Caribbean Cruise Options

[yorkshirephil]

10 minutes ago, Presto2 said:

That's interesting. Have to say have always fancied Mexico.

No jabs for the likes of Barbados then? (not thinking COVID)

Am surprised

 

 

There was talk of a Zika vaccine once but that seems to have fizzled out. No vaccines anywhere else and we always kept check before we went just in case there were any outbreaks of anything.

[Presto2]

1 minute ago, yorkshirephil said:

There was talk of a Zika vaccine once but that seems to have fizzled out. No vaccines anywhere else and we always kept check before we went just in case there were any outbreaks of anything.

Ohhhhh interested now --- just been trying to price up just incase, one day we can go out of school holidays 😉 Nothing wrong with a bit of research ! 

Off to look some more 😉

[Ardennais]

2 hours ago, Presto2 said:

Just looking at this thread. Have to say, the Caribbean would be my retirement cruise --- not close enough yet though!

 

Just thinking ahead - do you need to have vaccinations for this holiday ?

Is it as amazing as it looks?

How does it compare to a cruise of Italy / Greece as we love ancient history and exploring?

 

What is the site seeing like? Just worried that I may get fed up of much of a much ness --- though, even writing this, I think I am mad just saying it !!!

We really enjoyed our 35 nighter last year but needed the Yellow Fever Jab as that particular P&O cruise also visited Costa Rica, Panama and Colombia. These stops were the highlight for us. The Caribbean is very different to Italy and Greece - not half as interesting in my opinion so the Central America addition was great. However it was a great opportunity to switch off from day to day stresses and we would definitely consider another Caribbean round trip from Southampton. The photo thread has reminded me how wonderful the Baltic cities are too!

[Gettingwarmer]

When we visited Costa Rica, Columbia and Panama on a cruise we did not need any vaccinations. 

[yorkshirephil]

5 minutes ago, Gettingwarmer said:

When we visited Costa Rica, Columbia and Panama on a cruise we did not need any vaccinations. 

We didn't either on any occasion, however it is always worth checking as things do change, plus if you have previously been to a country with yellow fever a certificate may be required.

[Ardennais]

48 minutes ago, Gettingwarmer said:

When we visited Costa Rica, Columbia and Panama on a cruise we did not need any vaccinations. 

Our TA told us that we needed it and also something in the P&O bumf. There was some confusion at check-in as we had to show our certificate and some passengers hadn’t it. There was a rumour onboard that some were taken to a clinic in Southampton before boarding. There was some sort of meeting aboard too as we were crossing the Atlantic because quite a lot of people were talking about the issue that evening. We went on the rain forest aerial tram and were asked before leaving the ship that morning whether we’d had the jab. 

[Ardennais]

We couldn’t get the jab locally so had to make an appointment to have it some distance from here. The nurse asked where we were going and double checked and confirmed that we needed it! During the appointment, she showed us a link from the NHS Scotland website for some reason. 
We had no problems at all with the actual jab and were relieved to have had it when we heard about the issues onboard. Well worth it for peace of mind. 

Edited May 3, 2021 by Ardennais

[wowzz]

 

'We've done a few Caribbean cruises, plus various land based  holidays in the area 

We enjoy the warm weather, but, you have an 8 hour flight to factor in , the islands are pretty much over run with tourists, with only limited places of interest, and, if on a P&O cruise,  you will  be socialising with  Brits for your entire holiday.

Having said that, visit at least once, so you can make your own mind up.

[Eddie99]

They’re really quite different holidays, in all manner of ways, as others have said.  It’s an expensive experiment to discover whether it suits you or not!  
 

Your vaccination fear is unfounded if you stick to the islands.  Yellow fever vaxx might be required for some areas of some Central American countries, but that’s not what you were asking.  If that takes away a major deterrent for you, perhaps you should do more research, in your own time

 

Long flights and horrible jet lag following the return flight are a big turn off for me, but transatlantic crossings are sooo very relaxing.  Perhaps an end of season flight there/sea crossing back would give you a taster?

 

The islands very enormously from bustling commercial centres like Trinidad, to undeveloped natural paradises, to overrun US “mall with a beach”, to quiet(ish) laid back white sand, blue sea etc.  Remember that anywhere you go you’ll be taking 2000 from your ship with you.  If you get to one of the more commercialised islands on a busy day you may find yourself one of 6 ships in (and P&O will be the smallest!)

 

Enjoy your research.  There are plenty here who can give their experience and answer questions

[alsa]

On 3/14/2021 at 12:20 PM, wowzz said:

I know this is a bit premature, but I'm starting to consider various cruise options for early 2023 ( and I'm fed up reading about M&H in the papers!)

With regards to P&O Caribbean cruises, can I ask the team here their thoughts on the following options.

1. Fly in the day the cruise departs, or the day before. 

2. Barbados or St Lucia for departure port.

3. Assuming a balcony cabin, Brittania or Azura ( I'm leaving Arriva out of the equation)

Thanks for all your opinions. 

Hello there!  we did Britannia out of Barbados in Feb-March 2020. We actually ended up being the last cruise to leave Barbados for a Caribbean cruise before Covid - the passengers due to board and sail after us were either sent home at the airport, flown home or sailed back to Southampton with the ship - we consider ourselves so lucky!

