HAL, Caribbean itinerary, and which one?

[momtodogs]

Hi all!

 

First... I want to tell you that we (my father, sister and I) had a terrific cruise to Alaska on the HAL Amsterdam. It was all we could have hoped for (even with the rainy days.) Thank you all for your guidance in our planning days. You made our first cruise memorable.

 

Now, I would like to prey on (I mean, pray for) your patience, once again. While on that memorable cruise, I (who never win anything) won a 7-day cruise for 2 to the Caribbean! I have 18 months in which to use it (from 9-05.) My sister (who immediately claimed the second berth) and I are obviously thinking a non-hurricane season month (if there are any) would be a good time to go. Maybe January or February?

 

OK, so I go on the internet to see what cruise dates there are and find multiple itineraries to choose from! Help! I ask for your guidance. Which stops do you recommend, and why? We've heard that St. Thomas is the place to shop for jewelry, but other than that my page is blank for ideas. I am not a sun-worshipper, though my sister has been known to bathe in some rays. We are 49 (her) and 50 (me). We are single (divorced and widowed), not looking for future mates, but like to be sociable.

 

I see that the Zuiderdam, Westerdam and Veendam are sailing those waters. So many choices! Once more, I place myself under your tutelage.

 

Thanks, Rikki

[Mollynme]

I'm just back from my first cruise, too! (Volendam - San Fran to Ft. Lauderdale).

I'm already scheduled for my next cruise to the western Caribbean in March (Veendam). I decided on that one by checking out all the HAL itineraries for my desired time period and their excursions and decided that one with lots of opportunities for snorkeling and exploring Mayan ruins would be most likely to persuade the rest of my family to come. (It did!)

If your main goal is fun shopping stops, then this itinerary probably wouldn't appeal to you and you might want to pick one of the eastern or southern routes.

[Krazy Kruizers]

From what I am reading, it appears that your sister and you are able to do only 7 day cruises???

January, February, and March are good times to sail.

If you like shopping, then a schedule that includes St Thomas on the eastern itineraries would be good as there are more stores there. Tortola - no shopping for jewelry here. In fact - that is really nothing to do there but go to a beach or over to the Baths. Grand Turks on a schedule - this port is mostly for swimmers, beach people, snorkling. St Marteen - great port - lots of shopping.

Western itineraries - Cozumel is the best place to shop for gold - lots of shops. Also have a chance to take excursions to some of the ruins. Grand Cayman - great shopping - but expensive. Love the tour out to Stingray City. A great place to eat by the water is the Paradise Cove - not far from the ship's tender area. If your cruise includes Jamaica, hopefully it stops in Ocho Rios - it is the better than Montego Bay. You are within walking distance of the Island Village. Good place to eat lunch by the beach is Margaritaville.

[Randyk47]

For pure "island" pleasure in terms of mix and variety we prefer the eastern and southern routes. Western is OK but not quite as picturesque in our book. That's nothing more than personal preference and no doubt others will not agree. For out and out shopping my wife would definitely vote for St Thomas, St Maarten, and Grand Cayman in that order.

[Shifra]

My personal preference is also eastern. St. Maarten is one of my favorite islands. Tortola is very beautiful and unspoiled. Overall I think the eastern route is a bit more laid back and the islands are very beautiful.

 

As far as ship it sounds like the Zuiderdam or Westerdam would be good choices for you. Both of them do eastern & western cruises.

 

BTW Congrats on winning your cruise:D

[TYMAN]

I'm also a big Eastern fan...love the beaches at Tortola and St. Thomas. Oh, hello to Shifra and Amy!

[KAKcruiser]

My favorite shopping ports are St. Thomas & St. Maartin. I don't understand why HAL won't combine these two ports on a cruise. While St. Thomas has been the traditional big shopping port, I lately prefer St. Maartin. The prices seem to be better.

[liv2cruise4ever]

;) Ahhh to have this problem, what to do with a free cruise? Wish I had that problem...lol. I'd probably stick to the eastern as well. JMO. Besides good shopping, I think it is prettier.:D

[Bodger]

Looking at what is available it seems that the Zuiderdam Eastern itinerary is the only one that will meet your criteria.

