Caribbean cruise advice

[squink]

I'm posting this enquiry here as our first cruise experience was this Aug on Britannia along the South coast and Britannia  / Azura et al are soon to commence in the Caribbean. Plus quite a few here have comparative experience , and preferences, of other cruise lines.

We are looking at fly/ cruise and fly/cruise/stay options Feb'22 or Mar'22 and feel I want the ATOL protection provided by a cruise operator or TA.

The question from me is which cruise operator to the Caribbean do you prefer overall based on your respective experiences?

Thank you in advance.

Graham

[grapau27]

8 hours ago, squink said:

I'm posting this enquiry here as our first cruise experience was this Aug on Britannia along the South coast and Britannia  / Azura et al are soon to commence in the Caribbean. Plus quite a few here have comparative experience , and preferences, of other cruise lines.

We are looking at fly/ cruise and fly/cruise/stay options Feb'22 or Mar'22 and feel I want the ATOL protection provided by a cruise operator or TA.

The question from me is which cruise operator to the Caribbean do you prefer overall based on your respective experiences?

Thank you in advance.

Graham

Personally either Princess or Royal Caribbean.

P&O plus point is sailing from Barbados and previously visiting non US ports so no need for an ESTA.

If you do go to the Caribbean the best ports are St Maarten, St Thomas, Puerto Rico and an Esta costing $11 lasting for 2 years available on line at US Homeland Security is necessary.

Graham.

[wowzz]

1 hour ago, grapau27 said:

If you do go to the Caribbean the best ports are St Maarten, St Thomas, Puerto Rico

Well now Graham, hang on a minute ! 

I'm not saying that you are wrong, but to dismiss Cuba, Antigua, Dom Rep etc is pretty harsh!  We all have our favourites,  and some people even like Aruba !

All a matter of taste. But any Caribbean island in January is better than being in the UK.

[Marmaduke]

I am not P & O's greatest fan, it does not have the best food and we prefer a mix of nationalities rather than all Brits, but we always use them for a Caribbean cruise every year (Pre Covid) purely for the convenience.  The charter flights are not that bad and they keep the costs down.  Also if the flight is delayed the ship, is more likely to wait for a plane load of passengers that a dozen people on a shedule flight.  You fly out and get on the ship the same day, no need for an overnight hotel.  The transfer is literally direct from the aircraft steps to the ship , no queuing for immigration, customs or baggage pickup.

 

Coming home,   you put suitcases outside the cabin the night before and you do not see them again until you pick them up at your UK airport.  You get lunch on the last day before being transfered to the airport in the afternoon.  If the flight is delayed you are kept on the ship for as long as possible and transfered to a hotel if the delay is over night.  Whereas if you are cruising from Miami you will have to be off the ship by 9.am. and either take a tour or hang around the airport all day until your evening flight home, plus you will have  your suitcases with you.

 

This is why we choose P & O for the Caribbean. It is worth alot.

 

 

[grapau27]

12 hours ago, wowzz said:

Well now Graham, hang on a minute ! 

I'm not saying that you are wrong, but to dismiss Cuba, Antigua, Dom Rep etc is pretty harsh!  We all have our favourites,  and some people even like Aruba !

All a matter of taste. But any Caribbean island in January is better than being in the UK.

There are a lot of lovely islands like St Lucia,Aruba,Bonaire, Curacao etc but the (St)  Islands had the best shopping for Pauline and gorgeous beaches.

Graham.

[grapau27]

1 hour ago, Marmaduke said:

I am not P & O's greatest fan, it does not have the best food and we prefer a mix of nationalities rather than all Brits, but we always use them for a Caribbean cruise every year (Pre Covid) purely for the convenience.  The charter flights are not that bad and they keep the costs down.  Also if the flight is delayed the ship, is more likely to wait for a plane load of passengers that a dozen people on a shedule flight.  You fly out and get on the ship the same day, no need for an overnight hotel.  The transfer is literally direct from the aircraft steps to the ship , no queuing for immigration, customs or baggage pickup.

 

Coming home,   you put suitcases outside the cabin the night before and you do not see them again until you pick them up at your UK airport.  You get lunch on the last day before being transfered to the airport in the afternoon.  If the flight is delayed you are kept on the ship for as long as possible and transfered to a hotel if the delay is over night.  Whereas if you are cruising from Miami you will have to be off the ship by 9.am. and either take a tour or hang around the airport all day until your evening flight home, plus you will have  your suitcases with you.

