Carribean itineraries

[poss]

We've never done the Caribbean on a ship, mainly because we're passionate about snorkeling, so we do a winter vacation each year that allows us to spend 4-6 hours a day face down in the sea. We're thinking it might be fun, just for a change, to take a cruise. I'm looking at the Marina sailing on December 10, and the one on January 13. The two places I'm familiar with-- Key West and Grand Cayman-- we're not all that crazy about, but I believe that the other ports should be more interesting. I'd love to hear from people who know the places well which they think is a "better" itinerary, i.e. more interesting and handsome places to explore.

We've never done Oceania before-- have been steady Regent pax-- but think that we'd be quite pleased with the Marina.

Thanks for any input anyone is able to offer.

[rheasue38]

Hi!

We love Oceania! This will be our 9th Oceania cruise. We are also on the Marina in July and have a cruise this Oct. on Oceania.

Our TA just booked the Jan. 13th cruise for us. Hope you join us.

Rhea

[poss]

Thanks for the reply, Rhea. I do think we'd like Oceania, but that's despite the fact that we really really do like all-inclusive. (And we could not have done any of the older ships-- need a king bed cause we're such restless sleepers.)

Was there a reason you chose that particular Caribbean itinerary?

I'm hoping that folks who may know the ports will chime in to express which they think is the more interesting cruise. (We know we're not interested in the ones which do the various "resort" islands-- have enjoyed many years of land-stays on most of them.)

[LHT28]

some of us (me) are too lazy to look up those itineraries maybe if you post the ports of call you will get more responses

I know Grand Turk had a nice area for swimming & some diving sites

[Benita]

Poss, Living in South Florida has afforded us the easy opportunity to cruise the Caribbean regularly - we have done so about 40 times. Our favorite itineraries involve the Eastern and Southern Caribbean. We love St. Thomas and St. Marten and really enjoy Aruba and Curacao. Martinique, Barbados, and Trinidad have some beautiful beaches and scenery. We are less thrilled with the western Caribbean, which includes the Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Key West and Jamaica. After a while most of the islands blend together, but as we choose these itineraries to relax and mainly enjoy the ships, we don't really care where they stop. We tend to pick a ship that we like, with ample pool space and large balconies.The cruise ship is actually the destination for us, vs European cruises, where the itineraries are key.

[rheasue38]

Hi!

We've been on 50 cruises and find most of the Caribbean islands to be quite similar in nature. We chose this itinerary because there were actually some new ports for us-Belize and Costa Maya. We also like Key West and enjoyed our port stop in Guatemala. We also wanted to be on the Marina since it is a new ship and we prefer the newer ships. We also wanted a ship with no formal nights and like the idea of a 10 night cruise. I have never been on Regent but have heard great reviews about that ship. As Benita says, the cruise ship is the destination in the Caribbean, unlike European cruises where each port is so interesting. By the way, Benita, hope you both are doing well. Why not join us on this cruise?

Rhea

[caribbeansun]

O's offerings in the Caribbean are rather limited in terms of itinerary. You don't like Cayman (which I frankly find baffling given your stated interest in what is underwater) or Key West so your choices are even more limited.

 

If the primary interest for you is snorkeling then the Pearls itinerary is most likely the best with stops in Virgin Gorda and Tortola - you can do day sails from both to amazing snorkel spots.

[poss]

Hello everyone-- and thanks so much for your thoughtful replies. I'll post the two itineraries-- good point LHT.

I hadn't properly focused on the point that several of you made-- that the ship is really the destination, probably more so than the ports. I do love being on ships, but I"m not sure about being able to enjoy that as the "main" aspect of vacation. E.g. we don't much enjoy public pools. We need to think more about this.

Caribbeansun: Snorkeling off the Cayman beaches (which we infinitely prefer to having to take a boat out-- so that we can come and go hour after hour as we please) doesn't hold a candle to the snorkeling off some of the Virgin Islands and elsewhere in the Caribbean. I do love the area of Eden Rocks-- superb snorkeling-- and "the Cemetery" is ok--- but St John and Virgin Gorda have Cayman beat by a mile (at least for the kind of snorkeling we enjoy). And the topography of Cayman (and Turks and Caicos, e.g.) has nothing lovely about it-- flat as a pancake. We love the islands that have great hiking as well as great snorkeling. Even if it's too hot to hike, it's lovely to have the gorgeousness of the hills and valleys, rather than the sameness of Cayman's landscape. We have zero interest in shopping, by the way.

