Which itinerary for bringing first time cruisers?

[HaraldOslo]

Dear forum-friends,

 

I'm planning to bring a group of first time cruisers on Harmony or Symphony in 2019, and I'm not sure which itinerary would be the most exciting and leave a good first impression.

 

The cruisers will mostly be 30-40 years old.

 

The options I can see per now are:

Basseterre, Charlotte Amalie, Nassau

Philipsburg, San Juan, Labadee

Roatan, Costa Maya, Cozumel, Nassau

Labadee, Falmouth, Cozumel

Philipsburg,Charlotte Amalie, Nassau

My first cruise was the "Labadee, Falmouth, Cozumel", and glancing at the excursions both Falmouth and Cozumel might have something interesting to offer. (Dunn's river falls/inner tubing, cozumel mayan ruins/chichen itza mayan ruins)

When we did the "Philipsburg, Charlotte Amalie, Nassau" it was okay, but not really wow. Sure, Philipsburg has Maho Beach, but the tour of the island itself was not that spectacular. We had a nice tour in Charlotte Amalie, and Nassau had the atlantis (lousy), rum factory, chocolate factory, but again, not that memorable. It's been less than 6 months and I have a hard time remembering the difference between the three of them! :-D

Basseterre, Roatan and Costa Maya I know nothing about.

So, what would you recommend? Which stops and any suggested tours, RCCL or third party?

[cb at sea]

Nassau might be fine for 1st timers, but it's not a "Caribbean" country, and most frequent cruisers would skip that port, if they can.

 

As far as what to do in ports, a guidebook is very helpful...you may not need any excursion at all to do what interests your group! It's quite easy (and much cheaper) to just learn about your ports, then, do you own thing, when possible!

[geomancer]

People's interest can vary greatly. Some may like to simply sit on a beach all day, others may want to go on a hike, yet others may prefer a guided bus tour.

 

I'd suggest maybe making a simple presentation highlighting the major attractions for each port, and see which ones interest them most, and which ones they have little interest in. Then go from there.

[HaraldOslo]

I'd suggest maybe making a simple presentation highlighting the major attractions for each port, and see which ones interest them most, and which ones they have little interest in. Then go from there.

 

Unfortunately for me, this has all been outsourced to me :-) They will receive a presentation, but between all the choices they already will have to make with regards to what to do in florida, having to choose ports and excursions now before booking will take too much time to coordinate. That's why I want to at least find out the most interesting ports. Cruisecritic-users are cruise-fanatics, we love to do all the research. However first time cruisers coming along because they were invited are more "just give us an suggestion so we can say yes or no". :-)

 

I imagine a second cruise, if there ever will be one, will be more focused on "okay, where do you all want to go now?".

[leosmom08]

I think first time cruisers are going to be "wowed" by the size of SOS or HOS. I personally would do the San Juan, Labadee, Philipsburg.

 

We are avoiding Mexico with everything going on down there.

 

Whatever you choose I'm sure you will all have a wonderful time being together and creating memories!

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

My top choices would be the itinerary with St. Kitts, St. Thomas, and Nassau, or the one with Labadee, San Juan, and St. Maarten.

[HaraldOslo]

I think first time cruisers are going to be "wowed" by the size of SOS or HOS. I personally would do the San Juan, Labadee, Philipsburg.

 

We are avoiding Mexico with everything going on down there.

 

The size will be a wow, no doubt :) I still have that wow-memory of first stepping onto Allure.

 

What would you recommend in san juan, labadee and philipsburg?

 

And what's going on in Mexico? Haven't really heard anything in the news over here, only heard about Venezuela.

[kruise runner]

Hi Cruiser

The experience we had in the past with newbies we have done quite a few times. We laid the cruise with the ports and excursions lists. Usually we end up on a Eastern Caribbean which has St Thomas ,St Martens, and San Juan. This seem to fill all in one way or another. The follow up cruise next was Southern Caribbean out of San Juan. This to went over well also. The majority are cruise addicts now.

