I also have the option of taking the Valor and visiting the same cities (Grand Caymans, Cozumel, and Belize City) but out of Miami. Is the Valor better than the Legend?

http://www.carnival.com/cms/fun/ships/carnival_valor/default.aspx?shipCode=VA
http://www.carnival.com/cms/fun/ships/carnival_valor/default.aspx?shipCode=VA

http://www.carnival.com/cms/fun/ships/carnival_legend/default.aspx?shipCode=LE

www.cruisecritic.com ship reviews on both

did a Western Carib last year on the Legend

Got a nice Balcony Room for 2 on www.priceline.com for

$449 per person for a week great value HM worthy

more of a fun family ship but the price is right.

Congrats!

I've been on Valor and have Legend booked for the end of Feb. Don't think you can go wrong with either one. Do you have to fly in? Maybe checking air prices into Miami and Tampa could have an impact on your choice?
Although you said you found the 'perfect' cruise - looks like you have your answer.

I wonder if you would mind defining a little more clearly what you consider to be "perfect", Kristen.

I mean, are you talking about the itinerary, the price, the type of ship, the activities, etc.? Since ytou already know "a lot of people are not fans of Carnival" it would be helpful to know how important that is to you IMO. I assume you understand why these people aren't "fans of Carnival" and those reasons aren't really that important to you.

"is the Valor better than the Legend?" You mean bigger, newer, nicer, etc.?

I've been on a carnival cruise 2x before and each time they were extremely crowded with families and children (the one time especially was overrun with children running wild on certain parts of the ship). So that's my only critique. With that said, I probably wouldn't want to do it on my honeymoon but if you are traveling when kids are generally back in school, obviously the number of families with children should be less. But if you've found a good deal, like the itinerary I would say go for it. You can always search out the adult areas on the ship (massages, special restaurants if there are any, etc).

traveltalesfromtheredheadedtraveler.blogspot.com/
(My travel writing blog!)

I realize it has been a while since you posted this, but I wanted to let you know that these two cruises are the ones my fiance and I are looking into for our honeymoon. Let me know if you decide to book one of them!

Families like Carnival, and the ships often have children. What I'd recommend for a honeymoon is one of the newer ships (Carnival Magic out of Galveston or Carnival Dream out of Port Canaveral). These are Carnival's newest and most elaborate ships, so they have a lot of newer features and they have some areas that are adults-only. These ships are generally more expensive than the older ships, but I think they are better suited for a honeymoon as long as you take advantage of all the adults-only stuff (other ships have the Serenity area, though).

Sorry ... I wasn't finished before I published. If you want to limit the number of children, sail when schools are not out, so NOT in the summer and not at busy vacation periods like Spring Break or Christmas.

Wasn't the Princess cruise line the original "love boat" made famous by the TV series?