Caribbean cruising questions

[Vampiress88]

Might have made the mistake of looking at Caribbean cruises and that’s lead us to change the Mediterranean may cruise next year to a Caribbean one in February (have to use a bit of school holidays) 

 

tell me anything I might need to know. 

[Interestedcruisefan]

1 hour ago, Vampiress88 said:

Might have made the mistake of looking at Caribbean cruises and that’s lead us to change the Mediterranean may cruise next year to a Caribbean one in February (have to use a bit of school holidays) 

 

tell me anything I might need to know. 

I've just done 14 nights Arvia Caribbean February 18th.  I've got a whole live thread about it will post a link if I can find

 

Brilliant cruise. We will be booking same cruise next year. 

 

Incredible value. And the Caribbean is a whole different level to the Canaries that time of year IMO

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2916637-live-report-arvia-14-nights-from-barbados-18th-feb-onwards/

 

Here's the thread. Hope it helps

 

 

Edited March 23, 2023 by Interestedcruisefan

[yorkshirephil]

The Caribbean is brilliant, great way to get the winter sun and see beautiful islands and great people, never been a better time to go financially, cruises are cheaper now than they were 20 years ago when we first visited.

[Sussexboy]

Best holiday we ever had. Beautiful islands, lovely people, great weather, everything is “no problem”. And there is rum, did I mention the rum? There is rum.

 

If you are going to St. Lucia I can recommend Cosol tours. They take you all over the island and feed you in an action packed fun filled day that is really good value.

 

Don’t forget to try the rum.

 

We ended our cruise with a day out on a catamaran around Grenada, followed by a lobster beach bbq. It was magical. Great memories! Great rum…

[Merry25]

41 minutes ago, Sussexboy said:

Best holiday we ever had. Beautiful islands, lovely people, great weather, everything is “no problem”. And there is rum, did I mention the rum? There is rum.

 

If you are going to St. Lucia I can recommend Cosol tours. They take you all over the island and feed you in an action packed fun filled day that is really good value.

 

Don’t forget to try the rum.

 

We ended our cruise with a day out on a catamaran around Grenada, followed by a lobster beach bbq. It was magical. Great memories! Great rum…

Are you a pirate?  😂

[CaptainPedantic]

The Caribbean is amazing and cruising has to be the best way to see as any of the islands as possible. Itineraries are just fabulous - there is such a variety across the islands in terms of things to do, culture, feel etc. but the constant is how great the people are. And someone already mentioned there is the rum 🙂

We came straight back from our last Caribbean cruise to book another and I'm sure we'll do it again (and again...) if the chance arises. Just brilliant!

[Sussexboy]

3 hours ago, Merry25 said:

Are you a pirate?  😂

Well we did go out on a tall ship for the day in St. Maarten, and I got to take the helm and control the lateen sail to keep her in the wind while the crew took down the main sails . That was quite exciting. So I could be a pirate as I have sailed a square rigger in the Caribbean, aarrrrr…. 😂

[yorkshirephil]

Just now, Sussexboy said:

Well we did go out on a tall ship for the day in St. Maarten, and I got to take the helm and control the lateen sail to keep her in the wind while the crew took down the main sails . That was quite exciting. So I could be a pirate as I have sailed a square rigger in the Caribbean, aarrrrr…. 😂

More to the point, was there rum?

[Sussexboy]

1 hour ago, CaptainPedantic said:

The Caribbean is amazing and cruising has to be the best way to see as any of the islands as possible. Itineraries are just fabulous - there is such a variety across the islands in terms of things to do, culture, feel etc. but the constant is how great the people are. And someone already mentioned there is the rum 🙂

We came straight back from our last Caribbean cruise to book another and I'm sure we'll do it again (and again...) if the chance arises. Just brilliant!

We keep saying we must go back. The trouble is there are so many other places and so little money!

[Sussexboy]

Just now, yorkshirephil said:

More to the point, was there rum?

Not on board that ship unfortunately. I had some elsewhere though 😁

[Britboys]

I'm definitely out of step with most others on this. For me it is a case of been there, done it, don't have any desire to go back again...

[wowzz]

10 minutes ago, Britboys said:

I'm definitely out of step with most others on this. For me it is a case of been there, done it, don't have any desire to go back again...

We have booked a Caribbean cruise for later this year. This will be our fourth in 25 years of cruising, so we are not exactly addicted to the area ! We have booked this year as a change from our preferred options of Sarasota or Lanzarote.

We see a Caribbean cruise purely as a chance to get some winter sun, at a cheaper price than you will find in most Caribbean hotels. Unlike other cruise destinations we do not feel the need to explore the local sights, museums etc which can mean that some cruises become a bit of an endurance test. 

And, to be frank, as we get older, sometimes it is just nice to have everything taken care of for you. No worries about your luggage, hire cars, US tipping (!) etc. So, a relaxed 14 nights on a floating hotel will do us fine.

[Chrissie123]

Thank you for taking the time to look at my question and thank you in advance for anyone who is able to help out with what may be a very silly question!

 

We have done a few cruises before to the Med, Northern Europe and the Fjords but have been considering the Caribbean and it has made me wonder if we need any holiday jabs for this cruise destination.

