Which Cruise Line to Southern Caribbean???

[Janiekins]

Would like to take a cruise w/ husband and 2 teenage sons (16 & 17) in February, 2007. We have decided upon Southern Caribbean (Barbados, Antigua, St. Thomas etc.) What cruise line and ship would you suggest is the best for this trip? Thanks in advance.

[Tarheelbelle]

Have done the Southern Carib 4 times, 3 on Princess. Would suggest that---either out of San Juan or out of Ft. Lauderdale. Barbados, Curacao, Dominica, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, Grenada are all fabulous!!

[Roses2]

We have done both Princess Caribbean itineraries out of San Juan on the Golden and they were terrific.

 

The draw back, of course, is the extra cost of flying to San Juan, But the plus is the additional ports since you do not have the extra days to sail to the area.

 

We enjoyed all of the Southern Caribbean ports on both itineraries with significant historical and current diversity from island to island -- English, French, Dutch, and Spanish cultures.

 

There are photos at: http://photos.yahoo.com/pandjrose

[cdnguy]

Check out Princess's Sea Princess 14-day itinerary. There's two itineraries on this ship, The Grand Caribbean Adventurer and the Grand Caribbean Islander. Both are 14-day returns Ft. Lauderdale and are very popular. We did the Adventurer last Nov. and plan to do the same cruise again in the future. nine ports + Princess Cays and three sea days.

Feb. 3/07 and Feb. 17/07 would suit your time frame for these two cruises. Better get moving though as these cruises, as I said, are very popular.

[picktowncruzr]

We're cruising the Carnival Legend in February 2007. Leaves out of Fort Lauderdale, 8 nights and visits St. Maarten, St. Lucia and St. Kitts. We didn't want to fly to San Juan and this seemed like a great itinerary to us!

[jagoffee]

We did a 10 cruise on Celebrity out of FLL some years ago to the Southern Caribbean. You might want to check it out as an option.

[10X]

We have done 6 southern Caribbean cruises with both RCI and Princess. We prefer Princess. We currently have back-to-back southern Caribbean cruises booked for Jan/Feb 2007 to the southern Caribbean out of San Juan on the Crown Princess. The first week goes to: Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua, St. Maarten and St. Thomas. The second week goes to: St. Thomas, St. Kitts, Grenada, Bonaire and Aruba.

 

I would highly recommend either or both of these cruises.

[Coolmama_1]

Another vote for Princess!:)

[wasup254]

We are booked on a ten day cruise on the Sun for December 2006, we are visiting Dominica, Curacao, Isla Margherita and Barbados. I am familair with Barbados and the other three I need to research.....I am finding info on Curacao, but the other two are more elusive.

 

Any pros or cons of the islands listed.

 

If we go to the southern carribean, what island or lslands are NOT to be missed?

 

We still have time to change the dates and islands we visit

 

Thanks

[wrp96]

Royal Caribbean's Serenade of the Seas is great for families. Tons of activities onboard for all ages, great ports, absolutely one of the most beautiful ships out there. One of the highlights is that when it leaves St. Lucia, the Captain sails the ships to the Pitons and then does a 360 with the ship so everyone on the ship can see the Pitons. It sails out of San Juan to St. Thomas, St. Maarten, Antigua, St. Lucia, and Barbados.

[caribbean dreams]

We are booked on a ten day cruise on the Sun for December 2006, we are visiting Dominica, Curacao, Isla Margherita and Barbados. I am familair with Barbados and the other three I need to research.....I am finding info on Curacao, but the other two are more elusive.

 

Any pros or cons of the islands listed.

 

If we go to the southern carribean, what island or lslands are NOT to be missed

 

Thanks

 

Sadly there is not much info. about Dominica but it is one of my favorite islands, not commercialized like some of the others, it is also very beautiful with friendly people. I would suggest you take a taxi tour up to the rain forest and spend the day, don't forget your bathing suits because you can swim at the base of the falls or relax in the hot hot sulfer springs.

there is a visitors hut were you can get snacks and drinks, try a Coconut punch, they are yummy.

[swom]

We have done both Princess Caribbean itineraries out of San Juan on the Golden and they were terrific.

 

The draw back, of course, is the extra cost of flying to San Juan, But the plus is the additional ports since you do not have the extra days to sail to the area.

 

We enjoyed all of the Southern Caribbean ports on both itineraries with significant historical and current diversity from island to island -- English, French, Dutch, and Spanish cultures.

 

There are photos at: http://photos.yahoo.com/pandjrose

Roses2, I really enjoyed all of your photos. Can you tell me which company you went with when doing the fishing in Aruba? It really looks like something my hubby would enjoy.

Thanks in advance!

[heartofamerica]

Royal Caribbean's Serenade of the Seas is great for families. Tons of activities onboard for all ages, great ports, absolutely one of the most beautiful ships out there. One of the highlights is that when it leaves St. Lucia, the Captain sails the ships to the Pitons and then does a 360 with the ship so everyone on the ship can see the Pitons. It sails out of San Juan to St. Thomas, St. Maarten, Antigua, St. Lucia, and Barbados.

I'll second that...we did this one last Thanksgiving...beautiful ship and beautiful islands...and plenty of stuff for the teens to do, on and off the shipl.

[SuzansCruzin]

We are thinking of the Serenade over New Years with teenagers. Did you do anything special off the ship with them that you would recommend?

[heartofamerica]

We are thinking of the Serenade over New Years with teenagers. Did you do anything special off the ship with them that you would recommend?

In St Maarten, we did the Loterie tree farm "treetop adventure". My 12 year old daughter thought it was the greatest thing - it's a little hard, but it was fun.

[CaliforniaAC]

We've done the 10 day Southern Caribbean twice with HAL.

 

The Volendam is a very nice little ship. The current itinerary does not make a lot of stops, but we had a great time. Half Moon Cay (HAL's private island) is beautiful and always a highlight too. The only drawback you may have is that there will probably not be a lot of kids on board.

 

Aruba: we went with Jolly Pirates on thier snorkel/sail- one of the snorkel sites is a shipwreck, and the have a swing that you can swing off the ship and drop into the ocean. They served lunch. After the trip was over we did not return to the port. We stayed at the beach, rented chairs, and took the Arubus back to the port, which was about fifty cents each. It was a lot of fun. This was the only ship sponsored tour we did.

 

Curacao: We rented a car, saw the island then went to Knip Beach for the rest of the day. Driving is on the right, and the car rental is right at the port. The roads were good, but we did need a map.

 

When HAL pulls away, Curacao had a fireworks show for us. That was a lot of fun to watch as you leave the island.

 

Dominica: we did the Ti Tou Gorge, Trafalgar Falls and Emerald Pool tour with Ken's Hinterland with 8 other CC'ers. Ken's met us with a sign at the dock. Their office was right there. Nice bus, accomodating tour guide.

 

St. Thomas: We took a taxi to Sapphire Beach. Of course, there's always a lot to do in St. Thomas.

 

The last stop ws Half Moon Cay. It was a great end for the cruise.

 

We will be going on the Sun Princess in November and the Sea Princess in February. Both have already been mentioned. One of the other posts mentioned the popularity of the Sea Princess cruise... and they're right about it being a popular cruise. We booked almost a year in advance.

 

No matter which cruise line yiou pick, I don't think you can miss if you're going to the Southern Caribbean!

 

Have fun!

[heartofamerica]

No matter which cruise line yiou pick, I don't think you can miss if you're going to the Southern Caribbean!

 

Have fun!

I have to agree - I've done East, West and South, and by far the Southern Caribbean was the most enjoyable.