Newbie Needs Suggestions on Choosing Western Caribbean Cruises

[chesapeake2atlantic]

In Sept 2013, we took our first cruise ever, departing from San Juan, Puerto Rico aboard the Carnival Valor to St. Thomas, Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, St. Maarten. A lovely trip.

 

We are now trying to plan a second cruise, this one on Norwegian. Our choices are: (a) in mid-December taking the Norwegian Pearl from Miami to Great Stirrup Cay (Bahamas), Ocho Rios (Jamaica), George Town (Grand Cayman), and Cozumel (Mexico), or (b) in mid-December OR mid-February 2014 taking the Norwegian Dawn from Tampa to Roatan (Honduras), Belize City, Costa Maya (Mexico), and Cozumel (Mexico).

 

We are 50somethings who enjoy seeing the local attractions and culture. We are not interested in shopping in lots of t-shirt and curio shops, doing extreme sports, hanging out in bars, or lounging on a beach for hours on end, although we do enjoy strolling a beach for an hour or so. We enjoy dressing up a bit for the MDR. We would prefer avoiding lots of kids and college students, so the dates above make sense to us.

 

Which itinerary would you recommend--and why? Thank you!

[Medtech2]

In Sept 2013, we took our first cruise ever, departing from San Juan, Puerto Rico aboard the Carnival Valor to St. Thomas, Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, St. Maarten. A lovely trip.

 

We are now trying to plan a second cruise, this one on Norwegian. Our choices are: (a) in mid-December taking the Norwegian Pearl from Miami to Great Stirrup Cay (Bahamas), Ocho Rios (Jamaica), George Town (Grand Cayman), and Cozumel (Mexico), or (b) in mid-December OR mid-February 2014 taking the Norwegian Dawn from Tampa to Roatan (Honduras), Belize City, Costa Maya (Mexico), and Cozumel (Mexico).

 

We are 50somethings who enjoy seeing the local attractions and culture. We are not interested in shopping in lots of t-shirt and curio shops, doing extreme sports, hanging out in bars, or lounging on a beach for hours on end, although we do enjoy strolling a beach for an hour or so. We enjoy dressing up a bit for the MDR. We would prefer avoiding lots of kids and college students, so the dates above make sense to us.

 

Which itinerary would you recommend--and why? Thank you!

Great Stirrup Cay is all beach. Ocho Rios has Dunn River Falls and people whispering from the bushes offering drugs. Grand Cayman had a great turtle farm.

 

We did snorkeling with stingrays in Cozumel. We did a rainforest excursion in Roatan and snorkled in Costa Maya. Never been to Belize City.

 

Why don't you pull up each area on Trip Advisor or Frommer's or read the port reviews here on CC to decide what you would like to do in each port first, then pick the cruise?

 

Personally I would do either because I like snorkeling....

 

"Seeing local attractions" is too vague for me to comment on. Aquariums, zoos, museums?

[luddite]

Roatan, Belize and Costa Maya.

Because we like those places better than GrandCaymon and GSC.

[bguppies]

We love the western itineraries...

 

We did Ocho Rios once, and will never book another cruise to Jamaica.

Being assaulted for rides and trying to be sold drugs, everywhere, just wasn't worth it to see Dunn's River Falls.

 

We have done Belize once and are going back in April, and it would be great to see any of the Mayan ruins offered throught the ship. (if you want ancient culture)

But the port area is the most run down of any caribbean port we have been to and the area outside is less safe than most ports.

 

Been to Roatan once and they have multiple guide services for extremely reasonable prices. (whereas, the taxis are unregulated and intresting to get, to say the least)

Gorgeous island, with great beaches and crystal clear water.

 

My favorite excursion in all of the Caribbean is Stingray City in Grand Cayman. (been 4 times and will go back EVERY time we stop there.)

Swimming with the stingrays in the wild, in their natural habitat, in waist to chest deep water is amazing. (unlike the penned up Rays in Cozumel and elsewhere. It is just not the same)

I STRONGLY suggest to book independently, NOT through the ship, for the best experience. (personally recommend Sting Ray Sailing)

 

You also have the gorgeous seven mile beach right by the tender piers and the Turtle Farm. (which it is a farm, to raise turtles for the local restaurants, just like our farms raise, pigs, cows and chickens for us. If you are sensitive to that)

 

Cozumel is best for shopping and beach clubs... (we love the peace and relaxation of Nachi Cocum Beach Club...)

 

Whatever you choose, I hope you have a wonderful western cruise.

 

Bill

Edited November 16, 2013 by bguppies

[WildcatRock]

We've done both itineraries, and loved both of them. If you're looking for a little more exposure to local culture, and perhaps a little more relaxing, you'd want to consider the western Caribbean itinerary.

 

 

 

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[dispachcops]

Come join us on the Pearl on Dec 8th sailing.

 

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[newmexicoNita]

We have done both and as much as we love them both, but also remember the western Caribbean is a snorkelers dream, so if you are into water sports I am not sure which would be better. Ochol Rios has a couple of good tours, one the river raft and the other, Dunns River falls, other than that it is a place we would never really want to go. I can't stand the pushy people, and am almost a little afraid of them. On the other hand, that cruise is the one that does do Grand Cayman: as someone mentioned the Stingray excursions are wonderful.

 

The Dawn cruise takes you to Roatan, my favorite port almost. The people are friendly, you can do a tour or the city and end up on the beach for a little snorkeling. if you really are not totally beach people you wont find GSC mush fun. Cozumel has lots of activities to see.

 

Regardless of which you choose, do check out Trip Advisor like someone suggested or check out the Ports of Call right here on CC for ideas.

[VideoTech]

.....We are 50somethings who enjoy seeing the local attractions and culture. We are not interested in shopping in lots of t-shirt and curio shops, doing extreme sports, hanging out in bars, or lounging on a beach for hours on end, although we do enjoy strolling a beach for an hour or so. We enjoy dressing up a bit for the MDR. We would prefer avoiding lots of kids and college students, so the dates above make sense to us.

 

Which itinerary would you recommend--and why? Thank you!

 

We've done both itineraries, and the realistic view is there's not that much difference between the two (or between any Caribbean itinerary). Each itinerary is designed to provide much the same mix of beaches, shopping, sports, tours, and of course, shopping.

 

Having said that, I will say that our favorite destination on these specific itineraries over the past years has been Roatan. We like it because it seems a "little" less touristy & developed, although I'm sure that's changing quickly.

 

At the opposite end of the spectrum, we like Cozumel the least. But we may be influenced by being from Texas, as we find Cozumel to be not that much different from any border town we can drive to.

 

If you're interested in cultural attractions, Belize and Costa Maya (Mexico) offer access to many of the best ruins in Central America. Check out the ports boards for information on those tours.

 

I disagree with the many who did not like the Jamaican destinations. We thoroughly enjoyed Ocho Rios, doing the cave & grotto tour there and of course, Dunn's river falls. Never had anyone offer us drugs, or felt threatened in any way.

 

Bottom line: Since you can't avoid Cozumel on either itinerary, I'd suggest the Roatan/Belize/Costa Maya itinerary.

[shelly11]

We did the Dawn trip you are looking at, it's in my signature. Maya Chan in Costa Maya is awesome.