Valor Review, Spring Break with PICS

[icart]

Charlie's Gone?? Who took over for him? I have to agree with him dragging out the muster drill. He just went on & on & on & on somemore with us as well.

 

I know the original plan was for John Heald to be on until this Sunday, and then Big Tex was supposed to take over. Then John got called away, and I guess Charlie (Dan?) filled in. Maybe Tex came in early? Now I'm curious if we're still going to have Big Tex for our Easter cruise.

[hightownCO]

Anxious for the next installment...Thinking of the Valor in a couple of months.

 

Thanks for taking the time to do this!

[RAVI360]

WOW...great pictures and review.....did you stay at marriott in MIA OR FLL...if it the one in south beach...we try to stay there every year....we love that hotel....also ...i'm sorry if you answer this already...where did you get your tee- shirt

 

That just happens to be my name too....go figure:D:eek:!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[arh53197]

Truly one of the best reviews I have read on here. The pictures are amazing and make me feel like I was there! Can't wait to keep reading!!!

[Trplnckl]

Great Review...Awesome pics. I sail the valor in just about a year and these pics make me feel like going on her right now!!:p

Doesn't it seem like a time so far in the future that it can't even be seen? We're booked on the Valor for April 18, 2010.

These pics and review are just what I needed.

 

Thanks

[dcrobin]

Great review. Hubby and I will be on the Valor in July 2009, celebrating our 25th anniversary (WOOOOHOOOOOO!!!!)

 

Can't wait.

 

 

BTW, LOVE LOVE LOVE the Gator visor! Way to represent! Go Gators!!!

[remharri]

Your review is great! I was on the Valor last November and my pics dont look as nice as yours. I need a camera like yours...time for an upgrade and some camera research.

[EricaLovesCats]

Valor is my absolute favorite!!!

 

Great review!

 

Oh, and I LOL at "now i know how they smuggle cuban cigars into the country." and the photo...:p

[Jeans*Fanatic]

I love love love this review!!!!! Your family is beautiful! and so far, it looks as if you guys had a great time considering the weather and all. Now I have make the Valor my soon to be ship to sail on!!! I can't wait to read the rest! I am surely subscribing to this thread!

[Cruise_Q]

nice review...great pic...beautiful family...thanks:D

[Indestructible]

yea, got lucky on the jedi shot.

 

 

 

i wish i had gone out at night more with that camera. i only went out one night, oh well, always got next year.

 

I don't know if it's the type of camera, but my night shots are kinda blah. The ones you took are really cool and really show the ship off.

 

I'd have to agree about Charlie and the muster drill, I was thinking the same thing myself. I also noticed a lot of " At 1Pm there will be ?????" and look at the clock and notice it's already 1:05.

 

I didn't do much at night either except just chill on lido. I never went into any of the clubs or the Karaoke bar and my bar bill was probably less than $50. I managed to enjoy eating stuff that I had denied myself for months and only put on about 3 pounds which will drop off easily.

 

I started putting my pics on facebook, but I can't seem to link my facebook account to cruisecritic profile. So, those interested can click my username and hit my myspace page and there's a facebook link on there.

 

I must admit that after the cruise and having Monday off, I had a 12 hr work day Tuesday and just can't seem to get out of vacation mode.

 

This cruise for me took on more of a relaxation twist for me rather than excitement.

 

My day to day stuff was pretty much breakfast and lunch on Lido and then dinner in the dining room. My stateroom was very cool. 1004 on port side, very front of ship. outside my door was a small deck which hardly ever had anyone on it. The room itself is oversized as it is handicapped accessible. The shower could have fit 3 and there wasa pole in case we met some dancers LOL.

 

Grand Cayman I had Snuba with stingrays booked at 12:45 ( waited too long to book and that was all that was left). Walked around Cayman for a while. Checked out Eden Rock but didn't have time to snorkel there. The afternoon was spent Snuba diving. Had mask problems as Mandi had warned I might. I tried a few masks but kept leaking so I didn't get the most of the tour but it was awesome anyway.

 

Roatan: We chose Fins and Flippers because it seemed we couldn't make anything else work for our group. It was a nice relaxing beach with snorkeling. I didn't see the pool, but heard it was nice. Just a few hundred yards from the ship and $20 to get in. And Honduras was a beautiful country.

 

Belize:

Cave tubing with cave-tubing.com with several others from this board and meet and greet. Though the bus ride to and from was long, the tubing was really cool.

 

Cozumel:

Paradise beach. The first cab we approached tried getting $27 pp including the (Free) admission. We ended up paying another cab $3pp and just myself and a few others actually bought the water activities pass. The water was a bit too cloudy for snorkeling, but had a good time just soaking in the sun. Spent the rest of the day shopping with my neice and sister in Coz.