 

I have looked at the usual areas such as the NHS site and we could need quite a few depending on the areas we visit but if it is a cruise rather than a land based holiday does that make a difference?

 

 

 

 

 

[Vampiress88]

Oh this is a question I didn’t even think of. I’d like to know too. I just assumed there wasn’t any jabs needed other than covid. 

[yorkshirephil]

15 minutes ago, Chrissie123 said:

Thank you for taking the time to look at my question and thank you in advance for anyone who is able to help out with what may be a very silly question!

 

We have done a few cruises before to the Med, Northern Europe and the Fjords but have been considering the Caribbean and it has made me wonder if we need any holiday jabs for this cruise destination.

 

I have looked at the usual areas such as the NHS site and we could need quite a few depending on the areas we visit but if it is a cruise rather than a land based holiday does that make a difference?

 

 

 

 

 

A cruise can make a difference, we have never needed a vaccination to cruise in the Caribbean in 20 years plus we have been to central America and Brazil. It is always wise to check on the NHS plus sometimes local sites as changes can be made quite rapidly plus it can depend where you have been and not where you are going, yellow fever jab springs to mind. It also depends what jabs you may have had as a child. The basic Caribbean cruises are usually fine.

[zap99]

4 minutes ago, yorkshirephil said:

A cruise can make a difference, we have never needed a vaccination to cruise in the Caribbean in 20 years plus we have been to central America and Brazil. It is always wise to check on the NHS plus sometimes local sites as changes can be made quite rapidly plus it can depend where you have been and not where you are going, yellow fever jab springs to mind. It also depends what jabs you may have had as a child. The basic Caribbean cruises are usually fine.

We cruise in the Caribbean as well as hotel based. Hep A, diphtheria,polio,tetanus, precautions against getting bitten by bugs. so no malaria, dengue,Zica virus. On a cruise you could get away with less, but it's only every few years.

[Interestedcruisefan]

1 hour ago, Britboys said:

I'm definitely out of step with most others on this. For me it is a case of been there, done it, don't have any desire to go back again...

Can't beat it for a winter sun and beach holiday IMO

 

We've tried all the Canaries, Dubai even Gambia

 

And cruising in Feb it's cheaper than all of them. Maybe same price as Canaries cruising but way better sun

 

Only downside is the long flights IMO

 

 

[Gettingwarmer]

43 minutes ago, Chrissie123 said:

Thank you for taking the time to look at my question and thank you in advance for anyone who is able to help out with what may be a very silly question!

 

We have done a few cruises before to the Med, Northern Europe and the Fjords but have been considering the Caribbean and it has made me wonder if we need any holiday jabs for this cruise destination.

 

I have looked at the usual areas such as the NHS site and we could need quite a few depending on the areas we visit but if it is a cruise rather than a land based holiday does that make a difference?

 

 

 

 

 

Where the cruise lines visit in the Caribbean there is usually no need for any extra jabs. We have never needed any. 

[zap99]

20 hours ago, Vampiress88 said:

Might have made the mistake of looking at Caribbean cruises and that’s lead us to change the Mediterranean may cruise next year to a Caribbean one in February (have to use a bit of school holidays) 

 

tell me anything I might need to know. 

Vamps....do it..We moved our October Canaries cruise on Iona to a Caribbean on Britannia.  We have now visited about 20 Islands and love them all ( well, perhaps not Trinidad ).

[Vampiress88]

16 minutes ago, zap99 said:

Vamps....do it..We moved our October Canaries cruise on Iona to a Caribbean on Britannia.  We have now visited about 20 Islands and love them all ( well, perhaps not Trinidad ).

already did it. Quite a bit more money though ☹️

it does look beautiful. Best get working lots to pay for it all

[Fionboard]

Panama is the only place I needed yellow fever. In 2020 so may have changed now.

[Britboys]

1 hour ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

Can't beat it for a winter sun and beach holiday IMO

 

We've tried all the Canaries, Dubai even Gambia

 

And cruising in Feb it's cheaper than all of them. Maybe same price as Canaries cruising but way better sun

 

Only downside is the long flights IMO

 

 

I thought I had already posted this response but...

 

I'm not much of a beach person these days (especially when travelling solo) so the long flight alone would be enough to put me off, although there are other reasons too.

I'd rather take the shorter flight to the Canary Islands for some winter warmth where there are more things away from the beach to interest me.

[Vampiress88]

Is there anything specific or different on a P&o Caribbean crusie than say a canaries one? 
 

tbh I didn’t really want to go on p&o to Caribbean I wanted to try some of the American ships and book it myself but hubby over ruled

[wowzz]

1 minute ago, Vampiress88 said:

Is there anything specific or different on a P&o Caribbean crusie than say a canaries one? 
 

tbh I didn’t really want to go on p&o to Caribbean I wanted to try some of the American ships and book it myself but hubby over ruled

I think with young children going with P&O is a better choice than an independent option, although I can see the attraction of an American ship. 

Waiting for three hours to pass through Miami border control is no way to start a holiday !

[Josy1953]

Just a thought for @Vampiress88We once did a Caribbean cruise out of Florida so we flew out to Orlando and did the theme parks first before driving down to Miami to board the ship.  I am sure the girls would enjoy Disney World etc.