This was our second cruise. The first was with our kids on the Carnival Triumph; this time we went as a couple celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary on the Valor. We flew American Airlines into Miami the night before departure and stayed in the Springfield Marriott; a nice hotel, fairly basic amenities with complementary breakfast. They provided a hotel shuttle from the airport but did not provide one to the Port of Miami. The cab charged a $29 fee which could be split by a group. Embarkation: Upon arrival at the port of Miami, the lines for security were long but moved quickly. (Don't forget to fill out your pre-departure medical form -no fevers or diarrhea within the last 48 hours). It took about an hour to process through the different stations to get our "sign-and-sail" cards which act as on board identification, room keys, and charge cards (very few cash exchanges on board). We arrived a little early (12:00) and could not access our rooms until 2:00 P.M. This gave us a chance to explore the public areas and get our bearings. More experienced passengers remembered to bring their bathing suits and hit the pools right away. We didn't want to take a dip in our street clothes so we settled for lunch at the buffet which was piping hot upon our arrival. I was so excited to get a break from the long Colorado winter that I imbibed right away. I was a little "confused" before we even left the port.The Ship: My wife and I enjoyed ourselves immensely on this 7-day Western Caribbean cruise! The things we liked about the Valor were: the hero's theme throughout the ship, the organization and flow of traffic at the buffets, a BIG screen movie theater over the Lido deck pool, and Serenity (the 18+ only area for lounging in the sun—although it was limited in space and hard to find two vacant chairs side-by-side). Our stateroom (a balcony) was spacious for a ship's cabin. If you haven't done it yet, go balcony every time, you won't regret it. We ate in our assigned dining room "the Lincoln" (the other was the Washington) five out of seven evenings. As always, the food is superb in temperature, flavor, and presentation. We took a free tour of the galley (the kitchen). Wow. The logistics of feeding that many people is a real feat. The big show on the night of our last stop was an 80's music review with the Valor dancers. In a word: Fantastic. This was a big highlight!! Comparing this cruise on Carnival's Valor to the Triumph, the Valor seemed to lack a certain "luster" that the Triumph had. It's hard to describe the difference -- both ships were beautifully adorned and provided the same amenities (pools, 24/7 food, bars, casino, lounges, and theaters) but there was less "energy" from both crew and guests on the Valor. I think the tone of ship is set and maintained by the cruise director. The Valor's cruise director, Josh, just didn't have "it" - whatever "it" is. He couldn't elicit a rousing response from the audiences in the theater as hard as he tried. Josh also spent more time with sales pitches than informing guests and keeping the mood upbeat and fun. Overall, the food was excellent; the destinations were interesting: embarkation and debarkation went smoothly; and the ship's Captain kept us informed when we had to make an unscheduled stop in the Florida Keys (a passenger required immediate medical attention). The Destinations: Our first stop was at Grand Cayman (tendered to shore) and rather than book an excursion through Carnival we took a tour of the island from a local guy. An interesting but a small island (22 x 8 miles). There was a turtle sanctuary that we did NOT tour (an additional $10-15 per person—which we didn't know about until after the tour began). Instead we went to a dolphin center and watched others play with dolphins for free. We then went to Hell, sent some postcards from Hell, zipped through a rum cake store, and finished our tour with two hours on 7-mile beach. It was beautiful. All in all, we toured the island for four hours (including beach time) for about $30 per person. Not bad.Our second destination was Roatan, Honduras (a walk-off pier). This was not what we expected. Those of us who did not book an excursion were confined within a 100-acre "Disneyland" setting. There were bars, restaurants, water equipment rental, and beach chairs everywhere. There were chain stores and local shops, fountains, and brightly colored landscaping. There was even a skyride (think ski lift) to get from one side to the other (ride all day for $12 per person). The beach was super! Recommendation: if you like to snorkel, bring your own gear (the rentals go fast) and snorkel by the wooden pier at the end of the beach. The water is shallow and full of wildlife. However, if you wanted to "experience" Honduras, this was not the place. Fellow passengers reported a very poor country outside of "Disneyland."Third stop: Belize City, Belize (tendered). The ship was anchored five miles from shore. I don't know if that was due to shallow water or previous experiences with