want to do a S. Caribbean route, torn re: which line to take.

[MamaParrotHead]

We did Carnival Valor E. Caribbean route and LOVED everything about it. Torn regarding which line to take for the southern route in a year or two. What have been your experiences?

 

Thanks!

[caviargal]

Recently, I have done Adventure of the Seas, Serenade of the Seas, both on RCI. The other ships I have taken on that route are no longer in service (Costa, NCL, Regency, older RCI ships).

 

I was also on Inspiration, Southern Caribbean.

 

My preferences were:

 

Serenade

AOS

Inspiration (never again)

 

I plan to sail Constellation and also Serenade again. It is my second favorite itinerary.

[Imasealuvr]

I would suggest the Constellation. Great Ship and route.

[serene56]

Sometimes cruiselines change their ships on Itineraries.

 

Youwill be taking your kids with you too??

 

We are sailing the Destiny in September 2006. I get so many mixed reviews so I figured take the cruise and decide myself.

[MamaParrotHead]

no, no kids. :)

[Bruin Steve]

There is no RIGHT answer here...

Everyone has their own criteria and there own preferences for cruise lines...and the particular ship may be important as well...

 

We just did the Southern Caribbean a couple of months ago on the Celebrity Constellation...

 

For us, we just love Celebrity...Really superior in terms of food, service and elegance and spaciousness of the ships--particularly the newer and larger M-Class-like the Constellation...

 

Our route was San Juan - Casa de Campo, Dominican Republic - at sea - Barbados - Grenada - Antigua - St. Thomas - San Juan...a pretty good selection of stops, I think...

 

The route is port-intensive, so there's not a lot of time at sea during the day...Those RCCL Voyager class ships are pretty cool with all the amenities like rock-climbing walls and ice rinks and roller blade tracks, but with all those port days, such amenities seem superfluous...

 

Of course, if you're into a little more of a party atmosphere than you are an elegant sailing, perhaps you go with Carnival again...

 

But, for me, having cruised on six different lines (Carnival, Premier, RCCL, Norwegian, Princess and Celebrity), Celebrity is my clear first choice...

 

Of course, yours may be different...

[serene56]

no, no kids. :)

 

 

oh what a great vacation...lol

[AnnJohn]

We loved our Southern cruise on the Galaxy--

San Juan, St. Thomas, St. Kitts, Barbados, Margarita, Aruba. Great itinerary and great ship.

[caviargal]

MamaParrothead: I love Celebrity but you commented that you were on Valor and "loved everything about it".

 

IMHO, Celebrity is as far away from the Carnival experience as you can get. For me, that is a wonderful thing but Carnival fans would likely think differently.

[Clubber]

We love the Southern Carribean as you can see from my past cruises. Our favorite Islands are Aruba and St. Martin. Most cruises will also stop at St. Thomas. AOS itinerary was great with the above plus Curacao. Hard to beat that. We are looking forward to the Golden this winter with stops at St. Thomas, St. Kitts, Grenada, Isla Margarita and Aruba.

[cruiseapril]

We just did the Southern Medley with Princess- it was very good. We went to Curacao, Isla Margarita, Barbados, Dominica, St. Thomas, and Princess Cays in that order.

[CaptData]

I was on Maasdam in Feb. We did a southern out of Norfolk. I found that San Jaun had very little time and due to late arrival of ship another stop was shortened. The trip down was cool and rough. It was still a good trip without having to fly to San Jaun. Just a thought.

[getaway101]

We are going on the Sun Princess in April '06 with the itinerary of

 

Fort Lauderdale

At Sea

At Sea

Curacao

Margarita Island

Barbados

Dominica

St Thomas

At Sea

Princess Cays (private Island)

Fort Lauderdale

 

We have been on the Island P and the Dawn P and absolutely loved both cruises. Got some great rates for this cruise also on the balcony cabins.

[ryansmemom]

Are you interested in taking a cruise that is longer than seven days? If you take a longer cruise you will probably find fewer kids. We took 2 HAL cruises on the Rotterdam that were 10 days long and included a partial transit of the Panama Canal. That was awesome. We sailed out of Fort Lauderdale and hit some great ports including Aruba and Curasau(sp).

 

In Curasau(sp), when a HAL ship leaves port at night they have a teriffic fireworks display. It is really special. The route also included their private island which is spectacular.

 

HAL is in the process of enhancing all of their ships. Check out their web site.

