Which Itinerary would you choose?

[hrmkr]

Hello,

 

We are trying to decide which itinerary to choose for our next cruise.

 

Do not take into account the prices, which ship or if we have been to any of the ports before.  Only the itinerary.  

 

Option 1:

Grand Cayman

Mahogany Bay

Belize

Cozumel

 

Option 2: 

Amber Cove

St. Thomas

San Juan

Grand Turk

 

Option 3:

Grand Turk

La Romana

Curacao

Aruba

 

We can't go wrong on any of them.

[Kapring]

3,2,1

[coevan]

1. because i am a diver and Belize and Cozumel are world class, snorkeling too.

[hrmkr]

4 minutes ago, coevan said:

1. because i am a diver and Belize and Cozumel are world class, snorkeling too.

What about if you were not a diver?  

[coevan]

can't go wrong with Cozumel, don't care for Grand Turk. We stay aboard in Amber Cove. Belize is beautiful, but you need to take a boat ride to get to the Cays. Belize City, downtown is not safe. 

[Tapi]

#3 would be my first choice. #2 would be a close second. #1 would be dead last.

[coevan]

1-3-2, Tapi why is number 1 dead last, 3 out of 4 great ports.

[Garf]

(1) Option:3 , (2) Option:1..  I have done all locations you have mention, All are winners on a cruise !!

[hrmkr]

So sorry everyone.

 

I typed in the wrong islands for option 2.  The previous option 2 would not work because of the sailing dates.

 

New  Option 2: 

St. Thomas

St. Maarten

St. Kitts

St. Lucia

Barbados

 

Does this change your opinions?

[Anyislandwilldo]

New option 2, love all these islands!!  I think the islands in the far eastern Caribbean are much prettier!

[jbethel11]

52 minutes ago, hrmkr said:

Hello,

 

We are trying to decide which itinerary to choose for our next cruise.

 

Do not take into account the prices, which ship or if we have been to any of the ports before.  Only the itinerary.  

 

Option 1:

Grand Cayman

Mahogany Bay

Belize

Cozumel

 

Option 2: 

Amber Cove

St. Thomas

San Juan

Grand Turk

 

Option 3:

Grand Turk

La Romana

Curacao

Aruba

 

We can't go wrong on any of them.

Option 3 hands down!

[hrmkr]

jbethel

 

Please look a few posts up, I had to change option 2.  wrong islands.  

[hrmkr]

To avoid confusing people, does anyone know if/how I can edit the original post to put in the correct information?

[jbethel11]

Just now, hrmkr said:

To avoid confusing people, does anyone know if/how I can edit the original post to put in the correct information?

Yes.

[hrmkr]

Just now, jbethel11 said:

Yes.

Can you please explain to me how to make the edits?

 

 

[Mm13]

3,2,1. 

 

Ive done the updated 2 itinerary a few times, it is great. Never done 3. 

 

Time of year might be important to consider. If you are booking hurricane season and booking because of ports, booking an eastern and suddenly being forced into a western might be disappointing. 

 

Also look into how many on 1 & 3 are tender. I’ve heard Cayman gets canceled a lot, although it hasn’t happened to us, yet. 

Edited March 23, 2019 by Mm13

[soonernstlouis]

24 minutes ago, hrmkr said:

 

New  Option 2: 

St. Thomas

St. Maarten

St. Kitts

St. Lucia

Barbados

 

 

Option 2 is probably Fascination based on this being a Carnival board.

[Tapi]

46 minutes ago, coevan said:

1-3-2, Tapi why is number 1 dead last, 3 out of 4 great ports.

Let me start by saying that I wouldn’t decline taking any of these cruises. They all have positives. 

 

About #1

 

Cozumel: Great port of call with tons of things to do, but it appears on almost every single western Caribbean itinerary. I’d prefer to go somewhere that either I haven’t visited before, or haven’t visited so frequently. Another thing about Cozumel is that it’s become too comercialized. On our last cruise (February) there were 7 ships in port (3 of which were sharing Puerta Maya). The hordes of cruisers were annoying and overwhelming at times. 

 

Grand Cayman - I love this island, and the snorkeling is blissful. Truly one of my favorite destinations in the Western Caribbean. But I’m always a bit leery about selecting an itinerary specifically because it goes to Grand Cayman because of the tendering issues and high frequency of cancelations. Of the 3 times I’ve taken a cruise to Grand Cayman, one time it got canceled, one time we anchored off Spot’s Bay after a two hour delay, and on the third time we finally anchored off Georgetown. 