What I think I didn't make clear was that if we do a Caribbean cruise, it's with the idea of doing something different at that time of year. I.e. I'd love to get some snorkeling in, but I know it won't match the kind of snorkeling vacations we usually do. That's fine-- we'd like to try something different. (Definitely not interested in sitting on beaches.) In other words, not at all interested in the places we know and love, e.g. Virgin Gorda, Curacao, Martinique, Barbados, etc etc. Are hoping to have a very different kind of Caribbean experience.

I'm going to post this and come back with the two itineraries. Many thanks!

[poss]

Dec. 10 (12 days):

Miami, Key West, Cozumel, Belize City, Roatan (Hondorus), sea, Puerto Limon (Costa Rica), Colon (Panama), Cartagena (Colombia), sea, Cayman, sea, Miami.

 

Jan, 13 (10 days):

Miami, Key West, sea, Costa Maya, Roatan, Santo Tomas (Guatemala), Belize City, Cozumel, Cayman, sea, Miami

 

I will, of course, google all these places to see what's "there"-- but it'd be terrific to have input from cruisers who've done these ports.

 

Many thanks!

[LHT28]

Dec. 10 (12 days):

Miami, Key West, Cozumel, Belize City, Roatan (Hondorus), sea, Puerto Limon (Costa Rica), Colon (Panama), Cartagena (Colombia), sea, Cayman, sea, Miami.

 

Jan, 13 (10 days):

Miami, Key West, sea, Costa Maya, Roatan, Santo Tomas (Guatemala), Belize City, Cozumel, Cayman, sea, Miami

 

I will, of course, google all these places to see what's "there"-- but it'd be terrific to have input from cruisers who've done these ports.

 

Many thanks!

I have no experience in snorkeling but this is my opinion on places

 

Roatan & Belize will have snorkeling oppourtunities but CR & Columbia would be more for touring either nature areas or historical in nature

Cozumel you can snorkel but probably like Cayman

 

Enjoy what ever cruise you choose

 

Lyn

[poss]

I seem to be having difficulty getting my main point across. This time we would NOT be looking for a snorkeling vacation. (It's what we do every other year, and no doubt would do again the following year.) We'd be interested in excursions of a non-snorkeling nature (and tend to enjoy "natural" sites more than "historic" ones, but if history is in a pleasant setting we're up for those as well). In other words, I'm just trying to see if I can get a grip on which of the itineraries is likely to be most interesting to explore on land. If we get to snorkel a couple of times, great-- but it's not the deal-breaker.

Thanks once more.

(In my googling so far, I'm fairly well convinced that Colon is pretty awful.)

[HawkeyeCruisr]

We had a memorable port stop in Costa Maya in 2004 when we took the ship's excursion to Mayan ruins. The ruins were quite a distance inland but well worth the bus ride. At the time, Costa Maya was a new port - ours might have been one of the first ships to port there - and there was very little going on in the area. It was mostly a beach with very few amenities.

 

I think the port has been built up considerably in the past 6 years, especially after having been closed for nearly a year after a deadly hurricane. Still, if you are there and have the opportunity to see the ruins, go for it!

[LHT28]

I seem to be having difficulty getting my main point across. This time we would NOT be looking for a snorkeling vacation.

 

(In my googling so far, I'm fairly well convinced that Colon is pretty awful.)

 

either cruise would be OK then

Colon is if you want to do the Canal tour or a trip inland a bit.... otherwise not much in Colon itself

 

To me the ports are more beach & historical by nature but there are some rainforests that you can do a tour to

 

From Port Limon we did a private tour to the Tortugero canal ..it was interesting

 

Enjoy

[susiesan]

In Belize, you can go cave tubing.

 

In Costa Limon, you can go ziplining in the jungle.

 

Very fun activities if you are an active person.

[caribbeansun]

Ahh, you were on the wrong side of the island then. There's no question Cayman is not a mecca for topside exploring. Diving there is truly wonderful though on the East End NOT near Seven Mile Beach. For snorkeling BVI is decidedly superior.

 

Okay then, but you're not keying on that aspect this time around - I'd misunderstood, sorry.

 

The two itineraries you've posted are a bit limited (IMO) AND you'll have sea days to contend with. If you're not sold on the "ship is the destination" then you might want to consider either a more port intensive trip or forgo the Caribbean all together because it can be a challenge.

 

Now this is JMO and no doubt others will disagree so take it for what it is - we did the Pearls last Feb and while we enjoyed some of the ports we did no enjoy others. Islands are similar in that they all have much the same stores, you can sit on a beach on any of them, you can swim on any of them but also different in that some have interesting natural "sites" but many do not. Many have their tourist spots that are frankly mostly non-events.

