Eastern Caribbean

[Lexus1224]

Good morning all. I’m a newbie to RCI and have only been on one cruise. However, after that one trip, I’m hooked and already have a second booked. The first cruise was a Western Caribbean and next year I’ll be going on the Southern route. So, my question to all of you, what is your favorite Eastern route? What are some of your favorite/must-see ports? I’m looking into reserving one for 2016, but am overwhelmed by my options. Any help would be appreciated!

 

Thanks!

Alexis

[Clarea]

We enjoy St. Maarten.

[slp1323]

Hey Alexis,

Our favorite cruise of all time was the Eastern route. We left from Port Canaveral on Freedom of the Seas which is a great ship. We cruised to CoCo Cay, RC private island, and had a great day. Our other two stops were St. Thomas and St. Maarten. Both were beautiful with great beaches. We went on a snorkel trip to Turtle Island in St. Thomas...best snorkel experience. In St. Maarten we took an excursion to Orient Beach...Awesome!

I hope you have a great trip...you can't go wrong with the Eastern route.

[George C]

I agree with St Marteen and Orient beach ( you will see nudity at Orient beach) , but its a great beach with some nice bars and resturants. ST John has some great beaches but it takes time to get there , need to take ferry from St Thomas, my wife loves the jewerly stores in St Thomas ( we get Christmas card from them every year)

[matj2000]

Go read the member reviews on the ships that have been there.

Or do a search with the word "eastern"..

It's much easier than having everyone just telling you...

[Lexus1224]

Thank you for all of your help!

 

And, I did a search using "eastern" and didn't find what I was looking for. Thanks for the suggestion though.

[Folk Singer]

Go read the member reviews on the ships that have been there.

Or do a search with the word "eastern"..

It's much easier than having everyone just telling you...

 

 

good point. also youtube is another good place to view. Check out MaHo Beach

 

in St Martens.

[Suska_83]

I did go to eastern caribbean islands but on Carnival and I can't stop raving about Turks and Caicos, best beach i've ever been to, Ever!. I don't know if RCI will go there but BVI and USVI are also very good, havent' been to St. Maarten, Can anyone recommend spots to visit while in this island? I was looking at Viator for activities , I do like the private beach with lunch included, I did that when I went to Turks and Caicos and I absolutely loved it, but it is a smaller island than St. Maarten, so idk. Any input will be greatly appreciated!:D

[Gopher1934]

St. Maartin is our favorite Island hands down

[cruiseguy1016]

St. Thomas, and St. Maarten are popular destinations on the Eastern itineraries. These will probably be on almost any itinerary you do if you depart from a U.S. port. I am going to recommend something different. Try another southern itinerary from San Juan. There are too many islands on the southern routes to see in one trip. If you look at itineraries, you'll probably be able to find one that takes you to places you will not have been to on your previous southern itinerary. IMHO the southern ports are the best. And... you'll probably have St. Thomas or St. Maarten (maybe both) included in your southern itinerary.

[Lexus1224]

Thank you for the suggestions everyone. And, thank you Ken. I am VERY interested in the southern routes, and I know for sure that we won’t be seeing all of the islands. The only negative (to me) to those southern routes is that they don’t have enough at sea days. My cruise this coming January is a 9 day one, just so that we can have an extra cruising day. I’ll still be on the lookout though, and won’t rule out the south.

[OCruisers]

We especially enjoy going to St. Maarten! :D

LuLu

[cruiseguy1016]

Thank you for the suggestions everyone. And, thank you Ken. I am VERY interested in the southern routes, and I know for sure that we won’t be seeing all of the islands. The only negative (to me) to those southern routes is that they don’t have enough at sea days. My cruise this coming January is a 9 day one, just so that we can have an extra cruising day. I’ll still be on the lookout though, and won’t rule out the south.

 

The southern routes are port intensive, no doubt about it. We try to schedule one that has the sea day at the end so we can relax after a busy week.

[cruiseapril]

We like the itineraries with Grand Turk, St. Thomas, St. Maarten, and a

private island.

Edited June 13, 2014 by cruiseapril

[Folk Singer]

The southern routes are port intensive, no doubt about it. We try to schedule one that has the sea day at the end so we can relax after a busy week.

 

 

that is so true. you sometimes need a vacation after a vacation.

[dacsmom]

The Eastern is my favorite itinerary. I love CocoCay and St. Maarten. Bernards Tours gives you a great sample of both the French and Dutch side.

[Hoopster95]

Good morning all. I’m a newbie to RCI and have only been on one cruise. However, after that one trip, I’m hooked and already have a second booked. The first cruise was a Western Caribbean and next year I’ll be going on the Southern route. So, my question to all of you, what is your favorite Eastern route? What are some of your favorite/must-see ports? I’m looking into reserving one for 2016, but am overwhelmed by my options. Any help would be appreciated!

 

Thanks!

Alexis

 

#1 for me hands down ... St Lucia! Utterly beautiful. Also in my top 5 are Antigua & Barbados. I'm surprised St. Marteen is mentioned so predominantly... been there twice so maybe I'm missing something :confused:

 

Legend/Serenade have several spectacular itineraries (10 or 11 days) out of Fort Lauderdale you should look in to.

 

Whatever you decide, Have an awesome cruise! :D

[cruiseguy1016]

#1 for me hands down ... St Lucia! Utterly beautiful. Also in my top 5 are Antigua & Barbados. I'm surprised St. Marteen is mentioned so predominantly... been there twice so maybe I'm missing something :confused:

 

Legend/Serenade have several spectacular itineraries (10 or 11 days) out of Fort Lauderdale you should look in to.

 

Whatever you decide, Have an awesome cruise! :D

 

OP was looking for suggestions for the Eastern Caribbean. The islands you mentioned are all on the Southern routes.

[Folk Singer]

The Eastern is my favorite itinerary. I love CocoCay and St. Maarten. Bernards Tours gives you a great sample of both the French and Dutch side.

 

they do great tours.

[darlacat]

I've only been on one cruise too - Western Caribbean through Carnival last summer - we now have another booked for March 2015 - and I do get confused by what is considered "Southern" and what is considered "Eastern". I looked at Carnival itineraries so much that it doesn't always translate directly to RCI routes. Our upcoming cruise will stop in St. Martin - but also in Antigua, Barbados, St. Lucia and St. Croix - which I suppose is considered "Eastern" - but oh well.

 

Thanks to all who mentioned St. Martin - I'm going there too - so if anyone would like to elaborate about what it is that you really like, it will help me with excursion planning. Definitely that crazy beach with the low flying airplanes for sure!

[jgnova]

Jewel & Celebrity Summit both do alternating itineraries out of San Juan - we did the Summit B2B and it was great - would do it again or the Jewel in an instant. That way you get to see many of them and can choose which are worth return trips. Each has its own unique attractions and different beaches. Check the various reviews and comments on each destination board here for things to do.

 

j

[m*u*g*]

OP was looking for suggestions for the Eastern Caribbean. The islands you mentioned are all on the Southern routes.

 

St. Marteen is eastern on most cruises.

Edited June 20, 2014 by m*u*g*
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