Remember not all are into cruising. You can't go wrong on either ship. Enjoy your cruise:D

Best of times are Cruise times

kruise runner:cool:

[HaraldOslo]

My top choices would be the itinerary with St. Kitts, St. Thomas, and Nassau, or the one with Labadee, San Juan, and St. Maarten.

 

What would you recommend doing in St. Kitts, St. Thomas and Nassau?

[Snit13]

Oasis class ships are awesome so take full advantage of the ship you choose.

 

We go out of our way to avoid Western Caribbean....personal choice....have been there done that to many times.

 

Enjoy all islands in Eastern Caribbean so depends on ship you finally choose. Much prefer Southern Caribbean cruises as islands seem to have more to offer. Nassau is not consicered Caribbean rather Bahamas and once is enough for most cruisers, unless you are doing the 3 night "party cruise."

 

Forget guide books and just go to Port area of Cruise Critic and ask questions of the experts who post there. I also Google each port we plan to visit and then print information on things we might enjoy.

 

As someone posted, much will depend on the interests of those cruising with you. No matter, you will make the right decision as there can't be a bad decision if you are cruising.

 

Happy Sails

[NateUpNorth]

Dear forum-friends,

 

I'm planning to bring a group of first time cruisers on Harmony or Symphony in 2019, and I'm not sure which itinerary would be the most exciting and leave a good first impression.

 

The cruisers will mostly be 30-40 years old.

 

The options I can see per now are:

Basseterre, Charlotte Amalie, Nassau

Philipsburg, San Juan, Labadee

Roatan, Costa Maya, Cozumel, Nassau

Labadee, Falmouth, Cozumel

Philipsburg,Charlotte Amalie, Nassau

My first cruise was the "Labadee, Falmouth, Cozumel", and glancing at the excursions both Falmouth and Cozumel might have something interesting to offer. (Dunn's river falls/inner tubing, cozumel mayan ruins/chichen itza mayan ruins)

When we did the "Philipsburg, Charlotte Amalie, Nassau" it was okay, but not really wow. Sure, Philipsburg has Maho Beach, but the tour of the island itself was not that spectacular. We had a nice tour in Charlotte Amalie, and Nassau had the atlantis (lousy), rum factory, chocolate factory, but again, not that memorable. It's been less than 6 months and I have a hard time remembering the difference between the three of them! :-D

Basseterre, Roatan and Costa Maya I know nothing about.

So, what would you recommend? Which stops and any suggested tours, RCCL or third party?

 

Not a fan of Nassau, so that would eliminate 3 of those choices. Just doesn't seem to say "Caribbean Island" to me.

 

Would likely go with Labadee/Falmouth/Cozumel.

 

Labadee is a beautiful beach area, "catered" lunch, and lots of activities available. (bearing in mind you'll pay extra for them)

 

Loved Falmouth - with an explanation. Took an excursion through a local provider to the "Blue Hole". From Falmouth its a bit of a drive but you get a beautiful guided tour of Jamaica and the Blue Hole is just amazing.

 

Cozumel has a lot of excursions you can book, or you could head to the beach. Beer is cheap and lots of ocean excursions also.

 

We've avoided San Juan as a destination mostly because I figure at some point we'll take a cruise that leaves from there, so why waste a port stop!

[HaraldOslo]

Loved Falmouth - with an explanation. Took an excursion through a local provider to the "Blue Hole". From Falmouth its a bit of a drive but you get a beautiful guided tour of Jamaica and the Blue Hole is just amazing.

 

This blue hole, near Ocho Rios?

 

http://www.coolblueholeochorios.com/

 

Looks interesting and less touristy, I think they might enjoy that combined with dunn's river and a lunch. We might be 20 adults so I figure we could charter our own tour at a great discount

[NateUpNorth]

This blue hole, near Ocho Rios?

 

http://www.coolblueholeochorios.com/

 

Looks interesting and less touristy, I think they might enjoy that combined with dunn's river and a lunch. We might be 20 adults so I figure we could charter our own tour at a great discount

 

That's the one.

