Favorite/Least Favorite Caribbean Island?

[Compass Rose]

Originally Posted by twomikea

Caribbean ports we have visited with our ratings. We love to dive and experience the beauty of nature. We love to meet people from different cultures.

Saba – 10 Pristine island – world class diving
Dominica – 10 Gorgeous island – great rainforest/waterfalls – great diving
St John – 9 Beautiful unspoiled island – 2/3 National park
St Croix – 8 Lots of good everything – way underrated
Grenada – 8 – Very pretty island/beaches – good diving
Grand Cayman – 8 Pretty beaches – great diving (have to go with right people)
Sint Eustatius (Statia) – 8 Untouched island – cool volcano – great diving
St. Kitt's – 7 Very pretty island – great diving in the north (hard to get to)
St Lucia – 7 Beautiful island – good diving – some crime
Cozumel – 7 Nice beaches – still very good diving but too many people
Aruba – 7 Great beaches – just OK diving
St. Martin/Sint Maarten – 7 Neat culture – poor diving
Puerto Rico – 6 Lots to do – nice beaches – very poor diving
Antigua – 6 Pretty island with plenty to see – so-so diving
Barbados – 6 Good all-around island – decent diving – safety in question
Key West – 6 Cool history/main area vibe – no longer any good diving
Eluthera, Bahamas (Princess Cays) – 6 Pretty - secluded
New Providence Island, Bahamas (Nassau) – 5 All around stuff good – exciting shark dives
Grand Bahama Island, Bahamas (Freeport) – 5 Pretty island with good diving
St Thomas – 4 Nice island that’s too crowded – so-so diving
Costa Maya – 4 Interesting outside the fences – unspoiled diving if you can find it
Caracas (La Guaira), Venezuela – 3 Very third world – safety a concern
Jamaica – 3 Beautiful island with heavy pressure from people – crime big here – fish all gone

Mike of:
Mike & Leesa From Texas

6/11 Carnival Destiny Southern Caribbean Cruise

Big Red Boat 1994 - Infiniti 2001 - Rhaspody 2002 - Sea Princess 2002 - Grand Princess 2003 - Carnival Spirit 2003

I enjoyed your review the most! Thank you.

[greenscooter]

We have done 3 southern caribbean cruises out of San Juan: We like the ports more than the ship and prefer snorkeling/diving/water activities, and the beaches. We also like planning our own excursions so, ports that we have difficulty doing that ranks low on our list of favorite ports.
(1) Caribbean Princess - The ship, service, atmosphere, and decor on the ship was great. Food was the only negative for us.
PORTS: St. Lucia - Barbados - Antigua - Tortola/Virgin Gorda - St. Thomas : Least Favorite : ANTIGUA ( beautiful once you leave the port and see the island and the beaches are beautiful just not our favorite).
Favorite tours: ST. LUCIA - did a Land & See tour with Serenity Tours and it was fantastic. There were only 3 of us on the tour. Eating lunch at the Beacon Restaurant overlooking the Pitons was a highlight of the tour.
BARBADOS - toured with a local named Quami - (saw all but 1 parish on the island): highlight was swimming with the big turtles and Long Bay: One of the most beautiful, secluded beaches I have ever been to. TORTOLA - took Speedy's ferry to the Baths on Virgin Gorda - not to be missed: Fantastic and just beautiful!
(2) Adventure of the Seas - Crowded feel on the ship, otherwise, we really loved this ship. PORTS: Aruba - Curacao - Dominica - St. Thomas
Curacao is unique to visit; but, the great beaches and diving/snorkeling is 45 minutes from port. We went shopping but had difficulty trying to purchase some things (certain stores did not have any american change - We had to go to the casino to get smaller bills) and once you see the town there is little else to do in the immediate area.
We love the beaches in Aruba and ease of travel - there bus system is cheap and easy to get around the island. Ate at Iguana Joe's (shrimp royale was very good!)
Dominica - Would visit this island on any cruise: so much natural beauty and so many choices of things to do. The tour guides are fantastic!
St. Thomas - went to St. John (BEAUTIFUL)!
(3) Serenade of the Seas - BEAUTIFUL SHIP, enjoyed eating at Chops Grille and the solarium on board. The service, food, and atmosphere was great! Ports: St. Croix - St. Thomas - Dominica - Grenada - Antigua
DOMINICA was our favorite island - diving/snorkeling am and Screw's Spa (Hot Springs): I would visit Screw's Spa every week if I lived there - so beautiful and relaxing to be surrounded by natural beauty while soaking in the warm waters.
Grenada - Torrential rains the entire day. We toured the island anyway and there just was not anything unique about the island.
St. Croix is very different from St. Thomas - Very quiet and laidback. We did the Geckos ATV tour/Rainbow Beach and diving in the afternoon - We really had a fun day.
Had a great time on all 3 cruises; but, the Serenade was our favorite and was the only cruise (including 7 others) that we received EXCELLENT customer service from both guest services and the staff. Our cabin attendant was fantastic, and one of the Chef's from Barbados came to our table every night and spoke to us. Most of the bartenders on our cruise were from Jamaica and they were a lot of fun and always remembered us by name. Sharing conversations with the staff about their homeland and lives aboard the ship really made the cruise seem more personal and memorable for us. We also loved the Asian Wok in the Windjammer (stir-fry: pick your own meat/veggies).
Hope this information helps.

[travelingtrish]

Favorite islands St John St Martin Dominica St Kitts

Least Favorite Bahamas Barbados Grand Cayman Grand Turk

[blue_water]

I haven't really been to an island I didn't like except maybe Nassau, but no island is that bad that you can't find something to enjoy. I know some folks stay on the ship when in some ports and that sounds so foolish to us!

Some of the islands we have been to and like include -

Antigua - spectacular blue water, gorgeous beaches and coastline, loved the Excellence day sail! Antigua is a must do.

Barbados - unbelievable beaches, great beach restaurants up the coast if you're there in the evening. Another must do.

Tortola - beautiful island, amazing views from the hills and Smuggler's Cove is gorgeous. JVD (White Bay beach bars) and VG (the Baths and the MineShaft rest.) are available excursions too! Love staying here. Another must do.

Jamaica - friendly people, we spent a week in a small hotel so we could see the island, loved it! Montego Bay is a better cruise stop that Ocho Rios IMHO because you have Margaritaville and beautiful, beautiful Doctors Cave Beach.

Provo in the Turks & Caicos - gorgeous beach, luckily no cruise dock there!

St Martin - beautiful beaches, we loved the Golden Eagle day sail there!) Another must do.

Roatan - West End is a neat spot, and West Bay is very nice.

St Kitt's - Friendly people and lots of monkeys!

Grand Cayman - SMB is very nice, beautiful island but pricey.

St Thomas - too busy when multiple ships are in but you can have a great day by going to Sapphire beach and then to Paradise Point. Stayed on the East End near Red Hook and that's nice. The USVI have an "Americanized" vibe to us so we like to go elsewhere more.

Many others that are also beautiful...

[Ravenscroft]

Favourite islands - Bequia and St Barts. Both very different islands, but both compact, very beautiful and charming.

Least favourite - Nassau and Barbados.