which caribbean cruise?

[craftymarie]

just wondering if anyone could tell me which cruise in carribean would suit us. we are thinking end jan early feb. we enjoy sightseeing. size of ship does not matter. we have taken 4 european cruises, and are looking for winter sunshine :). it is hard to decide just by looking at brochures etc. departure port doesn't matter as we have to fly from Ireland anyway. TIA

Marie

[Clarea]

Southern Caribbean out of Puerto Rico are our favorite Caribbean cruises.

[boulders]

What are your ages? What ships have you sailed on before and what did you like or dislike about them?

[runner15km]

I suggest,

8 Days Caribbean-Eastern

Royal Caribbean Int. • Independence of the Seas

Fort Lauderdale, Philipsburg/St. Maarten, Basseterre, San Juan/Puerto Rico, Labadi/Labadee, Fort Lauderdale, the ports and ship are highly regarded.

[sonvoltken6]

Wow that is a really vague question. Assuming you are interested in Royal Caribbean, I would consider one of the longer voyages on the Legend of the Seas. The port is very close to Fort Lauderdale airport, and you will see some of the deep south ports like Aruba and Curacao.

[the_journeyman]

Southern Caribbean out of Puerto Rico are our favorite Caribbean cruises.

 

We did the southern Caribbean out of San Juan, Puerto Rico in 2009. There are two different southern Caribbean options. One has two days at sea, the other only one. We chose the one with only one day at sea so we could see more ports. Lots to see and do in the ports.

 

Either version would be a great cruise.

 

JM

[PORT ROYAL]

just wondering if anyone could tell me which cruise in carribean would suit us. we are thinking end jan early feb. we enjoy sightseeing. size of ship does not matter. we have taken 4 european cruises, and are looking for winter sunshine :). it is hard to decide just by looking at brochures etc. departure port doesn't matter as we have to fly from Ireland anyway. TIA

Marie

 

Southern Caribbean for us to include St.M for bling shopping and St.T for their selection of spiritsn (just outside the dock gates).

[Debitoo]

just wondering if anyone could tell me which cruise in carribean would suit us. we are thinking end jan early feb. we enjoy sightseeing. size of ship does not matter. we have taken 4 european cruises, and are looking for winter sunshine :). it is hard to decide just by looking at brochures etc. departure port doesn't matter as we have to fly from Ireland anyway. TIA

Marie

Why not look into doing a B2B on the Adventure out of Puerto Rico? They have an A and a B itinerary. You'll get the best of all the ports plus Adventure is a GREAT ship!

[m*u*g*]

Eastern or maybe southern if first time. Western for 2nd trip.

 

I love the ships so Oasis class if kids. Freedom Class for couples.

[Clarea]

Why not look into doing a B2B on the Adventure out of Puerto Rico? They have an A and a B itinerary. You'll get the best of all the ports plus Adventure is a GREAT ship!

Great idea! With the expense of having to fly from Europe, it would make more sense to maximize the vacation.

[CntPAcruiser]

Why not look into doing a B2B on the Adventure out of Puerto Rico? They have an A and a B itinerary. You'll get the best of all the ports plus Adventure is a GREAT ship!

 

This! Plus you'll fly right into nice, warm weather. Florida is not always as warm as you might like in January/February, in our experience.

[craftymarie]

thanks for replies. sorry if post was vague. we are in late 40s. been on rhapsody- alaska 2010. thompson island escape -west med 2011. seranade- venice 2012. splendour- dubai 2013. are sailing brilliance- boston in oct 2013.

we have never sailed on a large ship as you can see, but we have liked all the rcl ships so far, so any size ship would be fine. just love the whole cruise experience. i guess florida would be our best option as flights seem to be a bit cheaper for us. we are not beach people, we enjoy trips and sightseeing. thanks Marie

[MommaBear55]

I suggest,

8 Days Caribbean-Eastern

Royal Caribbean Int. • Independence of the Seas

Fort Lauderdale, Philipsburg/St. Maarten, Basseterre, San Juan/Puerto Rico, Labadi/Labadee, Fort Lauderdale, the ports and ship are highly regarded.

 

If you are looking to go out of Florida this s great itinerary. I also like St Thomas, Tortola. Curacao and Aruba. Labadee is RCCL's private island and is one of our favorite stops but may not be for you as it is mostly a beach and water activity day.

[blonde1981]

Another vote for Southern Caribbean out of Puerto Rico. The little extra in air fare would be worth it IMO.

[MOSusan]

Another vote for Southern Caribbean out of Puerto Rico. The little extra in air fare would be worth it IMO.

 

My vote also. I also like the idea of doing b2b cruises out of San Juan if you can swing the time away from work. I would suggest doing the more port intensive cruise first and the itinerary with two sea days second. You will need it! We've done both and LOVED them.

