Advice please Caribbean ports and deals :-)

Advice please on Caribbean :-)

Can anyone tell me which are the "not to be missed ports" in the Caribbean :confused::confused: Best itineraries etc............

Looking at going Feb 2014, never been before, would like some ports where the ship docks near a nice beach :cool: and also some of the best tours etc ......................

Looking at P&O and Thomson and not going to book till last min ( which is not like us!) , in the past P&O seem to have the better late deals, just before i retired ( as a TA) i booked some friends 3 weeks on Azura , Caribbean , outside cabin for £999 !!!!!!!! What a deal !! :D

We can only do 2 weeks and cant do a transatlantic as we need to go in Feb so all ideas and comments welcome!

Also anyone ever had an amazing late Caribbean deal on Thomson eg, 2 weeks inc flights less than £1300 each ???? :confused:

Had some big news which means we cant book anything for next summer now as we had planned ( after much debate over the last few months !) so we will have to put off thoughts of Mykonos , Rhodes , Istanbul ...................till 2015 ... :(

Advice please on Caribbean :-)

 

Can anyone tell me which are the "not to be missed ports" in the Caribbean :confused: Best itineraries etc............

 

Looking at going Feb 2014, never been before, would like some ports where the ship docks near a nice beach :cool: and also some of the best tours etc ......................

 

Looking at P&O and Thomson and not going to book till last min ( which is not like us!) , in the past P&O seem to have the better late deals, just before i retired ( as a TA) i booked some friends 3 weeks on Azura , Caribbean , outside cabin for £999 !!!!!!!! What a deal !! :D

 

We can only do 2 weeks and cant do a transatlantic as we need to go in Feb so all ideas and comments welcome!

 

Also anyone ever had an amazing late Caribbean deal on Thomson eg, 2 weeks inc flights less than £1300 each ???? :confused:

 

Had some big news which means we cant book anything for next summer now as we had planned ( after much debate over the last few months !) so we will have to put off thoughts of Mykonos , Rhodes , Istanbul ...................till 2015 ... :(

 

 

Hi Dreamgirl,

Well I think February is a great time to go to the Caribbean. I'm sure you'll love it.

More recently we've paid around £1300 and usually a bit more (for basic inside cabins). It's a popular time so I find prices generally hold up. There are some bargains now though for March 2013 - but it's last minute and there's no guarantee they'll be there next year! The first time we went was a bargain but that was on Destiny and only from our local airport (plane nothing like full). Yes there were some excellent deals on P&O - I saw those @ around £999. Tempting - of course with two large-ish ships in the Caribbean there's quite a bit more capacity and now they are offering b-2-b like Thomson they are providing more serious competition methinks.

Here are a couple of links to the ports on the itineraries we did this year - we thoroughly enjoyed them.

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/search.php?searchid=38256898&pp=25&page=3

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1788771&highlight=caribbean

My favourite ports are Grenada (lovely beach close to the port), St Lucia (Cosol tours the recommendation here), Antigua (good beaches accessible by local buses), Barbados (likewise - but as the base port this will be your middle day anyway). Tortola, Phillipsburg, Aruba all have good beaches - Tortola and Aruba by local bus/minbus companies and one at Philipsburg which is walkable). Curacao I would include for something a bit different - the town is very Dutch-influenced. We've liked all the islands we've been to but those are the ones which come to mind as the ones I like best.

Happy planning - and hope the 'big news' is something good! ;)

Hi Dreamgirl,

 

Well I think February is a great time to go to the Caribbean. I'm sure you'll love it.

 

More recently we've paid around £1300 and usually a bit more (for basic inside cabins). It's a popular time so I find prices generally hold up. There are some bargains now though for March 2013 - but it's last minute and there's no guarantee they'll be there next year! The first time we went was a bargain but that was on Destiny and only from our local airport (plane nothing like full). Yes there were some excellent deals on P&O - I saw those @ around £999. Tempting - of course with two large-ish ships in the Caribbean there's quite a bit more capacity and now they are offering b-2-b like Thomson they are providing more serious competition methinks.

 

 

Here are a couple of links to the ports on the itineraries we did this year - we thoroughly enjoyed them.

