What am I missing by choosing Eastern Caribbean over ABC?

[Flafun888]

Booked a 2018 7 day E. Caribbean on Silo out of FLL. But also eying 8 day ABC island itinerary on Equinox out of Miami. CC members always have great perspective :D. So maybe a few can weigh in based upon our interests/needs below?

 

Here’s why I chose the 7 day E. Caribbean: We already live in Fla near a beach and go often. We appreciate beautiful beaches, but our interests lean towards snorkeling, kayaking, paddleboarding etc, vs relaxing/sunbathing, historical tours or shopping. FLL port is more convenient vs Miami. And we’ve had good experiences on last two Silo cruises.

 

We’ve sailed to E.Caribbean on Silo once before (san juan, st kitts, st marten). Last time, ship left San Juan at 9pm, so saw forts/walked thru old San Juan. This sailing, we’re there till 11pm, so can finally do the bioluminescent bay kayaking I've wanted to try. Never been to St Thomas – was thinking we’d snorkel there. And relaxing/wandering around St Maarten - not really planning much there yet, but liked it the last time.

 

But it seems like most cruisers greatly prefer S. Caribbean to E or W. I browsed ABC forums, but still not clear on the differences, other than the remote beauty of beaches.

Am I overlooking wonderful advantages? If so, I’d definitely reconsider. :cool:

 

(Can't do the longer 10+ day sailings right now, as we both work and need to save some vacation days for other land trips during the year.)

[Cruise Raider]

You don't mention what month you are considering but for one, the southern Caribbean is outside the hurricane belt so storms may not be as big of an issue as you might find in the eastern or western Caribbean. It's not to say that you won't be affected, but there is a lesser chance of it in the ABC islands. In Aruba and Bonaire, the beaches are unbelievably beautiful. You could always go to Klein Bonaire and do the drift snorkel ... the current brings you back into the beach area. Last time out, we snorkeled with sea turtles there and it is not crowded like other places can be.Aruba has the Natural Bridges, De Palm Island, Palm Beach, Eagle Beach, Baby Beach (among others), various casinos at which to gamble (if you like that sort of activity). Curacao has the factory / museum where they make Curacao (the liqueur) along with the old fort now made into little shops and eateries as well as the bridge you can walk over to town with all the colorful storefronts. It is just charming. All these islands come without the constant hawking of cheap souvenirs...although I am sure you can find some of those, too, if you looking for them. While I think St Kitts and St Martin are beautiful, I don't care for St Thomas and have been there several times. It is more of a jewelry mecca and any other junk you can think to buy more than anything else .. in my opinion.

 

As you may have been able to determine, I am a huge fan of the ABC islands so my vote would be for the Southern Caribbean regardless of what time of year you might be traveling. However, I am with you on Ft Lauderdale being more convenient than Miami....but for me, that inconvenience would be worth it. I am sure you will have a great time either way as my preferences might be different from yours.

[eandj]

Since you have done the E. already, I would try the ABC itinerary. The islands offer a different view of the Caribbean.

 

Do snorkeling in Bonaire, Aruba Trikes and ATV tour in Curacao.

[Fouremco]

Bonaire offers some of the best snorkelling in the Caribbean and is a "must" for anyone who enjoys it.

 

Curaçao's snorkelling isn't as good as Bonaire's, but we always rent a car (right at the dock) and hit a few different sites.

 

Sonny Tours in Aruba provides an excellent overview of the island if you want a non-beach day. Combine that with a walk around the downtown area.

 

We've done eastern, western and southern Caribbean cruises many times, but southern cruises are our favourite by far, especially when they include Bonaire.

[Flafun888]

You don't mention what month you are considering but for one, the southern Caribbean is outside the hurricane belt so storms may not be as big of an issue as you might find in the eastern or western Caribbean. It's not to say that you won't be affected, but there is a lesser chance of it in the ABC islands.

 

Great insights, Cruise Raider - thank you. Cruises are both early April. But hurricane aspect is interesting - never thought about that.

[Flafun888]

Since you have done the E. already, I would try the ABC itinerary. The islands offer a different view of the Caribbean. Do snorkeling in Bonaire, Aruba Trikes and ATV tour in Curacao.

 

Bonaire offers some of the best snorkelling in the Caribbean and is a "must" for anyone who enjoys it. We've done eastern, western and southern Caribbean cruises many times, but southern cruises are our favourite by far, especially when they include Bonaire.

 

Thank you both - appreciate your suggestions. :)

[OCruisers]

If you don't do the ABC's on your upcoming cruise, hope you will consider it another time.

Bonaire has FANTASTIC snorkeling. :D

[dkjretired]

Cruised to the Eastern Caribbean are very common, ABC islands not so much.

[Cruise Raider]

Great insights, Cruise Raider - thank you. Cruises are both early April. But hurricane aspect is interesting - never thought about that.

 

Anytime!! April will not be a problem in either area.

[broberts]

Eight nights would get my vote of seven every time. Add to that, ABC itinerary arguably offers the best snorkeling in the Caribbean.

[ilenekm]

Eight nights would get my vote of seven every time. Add to that, ABC itinerary arguably offers the best snorkeling in the Caribbean.

 

We are doing 9 nights to the ABC's in January 2019. Can't wait. Wish it was sooner

[wallie5446]

It all depends on what you want to experience on your vacation. We are on the Equinox for the 10 day ABC in Nov, first time to all 3, and 4 wonderful sea days! As mentioned, there are seasons when no routes include all 3.

