Cruising from the USA- some help please :)

[DOJO1]

We are looking at Bahamas or Caribbean cruise late 2023 or anytime 2024. We are cruisers but never from the states ( we are in Australia).

Cruises seem to be shorter to those destinations and we prefer 14 days or so, especially when travelling so far from home.

• Needs to be Carnival to use up some of the credits we have from COVID cancelled cruising
• Are B2B's possible? What's better Bahamas or Caribbean/East/West Southern?
• We are in our 50's and enjoy sea days.
• Best time to go with weather/less children on board and pricing?

Your suggestions are greatly appreciated 🙂

[lax19]

Have you considered a Panama Canal cruise (LA to Florida or Florida to LA)? That would definitely cover your 14 days.

If you are looking at two seven day cruises, it does not necessarily have to be a B2B on the same ship. You could switch ships with a day between the cruises.

 

I would suggest one of your cruises go to Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao.

 

Best pricing would be in January or February.

[icft]

I agree with lax19 that a Panama Canal transit cruise sounds ideal for you. I also agree that Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao are outstanding, but you won't find them on many itineraries other than a Panama Canal transit or partial transit since they are so far from the U.S.

 

With Caribbean cruises out of Florida it would be easy to take one itinerary, return, and hop on another ship with a different itinerary.

 

B2Bs on the same ship are common but you usually end sailing the same itinerary twice.

 

Our personal sailing season preference is between mid September and mid May when kids and college drunks are in school (nothing against drunks, but college kids don't yet know how to be drunk without being stupid), but watch for college spring break. Unfortunately spring break is different times for different colleges. Many tie in with Easter.

 

I would recommend talking with a Carnival Personal Vacation Planner or a travel agent very familiar with U.S. cruises to find all the options. The Carnival web site is not very good at letting you know all the options and possibilities.

 

Edited September 6, 2022 by icft
Misread Bahamas as Bermuda and endede up looking stupid. Now I have hidden my stupidity.

[DallasGuy75219]

Some of the ships doing 6-8 day cruises out of Miami and Port Canaveral (Orlando) alternate Eastern/Western Caribbean or Eastern/Southern Caribbean itineraries each sailing.  These would be good candidates for B2B cruises to see different ports each sailing without having to change ships.

[DallasGuy75219]

36 minutes ago, icft said:

I also agree that Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao are outstanding, but you won't find them on many itineraries other than a Panama Canal transit or partial transit since they are so far from the U.S.

There are also 8 day Southern Caribbean itineraries out of Miami and Port Canaveral that hit 2-3 of the ABCs.

[Ellaleah]

2 hours ago, DOJO1 said:

We are looking at Bahamas or Caribbean cruise late 2023 or anytime 2024. We are cruisers but never from the states ( we are in Australia).

Cruises seem to be shorter to those destinations and we prefer 14 days or so, especially when travelling so far from home.

• Needs to be Carnival to use up some of the credits we have from COVID cancelled cruising
• Are B2B's possible? What's better Bahamas or Caribbean/East/West Southern?
• We are in our 50's and enjoy sea days.
• Best time to go with weather/less children on board and pricing?

Your suggestions are greatly appreciated 🙂

Have you considered Hawaii out of the west coast?  I did a 15 day out of San Francisco last January.  There are next to no kids.

[jimbo5544]

Carnival has occasional journey cruises that can be up to 14 days long.  They happen from most ports including Baltimore.  When we took ours in 2019 on the Breeze, it was one of the best we ever took. 

[mondello]

@DOJO1 Was your original cruise a Covid cancelled cruise with an Australian itinerary? Pretty sure Carnival will only allow any rebooking for another Australia cruise as they limit the funds paid to be used in that region. You may want to call Carnival to clarify.

[mondello]

You could consider a B2B with a couple 7 day cruises. Some ships alternate Eastern and Western Caribbean cruises.

[broberts]

Keep in mind that mid August to mid September is typically the height of hurricane season in the Caribbean. Storms rarely stop cruising but sometimes alter itineraries and seas can be heavier.

 

A number of Carnival ships out of Miami alternate 6 and 8 day itineraries.

 

January is nice for more moderate temperatures. In the past early January has often had slightly better pricing.

 

Many schools schedule a break in the last two weeks of March. It's a very popular time for family & college age vacations. 

 

Eastern Caribbean routes are extremely popular. Ports like Nassau, Charlotte Amalie, and St Maarten generally have several ships in port each day. In fact there are days when tourists out number residents. Or so it seems.

