Which Caribbean itinerary for first SD voyage?

[Ann_on_the_road]

Thinking about a SD Caribbean voyage for 2021. We have been to a tiny high-end dive resort in Little Cayman but that’s it for that part of the world. We have done exactly one mass market cruise and are looking for a more, shall we say, intimate experience that is on the casual side but quality food, service, and where we might meet interesting people. We self-entertain and don’t gamble. I think DH will love the SD experience. 

 

Which itinerary would you recommend for an active couple who loves to snorkel, kayak, hike and eat well? DH is a naturalist and scientist who loves all animal life (birds, fish, tide pools, even sharks and jellyfish rock his world). Culture is fun to explore, shopping is a chore. Bar-hopping not really our thing either if we can get a decent beverage on board. We are in an intensive phase of a start-up business, so relaxing is an important task too. And because our business is seasonal (we live in a tourist town in southern Utah, another vacation paradise) we are limited right now for travel to about 6 weeks in January or February. (I can carry on at this pace if I can look forward to a week in my board shorts by a pool bar at some date in the future.)

 

Which itinerary has the best chance of getting a lot of use from the water toys and snorkeling options? We’ll probably end up doing them all if he likes it, but where to start is the question. 

[TrapperZimmy]

Welcome aboard, Ann.  From the way you describe yourselves, I'd say that pretty much any itinerary that does not include St. Barts would be for you.  😉  Your interests are pretty much in line with ours, and the primary reason for the cruise is to relax and be pampered.  I'd give you one caution, though.  Use of the water toys is very dependent upon sea conditions.  We have encountered a lot of choppy water on the past few cruises.  It hasn't been enough to make sailing uncomfortable, but water sports have been unavailable on many days.  Your trip may be different, but I wouldn't want you to go with very high expectations and feel that your vacation is ruined.

[Ann_on_the_road]

1 hour ago, TrapperZimmy said:

water sports have been unavailable on many days

 

I've seen this discussed in several trip reports and it makes perfect sense. Another day by the pool won't kill me. If some of the itineraries offer generally calmer seas or better off-ship snorkeling excursion opportunities, that could be a factor.  

 

And yeah, I'm not seeing much about St. Barts that attracts me personally. I can stay on the ship that day. I  find it an SD feature that we don't have to run around doing excursions every day and can still have a good time while everyone who loves to shop gets their fix.

 

We loved the Little Cayman dive resort because we don't dive. The divers (most of the 24-30 guests) would all trudge off to the dive boat after breakfast and leave the hammocks to us, and there was great snorkeling within an easy bike ride if we felt like it. We could go back there, but it's changed since a big hurricane and we have happy memories of our times there, so we want to make new happy memories elsewhere now.

[JES4845]

Welcome to SeaDream!  You will love it as we have almost 20 voyages in 11 years.  We wouldn’t think of going on another “cruise” ship. While we’ve mainly done Europe, we’ve been on in the Caribbean about six times.  Based on your interests, I’d opt for a voyage out of and/or in to Barbados.  That way you get to mainly “southern” Caribbean islands that are a bit more out of the way.  At least when we’ve been on in the Caribbean, the weather and seas have been much better than say the US or British Virgin Islands, as lovely as they are in good weather.  Just my two cents.  As said earlier, you can’t go wrong!  SeaDream is just a special place all its own.

[knotheadusc]

My favorite SD Caribbean itinerary was to the southern Caribbean.  We started in Antigua and went to Barbados.  I loved visiting all of the different flavored islands.  Barbados was a real treat, too.  Such beautiful beaches!

[TrapperZimmy]

Although we have started and/or ended several cruises in San Juan and St. Thomas, I'd say we enjoy the cruises that begin in Barbados a lot more.  It is a longer trip to get there, and flying through Miami from Chicago makes it a full day each way, especially arriving in Barbados around 11 pm.  We often do it on New Year's Eve, and get to the Hilton in time for the fireworks.  Barbados has some very nice restaurants and you can snorkel there, as well.  This year we will be in St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Trinidad and Tabago and Grenada.  I expect that the beach party will be in Mayreau, which we like better than Jost Van Dyke because it is less crowded and has more shade.  So, I concur with the advice given by JES and Knothead.  On the other hand, to me it is like choosing between filet mignon and prime rib.  No bad choices.

[Ann_on_the_road]

2 hours ago, TrapperZimmy said:

Although we have started and/or ended several cruises in San Juan and St. Thomas, I'd say we enjoy the cruises that begin in Barbados a lot more.  It is a longer trip to get there, and flying through Miami from Chicago makes it a full day each way, especially arriving in Barbados around 11 pm.  We often do it on New Year's Eve

 

Getting to any of those ports would be a project for us too. Getting to SLC to commence flying is a project all on its own. I would love to do NYE away but it’s not feasible with our tourism business. After MLK weekend is when we can conceivably get out for the two weekends we’d be away. 

