VALOR Anyone??? 04/10/11 Western Caribbean Review

[MrsBlair]

Welcome to my review! It’s going to be long and detailed, but there are lots of pictures, including food pics! We didn’t participate in much of the entertainment on the ship so it’s mostly about the ports and food. J All of my pictures were taken on the iPhone 4 and I’ve inserted a few pictures that our friends took that were taken on a Lumix. Thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoy it.

[MrsBlair]

INTRODUCTION

My name is Jessica and my husband’s is Paul. We live in Woodland Hills (Los Angeles), CA. We have been married since October 2008 and have been cruising since our honeymoon on the Miracle. We’re now at two cruises a year for the past two years and we have three more booked through next April! So exciting. This was our 6th cruise on Carnival. We cruised with our cruise buddies: Steve and Sheri from St. Louis. We did this exact same cruise last April as well. We originally were looking at the Glory sailing on the same date going to Half Moon Cay, Grand Turk, St. Thomas and San Juan. We figured out from the roll call and other threads on this board that some Jerry Lee Lewis impersonator and his entire fan club were going to be on that cruise. We googled and figured out that they would have most of the public areas on the ship reserved at certain times, etc. I could be wrong on this, but I think I remember us asking John Heald for his opinion on what to do and based on his reply we decided to book another ship. J So, after searching the available cruises, we ended up deciding to just do the Valor again and do different things in the ports.

[MrsBlair]

April 8, 2011 – PRE-CRUISE

 

We took a red-eye flight from LAX to FLL on Friday night. In the past, we have always flown on JetBlue from Long Beach. Virgin America started offering a direct flight from LAX to FLL and shortly after JetBlue followed suit for the competition so now we will always fly out of LAX – which is good because it’s the closer airport to our house. I booked the flights on Virgin when they were first released for $129 a person. Not bad at all.

 

We had a really busy week leading up to this day and I had somehow managed to severely dehydrate myself that week as well so I was feeling like crap. Luckily, I was off of work on Friday. I use a packing list for clothes and miscellaneous things so it makes packing easier. Also, we have a spare bedroom so I use that as a staging area. Friday morning I went to the doctor to have some blood drawn and then it was home and packing time!!! When I first started I felt a bit overwhelmed. I wasn’t quite sure where to start. So, I decided the best way to pack would be to get through one suitcase / list at a time. I started with the small suitcase first – it’s a carryon size. That’s where I pack everything that is not clothes or shoes – all the toiletries and random things. That list only took me about an hour to get through and get packed. Then I opted to do my husband’s suitcase next. That took about an hour and a half. Last? My suitcase. That one took about two hours to finish. I was so happy when it was all done. I had about two hours before Paul was due home and I was feeling pretty wiped out so I took a nap on the couch.

 

We left for the airport around 6:00 for our flight at 9:40. We only live about 30 minutes from LAX, but for those of you who read my Miracle review in October, you understand why we left early. J

 

We got to the LAX area around 7:00. We went to Boston Market for dinner – we don’t have one by the house so since we were in the area I wanted to. It was pretty good. Around 8:00 we went to park at The Parking Spot on Sepulveda and took the shuttle to the terminal. Check-in was smooth. Now, on JetBlue each passenger is allowed one free bag up to 50 lbs and an extra bag is $30. When I booked Virgin this time I didn’t think to read their baggage policy. On Virgin, each bag is $25. However, the first bag is allowed to be up to 70 lbs. We always have three bags (the two big ones and the smaller one, but I always check the smaller one because of the toiletries, etc.). So, we had to pay $75 each way for our bags but I didn’t get too riled up about it because the flights on Virgin for this trip were much cheaper than what JetBlue was offering.

 

 

 

I went out for one last cigarette before our flight left and saw this car in the parking garage with the door wide open. It honestly looked like they grabbed their bag and ran. I let the TSA agent know when I went back in.

 

[TwoSue]

I was on that ship the same time as you and just posted the first part of my review. I was laughing at your picture of Boston Market dinner. We tried to take pictures of all the food on the ship, and when we got off and were touring Southern Florida, we kept taking food pictures! The funniest was the pasta we made one night in a hotel that had a kitchenette.

 

I'm looking forward to comparing our reviews.. we were traveling with kids and are probably older than you, so I bet we had a very different cruise. It was our first, but I can guarantee it won't be our last!

[MrsBlair]

Oh geez. Looks like we have extra large pictures again this time. Oh well!

 

Boarding began and we took off on time. It was a very smooth flight. I think it took about 40 minutes before I could fall asleep and then I slept off and on. I felt like I slept better on this flight than previous ones though. We got to FLL at 5:00 a.m. We waited for our bags and then called for the hotel shuttle for the Hyatt Place South. We normally stay at Hyatt Place North but they were completely booked by some junior swimming championships or something like that. By the time we got to the hotel it was roughly 6:00 a.m. We checked in, went to our room and got settled in. Paul went right to sleep and I finished getting things organized and went to sleep shortly after.

