Miracle or Valor Western Carribean Itinerary

[rvfanatic]

I am trying to decide between the Carnival Miracle vs. the Valor. The only difference between the Valor itinerary and the Miracle itinerary is the fact that the Valor goes to the island off of Honduras. I have a hold on an extended balcony stateroom on the Miracle with AN excellent past passenger rate. The Valor is not offering any past passenger discounts.

 

I have been on the Glory before and really enjoyed the cruise. That was my first 7 day cruise with Carnival. The other ones have been on the Fantasy, Holiday and Ectasy.

 

Which cruise would you recommend and why. The Miracle will be a 8I category while the Valor category will be an 8a

[shay1]

Hello,

 

We just got back from the Western Caribbean on the Valor. We were not overly impressed with Roatan. We have cruised 25 times this was our first time to Roatan. We love to free dive (snorkel) and bring our own gear.

 

The rest of the ports we did enjoy. Belize was another new port for us and we did the Goff's Cay snorkel tour.

 

You never know what the weather/water conditions will be when you cruise so we were glad we got to dive at 3 of the 4 ports.

 

At Costa Maya we saw the largest sea turtle, had to be over 300 lbs. We got to dive down and observe it for quite a while. This is the first time we got to see the sea turtle walk on the sandy bottom the whole time (at least 15 min) that we were diving with it. The next time we went in the water that day we saw a spotted eagle ray. We were snorkeling right off the left side of the pier where they have the chairs for you to use.

 

On Roatan we booked the Tabayana tour through Carnival the day we arrived at Roatan with the understanding that we could snorkel off this beach. All reports we read on cc before our cruise stated there was a good reef right off shore. We explained to the Tour Desk that we wanted to snorkel and they confirmed that we could and that we could rent snorkel gear there, we told them we had our own.

 

We had some rain when we first arrived at Roatan but it cleared up.

 

We got on the one of the school buses they used to take us to Tabayana Beach, had a tour guide on board who told us about Roatan.

 

When we arrived at the beach it was too rough to snorkel! They told us as we got off the bus that there was no snorkeling and that Carnival was aware of this since the surf had been rough for a couple of days.

 

We were very disappointed and wanted to go back to the ship (hoping to see what other tours were available). They told us we could not go back until we had more people. At this time there were 3 of us (another guy who had arrived before us and was not allowed to snorkel either). We had to wait for over 2 hours before they took us back to the ship.

 

I complained to Carnival since I felt they booked us on this tour under false pretense knowing that we were going to snorkel and it was too rough. If they had told us this then we could have made the decision to do something else!

 

They would not even refund any money for this tour which cost $66 for 2.

 

We were in port with the Miracle at Belize and Costa Maya.

 

It just depends on what you want to do while in Roatan. Some people we spoke with did not book any tours and they walked into the town and were not impressed. They came back to the ship. One young guy told us he had some woven bracelets on that he had made in honor of his dead brother and some of the little kids noticed them, he gave one to one of the kids and his girlfriend gave one to another kid, then he said the other kids started to mob them and ripped the rest of them off his rist. He said this was really frighting to go through. They then got out there in a hurry and got back to the ship.

 

We did speak with a couple of people who booked the Zip Line and they really enjoyed this. Another couple did the Dolphin Encounter and they really enjoyed that as well.

 

Enjoy which ever cruise you choose.

[TennisLover]

We loved the Valor and had a great time in Roatan. Just depends what you want to do.

 

However, if you have a great deal on the other ship, take it. I wouldn't determine which cruise just to go to Roatan.

 

We've never had out itinerary changed while on the ship but, from reading these boards, I know that it happens. Another reason not to book just based on one port.

[walkswife]

We were on the Miracle in March and absolutely loved it....... Loved the ship, loved the ports.... this vacation couldn't have been anymore perfect.....

 

The only port I would definitely book an excursion through the ship in is Belize.... once you get out of the city it is beautiful.... but I don't think I would want to be on my own in Belize City...... We did the tubing and all loved it.... but I also heard the snorkeling there is great....

[silentbob007]

I just had the same predicament and decided to book the Miracle. I like the itinerary better (Cozumel over Roatan) and I wanted to try another class of shp after sailing on three Conquest-class ships. Hearing great things about the Miracle is also good. The final selling point was that (for me, at least), Tampa is cheaper to fly into than Miami or Lauderdale.

[aaaa]

I am right with you silentbob......we debated and debated and settled on the Miracle for our next cruise. Having been on all 4 Conquest ships, I am a little nervious about the Miracle. (We love the Conquest class)! We chose the Miracle becaise we love the ports, Tampa is cheaper for us to fly, and most reviews have been VERY favorable for the Miracle.

