After an overnight stay at the hilton hotel on blue lagoon drive i made my way to the cruise terminal at the port of miami. The taxi cost around $25 and with tip i gave the driver $30. This is my first Caribbean cruise travelling as a single passenger and i must admit i was feeling a little nervous. EMBARKATION I arrived at the terminal at approx 10am to have my luggage taken from me by one of the terminal porters who kindly gave me 2 luggage tags as mine never arrived with my tickets. I checked in for 10.30 and was onboard for 11.15 which i thought was great. I went to the pool bar at the lido deck for a beer and the party was just starting to get underway. MY STATEROOM My room was on deck 2 port side really near the front of the ship. it was a lot larger than i was expecting and had an ocean view. i found the bed to be very comfortable and room attendants very attentive if ever you needed anything. FIRST PORT NASSAU Woke around 7am as i knew we didn't have a lot of shore time here at this port. Left the ship at around 9am and decided to visit atlantis, as there were a few ships in port that day its was quite busy outside the quay area where people were trying to get away on excursions. i managed to get a mini bus without any hassle and was at atlantis for around 10am. it really is a magnificent place to see and the hotel and private beach area really did look like paradise. made my way back to the ship around 12.30 without any problems and met some lovely people on the way. SECOND PORT ST.THOMAS When the ship arrived at ST THOMAS it was a bit of a cloudy day but lovely and warm too. I made my way to Megans Bay as i'd heard reports about it back in england. The small bus that i got cost around $15 each way which i thought was reasonable and it was a lovely beach area to visit. I stopped at the town on the way back and there were some lovely shops and you weren't pressured to go in any. The only mistake i made was to walk back to the ship, it was a lot further than i expected it to be. THIRD PORT ST. MAARTEN i thought St Maarten was a great place to see and was only a water taxi ride away At $10 return i thought that was really good value for money. The beach was amazing and the shops were really really cheap for bottled spirits and cigarettes. The beach bars were really cheap too and quite busy which always adds to the excitement of visiting new places. FOOD ONBOARD THE VALOR After cruising with Celebrity and Royal Caribbean i wasn't sure what to expect onboard the Valor. All i can say is that it was fantastic, and very easy going. i was on table 558 in the george washington dinning room and my fellow dinning companions were great fun. our table waiter Rachna and assistant Sergie were totally fantastic and very very funny to be around and the wine waiter was very reliable too. ENTERTAINMENT I thought the entertainment onboard was great, whether it be round the pool during the day or in the evening around the ship. I never really went to the Ivanhoe theatre as the friends i had met enjoyed other venues instead. my favorite had to be the piano bar with Duane on the revolving piano.he's a very talented guy and got everyone to join in with his songs. It wasn't easy for me at first as alot of the songs were country and western but i learned them and had a great time amongst lovely people. OVER ALL VIEW My over all view of celebrating new year onboard the carnival valor has been one of the best holidays i have ever had. The new years party on the lido deck was fantastic and the crew worked really hard to ensure everyone had a memorable evening. as i said at the start of this review i travelled alone but left the ship with a lot of friendships made.there were 3246 guest onboard the valor for this cruise and of those only 6 people from the uk. being amongst a mostly american and canadian i was a bit unsure how i would mix, but my doubts never lasted long as everyone i met was in the same frame of mind as myself, and that was to have a great time. WOULD I CRUISE CARNIVAL AGAIN I would most certainly use carnival again and plan to do so in the very near future. being aged 36 i found the age group and outlook of my fellow passengers like myself was to have lots of fun. When carnival named their ships, fun ships they truly are in every sense of the word.