 

Western routes usually include a Central American port. These ports are different from the more typical "island" ports.

 

[katsn1011]

Carnival usually does Its end of season Alaskan cruise & than does a Hawaiian cruise back to back,

Good idea being  they're 2 places everyone would like to visit. Do not know how long you have will probably 4 or 5 days more than you are looking for. I know we did the Hawaii part out of Vancouver and there were only 7 children on our sailing . Usually in September 

[bguppies]

7 hours ago, DOJO1 said:

We are looking at Bahamas or Caribbean cruise late 2023 or anytime 2024. We are cruisers but never from the states ( we are in Australia).

Cruises seem to be shorter to those destinations and we prefer 14 days or so, especially when travelling so far from home.

• Needs to be Carnival to use up some of the credits we have from COVID cancelled cruising
• Are B2B's possible? What's better Bahamas or Caribbean/East/West Southern?
• We are in our 50's and enjoy sea days.
• Best time to go with weather/less children on board and pricing?

Your suggestions are greatly appreciated 🙂

Your best bet would be a back to back eastern/western caribbean 7 day cruises, that would give you the most ports in one trip. (eastern is frequently, St. Thomas, St.Martin, Nassau - western is frequently Cozumel, Roatan, Costa Maya, Belize and maybe Grand Cayman)(Pretty much a sea day at the start and end of each cruise, then a port a day in the middle)

 

A southern caribbean out of Miami would probably give you the most sea days and much less visited islands .

 

Weather in the Caribbean is worst from mid-August to mid-October. (Hurricane season technically runs from June to November but September is where it impacts us the most)

 

If you enjoy swimming in the ocean maybe avoid the Bahamas in February. 

Rarely gets too cold in the Bahamas or Caribbean, but does get a bit chilly to swim in the ocean or unheated pools.

 

Rates are usually really cheap in September due to almost all kids are back by then and hurricane season. (your cruise will usually run during hurricane season, just itineraries get changed last minute to avoid storms and damage from storms that recently hit. If you have particular islands you want to visit on a cruise, NEVER cruise in the heart of hurricane season.)

 

To avoid kids avoid June, July and August, Easter/spring break Christmas/New Year break and Thanksgiving here in the states. (bonus, rates are cheapest when kids are locked into school.)

Edited September 6, 2022 by bguppies

[sparks1093]

As many have said there are a lot of options for you to consider. I think that I would like to do a back to back. Many ships will alternate itineraries so you could do the eastern Caribbean on the first leg and then the western on the second. Sometimes the cruises to the southern ports are a bit longer, 9 or 10 days and it might be possible to do a B2B with one of those cruises if they have a 7 day before or after to link to. I would prefer to do a B2B on the same ship and in the same cabin if possible, just for less hassle. As I understand it you disembark, wait a bit and then are let right back on. You certainly have a lot of options and I don't think you can go wrong with any of them.

[skrufy]

7 hours ago, DOJO1 said:

We are looking at Bahamas or Caribbean cruise late 2023 or anytime 2024. We are cruisers but never from the states ( we are in Australia).

Cruises seem to be shorter to those destinations and we prefer 14 days or so, especially when travelling so far from home.

• Needs to be Carnival to use up some of the credits we have from COVID cancelled cruising
• Are B2B's possible? What's better Bahamas or Caribbean/East/West Southern?
• We are in our 50's and enjoy sea days.
• Best time to go with weather/less children on board and pricing?

Your suggestions are greatly appreciated 🙂

My favorite time to cruise is January, February, March, late August, and September. Higher prices for summer months and holidays. Less kids are on the longer cruises, 10 day or more. Stay away from Holidays, too many kids. I like the eastern and southern Caribbean. Carnival has B2Bs, Journeys ( 10 days or more ) and repositioning cruises. Log on to Carnival, begin the process of booking a cruise. Each time you select a destination and month, select 10+ days.  For example we are booked for two cruises next year. One a 14 day journeys to Alaska and an 18 day transatlantic from Southampton England.

