Southern Caribben - Need Help Deciding

[rnw531]

Looking to plan my next cruise and hubby wants to do southern caribbean as it has a lot of ports to visit. There are 3 options and all around the same price so which one would you choose. We have never been to the southern caribbean or on these ships before so any insight would be most helpful.

 

Option 1 (On Adventure of the seas)

Leave from San Juan

-Phillipsburg, St. Marteen

-Bassetere, St. Kits

-St. John's, Antigua

-Castries. St. Lucia

-Bridgetown, Barbados

 

Option 2 (On Adventure of the seas)

Leave from San Juan

-Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas

-Bassetere, St. Kits

-Willemsted, Curacao

-Oranjestad, Aruba

 

Option 3 (Jewel of the seas)

Leave from San Juan

-St. Croix

-Phillipsburg, St. Marteen

-Roseao, Dominica

-Bridgetown, Barbados

-St. George, Grenada

 

So which one would you decide and why and if you have been to thee ports before can you tell me a little about what you liked and what you didn't like.

[Clarea]

I would do a back-to-back on Adventure, so you catch almost all the ports.:)

Edited April 5, 2015 by clarea

[Teeara]

Adventure is a Voyager class ship which is larger than Jewel, so there is more to do onboard the ship. I have been on both and I love the Promenade of the Voyager class ships.

 

All of the islands are great. You should let people know what kind of things you like to do when you cruise. Are you a beach bum or a shore excursion person? Do you prefer to shop or stay onboard ship?

[skiiergirl]

Looking to plan my next cruise and hubby wants to do southern caribbean as it has a lot of ports to visit. There are 3 options and all around the same price so which one would you choose. We have never been to the southern caribbean or on these ships before so any insight would be most helpful.

 

Option 1 (On Adventure of the seas)

Leave from San Juan

-Phillipsburg, St. Marteen

-Bassetere, St. Kits

-St. John's, Antigua

-Castries. St. Lucia

-Bridgetown, Barbados

 

Option 2 (On Adventure of the seas)

Leave from San Juan

-Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas

-Bassetere, St. Kits

-Willemsted, Curacao

-Oranjestad, Aruba

 

Option 3 (Jewel of the seas)

Leave from San Juan

-St. Croix

-Phillipsburg, St. Marteen

-Roseao, Dominica

-Bridgetown, Barbados

-St. George, Grenada

 

So which one would you decide and why and if you have been to thee ports before can you tell me a little about what you liked and what you didn't like.

 

We have done the southern Caribbean on these ships numerous times. Our preferences are Option 2, Option 1, and Option 3 would be the third choice. We prefer JW over AD for the ship itself but we also love AD. Therefore we choose between the two based on the itinerary.

 

Tell us a little more about you and DH...what type excursions are you looking to do? Island tour, Boating, ziplining, golf, jeep adventures or just a great beach everyday? Do you like the specialty restaurants or do you do MDR every evening? What month/year are you looking at? (both ships are due for refurbishment in 2016....so their offerings will change)

[39august]

I've done back to back on both ships. Or if not that, take one of the cruises that offers five ports instead of four. All those islands are great for many different reasons.

[cb at sea]

If you have not been to ANY of the ports, then pick the one where you get the best room, and most time for your money. Either ship is fine! A guidebook will tell you all you need about your potential ports....if the actual ports are why you're sailing, then that will help you decide.

Otherwise..close your eyes, point at one and book it! You cannot go wrong!

[cruiseguy1016]

We have been on both of the ships and to all of the ports. The southern Caribbean ports are so much better that the Eastern or Western. You will not be disappointed in whichever choice you make. However since you're asking, I would choose option #1. While we love the Radiance class ships (the Jewel), the Voyager class (Adventure) has a little more to offer for the onboard experience. And, to make it even better St. Kitts, Antigua, St. Lucia and Barbados are some of our favorite islands. You'll have four busy days in port but the last day at sea gives you a day to unwind.

Edited April 6, 2015 by cruiseguy1016

[ColoradoGurl]

Looking to plan my next cruise and hubby wants to do southern caribbean as it has a lot of ports to visit. There are 3 options and all around the same price so which one would you choose. We have never been to the southern caribbean or on these ships before so any insight would be most helpful.

 

Option 1 (On Adventure of the seas)

Leave from San Juan

-Phillipsburg, St. Marteen

-Bassetere, St. Kits

-St. John's, Antigua

-Castries. St. Lucia

-Bridgetown, Barbados

 

Option 2 (On Adventure of the seas)

Leave from San Juan

-Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas

-Bassetere, St. Kits

-Willemsted, Curacao

-Oranjestad, Aruba

 

Option 3 (Jewel of the seas)

Leave from San Juan

-St. Croix

-Phillipsburg, St. Marteen

-Roseao, Dominica

-Bridgetown, Barbados

-St. George, Grenada

 

So which one would you decide and why and if you have been to thee ports before can you tell me a little about what you liked and what you didn't like.

