Deciding on a Southern Caribbean itinerary for November 2010

[murfturf]

Considering Serenade of the Seas Southern Caribbean in November. What itinerary should we chose?

 

1) San Juan, Puerto Rico; Bridgetown, Barbados; Castries, St. Lucia; St. John's, Antigua; Philipsburg, St. Maarten; St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands; San Juan, Puerto Rico

 

2) San Juan, Puerto Rico; Willemstad, Curacao; Oranjestad, Aruba; Roseau, Dominica; Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas; San Juan, Puerto Rico

 

Any ideas? One has 2 cruising days, the other only has 1. The 2nd itinerary seems more exotic to me, but the 1st has more islands to visit.

 

Thoughts from those who have done both? Thanks!

[138east]

You have to decide between 1 sea day and two. The two sea day cruise cuts rights across the Caribbean to Aruba/Curacao and then back again. The one sea day cruise might cruise up between the islands - check out if they still do that. I thought that cruising between the islands was much more interesting than just being on the open sea. Each itinerary has its pros and cons. I really liked Curacao, but Aruba left me cold - a desert island. I love St. Lucia, Barbados, and Antigua (another semi-desert island) and there's plenty of shopping in St. Martin. St. Croix was strange - pick a good excursion there and buy your booze there (at least the 1 bottle of local rum that will let you bring in 5 bottles/pp)

[138east]

You have to decide between 1 sea day and two. The two sea day cruise cuts rights across the Caribbean to Aruba/Curacao and then back again. The one sea day cruise might cruise up between the islands - check out if they still do that. I thought that cruising between the islands was much more interesting than just being on the open sea. Each itinerary has its pros and cons. I really liked Curacao, but Aruba left me cold - a desert island. I love St. Lucia, Barbados, and Antigua (another semi-desert island) and there's plenty of shopping in St. Martin. St. Croix was strange - pick a good excursion there and buy your booze there (at least the 1 bottle of local rum that will let you bring in 5 bottles/pp)

[sailor05]

I personally would choose the Aruba/Curacao itin. These are beautiful islands and are otherwise very expensive to fly to ever visit them. Plus 2 sea days is a plus in my book.

[sailor05]

I personally would choose the Aruba/Curacao itin. These are beautiful islands and are otherwise very expensive to fly to ever visit them. Plus 2 sea days is a plus in my book.

[murfturf]

I personally would choose the Aruba/Curacao itin. These are beautiful islands and are otherwise very expensive to fly to ever visit them. Plus 2 sea days is a plus in my book.

 

We did like 2 days at sea on our first cruise, doing something every day seems tiring!

 

I had never heard of Curacao, but the rest of the islands on that itinerary seemed great to me! I have heard wonderful thing about the Virgin Islands as well, but you are correct in the cost in visiting those islands by themselves would be much great.

 

My mother did say she didn't care for Aruba either - because of it being a desert isle, but we do differ in taste for travel!

 

Now to narrow down the date, and the cabin. :) Thanks!

[murfturf]

I personally would choose the Aruba/Curacao itin. These are beautiful islands and are otherwise very expensive to fly to ever visit them. Plus 2 sea days is a plus in my book.

 

We did like 2 days at sea on our first cruise, doing something every day seems tiring!

 

I had never heard of Curacao, but the rest of the islands on that itinerary seemed great to me! I have heard wonderful thing about the Virgin Islands as well, but you are correct in the cost in visiting those islands by themselves would be much great.

 

My mother did say she didn't care for Aruba either - because of it being a desert isle, but we do differ in taste for travel!

 

Now to narrow down the date, and the cabin. :) Thanks!

[DrmnOfMaui]

For us the islands on choice 1 were more to our liking. I also liked only having 1 cruise day. St. Lucia was one of my favorite places! I have pic in the link below if you are interested!

 

Although Dominica looks really interesting to me, saw a show on it on tv and I would really like to visit that one. On the other hand, I've have 2 friends visit Aruba and say they would never go back. I can't comment though, haven't been there...

