Advice about Southern Carribbean

[jamie0483]

I really want to do the Southern Carribean route on Carnival but it includes a different port every day (St. Thomas, Dominica, Barbadas, Antigua, St. Lucia, and St. Kitts) For those of you who did this did you find it overwhelming? Are there any islands where it might be best to stay on the ship and relax? Any excursions that are an absolute must do? Also how does 10pm embarktion work? If you fly in the morning of do you have to wait around with your luggage all day or do they let you on earlier? Any advice is appreciated thanks!

[ducku2]

not overwhelming at all! we did this last feb and we booked it again for this coming feb. different ship this time & 2 different ports to see. you really don't have to get off the ship at each port, but we love it. as far as leaving sanjuan at 10pm, you can start boarding around noon, leave your luggage & go back & explore old san juan for the day.

[bluecruisin]

Carnival also offers a Southern Caribbean cruise some months out of FLL on the Miracle. In case you're interested, it goes to St.Maarten, St.Kitts and St. Lucia.

[Queen B1]

Here is a link to my review (with photos). You might find it helpful!

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=816899

 

If you follow this link, it will lead you to tons of reviews which should also give you lots of insight into the Southern Caribbean route.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/getreviews.cfm?action=ship&ShipID=2

[LPYRCRUISER]

We went in February and loved it, although we had a slightly different itinerary. We are not big excursion people but we still had to make a conscious effort to not over do. If your idea is do to as much as you can, this is the trip for you. We did the river tubing in Dominica, this is a place if you have no excursion planned, stay on the ship. There is nothing in the port. Cruising is so different for people, I hate to give much advice. Do your research on excursions and decide if you need a 'ship day' which one it should be. You should be able to board the ship at noon or perhaps a little earlier. We were to fly in the day before but our flight got cancelled and we had to scramble to get there. Had to drive four hours to another airport, spend the night, then switch airlines once our flight was delayed. Consider flying a day ahead, You never know.

[jpg1747]

I was considering this cruise, but I was concerned about port overload so I went with Princess on the CB with one less port and a sea day (Antigua, Barbados, St. Lucia, Tortola, St. Thomas). It's a tad more pricey, but I like the ports better.

[suzski]

We did this cruise in July and loved it...precisely for the "different port every day" theme. We did strategically throw two beach days in (Barbados and St Kitts). I would recommend that you definitely plan an excursion for Dominica as it is an incredible island...we used Levi Baron's Bumpiing Tours (FANTASTIC!). Also recommend that you read all the user reviews of the Carnival Destiny, the current ship offering that itinerary as the intense port schedule is discussed in many of the reviews (as QueenB1 pointed out).

 

As far as flying in, we flew in the day of the cruise (a big no, no to many, but it worked out for us) and headed directly to the ship. We were onboard by early afternoon. We had lunch and then headed out to see OSJ before heading back to the ship. On the return day, we rented a car and went to El Yunque Rainforest before flying out at 8:30 pm.

 

For what it's worth, I would definitely do this itinerary again....even though we did a lot, there's still so much more to see on each of the islands. Good luck with whatever cruise you decide on:)

[Carolinamamasita]

Here is a link to my review (with photos). You might find it helpful!

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=816899

 

If you follow this link, it will lead you to tons of reviews which should also give you lots of insight into the Southern Caribbean route.

 

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/getreviews.cfm?action=ship&ShipID=2

 

 

I loved her review

I just hope to be able to keep up with the itinerary myself

mine is going to be my birthday cruise

so i am hoping it all works for the best

;)

suzski

We did this cruise in July and loved it...precisely for the "different port every day" theme. We did strategically throw two beach days in (Barbados and St Kitts). I would recommend that you definitely plan an excursion for Dominica as it is an incredible island...we used Levi Baron's Bumpiing Tours (FANTASTIC!). Also recommend that you read all the user reviews of the Carnival Destiny, the current ship offering that itinerary as the intense port schedule is discussed in many of the reviews (as QueenB1 pointed out).

 

As far as flying in, we flew in the day of the cruise (a big no, no to many, but it worked out for us) and headed directly to the ship. We were onboard by early afternoon. We had lunch and then headed out to see OSJ before heading back to the ship. On the return day, we rented a car and went to El Yunque Rainforest before flying out at 8:30 pm.

 

For what it's worth, I would definitely do this itinerary again....even though we did a lot, there's still so much more to see on each of the islands. Good luck with whatever cruise you decide on:)

 

I think that the beach break for a few of them was a very good

idea too

I might try that as a nice option:D