Which Celebrity Cruise to Caribbean?

[MOcruiserman]

We've never been to the Caribbean. We are not beach people but would like nice scenery, pleasant port towns and interesting excursions. Cruise would be in February 2017.

 

Here are the possibilities:

 

Summit 7 days from San Juan to Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua, St. Maarten, St. Thomas, San Juan.

The good - 6 Caribbean ports to explore.

The bad - Heard some negative things about St. Lucia and Antigua. Only one sea day.

 

Reflection 7 days from Miami to San Juan, St. Maarten, St. Kitts, Miami,

The good - Great ship, 3 interesting ports, 3 sea days.

The bad - Only 3 Caribbean ports.

 

Silhouette 7 days from Port Everglades to San Juan, St. Thomas, St. Maarten, Port Everglades.

The good - Great ship, 3 interesting ports, 3 sea days.

The bad - Only 3 Caribbean ports.

 

I'm leaning towards the Summit because of the sheer number of ports. But my DW is worried that some of the ports may be unappealing.

 

What do you recommend?

[carolslc]

What's unappealing about St Lucia? It's gorgeous and has been on my bucket list for years. We'll be on the Summit on that Itinerary later this year. You can always stay on the ship if you don't like a port, but I recommend booking an excursion with a reliable company or the cruise line and enjoying. We've been on the Reflection and it's a gorgeous, newer ship. The Summit is older but I like all the ports and the smaller size.

[keesar]

I would opt for the Summit. On the other ships, those stops in San Juan are real brief. You typically arrive around 3 pm and it gets dark a couple of hours later. If the ship has to wait for a charter flight to arrive, you will get there later.

[macaroni]

Summit for me...great ports...

[Fouremco]

I suppose one can find something negative about all countries, but the positives far outweigh any negatives with St. Lucia and Antigua. We've stayed in St. Lucia on land holidays from one to two weeks in duration on three separate occasions, and have visited on cruises several times. We'll be back on the Eclipse in March and look forward to another great visit.

 

While we are beach people, and try to include some beach time at most ports, we've taken excursions at all of the Summit's ports of call that did not include beach breaks. There is so much to see, and none of the ports unappealing. I'd definitely favour the Summit's itinerary over the other two.

[jenZ]

Loved both St. Lucia & Antigua. Both are beautiful in different ways, one of the best things about cruising the Caribbean- interesting geography and history. And we enjoyed the locals and their culture too.

 

St Lucia is lush and mountainous. The Pitons are an amazing geological force. We are not beach people either, in terms of sitting on the beach getting sun- but we are water people: our excursion in St Lucia is one of my favorite vacation memories- beautiful views from the boat ride to the Pitons and snorkeling at the base; then walk-out to the black volcanic sand beach with a island buffet lunch in a quiet thatched roof, open air porch high above the water. The architecture of the resort was beautiful, the views to the Pitons amazing, and the Caribbean food good and different. If you don't snorkel, you can just tread water with a mask held up to your face to look down at the fish. Not the best snorkeling ever ( it was a cloudy day) but the base of the black mountains made it exotic. And/or explore the resort and tropical forest around you and/or people watch from shore. It was very relaxing, and calming, not a beach body frenzy.

 

Antigua - a rocky and dry island with beautiful cliff views to the water. If you are a history, architecture or maritime enthusiast , you might enjoy Nelson's Dockyard, a restored naval station from the late 1700's. It was meticulously maintained in the colonial style of the period. We didn't want to leave!

 

It has been over 10 years since I visited so can't speak to the current local situation or excursions but I would bet the natural beauty is still there. [emoji6]And I still fondly recall our visit to Antiqua when I look at my beautiful blue-green bowl handmade by a local potter bought at the quaint cottages just off the port docks . It is true art- a unusual color and matte glaze that I have never seen duplicated anywhere else. Nothing like joyful reminders of a fun time!

[farmermd]

I vote the Summit in the southern caribbean. We did the other itinerary on the Summit a couple years ago and loved it. Wish we had the time to do the B2B and catch the itinerary you mentioned.

[prim8keeper]

Antigua is one of my favorite islands I've been too. Below are a few photos of both St. Lucia and Antigua. On both islands we did island tours and I would gladly go back. Personally I would go with Summit. Yes, only one sea day, but its a great mix of ports. Barbados is also another great port. If you can book Calabaza Sailing there and go swimming with the sea turtles.

 

Antigua

 

Overlook by Nelson's Dockyard.

 

 

Beach (forgot the name)

 

 

St. Lucia

 

Stopping at a banana plantation.

 

 

One of the famous Pitons.

 

 

Over by the volcano.

 

 

There are more photos for each island in my Eclipse photo review in my signature. There are also pictures of Barbados and St. Maarten.

[ClaudiaB]

If you can possibly take a longer cruise, look at the Equinox and Eclipse. We've taken those about 3 times each, love the Eclipse 2 week cruise with 8 port stops.

