Which ports would you choose?

[DeRon]

We are trying to choose between two cruises where the differences are these ports:

 

Curacao

Aruba

Cartegena

 

OR

 

St Lucia

Barbados

Dominica

 

Which is better?

 

We like beaches, umbrellas and chairs with a drink! :)

[Pam in CA]

We are trying to choose between two cruises where the differences are these ports:

 

Curacao

Aruba

Cartegena

 

OR

 

St Lucia

Barbados

Dominica

 

Which is better?

 

We like beaches, umbrellas and chairs with a drink! :)

If you like beaches, then the St. Lucia cruise would be better. Curaçao and Aruba have beaches but I enjoy them because they are "different" from other Caribbean Islands. I wouldn't go to Cartagena for beaches. It's a wonderful city with lots of history.

[Jasperdo]

If all you're interested in are beaches, you probably wouldn't care for Cartegena. It is a large city with a fascinating history. But it's not really considered a beach port. All the other ports mentioned would have nice beaches.

[highheel girl]

St Lucia!

Barbados!

Dominica!

 

Hands down. :)

[Shogun]

Hi There

 

Barbados is a good stop, one side carm seas, the other side large crashing waves,

 

for a bar etc google the Boat yard small beach there to,

 

Dominca not realy a beach stop but some great jungle

 

 

St Lucia take your pick of great places to chill out at

 

 

yours Shogun

[PescadoAmarillo]

I agree with Shogun that Dominica is not a beach stop. I can't think of any nice beaches there. St. Lucia has several, but even they don't compare to Barbados, which has some of the best beaches in the Caribbean (skip the Boat Yard and go to Lobsters Alive next door).

 

Aruba has perfect beaches too, and Curaçao has a few, but Cartegena is not a beach stop.

 

Why not St. Martin, St. Thomas, Grand Turk, Princess Cays? Not a bad beach stop among them.

[DeRon]

I agree with Shogun that Dominica is not a beach stop. I can't think of any nice beaches there. St. Lucia has several, but even they don't compare to Barbados, which has some of the best beaches in the Caribbean (skip the Boat Yard and go to Lobsters Alive next door).

 

Aruba has perfect beaches too, and Curaçao has a few, but Cartegena is not a beach stop.

 

Why not St. Martin, St. Thomas, Grand Turk, Princess Cays? Not a bad beach stop among them.

 

Yes, on both of the 2 I'm looking at, St Martin and St Thomas are also in there!

[mapsmith]

We liked the Malibu Rum Distillery Beach at Barbados. Quiet, Sandy, not much for snorkeling but a really nice beach. And, oh yeah, Malibu Rum Drinks CHEAP

[alcpa1]

Neither of your choices are truly beach destinations for all the ports.

St. Thomas/St. John, St. Maarten, Turks and Caicos, Antigua, etc. all have better beaches than Cartegena within close proximity of the docks. There is a beach within a 5-10 minute walk from the cruise terminal in Barbados. The ships dock in the middle of the main shopping area in Aruba, beaches are within a five minute walk or you can take a bus or taxi to the hotel area for more water sports. On Curacao you will need a cab as the ships usually dock down the channel. The southern tip of Dominica, where the Atlantic meets the Caribbean is rocky but fascinating. There are a few small beach areas but they are an even longer distance from the pier. Check out the Caribbean Ports of Call for some hotels on St. Lucia with day passes or free beaches.

If I were only concentrating on beaches I'd include St. Maarten or St. John on the top of my list.

[DeRon]

If I were only concentrating on beaches I'd include St. Maarten or St. John on the top of my list.

 

Yes, we are going to St Thomas and St Maarten as well. Both cruises have these on their itinerary.

[Krazy Kruizers]

NHaving been to Cartagena several times -- we don't like the place. Not safe to go out of the freight area on your own.

 

Therefore I would choose the St Lucia, Barbados and Dominica cruise.

