Which itinerary for a first (and most likely only) Caribbean cruise

[Cassicruiser]

Help needed please.... We are planning a Caribbean cruise for early December and don't know much about the Caribbean at all - Western / Eastern/ Southern, not to mention the multitude of ports. We have cruised often, around Australia and New Zealand, Asia and Alaska but the Caribbean is new to us.

We live in Australia, so this is a one time cruise in that area (at least for 10 years or so) so it's not like we can do Western this year and go back next year and do Eastern.

So I'm looking for advice on which itinerary, for 7 -10 days, is best to do. We are a couple in our early 50's and our 20 and 22 year old kids are joining us. We want a mix of history, culture, adventure (zipline, tubing) and beautiful beaches and scenery. Seems like we want it all in one cruise apparently!! I also would like to avoid the islands that have a lot of beggars, drugs, etc if possible (I believe Jamaica is particularly bad).

From the research I've done, it seems Southern itineraries are best done from San Juan (which will add on significantly to the cost of our trip, so not sure that's do-able. We have a wedding in Canada so will be flying from Toronto to Miami (?) to do a cruise afterwards.

 

Would really appreciate opinions and advice :D

[wheezedr]

We particularly like the southern route which can include 2 or 3 of the ABC islands. Curaçao is our favorite. We have done a version of this cruise the past 2 years as a 10 day out of Fort Lauderdale on Princess. It generally includes Princess Cay for a day, St. Thomas , and then 1or 2 other stops. This year the ports changed as a result of the hurricanes.

[Keith1010]

I would get a TA to help you with this.

 

You can do a Southern Caribbean route out of Miami but it will be longer then a 7 day cruise.

 

Keith

[resstation]

Most of the Caribbean islands have beggars, drugs etc (especially after a particularly harsh hurricane season). It sounds like Hawaii would fit your needs much better. If I HAD to choose and Southern was out, I'd choose Eastern.

 

Sent from my SM-N950U using Forums mobile app

[hallasm]

My preference would be an Eastern Caribbean cruise from either Miami or Fort Lauderdale visiting San Juan, St. Thomas, St. Maarten and Bahamas An alternative could be a Caribbean Cruise out of Bayonne, NJ.

[cb at sea]

The Caribbean, with the exception of Grand Cayman, is pretty poor...some are poorer than others. The Eastern route will have prettier beaches and that gorgeous water.

 

I'd suggest you get a guidebook on the Caribbean, and read up on your potential ports...see which ones "call" to you the most, and then book whichever itinerary will take you there.

[Essiesmom]

For someone who wants to see a different part of the world, the cruise from Bayonne would spend too much time at sea getting to the Caribbean. There are also excellent cruises from Barbados that do not call at any US ports. Check out http://www.cruisetimetables.com and choose the departure port that interests you. Cruises to the Western Caribbean (Mexico, Central America) will be markedly different culturally than the Eastern/Southern. Most of the cruises are 7 days, but you could combine consecutive cruises into a 7 day B2B for different experiences. If you were to choose to sail from Barbados you would get many more islands for your week than sailing from a US port. EM

[leaveitallbehind]

IMO if you are only thinking of doing one Caribbean cruise, I would look at the Southern Caribbean. There are a number of 7-night cruises departing out of San Juan, PR., and a couple in the 9-10 night range out of Miami. I think the islands included in those itineraries are some of the more interesting and nicer ports of call.

 

Our experience is with RCI and Celebrity and we've enjoyed several of their itineraries to the Southern Caribbean. But certainly there are other cruise lines to compare itineraries with as well that I'm sure would be very good.

[cmdchiefthom]

I've done about every itinerary in the Caribbean, and my favorite has been the 10 or 11 day Southern itinerary that includes a day at a private island, Aruba, Curacao, Cartegena Columbia, a partial transit of the Panama Canal and Costa Rica. Several cruise lines offer this itinerary out of Port Everglades or the Port of Miami. ;)

[leaveitallbehind]

I've done about every itinerary in the Caribbean, and my favorite has been the 10 or 11 day Southern itinerary that includes a day at a private island, Aruba, Curacao, Cartegena Columbia, a partial transit of the Panama Canal and Costa Rica. Several cruise lines offer this itinerary out of Port Everglades or the Port of Miami. ;)

 

Curious who still offers the Panama Canal partial transit? We did that a number of years ago - and it was one of our favorite itineraries - but many lines have since dropped that due to cost.

[Essiesmom]

Curious who still offers the Panama Canal partial transit? We did that a number of years ago - and it was one of our favorite itineraries - but many lines have since dropped that due to cost.

