Which Celebrity Cruise to Caribbean?

[north29]

To be like the best parts of your home town you might not want to go. While some ports are very nice and others, well different. Too many cruiser think that the world should be like where they live and really do not want to experience a foreign culture and come here and complain about being hassled or what ever. Yes, many places cook with charcoal, have no running water, streets are crowded and in ill repair and may smell and yes crime(maybe) but some cruisers potentially set their self up buy wearing $15K worth of gold on shore.

I love going to Falmouth, many hate it, we understand the culture after doing a walking tour on my first visit. I go outside cruise compound, YES into the city and yes fend off people trying to make a living, I go to a grocery store, get two beers, sit on the bench on the street and some times have enjoyable conversations with the locals. If I buy something from a vendor, they are really appreciative.

I love the Caribbean and many other do, if you go and sorry for the comment, just go with a open mind and you will see some of the most beautiful places on this planet. PS we are not beach people either.

[digital_curator]

I would love to try the S-class ships but for itinerary, I would (and have) chose the Summit. First, we love having a couple of days in San Juan. Old San Juan is lovely and on most cruises one only gets a few hours in port.

 

We aren't beach people either.

 

In Barbados we took a tour that the included a visit to an animal sanctuary (interesting) and snorkeling with the turtles (favorite thing I have ever done in the Caribbean).

 

We LOVED St. Lucia! We took a land tour- stopped in Castries to see a cute church, ate bananas right off a tree, had beautiful views of the Pitons, ate a wonderful local lunch, sampled rum at a local distillery, saw the waterfalls, and had a little beach time. The roads are winding though, and some people were sick. This time we are heading out to the Pitons by boat.

 

We have never been to Antigua, so we are excited to visit in a few weeks!

 

St. Maarten is one of our favorite islands. If we are ever going to buy a vacation home, it will be here. Bernard's island tour is amazing but this time we are going to take a bus to the French side and hang out in Marigot.

 

We don't love St. Thomas, but we enjoyed Godfrey's tour the first time, which included shopping in the capital, an island tour, and optional beach time. We prefer St. John and X has an affordable boat ride there. Great snorkeling right off the beach and a nice town to walk around. Because this itinerary is so port-intensive, we are going to treat this stop like a sea day.

 

If I had to pick a second choice, I would go for the Reflection. We thought St. Kitts was lovely, though this was a beach day for us. I had a lovely massage. Our friends enjoyed their island tour, which I would do if I return.

 

We have had bad weather out of Miami but nothing but calm seas out of San Juan, which is also a factor for me. I also hate the craziness that is the Miami airport, but that's just me. I do like Miami though.

[xmarksx]

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.

 

 

What do you recommend?

 

Cruiserman, we are interested in booking a Feb 17 trip on the Summit but I am not seeing any 7 day itineraries available.

[Fouremco]

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Edited February 8, 2016 by Fouremco

[MOcruiserman]

Cruiserman, we are interested in booking a Feb 17 trip on the Summit but I am not seeing any 7 day itineraries available.

They apparently changed the date. We're looking at cruises on the Summit in April 2017.

[farmerslou]

We have been traveling to the Caribbean for just a tad under 30 years. We used to go twice a year. Our traveling has included approximately 25 cruises, and 25 land trips to the islands. As such, we have had the privilege of doing the one day tours of islands, and then doing a land package based upon what we observed during our cruises.

 

The Summit itinerary (which I am sailing in March 2016) would win hands down for me, and here is why.

 

St. Lucia is the most beautiful island in the Caribbean. Period. Now, let me tell you why it is. It is probably the most picturesque island between the topography and the flora. Some of the most beautiful pictures we have ever taken were on this island. In addition, the unique Creole/Caribbean/African culture of the island is wonderful and one of my favorites. Having said that, it is a very poor island economically, so being friendly to the people who live there goes a long way. Remember, they are not being intrusive, they are trying to provide for their families, so please mind your manners.

 

Antigua has some of the most beautiful beaches. North of Jolly Harbour but south of Hawksbill Beach resort is an amazingly beautiful bay. There are so many beaches on this island, and it is one of my favorite "beach" islands. I have been here 3x. Once was at Sandals, which is so isolated that you really don't get a feel for the island because you are so sequestered. The other two times, we were approached by beach vendors pretty consistently. This does not bother me. The only island that I am bothered by this is Jamaica, but that is because it is my opinion that those vendors are more aggressive towards tourists than the other islands in the Caribbean.

 

St. Thomas has such a mix of everything. Great choice (not necessarily price) of duty free shopping, and one of the most beautiful beaches in the Caribbean (Magens Bay). We love it here because it is "Americanized", and you can pretty much do anything you want. You can even eat American fast food (the horror!) if you are tired of delicious resort fare from the ship.

 

St. Maarten has some of the best duty free values in the Caribbean. I cannot speak much to the beaches however, as we mostly did touristy things here. This trip, we are going to Orient Bay to people watch and laugh. It is the French side of the island, so we are hoping to see how it differs culturally than the dutch side of the island.

 

Barbados is a remarkably beautiful island as well, and the British heritage stands out very well. Make sure you do a rum tour here if you like spirits. You can find some pink sand beaches on Barbados also, which are very pretty and somewhat unique for the Caribbean.

 

In any event, my one piece of advise is this. Relax, and try to leave your sense of timing at home. Part of the reason you are going to the Caribbean is to get away from the hectic pace of ordinary life. So, when you notice that things are a tad slower, just go with it and don't complain. You will find it much more rejuvenating if you do so.:)

 

 

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?

[MOcruiserman]

Thanks everyone for your input. I'm sure we're going to enjoy our cruise on the Summit.

[xmarksx]

We just got off the Reflection sailing you were interested in and absolutely loved it. So much so that I was trying to find a February 2017 Summit sailing like the one you described but I was told they have them all sold as charters. Sadness because we really enjoy Celebrity.

[MOcruiserman]

We just got off the Reflection sailing you were interested in and absolutely loved it. So much so that I was trying to find a February 2017 Summit sailing like the one you described but I was told they have them all sold as charters. Sadness because we really enjoy Celebrity.

 

I don't see the Feb. cruise either. But it is scheduled for April 2017, which is when we plan to go.