 

Good luck! I'll be curious to hear what you pick!

[lovemylab]

Both are excellent itineraries. And the Serenade is a beautiful ship.

 

We did itinerary #1 two years ago on the Serenade and loved it. The only difference was we visited St. Thomas instead of St. Croix. When we cruised the ship did not sail between the islands on the sea day (we were told onboard that it was not done due to fuel costs as it required the ship to take a longer route). Our favorites were Barbados and St. Lucia. My only complaint about this itinerary was that it was very tiring.

 

We did the second itinerary last month (only we were on the AOS). We found this itinerary to be much more relaxing than the one we did two years ago. The landscape of Aruba and Curacao is very similar. While both are deserts they also have nice beaches so it is very possible to visit and not feel like you are in desert.

 

I loved both itineraries equally but for different reasons. The first one was very lush and tropical - and most of the scenery of those islands is what most people think of when they think "Caribbean".

 

The second itinerary was a bit more "off the beaten path". Dominica is full of nature and not at all commercialized - lots of waterfalls, hiking paths and a huge rainforest. Aruba and Curacao have landscape that is not what people would expect from the Caribbean - cactus's, dried coral near the shore and some rough terrtain. Of course, there are also palm trees and white sand but that certainly does not make up the landscape of the majority of the islands.

 

If you are looking to spend a week at fabulous beaches than I vote the first itinerary. If you are someone who enjoys hiking and nature, than you will love Dominica and for that reason alone I would choose the second one.

[printingchick]

Considering Serenade of the Seas Southern Caribbean in November. What itinerary should we chose?

 

1) San Juan, Puerto Rico

 

Bridgetown,Barbados; I have only seen Barbados from the water, having done a catamaran excursion on my visit here. The beach where we stopped looked nice.

 

St. Lucia; This is a lovely island with beautiful beaches. As I recall, it's one of the more mountainous islands, which I prefer to the totally flat ones.

 

Antigua; I've read mixed reviews of this port, but we loved it. We took a combination snorkeling/kayaking trip here that visited a placed called Great Bird Island. It was amazing. Very beautiful.

 

Philipsburg, St. Maarten; A very popular stop, this island will be one of your more touristy ports. Half Dutch/half French with a very European feel. If you go into town, take the water taxi. It costs the same as a regular taxi, but it's a whole lot nicer.

 

St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands; I have not visited here yet, but will on my upcoming cruise. My research leads me to think this is probably the least exciting port on my itinerary. We'll just be doing a beach day at a resort.

 

 

2) San Juan,

Willemstad, Curacao; This is a lovely island. There isn't a whole lot to do here, but we really enjoyed it. The downtown area is walking distance from the ship. It's very Bahama's looking with pastel colored buildings. We visited Hato Caves, which was a really different type of cruise excursion. We loved it.

 

Oranjestad, Aruba; Probably my least favorite port of call, but lots of people rave about it. The majority of the island is desert. The beach areas are dominated by crowded resorts. The downtown area is nice and walking distance from the ship.

 

Roseau, Dominica; One of my very favorite islands. Very unspoiled, only recently became a port visited by a lot of cruise lines. Rain forests, amazing waterfalls, black sand beaches - incredible. You have to get away from the pier. If you don't, you'll hate it. there is nothing really to do just off the ship. But if you venture out, it's unlike any other port of call you'll visit.

 

St. Thomas; Another nice, but very touristy port of call. We typically ferry to St. John, preferring the less touristy, more undeveloped areas. Trunk Bay is gorgeous, but a crowded, touristy resort. There are dozens of other beaches on St. John where you can find yourself completely alone on the beach. It's mountainous with amazing vistas.

 

 

Any ideas? One has 2 cruising days, the other only has 1. The 2nd itinerary seems more exotic to me, but the 1st has more islands to visit.

