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Eastern vs Western Caribbean


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Overall, I greatly prefer Eastern over the Western. However, one point should be made. Carnival has that lousy "Eastern" itinerary of Key West, Nassau, & Freeport. I would choose any Western itinerary over that one. That one is actually a Bahamas cruise (Bahamas are not all that great), but Carnival calls it "Eastern" to make it sound more appealing. But all the islands from Puerto Rico, east-southeastward, all the way down that chain of islands leading down to South America are all amazing islands. The only Western island that can compete with those is Roatan. The only real disappointment I've had with those Eastern islands has been Martinique: gorgeous island, but they don't know what to do with cruisers. This is all in my opinion & based on my experiences.

 

Grand Turk & Half Moon Cay are flat islands included in Eastern itineraries, not a part of that amazing chain of islands I mentioned, but those are actually very good ports. Nassau & Freeport, not so much. The Western does have some great ports at plain, flat islands as well. But my preference is the more rugged, mountainous islands that offer a lot of options for adventure, as well as nice beaches. Eastern has plenty of that!

 

Safety varies from port to port. Western does have a couple ports that seem a little more unsafe than most ports on the Eastern side. People would say that even those are fine as long as you know what you're doing & you've done your research, and that the "safe" ports can be unsafe if you are careless.

Edited by k2excursion
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There are ports I enjoy on both (St. Martin, St. Thomas, Tortola, Cozumel, Roatan, Private Islands) and ports I prefer to stay on the ship on both (Nassau, Grand Cayman, Belize, Progresso). This is why we mix it up. I am hoping one of these days a Southern Itinerary will fit in out schedule to mix it up a little more down there.

Edited by Warm Breezes
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Overall, I greatly prefer Eastern over the Western. However, one point should be made. Carnival has that lousy "Eastern" itinerary of Key West, Nassau, & Freeport. I would choose any Western itinerary over that one. That one is actually a Bahamas cruise (Bahamas are not all that great), but Carnival calls it "Eastern" to make it sound more appealing. .

 

The above is so true. It's certainly not an Eastern CARIBBEAN cruise. :rolleyes:

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There are ports I enjoy on both (St. Martin, St. Thomas, Tortola, Cozumel, Roatan, Private Islands) and ports I prefer to stay on the ship on both (Nassau, Grand Cayman, Belize, Progresso). This is why we mix it up. I am hoping one of these days a Southern Itinerary will fit in out schedule to mix it up a little more down there.

 

We did Western, Eastern and Southern - southern is our favorite!

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Eastern is a lot nicer and cleaner ...than the western

 

If we had to choose between Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands (Eastern) and Cozumel and Jamaica (Western) we would choose Eastern - but I agree with the other posts - ANY CRUISE would be good!

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The important question is, what do you like to do when you are at the ports?

 

If you want nice beaches, Eastern. If you want Mayan Ruins you want Western.

 

Very true. If you want snorkeling, some of the best sites are on the Western in Belize and Roatan. The only one good snorkel site on the Eastern is in Grand Turk, but you need an excursion or a boat ride to get you there.

 

If you like shopping, Eastern itin.

 

I have never felt threatened or unsafe in any port of call, and I usually venture away from the secure port area. But I'm a guy who grew up in the Bronx, so I'm used to the diversity of characters NYC offers.

Edited by evandbob
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I have done Western and Eastern and much prefer Eastern. From my experiences Western are sometimes cheaper than Eastern if budget is a factor. But, as others have said, there's really no such thing as a "bad" cruise :D

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I prefer Western. It's got a more exotic feel and I like visiting the less developed places like Roatan. I also think there is so much to do in Cozumel I am still not bored of it. Eastern is more about shopping and beaches. Also Eastern often includes Nassau which is yuck and I don't care for St. Marten - it's just not a pretty island.

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There are ports that I like about Eastern and Western and some ports that I don't care about either.

 

I would look at both and then come back with itineraries you are considering.

 

All itineraries are not the same.

 

Keith

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For those who have done both, do you have a preference? Is there a difference in tourist safety with one or the other?

 

Have done both numerous times. From a safety stand point I don't really see any difference. The main stream lines are fairly limited as to where they can go because there ships are so large, with that in mind and the limitations on ports, I find that the east is much better for shopping, and the west is much better for snorkeling or diving.

 

If you don't really care about either of those things I would choose the east because the islands themselves are more scenic especially if you can get to Tortola and cruise in the Pillsbury Sound.

 

If you cruise for the ship alone, then it really doesn't matter.

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I like both Eastern and Western, but not all ports in either. In Eastern I like Nassau, Grand Turk, St. Lucia, Barbados, Tortola, St. Thomas, and St. Maarten. In Western I like Roatan, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel.

 

Do not like St. Kitts or Antigua in the Eastern; do not like Jamaica or Belize in the Western.

 

Felt unsafe in St. Kitts and Antigua.

 

Belize City is dangerous if you leave the port area or are not with a tour group. We visited some missionary friends there and they took us all over Belize City and there were guards with guns at all the stores/bank/airport that we visited. Our friends' home was next door to a drug gang house and the night before we were there they had a drive by shooting. This is definitely NOT a DIY port. I don't plan to go back there.

 

Jamaica (Ocho Rios) was also a scary place. Our ship tour bus driver made an unexpected stop alongside the road where his relatives were selling cheap trinkets. He made us all get out and buy something or we couldn't get back into the bus! And the "vendors" who swarmed us at the Dunn's River Falls were very aggressive. Not fun.

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Very true. If you want snorkeling, some of the best sites are on the Western in Belize and Roatan. The only one good snorkel site on the Eastern is in Grand Turk, but you need an excursion or a boat ride to get you there.

 

If you like shopping, Eastern itin.

 

I do agree that Belize & Roatan (especially Roatan) have amazing snorkeling, but the Eastern islands also have some awesome snorkeling. I don't like shopping, but I greatly prefer Eastern over Western.

 

At Coki Beach/Coral World in St Thomas, the snorkeling there is spectacular! Almost as good as the snorkeling off Roatan's west end. Trunk Bay over on St John also has some great snorkeling. Cockleshell Beach in St Kitts also had some good snorkeling. We used Rose & Jim for a tour in St Kitts, and that island is now one of my absolute favorites! Grand Turk has some good snorkeling, even right off the beach that's in front of the ship (lots of fish; very little coral in that spot). Dominica had some great snorkeling on the tour that we took there. I didn't snorkel at St Croix, but there were plenty of little fish right off the beach that we were at. St Lucia also had some great snorkeling on the tour that we took.

 

So as you can tell, great snorkeling is definitely not exclusive to the Western Caribbean. Eastern has just as much, if not more, great snorkeling options. So snorkelers/divers don't need to pick Western or Eastern. Either one will give you plenty of excellent options! Eastern does offer better scenery overall.

Edited by k2excursion
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I prefer Southern myself. Then Eastern.

 

If you like beaches (heaven to me), the difference between Southern/Eastern and Western (basically Mexico) is that the white sand beaches on the Southern/Eastern islands are mixed with ground coral, which keeps the sand cool. In Mexico, the sand isn't white and doesn't have coral in it, so it's very hot on your feet. You basically have to RUN from your beach chair to the water, lol.

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