Which Virgin Southern Caribbean itenerary is best?

[Cammyho]

Hey everyone, I've never done southern Caribbean before so I'm very unfamiliar with these ports. I'm trying to decide between these two Virgin Voyages sailings. I'm leaning more towards option 1 because the stops sound more unique.

 

Would love any and all advice you could give about which ports are amazing or not so great 🙂

 

Option 1: Southeastern Caribbean Isles

San Juan -> Aruba -> Curacao -> Martinique -> St. Kitts

 

Option 2: Sunsets in the Lesser Antilles

San Juan -> Tortola -> Guadeloupe -> Barbados -> St. Lucia -> St John's

[brookie848]

Is St. John's the island or the port in Antigua?

 

My next question/piece of advice is to look at your time in port. If one has better times in port, I would choose that one.

 

We did Aruba and Curacao this year and would be happy to return to both. We've been to Martinique once -- it was our "slow" day on a very port-intensive schedule, so we just walked around town. There may be a paperwork/passport requirement for this island, so double-check on that. We like St. Kitts -- not a ton of beaches, but the people are nice and it is a beautiful island.

 

When we go to Tortola, we always take a trip to Jost Van Dyke. The Baths at Virgin Gorda are also a popular excursion. Barbados is good for beaches. We are not fans of St. Lucia, but that is just our preference. We have not been to Guadeloupe. We haven't been to St. John's the island, but we have been to Antigua. If this itinerary includes Antigua, I would choose it simply because that's my favorite island. There are 365 beaches on the island and I can't wait to go back!

[CineGraphic]

5 minutes ago, brookie848 said:

Is St. John's the island or the port in Antigua?

 

The island is singular, St. John. They would never accept a ship this large.

[Rothko1]

It's really six one way, half a dozen the other.

 

Do a bit of research on the islands and see what might appeal to you more.

 

The islands can be subjective.  Some people think Martinique is amazing, while others would favor Barbados.

 

[brookie848]

9 minutes ago, CineGraphic said:

 

The island is singular, St. John. They would never accept a ship this large.

That's what I figured, but every other place mentioned was the island, not the port city. I didn't know if I had missed something.

[CineGraphic]

34 minutes ago, Cammyho said:

Option 2: Sunsets in the Lesser Antilles

San Juan -> Tortola -> Guadeloupe -> Barbados -> St. Lucia -> St John's

 

I feel this is your best option. We've been to Aruba and Curacao several times and don't even bother getting off of the ship most of the time.

 

St. John's Antigua however, is a fave of ours. Our go-to is "Limerz" Great, quiet beach, excellent food, and wonderful service (laid-back, no hovering)

The food is fresh, local, and excellent.

 

https://www.beachlimerz.com/

 

[Cammyho]

Yep it was supposed to be St. John's (Antigua) not the island. I also meant to say that I was leaning towards option 2 not option 1.

 

For the Antigua port the ship is there until 10PM which is pretty cool. But for the Aruba port on the other itinerary it's there until midnight!

[brookie848]

4 minutes ago, CineGraphic said:

 

I feel this is your best option. We've been to Aruba and Curacao several times and don't even bother getting off of the ship most of the time.

 

St. John's Antigua however, is a fave of ours. Our go-to is "Limerz" Great, quiet beach, excellent food, and wonderful service (laid-back, no hovering)

The food is fresh, local, and excellent.

 

https://www.beachlimerz.com/

 

THIS is exactly why Antigua is my favorite island. The first time we were there, we were two of nine people there for the day! I can't wait to go back in February.

[Shep_Proudfoot]

Been to five of these ports. I would favor option 2 slightly, but no bad pick here either way so no need to overthink it…just do a little research on things to do/shore excursions and go with whatever one you start to feel a pull towards.

[CineGraphic]

5 minutes ago, brookie848 said:

THIS is exactly why Antigua is my favorite island. The first time we were there, we were two of nine people there for the day! I can't wait to go back in February.

 

When I was a kid in the 60s and 70s, we'd stay at Caneel Bay on St. John quite a bit, back when it was the only resort on the island. The folks at Limerz remind me of the wonderful, kind staff we knew and loved at Caneel.

