Demographic on Oceania Caribbean

[pacheco18]

My TA is tempting me to join him on a December cruise on Riviera to the Caribbean -- sort of last minute (at least for us).

I checked on O's website. The cruise is not selling well and the price is really good, with cheap upsells likely available.

 

Although I do not love the O-class ships or the Caribbean (LOL) I like the itinerary and I wouldn't mind a few cooking classes and a restful 10 days. Better than staying home.

 

Can anyone tell me how, if in any way, the demographic is different on an O Caribbean cruise from some of the more exotic cruises -- Europe, Asia, Africa? Also, I checked the roll call for the cruise -- not many people organize private tours (which is ALL i ever do) and I am wondering if you can just get off the ship and find something to do -- via taxi or tour hawkers.

 

I don't think I have been to the Caribbean in 25 years . . .

 

I'd appreciate any insights

[Mura]

I'm not an expert, Laraine, and we haven't done the Caribbean in a while -- most recently 2004, I think. But we never had any trouble finding vans and taxis by just leaving the ship at the various ports.

 

I haven't checked your itinerary to see exactly what those are ... but I doubt you'll really need to organize private tours.

 

Mura

[pacheco18]

I'm not an expert, Laraine, and we haven't done the Caribbean in a while -- most recently 2004, I think. But we never had any trouble finding vans and taxis by just leaving the ship at the various ports.

 

I haven't checked your itinerary to see exactly what those are ... but I doubt you'll really need to organize private tours.

 

Mura

 

Grand Turk

San Juan (just walk around old town -- no problem)

St. Maarten (roll call says 10000 cruises in port that day - 3 mega ships + Riviera)

St. Barts

Tortola -- was there 20 years ago on a yacht

La Romana

Princess Cays, Bahamas

 

I've book looking at the ports boards -- just to get an idea.

[Mura]

I did check your itinerary and saw three Miami-Miami possibilities. Did guess that this is the one you were talking about.

 

Haven't been to San Juan since 1974 but that's what we did then! Enjoyed it very much. Had a great free pina colada at the rum factory on a very hot day.

 

Most of the ports are ones we have thought about doing but never did. We spent several days on St Maarten back around 1983 (land trip) but most of our time was spent on Anguilla which we vastly preferred. Really didn't care for St. M at all.

[CAG]

My 40 year old daughter and her 46 year old significant other will be on this cruise. They were on the 10th anniversary cruise in July in Alaska and got "hooked", so booked this one. I am not sure what if anything they are planning on doing on shore but if you want, I can give her your email address. I did all the planning on the Alaska trip and they happily went along with my plans.

 

Cenia

[LuAnn]

My TA is tempting me to join him on a December cruise on Riviera to the Caribbean -- sort of last minute (at least for us).

I checked on O's website. The cruise is not selling well and the price is really good, with cheap upsells likely available.

 

Although I do not love the O-class ships or the Caribbean (LOL) I like the itinerary and I wouldn't mind a few cooking classes and a restful 10 days. Better than staying home.

 

Can anyone tell me how, if in any way, the demographic is different on an O Caribbean cruise from some of the more exotic cruises -- Europe, Asia, Africa? Also, I checked the roll call for the cruise -- not many people organize private tours (which is ALL i ever do) and I am wondering if you can just get off the ship and find something to do -- via taxi or tour hawkers.

 

I don't think I have been to the Caribbean in 25 years . . .

