Eastern Caribbean vs Southern Caribbean

[baldilocks]

As far as a ship, I would sail on the Freedom of the Seas. It has more things to do onboard...better shows, ice skating, mini-golf, more restaurants...and most important....bigger staterooms then Express. If you want to save a bit, try an inside stateroom on the Freedom overlooking the Royal Promenade on deck 7. Although it is inside, it doesn't feel that way...and good people watching, especially when the last day has the $10 specials. It is fun to watch all the shoppers jockeying for position.

[Merion_Mom]

5 hours ago, Russ Lomas said:

 

 

Freedom or Odyssey for sure.  Only take the Empress if it is going to small ports the larger ships cannot get into.

 

 

 

 

It does.  Tortola is a good port.  Visit The Baths, a series of caves.  It makes a very interesting day, with some beach time at the end.  

[Merion_Mom]

3 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

I agree I love the itinerary for the empress sailing on 12/11 and 12/26.  No sea days.  The fact that you are at a new island every day means you really don't need a big ship to play on - just using the ship for breakfast, dinner, and sleep, so Empress may work just fine. 

 

I completely agree with this.

[beerman2]

8 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

I agree I love the itinerary for the empress sailing on 12/11 and 12/26.  No sea days.  The fact at a new island every day means you really dont need a big ship to play on just using the ship for breakfast dinner and sleep so empress may work just fine. 

Port Days are about 7 hours , that leaves you a good 8 hours ON the ship. That is plenty of time to do other things than eat/sleep.

 

Amenities on bigger ships are never a bad thing. 

[BillOh]

16 hours ago, LVinTennessee said:

 

 

 

3. Some of the cruises have 3, 4, 5, or 6 ports. Having never been to any of these islands before, will I regret not doing a beach day on each one? I would like to do some scuba diving, sightseeing by boat tour or kayak, jet skis, exploring/beach combing.

2 or 3 beach days is enough for me, you will still be in the sun on other ports. 

 

 

16 hours ago, LVinTennessee said:

4. I would like to sample some of the local fruits, vegetables, and signature cuisines. Are there excursions that focus on that?

5. We would like to visit 1 rum distillery. Any recommendations?

If you get to St Croix, the Cruzan and Captain Morgan tours were both fun.

 

 

16 hours ago, LVinTennessee said:

6. We've never been on the ships below. I'm hesitant to choose the Empress, but maybe it would be more intimate and lots of fun?!?

7. My daughter and I love to hunt for seashells. Any island in particular that has lots of seashells?

 

What we are considering:

Dec 12 or Dec 19, Freedom of the Seas from San Juan to St. Thomas, St. Maarten, Antigua, St. Lucia, Barbados

Freedom remains my favorite ship.  St Marten has my favorite beaches and in Barbados,  the Calabazza catamaran (private excursion, not through royal) was one of the most fun times we have had on an excursion and would be perfect with your adult daughter

 

16 hours ago, LVinTennessee said:

Dec 18 , Odyssey of the Seas from Ft. Lauderdale to Grand Caymen, Aruba, Curacao

Dec 24, Empress of the Seas from San Juan to Tortola, St. Kitts, Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua, St. Maarten

Dec 26, Freedom of the Seas from San Juan to St. Maarten, Curacao, Aruba, St. Kitts

Good diving in Curacao, but I enjoyed Grenada and Bonaire better for diving.

16 hours ago, LVinTennessee said:

 

Any opinions are welcome and will be added to my spreadsheet. 😄

 

 

 

[BillOh]

2 hours ago, beerman2 said:

Port Days are about 7 hours , that leaves you a good 8 hours ON the ship. That is plenty of time to do other things than eat/sleep.

 

Amenities on bigger ships are never a bad thing. 

Well said, with no kids, I wouldn't hesitate.   I did book Empress once and they moved her on me!