 

This is why we choose P & O for the Caribbean. It is worth alot.

 

 

Very good points.

On our last cruise before covid19 shutdown we got off our ship in San Francisco California at 9am after an Hawaiian cruise on Grand Princess but had booked a Day Room in a hotel so we could leave our luggage there and had a full day in San Francisco before getting a shower at the hotel then a taxi to the airport for an evening flight back to Heathrow.

Graham.

[terrierjohn]

41 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

Very good points.

On our last cruise before covid19 shutdown we got off our ship in San Francisco California at 9am after an Hawaiian cruise on Grand Princess but had booked a Day Room in a hotel so we could leave our luggage there and had a full day in San Francisco before getting a shower at the hotel then a taxi to the airport for an evening flight back to Heathrow.

Graham.

We did a few Caribbean cruises with Princess and they all included a pre cruise night in a hotel, and lunch in a hotel on disembarcation day,  and a late afternoon transfer to the airport.

[wowzz]

I do think that many of us that are "time rich" would be more inclined to criuse the Caribbean with P&O if stand alone cruises were possible,  so that we could add on hotel stays pre and post cruise. 

[grapau27]

14 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

We did a few Caribbean cruises with Princess and they all included a pre cruise night in a hotel, and lunch in a hotel on disembarcation day,  and a late afternoon transfer to the airport.

Princess did that a few times for us too but I'm not sure they still do this.

It certainly was not the case on our Hawaiian cruise with Princess when we arrived back in December 2019.

[Gettingwarmer]

Yes I remember this being the case, we were well looked after. I’m afraid they cut corners now. We try to get the last one before the transatlantic then go home by ship. 

[Ardennais]

2 hours ago, grapau27 said:

There are a lot of lovely islands like St Lucia,Aruba,Bonaire, Curacao etc but the (St)  Islands had the best shopping for Pauline and gorgeous beaches.

Graham.

I can understand why shoppers like St Martin but to be honest, we weren’t keen on the place. But then, I don’l like shopping or beaches!!  Much preferred St Lucia, Bonaire and Curacao. 

[wowzz]

11 minutes ago, Ardennais said:

I can understand why shoppers like St Martin but to be honest, we weren’t keen on the place. But then, I don’l like shopping or beaches!!  Much preferred St Lucia, Bonaire and Curacao. 

I'm not a fan of St Martin either, but Graham mentioned St Maarten,  which is  a much nicer part.

[Ardennais]

2 hours ago, wowzz said:

I'm not a fan of St Martin either, but Graham mentioned St Maarten,  which is  a much nicer part.

Sorry, I meant St Maarten too! Full of jewellery shops with burly security outside! I personally prefer the smaller folksy shops. 

[GOQ]

On 9/23/2021 at 9:21 PM, grapau27 said:

Personally either Princess or Royal Caribbean.

P&O plus point is sailing from Barbados and previously visiting non US ports so no need for an ESTA.

If you do go to the Caribbean the best ports are St Maarten, St Thomas, Puerto Rico and an Esta costing $11 lasting for 2 years available on line at US Homeland Security is necessary.

Graham.

Could you elaborate on the need for a ESTA please Graham. It's 13 years since I last visited the US and 16 years since I sailed out of a US port and I can't remember exactly what I did then. My late wife used to organise all that sort of stuff.

[wowzz]

10 minutes ago, GOQ said:

Could you elaborate on the need for a ESTA please Graham. It's 13 years since I last visited the US and 16 years since I sailed out of a US port and I can't remember exactly what I did then. My late wife used to organise all that sort of stuff.

Just in case Graham is indisposed, the ESTA is the electronic visa that you apply for before travelling to the US. No ESTA, no travel !

[GOQ]

9 minutes ago, wowzz said:

Just in case Graham is indisposed, the ESTA is the electronic visa that you apply for before travelling to the US. No ESTA, no travel !

I am guessing this is done over the internet and being an "electronic visa" does it go on your mobile phone and you just have to show it at immigration to the US ?