 

I'd appreciate any insights

 

the Carib. on both the smaller O ships as well as Azamara. And enjoyed them all. I think...we found...that the "demo" was very similar to the other cruises...and we enjoyed the same type of ship board activities etc. While we haven't been to the Carib on the O class ships...I can't imagine...at Xmas...that you wouldn't have a great time!!! What's NOT to like??? ;) And there will always be "hawkers" to help you!!!! LuAnn

[Caroldoll]

The demographics seem to be somewhat older that in the 40's. However, I have not felt the people were excessively elderly. We love the fact that the Caribbean has arrived at the conclusion that they make money from cruise ships. Most of the ports (not all) have developed the ports so that you do not have to go on tours. It is an English speaking country and there are always people around asking if you want tours. In San Juan, we have in the past done tours and it is time consuming and boring. I rather like Old San Juan which is walking distance from the ship. I don't think you need to worry about organizing anything in advance as you may not want a tour. I think that the Caribbean is wonderful and relaxing...not for everyone, however. We are water people and a lot of the ports have resorts and swimming right near the ship. Hope I have helped.

[DOJO466]

Hi Laraine,

If this is the Dec 12th sailing we are on this cruise. We have been to the carib twice on Regatta, once on Marina and this will be our second on Riviera. I have found the demographics to be a bit older than the sailings overseas. It's easier to get to the port etc.

We have never been to San Juan and we plan on just doing the Old City there. We also have never been to St. Maarten and have arranged for a tour. There will be over 10K people in port that day. We have been to Tortola twice so this time we are hiring a catamaran for a sail to Jost Van Dyke to enjoy "painkillers". Grand Turk has a pretty nice beach right at the dock. St Bart's is beautiful but very expensive. We have been there 3 times. Just walk around looking at the yachts. A Taxi around the island will cost at least $90 and it takes an hour. We do not get off the ship in Dominican, not a favorite island.

To us the ship is the real destination.

I suppose this sailing is not selling as quickly as it is so close to the holidays.

Hope you decide to join us, we have quite a few already signed up for M&G but not as many as I have seen on prior trips.

[cdn.cruiser]

I looked at the O website. Are the prices listed the reduced prices? What were they before? iif you are comparing a B3 veranda, how much did they go down?

Thanks.

[pacheco18]

Hi Laraine,

If this is the Dec 12th sailing we are on this cruise. We have been to the carib twice on Regatta, once on Marina and this will be our second on Riviera. I have found the demographics to be a bit older than the sailings overseas. It's easier to get to the port etc.

We have never been to San Juan and we plan on just doing the Old City there. We also have never been to St. Maarten and have arranged for a tour. There will be over 10K people in port that day. We have been to Tortola twice so this time we are hiring a catamaran for a sail to Jost Van Dyke to enjoy "painkillers". Grand Turk has a pretty nice beach right at the dock. St Bart's is beautiful but very expensive. We have been there 3 times. Just walk around looking at the yachts. A Taxi around the island will cost at least $90 and it takes an hour. We do not get off the ship in Dominican, not a favorite island.

To us the ship is the real destination.

I suppose this sailing is not selling as quickly as it is so close to the holidays.

Hope you decide to join us, we have quite a few already signed up for M&G but not as many as I have seen on prior trips.

 

That' the one

I read through your roll call to get a sense of what folks were doing.

I did a little research on the ports

In La Romana you need to book a tour -- the good stuff is not near the port.

Not looking forward to 10k cruisers in St. Maarten.

Will know tomorrow -- waiting to see what my TA comes up with -- if he wants me to go on a cruise with him he'd better come up with a good deal! LOL

[pacheco18]

I looked at the O website. Are the prices listed the reduced prices? What were they before? iif you are comparing a B3 veranda, how much did they go down?

Thanks.

 

Cannot help you with prices

I deal with my TA exclusively

Your Ta should be able to help you

[Lola911]

We did a Mayan Mystique 3-years this January on R ship. Not our first Oceania cruise so we were familiar with usual demo from other cruises: Baltic and Med where majority were late 50's to early 70's. On that Caribbean cruise we noted many pax late 70's and into 80's with walking devices. What we soon learned is many pax never get off the ship. They are there to sunbathe and rest. Do not let the age range stop you. Everyone is usually delightful and dinner conversation always lively if you happen to share a table. Plus on the Riviera there is plenty to do and spread yourself out. You will be doing different ports entirely, but I arranged private tours at each port for the two of us and at one stop brought along another couple to join us. I have since read where people say that the Guatemala port should be skipped on this itinerary, but we had a very memorable young guide that we still talk about. If the price is right go for it.