I have sailed on Britannia before to the Med and Fjords but found the experience on her in the Caribbean totally different.  We actually loved it 100% more!!  I think its because we love being in the sun and knowing we had sunshine every day - also there seemed to be a happier 'vibe' onboard - we even noticed the crew seemed happier?  

We flew out the day before the cruise and found this great.  We found the whole experience of flying out and boarding the ship extremely smooth, quick and well organised.  We were taken off the plane and straight onto buses - no need to even go into the airport!  the bus ride was very pleasant and didn't take long at all. We reached the ship, there was no queue at check in and were onboard and having a drink by the pool by 4pm.

That night we were extremely tired from travelling so had a light dinner in the buffet and went to bed fairly early. A point to note is that although we were the first plane in that day, our luggage didn't arrive at our cabin until about 8-9pm, I guess they wait until all the flights are in and then bring all the luggage together?  We were glad we had taken some shorts and flip flops to change into in our hand luggage!   It was the next day that we realised we had made the right choice as we had a little lay in, breakfast in the main dining room and went to 'The Boatyard' for the day.  This was recommended and was so relaxing and a great start to the holiday.  The ship wasn't due to sail until late so we took our time getting back.  The good thing was we were away from the ship and out of the way of others boarding the ship that day.  It was an incredibly relaxed first day of the cruise and we were refreshed, unpacked and awake for sail away that night! 

 

So in answer to your question, I can't comment on Azura yet - we are due to cruise on her in December.  But certainly flying out to Britannia on the day before worked amazingly well for us!  Good luck deciding and i'm sure you'll have a wonderful time 😊

[Jennizor]

Hi Alsa, we were on the same cruise as you. We love Britannia but Azura is our favourite. We have booked again on Britannia in December. I am determined to have a holiday in the sun this year, after having 3 cancelled. We have been to the Caribbean several times on Oriana, Arcadia, Ventura, Azura and Britannia. We never tire of the Caribbean, we don’t always get off the ship these days as my husband has a leg problem (hoping it will get sorted next year!). We quite like the peaceful, laid back days on board when many passengers are off exploring. We are booked on an Eastern Med cruise in September, not sure if that will happen, but hopefully the December one will. 

[yorkshirephil]

24 minutes ago, Jennizor said:

Hi Alsa, we were on the same cruise as you. We love Britannia but Azura is our favourite. We have booked again on Britannia in December. I am determined to have a holiday in the sun this year, after having 3 cancelled. We have been to the Caribbean several times on Oriana, Arcadia, Ventura, Azura and Britannia. We never tire of the Caribbean, we don’t always get off the ship these days as my husband has a leg problem (hoping it will get sorted next year!). We quite like the peaceful, laid back days on board when many passengers are off exploring. We are booked on an Eastern Med cruise in September, not sure if that will happen, but hopefully the December one will. 

We love the Caribbean too, some islands we only get off for a walk, we like to mooch around the food markets when running, we tend to have rituals now as to what we do at the islands we have been to many times. There are odd occasions where we have stayed on board and chilled out. We love the 35 nighters crossing the pond, once you have settled into retirement it is so easy to while away the hours at sea. We are booked on Ventura in Jan 22 then back again for the 40 nighter in Nov 22 on Arcadia. Can't wait.

[Jennizor]

Lots to look forward to Phil. At the moment it seems like we are wishing our lives away. Hopefully things will get more like normal next year. 

[yorkshirephil]

3 minutes ago, Jennizor said:

Lots to look forward to Phil. At the moment it seems like we are wishing our lives away. Hopefully things will get more like normal next year. 

We can hope, we were not going to book anything else until there was a bit more stability in the world, the Jan 22 was booked before covid. However when we saw the 40 nighter we thought it was ideal for us with the bonus of another visit to New Orleans we just booked it, can't let covid run our lives.

[alsa]

38 minutes ago, Jennizor said:

Hi Alsa, we were on the same cruise as you. We love Britannia but Azura is our favourite. We have booked again on Britannia in December. I am determined to have a holiday in the sun this year, after having 3 cancelled. We have been to the Caribbean several times on Oriana, Arcadia, Ventura, Azura and Britannia. We never tire of the Caribbean, we don’t always get off the ship these days as my husband has a leg problem (hoping it will get sorted next year!). We quite like the peaceful, laid back days on board when many passengers are off exploring. We are booked on an Eastern Med cruise in September, not sure if that will happen, but hopefully the December one will. 

Hello!  yes we have done the Caribbean since 2007 but initially we started on Princess Cruises.  We love P&O but are also big fans of Princess, Celebrity and RCI.  Anyone who hasn't tried Celebrity I thoroughly recommend it!  Like most people on here, we are addicted to cruising and cant wait to cruise again - the sooner the better!  we have 2 booked - Caribbean Christmas and New Year on Azura (we had this booked for last Christmas but had to move to this year - so fingers crossed!) and Feb on Britannia in the Caribbean too  - and like many others have had 5 cancelled!  hope your husbands leg gets better soon - you need him mobile for your future cruises!

We also like the peace and quite onboard when we are in a port but also like to explore the port area and go on trips on the islands.