Help pls. choosing Southern itinerary

The dates for the purple itinerary fit us better :), but the other itinerary (St. Croix, Grenada) seems much more interesting.

We r not interested in spending time on beaches (we r travelling to see new places), just want to see beautiful views and interesting sites. The less poverty, the better.

Thanking in advance for your opinions, Dani

Jewel from San Juan/Puerto Rico,

St. Thomas/Charlotte Amalie -- Saint Croix

Basseterre -- Philipsburg/St. Maarten

St. John's/Antigua -- Roseau

St. Lucia/Castries -- St. George's/Grenada

Barbados/Bridgetown -- Barbados/Bridgetown

San Juan/Puerto Rico

If you are looking for new places, then I'd take the Grenada itinerary, as Royal does not crusie there very much.

If you don't want to trouble yourself with "poverty" then you may want to go somewhere other than the Caribbean.

Any itinerary that includes St Lucia, if you have never been there, would win for me. Many unusual water experiences that can't be seen anywhere else: Drive in volcano, swim, snorkel or view the twin Titons that you've seen in photos. It looks like the South Pacific, just beautiful.

Both are Great itineraries! In terms of culture and adventure I wild pick the st Maarten, Grenada trip assuming both trips are on the same ship? If one were on Jewel and one were on Adventure, I would choose Adventure:)

You may want to peruse the Caribbean Ports of Call forum, for ideas on excursions in each port that would be of interest. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=587. :)

If you don't want to trouble yourself with "poverty" then you may want to go somewhere other than the Caribbean.

Have to agree with bouhunter.

The Caribbean is filled with pockets of poverty, and of extreme wealth. You will find both on all the islands. Does poverty bother you? Is it just something you would rather not see or concern yourself with? Is it so sad that you can't bear the thought of it? Sincerely asking.

Both itineraries are great and we have been to all the ports you listed. Having said that, if you don't want to concern yourself with poverty, perhaps a ship's tour might be in order. You can go only to historical sites and viewpoints.

Gosh, I'm just not sure what else to say here.... :(

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If you're not into beach resorts and want to experience unique ports, I'd recommend Dominica. It's also a port that is often difficult to find on most itineraries. That said, if you're looking for no poverty/upscale, Dominica is hardly that. It's a great eco-tourism location, with an abundance of rain forests, waterfalls, natural hot springs, etc. If you go that route, I highly recommend using the services of Bumpiing Tours (not a typo) to show you the island.

The Caribbean is filled with pockets of poverty, and of extreme wealth. You will find both on all the islands. Does poverty bother you? Is it just something you would rather not see or concern yourself with? Is it so sad that you can't bear the thought of it? Sincerely asking.

Thank you, all, for your helpful replies. Bob, special thanks.

I'm sorry about "poverty" - I'll try to rephrase, and pls. attribute this poor wording to English not being my mother tongue and, being from Israel, to a slight difference in mentality.

And I'd like to explain: I'm trying to run [to a holiday on the other half of the world, which entails a huge effort, both physically -- almost 20 hours of flights -- and financially] for a very brief period from a harsh reality of living in a country, where, now, almost daily, some citizen is knifed/shot to death. I may be an ostrich, but in my precious time away, I'd like to see happy things and be safe from looking over my shoulder.

From perusing those boards I got the impression that, for example, Jamaica and Bahamas are ports that a lot of people don't even get out of the ship, or don't venture far from it. Also pushing vendors everywhere.

I've never been to any of the 2 itineraries mentioned above, and what I meant to say is that I'd like to see an itinerary where "happy views" abound, if at all possible in the Caribbeans.

Hopefully, I've made myself understood now, thank you for reading,:)

I'm sorry about "poverty" - I'll try to rephrase, and pls. attribute this poor wording to English not being my mother tongue and, being from Israel, to a slight difference in mentality.

And I'd like to explain: I'm trying to run [to a holiday on the other half of the world, which entails a huge effort, both physically -- almost 20 hours of flights -- and financially] for a very brief period from a harsh reality of living in a country, where, now, almost daily, some citizen is knifed/shot to death. I may be an ostrich, but in my precious time away, I'd like to see happy things and be safe from looking over my shoulder.

From perusing those boards I got the impression that, for example, Jamaica and Bahamas are ports that a lot of people don't even get out of the ship, or don't venture far from it. Also pushing vendors everywhere.

I've never been to any of the 2 itineraries mentioned above, and what I meant to say is that I'd like to see an itinerary where "happy views" abound, if at all possible in the Caribbeans.