 

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/search.php?searchid=38256898&pp=25&page=3

 

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1788771&highlight=caribbean

 

My favourite ports are Grenada (lovely beach close to the port), St Lucia (Cosol tours the recommendation here), Antigua (good beaches accessible by local buses), Barbados (likewise - but as the base port this will be your middle day anyway). Tortola, Phillipsburg, Aruba all have good beaches - Tortola and Aruba by local bus/minbus companies and one at Philipsburg which is walkable). Curacao I would include for something a bit different - the town is very Dutch-influenced. We've liked all the islands we've been to but those are the ones which come to mind as the ones I like best.

 

Happy planning - and hope the 'big news' is something good! ;)

Ah thanks Kruz !

We can only go Jan or Feb , going to keep looking at prices, we would prefer Thomson to P&O , at the min its about £1450pp with all inc at £800 for us both for 2 weeks.

If it came down to £1200pp would book it quick but if you say they dont usually drop i dont want to miss out!

Will have to be cheapest cabin too but thats ok.

At the min cheapest P&O is £1729pp on Azura , £1679 on Ventura but we have £200 credit with them, all in all not sure what to do...wait ..book...wait...book ????:confused::confused::confused:

Advice please on Caribbean :-)

 

Can anyone tell me which are the "not to be missed ports" in the Caribbean :confused::confused: Best itineraries etc............

 

Looking at going Feb 2014, never been before, would like some ports where the ship docks near a nice beach :cool: and also some of the best tours etc ......................

 

Looking at P&O and Thomson and not going to book till last min ( which is not like us!) , in the past P&O seem to have the better late deals, just before i retired ( as a TA) i booked some friends 3 weeks on Azura , Caribbean , outside cabin for £999 !!!!!!!! What a deal !! :D

 

We can only do 2 weeks and cant do a transatlantic as we need to go in Feb so all ideas and comments welcome!

 

Also anyone ever had an amazing late Caribbean deal on Thomson eg, 2 weeks inc flights less than £1300 each ???? :confused:

 

Had some big news which means we cant book anything for next summer now as we had planned ( after much debate over the last few months !) so we will have to put off thoughts of Mykonos , Rhodes , Istanbul ...................till 2015 ... :(

 

 

 

 

Hi Dreamgirl I've not seen a late deal in February but you never know, one of the best Carribean Islands we have done is Grand Turk the ship docked virtually on a beautiful beach with a pool and bar as well. Also Bonaire we went to a beach 20 mins from port absolutely stunning with the clearest water I have ever seen and a real rustic bar, sand floor gorgeous food. Aruba is great for shopping and gambling although not tried that myself. St Lucia for us was a disappointing beaches not as good as we had expected. Honduras was stunning and very cheap. Hope this helps

Hi dreamgirl

I'm also looking to book the Carribean next Feb but the cheapest quote we have had is £1529pp from our local TA so £1450 seems a good deal to me. Was your quote from a TA or on line?

As there aren't many dates offering a Newcastle flight I dont want to delay too long and also it's to celebrate my special birthday.

Hi dreamgirl

 

I'm also looking to book the Carribean next Feb but the cheapest quote we have had is £1529pp from our local TA so £1450 seems a good deal to me. Was your quote from a TA or on line?

As there aren't many dates offering a Newcastle flight I dont want to delay too long and also it's to celebrate my special birthday.

Hi granny mags, in an ex travel agent so I hunt round for best deals lol

That was the internet price, I've now asked three travel agent friends to try and beat it so wilt see who comes up trumps! Thomson cut agents commission a bit last year so they can't give as much disc as phew used to but it all helps!

If you want a little tip dont ever just accept what a travel agent offers, they can discount and often it's not the Thomson shop that offers the best price, the one I've priced was two weeks from Birmingham, can't pen which two itineraries it was without looking again, looked at Jan, Feb and early march as can't go after mid march, Jan and march were the best prices . I'll let you know how I get on if you like with the price and discount :)

Sent from my Galaxy S3 with Tapatalk

Hi Dreamgirl I've not seen a late deal in February but you never know, one of the best Carribean Islands we have done is Grand Turk the ship docked virtually on a beautiful beach with a pool and bar as well. Also Bonaire we went to a beach 20 mins from port absolutely stunning with the clearest water I have ever seen and a real rustic bar, sand floor gorgeous food. Aruba is great for shopping and gambling although not tried that myself. St Lucia for us was a disappointing beaches not as good as we had expected. Honduras was stunning and very cheap. Hope this helps

Thanks for that , grand Turk looks fab can't rem if the one I narrowed it down to went there, will just go and look! !!

