Same 'ole itineraries....

[crewsweeper]

If the Caribbean is your only area of cruising, you will find pretty much the same ports for all the ships on all lines. Especially those sailing out of Florida. They may mix and match a bit differently. Not every one can or wants to fly to San Juan to catch a ship. It does add a day or two to the total days you need depending on where you are flying from.

 

You'll hear similar complaints from people who sail out of the West Coast. Or always go to Alaska. Even Med cruise ports can get stale after a couple of cruises, regardless of which line you sail.

 

Re Cuba. If you research the travel sites and in depth reports and reviews (or TV travel shows like Anthony Bourdain), you'll find it's not all that it's hyped up to be. 1955 Habana Nights it is not! You are restricted on where you can go and what you can see and food choices are limited. My guess is that many cruisers will find Cuba to be a "poor man's Belize" and would welcome enhanced cruise port activities or "private islands" for stops there.

Edited November 7, 2013 by crewsweeper

[deetrayn]

Why doesn't Carnival shake things up a bit as far as ports are concerned? I love the Carnival product, but am so tired of the same 'ole itineraries.

 

I'm thinking of booking the Southern Caribbean cruise from PR for the THIRD time.

 

Has anyone tried RC out of PR? One of there ships that leave from PR stops in Aruba.

 

I agree with others who have posted why not shake things up a bit. I enjoy my Carnival cruises, and will be going on my first RC cruise in a few weeks out of PR. I'm doing a B2B; the itinerary on the first week differs from the second week.

[africanviolet]

Why doesn't Carnival shake things up a bit as far as ports are concerned? I love the Carnival product, but am so tired of the same 'ole itineraries.

 

I'm thinking of booking the Southern Caribbean cruise from PR for the THIRD time.

 

Has anyone tried RC out of PR? One of there ships that leave from PR stops in Aruba.

 

I agree with you. I have this same complaint about RC too though. I have sailed RC out of PR. RC also has an itinerary that goes to Aruba, Curacao, Bonaire and Cartegna out of Panama. I think April is the last month that they are doing this itinerary though.

 

Aruba is my favorite island thus far. Have you thought about going there and staying a few days? If you decide to, I highly recommend the Radisson.

[wantocruisemore]

I would love it if carnival added more exotic western stops for central and maybe South America.

 

Some day we'll do a southern out of San Juan, but not in next couple of years.

[mrsfuzzmo]

There are a lot of different Caribbean itineraries out there now, just not quite the same availablility. I just booked my parents on a cruise that hits St. Lucia, Antigua, Barbados, Grenada. You can also go to Tortola, St. Kitts, Cartegena, Bonaire, Curacao, Panama, Costa Rica. Lots of options, just need to be flexible in your dates/cruise line choices if the port is important to you. (As it is to me - we always cruise for the port schedule first, price second, cruise line third).

[Lyncoya]

I hate to break it to you but any of the cruises that go to Aruba are around the same price. If you wanted to go with RCL you would have to fly to San Juan.

 

Actually they're not...I've been researching for a while. RC is actually a little cheaper.

[Lyncoya]

I do understand that my "dream cruise" would be impossible based on the ports...it was just a dream though!

 

I agree with the majority of you...it's time to try another line. I've done Royal once...but it was on one of their smaller ships. We didn't like it AT ALL.

 

I've read though, that their older ships don't compare to their newer ones, so I'm willing to try one of their larger ships.

 

I would LOVE to see Alaska, but we'd like to wait a few years. I would also LOVE to cruise Hawaii, but we can't afford that at the moment.

[Lyncoya]

There are a lot of different Caribbean itineraries out there now, just not quite the same availablility. I just booked my parents on a cruise that hits St. Lucia, Antigua, Barbados, Grenada. You can also go to Tortola, St. Kitts, Cartegena, Bonaire, Curacao, Panama, Costa Rica. Lots of options, just need to be flexible in your dates/cruise line choices if the port is important to you. (As it is to me - we always cruise for the port schedule first, price second, cruise line third).

 

that itinerary sounds awesome! What line?