More like who doesn't offer it. Carnival does, NCL, HAL, Princess...There is a rumor on the Royal boards that they will start again in 2019. Even Viking Ocean has done a few. This month there will be partial transits on Zuiderdam, Caribbean Princess, NCL Jade, & Coral Princess. There were seven last month. EM

[leaveitallbehind]

More like who doesn't offer it. Carnival does, NCL, HAL, Princess...There is a rumor on the Royal boards that they will start again in 2019. Even Viking Ocean has done a few. This month there will be partial transits on Zuiderdam, Caribbean Princess, NCL Jade, & Coral Princess. There were seven last month. EM

 

Thanks for the update! I didn't realize that many still did it or are offering it again. Good to know.

[TNcruising02]

My preference is eastern, then southern, and last of all western. Mexico and Jamaica are at the bottom of my list of places to visit. I love the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. Since everyone is different, I would research different areas and see what appeals to you.

[mom says]

I'd recommend either an Eastern or Southern itinerary, if you're limited to 7-10 days. Look at the ones going out of Miami or Ft Lauderdale. But don't rule of out those from San Juan. Flying out of Toronto, you may find flights that aren't that much more than those going to Miami.

[Floridiana]

Since you can visit beaches on islands much closer to home, choose an itinerary that includes the Panama Canal and one of the old Spanish colonial cities like San Juan or Cartagena or Havana. Curacao is also a good choice for Willemstad, the colorful Dutch Caribbean capital. In San Juan and Curacao we were not bothered by trinket vendors. It was bad in Cartagena but fine in the side streets. Cartagena is really worth visiting.

[Cassicruiser]

Thanks so much for all your wonderful, comprehensive replies! Everything I've read seems to be overwhelmingly in favour of Southern, with Eastern second and Western last. That narrows things down a lot.

I am definitely doing lots of research about each port, but it's the combinations offered that are difficult.

 

The ABC ports on Southern itineraries seem to be a favourite - would you say these are preferable to the Eastern ports of St Maarten, St Thomas, St Kitts etc?

Based on all your advice I'm leaning towards either a 7 day out of San Juan, depending on flight cost, or a slightly longer cruise from Florida. We'd also like to spend a bit of time in the Miami area before, maybe drive down to Key West, so that option may work well.

 

If we leave from Florida, a few options I've seen are: 1) 8 day cruise on Adventure of the seas that goes from Fort Lauderdale to Labadee, San Juan, St Maarten and St Kitts. 3 sea days 2) 10 day on Navigator that goes from Miami to Labadee, Aruba, Curacao and Bonaire. 4 sea days 3) 7 nights on Carnival Breeze (never done Carnival before so not sure...) Going from Port Canaveral to Dominican Republic, St Thomas, San Juan and Grand Turk, although this one has shorter port days than the others. 2 sea days

 

I'd love your opinions on those if possible . All have 4 ports so the longer cruises just have more sea days which is fine, so it's more about the combination of ports. By the sound of things if there was a cruise that goes to the ABC islands, as well as San Juan and Grand Cayman that would be perfect. But of course, this doesn't exist.

 

Thanks so much again:D

[Essiesmom]

I like the Navigator from Miami. But if you want to see more islands, you might think about back to back cruises with different itineraries. Either on the same ship, of different ships. As long as they leave from Miami or Fort Lauderdale it would work. Easy to get from one to the other if the ships left from different ports. EM

[Grandma Dazzles]

Another vote for the southern Caribbean. In recent years have sailed on Royal Caribbean's Serenade and Navigator both from Florida and enjoyed both cruises.

 

Have found the southern islands offer more - found them to be more individually different and although poor not as poor as some of the eastern and western islands. They also don't take as many major hurricane hits. Barbados, for example, is very British; whereas Aruba is very Dutch. You are on the right track by doing lots of research.

[BeagleOne]

Honestly, I would avoid St. Thomas if you can. There are some beautiful beaches (particularly if you take the ferry to St. John) but the shopping is, IMO, very over-rated. The vendors are pushy and the bargains are often not bargains. If you do go with the idea of purchasing something like a camera or jewelry, do lots of research first to be sure you are getting a good deal. St. Croix is worth a visit if you can find a cruise that stops there.

 

I love St. Kitts. Lots to do...Brimstone Hill fortress, Caribelle Batik and the surrounding gardens, and the sugar train...great way to see the island. There are also some good shops in Basseterre. St. Maarten is fun especially if you like planes; Maho Beach is great.

