Cut Down on Eastern Caribbean Ports

[mawmawmaw123]

My eastern caribbean cruise goes to Key West, Nassau, and Freeport.

[Tapi]

My eastern caribbean cruise goes to Key West, Nassau, and Freeport.

 

 

That's not Eastern. Heck, It's not even Caribbean! :eek:

 

 

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[mawmawmaw123]

That's not Eastern. Heck, It's not even Caribbean! :eek:

 

 

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WHAT???? They LIED! :eek:

[winddawn]

Apparently you don't remember when literally every single Eastern Caribbean itinerary looked like this:

 

Day 1 Miami

Day 2 At Sea

Day 3 San Juan (6:00pm-12:00am)

Day 4 St. Thomas (8:00am-5:00pm)

Day 5 St. Maarten (8:00am-5:00pm)

Day 6 At Sea

Day 7 At Sea

Day 8 Miami

 

If anything, I think the options for Eastern Caribbean itineraries have gotten much better with the introduction of 8 night itineraries and ports of call like Grand Turk, La Romana and Tortola, and more imaginative itineraries that provide better hours in San Juan.

 

 

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This is exactly what I was thinking! The introduction of other ports is welcomed by many who cruised the old itinerary over and over again.

[ibcnusoon]

Tortola would be a wonderful addition! I'd book a cruise if it went to Tortola for a full day. I'd be a toss-up to either go to The Baths or Jost Van Dyke for the day. Heck, I'd cruise twice to Tortola if they added it to the itineraries!

[ibcnusoon]

WHAT???? They LIED! :eek:

 

That's a Bahamas cruise, not Eastern Caribbean!

[jimbo5544]

Tortola would be a wonderful addition! I'd book a cruise if it went to Tortola for a full day. I'd be a toss-up to either go to The Baths or Jost Van Dyke for the day. Heck, I'd cruise twice to Tortola if they added it to the itineraries!

It was there, you missed it. Hopefully it will come back.

Edited April 22, 2014 by jimbo5544

[kteachcruiser52]

I don't have to, I just really like them. And I had a bad experience on Royal. I think 90% of it was the fact that it went through the remnants of Hurricane Sandy, but the service and food were not that good.

 

But I will look into it. In November we are considering doing a cruise from San Juan and I really enjoy the itinerary that the Valor does (St.Thomas, Barbados, St.Lucia, St.Kitts, St.Maaten) so who knows.

 

I really loved the Carnival Freedom last week, so I would love to sail the 8 night that she offers to St.Thomas, San Juan, St.Maarten and Grand Turk, but again, who knows. Its all scheduling for me.

 

If you want to stay with Carnival and go to different ports! there is a repositioning cruise from San Juan to Miami that departs on November 1 that goes to St. Croix, Dominica, Grenada,Martinique, and Grand Turk. The price on this cruise has over doubled in price since we booked it. if you are interested in it, I would look for a TA that still has rooms to sell that they blocked off when they were still available at lower prices. There is a cruise on the Splendor in October 2015 that goes to Bermuda. We booked that and I am expecting the prices will go up for that one also since people seem to really like the cruises that go to different ports.

Edited April 22, 2014 by kteachcruiser52

[Ship's Wake]

Why do you have to stick with Carnival? There are many other GREAT cruise lines that cruise to these ports.:confused:

 

I'm with you on this. I choose where I want to cruise and then find the best cruise line that has the features and budget I like.

[CrzRani]

If you want to stay with Carnival and go to different ports! there is a repositioning cruise from San Juan to Miami that departs on November 1 that goes to St. Croix, Dominica, Grenada,Martinique, and Grand Turk. The price on this cruise has over doubled in price since we booked it. if you are interested in it, I would look for a TA that still has rooms to sell that they blocked off when they were still available at lower prices. There is a cruise on the Splendor in October 2015 that goes to Bermuda. We booked that and I am expecting the prices will go up for that one also since people seem to really like the cruises that go to different ports.

 

You're thinking like me. Just got off the Breeze and attended the first time cruiser class, although I'm not. They offered up a few repositioning cruises that took my interest like you mentioned. There is a great one for next year that has a great itinerary to some islands I have never seen Carnival offer. Now I'm just scraping up the deposit since I've already got 2 cruises on my plate. :D Need to make it 3!!

[mg33626]

My guess to the reason is cost or some financial benefit since the BVIs are to me the most beautiful islands in the Caribbean. I highly recommend going out of San Juan to see to me the best ports there are by cruise ship.

 

That said, why not try a great itinerary like celebrity offers on Equinox? It's a ten day trip with great ports. Best of all, Celebrity now includes alcohol at no charge on oceanview and balcony staterooms. You may think Celebrity = yawn, but not these days with that promotion.

[CrzRani]

That said, why not try a great itinerary like celebrity offers on Equinox? It's a ten day trip with great ports. Best of all, Celebrity now includes alcohol at no charge on oceanview and balcony staterooms. You may think Celebrity = yawn, but not these days with that promotion.

 

Sounds like a great deal, but I guess I have this vision of dodging walkers, scooters, and canes. One thing that I need is youthful energy on a ship, not that I'm young by any means, but if I feel like I'm in a retirement home, then it's not a vacation, free booze or not.