 

Is there a possibility of paying the difference and going for ten days?

 

Bodger

[jaguarstyper]

My favorite shopping ports are St. Thomas & St. Maartin. I don't understand why HAL won't combine these two ports on a cruise. While St. Thomas has been the traditional big shopping port, I lately prefer St. Maartin. The prices seem to be better.

 

The '06 Noordam ten and eleven day cruises out of NYC have St. Thomas, St Maatin and Tortola on the itineraries. We're seriously considering booking the Noordam for November '06.

 

Tim

[iceman93]

First off, congratulations! If you've never sailed the Caribbean then you're in for a treat, and a very different experience than your Alaska vacation. I will also say that you and your sister sound like you have very good attitudes--you're the kind of people who will make the best of any situation and have fun no matter what.

 

That being said, I honestly don't think you can pick a bad 7-day Caribbean itinerary. All the islands and all the routes have pros and cons, and you'll never really be able to rank-order them and pick a single "best". So I would recommend looking at departure dates and ports, including which ships are sailing, and pick based on that information alone.

 

The only other bit of advice I'll offer is to upgrade your free cabin to the highest category you can afford. After all, HAL is paying the lion's share so why not pitch in a little bit and have that much more of a special experience?!

[doone]

I have sailed the Amsterdam and the Zuiderdam and enjoyed each ship. Since you enjoyed the Amsterdam so much I just want you to realize that the Vista Style ships (Zuideram, Oosterdam, Westerdam and Noordam) are wonderful ships, but just a bit different from the Amsterdam. These ships are larger and hold more people, I think you will enjoy whichever ship you choose, but just realize the Vista Style ships are larger and just a bit different than the R or S style ships on HAL.

 

That's great, free cruise, I always buy those lottery tickets and haven't won, glad to hear you did. Have fun!!

[momtodogs]

for all your input. I haven't talked this over with my sister, yet. I picked up the HAL Caribbean book from the mall travel agency today to go over with her. I'm a shop-aholic, so the Zuiderdam itinerary looks really attractive. I'm also an "armchair archeologist", though, so some of the Mayan excursions look great, too.

Iceman, thanks for the suggestion of upgrading. I wonder if this will be allowed. Has anyone of you won a cruise like this, and been able to alter the arrangements?

How late into the year is "too late" for risking the hurricane season? Is March still pretty safe? I really need the extra financial and waistline "recovery" time after the last one. :p :D

[Randyk47]

March is quite safe and because we were married in March we often take our annual cruise in March and have never had any significant weather problems. We've only recently booked our next cruise for February to avoid a whole host of problems connected with the "spring break" period. Hurricane season usually ends in November and doesn't start up again until the next summer so that's typically not a problem for the winter and spring months. I can't speak to upgrading a cruise won as a prize but seems to me I recall others mentioning here that they've been able to do that. Can't imagine why you couldn't unless there was some stipulation on the prize or the cruise was booked for the higher category cabins.

[Poomah]

:rolleyes: We have done 3 Caribbeans: Eastern/November 1999; Southern/March 2002; Western/November 2004 all with Carnival,great weather for all,great service and fun time.

Booked for 1st HAL on the Maasdam 11/26 for Southern (only 29 days away) 31st anniversary trip. Pleased with Carnival but HAL is currently local for us.

St. Maarten is favorite port so far. Will be seeing several "new to us" this sailing. Whichever you choose have a great time - love the Caribbean and cruising.

[jimbug]

Hi Momtodogs,

We are preparing for our upcoming cruise aboard the Zuiderdam on the eastern route. I actually just booked this cruise yesterday and spent most of last evening's work hours doing port research! (oops... :) )

 

We are visiting Half Moon Cay, St. Thomas, Tortola, and Freeport (though I think Nassau is generally substituted for Freeport - not sure why ours is not)

 

Half Moon Cay is the HAL private island. While everything there revolves around the sun/water, you can rent a private beachfront cabana if you want some air conditioned shade with a fabulous view. :-) They are very nice--scour the HAL boards and you will see many cabana raves!

