Southern Caribbean Jan 2016

[TheTodd]

My wife and I (both mid 20's) are looking at taking a cruise coming up in January but are having a hard time deciding on the right one. We have talked about it have both think that we will like a cruise that is "port-heavy" so we think that taking a cruise out of San Juan is the best option. Based on this we have narrowed it down to 3 options:

 

Option 1: Celebrity Summit - visiting Barbados, St Lucia, Antigua, St Maarten and St Thomas

Option 2: RCI Jewel of the Seas - visiting Barbados, St Lucia, Antigua, St Maarten and St Croix

Option 3: RCI Adventure of the Seas - visiting St Thomas, St Croix, Antigua, St Lucia and Grenada

 

I think that they all look like good options and I know we will probably like whichever one we choose but if anyone has any insight on which is best or which ports of call are better than others, I would love to hear about it. Thanks in advance

[OCruisers]

Option 2: RCI Jewel of the Seas - visiting Barbados, St Lucia, Antigua, St Maarten and St Croix

 

This would be our choice be we LOVE the port stops! :)

 

LuLu

[obnurse]

I'm not sure Celebrity would be my choice if I were in my 20's. A little too quiet for 20 somethings. I'd choose one of the other two.

[cruiserking]

Welcome to Cruise Critic TheTodd. I also think you would much prefer Royal Caribbean Line; beautiful ships with tons of things to do on board. Adventure is the bigger of the two Royal ship but, Jewel is a very elegant ship with plenty to keep you busy.

 

Either of these will be much more your speed.

 

Have a great cruise.

 

Jonathan

[NMLady]

I would choose option #3 mostly because Grenada is an island not often visited.

It is known as the Spice Island. We always buy nutmeg to grate whenever we are there. We did a land vacation and loved it. Beautiful beach.

Edited June 21, 2015 by NMLady

[cruiseapril]

We would choose 1 or 2 because we like Barbados and St. Maarten alot.

Both ports offer many interesting excursions and we have had good ones.

 

Would suggest pre-planned excursions in both St. Lucia and Antigua. Good idea to read reviews of excursions on the port forums.

 

We enjoy St. Thomas, but find the traffic very busy on days when many ships are in. We were glad to have an excursion to the beach planned to avoid the crowds.

 

Have fun planning your cruise.

[cb at sea]

I think most of the Caribbean ports are more alike than different. I'd choose Adventure...that's my favorite class of ship!

[TheTodd]

Thanks for the replies everyone. Are any of those islands better for SCUBA diving or snorkeling?

[Ashland]

Can I offer something else to consider ?

 

RCI Adventure also out of San Juan:

 

St Thomas

St Kitts

Curacao

Aruba

 

or

 

St Maarten

St Kitts

St Johns

St Lucia

Barbados

 

The above itineraries are the B2B cruises we're doing in May 2016.

[Keith1010]

Given your age, I would go with one of the RCI ships.

 

I like option 3.

 

Keith

[Krazy Kruizers]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

I like option #3 -- JMO.

[celebrity]

Go with Adventure. Such a fun ship. All of the So Caribbean ports are great.

[CanadaDeb]

Welcome to cruise critic...I would recommend The Jewel...it's a beautiful smaller ship with still loads to do and the food was excellent. Have a great cruise whichever you choose!

[cruiseapril]

Check the Scuba and Snorkeling forum for info on snorkeling in the ports.

[navybankerteacher]

I'd suggest option 2 for the ports. St. Thomas is usually very crowded - with the best activity being to go across to St. John. St. Maarten (not on option 3) probably offers the greatest variety of experiences: French side, Dutch side, a wide selection of restaurants, shopping and beaches, as well as the chance to get blown into the water by jets taking off from the airport (apparently a huge draw).