My husband, myself and our three Teenagers (14, 16, 18) cruised on the Carnival Valor sailing March 21, 2010. My husband and I normally cruise Royal Caribbean but the kids wanted a waterslide so I started researching Carnival and found the Valor for its ports of call. RC had similar ports with one of their sailings, so I called to talk to a Carnival booking agent. I told her that we were normally Royal Caribbean fans but wanted to get a few details on Carnival before we made our choice. She told me that unlike RC, Carnival had more included in the price of the cruise. She specifically told me that the steakhouse was no longer an extra charge, that their arcade was free, and that the teen program on ship had more activates than RC. So we settled for the kid's choice of the waterslide and i called back to book two staterooms on the Valor. MISTAKE!

Pre-cruise hotel: We arrived at MIA 11:30pm so we wanted a close hotel that provided shuttle service from the airport and to the cruise port. We booked one room with a rollaway bed at the Days Inn Miami Airport North. Upon arrival at the airport we called the hotel and within 10 minutes the shuttle arrived to take us to the hotel. The driver was a madman (my kids loved it but I was afraid we would not make it there without an accident) Upon check in they gave us a time tag for the shuttle bus to the port the next morning so we knew we could sleep in without worrying about missing the shuttle. The rooms where clean but showed their age. I would not recommend this hotel for an extended stay but it served it's purpose ok. The shuttle to the cruise ship the next morning was without incident and we arrived at the port rested and ready for adventure.

Embarkation: Smooth and painless. Although when we traveled Royal in the past they had cookies and drinks for customers waiting in line to check in. This was the first clue that Carnival's service level would not compare to RC. Read more