Southern Caribbean-need help deciding

[abhb]

We are trying to decide between Serenade going to Tortola, St. Martin, St. Kitts, Dominica, and Barbados or Adventure going to St. Croix,, St. Martin, St. John's, St. Lucia, Barbados and Antigua. Except for St.Martin, these would be all new ports.

 

Which would you choose and why? It is for April 7 or 8 sailing and both are priced the same.

[cb at sea]

Which ships?

[abhb]

1st itinerary is Serenade second itinerary is Adventure.

[cruiseguy1016]

The island all have a lot to offer so I don't think you can go wrong either way. Since the price is the same I would base your decision on the ship. What are you looking for in a cruise ship? Are you looking for lots of activities? Or, are you looking for a little more peace and relaxation. The Adventure will have a lot more activities to offer i.e. the Royal Promenade and the skating rink. The Serenade, while slightly smaller, is a little more relaxing.

[aggie1]

Definitely go with the Serenade. Love the ship and these islands.

[cdamion]

We are trying to decide between Serenade going to Tortola, St. Martin, St. Kitts, Dominica, and Barbados or Adventure going to St. Croix,, St. Martin, St. John's, St. Lucia, Barbados and Antigua. Except for St.Martin, these would be all new ports.

 

Which would you choose and why? It is for April 7 or 8 sailing and both are priced the same.

 

I am trying to make a similar decision for winter '13.

 

The Serenade is going to go to a couple of the more undeveloped islands (St. Kitts and Dominica). Dominica is a very green island with an amazing amount of hiking, waterfalls, sulfer springs, champagne reef (snorkeling as bubbles come up from a hot springs under the ocean floor - also you can see seahorses here). The beaches are not Caribbean white sand, but the rainforests are spectacular.

 

All of the islands on the Adventure are more developed - St. Lucia is the most wild of the Adventure of the Seas port calls. It is very green and great tours.

 

Antigua, St. Maarten, and Barbados are all very developed with great beaches and resorts.

 

My taste is the less developed places and I would go with Serenade.

[mtsnd1900]

Since they are port intensive, the activities on the ship will not be used as much. I also like the less developed places, as they will some day become (over) developed like the rest and feel as though they should be visited before that happens.

 

While I loved the Adventure, I like the idea of a sea day. Though the one extra port is a nice one and you could always come back to the ship early somewhere...

 

Hate tough decisions like this, but I think I would try for the smaller ship with so many islands if they were priced exactly the same.

 

Port Differences:

Tortola, St. Kitts, Dominica

vs

St. Croix,, St. John's, St. Lucia, Antigua

[R_i_c_h]

I agree. It's a toss up. I'd say the serenade because I think Dominica is one of the most beautiful islands I've been to.

Rich

[Ocean Boy]

I much prefer Adventure over Serenade though that does not mean that I did not enjoy Serenade. However, I have no interest in going back to St. Croix. However, I would probably go with Adventure even though I prefer the other itinerary a bit more.

[kyriecat]

That's a really tough choice! I've been to all those islands except St. Croix. I didn't care much for St. Kitts. The Brimstone Fortress was interesting and offered some stunning views, but the beaches are blah. Tortola is a short boat ride away from Virgin Gorda, which has a fascinating beach. The rocks and caves were awesome. If you are adventurous enough to go through the caves, there is a gorgeous beach with tranquil waters and soft sands waiting. Dominica is interesting because it wasn't very developed when I was there 2 years ago. The tubing was fun and the scenery is great - mountainous and lush rainforest.

 

St. Lucia is my favorite of the Caribbean islands, which is why I booked the Adventure itinerary. I've been there 3 times on cruises and once for a week but still find new things to do. In my opinion, Antigua has the best beaches as well as some amazing historical sites. I'd pick Adventure if you haven't been to St. Lucia yet.

 

By the way, the Adventure itinerary doesn't have a stop in St. Johns (US Virgin Island). The stop is St. John's, Antigua (a city).

[Venusleo1]

I much prefer Adventure over Serenade though that does not mean that I did not enjoy Serenade. However, I have no interest in going back to St. Croix. However, I would probably go with Adventure even though I prefer the other itinerary a bit more.

 

aww we loved St. croix! It was one of my favorite stops and it was my husband's favorite stop. Why did you not enjoy it? We had a great day there with Gecko's island tours. We ATV's all the way up into the mountains and subtropical rainforest and then we rode wave runners at rainbow beach, hung out at their beach bar. I can't wait to go back to St. Croix.

[struther1]

I'd go on the Serenade, ports wouldn't matter to me. It is my favorite ship, beautiful, just the right size, so much glass, great crew, makes the decision easy for me. Been on Adventure too, liked it, but love Serenade.

[abhb]

Thanks so much for all of the comments. I think we are going to go with Adventure. We were on the Jewel through Panama Canal and felt although it was beautiful, we missed the Royal Promenade.

[39august]

Be aware that the port of St. John is on Antigua, not the island of St John. I don't see how you can miss with either of these. I've done all these islands except St. Croix. They all have their own special appeals. If you are going to Antigua, I highly recommend taking Eli's Eco Tour. Just google it. Or do a search on the Antigua board.

[dwdwnurse]

We have sailed on both the Serenade and the Adventure - We both prefer the Adventure! All of the islands that you mentioned for this itinerary are excellent.

[jt1120]

^^^ Exact opposite for us, sorry! We prefer the Radiance class to any of the other ships that RC has in their fleet. As for itinerary, I think it depends on what types of excursions you enjoy. If it was us, we'd go for the Serenade as she is our second favorite of all the ships we've sailed. Either that, or perhaps look to see what Celebrity has going on because their Solstice class ships are not to be missed.

[newlifeca]

We did the Adventure Intinerary last April, had a great time, haven't been on the Serenade, so I can't compare.

[ibcnusoon]

I would choose Serenede, the ports sound amazing! I'm all about the itinerary.