Eastern or Western Carribean?

[malteselover1]

We are thinking about taking our first cruise next July on the Carnival Liberty out of Miami. The Ports of Call for the Eastern Caribbean are Half Moon Cay which I have read is wonderful, St. Thomas, USVI, San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Grand Turk. The Ports of Call for the Western Caribbean are Cozumel, Grand Cayman, and Ocho Rios. Which one has the best excursions? I have read that St. Thomas isn't very safe and some stay on the cruiseliner while at port.

 

Also, do you think a balcony is worth an extra $500.00? Did you use a travel agent to book your cruise?

 

Any help in making a decision is very much appreciated!

[hubofhockey]

We are thinking about taking our first cruise next July on the Carnival Liberty out of Miami. The Ports of Call for the Eastern Caribbean are Half Moon Cay which I have read is wonderful, St. Thomas, USVI, San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Grand Turk. The Ports of Call for the Western Caribbean are Cozumel, Grand Cayman, and Ocho Rios. Which one has the best excursions? I have read that St. Thomas isn't very safe and some stay on the cruiseliner while at port.

 

Also, do you think a balcony is worth an extra $500.00? Did you use a travel agent to book your cruise?

 

Any help in making a decision is very much appreciated!

 

I would take the Eastern Caribbean itinerary. In St Thomas, get the ferry to St John and go to Trunk Bay, the prettiest place and best beaches in the Caribbean. I have also heard great things about Half Moon Cay. Grand Turk has a pretty good combo excursion with snorkeling and stingray encounter.

 

I would pay the $500 to upgrade to a balcony cabin. My big issue with the Liberty is the overcrowded pool area. It's a zoo and it's nice to have your own balcony to get away to to relax. Overall, I like the Liberty. But it does get crowded in Atrium area and pool area.

[malteselover1]

Hey Lejeberkow-which Carnival ship would you choose over the Liberty?

 

Thanks so much for your help! :)

[Livin4Real]

I have read that St. Thomas isn't very safe and some stay on the cruiseliner while at port.

 

 

Where on Earth did you hear that? St. Thomas is our favorite port and the one we consider the safest. Jamaica I could understand not feeling safe but not St. Thomas and we have been through every back alley it has over our trips there and have friends on the island as well. You would be missing out on a wonderful and beautiful port if you stayed onboard.

[Whimsy]

I wish there was a way to move Grand Cayman to the Eastern Caribbean itiniry. :)

 

Picking and itinery depens on what you enjoy. Grand Cayman had the prettiest water and 7 mile beach was beautiful. We swam with the stingrays and enjoyed that as well.

 

Ochos Rios was a bummer day. We did a bad beach tour. Next time I would do river rafting or something. See more of the island.

 

St Thomas felt pretty safe to us. We have been there twice. Once we hired a private day sail to St John, the 2nd time we did a tour that ended at a beach. Both were wonderful.

 

Grand Turk was spent at Margaritaville. Next time we might actually want to see something! ;)

 

Cozumel we did Paradise Beach. Great day. This time we are planning on doing a boat ride to Passion island.

 

I would go to any of the stops again and I felt safe everywhere.

 

Go for the balcony! Nothing like a little quiet time with coffee and croissants to start the day on your balcony and a night cap before bed.

 

Enjoy!

[bluehenfan]

Where on Earth did you hear that? St. Thomas is our favorite port and the one we consider the safest. Jamaica I could understand not feeling safe but not St. Thomas and we have been through every back alley it has over our trips there and have friends on the island as well. You would be missing out on a wonderful and beautiful port if you stayed onboard.

 

I agree! St Thomas is my favorite port. I always feel very safe here. I realize you can run into trouble anywhere you travel (I was actually pickpocketed and robbed at gun point both in the same weekend in San Diego years ago) . I spent a week on a land vacation in St. Thomas and never felt threatened or scared and I went all over that island. I prefer eastern caribbean because I look forward to a visit here.

[velvetred]

I bet you are confusing St. Tomas in Guatemala (Western route) with St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands (Eastern route). I have been to both. Take a ship's excursion in Guatemala for safety (check out these boards for recommendations on independent tour operators). I don't recommend going on your own in a taxi in Guatemala. However, you are as safe in the U.S. Virgin Islands as you are in the mainland U.S. (safer actually than some areas). Anyway, Guatemala is not on either of your listed itineraries so relax and enjoy!

[grandmato4]

Hard questions as either one is good. If I had to choose I'd pick the eastern one for your first cruise. Half Moon Cay is absolutely beautiful! Once we started booking balcony rooms DH only wants a balcony now so for us it is worth it but only you will be able to answer that question after you've tried one. We spend quite a bit of time on our balcony enjoying the peace and quiet at different times of day and night but we have had cruises that we know we have neighbors but have never seen or heard them once out on their balcony so for them I doubt it was worth booking.

 

For someone booking their first cruise if you can find a good TA I do think its worth doing that to help you navigate through the process. TA's can also give you cheaper pricing but for us we've now booked the last few cruises directly through the cruiselines as I like having total control over our bookings and not having to deal with a middleman so I don't think there is right or wrong answer to that questions but a personal preference.

 

Dont' stress over your choices right now. Its your first cruise and you will have many more in the future to do things a bit different or take that other itinerary :)

[Krazy Kruizers]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

Ocho Rios (Jamaica) is worse for crime than St Thomas.

We have been to St Thomas dozens and dozens of times and have never stayed on the ship.

I would choose the eastern Caribbean.

HMC -- have been there quite a few times -- love that place.

We use a personal TA -- for over 23 years.

[karen&roy]

EASTERN for sure and I agree St Thomas is one of my favorite islands!! Go to Trunk bay...one of the most beautiful beaches in the world !!!

 

http://www.seestjohn.com/beaches_trunk.html ;)

[navybankerteacher]

Go East -- Cozumel is generally crowded, any port in Jamaica is far more dangerous than St. Thomas, Half Moon Cay has great beach - Grand Cayman is only Western stop worth seeing.

[hubofhockey]

Hey Lejeberkow-which Carnival ship would you choose over the Liberty?

 

Thanks so much for your help! :)

 

I would choose the new Dream over the Liberty. I do like the Liberty. I just am not a fan of the crowds and the huge sprawling pool area. Chair hogging is a huge problem on that ship. On sea days, just grab a couple of chairs early or you will be out of luck.

 

Great things about the Liberty- Harry's Steakhouse is incredible and well worth the $30 upcharge. Fish & Chips restaurant is a stairflight up from the Lido Buffet area and is less crowded and offers very good seafood for lunch. I like the choice of dinners and quality in the main dining rooms. I rank it higher than Princess. I love the size of the balcony cabins on this ship. My kids love the kids club. Don't get me wrong on the Liberty. I highly recommend it.

 

edit - agree with others that St Thomas is safe. But with St John a short ferry ride away, it is one of those "must do" destinations in the Caribbean.

[collegecruiser346]

I did an Eastern Caribbean cruise twice last year. Both of them went to St. Thomas and St. Martin, then the Princess one went to Princess Cay, while the Royal Caribbean one went to Cocoa Cay. I enjoyed them both very much. Eastern Caribbean cruises are well known for their shopping ports. I didn't do high end shopping on my cruises, but I know many did, and they got good deals on diamonds. I'm thinking about doing a Western Caribbean cruise in March.