Princess cruises to the Southern Caribbean

[cs4225]

I'm from Hawaii on the island of Oahu and we are surrounded by water. Some famous areas would include Waikiki Beach, Lanikai Beach, Sandy's, Hanauma Bay and the North Shore (for surfing or watching the big waves). The problem for me is that I'm not a water person. We really don't like to swim or lie on the beach to get a tan. For a change of pace I looked into this itinerary with stops in Aruba, Caracao and the Princess Cay. When I think of the Caribbean I think of beaches. Would we be bored? How are the land excursions and restaurants? We travel to eat.

[cantwaitfornextcruise]

I'm from Hawaii on the island of Oahu and we are surrounded by water. Some famous areas would include Waikiki Beach, Lanikai Beach, Sandy's, Hanauma Bay and the North Shore (for surfing or watching the big waves). The problem for me is that I'm not a water person. We really don't like to swim or lie on the beach to get a tan. For a change of pace I looked into this itinerary with stops in Aruba, Caracao and the Princess Cay. When I think of the Caribbean I think of beaches. Would we be bored? How are the land excursions and restaurants? We travel to eat.

 

Sorry IMHO these are mainly beach resorts not much else to see, maybe try Alaska or the Mediterranean, wild life in Alaska or the Med different food and history

[Crzn-Life]

We aren't big beach people either and we don't bother getting off the ship in Princess Cays. However we like Aruba and Curacao. Have never gone to a beach on either while on a cruise. There are some really nice restaurants in Aruba. In Curacao we've only walked around & never eaten there. As far as excursions go, if you don't do beach/snorkeling tours there are always island tours and the ATV things. However one has to remember that the primary industry of both islands is tourism which focuses on the beaches.

 

Aruba is just a flat desert island with east coast a barren rocky, windy spot. Curacao is a much prettier island and walking around there is nice.

 

We've been on several cruises to both places and are taking cruises there again in March. For us, the ship is really the primary destination

[Minoushka]

Having just returned from Southern Caribbean I may add there are interesting places to visit I found Dominica and Grenada very interesting WE learned all about spices in Grenada MAny islands have loads of history and diofferent places to visit

I find it hard to believe you live near the water and don't enjoy it I love the sea and all its wonders Isn't that just life!!!!I love it and live inland ...you are there and don't care for it LOL!!!!

I also recommend for a real break an ARCTIC cruise to Northern Europe Greenland Iceland We did it on Ocean Princess out of New York in summer What a thrill to see ICEBERGS in Greenland I loved Halifax on the way too

 

Bon Voyage whatever you decide

[Adventures ahead]

An itinerary with Princess Cays - it's definitely a beach day, really nothing else there and is the Princess 'private island'.

 

I would consider a different itinerary, one that would go to Barbados, St. Lucia or Dominica - islands that have cool things to do and see and not just beaches. Princess will not be cruising out of San Juan next winter, so a cruise from San Juan with a few days before or after would be a great trip. We did it last winter and doing it again this month.

 

PS - We're on the Golden Princes to your beautiful islands in April/May. First time to Hawaii and can't wait!

[Adventures ahead]

An itinerary with Princess Cays - it's definitely a beach day, really nothing else there and is the Princess 'private island'.

 

I would consider a different itinerary, one that would go to Barbados, St. Lucia or Dominica - islands that have cool things to do and see and not just beaches. Princess will not be cruising out of San Juan next winter, so a cruise from San Juan with a few days before or after would be a great trip. We did it last winter and doing it again in February.

 

PS - We're on the Golden Princes to your beautiful islands in April/May. First time to Hawaii and can't wait!

[turbo46032]

Ditto for Grenada, a foodie's paradise. We brought back some serious supply of spices.

 

Another location for water-averse :confused: cruisers would be San Juan, PR (rainforest, mountains, etc) especially if you catch a cruise from there on South).

[hllwdcruiser]

Living in Florida, we are not beach people either. We visited Hawaii 5 years ago and chose the Big Island because we wanted a different experience than we have at home. We had one of the BEST vacations of our lives - and not one day was spent on a beach!

That being said, we love the relaxing aspect of cruising and are on the Crown Southern at the end of February. We always get off at the Ports, hire a tour guide on the spot and thoroughly enjoy experiencing the local culture, albeit, briefly. We never visit the beaches.

We chose this particular cruise because we will have 3 days at sea. I doubt we'll even get off the ship at Princess Cays, and if we do, it will be just to take a stroll along the shoreline. We've never enjoyed the Barbeque, so lunch will definitely be onboard.

We are talking about doing a European cruise in a few years when we are retired because we would like to be able to commit more time than our Paid Time Off now allows. Same holds true for Alaska. With that in mind, do you really want to fly/travel 12 + hours just to reach the FLL port and cruise in waters that really and truly are not that different than what you have at home?