Favorite Caribbean ports?

[EeyoreRN]

Planning a Caribbean cruise for the first time in over 20 years, and we are a little overwhelmed with all the itinerary choices. I think I have it narrowed down to 2 or 3, but it's so hard to pick just one...b2b is not an option.

 

So, I ask the seasoned Caribbean cruisers a different question:. What are your favorite Caribbean ports, and why? Please feel free to list a few in order of preference.

 

Thanks!

 

Eeyore

 

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[Magnetchief]

Cuba, because it's a little different from your typical Caribbean Island.

[George C]

St marteen love orient beach

[Aquahound]

My #1 favorite is Bonaire. The water is gorgeous, it's one of the premier diving/snorkeling destinations in World and the island itself is largely natural and undeveloped. It's my favorite place to rent a car and go on my own.

 

My #2 is Tortola, mostly for being able to get over to Virgin Gorda. I love the BVI.

 

My #3 is St. Kitts. This is another place I rent a car. I spend the day beach/bar/restaurant hopping around the southeast peninsula.

[sykimball1498]

St. Maarten in the Eastern Caribbean and Roatan for the western Caribbean. All the ABC islands are nice, but more like desert islands, not lush and tropical looking.

[marco]

They all have a little bit different personality but they're all nice. But we prefer the "eastern Caribbean". If snorkeling might be a priority for you: Bonaire and Trunk Bay on St John's. (For the latter, you'd probably go over from a cruise stopping at St Thomas).

[davekathy]

Never mind. Too hard to choose favorites.

[mom says]

Barbados is our favorite island. We've been there several times for both cruises and land vacations. It's a beautiful place, and the people are friendly. There are some nice beaches, but we prefer to explore the land. Harrison caves is one of the better cave tours we've taken. There are several public and private gardens open to the public that are absolutely gorgeous. And for rum lovers there's the Mt Gay distillery tour, or our favorite, St Nicholas Abbey, which combines an old plantation with a more modern distillery.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

granted, we are limited in our choices and haven't been to many destinations, but I must say Bonaire and Aruba beaches and water are our favorites. Aruba was very prim and proper and "civilized" so to say, and Bonaire was a total opposite, but it awed us with its natural beauty (Luc/Lac Bay). They are usually referred to as ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao). We picked a so-so beach in Curacao, so we weren't impressed.

 

I would 100% skip Cozumel. Been there twice. Next time we won't even come ashore.

Would also skip Falmouth, Jamaica. You can accomplish/see a lot more if you go to Ocho Rios, Jamaica, but it's still not one of my favorite destinations.

 

In Belize we loved a cave tubing adventure (not through a cruise vendor, though).

 

Beaches in Grand Cayman Island were nice, but what we really loved was a Stingray City + snorkeling excursion.

 

Labadee private island in Haiti, is lovely and nice. Also has a zipline ($100+) for adventurers.

[Aquahound]

...and Bonaire was a total opposite, but it awed us with its natural beauty (Luc/Lac Bay).

 

Jibe City at Lac Bay is my favorite spot on Bonaire. I could spend all day there. :)

[capriccio]

Bonaire for the snorkeling. St. Lucia for the beautiful scenery. Barbados for swimming with the turtles on a catamaran excursion. Grand Cayman for Stingray City.

[Extra Kim]

For nature: Dominica.

For beaches: Aruba.

For Zip lines: St Lucia

[OCruisers]

EeyoreRN ... What sort of activities do you like?

[bonsai3s]

Jibe City at Lac Bay is my favorite spot on Bonaire. I could spend all day there. :)

 

 

Aquahound, please tell us how to get there on our own, DIY. Thanks!

[EeyoreRN]

EeyoreRN ... What sort of activities do you like?

 

Snorkeling and swimming at the beach, hiking beautiful nature trails, animal encounters. Would do something like this "cave tubing" thing I'm reading a bit about maybe, sometimes walking around an old historic city is interesting to us, but wouldn't hold our attention all day. We are not into shopping.

 

Thanks for asking!

[EeyoreRN]

Bonaire for the snorkeling. St. Lucia for the beautiful scenery. Barbados for swimming with the turtles on a catamaran excursion. Grand Cayman for Stingray City.

 

Too bad we can't find these on the same itinerary! I have been to stingray city personally, too many years ago, not with my family. It was rough seas that day so kind of difficult to snorkel but I will always remember it!

