Best itinerary leaving out of San Juan?

[aubreyc1988]

My husband and I are thinking about doing a cruise in late Jan/Feb out of San Juan. We have been to St. Thomas, St. Maarten, San Juan (as a port of call), but not many other islands of the Southern Caribbean.

 

Right now, here are the 7 night itineraries leaving out of San Juan in Feb.

 

1) Jewel of the Seas - St. Thomas, St. Kitts, Antigua, Barbados, St. Lucia

 

2) Adventure of the Seas - Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua, St. Kitts, St. Maarten

 

3) Adventure of the Seas - Bonaire, Aruba, St. Kitts, St. Maarten

 

4) Adventure of the Seas - St. Maarten, St. Kitts, Antigua, St. Lucia, Barbados

 

5) Jewel of the Seas - St. Croix, St. Maarten, Roseau Dominica, Barbados, Grenada

 

6) Adventure of the Seas - St. Maarten, Bonaire, Curacao, Aruba

 

So please post your feedback on these itineraries! I think all of them would be amazing, but I would love to know different peoples opinions of pros/cons with the itineraries and ship(s) :D

[CORKY_Q]

My husband and I are thinking about doing a cruise in late Jan/Feb out of San Juan. We have been to St. Thomas, St. Maarten, San Juan (as a port of call), but not many other islands of the Southern Caribbean.

 

Right now, here are the 7 night itineraries leaving out of San Juan in Feb.

 

1) Jewel of the Seas - St. Thomas, St. Kitts, Antigua, Barbados, St. Lucia

 

2) Adventure of the Seas - Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua, St. Kitts, St. Maarten

 

3) Adventure of the Seas - Bonaire, Aruba, St. Kitts, St. Maarten

 

4) Adventure of the Seas - St. Maarten, St. Kitts, Antigua, St. Lucia, Barbados

 

5) Jewel of the Seas - St. Croix, St. Maarten, Roseau Dominica, Barbados, Grenada

 

6) Adventure of the Seas - St. Maarten, Bonaire, Curacao, Aruba

 

So please post your feedback on these itineraries! I think all of them would be amazing, but I would love to know different peoples opinions of pros/cons with the itineraries and ship(s) :D

 

We are sort of prejudiced towards AOS. (Especially if Kelly Goodrich is the Schooner Bar Entertainer.) We also love St Lucia and St Kitts.:):)

[racerxspeedy]

All things equal (room cost, flights, etc) I personally prefer Adventure for the added entertainment, more pool space, flowrider, promenade.

 

Jewel is great if you prefer the smaller ship experience. Both ships have 2016 dry docks this year for updates.

 

Can't go wrong with any of the itineraries.

I prefer the St Lucia, St Kitts routes for the tropical feel(green). #2 are the same.

 

The ABC islands have great weather, but they are desert climate (brown).

 

Once you complete a southern route you will probably want to plan another just to see more.

 

With that said - our next trip is back on Jewel doing #5

[soccer2010]

#6 (ABC Islands are great) for us but you really can't go wrong with any of those.

[aubreyc1988]

All things equal (room cost, flights, etc) I personally prefer Adventure for the added entertainment, more pool space, flowrider, promenade.

 

Jewel is great if you prefer the smaller ship experience. Both ships have 2016 dry docks this year for updates.

 

Can't go wrong with any of the itineraries.

I prefer the St Lucia, St Kitts routes for the tropical feel(green). #2 are the same.

 

The ABC islands have great weather, but they are desert climate (brown).

 

Once you complete a southern route you will probably want to plan another just to see more.

 

With that said - our next trip is back on Jewel doing #5

 

I'm really curious to hear what people think about Aruba, as I've heard people rave about it. But the ones with Aruba have less ports of call than the ones without Aruba, so there would be a trade off.

[broberts]

My husband and I are thinking about doing a cruise in late Jan/Feb out of San Juan. We have been to St. Thomas, St. Maarten, San Juan (as a port of call), but not many other islands of the Southern Caribbean.