[Sunshine3601]

2 hours ago, beerman2 said:

Port Days are about 7 hours , that leaves you a good 8 hours ON the ship. That is plenty of time to do other things than eat/sleep.

 

Amenities on bigger ships are never a bad thing. 

Yes of course the amenities are nice on all ships.  Figure an hour or so in the morning to wake up get ready have breakfast and go to port.  Come back shower and dress for dinner then have dinner is probably another 2 hours then you have a couple hours to enjoy a show, movie or go to the casino as well play with other amenities the ship has to offer.  I was simply saying that for 3 adults the OP is that Empress itineraries in december include some great island stops with no sea days so empress would great.  If the OP wants to visits alot of beautiful islands.

[Russ Lomas]

7 hours ago, Merion_Mom said:

 

It does.  Tortola is a good port.  Visit The Baths, a series of caves.  It makes a very interesting day, with some beach time at the end.  

We have been to Tortola once.  Not sure why RCCL only sends its small ships there.  NCL sends some very large ships to Tortola.

[SilkySal]

I would choose the Odyssey because it includes Curacao and Grand Cayman for great snorkeling, scuba, and sting ray city, as well as no flights needed for FLL. Bonus: Brand new ship! Hope you enjoy whatever you decide! Cheers!

[CORKY_Q]

We almost exclusively sail the East/West Caribbean because we live in the SE United States.  (Now in SE Florida.)  However, responding to your post, we would definitely suggest sailing on Freedom and enjoying the Southern Caribbean ports.  Spend a couple of days in San Juan pre-cruise and while there visit the Bacardi Rum distillery and spend a day visiting the Fort and Old San Juan.  Some really great restaurants there.

 

Enjoy and Sea ya!

 

[LVinTennessee]

16 hours ago, firefly333 said:

I asked that above but op didnt reply. 

 

That might influence me if we knew. 

@firefly333 and @Sunshine3601 - Since I am postponing 2020 cruise (which was on Enchantment); I got on RCI website and looked up what was available in 2021. The exact same cruise (ship/itinerary) was not shown on their website for 2021.

 

[Ashland]

It may not matter to you but I would opt for Dec 12th Freedom with at least 2 pre-cruise days in San Juan.

Complete your trip and be home for Xmas. 

[cruiser123!]

22 hours ago, LVinTennessee said:

I need your advice. Reading travel books and looking at an island's description on paper isn't the same as hearing someone's real life experience. 

 

I've been to Jamaica and Haiti, and my plan is to select a cruise to new islands that I've never visited before. I love scenery, the ocean/beaches, wildlife, and the outdoors. I'm not interested in visiting museums, historical buildings, or military sites. A little shopping is fine; but I don't plan to spend my time doing mega-shopping.

 

We are planning for December 2021. We were supposed to go this December but have decided to postpone, and I have very little time to decide which cruise to choose next year. The exact same ports are not available next year so I have to start over making decisions.

 

We're a family of 3 - husband and wife (50 y.o.) and 21 y.o. daughter

 

Here are my questions in no particular order:

 

1. On paper, St. Lucia & St. Kitts seem "meh." Your thoughts?

2. St. John and Grand Caymen both have a Stingray City. Is one better than the other?

3. Some of the cruises have 3, 4, 5, or 6 ports. Having never been to any of these islands before, will I regret not doing a beach day on each one? I would like to do some scuba diving, sightseeing by boat tour or kayak, jet skis, exploring/beach combing.

4. I would like to sample some of the local fruits, vegetables, and signature cuisines. Are there excursions that focus on that?

5. We would like to visit 1 rum distillery. Any recommendations?

6. We've never been on the ships below. I'm hesitant to choose the Empress, but maybe it would be more intimate and lots of fun?!?

