ABC Islands and Ship Question

[md80fan]

Looking at doing a ABC island cruise and we always get a balcony cabin. Just curious which side of the ship is best. We like watching the approach to the islands from the balcony and trying to figure out from which direction they usually approach from. I am guessing from West to East but not sure. Also which side would be great to view the port from the balcony. 

The other question is we have done mostly Oasis class ships and love them for Aqua shows and Central park but trying to decide on Odyssey vs Symphony. We have already done Symphony but curious thoughts on this cruise to the Southern Caribbean.

 

Thanks

[ARandomTraveler]

I would do symphony because the southern Caribbean has great weather, so you'll want an outdoor ship. 
 

That being said, if you really want a southern Caribbean route, I'd take a ship that leaves from San Juan Puerto Rico rather than one that leaves from Florida. They're very different experiences. Leaving from San Juan, you actually get 4-5 southern islands (5-6 if you include Puerto Rico). You usually get a port stop every day, with mayyyyybe 1 sea day. Those are the best southern itineraries. These ones that leave from Florida, in my opinion, aren't very good "southern" route cruises.

[The Fun Researcher]

2 minutes ago, ARandomTraveler said:

I would do symphony because the southern Caribbean has great weather, so you'll want an outdoor ship. 
 

That being said, if you really want a southern Caribbean route, I'd take a ship that leaves from San Juan Puerto Rico rather than one that leaves from Florida. They're very different experiences. Leaving from San Juan, you actually get 4-5 southern islands (5-6 if you include Puerto Rico). You usually get a port stop every day, with mayyyyybe 1 sea day. Those are the best southern itineraries. These ones that leave from Florida, in my opinion, aren't very good "southern" route cruises.

Depends on what you were looking for. I love the eight and nine night itineraries out of Florida to the ABC islands. Typically they include either Labadie or Coco cay as well. Lots of sea days, which we love as well.  We especially like the two sea days back because we are not packing up the day after we get done with all the port stops. We actually have a full sea day to relax before packing up the next day.

[ARandomTraveler]

48 minutes ago, The Fun Researcher said:

Depends on what you were looking for. I love the eight and nine night itineraries out of Florida to the ABC islands. Typically they include either Labadie or Coco cay as well. Lots of sea days, which we love as well.  We especially like the two sea days back because we are not packing up the day after we get done with all the port stops. We actually have a full sea day to relax before packing up the next day.

True - if you're looking for more time on the ship vs caring where it goes, these longer cruises are nice, plus it's nice to have more time on these bigger ships too.

I was speaking more about the itinerary, which in my opinion, these aren't real southern routes. Then again, looking at what Royal Caribbean is currently offering in their San Juan southern route itineraries, those don't look all that appealing right now either.
 

I miss the days when they had a freedom class ship sailing out of San Juan and hitting up St Lucia, Barbados, Antigua, St Kitts, Aruba, curacao and Bonaire. Now it's a jewel class ship (at best) going to obscure islands that still haven't recovered from the hurricanes like Dominica. 
 

I've looked at the offerings through April 2025 and there really isn't much I'd be excited for right now. 

Edited June 11, 2023 by ARandomTraveler

[Ashland]

As far as the location on the ship. Don't base it on what you might or might not see coming into port as things can change. Base it on cabin location and access to what you will be doing onboard.

 

We like true afts for the wake view and mid ship with cabins above and below. Of course this also can vary as we sail in GS and up and sometimes there is no way to avoid public spaces above.

 

We love the southern caribbean itineraries and very happy with in particular one of our upcoming ones out of POM onboard Explorer an 11 nighter March 2025...some great southern ports.

[The Fun Researcher]

54 minutes ago, ARandomTraveler said:

True - if you're looking for more time on the ship vs caring where it goes, these longer cruises are nice, plus it's nice to have more time on these bigger ships too.

I was speaking more about the itinerary, which in my opinion, these aren't real southern routes. Then again, looking at what Royal Caribbean is currently offering in their San Juan southern route itineraries, those don't look all that appealing right now either.
 

I miss the days when they had a freedom class ship sailing out of San Juan and hitting up St Lucia, Barbados, Antigua, St Kitts, Aruba, curacao and Bonaire. Now it's a jewel class ship (at best) going to obscure islands that still haven't recovered from the hurricanes like Dominica. 
 

I've looked at the offerings through April 2025 and there really isn't much I'd be excited for right now.  

 

Of all of the itineraries that we have done the ABC islands are our favorite ports,  more so than any other western or eastern Caribbean itinerary,  Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao are just as south as most of the ports you get sailing out of San Juan. Not sure how you can say that they are not a true Southern itinerary.  They are a true Southern cruise.

 

Not everyone wants a port every day of the cruise.  That can be exhausting as well.  I’m not knocking the itineraries out of San Juan.  It’s a great way to get to the more seldom visited ports

 

I agree about the class of ships going out of San Juan right now.  We prefer the classes that have a Royal Promenade or Esplanade rather than centrums.  Just our preference.

[orville99]

2 hours ago, md80fan said:

Just curious which side of the ship is best.

