Southern Itinerary Help

Hello,

I'm having trouble deciding on an itinerary for a cruise in Jan/Feb. I've checked out the forums on the ports, but I'm terrible at making decisions. I know that everyone has different opinions on what makes up a great destination, but I'm hoping for some help.

I've narrowed it to the NCL Sun out of Miami going to Aruba, Curacao, Barbados, Guadaloupe and St. Thomas or Celebrity Equinox out of Ft. Lauderdale going to St. Thomas, St. Kitts, Barbardos, Dominica and St. Maarten.

Some of the people I know rave about Aruba and others have told me it's a dessert and so windy you can't sit on the beach without getting covered in sand. I've been told that Curacao is the one island you can't miss, but I've also been told it's only OK.

We are not really beach/snorkeling type people and we also don't really like to take sightseeing tours. While we don't shop a lot, we do like areas that have shops and outside restaurants for people watching. We prefer things that we can do on our own, instead of shore excursions. We do enjoy shore excursions that involve things like zip lining, river tubing, repelling, etc.

NCL isn't our first choice as we have traveled them twice before and didn't like the food/service in the free dining options, but we figured since it's a cheaper trip, we could afford to eat in the pay restaurants if we go this route. I guess it really comes down whether Aruba/Curacao is really worth going to.

Thank you so much for any help!

We like both Curacao and Dominica. We haven't visited Guadaloupe yet, but we aren't interested in Aruba. So it's a tough choice.

Some of these islands like Barbados and Aruba (and St Thomas/St John and St Martin) are renowned for their gorgeous beaches while others like Dominica are famous for the mountainous jungles and what you can do there. We have been to all of these on cruises and land vacations (except for Guadaloupe). We are not as big Aruba fans as others because quite simply for us there's nothing to do there other than enjoy a beach or a sail. It's true that a good portion of the island is desert, and that there is a consistent trade wind. But I would be more concerned about the lack of activities than the tradewind, the tradewind helps actually. We've done everything there is to do on a couple cruises to Aruba when we spent 12 hrs in port, and it also feels very "Americanized" there to us so we're not excited to go there. But that's us, others love it for the location (below much of the hurricane "belt") and for the AI resorts.

We like Curacao, nice beaches and it's a nice day relaxing in an outdoor café along the river and people and ship watching. Great name-brand shopping near the port as well as bargain shopping in town. Interesting port for sure.

Barbados and St Maarten are all about beaches or a nice day on a cat sail and I would choose a daysail at one of these ports. Look at the Calabaza on Barbados (calabazasailingcruises dot com) and the Golden Eagle on St Maarten (sailingsxm dot com). We've done full day and half day sails on the GE and loved it. We took a land tour on Barbados and that was interesting, left time for shopping near the port or in Bridgetown. If you are docked in Barbados until midnight definitely taxi to a beach bar up the coast and have dinner (flying fish and Banks beer).

We stay at Sapphire Beach on on St Thomas because it's so close to the BVI and this is another great beach and daysail port. But there is a zipline here that's very popular, you'll need to book early. Allso the Magic Ice exhibit and a historical near the downtown shopping area. There are also good tour operators like Air Force One.

For Dominica just hook up with one of the many drivers at the dock and take a tour of the falls, sulfur pits, and other interesting areas. They're great guides and you'll enjoy the drive. But for a more adcventurous experience look at Antours Dominica. Beautiful, lush island with a very friendly people.

And taxi drivers at St Kitt's offer tours of the ruins and other areas but again, a beach destination. But there is a cat sail that goes to nearby Nevis and has a BBQ on Pinneys beach.

So you'll have to choose between the two options but both are very good and offer shopping and outside restaurants - have fun!

Well, I have a bit of a different take. That's good, right? More ideas are better. Haven't been all those places, but this was my experience.

Guadaloupe - I'd go back in a minute. If you like feeling you are in a truly different culture, this is the place. They speak French, they use the Euro, and their port is nothing like all the North Americanized other ports. Despite fear-mongering posts elsewhere here, our experience was the port area is perfectly safe and civilized. If we ever get to go there again, we'd venture farther.

St Kitts - very interesting island, with a dormant volcano, rain forest, beautiful ancient fort, lovely beaches, and pretty little Basseterre with Victorian Caribbean architecture.

St Maarten - amazing cheapo duty-free shopping, lovely beaches, two cultures (Dutch and French), iguanas sunning themselves by the side of the road.

St Thomas - meh. Diamond stores and knock-off handbags. Magan's Bay is absolutely wonderful. Great beach for swimming and beach-sitting. Plus, it's a wildlife sanctuary, so you will see many birds and possibly a turtle or ray will swim right by you while you're in the water.

Yes different perspectives and experiences are the key to helping folks here. Just want to be clear that Magens Bay on STT is a protected beach and tends to attract most cruisers but is not a snorkeling beach. It has dead calm water so if you have a toddler it may he a good choice. The East End beaches are actually nicer in our opinion and less touristy than Magens and also offer snorkeling for anyone else interested in that. For example Sapphire has a reef plus a seagrass area where rays and sea turtles are often spotted. There is also abundant natural shade as well as food and drink options and a dive center.

Just several nice beach choices on STT that many folks are not aware of. And of course St John is a great option as well!

Based on personal experience-have you considered cruising out of San Juan? We don't particularly care for sea days - we only had one in a seven day cruise.

BTW-St Lucia was DH's favorite island-we did Herod's Island Splendor Cruise, and had a great time. It is a toss up for me between that and St Kitts. We used Thenford Grey there and it was one of the best tours I have been on.