[Aquahound]

Aquahound, please tell us how to get there on our own, DIY. Thanks!

 

I prefer to rent my own car for the day. Avis has an office in the Divi Flamingo hotel, right next to the cruise pier. It's pretty much a straight drive directly across to the east side of the island...maybe 20 minutes. On the way, you can drive through the donkey sanctuary, which is actually really entertaining!

 

You can also take a taxi. I saw some ship crew doing this.

 

Jibe City and Lac Bay are post card perfect. The flat white sand and waist deep water goes out about 100 yards from the beach.

[OCruisers]

Snorkeling and swimming at the beach, hiking beautiful nature trails, animal encounters. Would do something like this "cave tubing" thing I'm reading a bit about maybe, sometimes walking around an old historic city is interesting to us, but wouldn't hold our attention all day. We are not into shopping.

 

Thanks for asking!

 

Thanks for replying. It would also be helpful to know which ports of call you are considering. :)

[BillOh]

St marteen love orient beach

 

Amen.

[BillOh]

My #1 favorite is Bonaire. The water is gorgeous, it's one of the premier diving/snorkeling destinations in World and the island itself is largely natural and undeveloped. It's my favorite place to rent a car and go on my own.

 

My #2 is Tortola, mostly for being able to get over to Virgin Gorda. I love the BVI.

 

My #3 is St. Kitts. This is another place I rent a car. I spend the day beach/bar/restaurant hopping around the southeast peninsula.

 

 

Thanks for this post, I've been to Bonaire once, I am considering a cruise to Tortola and I'm going back to St Kitts for the 2nd time next May and trying to figure out what to do there.

[BillOh]

For nature: Dominica.

For beaches: Aruba.

For Zip lines: St Lucia

 

 

With regard to Dominica, have any cruise ships started going back there? We were supposed to be there May 2nd, but Royal changed to Martinique for our cruise and some other cruise lines went to Antigua instead.

[leaveitallbehind]

Rather than look at individual islands, I think you need to look at regional itineraries. And most would be 7-nights in length. There typically are three general itineraries offered by most cruise lines: Eastern, Western, and Southern Caribbean. Each typically has its own group of islands included in their ports of call.

 

With the Eastern, they usually include a mix of Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, St.Kitts, St. Martin, St. Croix, and often include a stop in the Bahamas or a private island destination. This itinerary typically departs out of FL.

 

The Western typically includes Jamaica, Cozumel, Grand Cayman, and other ports in Mexico, Honduras, and Belize, often to include Key West, and possibly a private island. This itinerary also typically departs out of FL.

 

The Southern usually is a split between St. Lucia, Antigua, Barbados, Martinique; or Aruba, Curacao, and Bonnaire. They may also include an Eastern port of call as well. Typically, these itineraries depart out of Puerto Rico.

 

They are all good ports of call and over time deserve a cruise to experience each itinerary. Of the three, however, our favorites include either option of the Southern itinerary. Research each port of call to determine what might appeal best to you and go from there. But plan on 3-4 cruises over time to truly experience the best selection of what the Caribbean has to offer.

Edited June 28, 2018 by leaveitallbehind

[cruzeluver]

We have been to virtually every island and port in the Caribbean where ships stop, some more than five times. We have found something to love about all of them (truly) through diligent research and discovering what each has to offer. If I have to pick favorites, they would be :

 

Cartagena : Incredible history and architecture (the old walled city fascinated me) and locals with an incredible zest for life!

 

Martinique : A taste of France closer to home. Wonderful restaurants and great history, and not an overly-developed tourist trap like some if the islands have become.

 

St Maarten : Best all-around in terms of having something for everyone : the beach bum, the dedicate shopper, the history buff, the foodie, the thrill seeker etc.

[Joebucks]

I liked St. Maarten, but I didn't love it as much as others. The traffic was the worst, and the island has so much damage to it. Maho was fun though. I will give it another chance, and go to Orient.

 

St. John has stood out so far. Trunk Bay was the most gorgeous beach I have been to yet. The island has a very laid back vibe, and doesn't feel like a third world country. St. Kitts is also beautiful. I want to explore that island more next time.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

just to sum it up: if you want to spend the entire day floating in waist deep water - Bonaire Lac Bay. Oh, it was heaven for all three of us! I want to go back so bad.

 

If you are into snorkeling and an uninhabited island vibe - you stop at Bonaire, but take a trip to Kleine Bonaire island. No facilities, totally wild apparently, but great snorkeling.