Please!! Help!! Best Southern Itinerary?

[Ziggys]

What is the best itinerary? NCL Jewel (Samana,

Tortola, Antigua, Barbados, st-Lucia) or RCCL Vision

of the seas ( Martinique, Guadeloupe, St-Lucia, Barbados)

We have done some searches on the boards and on the net

in general. I'm having some trouble finding things to do

specifically in Martinique and Guadeloupe...

 

We are interested in outdoor activities, mostly

snorkeling.

 

Any advice/help will be greatly appreciated.

[JordanFam]

For what you are interested in, I would have to say the NCL cruise would probably be better. I haven't been to all of those islands, but was not particularly impressed with Martinique. It is really big and has beautiful rainforests, but I am not sure about snorkeling. Antigua, Tortola and Barbados both have beautiful beaches and great snorkeling. Plus you get one more port with NCL...unless of course you prefer more sea days.

[39august]

You are comparing a new, larger NCL ship with an older, smaller RCI ship. And the 2 cruise lines are pretty dissimilar, in my opinion. For instance on all NCL ships you have "anytime" dining. How well that works seems to be best on the newer ships. Vision of the Seas, at this time, has only traditional dining seatings. The Vision will be more traditionally decorated than the glitzy, new Jewel. That being said, even this RCI lover thinks the NCL itinerary sounds great! I would seriously consider that cruise myself. In addition, I have read many negative comments about Martinique.

[Ziggys]

Thank you so much

 

Anyone else have experience with Martinique and Guadeloupe?

 

Thanks

[enchilada72]

I would totally recommend the Adventure of the Seas out of San Juan. My hubs and I did it in '04 and love love loved it. we loved it so much, we are doing it again in'09. The same exact itinerary. I know it wasn't one of your choices mentioned, but again...I would totally recommend it. The snorkeling was awesome. We did a bunch of catamarans, a turtle swim and beach breaks and they all had wonderful snorkeling. I bring my own equipment and I snorkel everywhere I go. The only snorkeling that was better for me was in Hawaii (Kauai). So if it is possible, check out the Adventure. It is my favorite! :D

[sunshine66]

I agree to consider the Adventure of the Seas we did the barbados route last year and this year, same week we are doing Aruba. We loved it and San Juan is fantastic.

We went snorkling in St Lucia and it was unbelievable. I hope I did not make your decision harder but it is worth looking at.