Cruises to Great Stirrup Cay

[lovetotraveltx]

We've only done one NCL and it went to Harvest Caye in Belize. Would like to try NCL's private island in the Bahamas. What's your favorite ship/itinerary for two adults that goes there? I know it's personal preference, but just looking for some ideas. Thank you!

[finishedover30cruises]

You just take your chances on any ship or iten.  GSC port is skipped close to 40 Percent of the time due to weather. 

[Newleno]

30 minutes ago, lovetotraveltx said:

We've only done one NCL and it went to Harvest Caye in Belize. Would like to try NCL's private island in the Bahamas. What's your favorite ship/itinerary for two adults that goes there? I know it's personal preference, but just looking for some ideas. Thank you!

The best Cay belongs to Holland "half moon cay"  I truly wish the cruiseline would just anchor there for 7 nights, if they cant do that then The ultimate cruise would be Aruba overnight, Barbados overnight, and half moon cay overnight. (In addition our GSC was also cancelled due to "swells?/weather?", water seemed liked glass to us, not a cloud in the sky)

Edited February 8, 2019 by Newleno

[dolita22]

Twice, I've done the 4-day Sky cruises that stopped in GSC (along with Nassau and Freeport) and enjoyed them. For a longer cruise, I'd pick an itinerary that leaves from Miami and has the Eastern Caribbean ports + GCS (vs. the cruises from NYC that stop in Port Canaveral and GSC).

[NowHeather]

I have made it to Great Stirrup Cay on exactly half of the cruises that were supposed to stop there. If you are planning a cruise just to visit GSC just know that your stop there may be cancelled. One of my trips was missed due to a hurricane (very understandable). Another was missed due to wave heights even though it appeared to be a very nice day out otherwise. This is also understandable but can be a hard fact to accept when the sky looks beautiful.

 

That being said I if you are willing to take the risk I would recommend going on a smaller ship for a few reasons. If you sail on a smaller ship there will be less people on the island. There was a significant difference in the enjoyability of the island when we went on the Sky vs when we went on the Epic. It felt like there were no crowds or lines and we were able to enjoy the water without feeling as if we were cramped in a bathtub with 4000 other people. Another thing to keep in mind is the price of extras on the island. If you plan to book a cabana it has been my experience that they charge less for the same cabana on a Sky itinerary than they do on an itinerary for a bigger ship. I don't blame Norwegian for this as supply and demand drive the prices. More people = more demand = higher cost. If my memory serves me correctly we paid $299 for a cabana on a Sky sailing and $549 on an Epic sailing for the same exact cabana.

[RedwingHockeyFan]

Last year I was on the Western Caribbean itinerary from Port Canaveral that stopped at GSC, Grand Caymen, Ocho Rios and Cozumel.  I liked that itinerary a lot, doing it again next year on the Breakaway.

[Georgie562]

Don't book your cruise specifically just to visit GSC. You will be disappointed if you can't tender due to sea/weather conditions.

[dexddd]

I'd say if you really want to go there, maybe try a b2b on one of the shorter trips that sail on Sun or Sky.  That being said, those are both old ships although recent drydocks.

 

DCL Castaway Cay is much better IMO.  10 times larger, more to do.  We've done a b2b on DCL just to go there twice in one week.

[BirdTravels]

On 2/7/2019 at 6:52 PM, finishedover30cruises said:

You just take your chances on any ship or iten.  GSC port is skipped close to 40 Percent of the time due to weather. 

Where did you find the 40% metric? Is it published somewhere?

 

We are 6 for 6 going to GSC at all times of the year. 

[Beer Belly]

If they cancel GSC, what do they do in place of......just anchor off the Island ?.......head to the next Port for an extra day ?

[dexddd]

5 minutes ago, Beer Belly said:

If they cancel GSC, what do they do in place of......just anchor off the Island ?.......head to the next Port for an extra day ?

Typically a slow boat to Nassau if next port.  Typically arrive 6 pm after most things closed.  There was a recent report  they were able to get in at noon.

 

They'll open shops, etc.  Reports of small credit are hit or miss.  We didn't last time we missed. 

[Beer Belly]

1 minute ago, dexddd said:

Typically a slow boat to Nassau if next port.  Typically arrive 6 pm after most things closed.  There was a recent report  they were able to get in at noon.

 

They'll open shops, etc.  Reports of small credit are hit or miss.  We didn't last time we missed. 

An extra day at the next Port would be awesome

[Newleno]

1 hour ago, Beer Belly said:

An extra day at the next Port would be awesome

you get an extra day at sea, at least that is what we got, GSC is very good, most of the ports in the Caribbean are just tourists traps, very expensive just to get to a decent beach.  The private islands, Aruba, Barbados, is where you want to be. 

[Beer Belly]

15 minutes ago, Newleno said:

you get an extra day at sea, at least that is what we got, GSC is very good, most of the ports in the Caribbean are just tourists traps, very expensive just to get to a decent beach.  The private islands, Aruba, Barbados, is where you want to be. 