 

We've changed our way of approaching these trips so as not to be disappointed - we book a cabana so that we have that as a feature of our at sea days, we will tend to find a beach and relax rather than go to another disappointing "site", we may go fishing if the mood strikes, DW will go shopping - I'll do a bit of photography, we'll do day sails to get out on the water in a private setting. Cruising in the Caribbean for us is a low impact vacation and to be honest we're not sold on it as a means to see that part of the world as compared to say Europe which are full on days.

 

Good luck!

 

Caribbeansun: Snorkeling off the Cayman beaches (which we infinitely prefer to having to take a boat out-- so that we can come and go hour after hour as we please) doesn't hold a candle to the snorkeling off some of the Virgin Islands and elsewhere in the Caribbean. I do love the area of Eden Rocks-- superb snorkeling-- and "the Cemetery" is ok--- but St John and Virgin Gorda have Cayman beat by a mile (at least for the kind of snorkeling we enjoy). And the topography of Cayman (and Turks and Caicos, e.g.) has nothing lovely about it-- flat as a pancake. We love the islands that have great hiking as well as great snorkeling. Even if it's too hot to hike, it's lovely to have the gorgeousness of the hills and valleys, rather than the sameness of Cayman's landscape. We have zero interest in shopping, by the way.

[poss]

The replies are really helpful. Thank you.

 

Caribbeansun: When you say that you "book a cabana," is this something on the ship (??) or do you mean that you go to a beach and get a cabana?

 

susiesan: What is cave tubing like?

 

I'm going to keep reading about the various ports in guidebooks and such. I don't think we want to hang out on a beach. We've been to Tulum (wonderful), so we're probably not interested in long bus-rides to Mayan sites again. What we'd like is more the active kind of thing (though we're late 70's). I may need to forego the idea of trying a Caribbean cruise. We do so love our snorkeling vacations-- just thought it'd be fun to try something different. Or maybe we'll do the 10 day cruise, 2 days shorter. Though we have zero interest in Costa Maya or Cozumel.

 

In any case, the input here has been great-- really appreciated.

[LHT28]

FYI

There are no Cabanas on the Marina

The smaller R ships have them for rent on deck 11

 

Lyn

[rheasue38]

Hi!

Poss, we booked this cruise because these ports are more interesting than the other islands.The truly interesting ports are in Europe and in Asia. But we live in NY and since it's so cold there in the winter, the Caribbean itineraries are a great get-away for almost two weeks. We've been on 50 cruises so there are very few new ports for us. However, we have never been to Belize or Costa Maya. This itinerary offers some islands with natural beauty.

Rhea

[Benita]

The Marina should be a good ship for the Caribbean. We tend to sail there on the large ships, even the mega ships, as the ship is the destination and I wanted more to do then sit by the one small pool on the Regatta. With more going on and better entertainment, mixed with the great food and larger cabins (and balconies), the Marina should do very well in that neck of the woods.

[Lard Greystoke]

Dec. 10 (12 days):

Miami, Key West, Cozumel, Belize City, Roatan (Hondorus), sea, Puerto Limon (Costa Rica), Colon (Panama), Cartagena (Colombia), sea, Cayman, sea, Miami.

 

Jan, 13 (10 days):

Miami, Key West, sea, Costa Maya, Roatan, Santo Tomas (Guatemala), Belize City, Cozumel, Cayman, sea, Miami

 

I will, of course, google all these places to see what's "there"-- but it'd be terrific to have input from cruisers who've done these ports.

 

Many thanks!

 

Cozumel, Belize, Costa Maya, Cayman are all flat. Belize & Costa Maya have Mayan ruins.

 

Your better topography is more east-south Caribbean: Virgins, St Lucia, Dominica, etc.

[JimandStan]

The snorkeling in Bonaire is phenomenal! :D

[meow!]

The renewed Silversea website has very concise and detailed information on ports of call. All you need to do is to find an itinearary similar to the one you will be on, and click on the individual port names, and you get the information. http://www.silversea.com/ Nomatter which line you will sail on, you can still always use information from other lines' website. That is the beauty of the internet.

 

We paid attention to this because we are taking a Caribbean voyage aboard the newbuild Silver Spirit in November. (We have been on Oceania twice before, we liked them, but found Oceania pricing for the Caribbean equal or higher than Silversea lately). Of course, many people are willing to pay extra for no smoking and no formal (we never smoked).