Hopefully, I've made myself understood now, thank you for reading,:)

Yes, and your concern is quite understandable. I don't think either trip involves having to concern yourself much, if any, about crime. My experiences have been very positive at all of the listed ports (except St. Croix, where I have never been). My two favorites have been Dominica and St. Lucia, which unfortunately are not on one list. I prefer St. Thomas to St. Martin. I think Antigua and Grenada are about equal. So I think you can't really make a bad choice. Hope you have a great trip!

dani

You should definitely check out the island of Aruba.

Their motto: One happy Island.

It may be more costly but there are all inclusive's such as Riu situated on Palm Beach that are truly wonderful.

Do a google search of Aruba to see all that the island has to offer you.

As far as weather goes - it is always sunny and 80 degrees with a breeze.

They only average 19" of rain a year and are about 19 miles north of Venezuela, hence the lack of hurricanes.

As far as cruises go I would say that you would feel "safe" on all the ports of both itineraries you listed and if you're looking for a diversity of interesting things to do, I would definitely agree with a previous poster that St. Lucia is the place to go.

Enjoy your vacation

P.S. When I saw your "handle" I thought you might be related to Daniel (same last name) ,the professional poker player, who is a nice guy and has boo-koo bucks and would tell you to do both trips and send him the bill.

Thank you, all, for your helpful replies. Bob, special thanks.

I'm sorry about "poverty" - I'll try to rephrase, and pls. attribute this poor wording to English not being my mother tongue and, being from Israel, to a slight difference in mentality.

And I'd like to explain: I'm trying to run [to a holiday on the other half of the world, which entails a huge effort, both physically -- almost 20 hours of flights -- and financially] for a very brief period from a harsh reality of living in a country, where, now, almost daily, some citizen is knifed/shot to death. I may be an ostrich, but in my precious time away, I'd like to see happy things and be safe from looking over my shoulder.

From perusing those boards I got the impression that, for example, Jamaica and Bahamas are ports that a lot of people don't even get out of the ship, or don't venture far from it. Also pushing vendors everywhere.

I've never been to any of the 2 itineraries mentioned above, and what I meant to say is that I'd like to see an itinerary where "happy views" abound, if at all possible in the Caribbeans.

Hopefully, I've made myself understood now, thank you for reading,:)

I get what you're saying. I'd say you're pretty safe with all these islands, except MAYBE St. Croix. I seem to remember some sort of safety issue there recently...Hopefully someone with more knowledge of that situation will come and post.

But regarding the itineraries, both of them are great. If I were you, I'd stick with the one with the dates that work better. St. Lucia is a beautiful island, and if you haven't been St. Thomas is very nice, along with all the others.

I get what you're saying. I'd say you're pretty safe with all these islands, except MAYBE St. Croix. I seem to remember some sort of safety issue there recently...Hopefully someone with more knowledge of that situation will come and post.

 

But regarding the itineraries, both of them are great. If I were you, I'd stick with the one with the dates that work better. St. Lucia is a beautiful island, and if you haven't been St. Thomas is very nice, along with all the others.

I hav3 been on 2 southern itineraries out of san juan, and i have been to most of these ports and i hwve never felt unsafe. One of my favorite things to do is to take an 8 mile jog as early as they will let me off of the ship. Doing this allows me to see a lot of things you would never see on a tour including the absolute and abject poverty. even in the poorest of areas on these islands i have encountered some of the most wonderful people. I would not be concerned at all at any of these ports. (Western Caribbean is a different story)

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Roseau Dominica was beautiful! We can't wait to have the chance to go again and visit all of the scenery and the falls. It's not as commercial as some of the others and still has a small friendly vibe going on.

Might you consider doing the Adventure...that has some great itineraries out of San Juan...we're doing a B2B in May 2016...Have been to some of these ports but some new ones for us too.

St Maarten

St Kitts

St John's

St Lucia

Barbados

St Thomas

St Kitts

Curacao

Aruba

I hav3 been on 2 southern itineraries out of san juan, and i have been to most of these ports and i hwve never felt unsafe. One of my favorite things to do is to take an 8 mile jog as early as they will let me off of the ship. Doing this allows me to see a lot of things you would never see on a tour including the absolute and abject poverty. even in the poorest of areas on these islands i have encountered some of the most wonderful people. I would not be concerned at all at any of these ports. (Western Caribbean is a different story)

 

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I've been to most of these islands before too and have never felt unsafe. I was saying that possibly St. Croix might be a little less safe because I seem to remember reading some things about that, but I can't be sure.

