How many ports worth visiting in the Caribbean

[navybankerteacher]

A poster on another thread mentioned that there were 100 ports in the Caribbean set up for cruise ship port calls. How many can you name that you have either already visited or would expect to?

[Keith1010]

We have visited many of them:

 

I would say around 25.

 

Of course there are many small islands that either cruise ships don't go to or only the smaller ones go to.

 

Keith

[Bonnie J.]

WE have been cruising for 30+ years. We have been to just about all the ports but we've never been to Trinidad or Tobago. We LOVED San Blas and $15 pearls in Isla de Margarita - off the coast of Venezuela. Don't know of any ships still going there now.

[Floridiana]

I think they are all worth it in their own way. From old cities like Cartagena to beach destinations and cruise line made/shopping ports, there is something for everyone. I thought San Juan best because I like historic cities and forts without the hassle of street vendors. But most people think of beaches and snorkeling in the Caribbean.

 

I did not count ours, but we missed Dominica.

[bUU]

Everything is relative. We were taking yesterday with another couple on the cruise we are on currently about the relative merit of going to a Caribbean island port just to go to the beach. You could go to the beach in Florida. But of course other people see that differently and see value in sitting on different stretches of sand even if we don't see it.

 

This post may have been entered by voice recognition. Please excuse any typographical errors.

[Flatbush Flyer]

Have done varying parts of the Caribbean on cruise ships and have seldom been wowed. By contrast, have also done a yacht charter in the BVIs (7 folks on a 60 foot Cat with crew of 2), which is a whole different (uncrowded and unusual) experience from obtrusive cruise ships and their thundering herds.

 

Now, the only time we'll do a cruise with Caribbean stops is if they're on the way to/from someplace more interesting (like the Amazon River, which we'll do in November 2018 on Oceania).

 

 

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[Hlitner]

Its a tough question because you have the main ports with docking facilities, but then you have a much larger number of places that can be accessed by tender. And while most here on CC talk about the larger mass market ships there are quite a few small cruise vessels that go to unusual ports. For example, the Windstar will be calling at both Mayreau and Bequia. There are probably not many here who know those ports in the Grendadines. We have been cruising for forty years (all over the world) and have probably been to 40-50 Caribbean ports. Each place has their pros and cons. Since we have been lifelong beach,snorkel and dive people we find every island worthy of a visit since they are all surrounded by water :). If there isn't a nice beach there is likely a decent snorkel or dive spot.

 

On the other hand, 2 years ago we did a 14 day Caribbean cruise that stopped at 9 ports and we only bothered to leave the ship at one. And last week, while on the Regal Princess, we didn't bother getting off the ship at 2 of the 3 ports...where we did have our favorite beaches. On the other hand, we will be back at one of those 2 ports in 3 weeks and will likely get off if the weather is good,

 

I would say all the Caribbean ports are worth visiting.....even when we don't bother going ashore :).

 

Hank

[cruisemom42]

By memory I got up to 23 Caribbean ports but it's entirely possible I've left a few off the list as many of my Caribbean cruises were years ago when I was much younger (e.g., cruises with my parents when a kid or teen).

 

I tend not to cruise the Caribbean any more unless it's an R&R (rest and relaxation, not rock 'n roll!) cruise. Maybe once every 2-3 years.

[easyboy]

We have just been to the more popular ports in the Eastern, Western & Southern Caribbean.

 

 

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[GottaKnowWhen]

A poster on another thread mentioned that there were 100 ports in the Caribbean set up for cruise ship port calls. How many can you name that you have either already visited or would expect to?

 

 

Cruising (since 2014) we have been to 11 ports, most of these two or three times. However, in a previous life I spent 1-2 weeks each on Isla Margarita, Andros (Bahamas), St. Thomas & St. John, and Sint Marteen. In December we’ll have our fourth visit to St. Kitts. Every one has felt Caribbean, yet every one is different. At this point I would slightly prefer to spend time on Puerto Rico or Sint Marteen but it is all good and any port for a day or a week is fine with me.

 

 

 

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[printingchick]

I personally prefer the southern islands, as many of them are less developed/touristy. That said, I've enjoyed all my visits to Cozumel.

 

As another poster said, people who say that "all Caribbean ports are the same" are those that never venture beyond the shopping pier or the closest big resort beach area. The southern islands in particular offer tremendous variety. Historical sites, volcanoes, natural hot springs, awe-inspiring waterfalls, botanical gardens, lush rain forests, incredible reefs...it's too much to list!

 

To each his own, but I can't imagine booking a cruise and staying on the ship. I find something new at every port - even those I've visited multiple times. St. Maarten, contrary to most cruisers, was never my favorite port. I always enjoyed my visits, but it seemed kind of vanilla. On my last visit, after much debate, my group settled on doing an island tour with Bernard's. It gave me a whole new appreciation for the island. It became my adult son's favorite (tied with St. Lucia, which is very different).