 

Thank you all for sharing your experience. I started looking at Barbados tourism sites and went down a rabbit hole of information. I could see us enjoying that sort of trip very much. I’m sure I’ll have plenty of questions as we figure this out. 

 

Now I’m curious - what did you all do in Martinique in the way of on-shore activities? I remember studying about the French Caribbean in my junior high school French classes, which looking back, probably triggered my dreams of travel though I never really thought about going there as an adult.  There’s not much at all to be found on Le Marin as a destination in English on the Google machine and nothing at all in CC.  The SD-offered excursions seemed uninspired, but it looks like there’s lots of options besides shopping and it’s a late departure on the itinerary.  Not that it matters, just idle curiosity now. 

[OKCer]

I agree with Trapper, any Caribbean adventure will meet your needs as they can be port-intensive and provide something new each day allowing you to get out and adventure or stay put and relax on deck. Do note, find out when Carnival is in St. Barths if your itinerary includes an overnight there. While the island may not fit your needs for diving and/or snorkeling it's a great bay to see millionaire's yachts then sail ashore to enjoy the Carnival parade in the afternoon. It's worth the experience. We're headed to Barbados in March 2020 and trying the southern Caribbean itinerary for the first time. 

[TrapperZimmy]

We do the first cruise after New Year's, Ann, because (1) Zimmy can't get away after that, (2) the holiday cruises are more expensive, and (3) we are not likely to encounter children.

 

One warning we always give regarding booking excursions: Due to sea conditions, it is a real possibility that an island will be bypassed.  Remember that we almost always get tendered to shore, and boarding the tender becomes too risky in rough seas.  So if you book your own, try not to put any money at risk.

 

LOL, when I started reading your post, OKCer, I was picturing a Carnival cruise ship in St. Barts.  That would certainly ruin my vacation.

[Ann_on_the_road]

1 hour ago, OKCer said:

Do note, find out when Carnival is in St. Barths if your itinerary includes an overnight there. While the island may not fit your needs for diving and/or snorkeling it's a great bay to see millionaire's yachts then sail ashore to enjoy the Carnival parade in the afternoon. It's worth the experience. 

 

I did see that about the parade in someone’s trip report here and would be a super fun cultural experience, the kind I only generally luck into. Once on the Aran Islands we were there for the bonfires to celebrate St. John’s Eve. We had no idea it was a thing but we got swept up in the fun with everyone else. 

 

If the the stars aligned, we would go to a cricket match too before/after the trip, but that won’t be 2021 - the Windies are touring Bangladesh then (I checked, lol). So more reasons to plan this to the first of several voyages. 

[Ann_on_the_road]

1 hour ago, TrapperZimmy said:

We do the first cruise after New Year's, Ann, because (1) Zimmy can't get away after that, (2) the holiday cruises are more expensive, and (3) we are not likely to encounter children.

 

One warning we always give regarding booking excursions: Due to sea conditions, it is a real possibility that an island will be bypassed.  Remember that we almost always get tendered to shore, and boarding the tender becomes too risky in rough seas.  So if you book your own, try not to put any money at risk.

 

LOL, when I started reading your post, OKCer, I was picturing a Carnival cruise ship in St. Barts.  That would certainly ruin my vacation.

 

Excellent points about the excursions.  For Alaska, I had bucket list excursions that I would have been really sad about missing (tidewater glaciers especially) but I like the idea of yacht-style flexibility for the Caribbean. Wherever we end up, I’m sure someone can be found to take our money if there’s an activity we really want to do. And not doing anything sounds satisfying as well.

 

DH is happy with his binoculars anywhere there are birds to look at.  True luxury would be not having having to lug along the field guide library 🤣. I can just see him trying to stuff the spotting scope and tripod into his carry on bag. It’s his vacation too, and his idea of luxury is getting to see the animalia wherever we go. That goal seems achievable regardless of port changes. A tropic bird sighting is more important than hitting St. Tropez (a badly mixed metaphor but you see what I mean). 

 

TZ, I really appreciate the thoughtful attention you give to SD newbies on this forum. Not all the competitors’ forums are so lucky. 

[TrapperZimmy]

1 hour ago, Ann_on_the_road said:

TZ, I really appreciate the thoughtful attention you give to SD newbies on this forum. Not all the competitors’ forums are so lucky. 

 

Thanks, Ann.  But I'm not the only one.  One of the differences between SD and the others is the passengers.