 

The Lido party was a bit less exciting as others I've been to. The band seemed to be playing at a low volume. From what I hear, the party was rocking for cruise critics in the disco.

 

Looking forward to the rest of Mike's review.

 

Chris:cool:

[Wennfred]

Awesome Pictures and a beautiful family !!! Thanks for sharing your cruise with us.

 

 

 

Fred :)

[TakeMeAway1001]

I agree with everyone else, great review! Thanks for taking the time to post one :)

[Name Of The Game]

How did two blonde, blue eyed parents get these dark haired kids? ;)

 

Your daughters are pretty. Wish they were on my cruise.[/quote]

 

 

This is a little creepy...:eek:

 

Creepy that a 22 year old guy recognizes attractive 20 year old girls? :rolleyes: Uh no, that's normal dude.

[rpouls]

Thanks for posting - I really enjoyed looking at your pix - nice looking family!

 

My daughter and I are sailing on the Valor this June (3rd time - same ship).

 

Glad you and your family had a good time.:)

[newt98]

This is the first review I've read in a long time that actually has me laughing out loud! I was nearly in tears reading about the murses, the big boys on little bikes, and the Cubans! :D

 

Keep up the great review and your family is adorable!

 

BTW, which rebel did you buy? I'm looking into getting one and I'm just not sure which model to buy!

 

i bought the canon rebel xs, 10.1mp.

 

LOVE the Tshirt, dude!

 

My Indian name...Crawling Drunk :D

 

 

.

 

i got the shirt at a store on the FLL strip. it's easy to find if you go there.

 

Trust me, if Mike said you didn't offend, then you didn't... Because he would tell you if you did!!!!

 

I was with Mike/Rhonda & family on this cruise and I love his review and the pictures... You are doing a great job and I'm loving it all over again... Keep those awesome pictures coming...

 

And yes guys, those twins are even more beautiful in person, as is Rhonda.

 

Mike, keep going, and btw, I do agree about Charlie and the long long long drill/talking/talking/talking. Can you believe he's not on the ship anymore????? I believe it!!!! Lucky for the next group of cruisers :) lol

 

what do you mean he's off the ship?

[newt98]

These pictures are great! Can I ask you what settings you used to take these night shots? I, too, just got a Canon Rebel and don't have a clue how to use it yet. But this is exactly what I got it for, to get shots like this on cruises! Thanks!

 

the camera was on tv mode, iso 100 i think, possibly 200, and the shutter speed was around 1/25 i think. for each picture i posted of the night shots, i took about five or six with different settings. also it was on a tripod for the delayed shutter pics. before you go on the cruise, take some shots at home with different settings to see what kind of lighting you're trying to get, and which settings work for your pics. good luck, i'm still learning alot about the camera.

 

WOW...great pictures and review.....did you stay at marriott in MIA OR FLL...if it the one in south beach...we try to stay there every year....we love that hotel....also ...i'm sorry if you answer this already...where did you get your tee- shirt

 

That just happens to be my name too....go figure:D:eek:!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

we stayed at the courtyard marriott FLL beach. the shirt came from a store directly south of our hotel.

[newt98]

 

Creepy that a 22 year old guy recognizes attractive 20 year old girls? :rolleyes: Uh no, that's normal dude.

 

 

no, creepy was the guy that made a crude gesture to my daughters on deck and had to be reported to security.:mad:

[newt98]

our first full day on the boat was a sea day, which was good. because my first night on the ship, i lived up to my indian name, "crawling drunk". well, it wasn't that bad, but i did stick to water and tea the on our first sea day. there didn't seem to be as many activities on the ship as there were last year on our sea days on the triumph.

 

i think we played a quick game of bingo, and lost. i think we also went to one trivia game. it was different than ones i had done in the past, they had everybody stand up and the girl would ask the first person in line a question. if that person got it right, they would continue standing for round two, if they got it wrong, they would sit, and their game was over. when it got to my turn, my question was, "what is the pink panther?". i got it wrong. i thought the pink panther was a panther, apparently it's a diamond. so my game was over quick, not too much fun.

 

there was a bartender on the ship that was also on the triumph last year, but i got my drinks from Roque from india at the starboard side lido bar. i went back to him all week, i hope he is on the victory next year, but i think he said he will be on the freedom. if you're good to him, he'll take care of you.

 

so we didn't do too much that day. we barely saw the boys. the youngest, 12, spent most of his time in the hot tub using the other people as an obstacle course with his diving mask on, sorry if that was you. but i just kept thinking, if it bothers them too much, they'll either kick him or go to the adult hot tubs.

 

the other two boys, 14 and 17 were all over the ship, i think this is day their football joined Wilson at sea. The girls just layed out in the sun and hung out.

