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Opinions between these two itineraries?

chewie8008

By chewie8008,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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chewie8008

chewie8008

Posted
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So we're trying to plan a cruise for next April and are debating between two different itineraries. Wondered what everyone's opinion is on these ports and which would be best? We have always wanted to do Aruba, as it seemed very exotic. After researching briefly, it seems maybe it isn't as great as we thought? Seems very desert-ish. Anyway, here are the itineraries.

 

A 7 day out of Charleston, SC(this one def is a better port for us)

 

Port

Sea day

Sea day

Amber Cove, Dominican Republic

Grand Turk

Half Moon Cay(we've done Bahamas twice, but not here)

Sea day

Port

 

Vs

 

8 day out of port Canaveral(farther drive and no interest in the area)

 

Port

Sea day

Sea day

Curacao

Aruba

Sea day

Grand Turk

Sea day

Port

 

They both go to Grand Turk, so I guess the question is, is Amber Cove and half moon cay better than Aruba and curacao?

 

We may do a few excursions but are huge beach ppl. And we love different cultures. The Aruba itinerary has an extra day, which is a huge plus but is about $50 more per person and has an inconvenient port.

 

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

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evandbob

evandbob

Posted
Posted
So we're trying to plan a cruise for next April and are debating between two different itineraries. Wondered what everyone's opinion is on these ports and which would be best? We have always wanted to do Aruba, as it seemed very exotic. After researching briefly, it seems maybe it isn't as great as we thought? Seems very desert-ish. Anyway, here are the itineraries.

 

A 7 day out of Charleston, SC(this one def is a better port for us)

 

Port

Sea day

Sea day

Amber Cove, Dominican Republic

Grand Turk

Half Moon Cay(we've done Bahamas twice, but not here)

Sea day

Port

 

Vs

 

8 day out of port Canaveral(farther drive and no interest in the area)

 

Port

Sea day

Sea day

Curacao

Aruba

Sea day

Grand Turk

Sea day

Port

 

They both go to Grand Turk, so I guess the question is, is Amber Cove and half moon cay better than Aruba and curacao?

 

We may do a few excursions but are huge beach ppl. And we love different cultures. The Aruba itinerary has an extra day, which is a huge plus but is about $50 more per person and has an inconvenient port.

 

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

I'm not you, but I would do the 8 day cruise with Aruba and Curacao. I would sorely miss HMC, but have absolutely no desire to see Amber Cove, which is located on the gray Atlantic side of the DR near Puerto Plata. Amber Cove looks just like the shopping corral at Mahogany Bay in Roatan, UGH!

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OCruisers

OCruisers

Posted
Posted

8 day out of port Canaveral(farther drive and no interest in the area)

 

Port

Sea day

Sea day

Curacao

Aruba

Sea day

Grand Turk

Sea day

Port

 

 

This would be our choice in a heartbeat!

Don't miss the opportunity to go DEEP into the Caribbean to two of the ABC islands - Aruba & Curacao. :D

 

LuLu

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SFplusP

SFplusP

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I would do the 8 day as well, but we are not huge beach people- HMC is the best for beach people.

 

That being said, for me, I would do it based on the better ship (IMO) and the extra day. Sunshine gets mixed reviews, but it has more to offer than the other you mention (Ecstasy I think it was?)

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chewie8008

chewie8008

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Yeah, Ecstacy. We just got off the Dream last April. I expect both of those are not as good as the Dream. But the ship isn't a major factor for us. We go more for the ports than the ship. We have been to Coco Cay with RCL twice. At first glance, those beaches look similar.

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cruiser fanatic

cruiser fanatic

Posted
Posted (edited)

I would do the 7 day to Amber Cove, HMC and Grand Turk. I love HMC, by far the best water in the Caribbean. Grand Turk is also a great port. I haven't been to Curacao and Amber Cove hasn't opened yet. I did not care for Aruba when I went in April. The water was gray and the snorkeling/diving is bad there. That being said, the Sunshine is a better ship. It has all the 2.0 upgrades and latest Carnival features. You really can't go wrong with either but I would choose the Ecstasy for HMC.

Edited by cruiser fanatic
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Towel Critter

Towel Critter

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I, personally, would go with the Sunshine and Southern itinerary. I've never been on one of the older, smaller ships - though I plan on it someday, just to see what a cruise is like on a smaller ship - but there are so many more food and entertainment options on a 2.0 ship, like the Sunshine. I have to say though that HMC is beautiful, and that makes the other itinerary enticing as well.

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Vitamin_Sea

Vitamin_Sea

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The 8 day aruba is on the Sunshine and the 7 day is the Ecstacy. Don't know much about either.

 

Seems everyone likes the Aruba itinerary more. Makes sense. We'll hope to book that one!

 

I would go with the 8 day on Sunshine. Much nicer and better equipped ship

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cruiser fanatic

cruiser fanatic

Posted
Posted
Yeah, Ecstacy. We just got off the Dream last April. I expect both of those are not as good as the Dream. But the ship isn't a major factor for us. We go more for the ports than the ship. We have been to Coco Cay with RCL twice. At first glance, those beaches look similar.

 

Coco Cay is very similar to HMC. I think HMC is a little bit nicer.

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chewie8008

chewie8008

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I'd do the southern you can always find a cruise that goes to the Bahamas

Good point!

 

As far as the Port Canaveral thing, our problem with it is it's 2.5 hours farther than Charleston is for us. But we have made the drive before, we can again. 11 hours just sucks. [emoji34]

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cruiser fanatic

cruiser fanatic

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Good point!

 

As far as the Port Canaveral thing, our problem with it is it's 2.5 hours farther than Charleston is for us. But we have made the drive before, we can again. 11 hours just sucks. [emoji34]

 

I live 45 minutes from Galveston and we drove 15 hours to PC just to go to new places and will do it again in April. We made the drive more worth it by doing a B2B, 5 days and 8 days.

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Fitzget

Fitzget

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The 8 day aruba is on the Sunshine and the 7 day is the Ecstacy. Don't know much about either.

 

Seems everyone likes the Aruba itinerary more. Makes sense. We'll hope to book that one!

 

For sure the 8 day, better ship and better itinerary

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