Picking an itinerary

[badinnplaid]

My girlfriend and I are currently planning our second cruise. Our first was Pride out of Baltimore and went to Nassau and Freeport. We enjoyed both ports but are excited to try something new.

 

We've decided we'd like to go on Liberty this time but we're having trouble deciding on an itinerary.

 

My first choice is the Western itinerary. Generally, we expect to lounge mostly on sea days, so I would like to do activities on port days. If we did Western, we expect we'd do cave tubing in Belize, zip lining in Roatan, ruins in Costa Maya and an all-inclusive beach in Cozumel.

 

The problem is the Eastern itinerary dates seem to work a little better for us. One is a 7 day that goes to Nassau, St. Thomas, San Juan and Grand Turk. The other is an 8 day and swaps St. Maarten for Nassau.

 

The current hesitation is that the first itinerary repeats Nassau which we'd like to avoid (though it's not a deal breaker). My other concern is that all these ports seem to only have beaches and shopping based on looking at "Ports of Call." Everyone says they love these ports in reviews but I don't understand what people are doing. What am I missing!?

[christmas]

My girlfriend and I are currently planning our second cruise. Our first was Pride out of Baltimore and went to Nassau and Freeport. We enjoyed both ports but are excited to try something new.

 

We've decided we'd like to go on Liberty this time but we're having trouble deciding on an itinerary.

 

My first choice is the Western itinerary. Generally, we expect to lounge mostly on sea days, so I would like to do activities on port days. If we did Western, we expect we'd do cave tubing in Belize, zip lining in Roatan, ruins in Costa Maya and an all-inclusive beach in Cozumel.

 

The problem is the Eastern itinerary dates seem to work a little better for us. One is a 7 day that goes to Nassau, St. Thomas, San Juan and Grand Turk. The other is an 8 day and swaps St. Maarten for Nassau.

 

The current hesitation is that the first itinerary repeats Nassau which we'd like to avoid (though it's not a deal breaker). My other concern is that all these ports seem to only have beaches and shopping based on looking at "Ports of Call." Everyone says they love these ports in reviews but I don't understand what people are doing. What am I missing!?

 

I don't like Belize on the Western Itinerary. I don't like San Juan on the Eastern Itinerary. I would do the 8 day.

[k2excursion]

If you enjoy snorkeling, the Eastern stops are good ones, especially St. Thomas. You can go to Coki Beach and snorkel right off the shore. There was some pretty spectacular snorkeling there in January. You could also visit Coral World right next door to the beach. Or you could take a ferry over to St. John and go to Trunk Bay. The views along the cab & ferry rides are really nice, & Trunk Bay has some spectacular snorkeling.

 

St. Maarten is mostly about beauty, a unique freedom, and beaches. But there are some other things that can be done there. Many people really love the airplanes landing right over their head at Maho Beach. There is a lot of history in San Juan. I've never been there, but we're heading there 2 days before our cruise later in the year, and we'll check out Old San Juan. There's also a rain forest nearby.

 

For me, that 8-day sounds like a pretty great itinerary, especially to get rid of Nassau in favor of St Maarten. If the timing of the Western won't work for you, I would say to go with that 8-day. You can find things to do that are more active than just laying at a beach. It may not be what "everyone is doing" on those islands, such as with cave tubing in Belize, but you can find something.

[kona_wahine]

We really enjoyed the western itinerary. We did the ziplining in Roatan which was awesome. We did a snorkel tour to rendezvous cay on Belize. They picked us up on the ship which was nice. Nachi cocum on Cozumel was great. Wish we had done ruins at costa maya. Did an AI, drank toooooo much and was sick the rest of the day.

[wb3690]

My girlfriend and I are currently planning our second cruise. Our first was Pride out of Baltimore and went to Nassau and Freeport. We enjoyed both ports but are excited to try something new.

 

We've decided we'd like to go on Liberty this time but we're having trouble deciding on an itinerary.

 

My first choice is the Western itinerary. Generally, we expect to lounge mostly on sea days, so I would like to do activities on port days. If we did Western, we expect we'd do cave tubing in Belize, zip lining in Roatan, ruins in Costa Maya and an all-inclusive beach in Cozumel.

 

The problem is the Eastern itinerary dates seem to work a little better for us. One is a 7 day that goes to Nassau, St. Thomas, San Juan and Grand Turk. The other is an 8 day and swaps St. Maarten for Nassau.

 

The current hesitation is that the first itinerary repeats Nassau which we'd like to avoid (though it's not a deal breaker). My other concern is that all these ports seem to only have beaches and shopping based on looking at "Ports of Call." Everyone says they love these ports in reviews but I don't understand what people are doing. What am I missing!?