7. My daughter and I love to hunt for seashells. Any island in particular that has lots of seashells?

 

What we are considering:

Dec 12 or Dec 19, Freedom of the Seas from San Juan to St. Thomas, St. Maarten, Antigua, St. Lucia, Barbados

Dec 18 , Odyssey of the Seas from Ft. Lauderdale to Grand Caymen, Aruba, Curacao

Dec 24, Empress of the Seas from San Juan to Tortola, St. Kitts, Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua, St. Maarten

Dec 26, Freedom of the Seas from San Juan to St. Maarten, Curacao, Aruba, St. Kitts

 

Any opinions are welcome and will be added to my spreadsheet. 😄

 

 

You may be my twin.  Wanting to see more,  not a fan of indoor excursions, and you totally had me at spreadsheet!  ❤️ 

 

Here are my questions in no particular order:

 

1. On paper, St. Lucia & St. Kitts seem "meh." Your thoughts?

                --> We liked St. Lucia.  The Pitons were pretty.  Skip the volcano and  mud spa place.  Very touristy and overrated. We only saw the dolphin place in St. Kitts as my daughter got sick.

2. St. John and Grand Caymen both have a Stingray City. Is one better than the other?

                 --> Did SRC in Grand Caymen. It was ok.   Haven't been to St. Johns.  We are going to save that for cococay.   There's not a lot to do on the private islands, so you may want to consider saving that for one of those days.    

3. Some of the cruises have 3, 4, 5, or 6 ports. Having never been to any of these islands before, will I regret not doing a beach day on each one? I would like to do some scuba diving, sightseeing by boat tour or kayak, jet skis, exploring/beach combing.

                 --> the more port days the merrier to me!    I wouldn't just do a beach day.  You sound like you may get bored and want to explore more.   A lot of excursions have options of seeing xyz then "Beach day at the end".

4. I would like to sample some of the local fruits, vegetables, and signature cuisines. Are there excursions that focus on that?

                   --> I've seen salsa ones in Mexico, but haven't really looked otherwise.  I can absolutely swear to my love of Tortuga Rum Cake though 🙂       

5. We would like to visit 1 rum distillery. Any recommendations?

                  --> if you do the itinerary out of San Juan, maybe the Barcardi one?  May be a bit too commercialized though.

6. We've never been on the ships below. I'm hesitant to choose the Empress, but maybe it would be more intimate and lots of fun?!?

                 --> only been on the Jewel OTS and the Allure OTS.  I liked the Allure alot!  Seemed less crowded than the smaller one for some reason

 

What we are considering:

Dec 12 or Dec 19, Freedom of the Seas from San Juan to St. Thomas, St. Maarten, Antigua, St. Lucia, Barbados

Dec 18 , Odyssey of the Seas from Ft. Lauderdale to Grand Caymen, Aruba, Curacao

Dec 24, Empress of the Seas from San Juan to Tortola, St. Kitts, Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua, St. Maarten

Dec 26, Freedom of the Seas from San Juan to St. Maarten, Curacao, Aruba, St. Kitts

 

Any opinions are welcome and will be added to my spreadsheet. 😄

 

My goal itinerary for the Caribbean is the ABCs.   San Juan is my absolute favorite place down there (so far).

   

I'd be hesitant of all bu the 12th due to higher flights/hotels for Christmas and NYE travel.  If you're also gone over that time, you may want to check to see if things are open on your port days.

 

 

If you haven't gone to any of these before and you truly want to see more, I'd go with the 12/24 one.

Based on ports alone, I'd probably go to with 12/12 or 12/24.  I like St Maarten (standing in the airplane streams by Maho Beach was stupid fun) our only semi beach day was in Antigua, the rum punch is fantastic in St. Lucia and my favorite snorkeling ever was in Barbados.   Plus I want to see all the ABCs and not getting to the B would annoy my spreadsheet.

[firefly333]

56 minutes ago, LVinTennessee said:

@firefly333 and @Sunshine3601 - Since I am postponing 2020 cruise (which was on Enchantment); I got on RCI website and looked up what was available in 2021. The exact same cruise (ship/itinerary) was not shown on their website for 2021.