 

Belize: Another beautiful destination, but with its share of challenges. The 5 mile tender ride is a minor nuisance, but one to consider nonetheless. Although Belize has some amazing and unique attractions, there’s very little within close proximity to the port. Downtown Belize is downright ugly. We took a city tour one time just to see what Belize City had to offer, and one time was more than enough. It was sad. Anything worth seeing in Belize requires a long drive more suited for a longer stay or land vacation. 

 

So based on those experiences, I place this itinerary at the bottom of the list. 

 

Now that the OP has changed itinerary #2 to the Southern Caribbean, that would be my first choice. But as others mentioned, this itinerary is on the Fascination which would make me have second thoughts. I just don’t get why Carnival has an aging Fantasy class ship on this itinerary when it’s comeptition is the Freedom of the Seas and the Norwegian Epic out of San Juan. Hard to justify selecting the Fascination over the others unless there’s a significant price difference.

Edited March 23, 2019 by Tapi

[jbethel11]

11 minutes ago, hrmkr said:

Can you please explain to me how to make the edits?

 

 

My apologies, you cannot change it from the looks of me trying to change my original post for a topic!

[Palmetto Pilot]

Option 3 based on the itinerary alone. But I like the pick the ship, the ship is the destination for me!

[hrmkr]

3 minutes ago, Palmetto Pilot said:

Option 3 based on the itinerary alone. But I like the pick the ship, the ship is the destination for me!

Again sorry, I changed Option 2.  Please look a few posts up.

[hrmkr]

23 minutes ago, Tapi said:

Let me start by saying that I wouldn’t decline taking any of these cruises. They all have positives. 

 

About #1

 

Cozumel: Great port of call with tons of things to do, but it appears on almost every single western Caribbean itinerary. I’d prefer to go somewhere that either I haven’t visited before, or haven’t visited so frequently. Another thing about Cozumel is that it’s become too comercialized. On our last cruise (February) there were 7 ships in port (3 of which were sharing Puerta Maya). The hordes of cruisers were annoying and overwhelming at times. 

 

Grand Cayman - I love this island, and the snorkeling is blissful. Truly one of my favorite destinations in the Western Caribbean. But I’m always a bit leery about selecting an itinerary specifically because it goes to Grand Cayman because of the tendering issues and high frequency of cancelations. Of the 3 times I’ve taken a cruise to Grand Cayman, one time it got canceled, one time we anchored off Spot’s Bay after a two hour delay, and on the third time we finally anchored off Georgetown. 

 

Belize: Another beautiful destination, but with its share of challenges. The 5 mile tender ride is a minor nuisance, but one to consider nonetheless. Although Belize has some amazing and unique attractions, there’s very little within close proximity to the port. Downtown Belize is downright ugly. We took a city tour one time just to see what Belize City had to offer, and one time was more than enough. It was sad. Anything worth seeing in Belize requires a long drive more suited for a longer stay or land vacation. 

 

So based on those experiences, I place this itinerary at the bottom of the list. 

 

Now that the OP has changed itinerary #2 to the Southern Caribbean, that would be my first choice. But as others mentioned, this itinerary is on the Fascination which would make me have second thoughts. I just don’t get why Carnival has an aging Fantasy class ship on this itinerary when it’s comeptition is the Freedom of the Seas and the Norwegian Epic out of San Juan. Hard to justify selecting the Fascination over the others unless there’s a significant price difference.

Yes, obviously my new option 2 is on the Fascination.  Compared the price between Carnival and Royal (Freedom of the Seas) and the Royal cruise was about $300 more.  thoughts?

[Palmetto Pilot]

4 minutes ago, hrmkr said:

Again sorry, I changed Option 2.  Please look a few posts up.

Still 3 

[Palmetto Pilot]

Just now, hrmkr said:

Yes, obviously my new option 2 is on the Fascination.  Compared the price between Carnival and Royal (Freedom of the Seas) and the Royal cruise was about $300 more.  thoughts?

If freedom is option 3 I’d take that in a heartbeat. Freedom is my favorite ship.

[jbethel11]

Just now, Palmetto Pilot said:

If freedom is option 3 I’d take that in a heartbeat. Freedom is my favorite ship.

Freedom sails from Galveston, so none of those options work. From my extensive research, Option 1 is the Conquest from Miami or the Miracle from Tampa. Option 2 is the Fascination from San Juan, Option 3 is the Magic, Horizon or Breeze, from FLL,   Port Canaveral or Miami.