20/20 Hindsight, Solstice looks like a weird itinerary

[felixdacat]

This is not a complaint. My family booked our cruise with our eyes open.

We are booked on a 7 night cruise out of Fort Lauderdale on the Solstice on 12/20/09.

It goes to San Juan, to St Maarten, to Tortola, to their private beach in Laberdee Haiti.

But when you go into the details is when it gets a little weird. You do not get into San Juan till 2PM after a day at sea. So you are ship bound for the first 45 ½ hours of the cruise. The ship leaves port at 8PM, so you really only have 5-5.5 hours in San Juan. Not much time to do anything, plus the sun sets around 5:30PM.

Then it’s off to St Maarten and that’s a nice day, having 11 hours in port. Then you arrive in Tortola at 7AM and are out by 2PM. Again, not a heck of a lot of time to do much.

You then arrive in Laberdee at 11 (Xmas morning) and stay till 6:30 followed by another day at Sea.

Seems like they may have been better off making Laberdee the first stop. Or maybe have a different destination entirely for the first port, something on Hispanola.

I’m sure the itinerary has a lot to do with what ports they have contracts with and what ships are already booked into each port. But this package could use some tweaking.

[wg6530]

Different itineraries for different folks. I love sea days, so I would enjoy the first 45+ hours "shipbound." The other good point about this itinerary--they get you into warm weather quckily. Hopefully it will be nice on deck and by the pool. Enjoy your cruise.

[gwrod]

I know what you mean, we did that same itinerary in January...wasn't my favorite either, but better than no cruise at all.

[jayoldschool]

Hmm, we're on Solstice the following week, and the itenerary is a little different: Ft Laud, at sea, San Juan (2pm-10pm), St. Kitts (10am-6pm), St. Maarten (7am-6pm), at sea, at sea, Ft Laud.

 

We were considering the xmas cruise, but the air for New Years was cheaper, and CC cabins were cheaper, too.

[DocJohnB]

Hmm, we're on Solstice the following week, and the itenerary is a little different: Ft Laud, at sea, San Juan (2pm-10pm), St. Kitts (10am-6pm), St. Maarten (7am-6pm), at sea, at sea, Ft Laud.

 

We were considering the xmas cruise, but the air for New Years was cheaper, and CC cabins were cheaper, too.

 

 

jaysoldschool:

 

Both itineraries are as stated. They just rotated them every other week. We did the Labadee vs St Kitts one.

 

Looks to be the same schedule for the upcoming season.

[Solstice23]

This is not a complaint. My family booked our cruise with our eyes open.

We are booked on a 7 night cruise out of Fort Lauderdale on the Solstice on 12/20/09.

It goes to San Juan, to St Maarten, to Tortola, to their private beach in Laberdee Haiti.

But when you go into the details is when it gets a little weird. You do not get into San Juan till 2PM after a day at sea. So you are ship bound for the first 45 ½ hours of the cruise. The ship leaves port at 8PM, so you really only have 5-5.5 hours in San Juan. Not much time to do anything, plus the sun sets around 5:30PM.

Then it’s off to St Maarten and that’s a nice day, having 11 hours in port. Then you arrive in Tortola at 7AM and are out by 2PM. Again, not a heck of a lot of time to do much.

You then arrive in Laberdee at 11 (Xmas morning) and stay till 6:30 followed by another day at Sea.

Seems like they may have been better off making Laberdee the first stop. Or maybe have a different destination entirely for the first port, something on Hispanola.

I’m sure the itinerary has a lot to do with what ports they have contracts with and what ships are already booked into each port. But this package could use some tweaking.

 

I think its fine, Its always nice to get into SJU late and get a nice morning on the ship. We find 6 hours or so in SJU just the right amount of time. I am sure it will be lovely for you..go and enjoy!

[jackdiamond]

This is one of the reasons we are now booking 10 night cruises, with the exception of a seven nighter in late 2010.

[hcat]

We did the other itin on Solstice . With the very common short stop in San Juan , we did one of the forts, walked, shopped & got a drink at the Parrot Club...that was enough for us

 

We also had a short time in Tortola on another cruise. We were there before so we shared a cab with another couple to Sopers Hole- Go early & beat the traffic. It's a nice spot for views, quiet shopping (smaller versions of some of the main stores in port) & drinks--then head back into town when the crowds arrive...& back to the ship

 

On Solstice, ship was the highlight of the trip but we managed some port fun too...

[jagoffee]

The short time in San Juan was not much of a problem for us. The short time in Tortola was a bummer, but the full day and night in St Martin was a dream. It allowed us to take a sunset cruise on a tall ship and it was fabulous.