Caribbean - Royal Caribbean ship

[beshears]

We are thinking of cruising to the Caribbean next year. It has been years since I have cruise on a Royal Caribbean ship. What is your favorite island to cruise to, and why? What Royal Caribbean ship did you cruise on?

[CaribbeanCrush]

We are thinking of cruising to the Caribbean next year. It has been years since I have cruise on a Royal Caribbean ship. What is your favorite island to cruise to, and why? What Royal Caribbean ship did you cruise on?

 

We like the Freedom class (Freedom of the Seas and Liberty). We enjoy the western caribbean itinerary. All the ports are different, we enjoy something about each of them.

 

BTW, looks like we are neighbors. We used to live in Gladstone, but we are now in Parkville. :)

[hansolosmom]

We did Freedom, loved the ship and so did the kids.

 

I always think the ports are variable we've done the Caribbean a few times & each experience is different.

 

I can say the following:

Usually we have fun in Cozumel - we've done the Jeep excursion, helmet dive, dune buggy. All of those were fun

Grand Cayman - we always have a bad experience. I think we are cursed when we go there. We did the Ispy boats & they overbooked the tour & some of their boats weren't working it was miserable. Then we had a bus tour & the guide was new or a sub & hardly pointed anything out - the best was when she said 'there's the governors house, but I don't know his name'

Jamaica - usually have a good time, we've done river rafting & beachy tours there.

Labadee - I didn't like it, I know people love it, but I didn't. I think its because there too much there. I like the quiet private islands. I didn't like the market area and them badgering you to buy things. Left a bad taste in my mouth. One of the guys asked my son his name, then carved it on something & expected us to by it. Luckily my husband was with us because I probably would have just bought it & been totally annoyed.

[Hoopster95]

We are thinking of cruising to the Caribbean next year. It has been years since I have cruise on a Royal Caribbean ship. What is your favorite island to cruise to, and why? What Royal Caribbean ship did you cruise on?

 

This will really depend on what is important to you:

• Are the ship, amenities, shows, etc & cruising experience most important? Then hands down look at the Allure and Oasis as your #1 option.
  
• Are the ports most important? Hands down it's the Southern Caribbean itinerary of the Jewel out of San Juan (St.Lucia, Barbados, St. Kitts etc are the cream of the crop when it comes to islands). Every ship on the planet it seems visit Jamaica, Nassau and Cozumel, and those ports cannot compare at all to the southern islands. There are some new itineraries on the Explorer and Legend visiting the ABC islands next winter which would be great too.
  
• Are you an experienced cruiser looking for something a little different? You mention no RCL cruises recently, but have you done others? If so, look at the "Culterally Enriching" Vision itineraries out of Colon until April 2014. This cruise is in my top 3 out of about 20 with RCL.
  

[shaggyofwv]

We are thinking of cruising to the Caribbean next year. It has been years since I have cruise on a Royal Caribbean ship. What is your favorite island to cruise to, and why? What Royal Caribbean ship did you cruise on?

 

 

Voyager class all the way..

 

Favorite Island is Bermuda but the place with the most to do is Cozumel (of the places that I have been).

[KeywestK]

If you are cruising with children (of any age,) I would recommend a larger ship with more activities and amenities that would appeal to different age groups. If it's just adults, my personal favorites are the Radiance-class. They are the perfect size, and those ships are drop-dead gorgeous....JMHO;):) My personal favorite itinerary is the Southern Caribbean. You can do 7-night Southern itineraries out of San Juan, or 10- and 11-night itineraries to the southern Caribbean out of Ft. Lauderdale.

[KeywestK]

Voyager class all the way..

 

Favorite Island is Bermuda but the place with the most to do is Cozumel (of the places that I have been).

 

Bermuda is my favorite island too:)

[MommaBear55]

I have sailed all the classes except for the largest and the smallest. I would recommend going for the departure port and itinerary you want rather than the class of ship. However, that is just my opinion! If you have active athletic members in your group, then the flowrider, climbing wall and inline skating may be important to you. We do like the ice shows, but they are not a make it or break it. The specialty restaurants may be important to you as well. We really like Chops and Izumi.

 

We are beach and water people, not partiers or shoppers. We are really looking forward to our cruise out of San Juan next week on Adventure OTS,as we really like the southern Caribbean islands: Curacoa and Aruba, with St Kitts and St Thomas on this loop. We also really like Antigua, Bonaire and Labadee. We avoid Bahamas, Grand Cayman, Dominica, Grenada, Samana, Jamaica because of the poverty and the pan handling. We can always find things to do on Belize, Honduras and Cozumel, although we don't cruise specifically for those ports.