 

Barbados is beautiful and very interesting. Lots of history and lots to see. Antigua has English Harbour, which is worth a visit. The British Virgin Islands are beautiful as well, especially Tortola and Virgin Gorda.

 

Fort Lauderdale is an easy airport to use and very close to the port, too.

 

Others will disagree but I'm not really a fan of the ABC islands. At least Aruba and Curacao, the two I've been to. Some of the beaches are beautiful, but most Caribbean islands have beautiful beaches, and if you have limited time, the number of sea days to get there and back will take up a lot of that time.

 

Please let us know what itinerary you choose!

[Cassicruiser]

I'm still so torn! I think we're leaning towards the 2 RCI cruises, but really not sure which one. We definitely can't do 14 days back to back, and flying to San Juan will cost an additional $1200 or so for 4 of us.

It really comes down to the difference between St Kitts, San Juan, St Maarten, vs Aruba, Curacao, Bonaire. I know nothing about any of them, other than the advice you've given me here, so looks like I need to do tons more research. But at least you've all helped me narrow things down significantly.

 

I'll come back and let you know what we book, but in the meanwhile, very happy to have more insight and ideas thrown my way.

 

Someone mentioned duty free shopping - we're not really into that so much, more history, scenery, culture and experiences, with the odd gorgeous beach thrown in, but I guess we have Labadee for that on both itineraries.

[Floridiana]

The ABC islands are relatively flat desert islands with cacti. Bonaire is known for snorkeling and diving, Aruba for beaches and casinos. Curacao for its beautiful Willemstad.

The Eastern islands are volcanic and forested.

I like the Western Caribbean for the option of seeing Mayan ruins.

 

Personally I think Australians are wasting time and money going to the Caribbean for the beaches. Most North Americans go there in winter to escape the cold and Florida is not really warm enough in winter for a beach vacation.

 

If you don't throw in the cultural aspect, why go at all? You have the South Pacific at your doorstep.

[Cassicruiser]

The ABC islands are relatively flat desert islands with cacti. Bonaire is known for snorkeling and diving, Aruba for beaches and casinos. Curacao for its beautiful Willemstad.

The Eastern islands are volcanic and forested.

I like the Western Caribbean for the option of seeing Mayan ruins.

 

Personally I think Australians are wasting time and money going to the Caribbean for the beaches. Most North Americans go there in winter to escape the cold and Florida is not really warm enough in winter for a beach vacation.

 

If you don't throw in the cultural aspect, why go at all? You have the South Pacific at your doorstep.

A few people have said that about the beaches, and you're right, but our close South Pacific islands (Vanuatu and New Caledonia) are pretty but not very exciting, at least not to us. The Caribbean sounds pretty exotic in comparison, but most Americans would probably disagree. We want a cruise holiday and as we have to be at a wedding in Canada in December, we thought it would be a good opportunity to see a different part of the world while having a bit of a beach holiday. But I do get what you're saying :p

The ABC islands don't really sound like what we're looking for from what you and BeagleOne said, but then some others have raved about them. Do the other Eastern islands have a cultural or historical aspect at all? i.e. the European feel of St Marten - with the Dutch and French influence, culture of San Juan.... Or is the Western itinerary better in any way other than Mayan ruins?

[ozscot01]

I’d choose the Adventure itinerary as it seems to offer variety and much of what you’re looking for.

The right departure port, history and architecture in San Juan, a beach day at Labadee and some fun for those who choose to indulge [emoji5]

I should add that I’m a fan of Voyager class ships which may have influenced me slightly.

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Cassicruiser]

I’d choose the Adventure itinerary as it seems to offer variety and much of what you’re looking for.

The right departure port, history and architecture in San Juan, a beach day at Labadee and some fun for those who choose to indulge [emoji5]

I should add that I’m a fan of Voyager class ships which may have influenced me slightly.

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Hi fellow Aussie

The decision has been pretty much made for me - I had narrowed it down to the 2 RCI cruises on Navigator of the ABC islands, or Adventure of the Eastern ports. We decided on Navigator and went online to look again at the prices before booking, and they shot up literally overnight! By about 40%. The price of an inside was now more than what the balcony had been the day before :o Don't know how that happened! So we booked the Adventure quick smart while the price is still ok, and booked a fully refundable fare in case Navigator comes down, but I suspect we'll stick with the Adventure. I'm fine with it though, as both itineraries have Labadee, as you say San Juan looks really interesting, and St Maarten and St Kitts look beautiful, if a little damaged. Just hope the hurricanes this year leave those poor islands alone. The only port I really wanted to go to on the Navigator was Curacao.

[jdvmd]

Another vote for the Eastern route.