 

We aren't sitting on the beach people either (maybe in 75 days in the Caribbean we've sat on a beach twice) and we return time after time. Wonderful things to do both culturally and historically in the Caribbean. Our favorite ports are southern (exotic) Caribbean. Do consider a longer one if you can. At least sometime.

[Mr. Click]

We have done the Summit out of SJU once and the Serenade 3 times. We love the trip, we love lots of ports and not a lot of sea days. Each port has its own charms and beauty. I would plan to fly in a day or two early to winter weather surprise and it gives you real time to explore Puerto Rico beyond San Juan. If we had not retired and stopped staying in the Northeast for the winter we would still be flying to San Juan for those trips.

[MOcruiserman]

Thanks for all the helpful comments!

[breezy1200]

Hands down, I would take the Summit. All of the ports are some of the best in the Carribean.

 

St. Thomas: USVI. Beautiful Island. I would do an island tour and then spend 2 hours wandering and shopping. The shopping area is fantastic.

 

Antigua. One of my favorite islands. Not much on sightseeing, but very authentic. To me, this is a beach day. Cab to Dickinson beach and rent an umbrella and chairs for $25.

 

Barbados: Beautiful rainforest island. I would do something nature related.

 

St. Lucia: Extraordinarily beautiful. Hire a cab for the day and tour the island. The beaches aren't that great.

 

St.Martin: So interesting. French and Dutch. Do an Island tour and enjoy the pastries at the French bakery in Marigot.

[alcpa1]

We were just on the Summit in December. We have cruised the Caribbean from both South Florida and Puerto Rico man times. We prefer the southern route. While it may seem port intensive it has wonderful ports each with a different flavor.

Barbados is drenched in sea lore with a British flair. We often head over to the Atlantic coast to visit St. John's Parish. You can do both a Mont Gay and a Red Stripe tour in a day if you want even more island flavor.

St. Lucia is far more lush and it's difficult to see everything in one day.

Antigua is one of our favorites. This is a more arid island and a trip to Nelson's Dockyard and English Harbour hits the spot.

St. Maarten may be the beachiest destination but it is also worth a visit to Marigot to get the French flavor.

One of the biggest advantages of this itinerary is the stop at St. Thomas. It is often overrun by ship passengers but not on this itinerary. We have been there on land and sea trips and it is rare indeed to have only two ships in. It makes getting everywhere much easier. A ferry to St. John is a wonderful side trip.

We haven't really been beach people and have always found much to see and do.

You may want to also think about doing a back to back since the Summit does two different itineraries. If you have the time for two weeks this may be the ultimate taste of the southern Caribbean.

These Summit itineraries are our go to Caribbean cruise. We discover something new each time we head south.

[jb008]

IMHO hands down Summit of the choices you listed.

 

We sailed out of FLL for a week cruise in '12 and decided it was well worth the effort to get down to SJU to start the cruise. The number of sea days for a week cruise from FL down to the Caribbean was the deal breaker (or rather broke the deal for future cruises) 1 sea day is plenty for me.

 

Also Summit goes into refurb in a few months, so a lot of the complaints about her being "dated" or showing "wear" should hopefully be resolved. Having been on Summit twice in the last 13 months though, we loved both cruises and would happily do it again, no question! In fact, we prefer the Barbados itinerary over the alternative one, did it 12/14 and just made a deposit on that same itin for next winter ('17).

 

As others have said, going into San Juan a day or two early will give you some time to enjoy the city (a destination in its own right), and makes the whole trip a little less stressful (assuming you're flying out of a snow city).

 

Here's the link to my trip report from the itinerary you're looking at http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2140428

 

Also a note that traffic into St. Thomas can be highly variable, when we were there the last 2 times it was zero other ships the first time, and only a disney ship there last time (<2k people on the disney ship) so the crowds & traffic were very light relative to the "5 ships" in port some days.

Edited February 1, 2016 by jb008

[hayley76]

I LOVE St. Lucia. I would definitely go with the first cruise on your list.

[lovemylab]

Definitely the Summit!

 

We've had a great time on all our visits to Antigua and St. Lucia. The key to enjoying these islands is to get away from the port area.

[vuildog]

You've been given some great advice! I agree with the Summit itinerary.

 

Here are my reasons:

 

1. Love sailing out of San Juan. So many interesting things to do in San Juan. Go at least a day early, and see some if the island. Lots to see and do. I took this exact cruise in 2014. Lots of fun. Doing the Tortola itinerary on the Summit in March!

 

2.Love St. Lucia..Been on three different cruises with stops there. Look at the Rendezvous Resort day pass. I want to say it is around $75 for the day. All inclusive except for water sports. Visited on two of our trips to St. Lucia. Bonus, it is super close to the port. Great lunch, any booze, or beverage you want is included. Great pool(my mom is not a beach fan), and lovely people. Lots of European visitors who go every year for weeks at a time. Have had some lovely conversations. Great day, and then did some quick shopping before boarding the ship. On our third visit, we took a catamaran excursion. Not through the ship. Found them on Trip Advisor, and got a group from our roll call to join us. I think the catamaran was a little cheaper than the Rendezvous. But after tipping the crew, probably broke even. Another fantastic day, and way to see the Pitons.

