Please help me decide

[melsmom303]

ok so we want to take cruise in october i have been going back and forth for days and still cant decide .first choice carnival paradise 500 dollar onboard credit from casino 5 nite, carnival valor 5 nite 500 dollar onboard credit. or carnival magic sail with john herald special cruise 6 nite but only 50 dollar onboard credit,

[PhillyFan33579]

You didn’t provide too many details, like ports for example,  but based on the ships, I would pick Magic, Glory and Paradise in that order. 

Edited July 29, 2019 by PhillyFan33579

[xitappers2bx]

If the $500 OBC isn't expiring, then whichever itinerary pleases you is a good choice.

[melsmom303]

paradise ports are grand caymen and cozumel valor is cozumel and progresso and magic is grand turk amber cove and half moon keys. we are more about the cruise itself and not so much the ports although we do get off and enjoy them. i know the magic is the nicest boat i just cant get over losing that 500 onboard credit that is only for certain cruises it called a hot streak bonus offer

[havanadaydreaming]

it would be hard to pass up a $500 obc if all other costs are equal. 

 

magic is probably nicest ship and longest itinerary, so it's got that going for it.  valor seems like the most "meh" itinerary.  

 

tough call!

[silvercrikhix]

$500 OBC makes for a heck of a fun time!  One of those 2 cruises is your clear winner! 

[NightOne]

2 hours ago, melsmom303 said:

ok so we want to take cruise in october i have been going back and forth for days and still cant decide .first choice carnival paradise 500 dollar onboard credit from casino 5 nite, carnival valor 5 nite 500 dollar onboard credit. or carnival magic sail with john herald special cruise 6 nite but only 50 dollar onboard credit,

 

 What is the difference in travel costs to get to NOLA vs Tampa?

[Shaded Lady]

Just now, NightOne said:

 

 What is the difference in travel costs to get to NOLA vs Tampa?

That was going to be my question- is one of the ports easier to get to for you? if you have to fly that might affect your decision...

[CruiseGal999]

2 hours ago, melsmom303 said:

ok so we want to take cruise in october i have been going back and forth for days and still cant decide .first choice carnival paradise 500 dollar onboard credit from casino 5 nite, carnival valor 5 nite 500 dollar onboard credit. or carnival magic sail with john herald special cruise 6 nite but only 50 dollar onboard credit,

 

I'd go for the $500 credit ... I don't know those ships .. I am cruising on Valor 8/31st ... but do you mean John Heald ... Carnival Executive?  

 

[melsmom303]

more costly to fly to new orleans i just realized i could choose the elation also amber cove and grand turk

[NightOne]

Just now, melsmom303 said:

more costly to fly to new orleans i just realized i could choose the elation also amber cove and grand turk

 

First, take the $500 in casino cash so that eliminates the Magic. Now the differences are the ships and ports.

 

The Valor is 100 feet longer and has 850 more passengers on it.  Valor has:

 

Steakhouse

Seafood Shack

BBQ

Mongolian Wok

Cooking demonstration

Basketball court

Redfrog Pub

Alchemy Bar

Sports Bar

Dive In Movies

Cherry On Top

Jogging Track

 

and Paradise and Elation do not have any of those. Paradise/Elation have a beer station though.

 

Fantasy class ships are cozy and easy to get around so look at the list above and see if that stuff is important to your or not.

 

Ports ranked (my opinion):

 

1. Cozumel

2. Grand Cayman

3. Grand Turk

4. Amber Cove

5. Progreso

 

So based on these factors and the cheaper cost to the embarkation port I personally would choose Paradise. 🙂

[melsmom303]

im between paradise and elation lol

 

[NightOne]

2 minutes ago, melsmom303 said:

im between paradise and elation lol

 

 

Tampa vs Orlando thoughts:

 

Tampa is like 10 minutes to cruise port whereas Orlando is about 1 hour to cruise port

 

Are you coming in the day before? Check hotel prices and availability.

 

Elation: Grand Turk is a beach day for most people. They've been fighting a seaweed problem there so your mileage may vary. Amber Cove is a pool day in private port area for most.

 

Paradise: Grand Cayman's 7 mile beach will be better than Grand Turk beach but it is still a beach day UNLESS you want to go to Stingray City or Turtle Farm. Cozumel has a million things to do and thus would trump Amber Cove big time!

 

If you don't care about the ports then weigh the travel logistics and prices more heavily.

[jbethel11]

I would choose Paradise, as it has been recently refurbished and looks more modern compared to the Elation. I also would love to visit Grand Cayman and Cozumel, so bingo! 

