Jump to content

Where to next? Maybe the Caribbean??


Recommended Posts

Just wrapped up inside passage to Alaska a week ago (6/11/18), now thinking ahead to my next adventure.

 

I am thinking Caribbean. I see there's western Caribbean and an Eastern Caribbean itinerary on most cruise line websites. Does anyone have feedback on which is better? Ideally there would be a stop in Key West...I have a friend that lives there and would like to visit anyway, but it's not a deal breaker if there isn't. My inclination at the moment is western Caribbean, because I would like to see Mexico, Belize etc. Also, right before I left on my Alaskan cruise, I started getting emails for drop and go cruises...some as little as $429 pp for 7 days in the Caribbean. Has anyone taken advantage of these offers before? What're the pros/cons of advance booking vs drop and go (aside from obvious price difference)?

 

Thanks in advance, looking forward to your feedback!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Eastern vs. Western vs. Southern is a matter of preference. Southern usually requires more time but seems to be the most appealing. Depending when you book, storms may turn your east to west or west to east. Our schedule is so busy we usually use the travel dates as our starting criteria when looking for cruises;)

 

A main advantage of pre-booking is cabin choice/availability. Sometimes early bookings can be cheaper too, and allow you to watch for price drops (if before final payment). Drop and go do usually look like a good deal, but I suspect they are showing the starting price for a basic inside. Nothing wrong with that if you like insides, but a higher category cabin may not have the same level of savings.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Drop and go is a great way to save money! Yes, usually it is quoting just the inside cabin rate. The only thing I watch for is airline cost. We found a drop and go 7 day Caribbean for $49 pp! We had almost booked it - but decided to check airfare first. Glad we did...it was over a 1K pp - Yikes! It was spring break in Fort Lauderdale...

 

East or West Caribbean - not much difference. All have beautiful beaches and great activities. Warning - these beaches will ruin all others for you - at least those I've been to in the US!

 

Key West falls in the East itinerary (usually). West has more ruins. It depends on what you want more of or want to see.

 

We also start our search based on dates. Half the fun is searching out the best itinerary for your group!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

We have done eastern, western, and southern several times each. Love southern but also like western. Don't know what cruise line you normally sail, but HAL generally stops in Key West on western itineraries. Just did western on Carnival this past Feb. and snorkeled about every port. Don't know your interests, but if you like snorkeling the western or southern would be good for that. Also no hurricane damage in western. You will probably find a lot of damage still on eastern and southern cruises of course depending on itinerary.

Have fun wherever you decide to go.

Jane

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Our favorite Caribbean cruise itinerary is from San Juan on RCCL to Aruba, Curaçao, Dominica, St Martin. Our favorite cruise line is Disney—headed on their Eastern itinerary on Fantasy over Halloween!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It seems like San Juan is a good departure spot for a lot of Southern Caribbean cruises...are there other Islands the ships depart from in that region to head South? I have cruised in the Western Caribbean before on RCCL and do like the scuba diving in the West, but now I really want to stay away from Mexico and all those Islands with casinos on them. Which are the most popular islands in the Eastern and Southern Caribbean to cruise to? I spent a summer in Jamaica before and loved most of that island too, the food, the sailing, the people etc, but now I wonder which are the safer islands to visit? Thank you for the feedback! KurtwVs IG

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...