Trying to choose itinerary - HMC/Aruba/Curacao vs St Kitts/St Maartin

Hi. My family and I have cruised many times and are trying to choose between two itineraries on Carnival Magic for next summer. One includes Curacao and Aruba, the other includes St Martin, St. Kitts and San Juan. Our kids span a big age range, they will be 8, 12, 16, and 19. Any thoughts on which islands have better activities for families that won't break the bank but will still provide a fun time for all? We have not really spent time in any of the above ports. Thanks.

Do a bit of research on all those ports...see which ones have things that interest you! For instance, are you into beaches? Shopping? Hiking or active sports? Laid-back tours? Snorkeling or swimming with sea creatures?

Find out what each place offers that "floats your boat", and go there!!!

Hi. My family and I have cruised many times and are trying to choose between two itineraries on Carnival Magic for next summer. One includes Curacao and Aruba, the other includes St Martin, St. Kitts and San Juan. Our kids span a big age range, they will be 8, 12, 16, and 19. Any thoughts on which islands have better activities for families that won't break the bank but will still provide a fun time for all? We have not really spent time in any of the above ports. Thanks.

HMC is a very popular day/port of call. It is basically a beautiful beach day. Curacao is an easy port to walk around in, shop, take the floating bridge etc. We also booked a local island tour for cheap if that appeals. Aruba is one of our other favorite ports and it was worth every penny to book the off road adventure to the north shore; we all had tons of fun bouncing up and down and the scenery was fantastic.

San Juan is an OK port - you can spend the day exploring the two forts and the town; we found the free bus always crowded so we just walked it. St. Martin is still a total disaster IMHO (was ther;e in March); the French side has seen very little improvement and Orient beach is a shadow of its former glory. You are really forced to Simpson Bay or Maho (which is neat to watch the planes fly over) but VERY VERY crowded. We had tried booking a catamaran sail and snorkel privately which was canceled because they could not find even 4 other people to join our group of 4. Most of the hotels are still shut down. They need our money - but it is no longer a great stop. We enjoyed St. Kitts - but also, we booked a private excursion here. It was also a beautiful island, but you are not going to see that unless you get out and away from the port.

So I would chose HMC/Curacao/Aruba in a heartbeat over the other.

We LOVED Aruba, like Curacao (I picked an average beach, don't do it). Curacao was too hot and humid that day and we only made it to the bridge and had to turn back because all three of us were dying in that heat. And we are from GA! Even my 5 year old was miserable.

Aruba was gorgeous, the beach was free - we went to the butterfly farm and then just crossed the road and stayed on the beach for free (chaises in the palm shade).

I am not sure what HMC is.

HMC = Half Moon Cay, which is a private island.

My vote would be Aruba/Curacao/HMC.

So I would chose HMC/Curacao/Aruba in a heartbeat over the other.

Same here.

St. Martin is still a total disaster IMHO (was ther;e in March); the French side has seen very little improvement and Orient beach is a shadow of its former glory. You are really forced to Simpson Bay or Maho (which is neat to watch the planes fly over) but VERY VERY crowded. We had tried booking a catamaran sail and snorkel privately which was canceled because they could not find even 4 other people to join our group of 4. Most of the hotels are still shut down. They need our money - but it is no longer a great stop.

That is so sad. One of our favorite islands. But good to know. Hopefully they will get the recovery and relief they need.

I've only been to Aruba, so I can't vote. If you do choose that cruise, it's one of the few places we didn't arrange a tour in advance, since the island is very safe and you can get in one of the many cabs lined up outside the port and take a tour of the whole island. We stopped at Philip's Animal Garden, which is a lovely rescue organization (they took in animals after the crisis in Venezuela left a lot of abandoned animals and took other animals in distress). You can get very close to the animals and feed them. You can end the day at a lovely free public beach.