MARINER: Eastern or Western?

[cmafour]

My family has booked a summer cruise on the Mariner, and I booked the Western Itinerary. I just checked the RCCL site, and the price on the Eastern Itinerary has dropped. Since our travel dates are flexible, my husband wants me to switch, but I need to be convinced. We have two children, aged 9 & 10, and I thought the Western route would offer calmer beaches (Grand Cayman, Jamaica) and was looking forward to the water play at Labadee. Also, won't the sea be calmer on the Western itinerary, since we return via the Caribbean Sea? I'd really appreciate some advice! Thanks.

[Boo Boo]

Have done the Eastern and Western Caribbean on a number of different ships and must admit to prefering the Western by quite a lot - I just love the beaches so much for: Grand Cayman can't be beat, there are some great beaches on Cozumel and Jamaica too...

 

I know that some people much prefer the Eastern Caribbean, but personally I don;t see it (don't know why)...

 

So it must be a personal preference thing. No matter what, you will have a great time - Mariner is a fantastic ship :)

 

Boo

[minnie00]

We are going on the Mariner Eastern...I am curious to hear what people think...:)

[la_croisiere_s'amuse]

I agree with Boo . . . you can't go wrong on the Mariner !! :)

 

Personally, I prefer the Eastern itinerary, but then again, the beaches aren't the main attraction for me.

 

One word of caution if you choose Western: I would be very hesitant to take my children to the beach in Jamaica. I will leave it up to Jamaica experts to recommend any private beaches that might be safer, but what we saw there was pretty scary. Lots of syringes on the sand, not to mention people following us waving ziplocs full of I-don't-want-to-know-what. :(

 

But Labadee is a great beach for kids. :)

[WeirdEyes]

I prefer the Eastern Caribbean because St. Thomas and St. Maarten are my favorite islands. I've cruise the Western and the waters were much more rocky that on the Eastern. I got so seasick coming back to Florida from Cozumel and that was with taking Bonine. I think everyone has their personal favorite so you'll get different responses. You'll enjoy either itinerary though....you'll be on the best ship! ;)

[elleluv]

I prefer to do the Western from Port Canaveral... I like to do the Eastern from Miami or FLL, you get in an extra port from there...

[nlcentralchmps03]

I prefer to do the Western from Port Canaveral... I like to do the Eastern from Miami or FLL, you get in an extra port from there...

See, now I enjoy the extra sea day on the Eastern.

 

But that is just me :)

[HB Cruiser]

We are sailing with nlcentralchmps03 and wierdeyes in May and going Eastern. If beaches are the issue, I would definitely go eastern. There are no more beautiful beaches than Trunk Bay at St. Johns. You can visit there when you go to St. Thomas. There are beautiful beaches at St. Marteen as well. I also think your kids will like the beaches at CocoCay better than Labadee but both are good.

 

No matter which one you pick you will have a wonderful time and so will you children. If I could save $$$ though I would definitely pick east.

 

Tim

[auggiemom]

I've done both Eastern and Western, and definately prefer Eastern. Everyone is going to have their favorite, but I actually also like the extra sea day. We did this same itinerary in 2004 on the Radiance, and I look forward to doing it again on the Mariner. Frankly, I wouldn't get off at Jamaica again. Didn't care for it at all, but that is just my opinion.

[karena1]

I agree with the Jamaica thing - we are going to take Liberty next April and I was not going to get off in Montego Bay as I don't like it in Jamaica at all. However, I did find a beach that is more catered to the tourists - $5 to get in. Called Doctor's Cave. So we are going to spend the day there.

 

As far as preference, it is by far the Eastern/Southern. Love St. Thomas, St. Maarteen, St. Lucia, Antigua, Barbados. And - having been to both, we like Coco Cay better than Labadee (although I heard there have been some upgrades to Labadee since we were there in 2002).

 

So I am actually looking forward to the Western next year - we like Grand Caymen and I also found a nice beach in Cozumel to go to this time.

 

As you can tell - it is ALL about the beaches for me!

 

You will have fun either way - enjoy

[OHCruisin]

Different opinions all over the place. I prefer Western myself. I've never (knock on wood) had bad weather or rough seas on the Western route. But both times I've gone Eastern, we've experienced both. I do like the extra sea day on the Eastern route.

[OGCFreddie]

Personally I go along with the Eastern preference. Beautiful beaches abound. Cozumel, to me, was a lot like Nassau with the street peddlers selling cheap souveniers. Also, Jamaica is a pretty scary area if you get off the tourist track (or sometimes even if you stay on it). I noticed they just reduced the prices for the 9/16/07 Eastern on the Mariner. You may want to check it out! Again, just my opinion.