This cruise was the first leg of our back to back on the Valor. We decided to fly into Fort Lauderdale instead of Miami, one due to a past experience and two, the airfare was $200 cheaper per person. Flying from Canada in the month December can be a bit risky, so as always, we flew in the day before without any problems. We stayed at the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Airport that I booked through Priceline for $70 and they have a free shuttle from the terminal to the hotel that is free of charge. The next morning we had LeBlanc Limo (would highly recommend this company) pick us in a 10 passenger LimoVan. I was posting on our Roll Call that we were getting a Limo and an couple asked if they could join in and we said sure, that worked out to $18 per person (there were 6 of us) which is a great deal. We were picked up in a MercedesBenz van that had ample room for luggage and passengers. The high windows in this vehicle made for a pleasurable drive to the port as we could see a lot on the drive. Our driver was great and gave a little tour as we drove down I95.

At the port embarkation went very smoothly as we had VIP privileges so going to a special room to check in was great. We had our Sail and Sail cards within moments of entering the room. After a very short delay, we were escorted up to the gangway and onto the ship. After a quick tour around the ship, it was up to Rosies for lunch and to wait until 1:30 to go to our rooms. At exactly 1:30, we headed down to our room, which on this leg was an inside cabin. The room was exactly how we remembered it; we have always had inside cabins on Carnival as we just go there to sleep. One of our bags was already in the cabin so we unpacked it and got ready for the muster drill. The muster drill was the same as usual though a little longer this time due to a large contingent of German passengers on the ship, they did all the procedures in English and German. After the muster drill, it was up to the Lido deck for the sail away party which was fun as always. After the party, we head down to get ready for dinner.

Lincoln Dinning Room Read more