In Oct. 2009,my husband and I will be taking our first cruise on the Carnival Cruise Ship Valor.?

I took a Carnival cruise to Grand Cayman & Cozumel. Cayman was beautiful. We went Nov 1st 1999. Pack summer clothes as it is warm there. I'm not sure what would be included in your cost of the trip as with mine I had won it all expense paid for our honeymoon. What was NOT included in that was anything from the bar, including soda. We don't drink. And tipping the cabin boy. Your food is all included. There is a buffet all the time and you have a formal dinner service in the dining room.

Most of the excursions including drinking, which we dont drink. We did take the tour of Grand Cayman Island and saw some beautiful places including the turtle farm & the famous rum cakes bakery/store. You will get a newsletter each day after housekeeping makes up your room to help you figure out what things you want to do.

Cozumel we were NOT impressed with. It was run down & dirty and not at all seemed a tourist area. You can take a taxi to the beach there but be warned some of the taxi drivers are teens and drive insane. Ours pulled in front of on coming traffic at last second all the time. There is a duty free shopping area once you come off the boat there which was nice. You can walk the town and see various stores & restaurants. Hard Rock Cafe was nice and we went to a little mexican restaurant for authentic fajitas and it was very nice. We even had 2 men come up to our table and play music and sing for us. Very romantic.

Keep your cruise id card on you at all times when you leave the boat so you can get back on. If you dont have money to spend on meals on land, remember you always eat free on the ship & are free to come & go on the ship while its docked. There is a little safe in your room to keep your passport & valuables while you trampse around the ship as well.

Also there is always something for entertainment aboard the ship. Comedy routines, a game show you can join, learn dances, theres contests, etc. You will have a blast! The ship also has videotapes you can purchase from your cruise as well to remember for years to come. We did not sail on the Valor, we sailed on the Tropicale. That was the boat that had many problems & a fire the week before we had our cruise lol. We made the most of our trip and had a good time. Although I will never sail Carnival again due to problems with the ship & it was our honeymoon & had specified a nonsmoking room with a queen or king bed, we got a smoking room with 2 single beds. Remember to bring lots of film for pictures!

Why in the world would you book a cruise with Carnival? You might have saved yourself $100, but you'd regret that decision if you've ever cruised before! You should have gone with Royal Caribbean or Celebrity... totally worth it. In food alone. Good luck.... If I were you, I'd book some amazing excursions, just to get off those hell-hole ships!

I would check the beaches.... we're taking a Caribbean cruise in March and one thing my Mom pointed out was one of the beaches is rocky... so I'm looking for the "water shoes" for us and the kids.... Also, there are a few nice beaches, and some will rent out the floaties... but they aren't cleaned or anything.... so we got some at the end of summer for 90% off and will take and just throw away when we get there so I wont have to pack them up to bring them home.... (I spent like $5.00 for 4 of them LOL)

Some things that you'll need to pay for are tips, drinks (anything alcoholic or sodas), tours, photos (and you know you'll want one of each! LOL) and such...

Be careful on cruises. first there was the danger of the food from food poisoning, then Sars outbreaks and many got sick. This year alone this latest woman on the news now that "fell" overboard was the latest of nine other accidental apparently people that fell overboard. Be very careful. I saw a show also with the apparent rapes that go unreported by the crew with women who drink too much. Be careful please.