 

oh yea, we had a CC meet & greet that Elaine set up with Host Mach from the boards. The CD showed up for the M&G. we didnt stay too long, my wife wanted to go to the dance class, it ended up being some michael jackson thing or something, so we just left. Leia from our roll call made name tags, there were about 100, but only about 20 peeps in the M&G.

 

 

me and dw on the valor

 

 

patrick and dylan chillin

 

 

ashley and nicole on the front of the boat

 

 

blue seas ahead

 

 

from the balcony

[Nunu]

Dude, great review, cool pictures, and nice family.

[newt98]

our room steward was Jimmy from the phillippines. we met him on the first sea day. he kept our ice buckets full and did a great job. the first sea day was formal night, or elegant night. our table was 401 and our waiter was domingo from the dominican republic. we was vary fast with sevice, along with his assistant, but neither were very social.

 

on the menu was prime rib and lobster, that's all i remember. i ordered the prime rib and the lobster. then i ordered another lobster, and the assistant seemed a little put off by it, but i didn't care. all the kids ordered two lobsters, except the 12 year old. our table made these guys work hard this week, but i did tip each of them extra for the week. the prime rib was really good, and the lobster was not chewy as it had been on our previous cruise. then of course we had the chocolate melting cake, and it was better this time than on the triumph, i think i had it the first four nights, maybe just the first three.

 

 

this is from the first night on the ship

 

 

patrick on the first night

 

 

first formal night

 

 

the kids on the first formal night

[Payd]

our room steward was Jimmy from the phillippines. we met him on the first sea day. he kept our ice buckets full and did a great job. the first sea day was formal night, or elegant night. our table was 401 and our waiter was domingo from the dominican republic. we was vary fast with sevice, along with his assistant, but neither were very social.

 

on the menu was prime rib and lobster, that's all i remember. i ordered the prime rib and the lobster. then i ordered another lobster, and the assistant seemed a little put off by it, but i didn't care. all the kids ordered two lobsters, except the 12 year old. our table made these guys work hard this week, but i did tip each of them extra for the week. the prime rib was really good, and the lobster was not chewy as it had been on our previous cruise. then of course we had the chocolate melting cake, and it was better this time than on the triumph, i think i had it the first four nights, maybe just the first three.

 

 

this is from the first night on the ship

 

 

patrick on the first night

 

 

first formal night

 

 

the kids on the first formal night

 

 

Great review. Beautiful family.

 

I look forward to the rest of your review and of course the great pictures!!

[newt98]

ok, so i do have a beef with carnival. why do they allow peeps in the dining room on elegant night wearing t-shirts and shorts if this is not permitted. i guess i shouldn't complain because i smuggle alcohol, but that is kept in our room. i saw more than one person in shorts and a t-shirt, and actually one night a bunch of guys showed up in super hero costumes. i guess it was funny, some people laughed. but imho, formal night is not the place for it. when i make sure my kids bring the appropriate dress i wonder why i go through so much trouble if it's just "wear whatever the hell you find in your drawer night". ok, done.

 

the food in the dining room was the best i have had on any of our cruises, for that matter, the food everywhere was better than i have had before. even the buffett was good, and i usually don't like the buffett food. burgers from the grill were great, pizza was good, the deli is by far my favorite place to eat, i love the reubens, the turkey, and the salmon on a bagel.

 

 

fried shrimp

 

 

prime rib

 

 

lobster tail, duh!

 

 

some apple thing with caramel

 

 

the holy grail of carnival desserts!

[Payd]

when i make sure my kids bring the appropriate dress i wonder why i go through so much trouble if it's just "wear whatever the hell you find in your drawer night".

 

Our kids also dress appropriately...and like you kids they look sooooo good.

 

It is a part of teaching them that there is a time and a place for things. Elegant night in a dining room is a night to dress well.

 

If my 15 year old son had asked to wear nice shorts or even jeans on a casual night - I would have probably said yes. Didn't have to bother.

Both my son and 13 year old daughter dressed for dinner each night.

My son wore dress pants every night with a shirt or shirt and tie. My daughter wore dress pants/skirts with fancy tops every night. They looked fabulous.

 

Once again let me tell ya - you have a beautiful family - worth the time and effort!!

[lollylew]

by the time we stopped for gas and food, and then found the rental dropoff at the miami airport, which was a pain in the rear, it was around 10:30 or so.

 

Question for you...what made it a "pain in the rear"? For our upcoming Valor cruise, I know that my MIL will be renting two minivans and we probably won't be getting to the port till after 12pm so I am just hoping to get some pointers as to where to go so that we give ourselves enough time to get to the ship. Thanks!!