Getting to Miami: After a long day of work, 3 of us headed to the airport for a 7 pm flight. After everyone boarded the plane and the doors were shut, we were told that the Atlanta airport had temporarily shut down due to the high capacity of traffic. They requested that everyone stay on the plane in Richmond while we waited. The hour wait only turned out to be 45 minutes, so it wasn't that bad. We had an hour layover, so with the delay in Richmond we were going to cut it close, but we made it with no problem. We arrived in Ft. Lauderdale at 12:30 am and were anxious to get to our hotel down in Miami, the Miami Airport Embassy Suites (my grandparents were traveling with us and flew into Miami, so the Embassy Suites provided a complimentary shuttle and I wanted everything for them to go as smoothly as possible since they are both 86 years old). After several recommendations, we chose to take the Tri-County shared ride vs. taxi and since it was almost 1 am, I didn't think we would have much of a problem. Well, what started off to be 4 passengers (1 was already in the van when we got in) turned out to be 11 passengers going to totally different areas in Miami. I guess after midnight, they just stick anyone who is heading south into the same van. So after heading down I-95 and getting off at several exits to drop people off at their respective homes, we headed down to South Beach for another couple drop offs. Unfortunately, South Beach on a Friday night is not the place you should be driving down the road looking for a hotel since the place in packed. After a 2 hour ride, the 3 of us were the final drop off and were able to check into our hotel. Thank goodness my grandparents had a much better experience with the complimentary shuttle provided by the hotel. On Saturday we woke up and all had made to order complimentary breakfast that every Embassy Suites guest is entitled too. This seemed to be a very popular hotel with the cruiser so expect to see many families, etc. We arranged for a shuttle to pick us up at 11 am and take us to the port. We got the hotel through Hotwire for a price of $61/room, but I know you can get a room/transfer combination from the hotel for a slighter higher price. At 11 a.m. our shuttle arrived and we packed up our bags and headed to the port of Miami. We were now a party of 5 people (me, my fiancE, my brother, and my grandparents).

Embarkation: When we arrived to the terminal, they had not let people go through the security lines yet, so the line started to form. My brother, fiancE and I got in line, while my grandparents sat down and waited. Approx. around noon, they opened up the lines and I went to go get my grandparents to go through security. Security was painless and we had no problems. I noticed that the far line had NO ONE in it yet, so I hurried over there and was with a Carnival rep in less than 5 minutes. We headed upstairs to get our sail and sign cards, took our family picture (embarkation photo that everyone takes) and entered the walkway to the ship! All in all it took about an hour from when we got there, but that was mainly due to the fact that the lines didn't open up until about noon. My advice is to get there early and wait for the lines to open or get there later in the day after the big rush of people.

December 18, 2004: Once on board we went straight to our rooms because I did not read the memo that stated "please go to the Lido deck to enjoy lunch prior to heading to your rooms because they could not possibly be cleaned yet" (since we got on so EARLY). But in the end, both of our rooms were cleaned. We had rooms 1394 and 1390 (Rivera ocean view rooms). After finding our rooms, we finally headed upstairs to get lunch and saw that we had SOO many options to choose from (Hong Kong Eatery, Coney Island Grill, Pizza, Deli, regular buffet, and don't forget the 24 hour ice cream machines). My grandparents retired to their room, while we went off to explore. We took the spa tour and saw all the wonderful treatments. We entered into the free spa treatment raffle (we didn't win, but got 30% spa treatment certificates that were put to good use later in the week). After the tour, we all decided that we wanted to "go green" - this being the sea weed wrap with full body massage that they feature. (Simply 90 to 120 minutes of pure bliss). Around 3:30 the other 2 people in our party got on the ship and were assigned the room of 1390 (inside room right across the hall from ours). All 7 of us were assigned the main 6:15 seating in the London dining room. At 4 pm prompt we were sent to our muster drill locations for the mandatory drill. At this time, we saw the Valor depart for a 1 day cruise to nowhere before heading out on its maiden voyage. Read more