First time Trip Report - VALOR - 5th - 12th

[cruisingbajan]

Say it ain't so Debbie...Say it ain't so...:).

 

Thanks for the great review. It certainly has put me in "cruise mode"

 

Have a good one

[cmlmich]

Thank you for the outstanding review....you have made it even harder to wait until the end of Jan. for our first cruise!:)

 

I don't know if someone else has said this yet or not, seeing how you are so good at it maybe you can figure out a way to make a living out of going on cruises and giving reviews! :D

[bemarshall]

I haven't finished your cruise trip report (although I'm loving what I've read so far). When I saw the comment on Playa del Carmen, I had to go over to the Playa board and read that trip report first :D (which was also great by the way!). I love Playa ... just wondering how you felt the two compared and which was your favorite trip. Thanks for some great reading!!

[Celandine]

Thank you for posting such an awesome review!

[Trplnckl]

Reading your Cruise Log and seeing your pictures makes me very glad I am book on the Valor for next April. Thanks for all the work you put into this wonderful report.

I say without reservation, Carnival should send your crew on all their ships for free just to get more reports like this one.

 

I just gotta give ya a big 'ole West Texas..Atta Girl and hardy yeeee hawww!

[DeDe63]

Hey neighbor!

 

This has been one of the best reports ever. I'm so sad that it's over!

[MzOhioLady]

All I can say is this was one Heck of a Review! Way to go Debbie!

[Jeans*Fanatic]

We headed back to our room to start changing for dinner,,and,,,,,

Lo and behold, we had a card under the door telling us that they had switched our dinner to late seating,,,,,,,,We were now going to be in the Washington Dining Room. YEAHHHHHHH !!! Now we were REALLY happy !!!

 

I hate to have to come in early from the pool area, or from excursions and rush right off to dinner. That is why I've always liked late seating much better than early.

 

Now we had a chance to relax in the room,,,,, watch a little tv and catch up on some news,,,sit on the balcony with a drink and enjoy the setting sun and then leisurely get ready for the evening.

 

We went to the Captains Reception party, which was in the Eagle's lounge,, and got to meet the Captain. He was very gracious and handsome. Italian through and through and I loved his accent, especially when he would say the word "safety".

He pronounced it with 3 syllables,,, like " sa - fe - ty". I thought that was so cute. lol

 

 

 

We strolled along the Promenade Deck,,, taking pictures,,, people watching,,,and then

headed for the dining room and were there for 8 pm and had to wait at least 20 minutes until they opened the door. We found this to be the case for the rest of the trip,,, The doors were never open at 8, we always had to wait at least 15 to 20 minutes, so after learning this the first few nights, we adjusted our dinner arrival time and never went down until at least 8:15. Otherwise, you are stuck in a huge crowd of people waiting to get in and it gets warm with all those people in that close space.

 

It's such a pretty dining room..

 

 

 

Ahhhhhhh, a few food pics.........

 

Lobster,,,,,

 

 

 

 

Prime Rib,,,,,,

 

 

 

I can't believe I didn't get any pictures of the desserts <smacking self> but my favorite of all the nights was the Creme Brulee. Yummy !!

 

Now, a word about dressing for dinner each night.

 

This was Elegant Night, so, yes, WE dressed up. I wore a long gown, and my DF wore a short cocktail dress and the guys wore suits. I did not feel out of place wearing a long gown and she did not feel out of place NOT wearing one. We saw all varieties of dress,, long and short and for the most part EVERYONE was dressed nicely.

 

 

 

Personally, I love to dress up,,,,, you don't get many chances in your "real" life to do so, so when the opportunity arises, I jump at it. lol

 

 

 

 

In fact,,, the funniest thing is,,,, yes, OMGGGGGG ,,, I saw 2 other women wearing the same dress as I was wearing. OHHHHH the HORROR of it,,,,,,, !!!!!!

 

Just kidding lol I thought it was funny and I hoped at some point to see them again and we could all get together to take a picture. I think that would have been hilarious. lol The way I see it, that's bound to happen when there's a good sale at Macy's and so many people are together at one venue.

 

After dinner, we headed over to the Ivanhoe Theatre to see the show.

This was a better show than the first night and we really enjoyed it, and then headed to the Adults only comedy show with Eddie Capone. He was so funny,,,,,,, but one word of advice. He does involve the audience in his show, so,, if you don't want to be called on, do NOT sit close to the stage...lmao

 

After his show, we headed for the room and bed, because the next day was our first port of call, Cayman Islands and we needed to be up early. It was a great night !!

 

You are sooooo photogenic!!!!! Your dress is a stunner! I am looking for one like that!!! Where did you get yours from? Also, I love your red bikini as well...LOL!!! I am such a fashonista...LMBO!