 

I would choose option 1. I haven't been yet myself but I did some research and chose that exact ship and route for my next cruise. I like the ship (I've been on 2 in that class and have been very happy with the size, amenities and layout)

The Jewel (your option 3) is a smaller ship with less activities and no promenade inside the ship.

 

I like the islands in option 1, they all get mostly good reviews and have great beaches and interesting activities. There are also 5 islands as opposed to 4. Your option 2 would be my second choice as it has great islands as well and is on the same ship, but it has 1 less island. That's the only downside. But Aruba and curaçao are supposed to be great islands (especially if you dive or snorkel).

 

Your option 3 has 3 islands that don't seem to get great reviews. 2 of them (Grenada and Dominica) don't get great reviews because they are very small and run down and not quite ready for tourists, which is fine and some people probably like that. I'm sure there are beautiful beaches to visit there, but other than that, it sounds like most people would rather skip the islands or stay on the ship because there is no shopping, restaurants, activities etc. I can't vouch for that myself because I've never been. St. Croix seems to be one of the least favorite southern islands as well, with lots of reviewers saying they'd rather skip it. Not sure why, I guess there's not much to do and it's not as pretty as other options? Idk, but read the port reviews and you'll get a feel for it. So option 3 wouldn't even be on the list for me.

 

I like to be active and social so I like to have lots of options and I like to have lots to do. I can always choose to sit back and relax if I feel like it, but I want the option, so that's why I like the bigger ship, more ports and ports with fun stuff to do.

 

Barbados is great because of sea turtles, water activities, beaches like the Boatyard (look on trip advisor) where there's lots going on at the beach.

 

Antigua has great beaches with lots of amenities as well, but also has quiet beaches. You can snorkel and scuba and jet ski. I'm not sure if there's a whole lot more to do there, maybe zip lining and horseback riding. But there are lots of beach options.

 

St Kitts has a lot of island tours that take you to plantations and old forts. Grays Island Excursions seems like a popular and well rated choice. You can also take a ferry to the nearby island of Nevis and do the Nevis Peak Hike if you're really adventurous. It's a steep hike up the side of a volcano, it's muddy from what I can tell.

 

St. Lucia has great island tours as well. Look up Cosols or Herods. You can see all the places their tours go to and probably find a cab driver that would take you to just one or two if you see something that sounds fun and don't want the longer day. You can also find catamaran tours that take you out to snorkel and such. They have the Pitons which are a great photo opp, and there are a lot of nice lush tropical spots to see.

 

St Maarten is the only one I've been to, and it seems to be a favorite amongst a lot of people. Best shopping of all the islands. You can choose to hang on the Dutch side and shop and go to beaches, or cross over to the French side for authentic French patisseries, chocolatiers, cafés and clothing optional beaches (orient bay) or go to Maho beach and watch the planes land. There's tons to do on this stop. The Blue Bitch Bar is right by the ship port and is Oceanside and close to shopping.

Edited April 6, 2015 by ColoradoGurl

[FloatMe]

I really enjoy sea days! 5 stops is one if not 2 stops too many for me. With so many options you can always come back and find an itinerary with some islands we haven't been to before.

[bigque]

We did Option #1 on Serenade with St. Croix instead of St. Kitts. We enjoyed the cruise and the Ports very much with St. Lucia and St. Marteen being our favorite islands of any islands we have been too thus far! To witness those big jumbo jets landing so close overhead on Maho Beach was one of the big highlights for me! We liked St. Lucia so much that we might go back there one day for a week at a all inclusive! We did ship excursion except on St. Marteen where we used Bernard's Tours!

We are doing your Option # 2 on Adventure in October and we are really looking forward to another ship we have not been on and islands we have not been to. Our planned excursion on this trip are all private excursions and not through the ship. Through advice on our roll call and doing some other research we decide that there were some better excursion out there than what the ship is offering and we usually book our excursions through the ship. :cool:

[cruiseapril]

We would choose Option 2 as we really like Curacao and Aruba (have been to each 3 times.) But we are beach people and enjoyed the cove beaches in Curacao and Palm Beach in Aruba.

 

Also, Curacao has the beautiful port city of Willemstad which is small and walkable with lots to do and see. In Aruba, we once took a morning island tour where we saw most of the island. Then, we went to the beach.