[Saint Greg]

1. Magic

2. Valor

3. Paradise

[boomhower]

7 minutes ago, jbethel11 said:

I would choose Paradise, as it has been recently refurbished and looks more modern compared to the Elation. I also would love to visit Grand Cayman and Cozumel, so bingo! 

 

The Elation has had the exact same updates done and was more recent.  They are essentially identical ships.

[jbethel11]

8 minutes ago, boomhower said:

 

The Elation has had the exact same updates done and was more recent.  They are essentially identical ships.

Please provide your source as to when these ships were updated. According to my source, Carnival Elation was renovated in 2017, while Carnival Paradise was renovated in 2018. 

[PhillyFan33579]

1 hour ago, NightOne said:

 

First, take the $500 in casino cash so that eliminates the Magic. Now the differences are the ships and ports.

 

The Valor is 100 feet longer and has 850 more passengers on it.  Valor has:

 

Steakhouse

Seafood Shack

BBQ

Mongolian Wok

Cooking demonstration

Basketball court

Redfrog Pub

Alchemy Bar

Sports Bar

Dive In Movies

Cherry On Top

Jogging Track

 

and Paradise and Elation do not have any of those. Paradise/Elation have a beer station though.

 

Fantasy class ships are cozy and easy to get around so look at the list above and see if that stuff is important to your or not.

 

Ports ranked (my opinion):

 

1. Cozumel

2. Grand Cayman

3. Grand Turk

4. Amber Cove

5. Progreso

 

So based on these factors and the cheaper cost to the embarkation port I personally would choose Paradise. 🙂

 

I would have picked Valor based on your post. You caught me by surprise when you picked Paradise at the end. 

[PhillyFan33579]

9 minutes ago, amyotravel said:

I would for sure throw out this cruise since you lose all the OBC. It will just be a madhouse of people throwing themselves at him, anyway. Unless for some reason you are a mega fan, I see no reason.

 

I have been on a JH blog cruise before by coincidence (Magic in Feb 2018).  It was no big deal other than there were a lot of Diamonds and Platinums on the ship. Not that I was looking for him, but I never saw JH once the entire cruise. 

[amyotravel]

1 minute ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

 

I have been on a JH blog cruise before by coincidence (Magic in Feb 2018).  It was no big deal other than there were a lot of Diamonds and Platinums on the ship. Not that I was looking for him, but I never saw JH once the entire cruise. 

If you were specifically wanting to cruise with him it might be crazy trying to get to him 😉 Luckily, this was not your intent.

[NightOne]

7 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

 

I would have picked Valor based on your post. You caught me by surprise when you picked Paradise at the end. 

 

So steakhouse and seafood shack are upcharge venues that are not a must in my book. Basketball court and jogging track are not something I use. Valor has more bars but there is no shortage of places to get a drink on any ship. So it really comes down to dive-in movies and the candy store. You can bring your own candy onboard if you must have it so now it is just the movie by the pool. Not a huge difference for me.

 

BTW, my next cruise is actually on ... Valor 🙂 🙂 🙂  

 

Edited July 29, 2019 by NightOne

[jbethel11]

1 minute ago, NightOne said:

 

So steakhouse and seafood shack are upcharge venues that are not a must in my book. Basketball court and jogging track are not something I use. Valor has more bars but there is no shortage of places to get a drink on any ship. So it really comes down to dive-in movies and the candy store. You can bring your own candy onboard if you must have it so now it is just the movie by the pool. Not a huge difference for me.

 

BTW, my next cruise is actually on ... Valor 🙂 🙂 🙂  

 

I personally do not like repeating cruise ships so I would definitely choose the Paradise in your shoes!

[sunonfire]

2 hours ago, melsmom303 said:

im between paradise and elation lol

 

 

14 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

 

Did you look at the Legend out of Tampa? My son is receiving the $500 obc for our January cruise.

 

[melsmom303]

lol as far as jon herald it was just one of my vifp offers.  i have been on the valor back in 2009 would not mind going on her again but flights to new orleans are a little pricy i really really wanna go on the carnival dream i would get 500 onboard credit for that one too but have not heard good things about cruising out of gavelston

[pianoplayerla]

4 hours ago, melsmom303 said:

lol as far as jon herald it was just one of my vifp offers.  i have been on the valor back in 2009 would not mind going on her again but flights to new orleans are a little pricy i really really wanna go on the carnival dream i would get 500 onboard credit for that one too but have not heard good things about cruising out of gavelston

Melsmom, 

We just sailed on the Dream in May  for the 6th time (I believe). We did not have any problems. It was our 2nd time to sail from Galveston and are leaving from there again in January. Seems to be much more organized than New Orleans, in our opinion.  Whatever you decide, it is still a cruise, kind of hard to mess that up. 😎