this really helped.:)

 

I did take one of my collapsible carnival bags that I had, as I knew I'd come home with more than I left with. :D:D

[DreDay]

I was on this sailing and had a great time. Looking forward to reading your review :)

 

Oh Cool, wonder if you saw our mega clan somewhere on the ship!!!

 

Cant wait to read the rest of your review!

 

Great start, can't wait to read the rest :)

 

Looking forward to reading more! :)

 

I'm working on some more right now and will have it posted soon!!!

[DreDay]

We tried to heady straight to our room, but the halls were still sealed off so we made our way to the Lido for some food food.

Okay, here’s another part that I feel I need interject some explanation. I love food. I am not afraid of food, and I will try just about anything at least once. I don’t consider myself finicky or snooty about food, but it must, must, must be tasty.

Now with that said, I would estimate that 50% of the Lido deck buffet food I tried was scrumptious and the other 50% was terrible. I don’t remember it being that way on the last four cruised I’d been on.

For this meal I had some type of chicken marsalla (yummy) and some kind of pickled salad (not so good). The kiddos had burgers and dogs, so they were good to go!

DH found his beloved ice cream machine he was in heaven!!

We did another check at about 12:45 but the rooms were still sealed off, so we did some exploring. We found the arcade and the DH and kids hung out in there for about 30 minutes. Baby and I sat out on the Promenade couches and relaxed.

Around 1:30 we made our way to the cabin. We were in room 8270 on the Verandah deck. This was our very first balcony, and I can never, ever, ever, ever go back to OV. The balcony was spectacular!!! :)

I started to unpack and try to get organized the best I could. First order of business though was to empty all the liquor and cans out of the fridge. I stuffed it in the cabinet that houses the safe. It all fit, and now the fridge was ready for milk and juice for the baby!!

[gypsyrose]

Hanging on your every word:) Are you gonna post pics???

[horn hi aces]

We are on Valor Christmas week with group of 17, my family of 6, with kids 19, 12, 6 and 3, my parents, sister and fiancee, other sister and her 3 kids, mother in law, and 2 nieces of my wife. So I am very interested in hearing all about your adventures.

 

I have the role of picking out shore excursions that will be suitable for everyone!!! yikes. If you did the western itninerary, I am especially interested in your take on the islands and recommendations.

[DreDay]

Hi Gypsyrose- Yes, I am trying to sneak in a few bits here and there between getting my work done. My brain is still in cruise mode, so focusing on work is not easy:rolleyes:!!!

Did you ever get capers? I know you and I were waiting for some a couple of weeks ago, but they were not posted before I left...:mad:

I will resize pics and go back to insert them a little later this evening.

A little more soon....

[DreDay]

We are on Valor Christmas week with group of 17, my family of 6, with kids 19, 12, 6 and 3, my parents, sister and fiancee, other sister and her 3 kids, mother in law, and 2 nieces of my wife. So I am very interested in hearing all about your adventures.

 

I have the role of picking out shore excursions that will be suitable for everyone!!! yikes. If you did the western itninerary, I am especially interested in your take on the islands and recommendations.

 

 

Oh how fun!! It was intersting traveling with my big group. We've actually done it before but I don't remember it being so...well dramatic at times.

 

I always take charge with the excursions and I do lots of research before I will book anything with my kids. Please stick around as our excursion experiences were AMAZING!!!!!!

[gypsyrose]

Hi Gypsyrose- Yes, I am trying to sneak in a few bits here and there between getting my work done. My brain is still in cruise mode, so focusing on work is not easy:rolleyes:!!!

 

Did you ever get capers? I know you and I were waiting for some a couple of weeks ago, but they were not posted before I left...:mad:

 

I will resize pics and go back to insert them a little later this evening.

 

A little more soon....

 

 

Work:eek: You have work to do after a cruise???? The horrors.

Yes, Fofita posted the capers. Think they are buried somewhere after page 5 by now. But, I already printed them off and highlighted the things I was most interested in doing. I know, crazy huh? Well, when you still have almost 200 days you have to do something to pass the time;)

[DreDay]

Work:eek: You have work to do after a cruise???? The horrors. I know, huh???? I actually had to work while on the cruise!!! Talk about horror:eek::eek:

Yes, Fofita posted the capers. Think they are buried somewhere after page 5 by now. But, I already printed them off and highlighted the things I was most interested in doing. I know, crazy huh? Well, when you still have almost 200 days you have to do something to pass the time;)

 

Not crazy at all, I'd would have done the same!!:D

[DreDay]

Before long, there was the announcement calling us for the muster drill. We found our room steward and told him we needed an infant life jacket. He was a bit confused because our son was booked on a different floor, with my parents. We explained that he would be in our room with us, and he immediately got us an infant jacket.