 

Did you go to lift and shift and see if there were any options is what we are asking. Go to cwc, cancel, and 3 options come up (last is lift and shift). We are asking if you had a good price for 2020, were any of the options good or ones above. You might want to book next year at the enchantment price we were thinking. 

 

They dont have to be exact .... just go see what you can lift and shift to and then back out. Looking doesnt cost anything. Lots are saving big bucks booked older ships and moving to newer ships price protected at their original cruisefare.

Edited September 9, 2020 by firefly333

[LVinTennessee]

4 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

Did you go to lift and shift and see if there were any options is what we are asking. Go to cwc, cancel, and 3 options come up (last is lift and shift). We are asking if you had a good price for 2020, were any of the options good or ones above. You might want to book next year at the enchantment price we were thinking. 

 

They dont have to be exact .... just go see what you can lift and shift to and then back out. Looking doesnt cost anything. Lots are saving big bucks booked older ships and moving to newer ships price protected at their original cruisefare.

@firefly333 - I followed your instructions, and it asks me to choose 3 preferences. The options listed were the ones I've already seen on the website - Freedom, Odyssey, etc. 

 

[rockmom]

52 minutes ago, LVinTennessee said:

@firefly333 - I followed your instructions, and it asks me to choose 3 preferences. The options listed were the ones I've already seen on the website - Freedom, Odyssey, etc. 

 

If there is one there that you like, you don't have to put in all three in preferential order.  You can just enter the one sailing you'd like to swap for.  Of course if you don't like any of them, you're kind of out of luck on a L&S.   I'd say Freedom would be my choice.  My southern on her was canceled in June, hoping to sail on the one I rebooked for March, if not, we'll move it to the next year. Determined to do Southern and love Freedom.  

Edited September 9, 2020 by rockmom

[firefly333]

1 hour ago, LVinTennessee said:

@firefly333 - I followed your instructions, and it asks me to choose 3 preferences. The options listed were the ones I've already seen on the website - Freedom, Odyssey, etc. 

 

Just choose your favorite not all 3. If I could get odyssey for enchantment price I'd sure be tempted. But then I've been to the ports. I go for the ship now. You can lift and shift it yourself, just have a agent or ta check that you got it for the same price and cabin. 

 

So my choice and yours wouldnt be the same, as if I were price protected I'd pick the most expensive lmao.

[firefly333]

17 minutes ago, rockmom said:

If there is one there that you like, you don't have to put in all three in preferential order.  You can just enter the one sailing you'd like to swap for.  Of course if you don't like any of them, you're kind of out of luck on a L&S.   I'd say Freedom would be my choice.  My southern on her was canceled in June, hoping to sail on the one I rebooked for March, if not, we'll move it to the next year. Determined to do Southern and love Freedom.  

Agree southern is more unusual.... tempting. Freedom isn't bad. 

 

Hard choice southern or new ship I haven't been on.

 

Agree, just put in 1 choice. Lol most expensive. 

[karena1]

On 9/8/2020 at 4:19 PM, LVinTennessee said:

I need your advice. Reading travel books and looking at an island's description on paper isn't the same as hearing someone's real life experience. 

 

I've been to Jamaica and Haiti, and my plan is to select a cruise to new islands that I've never visited before. I love scenery, the ocean/beaches, wildlife, and the outdoors. I'm not interested in visiting museums, historical buildings, or military sites. A little shopping is fine; but I don't plan to spend my time doing mega-shopping.

 

We are planning for December 2021. We were supposed to go this December but have decided to postpone, and I have very little time to decide which cruise to choose next year. The exact same ports are not available next year so I have to start over making decisions.

