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Are there any Aussie cruzers here that cruze the Caribbean on a regular basis ?


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Hi all, I am doing some research into cruzing the Caribbean, and was wondering if any Aussies cruz there on a regular basis and would be willing to answer a couple of questions from an Aussie perspective ?, leaving from Melbourne by air.

 

I have been to the States before but that was way back in 1989 and not for cruzing , Thanks.

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Hi Amy thanks for reply, just wondering what is your favourite US port to leave from and is there a direct flight from Oz ? as most I've seen so far all want to go via LAX.

 

how many cruzs have you done out of the US to the Caribbean

They are replacing some power poles in my street tomorrow so I will not have power all day, so no net till late.

 

cheers

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Most cruises to the Caribbean depart from the East Coast (unless you transit the Panama Canal) so best to select your cruise departure port options then look at the flights. Some airlines may offer options whereby you may be able to fly with just one stop to the departure point, Emirates may offer that choice but am sure there will be others

 

Love the Caribbean, been there twice and was very surprised to find Duty Free duty free like in the old days here.

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Most Caribbean cruises depart Miami or Ft Lauderdale and possibly New Orleans. I would recommend you find a specialist cruise TA that can do packages that include flights. Our Panama cruise 2 years ago was from Ft Lauderdale but we had done a pre cruise tour of Mexico and got an excellent package for the lot including all flights. Sorry, can't mention the TA here. Flights there would go through LA or Dallas Ft Worth (which I think is Sydney departure only). Work on arriving at least 2 days before cruise in case of flight holdups or cancellations.

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Hello castaway01,

We are doing a14 night cruise departing Port Canaveral

3 Nov to the Southern Carribean.

Selected a Sydney T/A which included Flights , Hotel, Cruise Package.

Flight is Sydney to Houston to Orlando.

Return is Orlando to LAX to Sydney.

If you need more info

Zac ( dunga007 at bigpond.com.au )

Edited by Zac#1
Wrong address
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My favourite ports are Galveston, Texas and Fort Lauderdale & Port Canaveral, Florida to depart from (I cruise with RCI). You can take a direct flight Sydney to Dallas, Texas and then fly Dallas-Houston and drive/take the ship’s shuttle to the cruise port.

 

I have done a number of Caribbean cruises, and have 6 booked for next year!

 

I have never booked a package or with a TA so I can’t give any advice there.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

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I've only done one Caribbean cruise so I might be of limited help :)

 

It was a Western Caribbean cruise on Disney Fantasy out of Port Canaveral. Loved it. Was easy enough to get to the port as we already had a rental car for Orlando.

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I have done 5 Caribbean cruises, which included two B2B. Of the 3 types, East, West and Southern I enjoyed the Southern the most. East ones are typically touristy ports, whereas West is more basic and "natural". For me the stand out port was Cartegena. Personally I would give Jamaica a miss. Just my opinion.

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Miami is easy to get to, via Dallas.

Personally all the cruises we’ve done have departed fro m St Thomas or San Juan. It’s much more fun to leave from a Caribbean port than one of the US mainland ports.

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  • 1 month later...

Hello all, sorry I have been crook with the Flu and it has had serious consequences with my health and the last thing I've been able to do is get back to the forum, but am bouncing back, these virus's just fry your brain.

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Hello all, sorry I have been crook with the Flu and it has had serious consequences with my health and the last thing I've been able to do is get back to the forum, but am bouncing back, these virus's just fry your brain.

Glad to hear you are well again.

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

From the US here, we sail the Caribbean all the time!! As for flying over, Miami is a major international airport. You can sail out of either Miami or Ft Lauderdale when landing here. We really love the eastern and southern routes when sailing. Just don't feel that safe when going to Mexico anymore. If you have any questions on the islands, feel free to ask!!

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We fly to the US on Cathay Pacific, so Melbourne - Hong Kong - New York. It's slightly longer but you bypass LAX and are straight to the East Coast. We have cruised out of New Jersey (awesome cruise to Eastern Caribbean on Anthem Of the Seas) and out of Fort Lauderdale (Western Caribbean on Allure Of The Seas). We would definitely cruise out of NJ again, it's easy to get to and from the terminal and boarding/disembarkation was extremely quick and easy.

 

 

Fort Lauderdale is a whole other story. For Non-US residents, disembarkation off the Allure last month took us 2 1/4 hours, and we had friends who got off the boat after us and it took them more than 3 hours. Not enough customs agents and very disorganised.

 

Other friends who live in Miami told us they avoid Fort Lauderdale at all costs as it's always the same.

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We always fly Hawaiian and have a Honolulu stopover which limits east coast ports to their mainland ports and their shared airlines. But we've flown into both Miami and Fort Lauderdale. Miami's a bit more exciting probably but this depends on your interests. It's up to you really. If you need to, you can get between the ports in a private car for not much. And New Orleans is fabulous if you have the musical or cultural interests to spend time there. As many have said, you have heaps of choices and the decision is yours.

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  • 3 weeks later...

We regularly cruise in the Caribibean and have used Miami , Fort Lauderdale and Port Canaveral.

Miami hands down the best to get to and from . Flights in and out on Miami are better if your a Qantas/ OneWorld Member as American Airlines has its hub here . Look at options like flying through Hawaii/New York , better layovers and newer aircraft.

We use American Websites for pricing and get our local TA To price match or at least get close .

 

In our opinion you will want to go on a 5 star boat as some of the cheaper ones like Carnival attract the hard drinking , yelling , pushy Americans we all love to hate . That been said thats a generalization on my part and others may of had a different experience . We have Cruised on Celebrity and Seabourn and both are very nice with a wide range of people , Seabourn is all inclusive and mainly couples in their 40s and above with few if any children . The smaller Celebrity Ship the Constellation and Infinity are good as you only have 2170 pax versus 2850+ on the Equinox . Seabourn has only 450 pax but is at least 2 to 3 times dearer. There are some absolutely huge Mega Ships like the RCCL Harmony of the Seas with 5200 pax with a mind blowing range of things to do . The Caribbean has the biggest choices in Price , Ships and experience so at the end of the day it really depends on what spins your wheels , your budget and your attitude towards it . Best of luck finding your dream experience.

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United fly nonstop to Houston and there’s a couple of shuttles to Galveston.

Orlando is a extra 3 hours and there’s shuttles to Port Canaveral.

Orlando you have Disney and universal and NASA.which are great.you can unwind before and after your cruise.

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We fly to the US on Cathay Pacific, so Melbourne - Hong Kong - New York. It's slightly longer but you bypass LAX and are straight to the East Coast. We have cruised out of New Jersey (awesome cruise to Eastern Caribbean on Anthem Of the Seas) and out of Fort Lauderdale (Western Caribbean on Allure Of The Seas). We would definitely cruise out of NJ again, it's easy to get to and from the terminal and boarding/disembarkation was extremely quick and easy.

 

 

Fort Lauderdale is a whole other story. For Non-US residents, disembarkation off the Allure last month took us 2 1/4 hours, and we had friends who got off the boat after us and it took them more than 3 hours. Not enough customs agents and very disorganised.

 

Other friends who live in Miami told us they avoid Fort Lauderdale at all costs as it's always the same.

 

 

 

Interesting as we were on Harmony in January. We were off in under 20 minutes. No trouble at all

 

 

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