 

Right now, here are the 7 night itineraries leaving out of San Juan in Feb.

 

1) Jewel of the Seas - St. Thomas, St. Kitts, Antigua, Barbados, St. Lucia

 

2) Adventure of the Seas - Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua, St. Kitts, St. Maarten

 

3) Adventure of the Seas - Bonaire, Aruba, St. Kitts, St. Maarten

 

4) Adventure of the Seas - St. Maarten, St. Kitts, Antigua, St. Lucia, Barbados

 

5) Jewel of the Seas - St. Croix, St. Maarten, Roseau Dominica, Barbados, Grenada

 

6) Adventure of the Seas - St. Maarten, Bonaire, Curacao, Aruba

 

So please post your feedback on these itineraries! I think all of them would be amazing, but I would love to know different peoples opinions of pros/cons with the itineraries and ship(s) :D

 

3 & 6 if you enjoy snorkeling and/or SCUBA (ABC islands offer remarkable reef areas).

 

5 if you enjoy touring islands.

 

1, 2 & 4 have a little bit of everything.

 

Jewel has a wonderful outdoor Windjammer area at the stern.

 

Adventure has a few more activities and a Royal Promenade.

Edited October 3, 2016 by broberts

[Sky616]

We are beach people so #2 works for us. We love St. Maarten and Barbados' beaches. Antigua has beautiful beaches as well but we've only been there once. The ABC islands are great too but we haven't been to Bonaire where I hear the snorkeling and diving are the best. Would love to see Dominica someday as well, looks very scenic and green. Can't go wrong with any of these. We've been on both ships, Adventure twice and prefer that ship.

[aubreyc1988]

3 & 6 if you enjoy snorkeling and/or SCUBA (ABC islands offer remarkable reef areas).

 

5 if you enjoy touring islands.

 

1, 2 & 4 have a little bit of everything.

 

Jewel has a wonderful outdoor Windjammer area at the stern.

 

Adventure has a few more activities and a Royal Promenade.

 

Thanks for the input! I love snorkeling (I don't dive down deep to snorkel, but i love looking cautiously haha) but haven't faced my fear of Scuba diving yet! Love being in the water and watersports!

 

Have you been on both Jewel and Adventure? Does the adventure have better shows in the theatre or are they both comparable? Initially I am leaning towards an itinerary on the Adventure, but I wonder if with such a port intensive itinerary if it will matter so much. Ive only ever done a 7 day with 3 ports.

[Ashland]

Any of the Adventure itineraries would be great...also keep in mind that AOS would have already undergone her major drydock by then. We recently did a B2B on her and can't wait for the May 2018 schedule to open.

 

We've also done the Jewel (southern route) but much prefer AOS.

[aubreyc1988]

Any of the Adventure itineraries would be great...also keep in mind that AOS would have already undergone her major drydock by then. We recently did a B2B on her and can't wait for the May 2018 schedule to open.

 

We've also done the Jewel (southern route) but much prefer AOS.

 

Thanks for the input! I will be sailing with friends and I am *Trying* to get them to try Royal Caribbean and want to make sure if we do go, they have a good first impression!

[broberts]

Thanks for the input! I love snorkeling (I don't dive down deep to snorkel, but i love looking cautiously haha) but haven't faced my fear of Scuba diving yet! Love being in the water and watersports!

 

Have you been on both Jewel and Adventure? Does the adventure have better shows in the theatre or are they both comparable? Initially I am leaning towards an itinerary on the Adventure, but I wonder if with such a port intensive itinerary if it will matter so much. Ive only ever done a 7 day with 3 ports.

 

One of my most memorable snorkel experiences was on a ship excursion in Aruba. Spent a half-hour or so floating in school of yellow tail snapper, literally thousands of fish swimming in a large circle.

 

I have sailed both ships, but not recently. (Neither were sailing their current itineraries.) My memory is that Adventure offered better shows. It also has an ice show which can be fun.