Aruba is on our list for an All Inclusive

[Newleno]

5 hours ago, Beer Belly said:

Aruba is on our list for an All Inclusive

We are frugal people, seems like once a year I run the numbers for 3 nights in aruba, and it comes to about the same price for a 7 day cruise, so we cruise and when possible take safe public transportation (or similar) or walk to local beach.  Aruba safe public bus, Aruba is one of the safest islands if not the safest, in barbados we can walk to a good beach (used to be great but commercially they kind of killed it) the same beach used for $69 per person excursions from the cruise ships

[Beer Belly]

22 hours ago, Newleno said:

We are frugal people, seems like once a year I run the numbers for 3 nights in aruba, and it comes to about the same price for a 7 day cruise, so we cruise and when possible take safe public transportation (or similar) or walk to local beach.  Aruba safe public bus, Aruba is one of the safest islands if not the safest, in barbados we can walk to a good beach (used to be great but commercially they kind of killed it) the same beach used for $69 per person excursions from the cruise ships

We may try an All Inclusive next year. We considered it instead of the Cruise, we go to these locations for the beach and thought "Why waste time cruising on a ship to get there, when you can fly and be on the beach that day ?"....our answer, as we looked at each other and agreed...."It's also about the journey"

[johnnypiano]

On 2/9/2019 at 9:17 AM, Beer Belly said:

Aruba is on our list for an All Inclusive

Do NOT do an all inclusive in Aruba.  One of the reasons to go to Aruba is all of the great restaurants.  The only decent all inclusive in Aruba is the Riu.  We walked through there when we stayed and it didn't seem that great.  I would advise to stay in a regular hotel and enjoy all the great food Aruba has to offer!  We stayed at the Hyatt and were not disappointed.  Here are some of the great restaurants we enjoyed:

 

Gianni's - if you eat here get the cheese wheel pasta!  They make your pasta in front of you in a giant wheel of Parmesan cheese and light it on fire.

Flying Fishbone - the food was amazing here, and the tables are on the beach.  

The Lighthouse Restaurant (I think it's called Faro Blanco)- if you go here, make reservations for about 45 minutes prior to sunset and try to get a table by the railing.  The view is quite spectacular!

Madame Jeanette's

Smokey Joe's

Dutch Pancake House 

[TrueNorth74]

We’ve done four cruises that were scheduled to stop at GSC. Two ended up with an extra sea day due to winds, one got diverted to Key West, and the only one that did call on GSC ended up with an evacuation in the afternoon due to torrential rain (we literally couldn’t see the ship anchored offshore from our cabana).

[JJCas]

0 for 2 for us with GSC.  We leave Sunday on the Jade with GSC on the agenda, hopefully we make it this time!

[Newleno]

On 2/10/2019 at 10:44 PM, johnnypiano said:

Do NOT do an all inclusive in Aruba.  One of the reasons to go to Aruba is all of the great restaurants.  The only decent all inclusive in Aruba is the Riu.  We walked through there when we stayed and it didn't seem that great.  I would advise to stay in a regular hotel and enjoy all the great food Aruba has to offer!  We stayed at the Hyatt and were not disappointed.  Here are some of the great restaurants we enjoyed:

 

Gianni's - if you eat here get the cheese wheel pasta!  They make your pasta in front of you in a giant wheel of Parmesan cheese and light it on fire.

Flying Fishbone - the food was amazing here, and the tables are on the beach.  

The Lighthouse Restaurant (I think it's called Faro Blanco)- if you go here, make reservations for about 45 minutes prior to sunset and try to get a table by the railing.  The view is quite spectacular!

Madame Jeanette's

Smokey Joe's

Dutch Pancake House 

15 day cruise for 2 from nyc to nola $1,357.23

service charges for 2 $435

Megabus to NYC for 2 $16

Frontier Airlines Airfare out of nola for 2 $416

Incidentals (while in port/transportation) for 2 $100

Total for 2 for 15 days $2,324.23

 

Priced out a week long aruba trip in March

Hyatt 7 day approx $6000 for the cheapest room

Airfare for 2 $1800

Food/Expenses for one week min $1500

total for 2 aprox $9,300

 

We can literally  cruise for 60 days (4 cruises of 15 days) for the price of a 7 day aruba hyatt vacation.

 

Edited February 12, 2019 by Newleno

[johnnypiano]

21 minutes ago, Newleno said:

15 day cruise for 2 from nyc to nola $1,357.23

service charges for 2 $435

Megabus to NYC for 2 $16

Frontier Airlines Airfare out of nola for 2 $416

Incidentals (while in port/transportation) for 2 $100

Total for 2 for 15 days $2,324.23

 

Priced out a week long aruba trip in March

Hyatt 7 day approx $6000 for the cheapest room

Airfare for 2 $1800

Food/Expenses for one week min $1500

total for 2 aprox $9,300

 

We can literally  cruise for 60 days (4 cruises of 15 days) for the price of a 7 day aruba hyatt vacation.

