Eastern v Western Carribean... young couple

[ovie08]

Hey guys,

I wanted to get everyones opinion on eastern carribean vs western carribean (more specifically the ports I list)

 

(Western) Cozumel Mexico, Belize, Isla Roatan, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

(Eastern) Nassau, Bahamas, St. Thomas, Usvi, San Juan Puerto Rico Grand Turk

 

Anyone with experience in both eastern and western I would like to hear your feedback because my girlfriend and I are thinking of booking Western Carribean with Carnival Valor because of price and it works around our schedule, but we like the ports of eastern better (maybe because its more well known places).

 

We are interested in doing exurcions like zipline and maybe scuba diving. We want to visit the beaches and shop and eat.

 

I am 24 and my girlfriend is 24 and this is my first cruise and her second cruise.

 

Maybe if you guys can post some pro's and con's of these two areas. Afterall, we will probably pick Western Carribean because it fits with our schedule and price right now - but depending on everyones feedback we may adjust things if Eastern is better.

 

Thanks

[bob&france]

I've done them all and would recommed you do the Western based on the activities you can do close to each port.

 

On 2 of the Eastern ports a} San Juan is more of a walking around historic San Juan visit the forts kind of day, a little less fun than a beach day.And b} Nassau , the must see is Atlantis, the hotel ,Casino and Aquarium.

 

Yes, at both you can find a beach...but the 2 "not to miss" attractions are more about casually strolling around.

 

Bob

[Ehpride]

I'm 25 and I've always done the Western. I love Cozumel. It's so carefree and relaxing. Grand Cayman and the stingrays are so much fun. Belize is a good place to go to Mayan ruins, ziplining, etc... Roatan is beautiful and the water is great for snorkeling/scuba diving. My mom and I convinced my 23 year old brother to go on the Western too and he and his girlfriend had a great time.

[TortieGal]

Having done both, I would probably go with the Western if you are looking for more active excursions. My sailing partner on both was my mom and I felt like we had a harder choice of finding excursions because the Western seemed more active geared. One of my friends who is a diver prefers the Western just for that reason.

 

Here are my thoughts on each port:

 

Nassau - I can take or leave this port. I did a land based vacation here so I don't feel like there is much for me to see. We did a beach excursion here through Carnival.

 

St. Thomas - Hurricane was moving in the next day so whether was dreary all day long. We did an island tour through Godfrey's Tours. It was ok. I'll be back in April and will probably do Magen's Bay and Paradise Point to finally get a Bushwacker.

 

San Juan - have not hit yet. Will be sailing out of there in April and though we will have some extra time, our only plans are to hit the fort and hopefully do a bioluminescent tour but that's a nighttime activity.

 

Grand Turk - We were diverted here because of previously mentioned hurricane. I loved it here! You walk right out to the beach. We did a stingray excursion. Tours were limited when we were there because we were one of the first ships back after Hurricane Ike.

 

Cozumel - Been here twice and did a beach excursion both times. On the last trip, we went to Nachi Cocum and will definitely go again. They limit the number of guests so if you are in port with lots of ships, it's nice to get away from the crowds.

 

Belize - We went to one of the Mayan ruin sites and did a city tour. I think this one had so more active excursions.

 

Roatan - Booked Victor Bodden tours so had a guide for the day. We did an island tour, visited monkeys and iguanas and finished out the day at one of the resorts. This seems to be a big ziplining port.

 

Grand Cayman- Poured all day here so wasn't fun. We did an island tour and then went out to Stingray City.

 

Probably a little more than you were looking for! :o

[RadChick]

I haven't done an eastern itinerary yet, but that western itinerary is AWESOME!!

 

There is TONS to do in Cozumel and it's a beautiful city. In Belize you definitely need an organized excursion, but the cave tubing is SOO fun (I used Yhony / cave-tubing.com) Oh and try the cashew wine :) Roatan has AMAZING snorkeling. I know that zip lining is another popular excursion there, as is the parrots/monkeys tour. If you end up in Roatan and like to try different kind of drinks, get a MONKEY LA LA, which I haven't been able to find a bartender back home who knows what it is to make it for me, but it's common over there. Grand Cayman is expensive, but my favorite excursion ever is offered there - any tour that involves a trip to Stingray City! I did one that was a combination of Hell, the turtle farm, and the stingrays. The stingray experience is unbeatable, like nothing I could have imagined. Standing out in the "middle" of the ocean/bay on the sand bar. "Wild" stingrays interacting, swimming all around me. Watching people's reactions. It was just incredible. We were back in plenty of time to grab a meal and hang out a bit in the immediate vicinity of the ship. Our meal was costly for being a little beach bar and grill but super tasty, and for the life of me I can't remember the name of the restaurant. :(

[ovie08]

hahaha thats awesome!

thanks guys

 

Anyone else?

