Which Southern CaribbeanItinerary???????? Help!!!!

[smacksgirl11]

My husband and I are looking at the Southern Caribbean for March 2015 our of San Juan, and can't decide which itinerary we should do. Of all the islands the only one we have not been to is Grenada.

Here are the two itineraries:

 

Jewel of the Seas

-Charlotte Amalie, St Thomas

-St Croix

-St Johns, Antigua

-Castries, St Lucia

-St George, Grenada

-Sea Day

 

Adventure of the Seas

-Sea Day

-Bridgetown, Barbados

-Castries, St Lucia

-St Johns, Antigua

-Phillipsburg, St Maarten

-St Croix

 

Which cruise would you pick and why?

Thank you for your help!:)

[Ocean Boy]

I would probably pick the second because I prefer Voyager class ship (Adventure) over Radiance class ships (Jewel). Also, St. Maarten is my favorite island and it is not on the jewel itinerary. However, I do like that Jewel has the seas day at the end of the cruise. On port intensive cruises I like having a sea day at the end to relax.

[macruisefan]

Which Southern CaribbeanItinerary???????? Help!!!!

 

This question merits EIGHT question marks, and FOUR exclamation points....

 

...I'm going to think you might not be what I would call "resilient in a crisis"!:D

[bouhunter]

We've been on Adventure three years, and Brilliance (Jewel sister ship) last year. They are pretty much all great ports, except I'm not too sure about Grenada(the one we haven't been to). Because of that, and we LOVE St. Martin, I'd pick Adventure if I were you. BTW we also love the Boatyard Beach on Barbados (or Silvermoon Catamaran):D

 

Either way, both would be great cruises!!!!

[LittleMissMagic]

Okay, so if you're looking at ports only, it's St. Thomas v. St. Maarten and Grenada v. Barbados.

 

St. Thomas v. St. Maarten is a toss-up. They're both well-visited Caribbean ports with well-developed tourism. I'd give the slight edge to St. Thomas because of Sapphire Beach, which is a beautiful beach that's much less crowded than Magen's Bay. St. Maarten has Orient Beach which is saturated with tourists. Of course, there's also the novelty of Sunset Beach Bar which has the airplanes which fly overhead to land. And then if you aren't beach people, there's still many excursions to choose from. Either way, I wouldn't let St. Thomas v. St. Maarten alone determine my cruise.

 

Grenada v. Barbados.... Grenada is mountainous and of volcanic origin, but there are still many beautiful beaches. As for Barbados, I've tried spending the day shopping in the city once, and that wasn't very enjoyable.... I'd recommend the beach instead. :D

 

The ships.... the Adventure is Voyager-class. I've sailed on her before and loved it. It's not (in my opinion) significantly smaller than the Freedom-class ships - the only thing it's really missing is the flow rider (and they're adding that 2014-2015). The Jewel, Radiance-class, is a different set-up - instead of a Promenade, there is a Centrum to connect the different floors vertically. I actually prefer the Centrum to the Promenade - it creates more of a community, less shopping mall feeling in my opinion. There is no ice rink (I don't know about you, but we don't skate... does eliminate that as an entertainment option, though). But there are glass elevators on the exterior of the ship, which are pretty cool!

 

Since there isn't much difference between itineraries, go for the ship you want!

[mrsfecura]

I'd pick the one with the port you've not been to.

[debshomespun]

I would go on Jewel. I love the outdoor area at the back of the windjammer to eat breakfast and lunch. Also, a sea day at the end of the cruise to rest up before you have to get back to reality.

 

Either cruise will be an awesome one. Go and have a great time. It is lots of fun sailing out of San Juan!

[celebrity]

I would pick Adventure. Although I do love the outdoor seating aft in the Windjammer on Jewel, not having a Royal Promenade really put a damper on my So Caribbean cruise. The itinerary is also fab! Good luck in whatever you decide.

[mein18]

Since we have not sailed on Jewel, this is a somewhat biased opinion but Adventure is by far our favorite ship so far.

 

As for the itineraries, we have been to all the islands except for Granada. We did the exact Adventure itinerary a year ago and loved all of the ports. I believe that you are getting a much more diverse selection on the Adventure itinerary but really can't go wrong with either.

 

Looking at the itineraries, there are 2 major items to consider:

1. As previously mentioned, because they are so port intensive, it is nice to have the sea day at the end to unwind. We were exhausted by the end of the week.

2. Because they are so port intensive, I wouldn't concentrate too much on which ship and pick by what islands you feel fit your likes. You will not be on the ship much.

 

Again, either you choose will be a good choice.

[TXMary]

If I had to choose, I would pick Adventure. We have been to all the ports except Grenada also and they were all great. I love the Voyager class ships. Our first cruise was on Serenade and it was nice. We loved the ship, but after we had a few more cruises under our belts...well, we love the Voyager class. Not sure I could go back to a smaller ship. Although I would if I had to. ;)

[luvscruising2007]

We like both the Radiance class and the Voyager class for different reasons.

The ports are all intriguing as we have only been to St. Martin and St. Thomas.

So for me anyway, I would pick Jewel because of the sea day at the end of the cruise. It will give you a nice to relax before debarkation and all that goes with that.

I am sure that which ever you choose, you will have a great cruise.

