Planning 2nd Cruise! Southern - advice?

[Ocean Boy]

We are travelling with our kids next April on Serenade. Did we make a mistake in choosing that one? It was a toss-up between Adventure & Serenade but my hubby and I have done the Adventure itinerary already plus we like that the Serenade has their last day as "at sea".

 

Though I prefer Adventure over Serenade, there will still be plenty for your kids to do on Serenade to keep them entertained and busy. And I, also, like having the last day at sea to wind down before having to leave the ship.

[Cruising89143]

hey cruisin gator, what didn't you like about St croix? I agree st martin is my favorite. I would skip a cruise and just stay ther except the airfare is outrageous.

 

Glen

 

Not much there to do. Both times that we were there was on Carnival and the best thing going for it was the nightly street party that they held for cruise passengers. Crime on this islands became a huge issue and the cruise lines dropped the port call. They are slowly coming back.

[blonde375]

I haven't been on either of those ships...yet... but, I can comment on the itinerary and the ports...

 

I sailed on the Southern route of St. Thomas, St. Maarten, Antigua, St. Lucia, and Barbados out of San Juan with a girlfriend a few years ago. Loved all of the ports (St. Maarten was least favorite though). Shore excursions were great (horseback riding in St. Thomas with shopping afterwards, beach break in St. Maarten, catamaran sail and snorkel in Antigua, botanical guardens, lunch, waterfalls in St. Lucia and a 4x4 jeep in Barbados). Only had one day at sea at the end and that was the part I didn't like. Not enough ship time to relax. The ports were so great; but, I felt like we were always on the go.

 

We are booked on the Serenade for 9/5/2010. Flying in to San Juan the day before not so much because of worry of flight delays (i've only ever flowin in on departure day before) but my husband and I wanted an extra day to unwind. Staying at the Marriott San Juan and Stellaris Casino... got it for $110 on Priceline.

 

We chose the Aruba, Curacao, Dominica, St. Thomas route this time for the extra sea day. I love relaxing on the ship and having a day at the beginning to unwind and then a day again at the end of the ports to do the same.

 

Have fun in your planning!!

[Donna - dsw]

Just booked AOS for 2/6/11 - even with air to SJ - right now $399. per person - it is cheaper than any other cruise for us.

 

Now the planning begins!

[Bella1031]

People will tell you you need to stay in San Juan the night before and some will even say the night before and after.

 

In October, your chances of a flight delay are fairly minimal. I've three cruises in early March, traveling from New England, and never had a delay.

 

Your cruise does not depart until at least 8PM. There is very little chance you will miss the cruise by taking a same-day flight. Yes, there is certainly a risk. There is a risk of all sorts of things. For us, the risk is not significant enough to warrant the additional expense of the hotel/food costs associated with adding pre or post day stays in San Juan.

 

When we cruised in March, we had an 8:30AM flight out of Boston. We arrived in San Juan around 1PM. We were actually EARLY. (Puerto Rico does not observe daylight savings time, the flight is not actually as long as it sounds.) To get a non-stop flight, we had to go out of an airport located an hour and a half away, meaning we were on the road by 5AM. Yeah, we were TIRED our first night on the ship. But if you add a pre/post night stay to a nine day cruise, you're into a 10-11 day vacation.

 

In order to make a 4PM departure out of Florida, a pre-cruise stay makes sense. Out of San Juan, I think it's a gamble worth taking to save the money.

 

Also agree. We flew in to San Juan from Savannah the day of the cruise. Our flight left Savannah at 6am we were at the Adventure at 12:30pm and at 12:40 we were in our cabin. We were super early. The ship didn't depart until 10pm.

[murfturf]

Thank you all!

 

Just booked AOS for 7 day on Jan 2 - which is the route that has 2 sea days, includes Aruba and Curacao. We are getting into San Juan the 1st, and then spending 2 more nights there after. Hubby wanted a 10 day vacation, I didn't want to be "out of the loop" for 10 days like you are on a cruise ship so we compromised. We get 7 days on the ship, and then 2 days just to relax before we come home but we can still call the kids and check on them :)

 

SO excited!