[michmike]

Depends on the length of cruise you want to take, but if you enjoy the time in ports, then you may want to consider lines that leave out of San Juan. That way you avoid at least a day down and a day back from Ft Lauderdale. Know that Celebrity has cruises from San Juan. Not sure what other lines do. We did the southern itinerary out of San Juan on Galaxy 5 yrs ago and enjoyed it immensely. We hit 5 ports in 7 days (at that time Antigua, St Lucia, Barbados, Martinique and St Thomas).

 

Only downside, depending on where you are coming from, is the additional cost of flights to San Juan.

 

It may be that other lines go out of San Juan as well, all I know of for sure is Celebrity. Do know that HAL doesn't and we wish they did.

[GCurry]

We did a 10 day Southern on HAL's Zaandam out of Lauderdale. Bonaire, Isla Margarita, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, St. Thomas, & Nassau it was a great one, beautiful ship, good food, & interesting ports. Our next is a 12 day to the Canal out of Galveston on Galaxy if that's of interest to you.

[cim]

Sometimes cruiselines change their ships on Itineraries.

 

Youwill be taking your kids with you too??

 

We are sailing the Destiny in September 2006. I get so many mixed reviews so I figured take the cruise and decide myself.

 

I will add to mix. Did the Destiny on the southern in April. It was outstanding. What ever u take should include Aruba. Only problem with southern is too many port calls. However alot of people like more ports. I just perfer a 3rd day at sea.

[puffer46]

No matter which ship you choose you will love the southern caribbean. Each ship has their own special things that we could discuss back and forth forever. Have done the S. Caribbean 3 times,:p on Carnival Destiny and R.C. Adv.of the Seas. Loved both ships but really really loved the So. Caribbean islands best of all.

[mrg0433]

We sailed the Norwegian Dawn from NY for ten days last December and loved cruising to Barbados, St. Martin, Antigua, St. Thomas, and Tortola. In 2006, we are sailing the NCL Spirit over Thanksgiving for eleven days to Tortola, St. Martin, Antigua, Barbados, Grenada, and Dominica (small island near Barbados--not the one next to Haiti). Barbados and St. Martin are our favorite ports, but can't wait to see Grenada and Dominica for the first time next year.

 

We loved freestyle dining on NCL Dawn because they had so many restaurants: Mexican, Italian, Steak House, French, English Pub, Venetian Dining Room, Japanese, 2 American Restaurants, Upper Deck BBQ, NY Deli, Chinese/Fast Food. The Chinese LoIt makes a longer cruise so much more fun eating in a different venue each night. I get bored with one dining room every night.

As if that isn't enough--We are sailing RCI Jewel of the Seas from Boston to Bermuda, St. Martin, San Juan, and Labadee in late October. Can't Wait.

[serene56]

I will add to mix. Did the Destiny on the southern in April. It was outstanding. What ever u take should include Aruba. Only problem with southern is too many port calls. However alot of people like more ports. I just perfer a 3rd day at sea.

 

Not only is the Destiny port intensive--there are two ports that we are there 11 am til 11pm. wow lots of port time,

 

I am booked on the Destiny--but looked at prices for the same week same destinations on a Royal ship- its almost 300.pp more then what i am paying on the Destiny. I wonder why.

[caviargal]

Not only is the Destiny port intensive--there are two ports that we are there 11 am til 11pm. wow lots of port time,

 

I am booked on the Destiny--but looked at prices for the same week same destinations on a Royal ship- its almost 300.pp more then what i am paying on the Destiny. I wonder why.

 

IME, RCI is typically priced higher than Carnival.

 

IMHO, you get what you pay for. Carnival is often the least expensive for any given itinerary and this is why they are known for being a value priced line. If you enjoy their style, this is a great choice and a great savings. But Carnival is not for everyone.

[MamaParrotHead]

we're looking at June to cruise (2007) and Carnival and RCI are the only lines that seem to have ships in the Caribbean at that time. Looks to me like we're leaning towards the Destiny. Thanks for all the replies! :)

[luvdasea]

We're going in Feb 2006. I'll let you know how it is!:)

[Tmeister]

I'll add my vote for the Sun Princess, which sails two different southern itineraries. Whichever ship you take, make sure the route includes Dominica. The waterfalls and lush foliage there are incomparable, and snorkeling off Champagne Beach can't be beat!