[Beachammo]

Would usually pick Jewel.....but not big on that itinerary.

 

Option 2 would be my pick

[MAJPLO]

Option 1. We've been to all of those ports. St. Lucia, Barbados, and Antigua were some of our favorite places ever. I didn't love St. Kitts but I wasn't in a position to be enjoying it (minor but super irritating health issues that day). St. Maarten was nice but it was windy the day we were there.

 

Of the other options, I haven't been to St. Croix, Curaçao, Aruba, or Dominica but I can say that I liked St. Thomas and did not like Grenada.

 

I would also suggest that you stay an extra three to four days in Puerto Rico if you can. It wasn't a place I ever thought I would visit but we loved it.

[Rala]

I would pick Option #3 because I love the Radiance class (Jewel) ships and that itinerary gives you a couple of ports that are not so frequently visited by RCCL ships. Whichever you choose, I hope it is a great cruise!!:)

[trev71]

option 1, Why do you ask ?

 

this is the route I picked for my upcoming cruise

[CRUISEFAN0001]

Option #1

 

Options #3 and then #2 as the secondary choices.

 

We took #1 twice before and loved it enough to repeat. Next year, we're taking yet another version with 1 new port:

 

Option #4 (On Adventure of the seas)

-Leave from San Juan

-St. Croix, USVI

-Bassetere, St. Kitts

-Phillipsburg, St. Maarten

-Fort de France, Martinique

-Bridgetown, Barbados

[CptSticky]

I prefer Jewel (or any Radiance Class), but would still pick option #2. Love former Dutch islands.

[BonnieSte]

I would do a back-to-back on Adventure, so you catch almost all the ports.:)

 

I like your thinking ;)

 

For us, we choose the one with the most ports. I have been to all these island and can't complain about any of them. I believe the Jewel is a much smaller ship so again that is another thing to consider. Personal choice.

[racerxspeedy]

Hello - one other thing you may want to check if you book st Thomas and st Martin. How many ships will be in port those days? Our Nov sailing has no other ships in port. These ports get busy with 5-6 ships at times. Otherwise these are all my favorites. Hope to see you there!!

[rnw531]

I would do a back-to-back on Adventure, so you catch almost all the ports.:)

 

Thanks but I don't have the vacation time to do a back to back the hubby does but I don't at least not yet!!! But once I do then we will be doing one - HA HA HA

[rnw531]

Adventure is a Voyager class ship which is larger than Jewel, so there is more to do onboard the ship. I have been on both and I love the Promenade of the Voyager class ships.

 

All of the islands are great. You should let people know what kind of things you like to do when you cruise. Are you a beach bum or a shore excursion person? Do you prefer to shop or stay onboard ship?

 

 

As for who we are we are couple in our later 30's/early 40's. And I like to do it ALL and the hubby will usually go along. He doesn't do heights so no ziplinning but everyhting else is fair game. I am not one to stay on the ship. I don't mind doing excursions through the ship or private. I like going to the beach and relaxing but also like to sight see take pictures and learn about the culture in the place we are visiting. We have been on Royal once before and did the Exporer ship and loved it so I am assuming AOS is like that ship which is cool. Our next cruuise is this Saturday on Oasis - sooooooo excited and the hubby can't beilive I'm ready to plan the next cruise already but the prices are good and it's not till 2017 so that gives us ample time to change anything if we need to.

[rnw531]

We have done the southern Caribbean on these ships numerous times. Our preferences are Option 2, Option 1, and Option 3 would be the third choice. We prefer JW over AD for the ship itself but we also love AD. Therefore we choose between the two based on the itinerary.

 

Tell us a little more about you and DH...what type excursions are you looking to do? Island tour, Boating, ziplining, golf, jeep adventures or just a great beach everyday? Do you like the specialty restaurants or do you do MDR every evening? What month/year are you looking at? (both ships are due for refurbishment in 2016....so their offerings will change)

 

We do like the specilaty resturants as we usually choose at least one to do 1 night on the cruise as we cruise every other year and it's always around the time after his b-day(3/17) around my b-day(4/20) and our anniversary(3/22) so we usually pick one to cleebrate and do it in the specialty resturant

[rnw531]

Thank you ColoradoGurl for the in depth info, I apperciate it :-)

[notsomadhatter]

My first pick would be option #2. Those islands are harder to access on a cruise from the mainland so if I'm getting my butt on a plane to San Juan I want to take advantage. Also like Voyager class ships.

[rnw531]

Thank you all so much for your insight and your suggestions. I plan to make a decision and book by end of this month :-)

Edited April 6, 2015 by rnw531