East/West Caribbean

[txwriter]

Seriously contemplating trying a Caribbean cruise on the new Sky Princess.  I have not been to this area at all.

 

I have no preferences.  Just looking for ideas about why one route over the other.

 

Thanks!

[Diver2014]

We prefer eastern Caribbean unless you are a diver or into water sports then western Caribbean would be more suitable.

Western Caribbean has the second largest reef which is great for divers.  Eastern Caribbean is great for sightseeing and shopping.  Hard to choose...….

[MrSchwump]

Lots of variables.  In general, Western cruises might stop in more Spanish speaking ports (Cozumel, Riviera Maya, Roatan, etc.).  Eastern would visit islands that were once English or French colonies. 

Try both!

[USCcruisecrazy]

Been to the Eastern Caribbean numerous times and always enjoyed it.  However, we are trying the Western Caribbean on the Sky Princess next December just to see the difference.  I've heard both have their special appeal.  I guess a change of pace is the driving factor for us.

[Colo Cruiser]

Not a Jamaica/Roatan/Belize/GC fan.

So the Eastern it is.

[Tak8]

Between the two, I prefer Eastern.  I go more for beaches and snorkeling and have enjoyed Eastern choices for islands more.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

I'd prefer Eastern, but, OP, perhaps, you should list all the ports on the itineraries you are interested in? It would be easier for us to judge.

[txwriter]

Thanks.  These are helpful.

 

I think the Southern route looks really interesting, but 10 days is a little harder to do.  Plus, I do want to try the new ship.

[nukesubsailor]

After several cruises to the eastern, western, and southern Caribbean, I much prefer the eastern.

[fishin' musician]

It all depends on what your are after.  I much prefer the eastern islands.  They seem more mountainous and rustic.  Maybe fresher???  The western ports just seem beat to death.   Even if it is just St Thomas and St Martin (both of which can berth 5 or 6 ships a day) it is still better than Cozumel, Belize, Costa Maya, Grand Cayman, Ocho Rio, Falmouth, Honduras, etc...  But hopefully it will visit Antigua, Barbados, Tortola, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, or my personal favorite, Dominica!

[neverbeenhere]

Drinking - Western

VS

Shopping - Eastern

 

Not 100% true, but a quick summary of the two itineraries.  

 

[skynight]

Prefer eastern. But, if you havn't been to any of the ports either is nice. If you have the time southern is the nicest in my opinion.

[Potstech]

Just finished a Western and definitely prefer the Eastern.

[rgr33]

I like the Southern cruise islands the most, then Eastern and Western, in that order

 

That said, there is no bad cruise destination, and I have enjoyed them all for the experience and the people we meet there.

[Bostonjetset]

Both are wonderful but western has more cultural attractions in my opinion. If you like archaeology and history, there are numerous sights in Central America and Mexico that are doable during a port stop. Eastern islands are more beachy   I also find the Spanish-speaking ports to be the friendliest. 

[hllwdcruiser]

If this is your first trip to the Caribbean I would definitely suggest you do the Eastern for all the reasons that have already been posted.

[mevs904]

We have been on Eastern, Western, and Southern Caribbean cruises and we prefer Eastern followed by Southern.  We like the topography of the eastern islands as well as the variety.  There are still a few that we haven’t been to and we are looking forward to our January 2020 cruise to experience them.

[halfapair]

We had one of our best shore excursions ever in Belize. We went to see some Mayan pyramids, rode on a river boat, got caught in a tropical downpour, and had lunch. We still think about that excursion. It was like the Disney Jungle Cruise on a real boat.

 

We've been to Costa Maya twice, with two different cruise lines. Both times we went to Maya Chan resort: http://costamayabeachresort.com/

 

My husband like to insist that he is not a "beach person." But he loves spending the day at Maya Chan.

[txwriter]

Thank you all for the replies.  I really appreciate all of the input.

 

My only Princess Cruise has been to Alaska last year, and I really loved it.  I knew I’d love Alaska, but I was surprised how much I liked being onboard.  My only previous cruise experience was when I was 17 (I’m 45 now) to Canada and New England, and the sea days were just torture, but things have progressed quite a bit since then.  

