Vacation Blog
We started our trip today, looking forward to getting away for a week as well as seeing some new ships and cruise lines we have never inspected or sailed on. More on that later in the week, on to Day One, Travel Day.
All I can say is be very careful with connecting flights. We made our connections but some of the air fare deals that are be being sold have some very short layovers. We had flights from
We arrived in
0 Comment » You are bombarded with constant news on the economy, the job market, housing and stock prices. Add to that, all that you deal with on a daily basis; work, family and juggling a hectic schedule. Is it any wonder why you may be feeling a little stressed?
You Deserve a Cruise!
It’s a fact, psychologist’s state that a well-timed vacation offers significant benefits for mental health. The relaxation provides a much-needed change of gears in time-starved society, and may be an ideal time to reconnect with loved ones traveling with you. For those traveling alone, vacations may lead to a higher level of self discovery.”
A well-chosen vacation, according to experts, offers significant benefits including:
* Relaxation, shifting gears and change of scenery are good for one’s health – physical, mental and spiritual
* There is no better time or setting for reconnecting with family and friends and renewing relationships
* A vacation is an opportunity to discover or rediscover oneself
* There’s no better time to recharge and re-energize and to look forward with confidence and enthusiasm
What makes a cruise the perfect vacation therapy? For starters, exceptional ease of planning and the convenience of having a “home away from home” for the length of the trip. And, the diversity of cruise experiences available means that there is a vacation for every taste, interest and budget. Plus, inclusive pricing that means excellent value for money spent. In fact, there are some unbelievable cruise deals available today that simply won’t last forever. And, I will do all the planning for you…
You deserve to get away and save more money on a great vacation than you ever imagined – And I would like to help you find the perfect cruise just for you.
Most of the time my clients look at the travel protection plan as just another cost added to their trip and unfortunately in most cases they decline the protection. I highly recommend to all of my clients to purchase travel protection. Yes its an added cost but it is well worth it, your vacation can take a year to save for, but only a second to ruin. Just today I had a client who had to change his flights for a trip to Cancun. His job requirements caused the change and if he had not purchased the travel protection plan he would have had to pay a $150 cancellation fee on the original flight and then pay an addition $453 for the new flights. I canceled his flight, booked his new flights and filed a claim again his travel protection plan for him, he will be creded the full amount of the original flights and since his new flights are at a lower fare he will even be netting an additional $17 in the process.
Cancellation are not just reason to purchase travel protection. Your Caribbean cruise leaves from Florida, you live in Wisconsin, your airport is hit with a blizzard. Whats the chances the ship will wait for you if your flights are delayed or canceled? Your in Mexico and you require medical attention, they will take cash, major credit cards but they probably wont take your insurance card. Travel insurance can provide you with the best coverage for medical expenses, trip cancellation/interruption, baggage damage, medical evacuation, and much more.
Easy Dream Vacations is proud to be partnered with Travel Guard. 
Travel Guard is one of the industry’s leading providers of travel insurance plans and assistance services – covering more than 6 million travelers worldwide each year. Their travel insurance plans offer coverage for vacation and trip cancellation, travel interruptions and delays, emergency medical and health expenses, lost baggage and more.
Plus, every Travel Guard insurance plan includes our 24-hour “911″ travel emergency service for emergency medical assistance, last-minute or emergency travel and flight changes, lost luggage tracking, pre-trip travel advice and more.
If you’re ready to get a quote, call Easy Dream Vacations at 1-888-822-3861 or visit our website EasyDreamVacations.com for an online quote. Whether you’re looking for vacation insurance, fight insurance or cruise insurance, Travel Guard has a product that meets your needs with many customizable options.
The Carnival Valor was the 5th Carnival Cruise ship we had been on. The Valor is a beautiful ship, the decor was just that much better than the previous ships we had been on that it stood out in my mind as one of the most beautiful in the Carnival fleet. I am not going to try and describe it as I would not do it justice. I will however suggest that you listen to the podcast that one of our group members has put together and published on the internet. You can fine the podcast by going to his website using the following link. http://www.chuckchat.com/technorama/?p=929
The Valor was also the cleanest and best maintained ship I had been on. A reason for this could have been the fact that she was just in dry dock for ongoing maintenance and upgrades. The crew did a wonderful job keeping the ship spotless. The carpets in all areas of the ship were kept looking like new. It seemed like they were constantly cleaning the carpets, the railings, and everything else on the ship. Our rooms were not much different than other balcony rooms we had been in on past cruises. Plenty of room and comfortable. 