 

We're a family of 3 - husband and wife (50 y.o.) and 21 y.o. daughter

 

Here are my questions in no particular order:

 

 

 

What we are considering:

Dec 12 or Dec 19, Freedom of the Seas from San Juan to St. Thomas, St. Maarten, Antigua, St. Lucia, Barbados

Dec 18 , Odyssey of the Seas from Ft. Lauderdale to Grand Caymen, Aruba, Curacao

Dec 24, Empress of the Seas from San Juan to Tortola, St. Kitts, Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua, St. Maarten

Dec 26, Freedom of the Seas from San Juan to St. Maarten, Curacao, Aruba, St. Kitts

 

Any opinions are welcome and will be added to my spreadsheet. 😄

 

 

I would take Southern Caribbean that includes STT, SMX, Antigua, St Lucia and Barbados any day of the week.  Our favorite itin.  My favorite island is Antigua, husbands is St Lucia.  We lost 3 of that itin this year due to the cancellations and have 3 more booked for next year for that Itin.  Love Freedom love cruising out of Puerto Rico.  Our favorite port to cruise from.  We are not fans of the ABC islands - I know lots of people love them, but I do not like Bonaire at all.  Not a fan of St Kitts either.  For us personally, while Empress is a great ship, it is super small and I would not take that for a 7 night cruise.  I think your 21 year old would be bored on that ship, whereas Freedom as a ton of stuff on the ship to do since it is so much bigger.  Hope this helps

 

[karena1]

20 hours ago, firefly333 said:

We went to coki beach and snorkel also ... dating myself, but it was the year before all the outcry about coki. There was some kind of shooting out on the street in front of the beach, gangs mentioned. Innocent killed in cross fire. 

 

For years no one would go to coki beach. I liked it because it was more local, talked to a whole table full of local women who had their kids and enjoyed it.... .being more local I guess is a plus and minus. I'm sure it's been over 10 years now, and back in style? I went on a 2nd cruise to coki with someone and she was so mad at me over this day.. well and jamaica. She did scuba and they gave her dog biscuits she stuffed in the top of her bathing suit. When she went into the water she was attacked by the fish. She was screaming ... and the falls in Jamaica I left her and she felt attacked by the shop keepers. I guess having lived in hawaii I'm used to island women but she was easily terrified. Bad bad me. It was hard not to laugh at the sight when the fish made a bee line for the top of her bathing suit. I can tell you where not to put food to feed fish.  I now cruise solo. 

 

But that shooting out at the road had people avoiding coki for years.

We love Coki.  Go there every time we are in STT.  Don't like Magen's at all any more since it became a national park.  Crappy chairs, crappy attitudes, etc.  Coki has lots of beach restaurants/bars, awesome staff, little shops and a beautiful beach.  We love going there and really miss it since our 4 Freedom cruises got canceled this year

[firefly333]

13 minutes ago, karena1 said:

We love Coki.  Go there every time we are in STT.  Don't like Magen's at all any more since it became a national park.  Crappy chairs, crappy attitudes, etc.  Coki has lots of beach restaurants/bars, awesome staff, little shops and a beautiful beach.  We love going there and really miss it since our 4 Freedom cruises got canceled this year

I had a ball with the local women, but I lived in the country in hawaii, so to me was fun. They were passing something around that my cruise roomie was the last straw for her. She still thinks I'm awful and should have swum out and saved her from the attack of the fish. Lmao. 

 

But I loved coki. 😁

[Sunshine3601]

2 hours ago, LVinTennessee said:

@firefly333 - I followed your instructions, and it asks me to choose 3 preferences. The options listed were the ones I've already seen on the website - Freedom, Odyssey, etc. 

 

the advantage to the lift and shift program is you are price protected.     How does the cruise fare for same cabin category compare to the pricing you have now for the december sailing on enchantment to the pricing for the december 2021 sailings?      If your current pricing is better than you definitely want to take advantage and do the lift and shift instead of doing a completely new booking.     

I personally like the 12/11 and 12/24 Empress sailings - lots of beautiful islands to visit.     Good luck in whatever you decide.   I am sure you will have a wonderful time.