Carnival Valor Family Cruise

In August we went on a cruise and met up with my sister and her family plus our niece (our brother’s oldest daughter) and our Aunt & Uncle. We left out of New Orleans on a 4 day cruise on the Carnival Valor. We drove down after work on Wednesday night and got in really late.

Day 1 – Getting on the Ship

Got up the next morning, and met up with Uncle Brad and his wife and went to breakfast at Terrytown Cafe. They have a good breakfast and their donuts are delish! I resisted and only got one.

From there we headed back to the hotel and loaded up Uncle Brad’s car and drove to the port. We paid to leave our car at the hotel while we were on the cruise. It’s cheaper than parking at the port. We dropped some stuff in our cabin, did our muster drill, and started checking out the ship. Then we grabbed lunch at the Mongolian Grill and then finally caught up with my sister and fam.

A little later it was time for the sail away party, so we met up enjoyed that time.

We did early dining for this cruise so we could eat with Nikki and her fam. Brad and LeeAnn joined us at that time too. We were bummed we weren’t at a nice round table that makes it easier to talk. They had us at 2 tables next to each other, which was not conversation conducive.

As I mentioned before we love going out of New Orleans for multiple reasons, but especially because sailing down the Mississippi is just so enjoyable.

Outside what ended up being one of our favorite spots on the ship.

Day 2 – Fun Day at Sea

Our morning started off kind of sour…literally. Rob and I went to brunch in the formal dining room. I had ordered eggs and bacon. When it came out, I none of it looked very good, especially the eggs. I took a bite of them, they were sour and gritty. I literally spit them out in my napkin. We complained to the waiter and he offered to get something else. I had already had a parfait and a muffin, so I told him I was fine. Then the Matiere D came to talk to me. She insisted on getting me another meal. I told her I wanted what I wanted. Eggs and Bacon, so that’s what they brought me. She recommended asking for “Fresh” eggs from now on. I knew the scrambled eggs were carton eggs, and she informed us their powdered eggs, but I’ve never had an issue with them. So a sour situation was made right and that’s how it should be. It’s good to know someone cares.

After breakfast we were finally able to meet up with Nikki and the fam. It was so fun to watch her eat.

After that we went back to the room, so Nikki could gather up stuff for Lu from their room, which was just down the hall from ours. Then she dropped her off. Then we headed up to grab some lunch and hang out with her.

Don’t freak out with this pic…Rob was standing right behind her and only took his hands off of her for a second.

Formal Night at dinner…

Here’s everyone except Baby Lu and Aunt LeeAnne who took the picture.

Day 3 – Cozumel, Mx

We got up the next day and got ready to head off the ship. We met up with sis and her fam and disembarked. Caught a taxi and rode over to Mr. Sancho’s. Aunt and Uncle stayed on the ship for the day.

Not sure about this sand stuff.

Our day at Sancho’s was so good. Nice weather, lots of Mexican food, and drinks. Swim up bar. One of my favorite places for sure!

She is a water baby, but she wasn’t sure what to think of the waves. She was ready to blow bubbles.

We left a couple hours early to head back to the port, so we could do a little shopping.

When we getting our taxi, the clouds were rolling in and once we got to port, it started pouring.

That evening Rob and I went to the Deal or No Deal show

Day 4 – Day at Sea

This day was super chill. We started with breakfast with ‘fresh’ eggs!

The internet chat that we always use to communicate with others on board, was down on this day, which made it difficult to meet up with our family. We finally found them after lunch.

Nikki was eating some ice cream and shared a little bit with Lu, who hasn’t had much sugar in her little life. She was loving it!

Then, she came and hung out with Rob and me for a bit.

Having our afternoon drinks

As I mentioned before, we didn’t get to sit at a round table during our normal dinner time. The last night, we were able to change to anytime dining where we had a round table. This made a world of difference. We actually felt like we got to enjoy everyone’s company. It was also in the other dining room. We had a nice view.

After dinner, we went out to see if we could see us pass another Carnival ship on the Mississippi and we did! We passed the Liberty that we’ll be on in December! It is really cool to see a ship moving near us that close.

Day 5 – Disembark and Go Home

When we disembarked we somehow missed where to pick up our luggage and when we realized it was too late. Customs won’t let you back in that area until the ship is cleared in other words…empty, which was going to be hours! What a nightmare! We have cruised so many times and have actually been that cruise port before. There was one other lady there who had done the same thing as us. I was like wait…I’m sure Nikki is still on the ship. So I called her and explained what had happened. So about an hour later, we were able to meet up with her and get our luggage. They were also able to get the other lady’s luggage, thanks to a porter.

We ended up taking a scenic route to lunch in Gulfport, MS, which took us along the coast for a bit.

We ate lunch at Lil’ Rays.

This was our first time cruising with extended family and it was so much fun. It was just a 4 day, so it flew by. Hoping to make this a reoccurring event for sure. Great way to meet up with family that doesn’t live close by.

See more pics from the trip: Carnival Valor 24