 

[MrsBlair]

I was on that ship the same time as you and just posted the first part of my review. I was laughing at your picture of Boston Market dinner. We tried to take pictures of all the food on the ship, and when we got off and were touring Southern Florida, we kept taking food pictures! The funniest was the pasta we made one night in a hotel that had a kitchenette.

 

I'm looking forward to comparing our reviews.. we were traveling with kids and are probably older than you, so I bet we had a very different cruise. It was our first, but I can guarantee it won't be our last!

 

Awesome! How fun! Yes, the food pictures get a little addicting! I'm glad you guys enjoyed your first cruise. I'll be looking out for your review!

[workn2cruise]

Can't wait for more so I can relive our cruise with you :D

[MrsBlair]

April 9, 2011 – PRE-CRUISE

 

After a few hours of sleep we got up and showered to get ready for our traditional pre-cruise shopping. Sheri and Steve arrived at the hotel from their flight from St. Louis around 1:00. When we stay at Hyatt Place North we have a whole routine down – Publix, Total Wine and then Duffy’s for dinner. Since we were at the Hyatt Place South we were a bit thrown off. We walked across the street to the shopping center since we knew there was a Kmart there. You go up a little path from the hotel entrance to get to the actual road (Stirling Road I believe) and then you have to cross the road, then walk through the shopping center. It was a bit of a trek but we made it. We each got our case of waters. Sheri and Steve were looking for a few two liters of Diet Coke – Kmart did not have any!!! We went to the liquor store next-door – no wine. We walked around the rest of the shopping center trying to find a store that we could get Diet Coke and wine at. No luck. I went into the Avenue and Old Navy “just to see” if they had different things from California (they don’t). After about an hour of two of walking around in the shopping center we were done. That first day of the humidity takes some getting used to! We went back to the hotel and we had about an hour or two before we were going to catch a cab to Duffy’s. Even though we weren’t staying at North, we still were not going to give up on Duffy’s. Oh, and we decided that since we didn’t find wine or Diet Coke, we would just get that by Duffy’s and bring it back. I called Total Wine to make sure they didn’t close early – they were open till 11 so we were good.

 

 

 

[MrsBlair]

Paul and I hadn’t eaten since Boston Market the night before. Going off of Florida time, it had been 24 hours. In the shopping center across the street there really were only fast food options which we weren’t in the mood for. We also knew that we would be eating at Duffy’s so we didn’t eat much. Each time we have stayed at a Hyatt Place, we have noticed that they have a few food items for purchase. We decided to try it this time since we didn’t really have any other options. We both got a cheeseburger – it was delicious!!! I ordered the Oreo dream bar for dessert and Paul ordered the cheesecake. I was basically full after the cheeseburger so the dessert was a bad idea, but it looked oh so good.

 

 

[MrsBlair]

So, we just hung around a little bit relaxing and then at around 4:30 we decided to head to Duffy’s. There were a few sporting events we were interested in, so we wanted to make sure we had a table before the place filled up. We asked the front desk to call a cab for us. A town car showed up and we realized that was for us. It appeared to be a private driver, rather than Yellow Cab, and there was no meter or anything. This was the only thing that bothered us about our stay here. It seemed as though there was some private arrangement going on. Either way, we hopped in and made it to Duffy’s safe and sound. We did notice that he took quite the roundabout way of getting there (most likely assuming we don’t know the area as well as we do). When we got to Duffy’s he just blurted out some number, I think it was $17 or something like that. He gave us his card in case we wanted him to bring us back when we were done (we didn’t). We went inside and found a table in Michael’s section who had served us last time we were there.

 

Duffy’s… What can I say??? Love this place.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No joke, the best cheese sticks you'll ever have. Seriously.

[MrsBlair]

 

 

 

 

 

[MrsBlair]

So, I don’t drink. Well, I 99% don’t drink. I say I drink twice a year – a DOD when I first get on the ship and a glass of wine on maybe two nights at dinner. At home? I don’t drink. Ever. When we were at Duffy’s I was drinking water (which is the only think I drink, 99% of the time). Michael, our server, was telling us about his favorite drink which was grape vodka and sprite – he said it tasted like grape soda. I had to try it. It was good, but a little too much vodka taste for me. I really wanted a grape soda. Haha.

 

 

We had a great time at Duffy’s. Food was good, service was good and we got to see a few sporting events we wanted to watch (Flyers, Dodgers, Giants / Cardinals, basketball). We walked over to Publix and Total Wine to get the few items we still needed that we didn’t find earlier. Once we were done, we decided to call for a cab to take us back. Thanks to my photographic memory, I knew just what to do. (954) 777-7777. That’s the number for Yellow Cab in Ft. Lauderdale (probably Miami too). Funny story, the cab driver went the correct way back to the hotel without any weird turns and the meter was at $13 when we got to the hotel. I would recommend being specific when asking a hotel to call you a “cab”. The rest of this night was spend rearranging the bags with the new purchases, adding luggage tags, and getting ready for tomorrow – cruise day!

