I took my first cruise on the Carnival Valor December 11th 2005. I traveled with a group of coworkers, all women, and we booked online through Carnivals website. Booking was no problem, and we received our documents about 4 weeks prior to sailing. We booked our airfare separately, and stayed at the Holiday Inn South Beach the night before our departure.

We arrived at the Port of Miami by taxi, and we were promptly greeted by luggage handlers. They were the only downside of this cruise. They told us that if we didnt give them a tip, we wouldnt see our luggage again. I tipped the standard dollar a bag, as did the others. Needless to say, our luggage did make it to the door, but I was turned off by the handlers. Embarkation was looonnngg, took an hour and a half, but we expected it from reading these reviews, and the lines did move fast. We had no problems establishing our sign and sail cards, and passed through security in minutes.

The Valor was impressive, with mirrors and light fixtures tastefully placed throughout. The elevators in the center atrium were lovely, we rode them up and down just to get the view of the inside of the ship! We booked an inside cabin with 2 pull down beds, and we arrived to our room to find the beds made and the bathroom clean and extra pillows. Our room steward knocked on the door and introduced himself, and we did give him ten dollars up front for a great job setting up our room. The entire week we never saw him again, but our room was spruced up at least 3 times a day. Read more