I’m not sure if it is just the ship rocking you into a tranquil sleep or if it really is the Carnival bedding but I have to say that we never sleep as good as we do while on a Carnival ship. Last year I order a set of Carnival Collection pillows for Kathy’s birthday just to bring part of that comfort home to us.
Our dining room staff did a great job, they were very good in providing service and were friendly as well. 
They did fall short of the personality and entertainment that the waiters we had on our first cruise provided. But I will not hold that against them. On our first cruise our head waiter Mariam and his assistant Klaudia were just out standing.
Mariam Klaudia
If anyone knows what ship Mariam and Klaudia are on let us know. I would take a cruise on that ship just because they were that good! The food on the Valor was great as usual, but I would have to say it may have been a few notches better than the previous Carnival ships we were on. I had maybe one of the best filets I ever ate on the Valor. It was served in the main dining room and cooked perfectly. The Valor had a reservations only dining room, Scarlett’s Steak House but it had an additional charge per person. To be honest with as good as the food was in all of the other dining options I see no reason to visit Scarlett’s. The Valor had the buffet and grills like most of the other Carnival ships and they also had a seafood restaurant, named “Fish and Chips”. It was on deck 10 above Rosie’s restaurant.
The bar staff also did a great job. I have to say that there were few times when I was thirsty. On previous cruises there had actually seemed to be a shortage of bar waiters in certain areas but the Valor seemed to have all bases covered. The only issue I had was with the drink pricing, it did not seem consistent from bar to bar.
The Vegas style shows on the Valor were new and exciting. I am glad to see that Carnival is putting some effort into their shows. The shows from year to year seemed to never change so this was a pleasant surprise. Two young men, Eli and Teknyc from G- force added a great break dancing routine to the second Vegas Style show, these 2 guys were out standing. After the main show they also put on a small show of their own at the lobby bar. You don’t want to miss these guys if you have the chance to see them.
For no particular reason we did not use the spa facilities, jacuzzis or pools on the Valor. Guess we were just too busy having a good time.
Other entertainment on the valor included the Carnival Seaside Theatre, the big screen on the
They used the big screen day and night, during the day they had different uses including movies and the presidential inauguration one day. At night they had movies playing on the 
There were also roaming magicians on the Promenade deck trying to see if they were quick enough to keep you from know how their magic worked. There was always something going on, there is no reason anyone should have been bored on the Valor! One nice surprise for me was that they had wifi internet access basically everywhere on the ship, even in your cabins. Unfortunately I was so busy that these blog entries that were supposed to be published daily are now finally being completed almost a month after the cruise. So the wifi access was nice but the sun and fun were just that much better!
There were some nice changes in procedures on the Valor and I hope they have been carried over to the other ships in the fleet. One being that when tenders were needed to get to land you had to first get tickets, actually stickers with a number on them. You would get them on the Promenade deck near the casino. This procedure seemed to greatly reduce the congestion getting on the tenders. Over all I would give the Valor a 4.5 on a scale from 1-5.
Captain Pierluigi Barrile and his staff did a fantastic job!
We hope to again sail on the Valor. 
It was sad, but we knew our trip would come to an end. 
We woke up to a hazy day in 
The port was busy, all the ships were in port and as thousand of guests were getting ready to get off of each ship, there were thousands more waiting to get on and head off for their vacations. It is amazing how the crew has to work to get the ship ready in such a short time. Not only do the cabins need to be cleaned and made ready for the next cruise but all the trash from the week has to be off loaded, new provisions stocked and thousand of gallons of fresh water and fuel loaded.
For us it meant we had a few more hours to enjoy the warmth before returning back to 
The 
There is a wide variety of food and activities. 
Just enjoying that warm sun for a few more hours was all I needed. 
Our driver came back right on time and with all our luggage and we were off to the airports, we had a few people leaving out of