Goes by a few other names - Irie Blue Hole and Secret Falls are two I can think of.

I believe Dunn's River is actually "on the way" to the Blue Hole, however it was an absolute zoo when we went past. If you're doing it, get there EARLY!!!

[jamesr3939]

I think first time cruisers are going to be "wowed" by the size of SOS or HOS. I personally would do the San Juan, Labadee, Philipsburg.

 

Agreed. San Juan is fun because you can walk to the forts and OSJ, Labadee has become one of our fav stops, and St. Martins is a nice taste of two cultures.

[WestfieldTraveler]

Agreed. San Juan is fun because you can walk to the forts and OSJ, Labadee has become one of our fav stops, and St. Martins is a nice taste of two cultures.

 

Agree with the above - those three give you a good three-island mix without getting too "exotic" for a first time cruiser. In the same light I would almost not immediately spoil them with a regular balcony cabin on a first cruise, but hey you are already booking them on HOS/SOS so they are already getting the "wow" treatment.

 

And I would highly recommend not giving them choices - just pick one cruise and do the presentation on just that ship and those ports. And maybe keep them away from cruise critic (at least at first) too :D!

[jamesr3939]

If you really want to get them excited, we have a few dinner meetings to discuss port stops. Somebody picks a stop, does research, and then makes a presentation to the group. We do one at each dinner meeting and it really gets things warmed up for the trip. Some people get real fancy with videos, charts, and power points. Nobody really cares, but it's a fun way to lead up to the vacation.

[bobmacliberty]

I'd also go with OSJ, Labadee, and St. Maarten. Good mix of several different things to do across the 3 ports. I love the beach day at Labadee (although DW not so much). You can toss in the zip line or dragon coaster if you get tired of sitting and want an adrenaline boost. We enjoyed Bernard's tour of St. Maarten (gets lots of good reviews here) and went back to Maho Beach on our second stop there. As someone else said the forts in OSJ are really nice.

[rodenboy]

I would go with St Maarten, San Juan and Labadee too!

 

 

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[HaraldOslo]

I would go with St Maarten, San Juan and Labadee too!

 

And what would you recommend we do in St Maarten and San Juan?

[Clarea]

And what would you recommend we do in St Maarten and San Juan?

In San Juan I'd go see the forts and then have some fried plantains.

[rodenboy]

And what would you recommend we do in St Maarten and San Juan?

 

 

 

St Maarten: We took a private tour with Bernard's Tours and it was brilliant, our driver was so friendly and happy to answer any and all questions we had. He was very openly discussing the island and the islands folk and the politics. We discussed the changes made to the island that we noticed between the first time we visited and the current trip. He allowed us as much time in each place as we wanted and we didn't feel in any way pressured to move on at all. He also made some homemade rum punch which certainly made for a merry evening back on board. (We drank it before we boarded!!) I couldn't recommend Bernard's enough! Our driver also had a nice story about Oprah.... but that may have been an exclusive so I'll keep quiet on that one!

 

Old San Juan is wonderfully lovely and picturesque, some of the photos you can get are breathtaking, especially on the coast where the fortresses are, you can walk there safely from the ship as well. The locals were also very friendly! You wouldn't need to book an excursion to see the best of Old San Juan for sure :)

 

I'd choose this itinerary over a western one any day. Whilst Labadee has a great beach day, Jamaica isn't to everyone's tastes and it may be worth steering clear from there until you have gauged your friend's thoughts on cruising generally. I personally found Cozumel to be the worst port we have been to, pushy and intimidating sales people made for a less than pleasant stay. I appreciate there is an element of upsell for all locals on each respective island but we felt it was at its worst in Cozumel.

 

Thank you :)

 

 

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[rodenboy]

Actually I'd like to add that all ports are subjective to each cruiser and whilst you will get fabulous tips from everyone, you should pick the cruise itinerary you think would suit you best. Just because I suggest something doesn't mean to say everyone likes it in the same way that I know people like Cozumel which as you know I'm not a fan of. Whichever itinerary you choose it will be better than a day at work that's for sure :)

 

 

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