[Cigar King]

Why not look into doing a B2B on the Adventure out of Puerto Rico? They have an A and a B itinerary. You'll get the best of all the ports plus Adventure is a GREAT ship!

 

Yes...do this. And take the December 7th and 14th 2014. Right now I feel like I'm the only one on that cruise for the 14th. I'd like some company. ;-)

[the_journeyman]

FYI - it looks like Jewel of the Seas is also doing the southern Caribbean route. That gives you a different class of ship as an option. That being said, we LOVED the Adventure, fabulous boat.

 

JM

[39august]

Since you want to sail from Florida, I suggest you either take the Legend for a 10 or 11 (I don't remember which) night cruise, or the 8 night Independence cruise or a back to back cruise on any ship sailing 7, 5, or 4 nights, with the exception of Oasis or Allure. They do not go to as many ports as the others and cost a lot more. Since you don't care about thie size of the ship, Legend would be your best choice for seeing a lot more of the Caribbean islands.

[OCruisers]

thanks for replies. sorry if post was vague. we are in late 40s. been on rhapsody- alaska 2010. thompson island escape -west med 2011. seranade- venice 2012. splendour- dubai 2013. are sailing brilliance- boston in oct 2013.

we have never sailed on a large ship as you can see, but we have liked all the rcl ships so far, so any size ship would be fine. just love the whole cruise experience. i guess florida would be our best option as flights seem to be a bit cheaper for us. we are not beach people, we enjoy trips and sightseeing. thanks Marie

 

Since you're spending the money to fly from Ireland, you'll probably want to take a longer cruise or one that could be made into a B2B.

Eastern and Southern would probably suit your needs best.

Have you considered the Panama Canal?

 

LuLu

~~~~

[printingchick]

Southern Caribbean out of Puerto Rico are our favorite Caribbean cruises.

 

DITTO!! These itineraries typically visit more ports of call than western or eastern, they visit a wide variety of ports (some modern and touristy, some very natural and undeveloped), and often feature fewer young kids than the Florida originating cruises. (Particularly the smaller Radiance Class ship.)

 

Based on your other comments, I think the B2B suggestion, perhaps on Jewel of the Seas, would be a GREAT option if you can travel for 2 weeks, rather than one.

 

I don't know how it works from Europe in terms of air fare and cruise fare, but I've often found that while the air fare for me runs $100-$150/pp more than flying to Florida, the cruises run $100-$150/less, so it balances out. That obviously may be quite different from your location.

 

ENJOY!!

[SeagoingMom]

just wondering if anyone could tell me which cruise in carribean would suit us. we are thinking end jan early feb. we enjoy sightseeing. size of ship does not matter. we have taken 4 european cruises, and are looking for winter sunshine :). it is hard to decide just by looking at brochures etc. departure port doesn't matter as we have to fly from Ireland anyway. TIA

Marie

 

 

Is there a "bad" Caribbean cruise? :)

 

Seriously, if you know you like sightseeing (and you know what that means to you, as you did not specify), I would do a little research on the ports of the Caribbean and figure out which sights you want to see! There is history in San Juan, Nassau (often on the way to the Caribbean), and Curacao, for example, as well as many other ports. Many islands are known for their natural beauty beyond just their beaches: Dunn's River Falls in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, is very popular, and salt flats are novel on Bonaire. The Mayan history of Cost Maya and Cozumel might intrigue you. Do some internet research and put together a list of what interests you most, find the cruise that you can afford that hits as many places on your list as possible, and go for it!

[craftymarie]

thanks so much for all your replies. i have a lot to think about. B2B sounds good. didnt think of that . it would definately maximise our time there. need to convince hubby. :D we've only done 7 nights before.

Marie

[Friend100]

How does a Panama Canal partial transit sound? 10-11 days round-trip from south Florida. Not sure if Legend OTS does it though, but other lines do it.

[craftymarie]

panama canal sounds bril. just looked it up. hadn'd seen it before. just need to win the lottery now to do them all :) thank you

[lawgirl]

I, too, vote for a 10 plus day cruise out of SJ if you can find it. Panamal Canal is AWESOME as well.

 

For adults, we LOVE Radiance class ships. A bit older, but lovely design and being refurbished. Great size, lots of glass, classy. As you can see from my signature, we have sailed repeatedly on these, but I have no clue of where they are cruising that time if year.

 

For families, Freedom class or Voyager class are maybe better...more to do and better kids program and just more kids. Avoid Oasis class. Fun, but too big to go to better ports. We love St. Lucia, Barbados, Dominica, Antigua, Grenada, St. Thomas, St. Marteen. Probably Jamaica and anywhere in Mexico our least favorites. Just don't feel as safe there and get harassed. We stay on the ship if it stops these places.

 

Have fun!