crime. Passengers were advised to close their room curtains and lock balcony doors because they would be "cleaning the balconies" (a coincidence perhaps). We took an excursion called Altun Ha and the River Wallace. I recommend this one. We (~50 people) traveled 2 hours by boat up the river looking for manatees, howler monkeys, iguanas, birds, lots of different foliage and fauna. We saw everything we were looking for except for crocodiles. We stopped along the river to transfer from the boat to a bus for a 30 minute ride to the Altun Ha Mayan ruins. At the stop we were able to eat some local food (chicken, rice and beans, and fried plantains), drink some Belizean beer (not to shabby), and take a bathroom break. We also sampled some local wines made from cashews...yep the nuts. If it ferments, these guys will make wine out of it. After about an hour, we got on the, thankfully, air conditioned bus. The Mayan ruins were really cool! Loads of history. We booked this excursion through Carnival and it was top notch. The tour guides briefed us on the history of Belize and the ruins. They made the trip really interesting and worthwhile. Upon completing the tour of the ruins, some local vendors were trying hard to sell their wood carvings and other trinkets ("one-day-only special for you"). Then we rode the air conditioned bus back to the pier for some quick shopping, then back to the ship. Our fourth stop was Cozumel, Mexico (walk-off pier). Without a doubt, this was our favorite stop. We took an excursion called "Sail, snorkel, and beach party." If you enjoy partying (with alcohol), then this is the excursion for you. 96 passengers loaded on to a big catamaran (a two-hauled boat with sails) and headed out for a short trip to the snorkel area. Everyone was outfitted with gear (included in the price) and given some basic instructions. We snorkeled for 40 minutes and saw lots and lots of colorful fish. This was particularly enjoyable for me because my wife FINALLY tried snorkeling and now understands why I love it so much. It won't be her last time. Once we finished snorkeling and accounted for all passengers, the tour guides (all dive masters) opened the bar...free cervezas y margaritas!! (The margaritas were weak but the beer was good "Dos XX" Mexican cerveza - either way, they are my favorite drinks...cold and free). Our tour guide explained the drinking age in Mexico is 18 and, in Mexico, they don't get "drunk" they get "confused." We started our confused journey to the private beach.At the beach, we had to wade from the catamaran to the shore in waist high water. There were more free adult beverages at the tiki hut along with some food for purchase. There were hammocks and cabanas for napping/resting along the beach but my wife and I (in our 40s) couldn't resist the inflatable water toys! How fun was the big slide and trampolines!! I swallowed a pint of salt water because I couldn't quit laughing. Suffice it to say, this was a lot of fun. After only an hour on the beach we had to load back up on the catamaran. On the way back to the pier the bar was open again (still) and the guides cranked up the music and led line dancing on the boat! The initially shy passengers were shy no more. Everyone was having the time of their lives and a few were very confused. My only complaint was the short time limits placed on each event (40 min snorkeling, 60 min beach, 30 min boat ride). At any rate, do this excursion.Other advice: when your cruise line suggests not booking your flight out of Miami Airport until a specific time, take their recommendation. We didn't. We were off the ship by 0730 and wasn't scheduled to fly until 1100. 3 ½ hours should have been sufficient but we barely made our flight. First, collecting our luggage took a long even though we were only the second group off the ship. Customs was a breeze (we didn't have anything to declare) so we grabbed a taxi to the airport for a flat rate of $24. Second, Miami airport sucks! This has to be the worst organized airport I've ever seen and I'm an experienced traveler. On Sundays, all the cruise lines are returning to port and dumping off 2000-5000 passengers each. You'd think the airport would have that figured out - not even close. They were very understaffed. I estimate the cruise ship passengers plus the regular travelers who were trying hard to leave Miami added up to 30,000 people (not an exaggeration) trying to get through ticketing and security. For domestic travel on American Airlines, I initially counted 3 ticket counter personnel (which later grew to a whopping 6). The self-check in machines weren't working well which we figured out after waiting 30 mins in line to use one. We had to go to another counter to get tickets (1 hour line) then carry our luggage to yet another area to get them loaded on the conveyor belt. Security was a nightmare—literally 2 (I say again, 2) TSA agents for screening passengers. Two! For 30,000 passengers. Agh! So much for the relaxed feeling I had from the cruise... Best wishes fellow travelers.