Eastern Caribbean vs. Western Caribbean

[tipfamily]

Are any locations better than the others when going on an Eastern Caribbean Cruise vs. Western Caribbean? We reserved a spot on the Eastern Caribbean Valor but wondering if we should consider Western Caribbean. Thanks for any input.

[sunvalley cruisers]

I looked very carefully at the excursions that were available for the ports of call this time around. My dh wanted to do the Mayan ruin tour and the zip line canopy tour, so we booked western this time on the Conquest.

 

I really wanted to do Nassau on the eastern because I love The Atlantis Hotel. It'll have to wait for the next cruise, dh won out-it's his first cruise. Next time I'll book a hotel at the Atlantis so that we can have full access to the resort. It is really something else! Closest thing would be some of the mega hotels in Vegas, but the don't even come close because there is no ocean!

 

Good luck!

[Chucksta63]

I am doing Western but I think it depends on the itenary. I have read a bunch on the Eastern and getting into one of the ports and everything was closed.:eek:

Why Stop I think they docked at 5pm? Also some hastle about one of the ports and having to go through customs or something like that lots of griping. Just do your research like you are doing and you will find the one for you!:) I have read thet even a bad cruise is better than a good day at work!:D

[CaribbeanCrazy]

When are you planning on going?

On our back to back Eastern/Western cruise on the Glory this past Feb....the weather was alot better on the Western route. I know the weather can vary from year to year...but our first week on the Eastern route it was much cooler and it rained more. The staff said western intinerary is usually warmer. And It was!

If your going in the spring or summer when Florida is warmer...I don't think it matters much weather wise.

You can't go wrong with either intineraries. We enjoyed them both. Maybe if you can't decide...you should do a back to back also!:)

 

CaribbeanCrazy

[dgack1]

Western is my favorite. I think that there is more choices of things to do, ruins, cave tubing, diving, and so forth. But whatever you choose, I'm sure that you will have a good time.

[voyagerfl]

When are you planning on going?

On our back to back Eastern/Western cruise on the Glory this past Feb....the weather was alot better on the Western route. I know the weather can vary from year to year...but our first week on the Eastern route it was much cooler and it rained more. The staff said western intinerary is usually warmer. And It was!

If your going in the spring or summer when Florida is warmer...I don't think it matters much weather wise.

You can't go wrong with either intineraries. We enjoyed them both. Maybe if you can't decide...you should do a back to back also!:)

 

CaribbeanCrazy

 

So tell me.......what is the procedure on a Back-To-Back Cruise....

When you get back from the first week, to you have to get off and re-board the ship.........go through the check-in again and all that ???

[CaribbeanCrazy]

voyagerfl,

On our BTB cruises prior to the Glory...we DID NOT have to get off the ship to check in. We DID have to this time. It was pretty painless though. Except for the fact that the procedure isn't that clear on the paper they give you.

Around 10:30am all the back to backers met over by the pursers desk. After everyone on the list was accounted for...a Carnival employee escorted us off the ship through security. After we went through security...they took us over to the Skippers Club desk to check us back in. There were no lines here so it was pretty quick.

I think there might have been a short wait before they allowed you back on. Probably after customs cleared the ship. I'm not really sure how long...because after DH and I checked in...we went into town to do some shopping.

This was also the first ship that made us go to the Muster Drill again. On our past cruises they let us stay in our cabin being we already participated the first week.

Sorry it took so long for me to answer you question...I haven't been checking my posts as often as I should.

If you have any other questions...I'll be happy to answer them.

 

CaribbeanCrazy

[CrazyMums]

Caribbean Crazy,

When you book BTB, do they give you a big discount or do you pay the same rate for the second week? I've always wanted to do this. It's just too depressing having to leave the ship!

 

To the OP,

we also felt there was more to do on the Western route as far as tours, but they've added some new ports on the Eastern and Southern so we'll probably try that again in the future. I think the suggestion to check shore tours and see what you're interested in was a good one. Enjoy!

[lil nemo]

what do you mean they made you?????

we have not always attended the muster drill????

[lil nemo]

Are any locations better than the others when going on an Eastern Caribbean Cruise vs. Western Caribbean? We reserved a spot on the Eastern Caribbean Valor but wondering if we should consider Western Caribbean. Thanks for any input.

this is purely subject to your likes and dislikes, and all ships itineries are not even the same some are exoctic eastern, exoctic western. etc. all islands even if they are directly next to each other vary so much! which is all the fun of a new port!

To really take advantage of each port and select the best itinerary is to do alot, alot of reasearch. know what time the ship is at port, and know what time those ports come to life..... and what times they shut down! if you plan on taking only excursons through the ship, this doesn't matter as much. but it will if your day is filled with a ship excurision and you think you will have time to look around a port town or shop!

Find the ports of the carribean that really interest you and find a cruise that visits the most of them!

 

1 piece of advice, on a 7 day cruise a 5 day port itinerary is very hectic!! sometimes exhuasting!! 4 ports are ideal, 3 ports to few? JMO!

