Which itenarary would you pick?

[alpha0meqa]

Options below. Not familiar with most of these destinations. 

 

Carnival Horizon:

8 days - Southern Caribbean - Miami >>(Curacao, Aruba, Bonaire) April 30th-May 8th --

 

8 days - Southern Caribbean - Miami >>(Curacao, Aruba, Amber Cove, La Romana) May 14th-May 22nd -- 

 

6 days - Western Caribbean - Miami >>(Cozumel, Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman) April 24th-April 30th -- 

 

Carnival Mardi Gras:

7 days - Western Caribbean - Port Canaveral >>(Cozumel, Mahogany Bay, Costa Maya) April 30th-May 7th 

 

7 days - Eastern Caribbean - Port Canaveral >>(Grand Turk, San Juan, Amber Cove) April 23rd-April 30th -- 

[Joe817]

For me, it's a no brainer:

Carnival Horizon:

8 days - Southern Caribbean - Miami >>(Curacao, Aruba, Bonaire) April 30th-May 8th --

 

I've always wanted to go to those destinations. 

[lobster1313]

6 minutes ago, alpha0meqa said:

Carnival Horizon:

8 days - Southern Caribbean - Miami >>(Curacao, Aruba, Bonaire) April 30th-May 8th --

Definitely. 

[sailingships]

Id do the Freedom April 9 from Miami to Amber Cove, San Juan, St Maarten,  St Thomas

[wemjam]

3 minutes ago, Joe817 said:

For me, it's a no brainer:

Carnival Horizon:

8 days - Southern Caribbean - Miami >>(Curacao, Aruba, Bonaire) April 30th-May 8th --

 

I've always wanted to go to those destinations. 

Ditto, nice ship and itinerary both - plus 8 days instead of 6 or 7

[Pyrate13]

#1 would be my first choice and #2 my second.

[sparks1093]

23 minutes ago, alpha0meqa said:

Options below. Not familiar with most of these destinations. 

 

Carnival Horizon:

8 days - Southern Caribbean - Miami >>(Curacao, Aruba, Bonaire) April 30th-May 8th --

 

8 days - Southern Caribbean - Miami >>(Curacao, Aruba, Amber Cove, La Romana) May 14th-May 22nd -- 

 

6 days - Western Caribbean - Miami >>(Cozumel, Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman) April 24th-April 30th -- 

 

Carnival Mardi Gras:

7 days - Western Caribbean - Port Canaveral >>(Cozumel, Mahogany Bay, Costa Maya) April 30th-May 7th 

 

7 days - Eastern Caribbean - Port Canaveral >>(Grand Turk, San Juan, Amber Cove) April 23rd-April 30th -- 

It pricing isn't too far apart I would do Curacao, Aruba, Bonaire.

[BrotherCraig]

First one.

[Tapi]

I’ll go with #2 as my first choice and #1 as my second choice. The ABC islands are very nice, but it may be a bit repetitive to go on an itinerary that only covers these islands. All have beautiful beaches and welcoming Dutch-influenced culture, but the landscape is pretty blah. They are all dry, desert-like and flat. Not very scenic.

 

Itinerary #2 still covers two of the ABC islands, but it offers a bit more diversity by throwing in two destination in the Dominican Republic, with a different flavor, culture, and offers a more lush and appealing landscape. You’ll probably hear negative comments about La Romana, but it is one of those ports where you need to book an excursion. Tons of wonderful things to do in the area, but you need to explore beyond the port area.

Edited June 29, 2021 by Tapi

[asalligo]

I would choose this one also. I love Amber Cove and I prefer Port Canaveral over Miami always, but 8 versus 6 or 7 days is really nice and I love cruises with sea days on the front and back of ports to decompress. 

 

8 days - Southern Caribbean - Miami >>(Curacao, Aruba, Bonaire) April 30th-May 8th

 

 

[samiam0403]

I'd choose the first one. LOVED Horizon, and those would be 3 new ports for me. (Was supposed to cruise there in 2018, but had to cancel due to Hurricane Michael. Someday we'll get there!)

 

[skrufy]

48 minutes ago, alpha0meqa said:

Options below. Not familiar with most of these destinations. 

 

Carnival Horizon:

8 days - Southern Caribbean - Miami >>(Curacao, Aruba, Bonaire) April 30th-May 8th --

 

8 days - Southern Caribbean - Miami >>(Curacao, Aruba, Amber Cove, La Romana) May 14th-May 22nd -- 

 

6 days - Western Caribbean - Miami >>(Cozumel, Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman) April 24th-April 30th -- 

 

Carnival Mardi Gras:

7 days - Western Caribbean - Port Canaveral >>(Cozumel, Mahogany Bay, Costa Maya) April 30th-May 7th 

 

7 days - Eastern Caribbean - Port Canaveral >>(Grand Turk, San Juan, Amber Cove) April 23rd-April 30th -- 

8 days southern, the ABC islands.