 

Your review is absolutely great! And I can tell that you enjoyed yourself!!!! Thanks so much for taking us along with you through your story.... :D

[Jeans*Fanatic]

I will never forget this handsome face!! he was Captain of the Splendor when we sailed in November . . .

 

I'm enjoying your review - all the pictures are great and you look like you had a FUN cruise!!

 

I was on the Splendor last November and I hate that I missed him...:( Would have loved to have talked to him personally just to hear his accent.... LOL! Oh well...

[wildcrazyatver]

Hi wildcrazyatver,,,

 

I think you might have misunderstood me. It IS a regular dig camera, its not an underwater model. What DH did was buy a water housing unit to COVER his regular digital camera, so he could use his regular camera underwater.

 

I hope that clears it up for you,,, ;)

 

If you need anymore information,,, let me know and I'll help you out all I can,,,, :)

 

 

ok thanks a heap that, sure clears the air and helps me see whats avilable

again thanks for the helpand great review

[mosweet]

Great Review! Looks like you guys had lots of fun! This helped me wait for the time until our cruise again. Don't know if I can come back and do a review like yours but i'll try :D

 

Thanks again!

[Bontongrl]

Great Review!!! We leave on the 9th I can't wait.Wish I could think of a question but you covered just about everything. I hope the weather holds out for us!! Loved all the pics too!!! I didn't look at the towel animals though,thought I would leave that as a surprise.

 

TY ssca,,,

 

Hope you have a great time on yours !! Even if the weather doesn't hold out, its ALL in the attitude !! Remember, its VACATION, and that's better than being at home :D

 

I really have enjoyed reading about your cruise this past week! It helped me get into the "cruise mode"! I am sailing on the Destiny Oct. 19, and I can't wait!:D:D

 

luv2cruise,,,

 

You will have a blast !! :D

 

Thanks Bontongrl for the great review. I couldn't wait every day to relive the experience. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm glad you had a great time. Thanks for the memories. :)

 

Now gee-gee, I want to hear all about yours, k ? ;)

[oceanblue33]

Hey Debbie Jay here please tell me how you were able insert two or more pics on your post. I'm using photobucket as you did. I know hoe to load the pics but when loading 2 or more they come out sisde by side. Thanks for your time. I have to get this I have fivr months to go before my wife and I are on the Dream.

 

thanks Jay

 

 

JAY

[Bontongrl]

Say it ain't so Debbie...Say it ain't so...:).

 

Thanks for the great review. It certainly has put me in "cruise mode"

 

Have a good one

 

 

 

It's so Keith,, it's so,,,,,!!

 

 

 

You have a great one too !!!

[Bontongrl]

Thank you for the outstanding review....you have made it even harder to wait until the end of Jan. for our first cruise!:)

 

I don't know if someone else has said this yet or not, seeing how you are so good at it maybe you can figure out a way to make a living out of going on cruises and giving reviews! :D

 

 

Hi cmlmich,,,

 

I don't know how you could wait that long,,, I think it would drive me crazy,,, Thank God we only had to wait 6 weeks !!

 

That is one of the nicest compliments ever,,, thank you so much..;)

 

Omg, wouldn't that be the BEST kind of job ? Doing cruise reviews ? :D

 

I need a full time job,,,,, does anyone here have connections with Carnival ? <eg> ;)

[Bontongrl]

I haven't finished your cruise trip report (although I'm loving what I've read so far). When I saw the comment on Playa del Carmen, I had to go over to the Playa board and read that trip report first :D (which was also great by the way!). I love Playa ... just wondering how you felt the two compared and which was your favorite trip. Thanks for some great reading!!

 

Hiya bemarshall,,,,

 

You're welcome, it was my pleasure :)

 

We had been to Cancun a few times over the years, but never playa before, so opted to go there last summer.

 

I really loved Playa del Carmen much better than Cancun. I feel like Cancun is more for the "younger" set,, the major party crowd and we are a little older than that. Playa was the perfect ambiance for us. It's not huge like Cancun, and has more of a small town feel, even though its getting bigger every day. People have found out about it now,,, lol and you can walk everywhere with drink in hand.

 

I loved them both for different reasons....

 

Playa del Carmen is much more of a "relaxing" and do nothing type of place. Even though we did things, we basically "vegged out" most of the time,, at the resort or on the beach. We never felt in a hurry, or rushed to do anything. It's the ultimate in relaxation type of vacation. And we didn't come back from that vacation feeling worn out :D

 

Now the cruise, to me anyway, is a much more active type of vacation. There's always something going on, something to do, lights, camera, action. I know cruising can be just as relaxing as a land locked vacation, but WE went the other route. constantly seeing things, doing things, moving from one thing to another at a fast pace, which, of course, was OUR choice. We didn't want to miss out on anything.

