going on our first Carnival cruise

[luvmyfam444]

I'd pick #3.

As for shore excursions, it all depends on what you like to do for activities. We recently did these ports (along with Roatan, but on NCL). We did:

Cozumel - Dolphin Swim
Costa Maya - ATV ride through the Jungle, with a beach break after
Belize - Parasailing and zip lining. If you've never been to Belize we had a great time on a previous cruise with the cave tubing excursion.

ohhh thanks - I'll check those out! Did you book with the cruise line or on your own?

 

[Darcy03231]

ohhh thanks - I'll check those out! Did you book with the cruise line or on your own?

We booked through the cruise line, but they can most likely all be booked on your own.

We usually book on our own, but had a rather large onboard non-refundable credit we were trying to use up, and as part of our package had a $50 per port shore excursion credit.

 

[LynnTH]

valor or glory

Have not been on either of those. But looking at Carnival's website. They are very similar ships. With that said - I would go with the one with the most stops. #3. We usually alternate Western/Eastern ports. There are fun things to do in all the ports.

 

[emily nicole]

OP, IDK if you are a fan of piano bars, but the entertainer on the Valor - Gustavo - is the best in the business!!! We chose a 5 day itinerary on the Valor again JUST for Gustavo. We go every night to see him perform.

 

[luvmyfam444]

OP, IDK if you are a fan of piano bars, but the entertainer on the Valor - Gustavo - is the best in the business!!! We chose a 5 day itinerary on the Valor again JUST for Gustavo. We go every night to see him perform.

thanks for the tip - never been to a piano bar so we will definitely try it out

 

[jerrywilliams]

I would definitely go for number 3. We are also planning our next vacation at the moment, but unfortunately it is not going to be a cruise this time. We are checking MakeMyTrip reviews https://makemytrip.pissedcоnsumer.com/review.html now and will probably ask them to organise our trip to South Africa this year.

 

[Monykalyn]

Personally like more ports, and have been on Valor-plenty of things to do on the ship. Ship is big enough to spread out but not so big you get lost (love this class of ship personally-doing another one on this class this summer)

 

[sam_gordon]

ohhh thanks - I'll check those out! Did you book with the cruise line or on your own?

I recommend booking on your own as much as possible. I use TripAdvisor to search what to do. If there's something I'm interested in, I'll go to the operator's website and do more research. I'll reach out to them if necessary regarding transportation and timing.

However, anything we book MUST plan to have us back at the port at least 60 minutes before "all aboard" (which is usually 30 minutes before sail away). I'd prefer more. If the tour is especially long for some reason (I know there are tours to the mainland from Cozumel), I would book through the cruise line.

 

[luvmyfam444]

I recommend booking on your own as much as possible. I use TripAdvisor to search what to do. If there's something I'm interested in, I'll go to the operator's website and do more research. I'll reach out to them if necessary regarding transportation and timing.

However, anything we book MUST plan to have us back at the port at least 60 minutes before "all aboard" (which is usually 30 minutes before sail away). I'd prefer more. If the tour is especially long for some reason (I know there are tours to the mainland from Cozumel), I would book through the cruise line.

thanks for the tips