 

I would have one, maybe two ports with no set plans. It is usually easy enough to book a tour the day before, or even ashore. (That said, snorkeling tours are quite popular in the ABCs.) But leaving the day(s) open allows the flexibility of staying aboard, or simply walking around the port area for an hour or two.

[Hoopster95]

Thanks for the input! I will be sailing with friends and I am *Trying* to get them to try Royal Caribbean and want to make sure if we do go, they have a good first impression!

 

Wow factor will be Adventure which represents more of what RCL is about these days than the Jewel.

 

Regarding some of your questions, you will need to read full reviews, not just a couple of sentences on a post like mine here.

 

I've been on jewel & Adventure within the last 10 months out of SJ... I would take the new refurbished Adventure hands down for the ship.

 

As far as itinerary, to list the pros and cons... we would need to know your personality, likes/dislikes, etc Go to the top oif this page and click on either "Jewel" or "Adventure" to search out reviews. There have been a few in the last couple of weeks of the exact itineraries you are asking about so wondering if you have seen them, and if so, what are your further questions.

 

See my signature below? I have a link to the Adventure SM & ABCs cruise that I went into extensive detail with pictures if your interested. There is little info on the ABC's in general on CC so I hope this will help you.

 

My fave all time Caribbean island? - St Lucia

Biggest surprise and one of most memorable stops? - Dominica

Having said that, because it sounds like you prefer more port days rather than sea days, I would go with #2 or #4 (which are equal but in reverse order, an absolute superb blend of site seeing, beaches and water sports

 

St Marten - look up Soualiga on google (or Tripadvisor)

St Kitts - look up catamaran & snorkel tours to Nevis

St Lucia - land and sea tour to the Pitons is a must must do

Antigua - look up Adventure Antigua

Barbados - Calazaba or Gordon's tours, you have to snorkel with the turtles here, amazing

 

Whatever you choose, have a great cruise :D

[sg1phileshipper]

If you love snorkling and the beach, I would go for #6. It is not too port intensive, has 2 sea days and the ABC islands are wonderful. We just did a B2B on Adventure and I loved it. First week was very port intensive, with St. Maarten, St. Kitts, Antigua, St. Lucia and Barbados. We felt tired after the first week. Second week was St. Maarten, Bonaire, Curacao and Aruba. In my modest opinion, this was the better option, with two sea days and thus more time to relax and enjoy the ship. Also the beaches of Curacao (Mambo Beach) and Aruba (Palm Beach) are so beautiful and relaxing. Whatever you chose, enjoy your cruise.

 

Cindy

[starrcards]

We are sailing on the Jewel (again!) in mid-February out lf SJU on itinerary 5. We loved our Med cruise last September on the Jewel. Itinerary is port intensive but allows us to get a taste of many islands.

 

Good luck with your choice.

[KeywestK]

I've been to all of these islands, with the exception of St. Kitts and Domimica. IMO, you can't go wrong with any of these itineraries. My personal faves are St. Maarten and St. Lucia. So, that said, for me it would come down to ship preference. I'm a big fan of the Radiance-class ships, with the Jewel being my favorite in that class.

 

Have a wonderful cruise! Once you experience the islands of the deep Southern Caribbean, it'll be hard to go back to the same-old, same-old itineraries that leave out of FL;):)

[Rewind]

I'm partial to options #2 and #4 as I love St. Kitts and St. Lucia. In St. Kitts, go to Romney Manor, on St. Lucia, get a tour with Cosol Tours; probably the best excursion I have been on.

 

As for the ships, the Jewel is amazing but Adventure will have more of a wow factor if you get your friends to go. By the time you sail, Adventure will have added a Flow Rider. Looking at your past cruises, think of Adventure as a slightly smaller Independence.

 

Also if you have the time, stay in San Juan for a day or two before hand. I've stayed at La Concha once and Gran Melia once. Both are amazing resorts, the second one you will need a rental car. In Old San Juan, make sure you go to Casa Cortes where every menu item features chocolate.