Based on personal experience-have you considered cruising out of San Juan? We don't particularly care for sea days - we only had one in a seven day cruise.

Yes a real southern itinerary can only be had out of SJU or those that originate from St Maarten or Barbados. We've taken a few of these and we also spend a day on SJU prior to the cruise and a few days after to relax. We spend more time after because these are very busy port cruises (at least busy for us because we love experiencing each island). Our last cruise out of SJU had no days at sea!

Well, I have a bit of a different take. That's good, right? More ideas are better. Haven't been all those places, but this was my experience.

 

Guadaloupe - I'd go back in a minute. If you like feeling you are in a truly different culture, this is the place. They speak French, they use the Euro, and their port is nothing like all the North Americanized other ports. Despite fear-mongering posts elsewhere here, our experience was the port area is perfectly safe and civilized. If we ever get to go there again, we'd venture farther.

 

St Kitts - very interesting island, with a dormant volcano, rain forest, beautiful ancient fort, lovely beaches, and pretty little Basseterre with Victorian Caribbean architecture.

 

St Maarten - amazing cheapo duty-free shopping, lovely beaches, two cultures (Dutch and French), iguanas sunning themselves by the side of the road.

 

St Thomas - meh. Diamond stores and knock-off handbags. Magan's Bay is absolutely wonderful. Great beach for swimming and beach-sitting. Plus, it's a wildlife sanctuary, so you will see many birds and possibly a turtle or ray will swim right by you while you're in the water.

Any suggestions on what to do in Guadaloupe? It seems like Hertz is the only car rental place still there and the US site says they are out of cars. I am nervous about renting on the international site because it is in French and I'm not sure what all of the contract items mean.

I would rather not do a ship tour with a couple hundred other people, but that may be what we end up doing.

Curacao is definitely different - very colorful. We flew down there on our own (not on a cruise) and rented a car. One thing we did was go to the Ostrich Farm for a tour, although the guide only did the tour in Dutch, so we didn't understand a word! I also got stuck on the swinging bridge by mistake - that was kind of interesting! Beaches there were so-so, but since we're not big beach people, that didn't matter to us.

Barbados was awesome for scenery, but you'll need a car or tour to the eastern side of the island. There are large boulders in the water, not too terribly many people, etc. Loved it. Not what I expected at all. There are windmills to find, plus signal towers, lighthouses, beaches - lots of little things to do if you're willing to rent a car. (That was a little hairy, though - small roads).

St. Thomas is over-run with tourists, but many on our Celebrity cruise took an excursion to near by St. John (island?) to get away. I took a little tour of the town - OK but nothing special.

St. Maarten - We rented a car and drove around to the French part (scenic in places) and then headed to the beach where planes fly right over you. It was fun, but don't take a good camera if you go. Sand will be flying....St. Maarten was good for one visit, I'd say.

St. Lucia is indeed pretty, but it was a little disappointing, as the gorgeous scene you see of the beach with the grand Piton mountains is really the best part, and the rest (boiling pots of sulfar, etc.) are only so-so. However, those mountains DO make it a pretty place....

I know you didn't mention San Juan, but I absolutely LOVED it, and never thought I would. Old Town is so beautiful. Celebrity's Summit goes out from there, and for some people in the U.S., air fare there isn't bad.

I haven't been to the other places, so can't comment. I also have only cruised Celeb once (Summit, smaller ship) and never NCL, so have no comments on those. I was NOT impressed with Celebrity, but I have been spoiled by another cruise line, so take that comment with a grain of salt.

St. Thomas is over-run with tourists, but many on our Celebrity cruise took an excursion to near by St. John (island?) to get away. I took a little tour of the town - OK but nothing special.

I just wanted to note that you are referring to the busier Charlotte Amalie and port areas, the north and East End areas are very nice, especially the beaches of the East End. many people never experience these beaches or toe town of Red Hook and I just like to clarify that. St John is very nice but there is an alternative. :)

I just wanted to note that you are referring to the busier Charlotte Amalie and port areas, the north and East End areas are very nice, especially the beaches of the East End. many people never experience these beaches or toe town of Red Hook and I just like to clarify that. St John is very nice but there is an alternative. :)

That's a good point - thanks. It was my first (and only) trip to St. Thomas, so I simply stayed close to Charlotte Amalie!

Oh, and blue_water, since you know a lot about the Caribbean, I hope I can ask a question without hijacking the thread. I am reading this thread because we are thinking of taking a trip to the Caribbean in March. Ideally, we'd like to go to one island and be able to take a ferry to another Would you happen to know where it's possible to do that? We'd also like to go to one or two islands we have not been to, which would mean Dominica (high on my list), Martinique, St. Kitts, St. Vincent, Guadaloupe, Anguilla, Turks & Caicos, Bonaire, Aruba, Grenadines, Grenada, St. Croix, Barbuda, Tobago, Jamaica.

I'm definitely not an expert on any location, but I like your idea of seeing multiple islands and we know a few and I'm sure others can provide more that are doable on a cruise.

St Kitts ---> Nevis via the cat sail excursion to Pinneys Beach or ferry.

St Martin ---> Anguilla via ferry.

Antigua ---> Barbuda, have not done this.

Tortola ---> Virgin Gorda or Jost Van Dyke via ferry (recommend VG and the Baths).

Cozumel ---> Playa Del Carmen via ferry, we do the reverse while staying in PDC.

St Thomas ---> St John as you mentioned, very easy self-excursion via Red Hook ferry. You can also visit the BVI using a private charter, and you can also take the short ferry to Water Island as well.

Great idea, specially if one has already visited these islands several times already.