[DallasGuy75219]

4 hours ago, katsn1011 said:

Carnival usually does Its end of season Alaskan cruise & than does a Hawaiian cruise back to back,

Good idea being  they're 2 places everyone would like to visit. Do not know how long you have will probably 4 or 5 days more than you are looking for. I know we did the Hawaii part out of Vancouver and there were only 7 children on our sailing . Usually in September 

Have to be careful about PVSA violations with this B2B.  Can't do the last Alaska cruise if it's Seattle-Vancouver and then the Vancuver-Hawaii cruise because CBP views that as a Seattle- Hawaii cruise.  But Vancouver- Hawaii then Hawaii-Australia on a ship repositioning to Australia would be ideal so OP didn't have as far to travel back home.

[CheckersMidwest]

US schools are in session mid August to Mid May. (Varies by a few weeks depending on the district)

 

Journey's cruises are 11-14 days I think

Back to Backs are certainly done by others. (I would love that! But can't be gone from work that long at a time.)

 

The Bahamas is very close to the US, so those cruises are shorter. I really liked our southern Caribbean cruise that included Aruba and Curacao. The Puerto Rico/Virgin Island cruise is also excellent. My least favorite was out of Long Beach this past summer.

[hey-buc]

I would recommend the 14 day out of New Orleans, leaves late October or early November.

[sparks1093]

5 hours ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

Have to be careful about PVSA violations with this B2B.  Can't do the last Alaska cruise if it's Seattle-Vancouver and then the Vancuver-Hawaii cruise because CBP views that as a Seattle- Hawaii cruise.  But Vancouver- Hawaii then Hawaii-Australia on a ship repositioning to Australia would be ideal so OP didn't have as far to travel back home.

I'm certainly no legal expert but as I understand it the PVSA applies to transporting US citizens between US ports, so would it even apply to an Australian citizen?

[DallasGuy75219]

26 minutes ago, sparks1093 said:

I'm certainly no legal expert but as I understand it the PVSA applies to transporting US citizens between US ports, so would it even apply to an Australian citizen?

It applies regardless of the citizenship of the passengers being transported.  The flag of the ship creates the violation, not the citizenship of the passengers transported.

[broberts]

6 hours ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

Have to be careful about PVSA violations with this B2B.  Can't do the last Alaska cruise if it's Seattle-Vancouver and then the Vancuver-Hawaii cruise because CBP views that as a Seattle- Hawaii cruise.  But Vancouver- Hawaii then Hawaii-Australia on a ship repositioning to Australia would be ideal so OP didn't have as far to travel back home.

 

Doesn't the Vancouver stop eliminate the PVSA concerns?

[Lane Hog]

I don't think a Jones Act violation is going to be triggered by an individual B2B itinerary.

The Act is there to prevent foreign companies from engaging in trade between US ports without using a US flagged vessel (thus protecting hypothetical jobs which don't exist).  If someone buys two cruises, they've complied with the letter of the Act.  

[DallasGuy75219]

5 minutes ago, broberts said:

 

Doesn't the Vancouver stop eliminate the PVSA concerns?

Not if someone is doing a B2B and staying on the same ship in Vancouver to do the next cruise that ends in Hawaii. CBP views that as transporting someone from Seattle to Hawaii (even if they physically get off the ship in Vancouver) and a PVSA violation.

[ober134]

Early  November weather is good and fewer kids. We just booked our first B2B ( bucket list item) for next year, and surprised how much is booked up already. that will include 4 sea days. Without looking I recall Horizon does alternating 6 and 8 day itineraries.

[DallasGuy75219]

1 minute ago, Lane Hog said:

I don't think a Jones Act violation is going to be triggered by an individual B2B itinerary.

The Act is there to prevent foreign companies from engaging in trade between US ports without using a US flagged vessel (thus protecting hypothetical jobs which don't exist).  If someone buys two cruises, they've complied with the letter of the Act.  

PVSA applies to transporting passengers, Jones Act applies to transporting cargo.

 

But notwithstanding, the fine is levied by CBP against the cruise line, not the passenger.  Granted the cruise line will likely pass on the fine to the passenger's S&S account, but they try to avoid the violation in the first place by (1) educating their agents not to make B2B bookings the violate the PVSA and (2) cancelling at least on leg of B2B cruises that get past (1) and get booked anyway.

[katsn1011]

6 hours ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

Have to be careful about PVSA violations with this B2B.  Can't do the last Alaska cruise if it's Seattle-Vancouver and then the Vancuver-Hawaii cruise because CBP views that as a Seattle- Hawaii cruise.  But Vancouver- Hawaii then Hawaii-Australia on a ship repositioning to Australia would be ideal so OP didn't have as far to travel back home.