[bouhunter]

Grenada v. Barbados.... Grenada is mountainous and of volcanic origin, but there are still many beautiful beaches. As for Barbados, I've tried spending the day shopping in the city once, and that wasn't very enjoyable.... I'd recommend the beach instead. :D

 

 

We've been to all the islands on these two trips except for Grenada, and more. One of the most perfect beaches we've been to was on Barbados. I guess we didn't stay in the city to shop.....:rolleyes:

[voyager89]

I was wondering the same. Most people said the itinerary on the Jewel was better, but we ended up choosing the adventure. Bigger ship, smaller price, I don't know why. I really want to try out a Brilliance class ship but we might feel a lot of a down-size since our last cruise was the oasis. Also, the promenade was maybe one of my favourites parts of the ship, which I would miss on the Jewel. I like that Adventure has a promenade and a "centrum"

 

I actually like the idea of the first full day to be a sea day to get to know the ship and know what I want to do every afternoon when we go back on board after each port. A sea day in the end sounds nice, but I would not make this a factor to choose which one.

[celebrity]

I was wondering the same. Most people said the itinerary on the Jewel was better, but we ended up choosing the adventure. Bigger ship, smaller price, I don't know why. I really want to try out a Brilliance class ship but we might feel a lot of a down-size since our last cruise was the oasis. Also, the promenade was maybe one of my favourites parts of the ship, which I would miss on the Jewel. I like that Adventure has a promenade and a "centrum"

 

I actually like the idea of the first full day to be a sea day to get to know the ship and know what I want to do every afternoon when we go back on board after each port. A sea day in the end sounds nice, but I would not make this a factor to choose which one.

 

I agree about the sea day at the start of your cruise. In my experience, I am far more exhausted running around preparing to sail and the stress of getting to the port.

It's nice to have that first sea day to get my bearings on the ship and just chill.

Adventure will always have a special place in my heart. It has a great vibe.

[mein18]

I agree about the sea day at the start of your cruise. In my experience, I am far more exhausted running around preparing to sail and the stress of getting to the port.

It's nice to have that first sea day to get my bearings on the ship and just chill.

Adventure will always have a special place in my heart. It has a great vibe.

 

We spend a day or two in San Juan prior to the cruise to unwind and what a great place to relax and unwind. That's why we would go for the sea day at the end.

[Miss Vickie]

My husband and I are looking at the Southern Caribbean for March 2015 our of San Juan, and can't decide which itinerary we should do. Of all the islands the only one we have not been to is Grenada.

Here are the two itineraries:

 

Jewel of the Seas

-Charlotte Amalie, St Thomas

-St Croix

-St Johns, Antigua

-Castries, St Lucia

-St George, Grenada

-Sea Day

 

Adventure of the Seas

-Sea Day

-Bridgetown, Barbados

-Castries, St Lucia

-St Johns, Antigua

-Phillipsburg, St Maarten

-St Croix

 

Which cruise would you pick and why?

Thank you for your help!:)

 

I'd go with Jewel (in fact we've got 4 upcoming cruises booked on her) because we prefer Radiance-class ships, and our sea day at the end. They're both great itineraries, though. We've been to all the ports multiple times, love Grenada.

[Tapi]

Adventure for both ship and itinerary

[Robinola]

St Thomas is so-so. Antigua is so-so.

Barbados is not good, the people are NOT friendly anywhere, resorts, beaches or shops.

St Martin/Maarten is wonderful.

[EatonDoolittle]

This question merits EIGHT question marks, and FOUR exclamation points....

 

...I'm going to think you might not be what I would call "resilient in a crisis"!:D

 

Funniest post ever

[Miss Vickie]

St Thomas is so-so. Antigua is so-so.

Barbados is not good, the people are NOT friendly anywhere, resorts, beaches or shops.

St Martin/Maarten is wonderful.

 

Wow, do we differ! Antigua is one of our favorite islands, we enjoy Barbados and have met only friendly people, and St. Maarten is on out take it or leave it list. And we've been to all three island many times.

[LarryL]

We tend to opt for itineraries that have new ports for us. That said, Granada is ok but would probably not get off the ship if we ever went there again. While the island is beautiful, the port area is crammed with very agressive vendors. :mad:

[celebrity]

St Thomas is so-so. Antigua is so-so.

Barbados is not good, the people are NOT friendly anywhere, resorts, beaches or shops.

St Martin/Maarten is wonderful.

 

I felt the same way abt Barbadis on my first visit. Fortunately since that time, we have fallen in love with the island and are booked for 2 more cruises that stop there.

Love, love love snorkeling with the turtles.

St Maarten is always a fun day as well.

[matj2000]

It really won't matter, all the islands are basically the same...

[Ocean Boy]

St Thomas is so-so. Antigua is so-so.

Barbados is not good, the people are NOT friendly anywhere, resorts, beaches or shops.

St Martin/Maarten is wonderful.

 

I guess the same way that people can have very different experiences on the same ship and sailing people can also have very different experiences on the islands. I thought the people of Barbados were very friendly. And I very much enjoyed that island as well as Antigua.

[Ocean Boy]

It really won't matter, all the islands are basically the same...

 

Right. The desert and topography of Aruba is very much the same as the green tropical mountains of St. Lucia? But if you are referring to the fact that each island tends to be surrounded by water then I very much agree with you.