 

I think your math is a little off.

 

I went back and checked my invoice from last year, and our flight and hotel (2 people) was $4,200.  And, yes you're probably talking around $1,000 for food and incidentals.  So let's say $5,500 if we're being generous.

 

For the cruise, not sure where you are finding that NYC - NOLA cruise for $1,300.  To be comparable, I found a cruise on NCL (since we're on the NCL board) that stops in Aruba (since the poster was asking about Aruba).  For a "sail away" balcony, it is $4,422.38 plus gratuities.  And that does not include any of the packages.  

 

Also, not sure how you've done a 15 day cruise with only $100 for 2 people's incidentals.  For shore excursions, specialty restaurants, pictures, etc, you're talking probably at least $1,000 for the two weeks.

 

So I'd say they're comparable.

[Newleno]

33 minutes ago, johnnypiano said:

I think your math is a little off.

 

I went back and checked my invoice from last year, and our flight and hotel (2 people) was $4,200.  And, yes you're probably talking around $1,000 for food and incidentals.  So let's say $5,500 if we're being generous.

 

For the cruise, not sure where you are finding that NYC - NOLA cruise for $1,300.  To be comparable, I found a cruise on NCL (since we're on the NCL board) that stops in Aruba (since the poster was asking about Aruba).  For a "sail away" balcony, it is $4,422.38 plus gratuities.  And that does not include any of the packages.  

 

Also, not sure how you've done a 15 day cruise with only $100 for 2 people's incidentals.  For shore excursions, specialty restaurants, pictures, etc, you're talking probably at least $1,000 for the two weeks.

 

So I'd say they're comparable.

Math is spot on for the march 13 time frame, a 7 day trip land aruba.  The  public bus for 2 people in aruba to eagle beach is $10 round trip from the cruise ship.  Specialty restaurants?, pictures?, etc "Shirley" you must be joking.  My math is spot on for our 15 day cruise vacation.  Once again we literally can cruise for 60 days for the price of a week long trip at the hyatt aruba plus expenses, starting march 13.  

 

PS if we wanted to book in february the cheapest room is OVER $1000 per night in aruba hyatt

Edited February 12, 2019 by Newleno

[johnnypiano]

3 minutes ago, Newleno said:

Math is spot on for the march 13 time frame, a 7 day trip land aruba,  public bus in aruba to eagle beach is $10 round trip from the cruise ship.  Specialty restaurants?, pictures?, etc "Shirley" you must be joking.  My math is spot on four our 15 day cruise vacation.  Once again we literally can cruise for 60 days for the price of a week long trip at the hyatt aruba plus expenses, starting march 13.  

 

PS if we wanted to book in february the cheapest room is $1000 per night in aruba hyatt

Correct, if you wanted to book February or March, the prices are friggin' expensive, because it's a last minute booking and inventory is low and it's spring break season.  You really need to look 6-9 months out for a fair comparison.

 

For the cruise, they clearly have rooms to fill so they dropped the price.  And I'm guessing you priced out an inside cabin.  And you probably priced out Carnival.  None of these are fair comparisons.

 

If you really look at a fair comparison, of which your comparison was not, the prices are very similar.

 

Anyway, the point of my original post was not to sway "Beer Belly" from doing a cruise.  My point was that Aruba is not a place to do an All Inclusive resort.

 

And who the heck only spends $100 on incidentals for a 15 day cruise??

 

I'm done here.  Buh bye.

[Newleno]

9 minutes ago, johnnypiano said:

Correct, if you wanted to book February or March, the prices are friggin' expensive, because it's a last minute booking and inventory is low and it's spring break season.  You really need to look 6-9 months out for a fair comparison.

 

For the cruise, they clearly have rooms to fill so they dropped the price.  And I'm guessing you priced out an inside cabin.  And you probably priced out Carnival.  None of these are fair comparisons.

 

If you really look at a fair comparison, of which your comparison was not, the prices are very similar.

 

Anyway, the point of my original post was not to sway "Beer Belly" from doing a cruise.  My point was that Aruba is not a place to do an All Inclusive resort.

 

And who the heck only spends $100 on incidentals for a 15 day cruise??

 

I'm done here.  Buh bye.

Last minute cruise on costa march 3, 24 nights fort lauderdale to venice out the door you are looking at $2000 per person for the cruise, $4,000 for 2 people plus airfare and expenses you are talking about $6,000  total for 24 days.  That is about 2/3 the cost of a week long trip to aruba hyatt in march.  Cruising is very economical, very.

Edited February 12, 2019 by Newleno

[MCC retired]

OP has been to Harvest Cay which I enjoyed far more than GSC . I hope OP is not disappointed with GSC?

Edited February 12, 2019 by MCC retired