 

Personally, I would go with the best deal!

 

Miracle - 3/2007

Liberty - 3/2006

Valor - 3/2005

Glory - 3/2004

Conquest - 3/2003

Fantasy - 3/2002

[Hebejeebe]

I've been on both the Miracle and Valor (Eastern). I really enjoyed the Miracle Western itinerary but I think I enjoyed the Valor ship more. The Valor has the advantage of having fish&chips above the buffet dining room. You should have fun on either ship so I wouldn't sweat the decision too much. IMO - you should go with whichever sailing is cheaper. Enjoy

[workn2cruise]

I'd go with the best deal also. We loved Roatan, though. We're not snorkelers so we did the Beach party thing through Carnival. It was simply beautiful. It was a relatively new facility, the only thing that needed improvement was the bar, she was so incredibly slow, I don't think she was a regular bar tender because other guests had to tell her what was in the drink they ordered. The other bad thing, which they can't do anything about (that I know of) is the bugs. Right after it rained, we got eaten alive! We had bug spray with Deet which helped quite a bit until we were ready to leave.

[silentbob007]

D'oh ... I'd forgotten about Fish and Chips. :(

 

Oh well, I guess I can live. ;)

[momofzeke]

I was on the Miracle with Renee (walkswife), and we also loved everything about our cruise!

 

Cozumel was our favorite port. We went to Paradise Beach, which was fantastic. I haven't been to Roatan, so I can't really compare the two, but you can't go wrong with Cozumel.

 

If you have a better rate on the Miracle, go for it! You won't be dissappointed. :)

[rvfanatic]

We decided to go with the Miracle. We were also debating the Caribbean Princess. The selling point for my wife was the Chocolate buffet. The selling point for me was the comparison between kids activites on Carnival vs. Princess. Granted, I have a 14 year old but, when he gets bored he really lets you know it. I originally was planning our RV vacation to Oregon but, with the fuel prices, it was going to be the same as a cruise so, we went with the cruise. I got a steal on the balcony that nobody could beat and from a travel agent who is very reliable but, always costly.

[momofzeke]

I originally was planning our RV vacation to Oregon but, with the fuel prices, it was going to be the same as a cruise so, we went with the cruise.

 

I don't blame you!! I live in Oregon, and it is a beautiful and very diverse state, but I would choose a cruise over an RV vacation to our state (or any other state for that matter) any day! ;) Hope you decide to come visit our state someday, though. :)

[Scorpiorose]

Ya all did the right thing booking miracle.....we did this and all was great, except we couldn't port in costa maya....too rough. We were up front and it was a little rocky, ugh, for about a day - in this case go to the doc and get those magic pills....all will be well again, or book in the middle of the ship! Do check out www.smugglersrunbelize.com trevor miles will take wonderful care of you and can personally suit you to a tour and horseback ride. He'll feed you too, his wife is a wonderful cook - personal service, not masses with trevor, we plan on returning as we just booked the Valor (for varieties sake) with our five kids next year. Also don't be afraid to book personal tours off the miracle, you'll get off in time and you get better service. There are several places to take you to the sting rays in GC (Capt. Byrons, Marvins, Sots....) The food in the dining room and the buffet were awful but hey.....you gain less weight and the lido deck was to die for! Have fun all! If you have any miracle quesitons send them along!

[gkeep]

I just returned from the Valor yesterday. I must say that Roatan was our least favorite port, we were also disapointed about no snorkling. We did tour the island though. We felt the non-resort areas were just plain dumpy. Trash everywhere. Very persistent children and sales people near the port. We really enjoyed Cozumel when we went in April 2004 on the Caribbean Princess.

 

I have never sailed the Miracle, Valor was a very nice ship, but hard to get around on. I have cruised 5 times - and I must say the Caribbean Princess was by far my favorite cruise and ship of the ones we have sailed.

 

Have fun!

[CrusinAgain]

We were first booked on the Valor in Dec. last year but due to the hurricane damage at the pier in Cozumel it changed to Costa Maya so we were able to cancel and book on the Miracle.

 

We loved the Miracle! It held less people, was kept immaculate! Great food and service and our adult kids who have always been somewhat bored on a cruise had a blast! The time went by so fast and I want to go back on her. Her balcony rooms are so nice with a big sofa and lots of storage. The bathroom shower was large enough to turn around in and bend down. They had shelving on each side of the bathroom sink and pump soap in the bathroom shower.

 

I have absolutely no complaints about the Miracle except the artwork was on the strange side.

 

Just make sure if you get a balcony cabin to get one that is not called an "extended balcony" but when looking on the diagram that is out all the way or else your view to the left or right will be blocked.