[Hlitner]

So, why would anyone book a cruise and stay on the ship at a port? When we were young we used to wonder about the same question. Now we are seniors, have spent well over 1000 days cruising all over the world, and love being on ships more then ever :). So when we get to a port that we know well it is sometimes a matter of weighing the benefits of staying aboard versus going ashore. Yes, there is something to do in any port, but there are also things to do aboard the ship. If the land portion is so important we would simply fly to that location and spend a few days, weeks or months ashore. In the Caribbean we have vacationed on several different islands (usually rent a condo). But, lets say we are in a port like St Kitts (was just there 2 weeks ago) where we have seen the island (several times), We would normally go to the beach, but our favorite beach spot (Shipwreck Bar) has seen their beach erode to just about nothing! We could go to Cockleshell, but we have never been big fans of that beach (which often gets too crowded with cruise ship passengers). On the other hand, we could relax on the ship where we have plenty of food and drink and have no problem getting a deck chair in any location (because most passengers are aboard).

 

Another example is Civitavecchia (we have been to that port about 2 dozen time). We were once there on a Sunday from 7am until about 4. The weather was not good (rain) and we had no desire to trek all the way into Rome on a rainy Sunday. On a nice day we might have tried to rent a car (not always possible on a Sunday) and driven to some place in the region (where we have spent a lot of land time on previous lengthy driving trips). But given that combination of day of the week, time in port and weather we simply stayed on the ship and had a great time socializing with others who shared our love of being on a near empty vessel.

 

We know another cruiser who seldom gets off the ship anywhere....and we do think she is a bit strange. Her philosophy is that if a place is important enough to justify rushing around on a port day....she will simply fly back and spend at least a week in that destination :). She cruises for the cruise/ship....not the ports. For some of us, the ship is more the destination then the ports. And that is how we feel about just about any Caribbean cruise.....we are going to enjoy the ship and weather. The ports are a secondary consideration since we know the islands, have been to the islands, and often have nothing we want to do on the islands :).

 

Hank

[sail7seas]

So, why would anyone book a cruise and stay on the ship at a port? When we were young we used to wonder about the same question. Now we are seniors, have spent well over 1000 days cruising all over the world, and love being on ships more then ever :). So when we get to a port that we know well it is sometimes a matter of weighing the benefits of staying aboard versus going ashore. Yes, there is something to do in any port, but there are also things to do aboard the ship. If the land portion is so important we would simply fly to that location and spend a few days, weeks or months ashore. In the Caribbean we have vacationed on several different islands (usually rent a condo). But, lets say we are in a port like St Kitts (was just there 2 weeks ago) where we have seen the island (several times), We would normally go to the beach, but our favorite beach spot (Shipwreck Bar) has seen their beach erode to just about nothing! We could go to Cockleshell, but we have never been big fans of that beach (which often gets too crowded with cruise ship passengers). On the other hand, we could relax on the ship where we have plenty of food and drink and have no problem getting a deck chair in any location (because most passengers are aboard).

 

Another example is Civitavecchia (we have been to that port about 2 dozen time). We were once there on a Sunday from 7am until about 4. The weather was not good (rain) and we had no desire to trek all the way into Rome on a rainy Sunday. On a nice day we might have tried to rent a car (not always possible on a Sunday) and driven to some place in the region (where we have spent a lot of land time on previous lengthy driving trips). But given that combination of day of the week, time in port and weather we simply stayed on the ship and had a great time socializing with others who shared our love of being on a near empty vessel.

 

We know another cruiser who seldom gets off the ship anywhere....and we do think she is a bit strange. Her philosophy is that if a place is important enough to justify rushing around on a port day....she will simply fly back and spend at least a week in that destination :). She cruises for the cruise/ship....not the ports. For some of us, the ship is more the destination then the ports. And that is how we feel about just about any Caribbean cruise.....we are going to enjoy the ship and weather. The ports are a secondary consideration since we know the islands, have been to the islands, and often have nothing we want to do on the islands :).

 

Hank

 

We stopped getting off the shipi n any port in Jamaica. a fter visiting several times, we admitted to ourselvves, we simply did not like those porrts, weren't comforttable and a few times felt unsafe. We stopped booking anr uise that stopped there. We spent a fair amount of time in Nassau and,,, added that to a list of ports we didn'tt care to visit again. Not much there we en joyed doing. My DH loved sitting at aft pool on the ships and I was happy seeing him relax there on days we were in those Caribbean ports we didn' care about visiting. Many of our Cairbbean cruises were more about the ship, seeing friends on board and going ashore for the ports we like than a mad dash to hurry down gthe gangway. We oftetn waited until the mobs left the ship, made our way to the gangway, walked around near the dock, had lunch ashore or saw somehing that interested us and happily returned to the ship when we were ready.

 

I cannot think of any port in Eureope that we sayed aboard and did not visit for at least a bit of time. We did siailed Canada, N E so many times, once in a while there was a port we stayed aboard and 'skipped'.

[lenquixote66]

A poster on another thread mentioned that there were 100 ports in the Caribbean set up for cruise ship port calls. How many can you name that you have either already visited or would expect to?

 

We have been cruising since 1973 . I keep a written list of every place we have cruised to .

However,I cannot find my list.I would guess that it is about 30.