 

On a cruise in 2017, we invited a couple of 1st time cruisers we met on board to join us at Limerz, and they couldn't believe just how beautiful and wonderful it was. They still thank us to this day for bringing them along.

 

Edited June 28, 2023 by CineGraphic

[rebeccac]

Personally, I would pick option 2, but mainly because I'm a huge fan of the British show "Death in Paradise" and that is shot on Guadeloupe.  🙂

[_tacocat_]

22 hours ago, Cammyho said:

For the Antigua port the ship is there until 10PM which is pretty cool. But for the Aruba port on the other itinerary it's there until midnight!

i'm not sure how much i'd trust that this far out.  i'm a virgin evangelist through and through, but they have been known to adjust their ports and times.  bimini was always supposed to be a late night, then they cut it back to like 8 or 9, and now it's even earlier.  san juan on valiant had an absurd port time of ~7am-3:30pm in december (moved to a later more reasonable time in january, but we weren't really able to do much in december)

Edited June 29, 2023 by _tacocat_
i apparently have a potty mouth

[scubagal44]

I'm doing Option 1 in Feb, chose that over the Option 2 itinerary mainly because I've been to Barbados, Antigua, and St Lucia already and found them to be fine (not wow), and have never done any of the ABCs. And we plan on doing more of a land based trip to the BVIs in the near future, so not really interested in going there on a cruise.  But, choose which ports sound most interesting to you!  Curacao is a scuba diver's destination and we're looking to dive in at least one port, so it was an easy choice.

[red lobster]

I'm going on the Option 2 in April. I made my choice more for the 5 stops rather then 4, all the Southern Caribbean island are wonderful. You can't go wrong with either in my opinion. This will be my 1st time on Virgin, so I excited to try a different line.

[WanderingBrit]

We're on what VV calls "Southeastern Caribbean Isles" in February of next year, but the itinerary is  different than what you showed?

 

San Juan • Tortola • Pointe-à-Pitre • Bridgetown • Castries • St. John's • San Juan

 

 

 

[CruisingWalter]

On 6/28/2023 at 12:55 PM, Cammyho said:

Option 2: Sunsets in the Lesser Antilles

San Juan -> Tortola -> Guadeloupe -> Barbados -> St. Lucia -> St John's

 

That's the one I would do first only because we're huge fans of "Death in Paradise" and would love to do a tour that stops in filming locations. But honestly those are the best Caribbean itineraries for VV outside the 8 night on Valiant from Miami. You can't go wrong with either and I would seriously consider a back to back on those two sailings. 

[CruisingWalter]

On 6/30/2023 at 1:18 PM, red lobster said:

This will be my 1st time on Virgin, so I excited to try a different line.

You made a great choice! VV is an awesome cruise line and these itineraries are much more interesting than the 5/4 nights on Scarlet from Miami. 

[cantgetin]

Each of the itineraries has places that are among our favorites.  We love Curacao, whether we snorkel, just do the island, or whatever.  Tortola, Baths at Virgin Gorda.  This does involve a bit of a walk, so if you are mobility limited, it may not be a good choice for you.

[Fogcityca13]

4 hours ago, CruisingWalter said:

 

That's the one I would do first only because we're huge fans of "Death in Paradise" and would love to do a tour that stops in filming locations. But honestly those are the best Caribbean itineraries for VV outside the 8 night on Valiant from Miami. You can't go wrong with either and I would seriously consider a back to back on those two sailings. 

We are seriously considering booking a B2B on those two. Just need to figure out the time off problem. Already booked the Lesser Antilles.

[CruisingWalter]

4 hours ago, Fogcityca13 said:

We are seriously considering booking a B2B on those two. Just need to figure out the time off problem. Already booked the Lesser Antilles.

 

We have friends who are booked on the Dec. 30 Holiday sailing from Miami to San Juan and then the MerMaiden in San Juan. BUT they didn't realize there's a day off in between the two. Apparently VV is throwing a big party in San Juan for local officials and media so they actually have to exit the ship in San Juan, stay the night, then return to the ship the next day. 🙂

Edited July 2, 2023 by CruisingWalter

[ktinnc]

We are doing option 2 in January and can’t wait. Our first time on Virgin. I’ve been to 3 of the 6 islands but my sis hasn’t been to any and really hasn’t cruised before. Should be a blast!