Six of us GF 71 GM 70 Me 47 DW 46 S 19 and D 13 cruised the Valor as we liked that the ship was new in 2004, it left from Miami and the prices were good for the time of year. It was my parent's first cruise, our third and the kids second. My parents who love to travel and who would probably not go on a ship unless we dragged them along were blown away! Our kids rate their two cruises as their best vacations ever.
We flew into FLL the day before and rented a Town Car from Hertz for $82 total. It was great to have a large car for the luggage. We saw some sites and went to the Miami Zoo. We stayed at the Holiday Inn at the Port of Miami. The hotel was a disappointment. Even though in a good location close to the port, it is an older hotel with a front desk staff that could use some customer service training. Parking was an additional $12.
We woke to the exciting view of three cruise ships at the dock. Around noon I dropped four of us and the luggage off at the ship and then returned the car as Hertz has an office about ten blocks south. We were on the Hertz shuttle to the ship and arrived within minutes to join the rest of the family. I was very happy with Hertz and would recommend renting a car rather than taking a shuttle or taxi.