Which one is better? Western or Southern Caribbean

[sunraiser]

We plan to have a trip to Caribbean in December. We can not make up our mind rather go to Western or Southern Carib. Any suggestion?????

[Keys2Heaven]

Our family is travelling to the Southern Caribbean this December and my wife and I took our first cruise last September on a Western Caribbean sailing.

 

I can't speak to the Southern route yet. However, my wife's folks take this route almost exclusively now because they just love the itenerary.

 

As far as the Western route, we liked it but not all the ports. We stopped at Grand Cayman (loved it), Costa Maya (not so much), Belize (wonderful and worth going on a Western cruise) and Cozumel (absolutely hated it).

 

I would think that the Southern caribbean might be a tad warmer in December that the Western route, but I'm sure others who have travelled both can fill us both in on that.

 

Either way, its sure to be a good time. Get the feel for what each itenerary has to offer and make your decision.

[pholter]

My favorite is the Southern Route- Barbados and Dominica were a big part of that, too. The islands are much more "exotic" than just going to Mexico. I've been to Mexico so many times already, but the beaches are still great :)

 

I will do the Southern again soon, I hope, as they are changing the ports on the Destiny as of 2007- adding 2 more and taking 1 off. I'm so excited!

 

Good luck on this decision, but either way, you're on vacation! :)

[alb38]

We plan to have a trip to Caribbean in December. We can not make up our mind rather go to Western or Southern Carib. Any suggestion?????

Sunraiser,

I did both the Western (with my family) and the Southern (with just myself and my mom) last year. While I really enjoyed the Western when I did the Southern route I just absolutely loved this one. The big difference I thought was sea days. With the Southern we only had one day at sea (which is enough for me) and with the Western we had three at sea days. I love getting off and exploring so I felt that the one at sea day was enough to catch up on my rest before heading home to my family.

[Sheffie]

I have done both, and if I had to choose one, I would choose the Southern (to the east) in a heartbeat! We loved the tour of St. Lucia, and we did water excursions in Antigua (Eli's) and Barbados (Silvermoon). Yes, it was port intensive, but we had been to St. Thomas and St. Maarten before, so we just beached it on those islands. Having the at-sea day on the last day helped to decompress us before we had to go home.

[frecklebird]

We will be doing the southern May 21 !!! Our first cruise was the western and we loved it. But I agree with one of the other posters, 3 days at sea is alot of trying to kill time. But it is still great. In Belize you need to book something...otherwise there isn't much to do. Cozumel was not one of my fav's because the sand is very rough (very shelly) but it was a very pretty and relaxing place...lots to do there. Grand Cayman is also very pretty, but more touristy....the stingray/snorkle tours are great. Costa Maya was our favorite because you can get a real feel of the locals there. We went to the fishing villiage Majahal not sure about the spelling. It was absolutely breathtaking and relaxing. I'll let you know about our Southern cruise when we get back!!!!

[wrp96]

SOUTHERN all the way. I've done Western two times (am only doing it again so I can hit Roatan and Costa Maya which I've never done before), and even hit Grand Cayman (a traditional western port) on my Panama Canal cruise. My Southern cruise blew all of my western caribbean stops out of the water.

 

Barbados, Aruba, St. Lucia are some of my favorite port stops. Beautiful beaches, great snorkeling, friendly people. Barbados has the Sea Turtles. St. Lucia has lush mountain sides, the Pitons, and beautiful beaches. Aruba has beautiful beaches, snorkeling, shopping, etc.

[caribbean dreams]

I have done both and southern is the best, i am only doing western this time because my brother picked it.

[NYCRUISR]

We've been on both but have been on the Western plenty of times, and we are going western (again) on Freedom on June 25, 2006. Our favorite is the Southern, having done that on Serenade from San Juan in 2004. Antiqua, (Eli's) is still our # 1 excursion. The Boatyard in Barbados was a great beach.

[sunraiser]

Thank you for all your responses. :)

[sashapoo]

I LOVED Western and have not done the southern yet....I still have three more weeks before we leave on the Destiny..So I will get back to you. I think it all depends too on what you are looking for and your attitude when you cruise as to which ones you prefer. Good luck with your choice!!

[cruiserfromohio]

GO with the Southern -- warmer weather, nicer people, great beaches!

[momtorres]

Have done both - add another vote for Southern.