[SSVacation]

Southern Caribbean is the favorite for us, out of San Juan, favorite class of ships is Radiance or Voyager class.

[karena1]

We are thinking of cruising to the Caribbean next year. It has been years since I have cruise on a Royal Caribbean ship. What is your favorite island to cruise to, and why? What Royal Caribbean ship did you cruise on?

 

By far and without a doubt the Southern Caribbean out of San Juan. you don't get to go on the mega ships like Oasis or Liberty but you get amazing islands and a very port intensive cruise which is what we love. We are huge beach people and love to snorkel. The Southern Caribbean has the most amazing islands and gorgeous beaches. We have been on Jewel out of SJ and are doing Adventure. But our favorite port to sail from. My favorite island is Antigua and my husband's is St Lucia.

Edited December 28, 2013 by karena1

[daniels5759]

If you are cruising with children (of any age,) I would recommend a larger ship with more activities and amenities that would appeal to different age groups. If it's just adults, my personal favorites are the Radiance-class. They are the perfect size, and those ships are drop-dead gorgeous....JMHO;):) My personal favorite itinerary is the Southern Caribbean. You can do 7-night Southern itineraries out of San Juan, or 10- and 11-night itineraries to the southern Caribbean out of Ft. Lauderdale.

 

Agree, love Radiance class! Also love Labadee.:)

[beshears]

Hello everyone, happy NEW Year to you all. Thank you for responding to my question. I'm sorry that I didn't go into details of what we might be looking for at that time.

 

Letssoar, what a coincidence, being neighbors almost. :) When you lived in Gladstone, where did you live?

 

I want to thank each of you for your input and it will give us something to "think" about. :) We are beach people, and love touring, checking out the different islands, and their culture.

 

As for the ships,when eating, our main thing is the regular dining, as we generally find what we like to eat there. We also like minature golf too. If there were any shows like the marriage game shows, or anything like that, what would you recommend that we see, if it was still going on the ship?

[Midwestgal]

I'm a stones throw away from booking Indy of the seas for Feb 2015.

Looking forward to cruising RC ...it's been a long time since I cruised with them

[sellwingri]

Hello everyone, happy NEW Year to you all. Thank you for responding to my question. I'm sorry that I didn't go into details of what we might be looking for at that time.

 

Letssoar, what a coincidence, being neighbors almost. :) When you lived in Gladstone, where did you live?

 

I want to thank each of you for your input and it will give us something to "think" about. :) We are beach people, and love touring, checking out the different islands, and their culture.

 

As for the ships,when eating, our main thing is the regular dining, as we generally find what we like to eat there. We also like minature golf too. If there were any shows like the marriage game shows, or anything like that, what would you recommend that we see, if it was still going on the ship?

 

 

We never miss the Love and Marriage game show and, most importantly, The Quest. Most of the Quest has remained the same over the years but we never get sick of it. Only 60 more days til we see it again!

[trev71]

We did Freedom, loved the ship and so did the kids.

 

I always think the ports are variable we've done the Caribbean a few times & each experience is different.

 

I can say the following:

Usually we have fun in Cozumel - we've done the Jeep excursion, helmet dive, dune buggy. All of those were fun

Grand Cayman - we always have a bad experience. I think we are cursed when we go there. We did the Ispy boats & they overbooked the tour & some of their boats weren't working it was miserable. Then we had a bus tour & the guide was new or a sub & hardly pointed anything out - the best was when she said 'there's the governors house, but I don't know his name'

Jamaica - usually have a good time, we've done river rafting & beachy tours there.

Labadee - I didn't like it, I know people love it, but I didn't. I think its because there too much there. I like the quiet private islands. I didn't like the market area and them badgering you to buy things. Left a bad taste in my mouth. One of the guys asked my son his name, then carved it on something & expected us to by it. Luckily my husband was with us because I probably would have just bought it & been totally annoyed.

 

 

The Labadee flea market is avoidable. You don't have to go up to their area

[dacsmom]

Freedom Class is my favorite but I am trying the Allure for the first time in October. On the Western Caribbean itinerary, Cozumel is my favorite port. I prefer the Eastern itinerary and my all time favorite stop is CoCo Cay.

[beshears]

OK everyone, here I am with another question. I had ask about "shows" on the ship. It was mentioned about the love and marriage show, which I hope to see. Also mentioned was the Quest show. Can someone let me know what that show is all about, as I have never heard of it before.

