Which Boat & Which Island: I Want To Relax

[ajtraveler66]

Just returned from a W. Mediterranean Cruise. It was wonderful, but needless to say it was all about sight-seeing. And I've come home exhausted.

I've never done a Caribbean Cruise, and I have decided that this one is going to be my next cruise experience.

I want to see the neatest island, but then I want to spend the rest of my time on a boat that caters more to older folks (45+) than to the young. [Quiet by the poolside, if that is possible].

What 'must see' island--and what cruiseship will combine to meet these needs?

[tnsail]

aj,

All of the major cruiselines and some of the smaller ones cruise the Carib islands at some time of the year or another.... I suppose it will be a question of where you want to leave from and how long you want your cruise to last.... Do you want a lot of at sea days which by the nature of it create crowded pools.... Do you want a ship that has many ports where you can stay onboard and enjoy the pool areas almost by yourself....

 

You should do a bit of search with your favorite cruiseline and see when they have ships in the Carib area and that could give you a nice starting spot.... Each of the Carib islands have their own "specialness" about them... You will need to narrow your time frame and cruiseline and then I'm sure someone here will suggest "their" favorite islands.....

 

Joey & Pat

[ajtraveler66]

aj,

All of the major cruiselines and some of the smaller ones cruise the Carib islands at some time of the year or another.... I suppose it will be a question of where you want to leave from and how long you want your cruise to last.... Do you want a lot of at sea days which by the nature of it create crowded pools.... Do you want a ship that has many ports where you can stay onboard and enjoy the pool areas almost by yourself....

 

You should do a bit of search with your favorite cruiseline and see when they have ships in the Carib area and that could give you a nice starting spot.... Each of the Carib islands have their own "specialness" about them... You will need to narrow your time frame and cruiseline and then I'm sure someone here will suggest "their" favorite islands.....

 

Joey & Pat

 

Very good point. The more stops. the more 'get-offs' during the day--the more quiet the ship when everyone is off. I should have thought of that. Silly me. That's a great starting point. THANKS.

[Aplmac]

Very good point.

The more stops. the more 'get-offs' during the day-

-the more quiet the ship when everyone is off.

In that case, and hands down, you want to do Carnival Victory out of San Juan PR every Sunday night,

stopping at a port each and every following day!

 

That means your ship will disgorge its passengers every morning, leaving you with a near-empty ship

looking something like this!

 

No battles for sun-loungers! :D

.

[dot73]

Holland America offers a very relaxing cruise experience in the Caribbean. If you enjoy the beach, HAL's private island, Half Moon Cay, has an amazing beach that you can walk on forever. There are no frequent and loud announcements on HAL ships, no belly flop contests, and very few children during school months. As for quiet islands, just about every Caribbean island is now "touristy". If you want to see a bit of each island, you can always take a half day excursion and enjoy the rest of the time on the ship. I love staying on board when in port.

 

I am doing the Western Med cruise this September as my mother has always dreamed of doing this. There will be no rest on that cruise as my mother has more energy than I do. However, I have also booked a 14-day Nieuw Amsterdam cruise by myself so that I can get some relaxation at the end of a busy year.

[chefchick]

Have you thought of a. WIND STAR cruise? We are taking our first this January RT Barbados to Barbados on the Wind Surf. This is the largest of the fleet at just over 300 passengers. I'm sure it's not for everyone, but they have very interesting itineraries and we are looking forward to the small yacht experience. There isn't much else to do on board BESIDES relax, so it's just another suggestion.

[calgal729]

Last year we took a southern carib cruise on the Celebrity Equinox and loved it. We went the beginning of December, which was the perfect time to cruise because it was between Thanksgiving and Xmas holidays, not many kids, so most passengers were 45+ like you're looking for.

[Floridiana]

We took Azamara's Journey and will take Oceania's Regatta next time. Both ships have only 700 passengers, trips are longer than one week and have no children's programs. I would say that the passengers were 55+. We went in January and enjoyed it very much, very relaxing.

 

We went ashore on each island, but some people just walk around a bit in harbor and return to the ship.