7 day Caribbean Cruise: Western, Southern or Eastern? and which departure port?

[Wee Eck]

Hi:

 

There will be five of us, including two 18 year old young men, heading for a Caribbean cruise on August prior to them starting college. We wanted to maximize the ports of call without spending two days at sea. The Carnival Victory which leaves from San Juan and visits St. Thomas, USVI, Dominica, Barbados, St. Lucia, WI, Antigua, St. Kitts, WI seems to have the most islands for a 7 day cruise. They just want to see beautiful beaches and maybe do some snorkeling.

 

Is it too many stops for one cruise (sometimes you need a day at sea to recuperate from all the sight seeing)? Are the ports of call good choices? Is San Juan a good place to fly into?

 

Any insights appreciated.

 

Thanks,

 

Wee Eck..

[DrmnOfMaui]

We are thinking of a similar cruise on RCI out of San Juan, Puerto Ric. Has only 1 day of cruising, then goes to Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua, St. Maarten, US Virgin Islands and back to Puerto Rico. My family has 2 kids ages 10 and 13, I was wondering also if this was too port intensive, but we like to be on the go and I figured if we had a big day one day then the next could always just be a beach day. I'll be curious to see what anyone else has to say!

[Travelcat2]

I don't feel that these itineraries are too port intensive. Seven nights in Europe and/or the Mediterrean would be very port intensive as there are so many places to see and very little time. By the end of the day you're exhausted. We did the Eastern Caribbean (similar ports) earlier this year -- these places are very laid back and are very easy to negotiate.

 

Having said this, we really prefer the Western Caribbean itinerary (Belize, etc.)

[Mrs.C05]

Hi:

 

There will be five of us, including two 18 year old young men, heading for a Caribbean cruise on August prior to them starting college. We wanted to maximize the ports of call without spending two days at sea. The Carnival Victory which leaves from San Juan and visits St. Thomas, USVI, Dominica, Barbados, St. Lucia, WI, Antigua, St. Kitts, WI seems to have the most islands for a 7 day cruise. They just want to see beautiful beaches and maybe do some snorkeling.

 

Is it too many stops for one cruise (sometimes you need a day at sea to recuperate from all the sight seeing)? Are the ports of call good choices? Is San Juan a good place to fly into?

 

Any insights appreciated.

 

Thanks,

 

Wee Eck..

 

My husband and I just went on this one this past February and it was perfect! We did 3 excursions out of the 6 (only because we didn't really see anything we'd like at the others) and didn't feel it was 'too much'.

 

St. Thomas - we did the Castaway Shipwreck snorkel (sailing back to the boat is unlimited rum punch that was delicious!) and on our honeymoon in '05 we did the St. John's Trunk Bay Beach & Snorkel....both were fantastic and beautiful!

St. Lucia - Kayak Pigeon Island, just that, you kayak'd to Pigeon Island and from there you could choose to explore the ruins, lay out or snorkel. Breathtaking views atop Pigeon Island!!!

Malibu Beach Rum Tour - Not what I expected but was interesting. Had a beach to lay out on but I've seen much prettier one's on here.

 

Just beware that August is just the beginning peak of hurricane season. It may be rough seas if you are routed around one and you may end up missing a port or two depending on if there are any active storms out in the Atlantic/Caribbean.

Also, had I know how chaotic it would be with about 9k people shoved into an airport after disembarking, we would've flown home the next day. Keep that in mind also. We were at the airport about 9:30am, didn't get through the security checkpoint until 12:30pm.:eek:

Given all those magnificant stops though, I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Just do a little rearranging, that's all.