 

I'd do the 8 day. you'd get the Eastern Route with a new port! We did the Western last cruise and loved it, but wanted to see different places. Since we haven't cruised a ton I want to go to new ports. You'll have fun regardless.

[badinnplaid]

Thanks for the responses! k2excursion, those are some helpful suggestions. My gut still tells me I'd enjoy the western itinerary more, but I guess we'll just have to decide which is more practical. One other thing: is it just me or are the eastern caribbean excursions significantly more expensive?

[misstiffany]

I think everyone should try the Western itinerary at some point...these cruises are typically priced low, and even the not-so-wonderful ports such as Belize are great if you have an excursion planned. I like that the Western gives you a lot of options..Beach days for Cozumel and Grand Cayman and the opportunity for more adventurous activities in Roatan and Belize. The Eastern route doesn't offer a lot beyond beaches...although they are gorgeous beaches, and it's very easy to get away from the shopping & tourists :D

[Bostonjetset]

That particular western itinerary is usually billed as the "exotic western" as it includes Honduras and Belize rather than other usual western ports like Jamaica and Key West. We took the same itinerary last year and loved it. Belize City is pretty run down but the Mayan ruins are cool and from what I've heard [although I didn't do it myself] the cave tubing is amazing. Roatan is one of the best ports I have ever been too. The Honduran people are wonderful and very welcoming.

 

For your needs the 8 day Eastern does seem like a good fit though. I was not impressed with Nassau and would really only return there if I desperately wanted a vacation and the price was too good to pass up. St. Maarten gets rave reviews though. I never viewed the eastern itineraries as being very exotic though. I mean how many friends do you have that've been to St. Thomas compared to the number that've been to Honduras?!?

[mikel24m]

My girlfriend and I are currently planning our second cruise. Our first was Pride out of Baltimore and went to Nassau and Freeport. We enjoyed both ports but are excited to try something new.

 

We've decided we'd like to go on Liberty this time but we're having trouble deciding on an itinerary.

 

My first choice is the Western itinerary. Generally, we expect to lounge mostly on sea days, so I would like to do activities on port days. If we did Western, we expect we'd do cave tubing in Belize, zip lining in Roatan, ruins in Costa Maya and an all-inclusive beach in Cozumel.

 

The problem is the Eastern itinerary dates seem to work a little better for us. One is a 7 day that goes to Nassau, St. Thomas, San Juan and Grand Turk. The other is an 8 day and swaps St. Maarten for Nassau.

 

The current hesitation is that the first itinerary repeats Nassau which we'd like to avoid (though it's not a deal breaker). My other concern is that all these ports seem to only have beaches and shopping based on looking at "Ports of Call." Everyone says they love these ports in reviews but I don't understand what people are doing. What am I missing!?

 

We have done both and I still love the western,I guess that's why we have done the itinerary like 6 or 7 times :)

 

You may want to look here in Roatan if your looking at cheaper excursions. We have used Victor a lot and always awesome (cheap too).This is what we do for $100 for the two of us with a $20 tip for our guide for the ENTIRE day

 

http://boddentours.com/bestofroatan.htm#HMB

 

 

And end up snorkeling here in paradise ;)

 

 

 

In Cozumel we have done Nachi Cocum a few times until we read about and tried Mr. Sanchos .Google the website, the food is 1000% better(and drinks plentiful) than Nachi and was a little bit cheaper the last time we went

Edited March 11, 2014 by mikel24m

[wantocruisemore]

We did Liberty western last Sept and LOVED it. There are some great snorkeling opportunities. We liked it so much we're booked on Liberty again for same, except last sept. It was grand cayman and out of Miami. This may it will be Costa maya and out of Pt. Canaveral.

 

If you look at reviews and comments on this board, Liberty gets a lot of repeat business.

[jsfromsc]

We love St. Maarten and I would also like the extra day. There are plenty of shore excursions there, but one we enjoyed was the Sea Trek Helmet Dive. You wear a helmet that covers your entire head and is (somewhat) pressurized and has air coming to you so that you don't need a mask or tank. You can breathe naturally and even wear eyeglasses. You walk along the ocean floor about 15 feet under the surface and get to see the fish up close and even feed them. We also did this with our boys in Grand Cayman and it was a real highlight of our cruise. I personally would choose the 8 day.

[matondo]

Going with your gut is always a good idea with a cruise. I had my mind set on one cruise and had done pretty much everthing but booked it. One day I was checking to see if prices has dropped and found something else. It was a gut thing and I am so happy I went for it.

 

Good luck deciding!