Caribbean Advice

[kiwicruiser]

We are planning a cruise of the Caribbean departing around December 2006.

 

As we will be Travelling from New Zealand we would like to do either a 14 day cruise or 2 back to back 7 day cruises. Have no idea whether we should be considering Eastern, Western or Southern areas.

 

We enjoy snorkelling, white sandy beaches and beautiful scenery rather than town stops and heaps of shopping.

 

Our sons (aged 19 & 22) will be travelling with us.

 

Any advice on itineraries / Cruise lines we should consider?

 

Many thanks

 

 

2005 Grand Princess -Meditteranean

2004 Tahitian Princess -Tahiti / Rarotonga

2003 Regal Princess -Asia

2001 Pacific Sky-Pacific Islands

1996 Fairstar - Pacific Islands

[Bonnie J.]

You may want to consider back to back cruises on the same ship. There are some ships that alternate between eastern or southern and western . Make sure you have same cabin on both cruises so you don't have to change cabins - I've seen this happen. Carnval's Legend is a ship to consider. It is 8 day cruises going all the way south to Barbados on their southern cruise. Then the next week it goes all the way to Costa Rico and then Panama. We've done both these and enjoyed them a great deal. There isn't any snorkling in Costa Rico or Pamama but other port is Belize which has VERY good snorkling. The ports on eastern cruise is loaded with good beaches and snorkling. (we are snorklers)

The Legend is a very nice ship and there will be young people on board which your sons will like. We were on her last New Years and so was Bob Dickerson with his family. He is the CEO and president of Carnival.

I'd be happy to answer any snorkling/port questions you have.

Smile...........Bonnie J..................

[K&RCurt]

Based on the age of your kids I would reccomend a B2B on either RCI or Carnival...They both have several ships that alternate between Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries. Most of the ships that sail the Southern Caribbean repeat the same or similar itineraries out of San Juan.

 

The longer (14 day) itineraries tend to attract a much older crowd and might not be too appealing to the kids,

 

 

 

If your kids are more athletic / active oriented I would give the upper hand to one of the RCI voyager class ships.

[Zeno]

Look at the itineraries of the various cruiselines and their ships. Personally in your case where you are not likely to be coming back soon I would choose a cruise on the basis of itinerary. I have been to nearly all the islands in the Caribbean - so below is a brief description of some of them:

Jamaica - some great scenery and cultually interesting, snorkling is poor

St. Thomas - nice scenery but a bit over-developed (shoppers love it). Snorkling is OK at Coki Beach. It is also a short ferry ride to St John were snorkeling is quite good.

Tortola - nice scenery, not too developed, snorkeling at Brewers Bay. Also it is a short ferry ride from Virgin Gorda - which is worth the stop itself - fascinating scenery at the Baths and very good snorkeling

St. Kitt's - not too developed, some really gorgeous scenery and an excellent historic site - Brimstone Hill, decent snorkeling at Turtle beach and South Friars Bay

Aruba - very arid, nice beaches

Curacao - some snorkeling, interesting port

Antigua - some snorkeling at Long Bay beach and elsewhere, Interesting historical sites (with some great photo ops above English harbour)

Isla Margarita - poor snorkeling, some decent beaches, culturally and historically interesting, some nice scenery in the national park - El Copey

Grand Cayman - great beaches and snorkeling (depending on the weather)

St. Martin: developed but with a nice European ambiance, some great beaches (Orient, Dawn), some scenic areas. Shoppers love Philipsburg but if you don't shop - get out of Philipsburg and head to the beaches. Some decent snorkeling at Dawn beach (depending on ocean conditions)

Cozumel - good beaches and very good snorkeling (less dependent on ocean conditions than GC)

Cancun- overdeveloped

Playa Del Carmen: a number of very good beaches nearby, very good snorkeling at a number of locations, accessability to Mayan ruins

Belize; - accessability to Mayan ruins, must take a boat to get to snorkeling and beaches

Roatan - undeveloped, lovely scenery, very good snorkeling and beaches

Note the above are STRICTLY my personal opinions - others may disagree

[kiwicruiser]

Thanks so much for all the great advice. Can't wait!

[MamaParrotHead]

beautiful ship, alternates eastern & western routes. we loved it. :D