You can't go wrong with ANY of the ports on either cruise:) They are all beautiful and you should have no more concerns about safety. We've been to all of them many times except never to Grenada. Research the different port boards here for each one to find ideas on what to do. Pick the one that works best for your schedule you can't go wrong! Yes I think St Croix has gotten some bad press of late, but it's likely 99.9999% of the people visiting there have been fine. We will be there next March and have no concerns.

I personally think you can't go wrong with either itinerary. It may depend a little more on what your interests are. (I know you don't want to sit on a beach) If you are just planning on taking a tour to see the island, in my opinion Dominica and Grenada (the spice island) are so lush, green and beautiful. On the other itinerary, St Lucia is also unique. As far as the other islands, I think they gear more towards beaches, shopping, sailing, snorkeling and such. A much more diverse availability of activities. One disclaimer, I have not been to St Croix.

I hope that with whatever itinerary you choose, you find Peace and Tranquility if only for a short while. :) Blessings.

Thank you, all, for your helpful replies. Bob, special thanks.

I'm sorry about "poverty" - I'll try to rephrase, and pls. attribute this poor wording to English not being my mother tongue and, being from Israel, to a slight difference in mentality.

And I'd like to explain: I'm trying to run [to a holiday on the other half of the world, which entails a huge effort, both physically -- almost 20 hours of flights -- and financially] for a very brief period from a harsh reality of living in a country, where, now, almost daily, some citizen is knifed/shot to death. I may be an ostrich, but in my precious time away, I'd like to see happy things and be safe from looking over my shoulder.

From perusing those boards I got the impression that, for example, Jamaica and Bahamas are ports that a lot of people don't even get out of the ship, or don't venture far from it. Also pushing vendors everywhere.

I've never been to any of the 2 itineraries mentioned above, and what I meant to say is that I'd like to see an itinerary where "happy views" abound, if at all possible in the Caribbeans.

Hopefully, I've made myself understood now, thank you for reading,:)

Hi Dani,

Your post was very honest and sincere. I understand that you want your vacation to be a break from the harsh day to day realities.

Both itineraries sound fantastic, you can't go wrong with either, especially if all / most of the ports are new. I agree that it would be worthwhile to look at the Ports Of Call Forums so that you can get an idea of what you would like to do in each port. Whichever itinerary has the most interesting sounding excursions to YOU should be the one to choose!

By the way, don't worry about Caribbean vendors. While they may be pushy, they don't compare to the vendors at the Shuk Hapishpishim in old Yafo :D:D

dani

 

P.S. When I saw your "handle" I thought you might be related to Daniel (same last name) ,the professional poker player, who is a nice guy and has boo-koo bucks and would tell you to do both trips and send him the bill.

After reading the various opinions, I'd really like to do a B2B :)

Sadly, I'm not related to the rich poker player ...

My late father [in Romania] had very Jewish first & last names. He was a clever guy, and when the opportunity arose, he changed both names to common Romanian names, thus saving him and then his family some anti-Semitic "attitudes" from the government/people. Negreanu is my maiden name, and, as an only daughter, I like to be reminded of it on CC :)

Hi Dani,

 

Your post was very honest and sincere. I understand that you want your vacation to be a break from the harsh day to day realities.

 

Both itineraries sound fantastic, you can't go wrong with either, especially if all / most of the ports are new.

....

 

The vendors at the Shuk Hapishpishim in old Yafo :D:D

I'd like to thank everyone for their suggestions and warm wishes. Much appreciated. All the ports are new for us, except SJ [land visit], where we've been once in 1982...:o I don't think it counts....

Jacquelyn, I'm amazed at your mastery of Hebrew spelling :) Well done:)

Thank you, all, for your helpful replies. Bob, special thanks.

I'm sorry about "poverty" - I'll try to rephrase, and pls. attribute this poor wording to English not being my mother tongue and, being from Israel, to a slight difference in mentality.

And I'd like to explain: I'm trying to run [to a holiday on the other half of the world, which entails a huge effort, both physically -- almost 20 hours of flights -- and financially] for a very brief period from a harsh reality of living in a country, where, now, almost daily, some citizen is knifed/shot to death. I may be an ostrich, but in my precious time away, I'd like to see happy things and be safe from looking over my shoulder.

From perusing those boards I got the impression that, for example, Jamaica and Bahamas are ports that a lot of people don't even get out of the ship, or don't venture far from it. Also pushing vendors everywhere.

I've never been to any of the 2 itineraries mentioned above, and what I meant to say is that I'd like to see an itinerary where "happy views" abound, if at all possible in the Caribbeans.

Hopefully, I've made myself understood now, thank you for reading,:)

Well said. Which ever you choose please have a wonderful cruise!!!