Choosing a cruise

[hannahsmomtoo]

For our first cruise we decided to stay close to home.. Mexican Riviera...

 

BUT

 

for 2013.. there is a bit more $ available...

and I want to book WAY in advance...

 

But how on earth do I choose WHERE to cruise?

 

What was your favorite?

 

Some qualifiers... 7 day cruises only.. and it is myself and a 13 year old who is my partner in crime and believes SHE is 37 also.

Thanks !

[seashinesunshine]

For our first cruise we decided to stay close to home.. Mexican Riviera...

 

BUT

 

for 2013.. there is a bit more $ available...

and I want to book WAY in advance...

 

But how on earth do I choose WHERE to cruise?

 

What was your favorite?

 

Some qualifiers... 7 day cruises only.. and it is myself and a 13 year old who is my partner in crime and believes SHE is 37 also.

Thanks !

 

Personally we love the southern caribbean, if you go out of San Juan, many different choises, you get more port days. :)

[Irishlinny]

With the exception of the Bahamas itinerary (Port Canaveral, Freeport & Nassau), you really can't go wrong. We loved the Western itinerary on the Legend out of Tampa. We also love the itins that include Half Moon Cay & Grand Turk (we took the Miracle from New York). Also did the Freedom with St Thomas, Antigua, Tortola, Nassau...good trip also. We haven't sailed any of the largest Dream Class ships yet, but will be on the Breeze in Nov. If there are ports that interest you, see what ships sail there, and then see if you want to sail a larger ship or not. Beyondships dot com has extensive write-ups and lots of photos of most of the ships, too.

[dramasweetheart]

I loved going to the caribbean after two year going to the mexican riviera. I hear the Grand Cayman is beautiful, unfortunately we missed it due to heavy swells. If you consider Western Caribbean and go to Jamaica, do Dunn's River Falls! Oh there are so many possibilities!

[elgato2]

Agree with Irish..we've been all over the Caribbean numerous times and the Bahamas just don't do it for me....each port is different and so much to do..

Eastern always strikes us as less party (bar) atmosphere..and better shopping....we've bought some beautiful items and jewellry in

St Maarten, St Thomas, and Puerto Rico..love just driving around the islands there.

Western has shopping...but lots of party type bars...wonderful ruins in Mexico..awesome snorkelling off Belize..lots of beauty in both places...hard to choose...

If you do a Southern...be sure to do a tour of Aruba..such a neat place..and Curacao is lovely..Dutch influence everywhere!

Dominica is probably the most beautiful place I've been..the island just explodes out of the water and is so green!

You'll have a great time whatever you choose!

[MelV]

I read lots and lots of reviews before choosing. My choice of the Bahamas really came down to a matter of timing and departure port for me. At first we were going to go to Grand Cayman and Jamaica but the reviews scared me off because they said the port in Jamaica was dangerous so I would certainly take that into consideration with a 13 year old along. Good luck!

[Ron_L]

It really depends on what you enjoy. The western Caribbean ports have great snorkeling, beautiful beaches and some history, especially out of Cozumel. The eastern itinerary also has great beaches but these ports aren't as known for snorkeling, but there is still some great snorkeling available if that's what you want.

 

We really enjoyed the western route on Valor and had a great time in every port. We're heading out on the Breeze in December to some of the eastern ports and looking forward to that. Our next cruise after that will probably be the southern Caribbean, but the Mexican Riviera sounds interesting, too.

 

Take a look at the port of call boards here and read about the various excursions that folks enjoy and that may help you decide.

[t1adams]

Yes, the southern Carribean is the way to go! We're flying into San Juan next March (the Valor repositions to San Juan for the Southern route starting next February). It leaves out of SJ and the stops (not necessarily in this order) are Barbados, St. Kitts, St. Thomas, St. Marrten, and St. Lucia. I think your 13yr old would really learn a lot in just San Juan alone. We've been to SJ before and LOVED it soooo much more than we anticipated. Even my 9yr old loved it. Two castles to tour (for just a couple bucks) and even Ponce DeLeon is burried there in one of the churches in Old San Juan (we're going to find it this time!). We haven't done all the Southern Carribean yet but this time we are doing much more. Last year we saw San Juan, St. Thomas and then back up to Grand Turk (eh--) and Nassau (again, 'eh'). The Virgin Islands are just so much more exotic. We can't wait! It's spring break for my kids but we did spring break last year and it wasn't bad AT ALL! The layout of the ship makes it so you never feel over-crowded. The kids on the ship seem to behave quite well too.

