Day 3 - part II: The Carnival Valor set sail

As you know, this is our first time going on a cruise. We've both had problems with seasickness in the past and despite my spending countless hours on the Cruise Critic forums reading about the ins and outs of cruising, I can't help but feel a bit overwhelmed just thinking about it all.

It's around twelve thirty when we arrive at pier #4 and we're hardly the first ones to arrive. After triple checking that we have all pertinent documents in our carry-on luggage, we hand our suitcases over to one of the porters and join the line to enter the terminal. It's short and fast ... no need for those coveted "Faster to the Fun Passes" I'd read about.

Once inside we are lined up in front of a large background with the hull of a cartoon style Carnival ship. This would be the first of many, many pictures and I was woefully unprepared with my bag slung halfway across my torso and my humidity battered hair springing from my face like a lion's mane. Needless to say, that was one picture we did not buy.

Next it's time to collect our sign & sail cards. For you non-cruise initiated, a sign & sail card is like your ID aboard the ship: you use it to get on and off the ship, when using the dining room, to rent equipment, to purchase things and also to enter your room.

Including going through security the whole process took maybe 15 minutes.

Walking onto the ship and seeing the lifeboats up close we're awestruck by the sheer size of everything. It's like you know it's going to be a big ship, but when you see her up close ... WOW!

We enter through the lobby and I remember thinking everything was so much brighter than I expected. A bit like Vegas!

The line at guest services isn't bad, so we wait and get holes punched in our sign & sail cards. Much easier to keep track of now that they're on the lanyards we brought.

A nice British girl stands nearby ready to offer additional assistance and Sandy -- ever the accent lover -- wrecks her brain trying to come up with questions to ask. After telling us our room should be ready and providing us with a handy pocket map of the ship we've asked all the questions we can think of so it's time to check out our new home for the week.

We booked our room as an inside guarantee and were assigned to room 8246, a forward port (left) side room on the Verandah deck. With its close proximity to the Lido deck that's is considered a desirable location by many and I think our gamble paid off nicely.

Not the best pictures, but I was chomping at the bit to explore the rest of the ship and never went back to retake them. But, as you can see, the room was pretty spacious and we found plenty of storage space. No need to fear the interior stateroom!

Having heard a lot of good things about the Mongolian Wok we start our grand tour with a yummy bowl filled with noodles, veggies, shrimp and BBQ sauce for each of us. It's nice because you pick your own protein, noodles, veggies and sauce.

After lunch we hit up the soft serve ice cream machine. Twice. My guilty conscience wouldn't let me take a picture for fear I would come away with another cone.

Rosie's buffet. We never ate there, although I did sneak some cheese and fruit from there on occasion.

We also find the Pizza Pirate, Fish and Chips and the adult only pool and hot tubs at the back of the ship. Somehow we forget all about the pool until the very last day.

Time for a round of miniature golf!

We start working our way to the front of the ship, past the jogging track and the basketball court until we reach the (outdoor) heart of the ship

Who wants to go down the slide with me?! It looks like a good one!

While planning this trip, we'd gone back and forth on whether to drop off our luggage and do some more sightseeing around town versus staying on board, but being here there is no doubt ... we have done San Juan justice; it's time to check out the rest of the ship!

Before we head inside, let's take a quick break on the 21+ serenity deck.

There are two dining rooms aboard the ship: the Washington and the Lincoln. We have elected to do "anytime dining," instead of dining at the same time every day and are assigned to the Lincoln.

Some people say that the decor of the Valor is a bit gaudy, and where the dining rooms are concerned I can understand that. Don't get me wrong; we had a great time and I loved the ship, but if it were up to me I would have preferred something quiet and elegant.

Nightly shows are held at the three-tiered Ivanhoe Theatre

The ship also has a number of bars and lounges, none of which we visited past our initial tour so I won't bore you with those pictures.

Another area the never came back to: the casino

The Promenade is mostly a long hallway connecting the front of the ship to the back, but as you can tell there is ample seating and at times live music.

I know, I know ... I just complained about it being blingy and now I can't wait to show you the blingiest of blingy chandelier. So pretty!

Now that our lunch has settled a bit we set out to find more munchies: a burrito from the Burrito Bar for Sandy (probably her favorite meal on board lol) and a burger, chicken strips and fries from the Grill for me. The burger is unimpressive, but their fries and chicken strips are crunchy delicious.

Did mention today happens to be Superbowl Sunday? Yep, it's Superbowl XLIX: the New England Patriots versus the defending champs, the Seattle Seahawks.

They will be playing the game on the big screen on the Lido deck tonight and chairs are getting scooped up quickly, so after getting our stuff together we get settled in for the night.

I love to read and even brought a new book, but all that running around must have worn me out, because I only made it to the third page before I dozed off.

From time to time one of us will go down to the room and check to see if our bags have made it up yet. I was warned this might take a while and as suggested had given the porter a good tip to encourage a faster delivery, but that clearly didn't help.

Finally, Sandy's bag shows up, but mine is still missing in action somewhere on the ship. It takes several more -- increasingly anxious -- trips back to the room before I find it waiting for me inside the room. Perfect timing because it's starting to get chilly out on the deck and I quickly grab my polar tec before going back upstairs.

Our first towel animal was also waiting for us, along with a couple of chocolates and our program for tomorrow.

Meanwhile the party is in full swing; I am not a football fan, but when do you get to watch the Superbowl on a ship?! Plus, as always, the Superbowl has some of the year's best commercials!

Just before Katy Perry's halftime performance I grab us a few slices of piping hot pepperoni pizza straight from oven at the Pizza Pirate. Add a little cheese and it is perfect!

As if that wasn't enough food for one day I also get us a little sampler of "Superbowl snacks" the Grill is serving. There are some kind of chicken strips, a roll and some other stuff I don't remember ... nothing we particularly cared for so I cap it off with another yummy ice cream cone.

Even I have to admit that it was a pretty good game, with the Pats edging out the Seahawks at the last minute.

Here are a few random pictures I took during my nighttime strolls around the ship:

By the time the game is over we are exhausted, but due to safety regulations everyone must attend the muster drill where they show you where to gather in the event of an emergency and all that.

It's cramped and hot on the gangway by the lifeboats, but the girl demonstrating how to put on your life jacket is a riot and time passes quickly.

Then it's off to St. Thomas!! You can definitely feel the ship move a little bit once we sailed out of the harbor, but it's gentle, like being rocked to sleep.

Sailing past El Morro in the dark. See you next week, Puerto Rico!

♥

Breakfast: Caficultura
Lunch: Mongolian Wok
Dinner: Burrito Bar / The Grill

Snack: Pizza Pirate / The Grill

Hotel for the next 7 days: Carnival Valor room 8246