Depends on the order in which you make your port stops. On our last ABC cruise,  we were on the port side and our route went Aruba, Bonaire, Curacau, so we were on the island side for A and B but on the sea side for C.

[JK805]

When I went to ABCs last month, ship docked on the port side for each of them, and the approach had the land on that side as we arrived. But we were also the only ship in port except for Curaçao where there was one other, so that could have an influence too. Could well vary depending on ship and where it’s coming from, but any time in the ABCs is a wonderful time. 

[orville99]

1 hour ago, ARandomTraveler said:

I was speaking more about the itinerary, which in my opinion, these aren't real southern routes

You are only ~600 miles from the equator. Not sure how much farther south you can go and still be in the Caribbean.

[ARandomTraveler]

5 hours ago, orville99 said:

You are only ~600 miles from the equator. Not sure how much farther south you can go and still be in the Caribbean.

True, the one that goes to Aruba and curacao have those 2 southern islands on them, but it also has one of the private islands, and so many sea days, so I guess that's more what I was thinking - that itinerary is missing the opportunity to hit up so many other islands.
 

But to each their own I guess. If I was going on the cruise to hit up southern islands, I'd personally choose to leave from San Juan where you'll get more islands, and not "waste" one of the port days on a private island you could get on pretty much every other itinerary.
 

If the only 2 options for the southern route are to sail the odyssey or symphony, I'd pick symphony, Aruba and Curacao route. 

[latebuyer]

May i ask what makes the abcs such a great choice? They seem popular and i don’t really understand it.

[md80fan]

For me, what I find interesting is that the ABC islands is a unique and different cruise. It seems like every cruise line has some variation of a 7 day from Florida that does some combination of San Juan, St. Thomas, St. Maarten and The Bahamas (Either Nassau or a Private Island) or They do a Cozumel, Costa Maya trip. The ABC islands get to go in a totally different direction and see different islands plus it is usually a extra day.

 

We did do a San Juan cruise on Freedom a couple of years ago and did not like the ship at all. It was great to see new islands like St. Lucia and Barbados and complete it within a 7 day time span. The ship was way too crowded. My family not once found a seat in the Buffet for Breakfast on any of the 7 days. We found seats for Lunch and Dinner but never Breakfast. After day three I stopped going for Breakfast as it was a lost cause but my parents would go. They would try to find a seat with no luck leave and come back 30 minutes later and then try again. After three attempts they would load up plates and bring them back to the cabin and eat on the balcony. The rest of the ship also felt way too crowded. People never believe me when I say on the Oasis class ships during the middle of the day (On a sea day) I can sit in Central Park and literally be the only person sitting there except for the people coming or going from Park Cafe. The chairs in the middle under the glass canopy in Central park I can sit by myself and read or sit with my mom and just talk. The only plus on the Freedom cruise was since it only had 1 sea day with the rest being ports they offered the 10 drink punch card about half way through the cruise.    

[Tatka]

Freedom and Odyssey are from different classes although we haven’t found that buffet was overcrowded.

[jean87510]

6 hours ago, latebuyer said:

May i ask what makes the abcs such a great choice? They seem popular and i don’t really understand it.

Probably because you stay in port longer.  We like them because of the DIY options (rental cars) are much better than the regular SC stops.  The shore snorkeling is much better.  The DYI hiking is better.  The ability to find local spots on your own is fun.  The locals are friendly.  I love the USVI and St. Martin.  But if it's a toss up between the ABCs and the "regular" stops, for us, definitely the ABCs.  Snorkeling in the ABCs is great.  I feel the same about Cozumel.  Have been there many times both land and cruise vacation and always find new spots on our own.

[orville99]

12 hours ago, ARandomTraveler said:

If the only 2 options for the southern route are to sail the odyssey or symphony, I'd pick symphony, Aruba and Curacao route. 

Adventure does two  8-night ABC cruises out of PC in 2025 that only do the ABC's - no private islands😇

[firefly333]

20 hours ago, The Fun Researcher said:

Depends on what you were looking for. I love the eight and nine night itineraries out of Florida to the ABC islands. Typically they include either Labadie or Coco cay as well. Lots of sea days, which we love as well.  We especially like the two sea days back because we are not packing up the day after we get done with all the port stops. We actually have a full sea day to relax before packing up the next day.

A few weeks ago I booked the april 2025 date southern from PC. The march one a month earlier price looks sky high. Luckily I wanted the april 2025. ABC. 

[moposh]

8 hours ago, latebuyer said:

May i ask what makes the abcs such a great choice? They seem popular and i don’t really understand it.

I went to ABC islands in April.  I had a great time and I want to go back.  I left from Miami.  I guess it just depends what you like.  I picked the cruise because the dates worked for Spring Break, not for ports, but am glad I did.

[orville99]

20 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

A few weeks ago I booked the april 2025 date southern from PC. The march one a month earlier price looks sky high. Luckily I wanted the april 2025. ABC. 

We are on that one as well. First leg of a B2B. The March one is right at the peak of college spring break month - good one to avoid. 😉 We did the same route on Mariner out of PC last July and loved it.