[Lyncoya]

I agree with you. I have this same complaint about RC too though. I have sailed RC out of PR. RC also has an itinerary that goes to Aruba, Curacao, Bonaire and Cartegna out of Panama. I think April is the last month that they are doing this itinerary though.

 

Aruba is my favorite island thus far. Have you thought about going there and staying a few days? If you decide to, I highly recommend the Radisson.

 

I've never been to Aruba and would LOVE LOVE LOVE to go, but I think it's a good idea to cruise there first to make sure we like it before spending a week there. I'm determined to get there in 2014. :)

[Lyncoya]

Maybe it's time to cruise Europe! For us, it meant cruising less often, but it was so worth every penny!

 

We are going on the Breeze over Christmas. It was about $250 more per person, but we will be going to four ports we've never been to yet.

 

I know what you mean. As much fun as Cozumel or St, Thomas is, I want to see the rest of the world!

\

 

One day we'll be able to cruise Europe. 2.5 more years before our youngest is out of highschool...:)

[CarnieAddict]

Actually they're not...I've been researching for a while. RC is actually a little cheaper.

 

I looked too. I guess my computer is lieing to me.

[CarnieAddict]

I looked too. I guess my computer is lieing to me.

 

Well I did find one cheaper with RCL but when you factor in flights to San Juan it is more money.

[RuthlessBoss]

I would love it if carnival added more exotic western stops for central and maybe South America.

 

Some day we'll do a southern out of San Juan, but not in next couple of years.

Not sure what you mean by extra stops. Do you mean 4 instead of 3, for instance, or just different ones?

[golfadj]

This thread sums up why we are doing our first European cruise next year.

 

Too much same old same oold.

[mrsfuzzmo]

that itinerary sounds awesome! What line?

 

Holland America - Noordam.

[caribsun]

CCL has most of the Caribbean covered. St. Croix would be a possibility but it was not safe to visit and some of the other countries have issues also.

 

List of islands in the Caribbean

# 1 Anguilla

# 2 Antigua and Barbuda

# 3 Aruba

# 4 Bahamas

# 5 Barbados

# 6 British Virgin Islands

# 7 Cayman Islands

# 8 Colombia

# 9 Cuba

# 10 Dominica

# 11 Dominican Republic

# 12 Grenada

# 13 Guadeloupe

# 14 Haiti

# 15 Honduras

# 16 Jamaica

# 17 Martinique

# 18 Mexico

# 19 Montserrat

# 20 Netherlands Antilles

# 21 Nicaragua

# 22 Puerto Rico

# 23 Saint Barthélemy

# 24 Saint Kitts and Nevis

# 25 Saint Lucia

# 26 Saint Martin (France)

# 27 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

# 28 Trinidad and Tobago

# 29 Turks and Caicos

# 30 United States of America

# 31 United States Virgin Islands

# 32 Venezuela

[dougandmo]

Carnival has been pretty clear they aren't interested in getting into the market for longer cruises on a regular basis, so that will rule out South America other than repositioning cruises. If I ran Carnival I'd be fine with a philosophy that says Carnival is entry level cruising. If you want exotic go else where. Good odds you end up on another CCL owned line so no loss for the corporation.

 

Ports like Nassau will always be used like crazy because it can handle so many ships. Most of the small islands don't have the infrastructure to handle several ships a day. And as the ships get bigger and bigger tendering becomes more and more problematic. Too many pax, only so many small boats to move them.

 

We're doing the Southern Caribbean route next. Then the Pride out of Baltimore purely for convenience because we're going with our young kids. In the future I have no doubt we'll try some other lines, as we've seen all the routine Caribbean ports. Of course I'm getting stationed in Hawaii next, so that will be a limiting factor for a few years!

[NCTribeFan]

Yes, different ports would be nice, especially when you primarily sail for the ports (not the ship experience).

 

But as has been noted, it isn't simply a case of the cruiseline deciding, 'Hey, let's go to this port next month!'

 

Certain ships can't dock at certain ports. You want more exotic, try sailing on a smaller ship (HAL does some very interesting itineraries).