Priced the same one in Jan Feb and early March Feb def dearest .

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My favourites are St Martin and St Lucia.

I've found the best prices are usually for January. Twice I've paid about £1100-£1150 and one of those had an upgrade to 5/6 outside plus but that was the year Destiny AND Dream were in the Caribbean. Both times I booked late November-December.

Happy planning, I feel sure with your contacts you'll find something. ;):)

My favourites are St Martin and St Lucia.

I've found the best prices are usually for January. Twice I've paid about £1100-£1150 and one of those had an upgrade to 5/6 outside plus but that was the year Destiny AND Dream were in the Caribbean. Both times I booked late November-December.

 

Happy planning, I feel sure with your contacts you'll find something. ;):)

Thanks happy v, don't know if to just keep watching the prices for a while or just get it booked . Would like a bit better price really if we can or same price better cabin, decisions decisions! !!!:confused::confused::confused::confused:

Sent from my Galaxy S3 with Tapatalk

Thanks Dreamgirl

I would really appreciate any further help. We're looking to go on feb 23rd and not flexible on that date.The latest price we've been offered is now £35pp less than the Internet and that's with an independent TA.

Thanks Dreamgirl

 

I would really appreciate any further help. We're looking to go on feb 23rd and not flexible on that date.The latest price we've been offered is now £35pp less than the Internet and that's with an independent TA.

Will def let you know as soon as i get all my prices back, some may be over the weekend as most of my friends only work part time.

£35pp less than the net is good actually since the commission rates have been cut , if i got that would poss book as i know the poor TA's have little to play with now. Would allow us to upgrade to a deck6/7 inside and only pay for one if that makes sense ( is £70pp)

We got about £50pp off the net price last year and believe me i had to shop about to get that.

Just wish we had a crystal ball to see how low the prices will go !!

Be good wouldn't it ;)

Hi everyone, its booked !!!!!!!!!!!!

Cant wait, we've booked 26th Jan (2014) for 2 weeks on the Dream (of course!) :D

Doing Latin Gems which i really wanted and then Caribbean Charms which looks nice .

Wanted Tropical Treasures but wasnt available on our date so no Antigua :( but never mind will have to go a second time another year ..if we can ever afford another !!!

Booked that date as we can go from our VERY LOCAL airport Doncaster/ Sheffield which is a huge bonus :D ! Only dates they are flying in and out of there so that was it .

I actually booked direct with Thomsons grannymags, after ringing round 6 places and my three friends trying the poor TA'as are now all down to 5% commission on Thomsons Cruises, absolutly silly!! A friend whos working in an indipendant could have got me £40 off and my other friend who works for co-op travel could do similar by loading up the "divvy" points then cashing them in.. all a faff and im a control freak so like to be in charge , in the end did it on-line at least i can do any upgrades/alterations myself if i want to without going through a 3rd party ( we old TA's never retire!).

Got the measly £50pp OBC wow :rolleyes: !!!

Have chosen my cabin its 7086, inside and mid-ship, looks ok so hope ive picked a good one !!

Never had inside before but dont mind at all.

Only slight problem is my hubbys holidays from work....as its a suprise ive just leaped in and booked it but just thought, we have 2 weeks this summer booked (Majesty cruise&stay) cant remember if his hols at work run April-April or Jan-Dec, hope its the latter or im in a fix :eek: !!!

They only get 4 weeks and have to save a week for Xmas, well sure ill sort it somehow, will have to be a week un-paid if thats all we can do....