 

I really LOVED the Princess Cruise.  I’d like to try a Caribbean cruise to see if I still love the shipboard experience or if it was just being in Alaska that made it so great.  I know it will not be the same.  Actually,   the two are very different, so I thought it would be a good meter on how much is the ship experience and how much is the  destination.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

14 hours ago, rgr33 said:

That said, there is no bad cruise destination

well, I don't know. Now I completely skip anything that has Falmouth, Jamaica. Double whammy if it's Falmouth and Cozumel.

[AF-1]

17 hours ago, Potstech said:

Just finished a Western and definitely prefer the Eastern.

Why do you prefer Eastern?

[AF-1]

2 hours ago, txwriter said:

Thank you all for the replies.  I really appreciate all of the input.

 

My only Princess Cruise has been to Alaska last year, and I really loved it.  I knew I’d love Alaska, but I was surprised how much I liked being onboard.  My only previous cruise experience was when I was 17 (I’m 45 now) to Canada and New England, and the sea days were just torture, but things have progressed quite a bit since then.  

 

I really LOVED the Princess Cruise.  I’d like to try a Caribbean cruise to see if I still love the shipboard experience or if it was just being in Alaska that made it so great.  I know it will not be the same.  Actually,   the two are very different, so I thought it would be a good meter on how much is the ship experience and how much is the  destination.

Since you have not been to the Caribbean; why not pick an itinerary that has more sea days since you mentioned that you like being onboard the ship

[BarbinMich]

40 minutes ago, AF-1 said:

Since you have not been to the Caribbean; why not pick an itinerary that has more sea days since you mentioned that you like being onboard the ship

We also prefer the southern itinerary for many reasons.  But since the original poster is going on the Sky, they only have the one-week eastern and western itineraries to choose from (per the P website).  Eastern:  Princess Cay, St. Thomas, St. Maarten, 3 days at sea (pretty much the standard for all lines doing a one-week out of FLL, I think).  Western:  Costa Maya, Belize, Roatan, Cozumel and 2 days at sea.  We've been to all those ports many times.  The western is more interesting IMHO from a historic/cultural standpoint and if you're interested in visiting ancient ruins.  As someone else said, if you're a beach person, then the eastern would be more suitable.  Whichever you choose, enjoy your first cruise to the Caribbean!

[fishin' musician]

4 hours ago, BarbinMich said:

We also prefer the southern itinerary for many reasons.  But since the original poster is going on the Sky, they only have the one-week eastern and western itineraries to choose from (per the P website).  Eastern:  Princess Cay, St. Thomas, St. Maarten, 3 days at sea (pretty much the standard for all lines doing a one-week out of FLL, I think).  Western:  Costa Maya, Belize, Roatan, Cozumel and 2 days at sea.  We've been to all those ports many times.  The western is more interesting IMHO from a historic/cultural standpoint and if you're interested in visiting ancient ruins.  As someone else said, if you're a beach person, then the eastern would be more suitable.  Whichever you choose, enjoy your first cruise to the Caribbean!

From a culture standpoint many of the western ports do offer Mayan Ruin excursions.  However, the eastern culture, while not quite ancient does offer a lot of colonial era sugar plantation, slave trade, and pirate history.

[Bostonjetset]

9 hours ago, BarbinMich said:

We also prefer the southern itinerary for many reasons.  But since the original poster is going on the Sky, they only have the one-week eastern and western itineraries to choose from (per the P website).  Eastern:  Princess Cay, St. Thomas, St. Maarten, 3 days at sea (pretty much the standard for all lines doing a one-week out of FLL, I think).  Western:  Costa Maya, Belize, Roatan, Cozumel and 2 days at sea.  We've been to all those ports many times.  The western is more interesting IMHO from a historic/cultural standpoint and if you're interested in visiting ancient ruins.  As someone else said, if you're a beach person, then the eastern would be more suitable.  Whichever you choose, enjoy your first cruise to the Caribbean!

Thanks for posting the itineraries that the OP has to choose from.  I will double-down on the Western since their choice doesn't include Jamaica or Grand Cayman but rather the more "exotic" Mexico/Central America itinerary.  Roatan is one of the loveliest ports in the region [IMO] and I'd much rather go anywhere in Mexico than to Princess Cays [which I found to be mediocre as the beach was pleasant enough to look at but was very rocky].