 

2. Antigua is amazing! Took another catamaran excursion that took us completely around the island. My non-beach mother stayed on the catamaran when people snorkeled, and we had 2 beach stops. One with lunch. But they weren't more than an hour each. My mother stayed on the catamaran during the non-lunch stop. Drank beer, and had great conversations with the crew. Lots of fun! Another great day!

 

Whatever you decide, you cannot go wrong! Enjoy your vacation!

[MOcruiserman]

Thanks for all your advice. I think I'll be able to convince the DW to take the Summit cruise, especially if we really enjoy the ship on our upcoming cruise to Bermuda.

[monicajay]

We have cruised twice on the Summit out of San Juan and love the southern itinerary. We also really enjoy San Juan and getting there a day or two early and staying a night after is our perfect vacation.

 

Unfortunately for us, this year and in 2017 there are charters on the only dates we can travel (being a teacher).

 

I'm sailing this year on the Reflection (after a canceled Constellation) and I'm not even really looking forward to it as the ports aren't as exciting and going to Florida first just isn't the same. Wish I was going to San Juan and the Summit.

 

For me this would be an easy choice.

[jb008]

Just to make this a little harder, RCI also has two ships sailing out of San Juan too. When I priced RCI vs X for 12/14 and 1/16, there was a negligible cost difference and I'd rather be on X (I sailed Jewel OTS 12/13 and we were happier with the X Summit the following year fwiw, not that Jewel was bad).

 

However RCI may open up more Southern Caribbean itineraries (for winter 2016 RCI had Jewel OTS and Adventure OTS based in San Juan) to choose between. And you won't have a bad vacation on RCI, I would just describe the line as more family-friendly and action oriented and a little less luxurious than X.

 

Added in edit: my Jewel OTS trip report from 12/13 - it's a little dated now but might still give another data point to consider

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1963557

Edited February 3, 2016 by jb008

[4774Papa]

Loved both St. Lucia & Antigua. Both are beautiful in different ways, one of the best things about cruising the Caribbean- interesting geography and history. And we enjoyed the locals and their culture too.

 

St Lucia is lush and mountainous. The Pitons are an amazing geological force. We are not beach people either, in terms of sitting on the beach getting sun- but we are water people: our excursion in St Lucia is one of my favorite vacation memories- beautiful views from the boat ride to the Pitons and snorkeling at the base; then walk-out to the black volcanic sand beach with a island buffet lunch in a quiet thatched roof, open air porch high above the water. The architecture of the resort was beautiful, the views to the Pitons amazing, and the Caribbean food good and different. If you don't snorkel, you can just tread water with a mask held up to your face to look down at the fish. Not the best snorkeling ever ( it was a cloudy day) but the base of the black mountains made it exotic. And/or explore the resort and tropical forest around you and/or people watch from shore. It was very relaxing, and calming, not a beach body frenzy.

 

Antigua - a rocky and dry island with beautiful cliff views to the water. If you are a history, architecture or maritime enthusiast , you might enjoy Nelson's Dockyard, a restored naval station from the late 1700's. It was meticulously maintained in the colonial style of the period. We didn't want to leave!

 

It has been over 10 years since I visited so can't speak to the current local situation or excursions but I would bet the natural beauty is still there. [emoji6]And I still fondly recall our visit to Antiqua when I look at my beautiful blue-green bowl handmade by a local potter bought at the quaint cottages just off the port docks . It is true art- a unusual color and matte glaze that I have never seen duplicated anywhere else. Nothing like joyful reminders of a fun time!

 

We did the 14 day Carib on the Connie in 2012 and loved St. Lucia, Grenada and Antigua the most. They seemed to be the most authentically Caribbean.

 

We also liked Barbados (Orchid World). The Dutch islands (Aruba and Curacao) were good, and St. Thomas was nice, but not so impressed with St. Maarten.

[Cindy]

I also vote for the Summit out of San Juan. St. Lucia and Barbados are both spectacular, with plenty of activities for non beach people.

[james'mommy]

We prefer port intensive cruises so we sail the Summit from San Juan. DH has a short attention span and gets bored easily on sea days. He enjoys gambling but we can't afford the cost of gambling to keep him entertained for more than 1 sea day. We have the same Summit cruise booked next year and we are looking forward to seeing St Lucia. We were supposed to honeymoon there but funds were a little tight so we ended up in Barbados.

[jakethecruiser]

If its your very first time you should do snorkeling or sight seeing excursions. Anything that makes this a great vacation! Great job planning a year in advance as well!

 

 

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[north29]

Sorry Double post doing a edit.

Edited February 5, 2016 by north29