Favorite Caribbean Port

[cruisinwithboys]

We just got off our cruise yesterday and now it is time to start planning for our next one! We have done the Eastern and Western but want to change it up a bit. We love both Carnival and Royal Caribbean, we are younger so some of the fancier lines aren't for us! So, please tell me what your favorite Caribbean port/itinerary is, I can't do this on my own!

[DonnaK]

Why dont you try a Southern Caribbean cruise? They leave from San Juan and go to islands that aren't so common on other itineraries.

 

You mentioned Royal Caribbean - look at Serenade of the Seas (year-round) and Adventure of the Seas (Winter only) for some great southern itineraries.

[OCruisers]

:) St. Maarten/St.Martin

[okbowler]

St. Marteen for shopping. For mostly unspoiled scenery and natural beauty, St Lucia, Grenada and several other islands on southern carib. cruises. Bill

[MissRabbit]

i loved st. Maarten, but i didn't go further than the Big Black Banana drinks @ Everyting's Cool and the gorgeous beach near the port lol

 

Barbados was just ho-hum but St,. Lucia was gorgeous.

 

I loved St. Kitts & Nevis. Took a catamaran cruise out to Nevis. We were late coming back and the ship had to wait for us. Here we were, coming back to port, music blaring, singing and dancing and the likker pouring freely. Man that was fun.

[Putterdude]

My favourite bar non is Barbados then St. Kitts. The place that I could care less that I ever go back to is Trinidad. Both Barbados and St. Kitts have wonderful history and beautiful beaches. Being younger you would also prbably enjoy the port facility in Grand Turk, the beaches and snorkeling.:)

[ATL2LAS]

If you are looking at the deep southern caribbean, I loved Aruba. Plenty of beaches and the food is great. Easily walkable to many public beaches and casinos.

[cruiserbryce]

So far St Martin...but we really had a good time in Barbados in Dec...wish we would have had more time there after our excursion

[broberts]

If you have the time available consider doing a cruise slightly longer than 7 nights. Even a day or two more makes the experience different. Most particularly I've found a dramatic lessening of the real sadness that I experience on the last night of every cruise.

 

One of my favorite cruises was a 10 night out of Ft Lauderdale that went in and out of the Atlantic side locks (Gatun) of the Panama Canal. Ports of call included Aruba, Cartagena, Puerto Limon, and Grand Cayman.

 

Cartagena was a wonderful surprise. A history similar to Old San Juan, the city has a wonderfully preserved old section. The sail in is really different from those in the islands. Well worth being up top at the front.

 

The Panama Canal experience, while not a full traversal, was wonderful. Well worth being up before dawn to get a good vantage point.

[Colorado Kat]

I actually really liked Jamaica. Took a tour into the rain forest, and visited a nice secluded beach, and climbed the waterfall.

[Donder1]

Barbados. Beach at Hilton (you can get a day pass there, no reservations needed) is one of the best I've ever been to.

 

St. Lucia Cosol tour is great!

 

St Martin is beautiful!

 

Aruba, great beaches and shopping.

 

Bonaire, incredible snorkling!

[patseacruiser]

Barbados! Try the Southern Caribbean.

[Bonnie J.]

You don't have to go to San Juan for the Sourhtern Caribean. We even left from Philadelphia once for the Sourthern Caribean! (Returned to Charleston, SC though.)

Aruba and Curacao and the islands of this area are different from Eastern or Western Carbiean. They don't seem as touristy. Go Southern from Florida!

[Host Kewlguy]

Definitely Barbados. Love the beaches.

[printingchick]

Two favorites, both southern.

 

Dominica:

Very unspoiled rain-forest island with amazing water falls and black sand beaches. NOT a stop-and-shop kind of tourist location. Much of the movie, "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" was filmed in Dominica. You HAVE to book a tour/excursion and get out into the island. It's so completely different than other islands you will visit. Have been twice and LOVED it both times. If you go, I HIGHLY recommend booking with Bumpiing Tours.

 

St. John:

You have to ferry there from St. Thomas, but it's amazing. 75% of the island is protected park land. You will find yourself on a beach with NO ONE else there. We swam with the sea turtles, who did not seem to mind us being there. Wild donkies walked along the trails with us. Interesting ruins, incredible views, beautiful beaches. Most tourists go to Trunk Bay, which is GORGEOUS. However, I prefer venturing out to less well-known beaches and exploring trails.

 

Can you tell I really like the less developed ports??

[travlnblueberries]

Southern for us. We just came back from bermuda, and miss the southern caribbean so much.

[Host Kewlguy]

Southern for us. We just came back from bermuda, and miss the southern caribbean so much.

 

What didn't you like about Bermuda?

[HappiTravels]

I am so totally psyched. We were booked on the AOS Jan 23rd but due to some scheduling conflicts for my husband we had to cancel and we are now booked on our first ever 11 night cruise on Celebrity. 7 nights is the longest we have been on and some of the islands we have never been to. I can't wait.:)