dltaeg Posted March 16, 2018 #1 Share Posted March 16, 2018 Looking at 2 cruises and conflicted on which to go with. Both are in May 2019 and both are on Harmony, price is only £100 difference. Which would everyone recommend as the better destinations (we've never done any Caribbean cruise so its all new to us). Family of 6 too, 3a and 3c (aged 5,8 and 10). Thanks :D Western Caribbean ITINERARY Port Canaveral (Florida), United States Cococay, Bahamas Cozumel, Mexico Roatan, Honduras Puerto Costa Maya, Mexico Port Canaveral (Florida), United States Eastern Caribbean Port Canaveral (Florida), United States Cococay, Bahamas San Juan, Puerto Rico Philipsburg, St. Maarten Port Canaveral (Florida), United States Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arlodog Posted March 16, 2018 #2 Share Posted March 16, 2018 It depends on what you like to do. We are sailing on Harmony this fall and picked the Eastern itinerary because we haven't been to one of RCCL's private islands before and we have been to the other ports multiple times. We have done 10+ caribbean cruises and find fun things to do on every island. We love Cozumel, Roatan and Costa Maya but we always do our excursions on our own. These ports can be very affordable on your own for a family. You can read the boards here for ideas and recommendations. You will see the same advice for tour providers over and over if you read it often enough. We have never been led astray by the cruise critic community recommendations when it comes to tours and activities. For our next cruise we are taking our 4 year old granddaughter with us. In San Juan we will take the public transportation to the Fort and tour it and fly a kite. I will probably book a private tour with Bernard again in St. Martin (I have been on his group tours before, but don't want to subject others to the whims of a 4 year old!) and will just have a beach day at Labadee. We are treating Harmony as the destination and not as worried about the ports, I usually like a 4 port itinerary, but with the mega ships I like 3 so I can enjoy the ships amenities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ARandomTraveler Posted March 16, 2018 #3 Share Posted March 16, 2018 Usually I would say Eastern, but between those itineraries, I’d choose the Western. St Maarten is currently not a good port to visit because they are still severely damaged from the hurricane. I’m assuming the San Juan stop is very short (it seems like they usually leave at 1 or 2pm), and Coco Cay gets skipped a lot if the weather isn’t great because it’s a tender port. Costa Maya has some nice beaches, and Honduras and Cozumel have good snorkeling. I guess you’ve got Coco Cay on this one too, but at least the other ports have things to do. I don’t know, I don’t really like either of these choices. I guess you’d really be going for the ship on this one. EDIT to add that I just realized your trip is May 2019 not 2018, so St Maarten should be ok by then. If the San Juan stop gives you a full day, choose Eastern, but if it’s a short stop then I’d still pick Western in this case. Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarea Posted March 16, 2018 #4 Share Posted March 16, 2018 If you enjoy snorkeling or diving, Roatan is an excellent place for those activities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dltaeg Posted March 16, 2018 Author #5 Share Posted March 16, 2018 If you enjoy snorkeling or diving, Roatan is an excellent place for those activities. Can't say I've ever done either haha but would love to give it a try :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OfTheSeasCruiser Posted March 16, 2018 #6 Share Posted March 16, 2018 I'd probably go with Eastern. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fsjosh Posted March 16, 2018 #7 Share Posted March 16, 2018 What I hate about the Eastern Itineraries is the back to back sea days. I had that on a cruise once, and was going crazy by the end of the second day. Being on an Oasis class, I'm sure it wouldn't be as bad, but I'd still go western. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sea shepherd Posted March 16, 2018 #8 Share Posted March 16, 2018 If it was me I would just do both. [emoji41] two weeks are way better then one. but that’s me. Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
accio_7 Posted March 17, 2018 #9 Share Posted March 17, 2018 If you enjoy snorkeling or diving, Roatan is an excellent place for those activities. I booked the Dec 2019 Western Caribbean itinerary on Harmony specifically because people have raved about snorkeling in Roatan :) Costa Maya is another new port for me, I haven’t been back to CocoCay since 2008! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cru-Zin Posted March 17, 2018 #10 Share Posted March 17, 2018 Another vote for Western. Both Puerto Rico and St Maarten were heavily hit by the hurricane. The fort is fun for the kids in PR, but it's a short day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeW Posted March 17, 2018 #11 Share Posted March 17, 2018 The problem here is that the Eastern really doesn't hit any of the interesting smaller islands. But if you want the big ship you are stuck with this. Given that you are paying a lot to fly over your best option is really to do both. If you only can do one, decide based on whether you like ship activities or port activities. Western has more ports, Eastern has more onboard. The kids will really enjoy Oasis-class onboard activities regardless of which you pick but there is a lot to do in any of those ports. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
griffy116 Posted March 17, 2018 #12 Share Posted March 17, 2018 Our upcoming cruise is Eastern, but we LOVE the Western too. We did a snorkel excursion in Roatan. Probably one of the best places in the world for that. Cozumel, we had done most excursions and did The Cozumel Amazing Race last time there. Another one of our favorite excursions ever. You can't go wrong with either. We plan to spend some money in San Juan and St. Maarten to help those folks so devastated by the hurricane and have a good time there. We love both these places too and have always had so much fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FOXTROT Posted March 17, 2018 #13 Share Posted March 17, 2018 Very simple, do a B2B. Problem solved Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BearBear12 Posted March 18, 2018 #14 Share Posted March 18, 2018 You really can’t go wrong either way, today I would vote Western and in a week I would vote Eastern. Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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