[pacheco18]

What we soon learned is many pax never get off the ship. They are there to sunbathe and rest.

 

LOL. I got that feeling after reading the roll call. The "plan" for some is to stay on the ship in various ports. We do that occasionally on long cruises if we want an extra sea day and it's a port we have been to before. I cannot imagine just staying on the ship all day.

 

I am very close to booking. Just got off the phone with my TA. Picked a cabin. Ball is in his court. I convinced him to let me book one or two private tours for us. My husband has NEVER been to the Caribbean -- and he was born in Orlando. He's a military guy -- he went to far more exotic places.

 

I'm getting excited -- an unexpected cruise!

[VirginiaTraveler]

We did a Mayan Mystique 3-years this January on R ship. Not our first Oceania cruise so we were familiar with usual demo from other cruises: Baltic and Med where majority were late 50's to early 70's. On that Caribbean cruise we noted many pax late 70's and into 80's with walking devices. What we soon learned is many pax never get off the ship. They are there to sunbathe and rest. Do not let the age range stop you. Everyone is usually delightful and dinner conversation always lively if you happen to share a table. Plus on the Riviera there is plenty to do and spread yourself out. You will be doing different ports entirely, but I arranged private tours at each port for the two of us and at one stop brought along another couple to join us. I have since read where people say that the Guatemala port should be skipped on this itinerary, but we had a very memorable young guide that we still talk about. If the price is right go for it.

 

Guatemala is a stop on our upcoming Dec 2nd Reefs and Ruins cruise. Did you hire your "memorable young guide" at the pier or did you book with him beforehand? If the latter, can you provide info as to tour company, etc? What did you do on your tour? Thanks for your help.

[Lola911]

Guatemala is a stop on our upcoming Dec 2nd Reefs and Ruins cruise. Did you hire your "memorable young guide" at the pier or did you book with him beforehand? If the latter, can you provide info as to tour company, etc? What did you do on your tour? Thanks for your help.

 

Hello, thank you for asking. We did the Mayan Mystique Jan 2011. Our port stop was SANTO TOMAS DE CASTILLA, Guatamala. I went to Shore Trips website and chose the Puerto Barrios & Santa Tomas Tour. I made a note it was $36/person. We met young Walter a short distance from the gang plank. A driver/car arrived and we were off with very personable Walter. There is poverty for sure, but interesting. I told him I wanted to buy coffee, but not a tourist spot so he said we will stop at our local mall and super market. He was quite proud to walk us through saying his family would go on weekends as an outing to shop and then eat at the McDonald's. He took us to a small church and told us his grandmother worshipped there. I have a very nice pix of my husband/Walter walking down the center aisle deep in conversation. Del Monte foods was huge there at turn of the old century and we had a walk around "the" hotel where the brass used to stay. Walter said his grandfather would take him to the hotel as a boy and he had swam in the pool. He showed us where he jogged near this park...just daily life and a couple of neighborhoods. Took us to the local cemetery and told us of their tradition in month of Nov I believe it was. We had lunch back on the ship. Just an attractive charming young man. I hope he has gone on to better things, but certainly ask for him. Other pax said it was a wasted stop, but as I said we got a lot out of it...I put the effort into finding a guide. You cannot just walk off on your own from the port...not nice.

[digtexas]

We sailed on the Riviera last Jan. on a 10 day Caribbean itinerary with 4 sea days. I am 66 and my wife is 54 and we did not find the crowd to be particularly geriatric. I thought that the majority of passengers were baby boomers to mid 70's.

[Pet Nit Noy]

Grand Turk

San Juan (just walk around old town -- no problem)

St. Maarten (roll call says 10000 cruises in port that day - 3 mega ships + Riviera)

St. Barts

Tortola -- was there 20 years ago on a yacht

La Romana

Princess Cays, Bahamas

 

I've book looking at the ports boards -- just to get an idea.