[Hotdog 52]

#2

 

[Jamesatgsu]

#1, because those 3 ports are the farthest away, so there are fewer cruises that visit them. They don't typically visit all 3 of those islands (normally you get 2 of the 3).

 

#2 was what we had booked for one of our cancelled cruises. I love this one, but you'll have other options to visit La Romana & Amber Cove, including plenty of all-inclusive resorts.

 

Price would have to be very high for me not to choose one of those 2.

Edited June 29, 2021 by Jamesatgsu

[deweytrader]

1 or 2, whichever is cheaper!

[BoozinCroozin]

First one. I wanted to do the ABC's but they weren't available for our dates.

[TravelBluebird]

I’m going to be different and pick the last one!

 

Mardi Gras!

 

Plus, lots of variety for the Caribbean—I love walking around in colonial San Juan, and the port is right in town.

 

Then you get Dominican Republic; for me, I’d do something that gets into the lush landscape, monkeys, etc.

 

And you can do a classic beach day on Grand Turk.

 

 

 

[thesmiths]

Did #2 and we loved it.

We did the Seavis Tour in La Romana to Saona Island and enjoyed it..

Some don't like La Romana. We do.

 

Doing #1 in September and will love it.

ABC's cruise was always on our list.

 

Book both as both itineraries  go out to 2024.

 

Definitely 8 days, Sea days are the best on the front and back end.

 

Our Opinion

6 days is to rushed.

7 Days is nice but also rushed .

 

We have Two 8 Days Booked, One 9  Day and One 10 Day from Alaska.

 

Looking at 2024 now for an 8 day back on the Horizon for A Southern.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 29, 2021 by thesmiths

[lazydayz]

I would also pick the 8 night S. Caribbean on the Horizon.  Love the ABC islands and you just don't get there on many cruises leaving from Florida.  Aruba is great for a tour with time at the beach after.  Bonaire has wonderful snorkeling and I love the little downtown area right on the waterfront.  Curacao is a town day for me.  So cool walking over the floating bridge, doing a little shopping then finding a cafe for lunch and an Amstel Light.  

[MzOhioLady]

I'd Pick Option Number 2. We are doing this itinerary in September on the Horizon and we cannot wait to be on a new ship and a new itinerary that we haven't done before.

[ScottsSweetie]

If comparable in price to the others, I would do ABC's all day long! We cruised for years before we were able to find the right combination of date, ship and price for those islands. It just seems that this itinerary is not offered a lot and when it is it can be price prohibitive.

 

[Jasonsterling]

7 days - Eastern Caribbean - Port Canaveral >>(Grand Turk, San Juan, Amber Cove) April 23rd-April 30th -- on Mardi Gras. It's a brand new ship and I haven't been to two of those ports and San Juan which I have been too is an awesome town.

 

Next might be this I guess 8 days - Southern Caribbean - Miami >>(Curacao, Aruba, Bonaire) April 30th-May 8th -- on Horizon ... though the other Mardi Gras route is tempting because again, new ship but 8 days and new ports would be a big pull for me. 

 

In the end I'd have to balance other factors like work, price of each, airfare, hotel costs in Port Canaveral versus Miami and ect. ect. I rarely am tempted by flying all the way to Florida for a cruise, lol but I should look into it. I'd like to try the Mardi Gras out. 

[Trueblueky]

How do you feel about ship size?

Horizon has fewer than 4000 passengers; Mardi Gras, 5000+.  That's more people in port, more people embarking and disembarking.

[sparks1093]

1 hour ago, Tapi said:

I’ll go with #2 as my first choice and #1 as my second choice. The ABC islands are very nice, but it may be a bit repetitive to go on an itinerary that only covers these islands. All have beautiful beaches and welcoming Dutch-influenced culture, but the landscape is pretty blah. They are all dry, desert-like and flat. Not very scenic.

 

Itinerary #2 still covers two of the ABC islands, but it offers a bit more diversity by throwing in two destination in the Dominican Republic, with a different flavor, culture, and offers a more lush and appealing landscape. You’ll probably hear negative comments about La Romana, but it is one of those ports where you need to book an excursion. Tons of wonderful things to do in the area, but you need to explore beyond the port area.

I just changed my answer to #2.

[IntrepidFromDC]

Carnival Horizon: 8 days - Southern Caribbean - Miami >>(Curacao, Aruba, Bonaire) April 30th-May 8th.  In Curacao you can walk directly to the charming, walkable and thoroughly enjoyable Willemstad - no excursion necessary.  One of my top 3 ports in all of the Caribbean.  Aruba you'll probably want to do an excursion, the area right at the port is not special.  I haven't been to Bonaire but it's top of the list for unvisited Caribbean ports-of-call for me, personally.