I have seen a number of offers on Royal Caribbean cruises sailing from US ports which look interesting and P&O used to offer east coat US cruises which are also on my interest list.

[BrianI]

2 minutes ago, GOQ said:

I am guessing this is done over the internet and being an "electronic visa" does it go on your mobile phone and you just have to show it at immigration to the US ?

 

When you apply for an ESTA, you have give your passport number. Thus when your passport is swiped at immigration it links to your ESTA. If you get a new passport, you have to get a new ESTA.

Just in case the system does not work it would be sensible to carry a paper copy.

Brian

 

[GOQ]

Thanks Brian

[Roger88]

43 minutes ago, GOQ said:

I am guessing this is done over the internet and being an "electronic visa" does it go on your mobile phone and you just have to show it at immigration to the US ?

I have seen a number of offers on Royal Caribbean cruises sailing from US ports which look interesting and P&O used to offer east coat US cruises which are also on my interest list.

If you come from a country outside the eligible to enter the US list than no electronic visa will do. You will have to contact the embassy if you have no visa anyway. If your visa is abou to expire or something, I am pretty sure you can contact them by their official website 

[wowzz]

35 minutes ago, Roger88 said:

If you come from a country outside the eligible to enter the US list than no electronic visa will do. You will have to contact the embassy if you have no visa anyway. If your visa is abou to expire or something, I am pretty sure you can contact them by their official website 

Roger has been quiet for a long time, but is back with a vengeance,  posting on numerous  threads today !

British citizens can enter the US as long as they have an ESTA. His other comments are irrelevant. 

Edited September 25, 2021 by wowzz

[yorkshirephil]

2 hours ago, GOQ said:

I am guessing this is done over the internet and being an "electronic visa" does it go on your mobile phone and you just have to show it at immigration to the US ?

I have seen a number of offers on Royal Caribbean cruises sailing from US ports which look interesting and P&O used to offer east coat US cruises which are also on my interest list.

If applying use the official site ,as third party sites will charge much more. An ESTA is currently $14 and lasts 2 years or less if your passport expires. It is always wise to take a paper copy, it shouldn't be needed but we had to show them the last time we went to New Orleans.

https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/

[molecrochip]

7 hours ago, wowzz said:

Roger has been quiet for a long time, but is back with a vengeance,  posting on numerous  threads today !

British citizens can enter the US as long as they have an ESTA. His other comments are irrelevant. 

To be fair to Roger, the rules are currently different and what Roger said is fairly accurate if travelling to the USA at present. This is all due to change by the end of November.

[zap99]

On 9/24/2021 at 1:46 PM, wowzz said:

I'm not a fan of St Martin either, but Graham mentioned St Maarten,  which is  a much nicer part.

Either will do nicely. We have been to about 20 islands, both on cruises and in hotels. The ones we didn't like are.............nope, second thoughts.

[davecttr]

I have been to St Martin/Maarten twice. The first excursion was to Marigot followed by a tour round the island. We were dropped for free time in the old centre of Marigot neat fort St Louis, I thought there was an amazing resemblance to southern France. Took a walk up to the fort for a good view.

 

The second time we had a boat tour across the lagoon to Marigot. not so good because we were dropped at a modern marina in the lagoon and did not know we were only about a half mile walk to 'old' Marigot.

 

edit - Pity I did not know about the Openstreetmap site which has detailed maps of pretty much the whole world and is invaluable for your own port maps. I do a screen copy of the bits I want and print them out for my cruise folder.

Edited September 26, 2021 by davecttr

[squink]

Thanks for all the replies , cruise lines mentioned were Royal Caribbean, Princess and P&O and a few island preferences but no outright refusals.

 

The main issue for us has become the cruise stay aspect, not many do it as standard. TUI Marella do do this as standard, from Manchester, which is our preference, incl transfers, all iare oj hand to nclusive hotel & ATOL. Cost is very competitive. I guess its a different sort of operator. I'll ask on the appropriate forum for specific advice.

 

My son , having just this week returned from Barbados, has raised the prospect of how Covid-19 testing on arrivals, quarantine and the island will be handled. His experience is that the Barbadian armed forces operate the PCR testing on arrival at the airport. He was required to stay in a designated hotel until the result was known (he passed). I'm wondering how cruise lines get round this? 

There is a thread just started on this which I'll look at now as well.