Eastern vs. Western Caribbean

[matt0148]

Try to decide between two cruises for my family (including a 7-month old):

 

HAL Nieuw Amsterdam - Eastern Caribbean

 

Grand Turks

San Juan

St. Maarten

Half Moon Cay

 

or

 

Celebrity Solstice - Western Caribbean

 

Georgetown

Cozumel

Roatan

Costa Maya

 

Which one would be best for just getting out at each stop and walking around from the port with the little one in their stroller?

 

Thanks!

[cruisin'tex]

Try to decide between two cruises for my family (including a 7-month old):

 

HAL Nieuw Amsterdam - Eastern Caribbean

 

Grand Turks

San Juan

St. Maarten

Half Moon Cay

 

or

 

Celebrity Solstice - Western Caribbean

 

Georgetown

Cozumel

Roatan

Costa Maya

 

Which one would be best for just getting out at each stop and walking around from the port with the little one in their stroller?

 

Thanks!

 

Both are great port itineraries. Maybe you should go onto the CC Ports of Call section and see what info you can find on each port that would appeal to your family.

[cb at sea]

I don't think it will make alot of difference... Although the 1st itin. has the "private beach day"...Half Moon Cay. That's a favorite day of mine....but I love the beach! You can stay and play as long as you want, and if and when baby has had enough, head on back to the AC comfort of the ship!

 

Since you won't be making use of any kid facilities, the ship should be based on what YOU want!

[JennLuvs2Cruise]

I love the Eastern Caribbean the most - all those ports are beautiful. I went to the Western ports last June & had a great time but I felt that the Western ports was more rural & adventurous where as the Eastern is relaxing & total beach paradise. Western has great beaches too, but I felt like Western was more for adventurous excursions like zip lining, cave tubing & tours of the ruins.

[xcell]

I'm an eastern fan - western to me are more tourist traps whereas easter are small cities you can walk around and explore. but that's my imho.

[Essiesmom]

The eastern on Nieuw Amsterdam has three easy ports...Half Moon Cay (beach day), Grand Turk (waqlk off the ship, through the shops, and on to the beach or Margaritaville), and St. Maarten (walk off and shop, take the water taxi to the main part of town where you can shop some more or enjoy the beach). San Juan would involve more walking, but there is also a free hop-on, hop-off bus. EM

[alj1208]

Just got back from Western on Eclipse, Solstice's sister ship. The ship is great, but the Western ports have few if any opportunities for strolling around the port. We mostly went to the beaches, but our son is 4 and can ride in a taxi or bus. We did enjoy the beaches, but we found the ports on the Western route to be pretty limited in offerings. I think you should do the Eastern route unless you really want to sail the Solstice.

 

*Grand Cayman has good strolling and shopping, but you have to take a tender from the ship, and that would be a hassle with a toddler and a stroller.

 

*Cozumel had some shops around the port

 

*Costa Maya is pretty much a "faux" port, IMHO. Looks like the cruise lines picked a spot on the Mexican coast, pumped some money into it, and tried to turn it into a port. It's not working, from what we could see. There was a big swimming pool, but it looked kind of dirty, and no one was swimming.

 

*Roatan is pretty, but the good beaches are far away, and the port is limited.

[matt0148]

Thanks for all the responses! :)

 

My other concern is the smoking issue. Celebrity is pretty much non-smoking. How concerned should I be about the smoking situation on HAL on the balcony, common areas, hallways, etc.?