Thinking about next cruise.

[PA Beachlovers]

We are thinking about our cruise for 2015 and giving serious thoughts to going out of San Juan. Wondering the pros and cons of this itinerary, lots of ports and only one sea day.

[Budget Queen]

I just did the Valor in December. It is a busy itinerary. It's up to you, to have the interest in each of these ports and how you are going to spend your time. Flights are complained about as being more expensive, and hotel rates are considered some of the highest in the Caribbean along with food costs.

 

The demographics of the cruise are probably going to be different compared to a Caribbean sailing out of Florida.

 

this cruise is frequently late booked discounted, so I would not be booking way ahead.

[etwright]

We did this cruise last August. Absolutely amazing cruise although VERY port intensive. We were wiped out. Lots of ports and in those ports for long time as well. We spent a lot of time at beaches and alway came back to the ship early. We were still wiped out.

[spunkyhungry]

I did a Southern Caribbean cruise out of San Juan on Princess in 2004. I loved the itinerary (I assume it's similar to yours). I loved going to a new island everyday and only having 1 sea day. I loved exploring the Southern Islands - very tropical and excellent excursions. However, it's more expensive to fly to San Juan than to Florida, so I haven't been back for another Southern Caribbean cruise. I would love to, though!

[michiganredrose]

I can't speak about the cruise yet because we leave next weekend but for airfare we got a really reasonable flight on southwest. We just patiently waited for our dates to open up and booked quickly. It was about the same as flying to Miami from Michigan.

 

Hotels are expensive! The cruise itself we booked in May and ended up with around $300 in price drops so booking in advance worked out really well for us.

 

 

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[beachbum53]

Just to let you know, when you return to San Juan, the airport will likely be very busy and very crowded.:eek: Typically, there will be three, four or more cruise ships in port, all debarking at about the same time. Consequently, the lines at the airport will be very long. If you're planning to take a return flight on the same day that you return to San Juan, you'll need lots of patience. Don't book your flight too close to your return time in port. A number of people will spend an extra day in San Juan just to avoid the long lines at the airport. Forewarned is forearmed.;) Other than that, the Southern Caribbean itineraries are great. Fascinating islands with beautiful beaches, and the rum's pretty good too.:D

[evandbob]

Just to let you know, when you return to San Juan, the airport will likely be very busy and very crowded.:eek: Typically, there will be three, four or more cruise ships in port, all debarking at about the same time. Consequently, the lines at the airport will be very long. If you're planning to take a return flight on the same day that you return to San Juan, you'll need lots of patience. Don't book your flight too close to your return time in port. A number of people will spend an extra day in San Juan just to avoid the long lines at the airport. Forewarned is forearmed.;) Other than that, the Southern Caribbean itineraries are great. Fascinating islands with beautiful beaches, and the rum's pretty good too.:D

 

I did a southern out of San Juan on the Destiny and more recently on Celebrity. Since the cruise leaves at night, there is no need to fly in a day early, and you won't need a hotel pre-cruise. It's a great way to get a sampling of these islands as they are all distinctly different. Coming home, I walked off the Celebrity and was at the airport by 7:30AM - I could have made the 8:20AM flight to NY but business class was sold out, so I waited for my 10:50 AM flight.

[LadyDAC]

We did the Southern Caribbean on the Valor in July and loved it! It can be tiring so make sure you pace yourself. We definitely want to do this one again! San Juan is such an easy port to embark and debark. Customs was a breeze. But, like someone else said, the airport can be busy. We stayed an extra day on either side and it was perfect for us. We visited the Biobay in Vieques post cruise and I would highly recommend it!

Edited February 9, 2014 by LadyDAC

[Paumavista]

We enjoyed hitting some ports we hadn't been to. Agree that it is not so much a relaxing cruise and we did spend more $ due to all the touring we did on the different islands.....BUT, we saw so much!! (kind of like Alaska) - it is probably our favorite Caribbean cruise. We were on RC Serenade - nice balcony cabin so we could enjoy viewing the ports......

 

We flew in the day of the cruise but stayed overnight after getting off - it gave us a chance to check out San Juan (which was wonderful a week before Christmas!) They had a great street fair at night and we had a nice dinner at an outside café along the street. I'm sure we wouldn't have seen any of San Juan if we hadn't stayed the extra night and it was wonderful getting off the ship and heading straight for the beach and hotel pool (we stayed at a Marriott using points).

 

The next morning we left with little delay at the airport.....

[riclop]

We are thinking about our cruise for 2015 and giving serious thoughts to going out of San Juan. Wondering the pros and cons of this itinerary, lots of ports and only one sea day.

It all depends on what you like.