Side Note: As I mentioned before my two of my kids were booked in other rooms, as you can only book four to a cabin. However, we all stayed in our cabin. I know that sounds crazy, but my kiddos are small and for us it was fine. We had plenty of room for all of our things, and they never complained about the sleeping arrangements so I guess they were all comfortable.

We were off to Muster station D. Did I mention earlier that it was HOT???? Well imagine holding an infant, with a life jacket on, while you’re wearing a life jacket, and huddling in like sardines to the msuter starion. Eeeeewwww – sticky and gross!

Hey, we know that’s the drill so we toughed it out. After about 15 minutes of standing there and listening to the drill, one of the crew pulled me and baby out of line and into the hall where it was air conditioned. THANK YOU!!!! About 5 minutes later he said I could go back to my room – the baby was sleeping. I told him I’d wait for my DH and kids. He let us all go back up. This was a real blessing as we were able to avoid the frenzy going back up to the room.

We stood on the balcony as we set sail and now it truly felt like our vacation was official!!!!

[Smoke_1]

Enjoying the review. We're on the Jan. 10 sailing (I've been waiting to say that :D). Looking forward to the rest of it.

[Smoke_1]

I'm enjoying the review so far, can't wait for more. We're on the Jan. 10 sailing (I have been waiting to say that :D). Looking forward to the rest of the adventure.

John

[Daliaha]

I am loving your review... Hubby and I leave on Nov. 1st and can not wait...:D!!

 

 

I'm Looking forward to reading more of your adventures on Valor, and any excursions y'all took..:)

 

-Dolly

[DreDay]

I took some time to finish getting organized and then we started to get ready for dinner. We had early seating (6:00pm) in the Washington Dining Room upper level. Our table was 504. We were there promptly at at 6pm.

Our head waitress was Sirwanda – Wanda for short. At the moment my brain is not working and I cannot remember where she’s from but it will come to me soon…. I also cannot remember her assistant’s name. He did introduce himself but I never really got his name and he moved so swiftly I couldn’t get a good glimpse of his name tag. We ate in the dining room each night and this team was by far the best we’ve had! They were so friendly and attentive. They were amazing with all of the children in our group. I could not have been happier with our dining team.

I cannot remember what I had for an appetizer but I do know I had the flat iron steak for my main course – well done please – and it was perfect! I had crème brulee for dessert. It tasted fabulous, but it was a little curdly and runny.

After dinner we headed back to our room and hung out for a little while. The kiddos were itching to go swimming. My day was so long I wanted to climb into bed and sleep, but I couldn’t say no. They were so excited to be on the ship. They all changed into swim trunks and off to the Lido we were. We headed to the back pool, where the Pizzeria is. On the Conquest this was our favorite swim spot, but when we got back there, I noticed there was an Adult’s Only sign on the pool. I told the kids to sit tight while I grabbed a slice of Pizza and they parked at a table near the pool.

The bartender walked over and told the kids and kind of yelled at the kids that the pool was for Adults only and waved his hands as to shoo them to leave. Uh, excuse me, I don’t think so. :mad: I walked over and told him we were not going to swim but I was waiting for Pizza. He apologized and reiterated the fact that the pool was for Adults only. I told him that I saw the sign, and we planned to go to the main pool.

I was irked for like five seconds and then I realized that he probably thought they were there alone as I was standing by the Pizza area and they were at the table with swim trunks and towels intently looking at the water…. Okay, I was over it…carry on!!! :rolleyes:

After I got my yummy Pizza we went to the pool in the middle of the Lido deck and the kids were in their own little piece of heaven. My DH had a cone of ice cream…like his third or fourth by now, and we just relaxed. It was blissful!!

After the swim, the kids grabbed a cone to go…so did my DH, lol, and we headed back to the room. It was a long day and we were all ready for bed.

Night! Night! Oh wait, baby wakes up once in the middle of the night…. Bottle was in the fridge ready to go. (Goodness I love having a fridge in the room. Sure beats walking to the kitchen like at home.)

[cruisingbajan]

Great review so far...but then again I am partial to Valor Reviews;):D.

 

Waiting eagerly for more and pics as well.

[joydisney]

can't wait to hear more!

[DreDay]

Guys, I'm so sorry I totally forgot an entire segment of our first night on board. My DD reminded me as she was reading this...We took our kids to the Welcome Aboard kid party in the disco. It was really cute and fun and the kids liked it. My DD (14), thought it was to kiddy for her, but I made her get on the dance floor with me anyway. We all had fun.

 

After the party, then we took the kids swimming....

 

Working on Day 2!!!

[CarribbeanTina271]

Loving the review so far.. I too was on this cruise with LETSGO!! We had a awesome cruise..