1st time cruise, can't decide between two. please help!

A

AreWeThereYet79

Guest
Hello everone :)

First, I suppose I should introduce myself. I will be 27 next month, and I have always wanted to go on a cruise. My boyfriend and two other couples have decided to plan a cruise for December. We are debating between the Valor (Belieze, Honduras, Cayman Islands, and Cozumel/Costa Maya) on Dec 10, or the Miracle (Cayman Is, Costa Maya, Cozumel, Belieze) on either 12/3 or 12/10.

4 of the 6 of us have never cruised before. We are all in our 20's, some like to gamble, all of us like snorkeling/scuba diving. I've never left the states before, except to visit grand bahama island in '01, so this is a HUGE deal to me, and something I hope to make a habit of :)

I guess I am hoping that some of you may have insights to the ships that would not be obvious in the descriptions. The reviews I have read have been very helpful.

Also, we are debating the room situation at the moment. Two of the couples would like to possibly share a balcony room. It is hard to tell wether or not 4 people would actually be comfortable or not in the rooms space wise. I personally would sleep anywhere, but I do like the idea of having a balcony to enjoy. Any thoughts on this?

Being a "virgin" cruiser, I am finding the whole booking process a bit confusing. Ideally we'd just like to compare prices on the different room options and take it from there. I am sure that I will learn quite a bit from reading through the q&a section.

Any thoughts you all may have would be greatly apprecaited! We hope to have things booked by the weekend :)
 
C

Cruizer

Guest
The itineraries are very similar. So that is not much of a factor. That just leaves the two ships. The Valor is bigger (110,000 GRT) than the Miracle (88,500 GRT). Both are fairly new, so that is not much of a factor. Given that both ships are big, and that this can be somewhat overwhelming, and since the Miracle has more space per person (the size of the ship divided by the number of people on the ship), I would go with the Miracle unless there is some other factor that comes to your attention that makes the Valor sound more interesting. The atmosphere on each ship will be similar.

Four people in a standard (185 sq. ft) balcony cabin is very crowded. Also, while you do get four beds, you only get one bathroom.
 
B

Babushka

Guest
I personally would choose the Valor over the Miracle. Its a larger and newer ship. I just prefer the larger ships because there is usually just a little more to do and see. I will be on the Valor in April and was on her sister ship, the Glory, a couple years ago and had a great time! The Fish and Chips bar is not to be missed!!! I don't think the Miracle has that. Of course don't choose a ship on that factor! Both your itineraries are similar so again I'd just go for the newer and larger ship.

As far as sharing a balcony room goes, it can be done but it will be very crowded with 4 adults and you won't have any privacy. I have shared a room with 4 but 2 of them were kids and we were still very crowded. Won't do that again! Have the 2 couples thought about getting one balcony and one inside cabin? This way everyone can hang out in the balcony but sleep/shower in 2 rooms? Although I love the balcony rooms and can't travel any other way so I'd have a hard time not sleeping with my balcony doors open at night.

I'm sure that whatever you decide you will have a great time! It's your first cruise so you will enjoy it no matter what! Good luck!
 
A

AreWeThereYet79

Guest
Great, thank you for the advice! I am leaning towards a balcony room for two at this point, but I am not sure (yet) what the price difference would be.

I am sure we will all have a wonderful time no matter what room we end up with. I also like the idea of a newer/bigger ship, a balcony sounds nice for some quiet time in an awesome setting, but I am not sure its worth giving up any privacy for :)

I can't wait until we actually have everything set! I look forward to learning more about cruising on this board, thanks again for your advice!
 
C

Cruzman

Guest
A little research has yielded that the cost per person for an inside for either of your Dec. sailings is gonna be (current pricing, which can change) about $560 per person for an inside (dbl occ), $630 for an outside, and about $800 for a 8A balcony cabin. Pricing includes all taxes and port charges. These are all very good prices as similar accommodations during peak season could be nearly double. So, if you put two in an inside just across the hall from a balcony, the four of you could share the balcony and have 2 bathrooms for a total price of around $2720. You would likely only save a couple hundred $ by booking a quad balcony. If you decide to go the quad cabin route; I'd recommend booking early as such accommodations are few and are usually gobbled up early by families traveling together. Good luck!
 
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AreWeThereYet79

Guest
Thank you so much! Those prices are about the same as what we have been quoted. I have not heard anything about the quad balcony's, so that is something that we could certainly look into more.

Thanks very much!
 
J

Jim

Guest
Valor!

Only becuase you will stop at Roatan, Honduras.

Roatan is the 3rd best snorkel/scuba location in the world. Period. End of conversation.

Miss Roatan and you might as well stay home and snorkel in the bath tub.
 
A

AreWeThereYet79

Guest
Thank you Jim :) We have decided on the cruise on the Valor, so I am thrilled to hear your endorsement. I've heard and read great things about this particular itinerary, and we certainly look forward to doing some snorkeling along the way.

Thanks!
 
B

Babushka

Guest
Jim,
I haven't heard much about Roatan. We definately want to snorkel...we are visiting Roatan, Grand Cayman, Belize and Costa Maya. Is Roatan the best place to snorkel?? We never even gave any thought to doing that here. Acutally I haven't heard much about Roatan and wasn't sure what we were going to even do there. The first time we went snorkeling was on Norwegian's private island, Great Stirrup Cay, and we LOVED it! We saw soo many fish. We've since tried snorkeling in Grand Cayman, St. Thomas and in Cozumel (Xel Ha) but we couldn't see anything and we were soo disappointed. Nothing has compared to that first snorkeling trip and we really want to have that experience again. Any information you have would be appreciated!
 
A

AreWeThereYet79

Guest
We're offically booked on the Valor! All is said and done now, it all a matter of waiting until 12/10.

:)
 
B

Babushka

Guest
Congratulations on booking your cruise on the Valor!! I know you will love cruising. We will be on the Valor in April and can't wait to go! Your time will be here before you know it!
 


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