Possible 1st time cruiser on holland

[Badgeaz]

Hello all I'm looking at possibly cruising with holland america at the end of the year. My wife and I are interested in the southern carribean. We want to wait till after Hurricane season or towards the end of hurricane season too book. I'm looking for where I can find info on what ports are good/bad. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated

[ithaca gal]

Could you be more specific as to what is “good” or “bad” about a port? There are ports I’m so tired of and ports I don’t care to go to but others say “Oh! That’s my favorite port!”

[HELENPSL]

Hello all I'm looking at possibly cruising with holland america at the end of the year. My wife and I are interested in the southern carribean. We want to wait till after Hurricane season or towards the end of hurricane season too book. I'm looking for where I can find info on what ports are good/bad. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated

 

We are doing the 11 day Southern Caribbean leaving Nov. 21. It's our annual Thanksgiving cruise. Have you been to the Caribbean before? It's a difficult question to answer. I am not a fan of Aruba but have friends who say it's their favorite port. We loved Curacao but other people...not so much. What are you looking to do...beaches, history, etc.? You may also want to take a look at the ports section on cruise critic and see the comments from other people.

 

Helen

[Badgeaz]

Which ones good for shopping. Which ones good for excursions. Which ones good for beaches.

[MajMom96]

Hello all I'm looking at possibly cruising with holland america at the end of the year. My wife and I are interested in the southern carribean. We want to wait till after Hurricane season or towards the end of hurricane season too book. I'm looking for where I can find info on what ports are good/bad. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated

 

 

 

The Southern Caribbean is great, it’s my favorite Caribbean itinerary. We loved the ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao) and the Dominican Republic. The islands are cleaner and more affluent than other Caribbean islands which makes them very pleasant to tour and very welcoming to tourists.

[HELENPSL]

Which ones good for shopping. Which ones good for excursions. Which ones good for beaches.

 

We don't do the beaches (we live in Florida) so I can't help you there. Places like St. Thomas are excellent for jewelry shopping. As far as excursions, it depends what you like to do. As I mentioned, take a look at the ports board. It has a lot of information.

 

Helen

[Badgeaz]

Only 3 ports in western carribean dec of last year. Falmouth cozumel and labadee

[Krazy Kruizers]

We love the Southern Caribbean -- which includes Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao.

[panoramaofthepast]

Cozumel - Nachi Cocum. Book it privately on line. They only take 130 people a day; all you can eat and drink for $55/person. Lovely beach, pool, hot tub. Massage, ski dos, paddle boards, parasailing, snorkling all available for extra money.

Grand Cayman - Sting Ray City to swim with the rays; lots of shopping

St. Thomas - get a boat to St. John and go to Trunk Bay - wonderful beach

[Badgeaz]

11 day southern out of ft lauderdale leaving dec 10 looks interesting

[danacline]

For the best Southern experience, sail out of San Juan. This will give you more port days and fewer at-sea days.

 

St. Thomas and St. Marten - best shopping.

St. Kitts - the sugar train ride is fun.

St. Lucia - Go see the Pitons.

Dominica - very good hiking.

Barbados - Mt. Gay rum distillery right at the port.

Grenada - just beautiful.

 

Hope you have a great time!

[kucherov]

Did the southern caribbean partial transit on the Zuiderdam. It was a great cruise, but the highlight was Cartagena Colombia where we segwayed the old city with Cesar. The canal is amazing also.

[knittinggirl]

Falmouth, Jamaica locals can be pushy. We often only visit the fenced in port area for their Blue Mountain coffee.

 

 

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