Now ive just got to work extra hard to earn the monety to pay for it :eek:

Hi Dreamgirl I've not seen a late deal in February but you never know, one of the best Carribean Islands we have done is Grand Turk the ship docked virtually on a beautiful beach with a pool and bar as well. Also Bonaire we went to a beach 20 mins from port absolutely stunning with the clearest water I have ever seen and a real rustic bar, sand floor gorgeous food. Aruba is great for shopping and gambling although not tried that myself. St Lucia for us was a disappointing beaches not as good as we had expected. Honduras was stunning and very cheap. Hope this helps

Hi again dan, we are all booked, we wanted Latim gems/Trop treasures so could go to antigua but there was a flight just on one date only ( 26th Jan) from our local airport (Doncaster) so booked that as will be so easy!

We got latin gems ( Barbados, Bonaire, Aruba, Curacao, Grenada..) then Caribbean charms ( Barbados ,St Maarten, St Kitts, St Lucia, Tobago, St Vincent & Grenadine)

Really pleased with it.

Can you remember the name of that beach in Bonaire? Sounds so nice would love to try it , are there several beaches near or just that one?

Thanks :D:D

Hi Dreamgirl,

 

Well I think February is a great time to go to the Caribbean. I'm sure you'll love it.

 

More recently we've paid around £1300 and usually a bit more (for basic inside cabins). It's a popular time so I find prices generally hold up. There are some bargains now though for March 2013 - but it's last minute and there's no guarantee they'll be there next year! The first time we went was a bargain but that was on Destiny and only from our local airport (plane nothing like full). Yes there were some excellent deals on P&O - I saw those @ around £999. Tempting - of course with two large-ish ships in the Caribbean there's quite a bit more capacity and now they are offering b-2-b like Thomson they are providing more serious competition methinks.

 

 

Here are a couple of links to the ports on the itineraries we did this year - we thoroughly enjoyed them.

 

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/search.php?searchid=38256898&pp=25&page=3

 

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1788771&highlight=caribbean

 

My favourite ports are Grenada (lovely beach close to the port), St Lucia (Cosol tours the recommendation here), Antigua (good beaches accessible by local buses), Barbados (likewise - but as the base port this will be your middle day anyway). Tortola, Phillipsburg, Aruba all have good beaches - Tortola and Aruba by local bus/minbus companies and one at Philipsburg which is walkable). Curacao I would include for something a bit different - the town is very Dutch-influenced. We've liked all the islands we've been to but those are the ones which come to mind as the ones I like best.

 

Happy planning - and hope the 'big news' is something good! ;)

Hi Kruz, thanks so much for all the info, going to print if off and have a

good read!

We are booked!! 26th Jan, 2 weeks, went for a deck 6/7 inside and have chosen cabin (7086), best bit is it is from our local airport so thats brilliant. That helped us make up our mind as only one date to chose from so no Antigua im afraid as not available on our dates but have got :

Latin gems ( Barbados, Bonaire, Aruba, Curacao, Grenada..) then Caribbean charms ( Barbados ,St Maarten, St Kitts, St Lucia, Tobago, St Vincent & Grenadine)

Just got to pay for it now, two cruises within a year !! Crikey ! :eek::eek::eek:

Good for you Dreamgirl! :D:D You will love it. So many gorgeous islands to visit and wonderful Caribbean beaches, lovely sunshine, warm turquoise sea, rum punches............did I mention those before?? :D

Fab, fab, fab. How lovely to have it to look forward to. So pleased for you. Enjoy!!!!!! ;);)

Hi Dreamgirl and everyone else

Just booked up for our cruise Carribean charms and tropical treasures, after much deliberation I couldn't wait any longer.

I've watched the price for the last couple of weeks and it hasn't moved. Also flying from our local airport so didn't want to wait too long.

Really excited now, I'll be celebrating my big "60" too while we're away too.

Any advice of any ports of call would be great.

Margaret

Good for you Dreamgirl! :D:D You will love it. So many gorgeous islands to visit and wonderful Caribbean beaches, lovely sunshine, warm turquoise sea, rum punches............did I mention those before?? :D

 

Fab, fab, fab. How lovely to have it to look forward to. So pleased for you. Enjoy!!!!!!

Thanks Kruz, i am so excited , really cant wait will be a real holiday of a lifetime for us , bit much really having 2 in 12 months so prob the next year we wont go anywhere but i think we got a good deal and you only live once!!