 

With the exception of San Juan, there isn't any must-do/must-see activity/destination on a single one of these islands.

 

San Juan: El Moro, the fort, is the gem in Old Town. Make certain you are on deck when sailing into/out of San Juan. You'll literally sail under the guns of El Moro and understand why the Spaniards were able to control the Caribbean by having a fort located there. The Bacardi distillery tour is always great fun.

 

For the remaining islands, you'll be greeted at the pier by a fleet of vans offering to create spontaneous groups taking people on island tours. I honestly would avoid these. There are definitely some pretty vistas and each island has a pretty church or great house or government building. However, I found that the sightseeing value is not worth the time spent in a van. This will be especially true if you're used to cruising to more exotic destinations.

 

My husband and I tend to look for a regular-sized taxi -- increasingly rare in the Caribbean. Then, the two of us arrange for trip to one place that has the most historic or scenic value. Eastern or Southern Caribbean cruises will never offer the fascination and depth of even the most limited European/Asian/S. American port, but they can offer wonderful outdoor adventure: four-wheel off-road trips, tubing river, snorkeling trips, SCUBA trips, zip-line rides, etc. (Western Caribbean cruises offer access to some Mayan and Incan sites from those ports.)

 

You can always include an on-shore lunch at the islands with some culinary credentials (e.g. St. Barts or the French side of St. Maarten).

 

Just think of the cruise as the most relaxing vacation you could possible take and you'll come away happy.

[PaulMCO]

We have done a Regatta - Miami to Miami a few years ago.

 

Demographic is younger than you see on the 30 day cruises. Many in 50's and 60's and not retired.

 

Mostly Americans and Canadians. Fewer UK and Aussies than you see on your international cruises.

 

Less need for organized tours. Most tours are town oriented or beach oriented. Many people -- including ourselves will rent a taxi for 4 hours to take us around the Island. Also many people just stay on board and soak up the sun (especially northerners).

[digtexas]

We had a group of 6 and in most ports we would make a deal with a taxi/van at the dock to show us around the island for a couple of hours. We had no desire to eat lunch in St. Lucia, Barbados, Antigua,

or even St. Bart, where we hired a van after arriving on the tender.

[Hawaiidan]

The vast east coast heads to Miami and Orlando ... party lovers to families. The result is many of the cruises are the 3 and 4 day party cruises People want warm weather, cheap booze and entertainment.

The carribe has in my opinion thus evolved into a mix of south beach and Disney.

 

Owing to the huge numbers of ships, resulting in cut rate prices brings on a whole different group of passenger interested in cheap prices and maximum around the clock entertainment.

Couple this to the shopping mall ports of St Thomas, St Martin, San Juan, and it kicks up the tempo to disco levels.

 

This draws a massive divergent group of humanity. Some good some maybe not so...

Then we interject all this into a group of desert islands with a very poor population and we create serious racial dis-harmony scam and crime..

Other than the sea and a few beaches there is really no striking cultural or natural history things. A few reefs but that's underwater.

 

The sheer mass and quantity of ships and passengers into such a small area with such a eat drink for tomorrow we may die attitude creates its own set of problems. Too many rats in the box, day after day.

 

The carribe is a good place to go, like a singles bar, spring break, party town. Too much Too Small

[hondorner]

The saddest thing that's happening in the Caribbean is the increasing number of what I call "fake ports". The latest one we experienced was in Roatan. others have been in Grand Turk and Tobago. There is at least one in Jamaica (Falmouth) and I read a description of a new one call El Guamache in Venezuela.

 

Typically, the description of El Guamache states: "The port area has 120 vendor stalls selling jewelry, art, T-shirts, and a great variety of handicrafts in nice palm-frond roof booths. All are selling their handmade wares in US dollars, pounds, or euros, so there is no need to change money into bolivars if you're planning to stay in the port area and not go to see the island. The port area is about 45 minutes away fr om Porlamar (the main town on the island)."