[MrsBlair]

APRIL 10, 2011 – EMBARKATION DAY

 

Yay! Cruise day! We had booked a shuttle to POM with Metro City Tours prior to our trip. We have used them quite a few times now. Edgar was due to pick us up at 10:30. We headed down to the lobby area at around 10:00 to check out and grab a small bite at the continental breakfast. Edgar was there promptly at 10:30. We got our bags and butts in the van and off we went. It was a quick 30 minute drive to the port. The port area was a little crazy when we got there, but Edgar dropped us off right next to the porters and off we went. There was a bit of traffic heading to Miami Beach as there was a bicycle race or show or something like that. We got to POM at roughly 11:00. We gave our bags to the porters, and headed inside. Steve and Sheri went to the VIP Lounge and Paul and I went to the Check-In Kiosks. I have to say, this was our first time using them and they were pretty awesome. We walked right up to one, entered our information, took the ticket to the lady and got our S&S cards. Just like that. For those that haven’t done it before – there a bunch of kiosks set up and you swipe a credit card or enter your booking number to pull up your info. You make sure all of your information is correct and then you scan your passports. A receipt prints out with a line – there were 3 different lines in Miami. You enter that line and the lady takes your receipt and gives you your S&S cards. Very efficient. We went to the VIP Lounge to wait with Steve and Sheri. I believe it was about 11:30 and we were headed to the ship. There is nothing better than hearing that first ding! Straight up to the lido deck we went. We found a table, got our DODs and everyone went separately to get lunch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MrsBlair]

My first step on the ship... :p

 

 

 

 

[MrsBlair]

Lunch -

 

 

 

 

Some random ship photos, including Serenity Deck.

 

 

 

[MrsBlair]

 

 

 

 

[ChrissyBTX]

Hey Jessica! I love your reviews! Read your review on our last Miracle cruise when we got back. Looking forward to the rest of it. Did Mike and Lori not go on this cruise with y'all? I've never been on the Valor. Can you compare it to the Miracle? I see you're going on the Splendor next year. I'm going on it in 6 days! Flying out to CA and cruising with my folks. Looking forward to the rest of your review. Hope to see you all on another cruise in the future.

[MrsBlair]

After lunch, we went to the Sports Bar to watch the Masters. This year’s tournament was great! We had a really fun time watching it and getting caught up in it. We went to our rooms at around 1:30 to get settled in and unpack. We only received one of our bags (the small one) and a note in our mailbox saying we had to report to the naughty room. You see, I had bought a case of water for me, and Paul had purchased a bottle of cranberry juice and a bottle of powerade to go with his bottle of Grey Goose from BV. I guess when the suitcases went through the scanner they weren’t sure what the powerade or cranberry was. We were actually quite excited to go to the naughty room – especially since we hadn’t been naughty. We called Steve and Sheri and the four of us went together. It was quite a fun trip. When we got there, we were asked to “sit far away” as there was a guy in there who had been naughty. No joke – he had a cooler (big one) full of tallboys that he had packed in a cardboard box that says “Scuba Gear” on it. So funny. He was standing there with a $20 in his hand. I think it was going to take more than that. Once they finished with him, we went in with ear-to-ear smiles and pointed out our bag. They only had one, so I got worried about the other. They had Paul’s, so I reached in and showed them the cranberry and powerade and we were on our way. When we got back to our room, the other bag was there. We spent a bit of time unpacking while waiting for the muster drill and sailaway. Muster drill went by as smoothly as it always does and then it was sailaway time. My favorite part? The horn. J

 

 

 

[MrsBlair]

Whoops, just found some more Serenity pictures:

 

 

 

 

 

[tty206]

Thanks for posting this review! DH and I will be on the Valor in 6 days with what should be the same itinerary so this review is coming at the perfect time! :)

[MrsBlair]

Ok, back to where we were:

 

 

 

 

[MrsBlair]

 

 

 

 

 

[MrsBlair]

If you read my review in October, then you know that our group has a tradition of meeting in the sports bar before dinner. We usually would meet at about 7:15 or 7:30 and just hang out before going downstairs at 8:15. We were at Table 223 (I think) in the Lincoln Dining Room, lower level. We had a fabulous table right in the middle of the action where we could see everything. We had the BEST dining team we’ve had to date – Bodgen from Romania and Ratha from Thailand. More about them later. Seriously though, the best ever. I wish we could have them on every cruise. Dinner tonight was great – that first dinner is always so exciting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MrsBlair]

 

 

 

 

 

[MrsBlair]