Just found out hubby will not have enough holidays left so i will have to ring his boss and ask nicely...sure it will be ok without pay:eek::eek:

Im happy and nothing will burst the bubble ! :D

Hi Dreamgirl and everyone else

Just booked up for our cruise Carribean charms and tropical treasures, after much deliberation I couldn't wait any longer.

I've watched the price for the last couple of weeks and it hasn't moved. Also flying from our local airport so didn't want to wait too long.

 

Really excited now, I'll be celebrating my big "60" too while we're away too.

Any advice of any ports of call would be great.

 

Margaret

Hi margaret, so pleased you got booked to and got a local airport too! I couldnt believe it when i saw one odd date from our little airport, so handy!!

We are doing Caribbean Charms like you and also Latin gems and im thrilled!

Hope you have a fab time :):):)

Hi Dreamgirl and everyone else

Just booked up for our cruise Carribean charms and tropical treasures, after much deliberation I couldn't wait any longer.

I've watched the price for the last couple of weeks and it hasn't moved. Also flying from our local airport so didn't want to wait too long.

 

Really excited now, I'll be celebrating my big "60" too while we're away too.

Any advice of any ports of call would be great.

 

Margaret

Great Margaret - I'm sure you'll love it too. :)

Post #2 on this thread I posted a couple of links to the ports we did this year. Not sure how many of those are on your itinerary but might be a start! Enjoy your planning. ;)

Great Margaret - I'm sure you'll love it too. :)

 

Post #2 on this thread I posted a couple of links to the ports we did this year. Not sure how many of those are on your itinerary but might be a start! Enjoy your planning. ;)

I can only get the bottom link to work Kruz not the top :confused::confused::confused::confused:

Thanks Dreamgirl and Kruzeeker.

Only 9 weeks to go to our next cruise, be our first time on the Dream. I might wait until after this cruise before I pick a cabin for the Carribean. We've booked 5095 inside deck 5 for June.

You're a mine of information Kruzeeker I love to read your posts.

I can only get the bottom link to work too.

Thanks again

Thanks Dreamgirl and Kruzeeker.

 

Only 9 weeks to go to our next cruise, be our first time on the Dream. I might wait until after this cruise before I pick a cabin for the Carribean. We've booked 5095 inside deck 5 for June.

You're a mine of information Kruzeeker I love to read your posts.

 

I can only get the bottom link to work too.

 

Thanks again

Good idea to check out cabins in June before you decide for next year. I'm sure you'll like the Dream.

Yes- that link isn't working. I've found it again for you.

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1789340&highlight=caribbean

Pleased to be of help - and that you find the posts of interest. I'm not sure which ports are on your itinerary as I think the 'mix' of ports is a little different next season but we have been to one or two others on previous visits so I can look those up if necessary. Just ask if you have any particular queries and I'll help if I can.

Enjoy your planning. I love the anticipation! :)

Hi everyone, its booked !!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

 

Have chosen my cabin its 7086, inside and mid-ship, looks ok so hope ive picked a good one !!

Never had inside before but dont mind at all.

 

Hello Vicki

We had outside cabin twice but next time we booked an inside as we hardly spend any time in the cabins & I would never bother with an outside again - we keep the TV on at night on the webcam channel which shows the front of the ship that way you get the natural daylight coming into your cabin via your TV screen!!! They have curtains instead of a window so it just feels like you have your curtains shut all the time!!!

Wow! 2 cruises to look forward to - lucky you ;):)

Hi again dan, we are all booked, we wanted Latim gems/Trop treasures so could go to antigua but there was a flight just on one date only ( 26th Jan) from our local airport (Doncaster) so booked that as will be so easy!

We got latin gems ( Barbados, Bonaire, Aruba, Curacao, Grenada..) then Caribbean charms ( Barbados ,St Maarten, St Kitts, St Lucia, Tobago, St Vincent & Grenadine)

Really pleased with it.

Can you remember the name of that beach in Bonaire? Sounds so nice would love to try it , are there several beaches near or just that one?

Thanks :D:D

Hi Dreamgirl I think it's on here somewhere in ports of call I'll look through and see if I can see it. Enjoy your going to some lovely Islands:)

Well done you two, I'm sure you'll both enjoy it.