 

Will probably have more questions..@ work right now

[MamaParrotHead]

I think you can't go wrong either way. I've done both.

 

Western there is stingrays, awesome beaches and scuba in Grand Cayman. Tabayana Beach in Roatan was our favorite stop this past cruise. Cozumel is fun (also good scuba) and Paradise Beach is probably right up your alley. Belize my only word of advice would be to book a ship excursion because tendering there is LONG and kind of a pain in the butt...supposedly good snorkeling/scuba because of the large barrier reef there, but when we went we didn't see a damn THING.

 

Eastern is shopping and beaches. St. John is right off St. Thomas and is known for awesome snorkeling. St. Martin is probably my favorite spot...but don't bother going to the French side unless it's to Orient Beach. Grand Turk is supposed to be a good time and great beach day (and there's a HUGE wall to dive/snorkel off of) and a huge Margaritaville right off the ship. San Juan, if it's a night stop, would probably be a fun place to scare up some hopping nightlife for the two of you as well.

 

Either way, you'll have a blast. And I did love the Valor. :)

 

Good luck!

[shoexu]

My boyfriend and I (24 & 23) have been on a few cruises and been to most of those ports, and I would def recommened to go with the Western itinerary. In fact we just picked out the same itinerary on the Legend for our next cruise.

As for the Eastern one, St.Thomas is one of my favorite places but it is a little more laid back.

I have been to San Juan twice and both times we just walked for a little bit and went back on the boat.

You can def find a lot of different and new exciting things to do with the Western itinerary!

[LoveTravel23]

I'll be cruising on the Valor 05/02/10 & I choosed this itinerary cuz it just had more to do (like the previous CC have suggested) instead of doing a beach day everyday.

 

My plans for this trip are:

 

Cozumel-The ruins & cultural history

 

Isla Roatan-doing a tour w/ ronystours seeing the monkeys/iguanas, etc.

 

Belize-still undecided but I have a feeling its going to be something similar to above

 

Grand Cayman-beach day (I've been there before & @ 7 mile beach you can tan or jet ski & snorkel if you want too).

 

Just incase I'm 23 & this is a family trip who would rather be up & about.

[hlb76]

 

(Western) Cozumel Mexico, Belize, Isla Roatan, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

(Eastern) Nassau, Bahamas, St. Thomas, Usvi, San Juan Puerto Rico Grand Turk

 

 

 

 

I dont have too much input on this. We are doing the Eastern later this week. But doing HMC not Nassau. We debated between the two as well. We decided the Eastern becuase we are traveling w/ 4 kids in our group under the age of 14. So we had to keep them in mind.

 

I have been to ...

Nassau we used Stewarts cove to snorkel they had 3 stops last one was full of reef sharks. VERY fun!

Grand Turk we just chilled at the beach right off the pier. This time the my 2 kids will be doing the Flow rider.

Grand Cayman have been twice I love it there. We used Nativeway both times and did the rays reef and rum tour. We swam with the Rays , snorkeld a bit and had a beach stop with lunch included. It has been one of my favorite excursions ever.

 

One thing to keep in mind when you go on the cruise you need to figure in price of excursions. Western may have more adventure but you will pay for that as well. That is another reason we choose the Eastern there are 3 of the 4 days we can do our own thing cheaply. I hate to be cheap on a cruise but it was a rough year for us and finding the cash to afford the trip was hard so are being economical from here on out. We debated Ziplining in San Juan but at over $100 per person our family of 4 could not afford it. One day we will do the Western bu tI want to wait til my kids are a bit older. They are 9 and 14 now and want them to be able to join the adventure. And wait til we are not traveling with another faimly with kids under the age of 5.