We initially booked a 4J cabin on the Carnival Liberty. We were upset over the change to the Valor until we read the Valor's positive reviews on Cruise Critic. Since we had already cruised the Liberty, we found ourselves looking forward to exploring a new ship. We upgraded from a 4J cabin to a balcony guarantee during the fantastic Halloween sale. We also purchased FTTF even though there were no tender ports. I will always purchase FTTF because I love priority embarkation/disembarkation and the short guest services line.

We stayed at the Country Inns and Suites Orlando Airport the night before the cruise. It is a straight 40 minute shot to the port from this hotel. This hotel was fine; it came with free parking and breakfast. My only complaint about this hotel is the area set aside for the ample breakfast was too small for the amount of people staying at this hotel.

We parked at the port. We checked in at 10:30 am and were in our cabin at 11:30 am. My husband was eating his first hamburger at 12; I opted for the shrimp and vegetables from the Mongolian Wok. Hubby said that the hamburger was not as good as Guy's, but we both loved the Mongolian Wok shrimp. We ate there several times during the cruise. After eating, we explored the ship. Read more