 

St. Thomas, we are doing a tour with Air Force 1 (http://www.airforce1fun.com). It is a local operation that is highly recommended here on CC, and they take you to see all of the tourist and historical sites around the island. They include beach time, but I'm sure you can arrange to be dropped off for extra shopping if you don't want to go to the beach. Since Zuiderdam has an extra long port day in St. Thomas (8am-11pm), we are also doing a sunset dinner sail aboard the New Horizon (http://www.newhorizonsvi.com) Very elegant and a picturesque way to see the beautiful Caribbean sunset.

 

Tortola - we're off on another sailboat this day, aboard the White Squall II. (http://www.whitesquall2.com/index.html) It's $100/pp and includes all the food and drinks, snorkel equipment and several snorkel stops, including the Baths at Virgin Gorda...an all-day trip, 9am-4pm.

 

Freeport - we don't have any planned excursiosn here, but there are casino and beach resorts, as well as a bit of shopping to be had here. Pretty much the same for Nassau.

 

We can't wait--hope you choose to join us--we're going March 11, 2006 out of Fort Lauderdale!

 

(PS--Hurricane season is officially from June-November, with a few isolated events that may happen in December. Jan-April would be prime hurricane-free cruising!)

[momtodogs]

Sorry I haven't updated you on our upcoming Caribbean cruise. I lost this thread, and only just found it again.

 

We have booked our Caribbean cruise: Zuiderdam - Eastern route - April 1

 

We considered trying to upgrade our inside cabin, as some of you suggested; however, my dad decided that he didn't get so tired out after all on the Alaska trip ... and he might like to go to the Caribbean with my sister and I.

 

We decided that would be wonderful (we won't have him forever), so we are splitting the cost of his cruise 3 ways (our upgrade money), and he's in an adjoining inside cabin!

 

We are sooooooo excited! Not looking forward to the long plane trip from Seattle to Ft. Lauderdale, though (via Dallas/Ft Worth.) Dad and my sister have restless leg syndrome, and are anxious about sitting for that long. We plan to get there a day ahead of sailing, so Dad has plenty of time to rest up for the Sail Away party. Who am I kidding .... I'm sure I will need the rest after the long flight day.

 

Any recommendations for sights to see in Ft. Lauderdale (if we have the strength?) We aren't booking any excursions for this cruise. We kinda overbooked the Alaska trip, and got pretty tired. We'll play it by ear. I want this trip to be relaxing, not harried. Hope it won't be too hot. I do not have the wardrobe for the Caribbean (and don't want to buy too much stuff I won't wear again.)

 

Again, I apologize for not responding sooner. Please don't bring out the plank! :eek:

[flashdog_1]

In Ft Lauderdale there are two excursions I think anyone would enjoy. The ship may offer them pre-cruise, too. This link includes a video.

 

http://www.evergladesholidaypark.com/

 

One is the Everglades Airboat ride. Although we'd been to Ft Lauderdale every year for at least 10 years I'd never done this just because it is a little distance from town, but one year we stayed in Weston, and it was a shorter drive from our time share, so did it. We saw beautiful birds, enjoyed the breeze from the "fan" that drives the boat, and floating on the "water lilies" there. There is also a stop at a recreated Indian Village where you can hold a baby alligator, which was a big draw for people who'd never seen one, much less hold one.

 

The last cruise out of FLL we did not have a flight until 4 p.m. so took a taxi to Las Olas Dr and sat in a restaurant on the water until the water taxi came. $7 per person and you will see gorgeous homes, have some laughter.(The ads all say $5 but it was $7 in December). Our trip was only tourists, but local people use it to get from point A to B, also. You can get on and off at will.

 

Link to a review: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/travel/sfl-travel-waterbus,0,5954769.story

[Onbec]

Don't be to upset about an inside cabin. We always book an inside room, partly because DW has a slight problem with motion sickness, and finds inside rooms more stable and not seeing the motion outside helps.

 

Also they are less expensive. I can do 2 cruises with a balcony or 3 cruises with inside cabins. To me that's the deciding factor.

 

Sure it would be nice to have your own balcony, but there are many places on board where you can sit quietly by yourself if you want to. I just consider aft behind the Lido as my balcony.

 

We really only use the room to change and sleep and then are out of the room the rest of the day.

 

To each his own - as they say.

 

Dick