[sugar n spice]

I am doing Western but I think it depends on the itenary. I have read a bunch on the Eastern and getting into one of the ports and everything was closed.:eek: Why Stop I think they docked at 5pm?

 

Also some hastle about one of the ports and having to go through customs or something like that lots of griping. Just do your research like you are doing and you will find the one for you!:) I have read thet even a bad cruise is better than a good day at work!:D

 

This is exactly why I transfered our Triumph Eastern Caribbean to the Western even though we had already done the Western Caribbean cruise on the Glory last year. After booking with a Carnival PVP, I found out that the Triumph didn't get to San Juan until 5 p.m. I also found out that most of the excursions, shops and stores close around 6p.m or that we wouldn't be able to disembark and make it to the excursion in time. The only thing we could really count on were the bars and restaurants at that late hour (unless there were some night time excursions I didn't find out about). There was one that was a walking night time tour of some of the places in the city and the guide would share historical information about them but I didn't think that would be very exciting for our 19 year old on their first cruise. I was looking forward to the Eastern Caribbean cruise but the Triumph western itenerary has only one port that DH and I had already visited. The other two will be new so that is fine with us.

 

Would someone please share the information on which port had problems with hassles/customs?? I have not heard about that.

[LizaMM]

I really think that this is a very subjective thing....you can find many slight variances between each Eastern run as well as each Western run. When I was booking my most recent cruise I was trying to decide between 4 sailings...2 were Eastern and 2 were Western and they each hit different ports of call or docked/anchored during different hours of the day.

 

Some of the things I've thought about when deciding??....

 

- Who am I traveling with?? The first time I traveled as a single parent with my 4 kids (ranging in age from 5 to 13 at the time) I chose Eastern because I thought the things we would do in port were easier to arrange for such a wide age group. I also thought more days at sea were better for that particular trip. The expense of the excursions in port were lower which meant a lot to me as I was fairly recently divorced and it was a hefty price tag to accomodate the 5 of us appropriately to begin with.

 

- What do I want out of this vacation??? Am I going for R&R? Do I want to experience certain things in port?? Am I longing to just be on a ship and don't care where?

 

- What do I want to spend my money on??? Excursions (especially for a large family) can add up fast. I am also a big fan of spending money onboard for example in the Spa :) If it's an R&R vacay for example I don't much care which ports I may visit and I will probably be booking a bunch of time in the Spa. Or just hitting a beach or staying onboard on port days.

 

- How much and what kind of things do I want to do??? It is true that an itinerary with many ports of call can leave you tired at the end of the trip! BUT in a good way of course!! By the same token, the ship is usually much quiter and not crowded on those port days if you simply opt to stay onboard.

 

I have visted several ports of call on more than one occasion - either by cruising there or having had a "land" vacation there. I have never been bored :D

[CaribbeanCrazy]

lil nemo,

Well they didn't exactly drag us kicking and screaming.:) I made the mistake of asking at the pursers desk if we needed to attend. They were very adamant that we must attend. I even told the purser that we have never had to go twice on other ships...but it made no difference. She said we MUST go. I suppose we could have hid in our cabin....but I don't like to cause problems by going against procedure...so we just went. Not that big of a deal...just dumb being you already know everything from the first week.

Like I mentioned above...this is the first time we had to get off the ship after the first week...to check in for the second week. This is also dumb. We had to go through customs twice.:( On the other ships we have been on...mostly other Carnival ships...we were checked in for both weeks on the first day. Or sometime during the first week you would give them your second weeks doc's. I'm not sure if the procedure has been changed...or it varies from ship to ship.

 

CrazyMums,

100.00 total per cabin...not per person. Not much...but better than nothing.:) You should try it some time. It's much more relaxing than a one week cruise. DH and I have been on 12 cruises since 10-03. All but 2 were 12-16 day cruises.

 

CaribbeanCrazy

[lil nemo]

lil nemo,

Well they didn't exactly drag us kicking and screaming.:) I made the mistake of asking at the pursers desk if we needed to attend. They were very adamant that we must attend. I even told the purser that we have never had to go twice on other ships...but it made no difference. She said we MUST go. I suppose we could have hid in our cabin....but I don't like to cause problems by going against procedure...so we just went. Not that big of a deal...just dumb being you already know everything from the first week.

Like I mentioned above...this is the first time we had to get off the ship after the first week...to check in for the second week. This is also dumb. We had to go through customs twice.:( On the other ships we have been on...mostly other Carnival ships...we were checked in for both weeks on the first day. Or sometime during the first week you would give them your second weeks doc's. I'm not sure if the procedure has been changed...or it varies from ship to ship.

 

CrazyMums,

100.00 total per cabin...not per person. Not much...but better than nothing.:) You should try it some time. It's much more relaxing than a one week cruise. DH and I have been on 12 cruises since 10-03. All but 2 were 12-16 day cruises.