[Karysa]

If you like beaches, then the St. Lucia cruise would be better. Curaçao and Aruba have beaches but I enjoy them because they are "different" from other Caribbean Islands. I wouldn't go to Cartagena for beaches. It's a wonderful city with lots of history.

 

 

We have 2 cruises booked on the NCL Sun that have these ports along with a stop at St. Thomas and St. Maarten on both of them. Great beach islands on both cruises so if these cruises are your options I would just choose the one that has new ports to discover. For my DH on the other hand the choice would be even easier, he would choose the 11 day just for an extra day of sailing.

Edit: I see now that you are debating between the two cruises that we are taking. Good luck with your decision.

[Travelcat2]

Curacao

Aruba

Cartegena

 

For a real "international" experience, I would select the itinerary that includes thse ports. So much more to see than just beaches (although Aruba has glorious beaches.

[twokey]

Hi DeRon!

 

My partner and I chose the Cartegena, Curacao, Bonaire and Aruba ports of call because of the historyand beauty of the ports. For sunning and lounging, you'll have days at sea on the ship. I am quite excited with the prospect of snorkeling on Bonaire and just exploring Cartegena.

 

If you just want to lie on a beach, why cruise to different ports? It might make more sense to pick some island and go for a week or so. Or, as we did when I was in high school, charter a sailboat out of Tortola and just sail through the BVI's for a couple weeks - it was a great vacation.

Whatever your choice, I am confident you will enjoy the time of year cruise experience ahead.

 

Have fun!

[mr green]

Either combination shold be great!

 

john

[mousey]

I've never been to Cartegena or Dominica so either one would be a great choice for me. The DH and I had an awesome time in Aruba at a beautiful beach, and there is also gambling there if you have any interest in that. In Curacao we went on a great snorkeling trip where they had a sunken ship, it was awesome snorkeling. St. Lucia is beautiful, has great beaches, one of the best places for snorkeling that we've ever been. In Barbados, again great beaches and some really amazing snorkeling. I love all these ports! If your cruise also goes to St. Thomas, they have amazing beaches there. All this talk about beaches is making me crazy to have to wait till we cruise again in August. We are gong to Grand Turk, HMC, and Freeport...can't wait!!

 

Wherever you decide to cruise, I hope you have a fantastic time! You can't go wrong with any of these ports!:D

[Putterdude]

Aruba will certainly give you beaches but over all my choice would be:

St Lucia

Barbados

Dominica

[lcmslady]

St. Lucia

Dominica

Barbados

 

If you truly just want beaches....although there is so much more to see/do on these islands

 

St. Lucia - look up Spencer Ambrose www.spencerambrose.com He does various tours that end up at Jalousie Beach which is between the Pitons. I believe he does one that just goes to the beach. Have been to St. Lucia twice and spent the day with him both times.

 

Dominica - not truly a beach island but beautiful. Consider Levi Bumpping (not sure of the spelling). He does a tour that goes a couple of places where you can swim/snorkel

 

Barbados - great beaches.

 

Have fun!

[geoherb]

We went to Cartagena on our cruise to the Panama Canal. I chose the excursion to the mud volcano. It was a lot of fun. But areas of Cartagena are scary. We had an armed guard on our excursion bus. He wore a military uniform, but I couldn't tell what type of military branch he was with.

 

I love the beaches on Aruba. We did not go to them in Curacao but took a tour of the island instead. The highlight of that day, however, was dinner on our balcony that evening while our ship was still in port.

[Arzeena]

We are trying to choose between two cruises where the differences are these ports:

 

Curacao

Aruba

Cartegena

 

OR

 

St Lucia

Barbados

Dominica

 

Which is better?

 

We like beaches, umbrellas and chairs with a drink! :)

 

 

Hard decision! I love Aruba and Curacao AND I love Dominica. Recently I have not seen many ships going to Dominica that often, so I would take that opportunity. JMHO.