Help me choose which itinerary

[BCV23]

We are crusing out on January 8/9 either on the Liberty or Freedom. Pricing is very similar.

 

These are my choices:

Liberty St. Maarten, San Juan and Labadee out of Miami ( we have been to St. Maarten)

 

Freedom Labadee, Falmouth Jamaica, Georgetown Grand Cayman and Cozumel Mexico

 

The only place we have been is St Maarten. Would either of these itineraries be warmer. I am also thinking leaving Miami would be warmer but I guess in January you never know. Any thoughts or suggestions?? We are taking four kids with us ages 6-16. Thanks for any help making this decision!

[DustFSU]

I like the Eastern Carr. better then the West. The only port for east is Labadee that I haven't been to. San Juan is alright, but not too much to do from what I remember

[LBumb]

they are both awesome but i would choose the freedom with four stops.

[KITKAT0229]

We're debating the same but are leaning towards the western because of the extra port. We loved the Caymans - great snorkeling! You might check to see if the Oasis is going to be in port any of the same days. If so you might want to concider the one where they won't be so you don't have the crowds.

[Meriflower]

We did the western itinerary with almost the same stops as the Freedom. The difference was the stop at Jamaica, we stopped at Ocho Rios. It was a nice itinerary. Our favorite stops were Grand Cayman and Cozumel. On Grand Cayman the port was busy as there were 4 cruise ships in port including our ship (Radiance). Also we had to tender.

 

We went in mid January and it was nice, sunny, and warm. However keep in mind we live in Minnesota - we came from cold and snow!

 

Also as someone already mentioned the Freedom itinerary has more stops. As a parent of two active teens this may also be a better one to keep them interested with on-shore activities/excursions. So the Freedom with the western itinerary gets my vote! :)

[krisko]

I normally favor the eastern itineraries but in this case I favor the freedom. If you like sea days, pick the liberty. Incidentally the difference in temp between central FL and south FL is not noticeable.

[hpreece]

All of your options sound wonderful...if you really enjoyed St. Maarten, then I would say choose that option.

I had a similar choice to make and that's how I decided to choose another cruise that stopped at Cozumel. The first time we went to Cozumel, we took a taxi tour all around the island. It was beautiful, so we decided that we wanted to see more of Cozumel and went to Chankanabb the next time.

-Heather

[bigeagle12]

I vote Liberty .. we enjoy the eastern ports over the western.

[sunandsnow]

We like to go to ports that we haven't been to before. Go to the ports of call section and look at the different things you can do in the ports. Decide based on what your family likes to do. We usually like to do as many ports as we can. However, we just returned from the Liberty and loved it so an extra sea day on either ship would keep your family happy and busy. El Morro fort in San Juan is a really cool thing to do. Grand Cayman has great snorkeling including swimming with stingrays. Cozumel is also great for snorkeling and beach days. I've been to St. Marteen and Ocho Rios (not familar with where you are docking in Jamaica). Only you can decide what would interest your family. I'd go with the Western intinerary.

[scooter90]

The Freedom was great for our 16 year old and her best friend this past month. It depends on how you feel about sea days versus port days as the Freedom and Liberty are very similar. St. Martin has a great beach to the right as soon as you exit the Water Taxi and downtown is right there for shopping, etc.

 

Grand Cayman is great for the Stingray tour (Grand Cayman is a tender port). Cozumel was great for swimming with the Dolphins.

 

I would recommend you check out excursions at each of the potential ports and decide what you want to do in each port (pros and cons) and I'm sure your group will decide which port is the best for them.

 

As far as San Juan goes, if we ever stop there again, I would probably just stay on the ship (been there 3 times).

[Ocean Boy]

I would almost always pick the eastern Caribbean over the western but in this case I would most likely pick the western. I love St. Maarten and San Juan. But I believe the actual port time is San Juan is rather short of I remember correctly. And I am not a huge fan of "private" stops like Labadee. That itinerary just does not excite me. There is not enough "real" port time.

 

If you have never done the western ports I think you will enjoy that cruise. They are fun to go to at least once. I say that with the exception of Falmouth Jamaica. We have never been there. We have been to Ochos Rios Jamaica and had a blast. That would be the one port on the Western routes that I would love to go back to.

[Havingfun2010]

Ask the question: Do you and the kids prefer, staying on the ship, hanging out, going to the beach and spending less money, than the Eastern is for you, with 3 sea days, and a stop at Labadee and a very brief stop in SJ. If you want exploring, to see more cultures and countries and enjoy excursions (which means more money), than go Western.

 

Each trip has its benefits, so pick the way you want it - slow and inexpensive, or busy and more $$$.