 

Thoughts from those who have done both? Thanks!

 

My thoughts on the various ports of call are listed above. It really depends on what you are looking for. My ideal itinerary includes four ports, two sea days. I find five ports of call to be pretty exhausting. That said, my next cruise has five ports of call. I'm just trying to plan my excursions accordingly, working in some more relaxing beach days with the more strenuous hiking/snorkeling days.

[rollie]

If it was me I'd book them both b2b, but if I had to make a choice it would be the 2nd. Aruba is a favorite of mine. Their both great though.

 

Rollie

[DrmnOfMaui]

If it was me I'd book them both b2b, but if I had to make a choice it would be the 2nd. Aruba is a favorite of mine. Their both great though.

 

Rollie

 

Now that is the best advice out there!!:D

[seb]

For us, choice 1 is the best... We have been on Adventure of the Seas and did a 12 day cruise that hit all the islands and we have been on Serenade and done both routes.

 

1. San Juan, Puerto Rico; Bridgetown, Barbados; Castries, St. Lucia; St. John's, Antigua; Philipsburg, St. Maarten; St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands; San Juan, Puerto Rico

 

As others have said, it really depends on your interests. I scuba dive and IMHO these islands have the best areas for scuba or snorkel.

 

Barbados is a GREAT island for scuba or snorkel..lots of shipwrecks and areas to explore there, St. Lucia is just a fantastic island ( we loved it so much from our first cruise there we stayed there for 8 days the following year). Also excellent dive or snorkel opportunities. The island is still "quaint" and not overly commercial like some of the others. Antigua has some of the best beaches around, actually 365 of them. Pick one and relax all day :-).

 

Really no matter what route you take you will enjoy. Personally for us, the reason we fly to PR to cruise from the west coast is to be as port intensive as possible, so the 1 sea day fits our style better. Having said that, we are on Oasis in March out of Florida and will be visiting St. Martin and St. Thomas with 3 sea days.

 

Enjoy your cruise

 

Steve

[Bxc53]

Personally, I'd be happy with either itin. I do like Aruba, though. We spent a week there a couple years ago on a combo work/leisure visit. The people were very friendly and accommodating and we enjoyed the beaches and exploring the drier North side. We are looking forward to revisiting on a cruise.

[Islandbear]

I vote for 1 day at sea over 2 days at sea any time. Can't get that Island Groove from the deck of a ship.:p

[ztacruisnmommy]

there is a bunch of cc members going on the nov 7th with one sea day and we are a fun bunch!:p

 

the only island that doesnt interest me is stcroix but that can be an extra sea day. but no matter which one you choose it will be a great cruise

[DrmnOfMaui]

the only island that doesnt interest me is stcroix but that can be an extra sea day. but no matter which one you choose it will be a great cruise

 

You know, we had the same thoughts. I was not really even looking forward to St. Croix, but we ended up really having a fun day! There is not much to do there, one couple rented a car, drove around the island and was back on board by 11 AM saying there was not much to see. However, our family got off the ship, wandered down the beach to the left of the ship and found this neat little bar/restaurant with big chairs out front and enjoyed a leisurly beach day. This was appealing to us as we had spent the last few days doing intensive port days, sot his turned out to be really fun! A stroll thru the town, time on the beach relaxing and then back to the ship to get set packing up. It worked much better than I had thought it would!:)

[golfer1966]

I personally would choose the Aruba/Curacao itin. These are beautiful islands and are otherwise very expensive to fly to ever visit them. Plus 2 sea days is a plus in my book.

 

 

I agreed so much that I booked it for November 14th.....;)

[Desert Cruizers]

We enjoy having 2 sea days, I hope to do a Southern Caribbean, so far only the Eastern.

[DGNY]

Not to state the obvious...but you don't need to go into Port every day. You could always stay on the ship for the port that has the least appeal and treat it as a sea day. An added bonus would be that the ship is WAY less crowded then it would on an actual sea day.