 

I loved them both for those different reasons.... :D

[Bontongrl]

All I can say is this was one Heck of a Review! Way to go Debbie!

 

Thanks lady !!! :)

 

ok thanks a heap that, sure clears the air and helps me see whats avilable

again thanks for the helpand great review

 

Your welcome wild ;)

 

Great Review! Looks like you guys had lots of fun! This helped me wait for the time until our cruise again. Don't know if I can come back and do a review like yours but i'll try :D

 

Thanks again!

 

 

Sure you can mosweet,,,,, its easy,,, and I can't wait to read yours :)

[Bontongrl]

Hey Debbie Jay here please tell me how you were able insert two or more pics on your post. I'm using photobucket as you did. I know hoe to load the pics but when loading 2 or more they come out sisde by side. Thanks for your time. I have to get this I have fivr months to go before my wife and I are on the Dream.

 

thanks Jay

 

 

JAY

 

Hi Jay :)

 

Check the size that you are uploading them as... I use the 640 x 480 (large) size. That should make them come out the same size as mine are.

 

Copy and paste the IMG code from the information bar under your picture and paste to the message area here and then hit enter after each one.

 

This will leave a space between each picture,, and they should be too large to go in side by side. The reason they might be side by side on yours, is because they are smaller than 640 x 480 ? Check that out.

 

If you need any other help with this, don't hesitate to let me know and we'll figure it out. I'm posted so many of these I feel like an expert by now :D

 

Happy Cruising on the Dream !!

[Bontongrl]

Reading your Cruise Log and seeing your pictures makes me very glad I am book on the Valor for next April. Thanks for all the work you put into this wonderful report.

I say without reservation, Carnival should send your crew on all their ships for free just to get more reports like this one.

 

I just gotta give ya a big 'ole West Texas..Atta Girl and hardy yeeee hawww!

 

 

Again, it was my pleasure to do it,,, I'm just glad you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it,,,,,,,:)

 

Trplnckl,,, can you pull some strings for me ? YEHAWWWWWWW !!! :D

 

Hey neighbor!

 

This has been one of the best reports ever. I'm so sad that it's over!

 

TEXANS RULE !!! howdy back neighbor !! I'm sad it over too,,:(

 

but if I win the lottery,, I'll be back on a ship in no time,,,, and ready to write another one,,,,, ;)

[Bontongrl]

You are sooooo photogenic!!!!! Your dress is a stunner! I am looking for one like that!!! Where did you get yours from? Also, I love your red bikini as well...LOL!!! I am such a fashonista...LMBO!

 

Your review is absolutely great! And I can tell that you enjoyed yourself!!!! Thanks so much for taking us along with you through your story.... :D

 

I was on the Splendor last November and I hate that I missed him...:( Would have loved to have talked to him personally just to hear his accent.... LOL! Oh well...

 

 

Crystal,,

 

Thank you !!

 

I got the dress at Macy's,,, an after Christmas sale,,, I planned to wear it to Mardi Gras this next year, but when we decided to do the cruise, I couldn't resist NOT wearing it. :) It's a great dress,,, and made it there and back with NO wrinkles,,,,, :D Perfect for a cruise !!

 

and, always remember,,,,, SA - FE - TY with 3 syllables,,,,, its so cute, :D

[JakRat]

Hello!

I am thrilled that you posted pictures as my boyfriend and I are going on this same ship in 3 weeks!!!! I was just wondering what excursions or beaches that you might have gone to. I have never been to Belize or Honduras so I am not to sure where or what to do.

 

Thanks, and great pictures!

[oceanblue33]

Debbie your the greatest it works great and you explaines it so simple I really appreciated. THAKS!

 

 

 

 

 

JAY

[islandcroozers]

Well, I read the review start to finish, part of preparation for our Valor cruise in 39 days... :D ... Thank you SO MUCH for taking so much of your own time to post such a detailed review for all of us. Like all the previous posters have already said, I enjoyed every word and every picture. Glad you had such a great time! :)

[Bontongrl]

Hello!

I am thrilled that you posted pictures as my boyfriend and I are going on this same ship in 3 weeks!!!! I was just wondering what excursions or beaches that you might have gone to. I have never been to Belize or Honduras so I am not to sure where or what to do.

 

Thanks, and great pictures!

 

Hiya JakRat,,,

 

3 weeks and counting, it will be here before you know it, ;)

 

All the excursions and beaches that we did are already posted wayyyy back in some previous pages, :) so if you get a chance,,, go back to the earlier pages from this report and all the information you are asking is right there,,,,, ;)

[Bontongrl]

Debbie your the greatest it works great and you explaines it so simple I really appreciated. THAKS!

 

 

 

 

 

JAY

 

You are very welcome Jay :)

 

If you need any more help on any of it, don't hesitate,,, k ? ;)