Belgian fry Posted February 23, 2023 #1 Share Posted February 23, 2023 Looking for a Caribbean cruise in early 2025, but nothing really grabs my attention. There are lots of islands I haven't visited, but it seems Celebrity never goes there. Is it because the ships are too big? Are cruise lines banned from certain islands? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare 1025cruise Posted February 23, 2023 #2 Share Posted February 23, 2023 The most popular cruise is a 7 day out of Florida. Only so far they can go in 7 days. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare DCPIV Posted February 23, 2023 #3 Share Posted February 23, 2023 Size certainly is part of it. Only so many ports can accomodate these ships just on size. The port also needs a certain sort of facility for cruise passenger travel (it ain't the same as freight). There are some islands we've been to on smaller ships that larger ships do not go to (although it's changing a bit). On a related note, you have some islands that don't want any tourists or, at least, don't want cruise ships. Pricing is another reason. As mentioned above, the popular cruises go out of Florida. It takes a couple days to get down to the southern islands, so that limits what you can do unless you extend the cruise beyond the also popular 7-night format. While some to sail from Caribbean ports, the air fare to get there keeps a lot of folks away. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeRick Posted February 23, 2023 #4 Share Posted February 23, 2023 In general smaller ships can get into a wider variety of ports. The smaller luxury lines have more interesting destinations. For larger cruise ships, one example- it used to be that only M-Class ships could fully transit the Panama Canal. Now with the new locks larger ships could fit - but still need to be modified to go under the Bridge of the Americas. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare mahdnc Posted February 23, 2023 #5 Share Posted February 23, 2023 (edited) 1 hour ago, Belgian fry said: Looking for a Caribbean cruise in early 2025, but nothing really grabs my attention. There are lots of islands I haven't visited, but it seems Celebrity never goes there. Is it because the ships are too big? Are cruise lines banned from certain islands? Which Caribbean islands (besides Cuba) are you interested in that Celebrity does not visit? Edited February 23, 2023 by mahdnc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baggal Posted February 23, 2023 #6 Share Posted February 23, 2023 Celebrity is not known for varied and interesting itineraries. We were very recently on a 11 day Southern Caribbean cruise on the Holland America Rotterdam. With the exception of St. Marten and St. Thomas which we had previously visited multiple times, all the other ports were new and interesting to us: St. Lucia, St. Kitts, Barbados, and Martinique. We took the ferry from St. Thomas to St. John for a day at the beach there. And then finally, a stop at Half Moon Cay, HAL's private island (which Celebrity doesn't have). My advise to you is to look at other cruise lines. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare DCPIV Posted February 23, 2023 #7 Share Posted February 23, 2023 7 minutes ago, baggal said: Celebrity is not known for varied and interesting itineraries. We were very recently on a 11 day Southern Caribbean cruise on the Holland America Rotterdam. With the exception of St. Marten and St. Thomas which we had previously visited multiple times, all the other ports were new and interesting to us: St. Lucia, St. Kitts, Barbados, and Martinique. We took the ferry from St. Thomas to St. John for a day at the beach there. And then finally, a stop at Half Moon Cay, HAL's private island (which Celebrity doesn't have). My advise to you is to look at other cruise lines. Well, that was an 11-day cruise. We've been on longer Celebrity cruises out of Florida that have gone to Aruba, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, and Puerta Plata (along with Martinique, Barbados, and St. Thomas, but those are hardly anything rare for a southern Caribbean cruise). Other itineraries hit Cartagena, Panama, Costa Rica, and maybe some other spots, but those also are 11+ nighters. By the way, Martinique can keep itself. The only thing I find attractive about Martinique these days is the view from the ship. 4 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Turtles06 Posted February 23, 2023 #8 Share Posted February 23, 2023 15 minutes ago, baggal said: Celebrity is not known for varied and interesting itineraries. We were very recently on a 11 day Southern Caribbean cruise on the Holland America Rotterdam. With the exception of St. Marten and St. Thomas which we had previously visited multiple times, all the other ports were new and interesting to us: St. Lucia, St. Kitts, Barbados, and Martinique. We took the ferry from St. Thomas to St. John for a day at the beach there. And then finally, a stop at Half Moon Cay, HAL's private island (which Celebrity doesn't have). My advise to you is to look at other cruise lines. Um, we visited St. Lucia, St. Kitts, and Barbados on the Celebrity Silhouette 14 months ago. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belgian fry Posted February 23, 2023 Author #9 Share Posted February 23, 2023 27 minutes ago, mahdnc said: Which Caribbean islands (besides Cuba) are you interested in that Celebrity does not visit? Islands such as: Anguilla, Antigua, Barbuda, Bahamas (not Nassau), BVIs, Grenada, Monserrat, St Barths, Saint Vincent & the Grenadines, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks & Caicos... 