 

Everyone have a safe/warm weekend.

Brenda

[Clarea]

OK everyone, here I am with another question. I had ask about "shows" on the ship. It was mentioned about the love and marriage show, which I hope to see. Also mentioned was the Quest show. Can someone let me know what that show is all about, as I have never heard of it before.

 

Everyone have a safe/warm weekend.

Brenda

Can't discuss Quest, you have to see it. Not for young kids, might scar them for life.

Edited January 5, 2014 by clarea

[NemoCrownie]

Brenda, another neighbor here. We are in Liberty. We love the Southern Caribbean so another vote for sailing out of San Juan. We are partial to the Radiance class and have booked a B2B on the Jewel for February 2015.

 

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Tablet using Tapatalk

[Koohiichan]

The Quest is an adult orientated scavenger hunt/game show that takes place in one indoor venue (not throughout the ship.) It is a lot of fun! I've never participated but have watched twice. The two times I watched it took place about 11:30 pm on formal night. Make sure to change to comfortable clothes. Its a blast, but it is not for kids (rated PG 13 or so, but still, kids kill the mood, I think.)

 

Cheers,

 

Koohiichan

[cjnalley]

BTW, looks like we are neighbors. We used to live in Gladstone, but we are now in Parkville. :)

 

Small world I grew up in Parkville.

 

Vision was our favorite, Tortola, St. Maarten, Antigua, Dominica, St. Kitts.

[Candleonwater]

As far as the quest goes, I get the feeling a lot of how "raunchy" it gets can depend on the cruise director. I say this, because the one time I decided to stay up late enough to catch it... it was BORING, and definitely nothing I would keep even a young child away from. Possible? I was on the Enchantment with the Blairs...

[beshears]

Nemocrownie, what a small world. You living in Liberty. I think it is great to get on these forums, and "discovered" when asking questions, that sometimes you have neighbors not too far away, planning trips, possibly with the same itinerary as yourself.

 

Now I have you on one side, and the other side is (sorry forgot the name), Parkville. I'll tell you something strange. I am still in touch with friends who (didn't know at the time) flew the same time we did out of KC, and did the same cruise. We have been in touch all these years. :)

[NemoCrownie]

Nemocrownie, what a small world. You living in Liberty. I think it is great to get on these forums, and "discovered" when asking questions, that sometimes you have neighbors not too far away, planning trips, possibly with the same itinerary as yourself.

 

Now I have you on one side, and the other side is (sorry forgot the name), Parkville. I'll tell you something strange. I am still in touch with friends who (didn't know at the time) flew the same time we did out of KC, and did the same cruise. We have been in touch all these years.

How fun is that! You didn't give any info but we are 50's (don't feel that old:mad:) and love port intensive cruises. We are doing an experiment on an 11 day out of FLL at the end of the month but we are concerned about having 4 sea days. I think that is one of the reasons we love sailing out of San Juan - plus you get off the plane into shorts and flip flop weather immediately :). Good luck with whatever you decide.

 

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[Jimnbigd]

When are you going? Some RCI ships sail year-round, others don't.

We have always done the Western Caribbean because we drive to Galveston for our cruises. For me, the ship is the vacation, not the destinations.

I've heard the Southern Caribbean is really great. If I could take the time off, I'd do a B2B (back-to-back) Adventure of the Seas from San Juan, Puerto Rico. I believe these 2 sailings would stop at different ports. But, it can be tiring to do a new port each day with only 1 sea day on each sailing.

Other options:

* The large Oasis or Allure from Ft. Lauderdale (which I've read is a very easy port to get to from the airport -- something to consider).

* Freedom of the Seas from Port Canaveral (fly in to Orlando -- and shuttle an hour or so each way) -- maybe stay longer and see Disney World

* Seranade of the Seas from New Orleans -- Western Caribbean -- but this departs on Saturday

* Navigator of the Seas from Galveston -- Western Caribbean (but can be expensive to get from airport to Galveston)

I would probably do a 7-day that departs and returns on Sunday. Fly in Saturday. Don't book too early a return flight Sunday. I'd first check out the Allure (departs on Sundays), and also check out the Freedom and the Adventure. If flying in the winter, be sure to allow plenty of time -- maybe even fly in 2 days early. I think as I write this some people have missed their ships because of the winter weather across the nation right now. The first 3 weeks in November and the first 3 weeks in December often have the best prices. For example, check out the low prices for the Adventure of the Seas Dec. 7, 2014.

Edited January 7, 2014 by Jimnbigd