 

But it isn't like getting tired of shopping at your local mall so just deciding to drive to the next one. It's a little more complicated. And I have no idea what the individual island/countries' requirements might be for locking the cruiselines into a port schedule. If a cruiseline decides to stop calling at one port and visit another, they may never get back into the first one because some other line will take that time/space.

 

There so much more to consider than simply that some of us might be getting "bored" with the same ports! The logistics of it all must be amazingly complex.

[chill6x6]

RIGHT NOW you can book a Carnival cruise to Aruba three ways; Sunshine, Freedom, and Breeze all sailing from Florida. All are EIGHT day cruises. Freedom and Breeze feature 4 ports while Sunshine has 3 ports. The Freedom is the less expensive cruise by a good margin with the Breeze being the most expensive by a good margin.

 

Royal Caribbean will get you to Aruba from San Juan on Adventure of the Seas usually and sometimes aboard the Jewel of the Seas. Prices are in line with the CCL Freedom Aruba itinerary.

 

Other options that feature an itinerary different than what CCL offers out of San Juan would be RCCL Adventure/Jewel of the Seas that go to Grenada/Antigua/St Croix. That's a pretty good itinerary right there. The Celebrity Summit offers a very similar itinerary out of San Juan that seems to be a relative bargain.

[dabear99211]

Why doesn't Carnival shake things up a bit as far as ports are concerned? I love the Carnival product, but am so tired of the same 'ole itineraries.

 

I'm thinking of booking the Southern Caribbean cruise from PR for the THIRD time.

 

Has anyone tried RC out of PR? One of there ships that leave from PR stops in Aruba.

Same itineraries? I am sure that you have gone on all the itineraries that Carnival offers.

[golfadj]

Same itineraries? I am sure that you have gone on all the itineraries that Carnival offers.

 

After about 20 cruises we pretty much have done all they offer.

 

Thinking that we will probably continue with them for winter cruises for Caribbean but other than that might be done with Carnival.

 

Big world out there we want to see.

[oldrailfan]

JMO: I don't care where they go, as long as they DON'T go to Nassau or Freeport! I've been to one or the other on every cruise, and there's only so much you can do at either port.

[Mysticks1]

 

Re Cuba. If you research the travel sites and in depth reports and reviews (or TV travel shows like Anthony Bourdain), you'll find it's not all that it's hyped up to be. 1955 Habana Nights it is not! You are restricted on where you can go and what you can see and food choices are limited. My guess is that many cruisers will find Cuba to be a "poor man's Belize" and would welcome enhanced cruise port activities or "private islands" for stops there.

 

True there are quite a few restrictions now on where you can go, etc. I am sure that by the time the cruise ships are stopping there that much of that will change. I am not the normal cruiser and would like to see Cuba and the way it has been for so many years before there is a Carlos and Charlie's, Senor Frog's and Diamonds International along with the other businesses that are at every port taking over the area.

[CarnieAddict]

RIGHT NOW you can book a Carnival cruise to Aruba three ways; Sunshine, Freedom, and Breeze all sailing from Florida. All are EIGHT day cruises. Freedom and Breeze feature 4 ports while Sunshine has 3 ports. The Freedom is the less expensive cruise by a good margin with the Breeze being the most expensive by a good margin.

 

Royal Caribbean will get you to Aruba from San Juan on Adventure of the Seas usually and sometimes aboard the Jewel of the Seas. Prices are in line with the CCL Freedom Aruba itinerary.

 

Other options that feature an itinerary different than what CCL offers out of San Juan would be RCCL Adventure/Jewel of the Seas that go to Grenada/Antigua/St Croix. That's a pretty good itinerary right there. The Celebrity Summit offers a very similar itinerary out of San Juan that seems to be a relative bargain.

 

Freedom is about $100 cheaper. Depends on when tou want to go.

[Lyncoya]

I actually found a cruise on RC that goes to two ports that we've never been before. Falmouth and Labadee Haiti. Prices are very reasonable. (Freedom of the Seas) The other one is another RC cruise that leaves from PR (Adventure of the Seas). This one goes to Aruba and a few other ports that we've never seen.

 

I think it's official...we're jumping ship. :)