 

I guess my sister tainted my image of Celebrity since she sailed at 50 and felt she was the youngest person on the ship.

[mg33626]

Its not the same these days, and many long time Celebrity guests aren't thrilled about it as you can see on that thread. On my sailing, there were plenty of young people, without tons of kids. It was very lively and fun.

[Jimmy Geegitz]

My eastern caribbean cruise goes to Key West, Nassau, and Freeport.

 

Key West is the most southern of those 3 ports. Your barely south of Miami on that cruise.

[GTO-Girl]

When we booked the Liberty out of PC for November 28th we were excited because it was going to Tortola, which we have never been to.

 

But alas not long after booking we noticed they took Tortola away......:rolleyes:.....oh well we got a GREAT price on an 8 day cruise so it's all good!

 

I guess Tortola will be another cruise for another time........:p

 

Happy Sailing everybody!!!

[TheTravelista]

That's not Eastern. Heck, It's not even Caribbean! :eek:

 

 

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LOL right?? Sad what these itineraries have become.

 

I remember going to Guadalupe, Martinique and Grenada and many others on Carnival back in the day. I didn't appreciate it as much then because I never thought the day would come when they would be obsolete ports of call for Carnival. Thankfully, there are other lines.

[TheTravelista]

Its not the same these days, and many long time Celebrity guests aren't thrilled about it as you can see on that thread. On my sailing, there were plenty of young people, without tons of kids. It was very lively and fun.

 

If this is true I may have to check out Celebrity. As someone who's still under 30 the thought of cruising with them in the past was met with vehement "absolutely nots." My age range keeps me in the Carnival, NCL, RCI mix for cruises. I love a lively, fun atmosphere. I have no use for a ship that shuts down at 10 PM :)

[jimbo5544]

You're thinking like me. Just got off the Breeze and attended the first time cruiser class, although I'm not. They offered up a few repositioning cruises that took my interest like you mentioned. There is a great one for next year that has a great itinerary to some islands I have never seen Carnival offer. Now I'm just scraping up the deposit since I've already got 2 cruises on my plate. :D Need to make it 3!!

What is the first time cruiser class?

[KPfromCT]

Last year, we did the 8 night Breeze, Eastern.

We went to St. Thomas, Antigua, Tortola, and Nassau.

This was GREAT!!!

Antigua and Tortola were new to us, and they did NOT disappoint.

However, I would LOVE Carnival to add Bonaire, Martinique, and some other "new" ports to their itineraries.

Maybe the ports just aren't set up to accept their large ships?

This year, we are doing the 8 night Southern to Grand Turk, Dominican, Curacao, and Aruba. 3 new ports for us.:D:D

 

I have a question.... Are Dominica and the Dominican Republic different?

I have seen Dominica mentioned a few times.:confused:

[francina]

I would prefer less ports and an overnight stay. So we can experience the night life.

 

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[CrzRani]

What is the first time cruiser class?

 

They sent an invitation to the room, which I found out just about everyone got one, but different days. It offered up an hour of information about fare codes, the best rooms to book, special itineraries (one time), all of the classes of ships and their differences. You may want to talk to the rep on the ship that does the booking of Future Vacation Planning when you board, to make sure you don't miss it.

[CrzRani]

Last year, we did the 8 night Breeze, Eastern.

We went to St. Thomas, Antigua, Tortola, and Nassau.

This was GREAT!!!

Antigua and Tortola were new to us, and they did NOT disappoint.

However, I would LOVE Carnival to add Bonaire, Martinique, and some other "new" ports to their itineraries.

Maybe the ports just aren't set up to accept their large ships?

This year, we are doing the 8 night Southern to Grand Turk, Dominican, Curacao, and Aruba. 3 new ports for us.:D:D

 

I have a question.... Are Dominica and the Dominican Republic different?

I have seen Dominica mentioned a few times.:confused:

 

Dominica is a small island near the Southern part of the Caribbean and the Dominican Republic is a large island that is shared with Haiti and split by a river down the middle. So they are totally different.

 

As for Bonaire, I've been reading that the locals don't want Carnival there in their port. The complaint is that Bonaire has a population of 14,000 and if they consistently welcome ships year round, then their island will lose its appeal as a top scuba spot and a vacation island that has been relatively quiet, even though there are some cruise lines that visit, but not year round. Carnival was hoping to stop year round, but looks like for now, the locals have persuaded their government enough to stop it, plus Bonaire has to import much of it's food and supplies to sustain itself, cause it doesn't have much on the island to produce. They say they can't support 4K people getting off loaded everyday, at least for now.

[Ontario_Cruiser]

I have a question.... Are Dominica and the Dominican Republic different?

I have seen Dominica mentioned a few times.:confused:

 

Yes. Dominica is the island between Guadaloupe and Martinique. Dominican Republic is half the island of Hispaniola (Haiti being the other half).

[ibcnusoon]

Dominica supposedly has beautiful waterfalls.

 

I would love a cruise to the ABC islands! Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao. Carnival can keep the Dominican Republic and Grand Turk!

[Hendricks Clan]

There were some posts here that Tortola signed an exclusive arrangement (not sure how long with NCL and Royal (I think).

 

Explains why NCL will have weekly calls there beginning next year.