[luv2sailAgain]

We sailed Allure last summer to the ABC islands. Our cabin was on the port side of the ship. I had studied trip reports and pictures and hoped we would be able to see the dock from our cabin. But unfortunately, that didn't happen at either Aruba or Curacao. We sail her again from Galveston in a few weeks with a cabin on the starboard side.  I have been watching the Galveston Marina Cam every Sunday. Most of the time, our future cabin faces the cruise terminal. But there have been exceptions.

 

We also sailed on Ovation to Alaska last summer. That class of ship was new to me and I did enjoy it. But if I were to sail from Florida to the ABCs again, I would choose an Oasis class if given the choice. I could be off base, but Allure seemed to be a better ship for warm weather. Ovation was perfect for Alaska with the exception of being to big to sail in certain areas. The bottom line though, I would love either class and I loved the ABC cruise. 

 

 

[cruiselvr04]

We love the ABC’s.  The water there is some of the prettiest and the snorkeling is great.  We don’t mind the sea days coming and going.  I think we’ve been at least 4 times and are planning to book another for 2024. To us the ship doesn’t matter although Odyssey was probably our fav. It’s less crowded than St Maarten, St Thomas and Cozumel.  It’s far enough South that hurricane season doesn’t effect it as much. In April the water will be colder than in the fall if you like to snorkel.  

[ARandomTraveler]

1 hour ago, orville99 said:

Adventure does two  8-night ABC cruises out of PC in 2025 that only do the ABC's - no private islands😇

Thanks for the heads up, I'm gonna go put a deposit down on that one. Last time I did the ABC route, they changed the itinerary and skipped Bonaire, so I obviously need a do-over.

[ARandomTraveler]

9 hours ago, latebuyer said:

May i ask what makes the abcs such a great choice? They seem popular and i don’t really understand it.

The water is prettier (it's more calm, it's crystal clear, and it's warm for more months of the year than the islands that are on the eastern and western routes). 
 

These islands are also much less crowded because less tourists make the longer flights to get there, and less ships visit these ports, especially in summer. 
 

They're just prettier, and more unique in my opinion, and they have a different vibe than say, Cozumel, Nassau, Roatan, St Maarten etc.

 

Barbados and St Lucia are also on that list of southern route islands that are gorgeous and unique. 

[orville99]

1 minute ago, ARandomTraveler said:

Barbados and St Lucia are also on that list of southern route islands that are gorgeous and unique. 

Our neighbors just got off of a 10-night Celebrity cruise out of Ft. Lauderdale that did Antigua, Barbados Grenada, Martinique, and St. Kitts

[The Fun Researcher]

2 hours ago, jean87510 said:

Probably because you stay in port longer.  We like them because of the DIY options (rental cars) are much better than the regular SC stops.  The shore snorkeling is much better.  The DYI hiking is better.  The ability to find local spots on your own is fun.  The locals are friendly.  I love the USVI and St. Martin.  But if it's a toss up between the ABCs and the "regular" stops, for us, definitely the ABCs.  Snorkeling in the ABCs is great.  I feel the same about Cozumel.  Have been there many times both land and cruise vacation and always find new spots on our own.

 

 

33 minutes ago, ARandomTraveler said:

The water is prettier (it's more calm, it's crystal clear, and it's warm for more months of the year than the islands that are on the eastern and western routes). 
 

These islands are also much less crowded because less tourists make the longer flights to get there, and less ships visit these ports, especially in summer. 
 

They're just prettier, and more unique in my opinion, and they have a different vibe than say, Cozumel, Nassau, Roatan, St Maarten etc.

 

Barbados and St Lucia are also on that list of southern route islands that are gorgeous and unique. 

 

Well said.  We love to snorkel, and that's excellent at pretty much any beach in the ABC's. 

 

We also rented a couple of little sport utility vehicles in Bonaire and drove the island ourselves.  This was the first time we ever felt comfortable doing that and it was amazing.  Easy drive, lots of great views, great snorkeling spots, plus the beautiful salt pans, the old historical slave huts, and an amazing food truck at Kite City.

 

Curacao has a fantastic guided open bus tour (third party), through Irie Tours.  It's the "All west beach hopping".  Fantastic tour.  Takes you to the rock formations in the north, plus fantastic beaches to spend time at. We've done it twice and it doesn't disappoint.  Curacao has a great place to swim with Sea Turtles at the Fisherman's wharf, guaranteed to see them there.

 

Aruba has a lot to offer.  You can make it a chill, inexpensive day and just take a taxi or bus and plop down at Eagle Beach, or find an alternate excursion like a guided tour.  We did the Seaworld Explorer and island tour last summer (booked through Royal) and I was VERY happy with it.  Got to see a lot more of the island than I expected.

 

The combination of the cruises being a little longer, at 8-9 nights, plus the fantastic ABC islands, easily makes it our favorite itinerary.  Having 4 days at sea is a great balance to the busy days in port.  Provides ample time to relax and enjoy the ship, but then also excellent ports as well.

[orville99]

There is also a Mangrove preserve directly across from the pier in Curacau that you can rent kayaks and paddle amongst the native birds, fish, etc. It was $15/pp to do the walking trails and $20/pp for the kayaks the last time we were there.