 

So if you have the extra money this time, I think flying into San Juan and taking that 7day cruise would be worth it. Sooo many ports too. Only one sea day. :D

[treasure4two]

Yes, the southern Carribean is the way to go! We're flying into San Juan next March (the Valor repositions to San Juan for the Southern route starting next February). It leaves out of SJ and the stops (not necessarily in this order) are Barbados, St. Kitts, St. Thomas, St. Marrten, and St. Lucia. I think your 13yr old would really learn a lot in just San Juan alone. We've been to SJ before and LOVED it soooo much more than we anticipated. Even my 9yr old loved it. Two castles to tour (for just a couple bucks) and even Ponce DeLeon is burried there in one of the churches in Old San Juan (we're going to find it this time!). We haven't done all the Southern Carribean yet but this time we are doing much more. Last year we saw San Juan, St. Thomas and then back up to Grand Turk (eh--) and Nassau (again, 'eh'). The Virgin Islands are just so much more exotic. We can't wait! It's spring break for my kids but we did spring break last year and it wasn't bad AT ALL! The layout of the ship makes it so you never feel over-crowded. The kids on the ship seem to behave quite well too.

 

So if you have the extra money this time, I think flying into San Juan and taking that 7day cruise would be worth it. Sooo many ports too. Only one sea day. :D

 

Totally agree!!!

[RWolver672]

First cruise was a group cruise that we joined on the Destiny. Second we wanted to try the new Victory (same ports but brothers and SIL's came that time). Third we wanted to try the new Conquest. Fourth we wanted to try the new Glory. Fifth we wanted to see Aruba and RCI was the only ship going there then. Sixth we wanted to try the Dream. Seventh booked for Feb 2013. We wanted to see some different islands that we hadn't been to yet. Decided on the Freedom because it's an 8 day cruise even though we've been to two of those islands.

[hannahsmomtoo]

So Freeport...Nassau....etc....not worth it? I hear that frequently...

[FreezingInMichigan]

For our first cruise we decided to stay close to home.. Mexican Riviera...

 

BUT

 

for 2013.. there is a bit more $ available...

and I want to book WAY in advance...

 

But how on earth do I choose WHERE to cruise?

 

What was your favorite?

 

Some qualifiers... 7 day cruises only.. and it is myself and a 13 year old who is my partner in crime and believes SHE is 37 also.

Thanks !

 

Picking a favorite is like picking a favorite child... I love them all! (Some more than others depending on my mood..lol)

 

In the West we really enjoyed Mahajual (Costa Maya port) - very laid back, relaxing beach day; Grand Cayman - spent the entire day on the Far Tortuga playing with the stingrays at Stingray City.

 

In the East our favs were touring St. Thomas with Sunny Liston - FUN!; San Juan - gorgeous; Grand Turk - snorkled the Wall... wow!; Tortola - sailed to many smaller coves with a cat charter.

[mikel24m]

For our first cruise we decided to stay close to home.. Mexican Riviera...

 

BUT

 

for 2013.. there is a bit more $ available...

and I want to book WAY in advance...

 

But how on earth do I choose WHERE to cruise?

 

What was your favorite?

 

Some qualifiers... 7 day cruises only.. and it is myself and a 13 year old who is my partner in crime and believes SHE is 37 also.

Thanks !

 

We love exotic western itinerary Cozumel ,roatan,grand cayman and Belize

 

book yourself early saver and google "fish cruise" and join and get some OBC and price drops for $1 per cruise they watch the prices of your cruise and email you when the price changes

[FreezingInMichigan]

So Freeport...Nassau....etc....not worth it? I hear that frequently...

 

Our first trip to Nassau we hired a private tour guide through Island Marketing. It was a good tour that gave us a flavor of the island. Highlights included the Queen's Staircase and the very tasty Fish Fry. However, next trip we wandered through downtown at our leisure rather than exploring.

[Irishlinny]

So Freeport...Nassau....etc....not worth it? I hear that frequently...

If you've never been anywhere, they're probably fine. But once you've been to better places, they pale in comparison. Also, since Nassau is on many itineraries, those of us who have been many times are simply tired of it. It's not that there aren't things to do, because there are...but we're tired of it. We still go on itins that include Nassau at times, but we now often enjoy the empty ship while in port;)

 

There are some nice beaches in Freeport, but the rest of the island is not much of anything.

 

There are just so many better places to go:)