 

The one of Gran Turk has a Margaritaville, a Ron Jon Surf Shop (main store is near Melbourne, Florida), and a couple of souvenir shops, and is nearly all concrete. The one in Roatan is so "closed" that it's nearly impossible to find an exit that might take you to a taxi.

 

These new "ports" are being driven by the megaship market. I suspect they make their port fees very low, thus attracting even Oceania.

 

One of the first I saw was Costa Maya in Mexico, described as follows, "Costa Maya is what you'd expect if, say, Disney World decided to create its own private island in Mexico: a man-made tourism village with bars, restaurants, shops and pools at the ready. The faux village itself was created solely to woo cruise passengers and it has a myriad of facilities -- pools, restaurants, bars, shops and a small beach (though it's too rocky to swim)."

 

This past April, we cruised the Western Caribbean in April on Riviera. We left the ship in each port around 10:00 AM and were back on board for lunch. Fortunately, the ship is our primary reason for cruising, especially in the Caribbean.

[LHT28]

The saddest thing that's happening in the Caribbean is the increasing number of what I call "fake ports". The latest one we experienced was in Roatan.

 

I guess we were lucky to have experienced Roatan before it became a "fake port"

 

We did an island tour with a lovely young lady that was proud of her island & had returned there after going to the US to universary

We learned a lot about the people there & saw the beauty in the island

 

Too bad you saw the fake part & did not go to the real part

[VirginiaTraveler]

I guess we were lucky to have experienced Roatan before it became a "fake port"

 

We did an island tour with a lovely young lady that was proud of her island & had returned there after going to the US to universary

We learned a lot about the people there & saw the beauty in the island

 

Too bad you saw the fake part & did not go to the real part

 

Hello, LHT28. Do you have any contact information for the young lady who showed you Roatan? If so, please send info to me using the following e-mail: bluefirenze at yahoo dot com. I appreciate in advance any help you can provide. Thank you.

VirginiaTraveler (Mary Ann)

[Hawaiidan]

Agree on the fake ports.... but they cater to the demographics of the average carribe cruiser.... It may br rather they, are what they( the new passenger) want... shopping, drinking,buying stuff.

 

Roatan and Grand Truk were for many years a destination for scuba divers and that still remains at the only real attraction to the area. and the cruise ships came later. That's their sole reason that they exist.

 

Because the truth is that other than the reefs and underwater stuff there is almost nothing else. If your a diver then these ports are a good place to get wet. If your looking for anything else....well there really is not anything worth a second look.. or getting off the ship for.

 

As for getting past the stores and bars to see the "real place" that's pretty much it... sad but true...there really are not any. And in places like Granada, Jamacia, St Thomas, St Croix, Dominica, Belize, you can find yourself in serious trouble real fast.

[hondorner]

I guess we were lucky to have experienced Roatan before it became a "fake port"

 

We did an island tour with a lovely young lady that was proud of her island & had returned there after going to the US to universary

We learned a lot about the people there & saw the beauty in the island

 

Too bad you saw the fake part & did not go to the real part

Ah, that's the saddest part. We DID get to Roatan at the old port, and had a great island tour with a knowledgeable older lady. She explained the origins of the island and why it was an English-speaking haven in Honduras, talked about the culture of the island, showed us interesting sites. We also enjoyed the authentic crafts market and stalls alongside the road.

 

On our second visit, we were almost locked in to a remote site with lots of concrete, "authorized" crafts shops run by bored clerks and typical Diamonds International and Tanzanite shops. I searched for an exit, finally found it, and saw no taxis outside. I wondered what my previous guide was doing now...a friendly security guard at the exit (to keep out to natives) stated they really didn't want anyone to leave the "canned" shopping experience.

 

Sad.