[Flafun888]

Eight nights would get my vote of seven every time. Add to that, ABC itinerary arguably offers the best snorkeling in the Caribbean.

 

 

We are doing 9 nights to the ABC's in January 2019. Can't wait. Wish it was sooner

 

It all depends on what you want to experience on your vacation. We are on the Equinox for the 10 day ABC in Nov, first time to all 3, and 4 wonderful sea days! As mentioned, there are seasons when no routes include all 3.

 

Thanks for everyone's input. It did seem rare to find an ABC route from Miami vs having to fly to San Juan or book 10+ days, neither of which we want to do at this time.

[Guindalf]

We've also done a few E &W routes, so we're doing the ABCs in October (also stops in Grand Cayman and Key West) and it was the different Southern islands that interested us, as well as a return to X after about 13 years! I agree that Miami is much cheaper and easier to get to than San Juan, but would love to see PR sometime.

 

As a biker, I would have loved to get a trike in Aruba, but unfortunately, they're fully booked for the time we are there, so we'll probably just do a tour. We'll get our snorkeling fix in Bonaire, thanks to good tips here. Not sure about the other ports yet but we have plenty of time.

 

In answer to the original question, the chance to visit three new ports in a region we have never visited appeals to us, so given the choice, that's what we would (and did!) pick.

 

However, if you do end up in St Martin, go to the French side and visit the fantastic French Patisserie, right near the beach. I'm sure any taxi driver knows it and will take you there for the price of a baguette and a cup of coffee!

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

I've done the ABCs several times and much prefer them over the other Caribbean islands. But I agree with you, I also prefer Ft. Lauderdale over Miami--by a wide margin. So it's a hard call. I don't particularly care for St. Thomas or St. Maarten, too crowded and commercial, although from St. Thomas you can take an excursion to St. John which is beautiful and uncrowded.

Having said all this, my cruise this week goes to both St. Thomas and St. Maarten. Go figure. Two more sea days as far as I'm concerned. But it also goes to Bermuda and I've never been there. This cruise is really about cruising with good friends. You just have to pick what works best for you in the moment. Good luck and happy cruising!

[Flafun888]

Guindalf - thanks for the St. Martin tip. Bonaire snorkeling sounds amazing from what everyone here and on the forum has said. Linda - very good points. The good news is I'll likely see these islands either way - if not in 2018, then on a future sailing, hopefully. The one thing that keeps pulling me back to Eastern is the chance to do the evening kayaking in Puerto Rico - I've heard it's something special. I'd still get my snorkeling fix in St. Thomas (or maybe St. Johns as you suggested), although from what I'm reading on the St Thomas forum, it's pretty time consuming getting there and we're only in 8-5.

 

Thanks again, everyone. A wonderful 1st world decision - I feel thankful either way! :)

[wallie5446]

Something in St Thomas we did last time there, and it was the best since our first time there in 1992!

http://simplicitycharters.com/index.html

6 person max, they take you to bays to snorkle where there are no other people!

[DragonOfTheSeas]

One thing to consider with the Bio-Bay in San Juan is what time it is in the moon cycle. Have you looked to see if it is around the full moon--when they will not do this trip? [too light]

 

We wanted to do this, too when we stayed in PR before a cruise a couple of years ago. It was not the correct time of the moon cycle for us so we could not do this. I was very disappointed.

 

Here is a link discussing this.

http://www.discoveringpuertorico.com/places-to-see/bio-bay-in-puerto-rico/

 

The calendar in the link is out of date, but, it shows you what I mean about checking out the moon cycle.

Edited April 19, 2017 by DragonOfTheSeas

[Flafun888]

Something in St Thomas we did last time there, and it was the best since our first time there in 1992!

http://simplicitycharters.com/index.html

6 person max, they take you to bays to snorkle where there are no other people!

 

Thanks for the tip - bookmarking this.:D

[Flafun888]

One thing to consider with the Bio-Bay in San Juan is what time it is in the moon cycle. Have you looked to see if it is around the full moon--when they will not do this trip? [too light]

 

We wanted to do this, too when we stayed in PR before a cruise a couple of years ago. It was not the correct time of the moon cycle for us so we could not do this. I was very disappointed.

 

Here is a link discussing this.

http://www.discoveringpuertorico.com/places-to-see/bio-bay-in-puerto-rico/

 

The calendar in the link is out of date, but, it shows you what I mean about checking out the moon cycle.

 

 

Thank you SO much for posting this. I had no idea and would have been equally disappointed - it's one of the reasons I'm considering this itinerary. Guess I have some lunar research to do. :eek:

[Flafun888]

So I did my lunar research LOL - it's amazing how many details you have to worry about when booking a cruise! Seeing a crescent moon - halfway between sliver and half moon. Have no clue as to whether this is any good, but I was planning on taking the ship's excursion for this one, given the driving distance. Would they run the tour if it wasn't a good night?

 

If anyone has done this and can speak to whether it's something wonderful or just "meh", that would help. I can deal with the long drive if it's worth it.

 

This Bioluminescent Bay tour was one of the main reasons I'm still considering E Caribbean - otherwise that S Caribbean is still looking tempting.

 

Thanks again for the help!