5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belgian fry Posted February 23, 2023 Author #10 Share Posted February 23, 2023 17 minutes ago, baggal said: Celebrity is not known for varied and interesting itineraries. We were very recently on a 11 day Southern Caribbean cruise on the Holland America Rotterdam. With the exception of St. Marten and St. Thomas which we had previously visited multiple times, all the other ports were new and interesting to us: St. Lucia, St. Kitts, Barbados, and Martinique. We took the ferry from St. Thomas to St. John for a day at the beach there. And then finally, a stop at Half Moon Cay, HAL's private island (which Celebrity doesn't have). My advise to you is to look at other cruise lines. I must have done too many cruises as I've been to all of those before. I've cruised HAL before, but have higher status with Celebrity. Maybe I need to switch lines, you're right Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare NMTraveller Posted February 23, 2023 #11 Share Posted February 23, 2023 (edited) Celebrity used to have longer itineraries, but not anymore ... Try a much smaller ship or different cruise line. Edited February 23, 2023 by NMTraveller Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare DCPIV Posted February 23, 2023 #12 Share Posted February 23, 2023 14 minutes ago, Belgian fry said: Islands such as: Anguilla, Antigua, Barbuda, Bahamas (not Nassau), BVIs, Grenada, Monserrat, St Barths, Saint Vincent & the Grenadines, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks & Caicos... Antigua can take larger ships. We were recently there on Equinox, but that was a longer cruise (10-night). It used to be a very common Caribbean port. We've also been to Grand Turk, Grenada, other Bahamas (Bridgetown), St. Vincent, and Dominica, but that was on a smaller ship (Silver Wind). As far as I know, only small ships can go to St. Bart's. Royal Caribbean and Princess sail to Trinidad. I don't know who sails to Barbuda, but that's definitely a tender port. There's another thing, tender ports are becoming less popular with the mass market cruise lines. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare DCPIV Posted February 23, 2023 #13 Share Posted February 23, 2023 26 minutes ago, NMTraveller said: Celebrity used to have longer itineraries, but not anymore ... Try a much smaller ship or different cruise line. If you do a search, you'll see quite a few 10-12 night Caribbean itineraries. Perhaps it's not what it once was, but it's there. I'm not trying to be some sort of cheerleader, but what you said is just wrong. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soniam Posted February 23, 2023 #14 Share Posted February 23, 2023 21 minutes ago, Belgian fry said: Islands such as: Anguilla, Antigua, Barbuda, Bahamas (not Nassau), BVIs, Grenada, Monserrat, St Barths, Saint Vincent & the Grenadines, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks & Caicos... We have been to Antigua on Celebrity. It was a 7 night out of Puerto Rico. I think Celebrity does Tortola (BVI); I know DCL does. You probably won't hit Trinidad & Tobago on a cruise, only 1, Tobago. I don't know of anyone that goes anywhere in the Bahamas except Nassau and private islands, ie Coco Cay (RCL), Castaway Cay (DCL), and Bimini (Virgin). HAL seems to go to Turks/Caicos, Bimini & Half Moon Cay (Bahamas), St Vincent/Grenadines, Trinidad/Tobago, Tortola (BVI), Grenada, and Antigua. I would look into them. I think Monserrat and St Barths don't do cruise ships. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ymncruise Posted February 23, 2023 #15 Share Posted February 23, 2023 31 minutes ago, Belgian fry said: Islands such as: Anguilla, Antigua, Barbuda, Bahamas (not Nassau), BVIs, Grenada, Monserrat, St Barths, Saint Vincent & the Grenadines, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks & Caicos... Last summer infinity & equinox had an itinerary that included some of these islands. Bimini, t&c & bvi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare mahdnc Posted February 23, 2023 #16 Share Posted February 23, 2023 (edited) 38 minutes ago, Belgian fry said: Islands such as: Anguilla, Antigua, Barbuda, Bahamas (not Nassau), BVIs, Grenada, Monserrat, St Barths, Saint Vincent & the Grenadines, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks & Caicos... 38 minutes ago, Belgian fry said: Islands such as: Anguilla, Antigua, Barbuda, Bahamas (not Nassau), BVIs, Grenada, Monserrat, St Barths, Saint Vincent & the Grenadines, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks & Caicos... Thank you. Yeah, many on your list are not visited (or rarely visited) by Celebrity except for Antigua. The beloved 14 night Caribbean itineraries often called on Grenada but they have been discontinued since 2019. Edited February 23, 2023 by mahdnc 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremiah1212 Posted February 23, 2023 #17 Share Posted February 23, 2023 All of the ports indicated in this graphic should have at least one stop during the 24/25 season. Ship size, the preference to avoid tendering, lack of things to do on some of the more obscure islands, port congestion, etc. all have an impact on where you can visit. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belgian fry Posted February 23, 2023 Author #18 Share Posted February 23, 2023 40 minutes ago, DCPIV said: If you do a search, you'll see quite a few 10-12 night Caribbean itineraries. Perhaps it's not what it once was, but it's there. I'm not trying to be some sort of cheerleader, but what you said is just wrong. I've done a search and I spent quite some time last week on the Equinox investigating. I really didn't find anything I wanted to book. I wonder if Regent might be an alternative? Have been playing around on ***** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C4HCG Posted February 23, 2023 #19 Share Posted February 23, 2023 1 hour ago, baggal said: Celebrity is not known for varied and interesting itineraries. We were very recently on a 11 day Southern Caribbean cruise on the Holland America Rotterdam. With the exception of St. Marten and St. Thomas which we had previously visited multiple times, all the other ports were new and interesting to us: St. Lucia, St. Kitts, Barbados, and Martinique. We took the ferry from St. Thomas to St. John for a day at the beach there. And then finally, a stop at Half Moon Cay, HAL's private island (which Celebrity doesn't have). My advise to you is to look at other cruise lines. Confused! We have done all the islands you’ve listed on Equinox apart from Half Moon Cay which to be honest we’d have no interest in visiting, we like visiting islands to see their history, people, atmosphere, culture etc. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare DCPIV Posted February 23, 2023 #20 Share Posted February 23, 2023 22 minutes ago, Belgian fry said: I've done a search and I spent quite some time last week on the Equinox investigating. I really didn't find anything I wanted to book. I wonder if Regent might be an alternative? Have been playing around on ***** Yes, it is. It looks like Regent, Silversea, Seabourne, Windstar all are alternatives. Azamara also is when they have a ship down there. We were aboard Onward for a very nice cruise in the southern Caribbean back in December. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare NutsAboutGolf Posted February 23, 2023 #21 Share Posted February 23, 2023 30 minutes ago, DCPIV said: Yes, it is. It looks like Regent, Silversea, Seabourne, Windstar all are alternatives. Azamara also is when they have a ship down there. We were aboard Onward for a very nice cruise in the southern Caribbean back in December. Might be able to do a back to back with different itineraries on X cheaper than you can do one of those Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
time4u2go Posted February 23, 2023 #22 Share Posted February 23, 2023 (edited) 2 hours ago, Belgian fry said: Islands such as: Anguilla, Antigua, Barbuda, Bahamas (not Nassau), BVIs, Grenada, Monserrat, St Barths, Saint Vincent & the Grenadines, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks & Caicos... From your list of 11, they go to the following 7: Antigua: https://www.celebritycruises.com/ports/antigua Bahamas (not Nassau): https://www.celebritycruises.com/ports/grand-bahama Bimini: https://www.celebritycruises.com/ports/bimini BVI: https://www.celebritycruises.com/ports/british-virgin-islands Grenada: https://www.celebritycruises.com/ports/grenada Saint Vincent: https://www.celebritycruises.com/ports/st-vincent Turks and Caicos: https://www.celebritycruises.com/ports/grand-turk-turks-and-caicos Granted, I did not check dates of cruises that go to these places. Edited February 23, 2023 by time4u2go 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Hlitner Posted February 23, 2023 #23 Share Posted February 23, 2023 There are many factors. Many Caribbean islands do not even want cruise ships (especially large cruise ships). The islands that do accept large ships have limited pier space and the cruise lines prefer to avoid tendering. And, has been posted, since most cruises are 7 days, there are only a limited number of islands within range. If you take a longer Caribbean cruise (such as 10 days +) there are ohter options such as Aruba, Curacao, of even ports in places like Costa Rica. Another option, for those that want to stick to short 7 day cruises, is to take cruises that embark from San Juan, St Maarten or Barbados. Using those embarkation ports means that many more islands are within cruising range. One other thing. Try expanding your horizons to other cruise lines :). Once you become more flexible, a lot of new options become available. Hank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arizona Wildcat Posted February 23, 2023 #24 Share Posted February 23, 2023 3 hours ago, Belgian fry said: Islands such as: Anguilla, Antigua, Barbuda, Bahamas (not Nassau), BVIs, Grenada, Monserrat, St Barths, Saint Vincent & the Grenadines, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks & Caicos... The more southern islands we have visited on Celebrity out of Puerto Rico. Several on your list require smaller ships as said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelownadon Posted February 23, 2023 #25 Share Posted February 23, 2023 Our first 2 Caribbean cruises were 14 night cruises on the Celebrity Eclipse. Too bad you don’t find those any more. Today you are lucky to find an 11 night cruise which we found and are doing in 2024. Our favourite Islands are Barbados, Aruba, Curacao and St. Maarten. There probably are a few others but not too many as we are not beach people. I wouldn’t ever consider doing anything less than a 10 night Caribbean cruise as I would hate getting the feeling that the cruise is almost over two days after you start. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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