Hi Ladies and boys. I am trying to plan a cruise this summer and we have to go when we go on our normal family trip because the in-laws said they would look after the kiddo for us. I have done some research on-line but not really getting anywhere. I think I'm technollagy impaired. If we leave out of florida, it seems that the Eastern and Western Carribean are our best bets.
Has anyone been to the Carribean and what is your favorite Islands? Is the Southern Carribean a possibility or do we have to fly out of Florida to Puerto Rico? How many days is a good amount of time?
I have been to the Caribbean several times. The Virgin Islands are my favorite. I have been there to visit a friend and also on a cruise. One the cruise you get one day there. I chose to snorkel on St Johns. The ship also stopped at the Bahamas and San Juan.
If you don't like snorkeling, there is a great kayak trip on St Thomas led by a marine biologist.
Eastern or Southern Caribbean (sp). Do not enjoy Western at all. Have
a blast.
go for a week. I think we have done eastern, western and southern.. there are more southern islands so you can be on an island every day.. some folks love the islands.. some folks love to hang out on the ship while most people are on the island. My hub was worried that he would get bored if we had a sea day. (you wont get bored)
If you can afford it get a room with a balcony.. so nice to sit there and have the ocean breezes in your room. the interior cabins are clausterphobic to me.
They all have their own perks.
Been to the Bahamas a few times and its very touristy and we got bored with it after the second time. Grand Cayman was really pretty and it was a cloudy day. Our ship was detoured away from the Western Caribbean which we were looking forward too but we ended up in Ocho Rios and the Bahamas again. We were part of a 'tour' but we still didnt feel safe in Jamaica. I mean there was a huge gate between the pier and everywhere else, they asked for ID to go thru the gates too! Even the parks we hit had huge gates. We walked Dunn rivers falls which was amazing and our legs hurt for days after that but upon return to the ship we were 'convinced' to purchase these nicknacks for $20 and we gave it to him so he would go away. Then the rest of them flocked towards us for money. It wasnt till after that the tour guide told us to stay away from these people. $20 is well over $1500 of their currency. Be careful on ANY island and stay with your groups.
On the travel agent side - if you book out of any florida ports the cruise will cost a lot less then say NY. There is Port canaveral in central florida and there is port in Miami and Ft Lauderdale. Check all the cruise lines to see where they go, the longer the cruise the more ports it may have. I try to take cruises that have many ports since I dont want to be 'out to sea' for too long. I dont gamble and I dont drink so Im afraid I would get board really fast. lol. They do have activities, parties, games you name it. I once took our kids on a cruise to no where! Those are good starter cruises. Even a 4 day cruise is a good starter cruise. I tell everyone to try a shorter cruise before taking a longer one just in case.
They have cruises that go from florida to california thru the Panama canal - I would love to try that!
There are so many cruise lines to choose from, good luck!
If you're going on a cruise, you don't have to worry too much about which islands you'll be visiting, since you're mostly going to see the cruise ship port and maybe take a tour during the day. And every island has one good tour!
I haven't been there in years but my absolute favorite island is St. Thomas. Megan's Bay is one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. The capitol, Charlotte Amalie, was extremely clean and very quaint when we were there. I started going on cruises when I was 9 and have been on many- including many Carribean islands, Hawaii, and Alaska- on of my favorite ports is Charlotte Amalie. Coming in to port is gorgeous- the rolling green hills with little white houses dotting the hillside, the jewel blue water, and all the little sailboats all over- beautiful!
Have a wonderful trip!
We honeymooned on St. Martin for a week. Loved it. We had a direct flight from Miami. My sis honeymooned in the Dominican Republic at an all-inclusive resort. She loved it. We are not cruise people. Our next trip to the Caribbean will be to an island for a week at a resort.
I lub de Carribean mon!
Hi J.,
Well, as a SCUBA Instructor, I used to live on St. John in the US Virgin Islands. It is clumped between St. Thomas, USVI and the British Virgin Islands; Jost Van Dyke, Tortola and Virgin Gorda (one of my favorite places in the world because it is so peaceful and only has 1 or 2 hotels on the whole island). I absolutely loved St. John since 80% of it is National Park, there are pristine beaches, old sugar-mill ruins to explore and trails to hike. The seas are generally calm around there so the snorkeling is good and the scuba diving is great! St. Thomas, St. Maarten, and Trinidad are really busy islands but just about any other island along the Eastern Caribbean will be full of it's own adventure and relaxed at the same time. I tend to stay away from Jamaica and the Mexican resorts, just because it is so touristy. Belize and Caracao are nice too though. I also lived in the Bahamas and didn't care much for them either. In my opinion, the people are nicer in other parts of the Caribbean.
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the Carribean! We have been there 5 times on 5 different cruises. We have taken our boys with us twice. The southern Carribean is my favorite so far but any of the islands are lovely. We have been to Puerto Rico, Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Jamaica, St. Thomas, St. Croix, St. Martin, Arbua, Curacao, Antigua and Grenada. All of our cruises have been 7 days. I wouldn't want to make it any shorter. In fact, the next one we are considering is 9 days. It will take us to Bermuda for the first time. You can cruise to the southern Caribbean from Florida but those take 9 or 10 days usually to do the round trip. If you fly to San Juan and leave from that port, you can take a 7 day southern Caribbean from there. Flights to San Juan aren't horribly priced if you do your reseach.
Not sure if any cruise ships stop in Cancun, but it is BEAUTIFUL there! We went for a week all-inclusive. We stayed at The Oasis. Absolutely loved it!