 

CaribbeanCrazy

I really want to do a back to back, tell me you didn't have to pack up stuff and take it off with you. that would be such a waste!!!

 

We don't usually particapte in the muster drill. we check out where our station is and read the procedure. and then just hang out on the balcony until its over. chillin with a cold drink , un pack a little, much better use of "my" vacation. I'm not into this masses forced education. we don't have any special needs or small children. after the first 2 times aboard a cruise ship & then a late arrival where they had done the muster without all passengers aboard. we were told when we checked in they said the drill had already taken place and to become familar on our own with our station. After that I sorta figured it wasn't as mandatory as they want you to beleive.

[MamaParrotHead]

I looked at a few western itineraries and to me, several stops in mexico is overkill. I'm sure that the towns differ and there may be other things to see, but it's been my experience as far as land-based mexican vacations go, that mexico is mexico is mexico. I chose eastern because I really want a taste of the variety of cultures that the eastern route offered, plus we're going on the Valor and I'm pumped about being on a new ship.

[FlaJam]

Hey mamaparrotthead:

 

The western caribbean for the most part is ok... Jamiaca stunk (except of course for Ochios Rios Margaritaville & Dunn River Falls was Fun as well!)... The rest of jamaica was useless... Grand Cayman is awesome... 7 mile beach is beautiful... It is a picture perfect Jimmy Buffett beach! Cozumel & Cancun are ok but not very exciting... Xel-Ha was good... The snorkeling was some of the best I've done... Second to Hawiaii... The DW & myself are going to the Eastern Caribbean for the first time on the Triumph on 4/9... So looking forward to that... I will have my Jimmy Buffett tapes & Jimmy Buffett t-shirts with me... So, go East my young lass & catch a bananna breeze to paradise & a salty piece of land.... :D

[MamaParrotHead]

Hey mamaparrotthead:

 

The western caribbean for the most part is ok... Jamiaca stunk (except of course for Ochios Rios Margaritaville & Dunn River Falls was Fun as well!)... The rest of jamaica was useless... Grand Cayman is awesome... 7 mile beach is beautiful... It is a picture perfect Jimmy Buffett beach! Cozumel & Cancun are ok but not very exciting... Xel-Ha was good... The snorkeling was some of the best I've done... Second to Hawiaii... The DW & myself are going to the Eastern Caribbean for the first time on the Triumph on 4/9... So looking forward to that... I will have my Jimmy Buffett tapes & Jimmy Buffett t-shirts with me... So, go East my young lass & catch a bananna breeze to paradise & a salty piece of land.... :D

 

Thanks for the tips, FlaJam! I'm gonna offer one of my own...there's some shops (both in St. Thomas and St. Martin) called, "Last Mango in Paradise". The rumor is they have some AWESOME Buffett-type souvenirs (similar to the things found in Margaritaville, I think). Check it out! :D FINS UP!

 

p.s.--"HAPPY BIRTHDAY" 2 days early! ;)

[sunkey1]

Hey FlaJam,

 

A few years back we went on the Victory - eastern - to St. Croix. Took a catamaran tour there - the Jolly Roger. Sailed along the coast on a beautiful sunny day, rum punch in hand, wind in hair, and Jimmy Buffet playing - it was absolutely my idea of what heaven would be like. The rum punch flowed so heavily that day (they said we broke a record for consumption) that by the time we got back to the ship, nobody was feeling any pain. As we were walking back along the pier, one of our party said that they had read that sea horses swam around the pilings of the pier. He decided he wanted to see if this was true, so, BAM, he jumped in! This was a jump of about 15-20 feet. Luckily there was a ladder coming back up to the pier. Well, before you knew it we were all jumping in and had an absolute blast! This was definitely one of our best cruise experiences.

[FlaJam]

Thanks MamaParrotthead for the tip & the birthday wishes!... Sunkey1, I hope me & the DW have that kind of dang fun!!! I'll say a toast for both of ya when I'm laying out on my own salty piece of land & sailing on Mother Ocean... It's going to be a "Lovely Cruise!" :D

[staylor]

Had a blast on the Western route! LOVED Roatan and can't wait to go back there. Belize was very nice (Shark swim and Caye Caulker) and Cozumel has a little of everything! Go west!

[FlaJam]

I'd like to go to Roatan & Belize... If you can bypass Jamaica for one of those ports, for sure, go West!!! Heck a bad day on any beach is a whole lot dang better than a good day at work!!! :D

[Ronath]

tipfamily, both itineraries have their good points. The Western has more water activities, diving, snorkeling, etc. The Eastern has alot of good points to. We like them both. Below, you may find some pictures to help you out.

[staylor]

Flamjam- You can!....Valor sails to Cozumel, Cayman, Belize and Roatan.

[FlaJam]

Once I get back from my Triumph cruise, I'll look into that cruise... Sounds like one me & the DW can take the kids on... Thanks for the info!!!!:)

[staylor]

I see you only have a week to go...enjoy your cruise! It's the best week of the year, isn't it? :D