Caribbean Princess or Star?

[mexico5]

tcdtcd,

 

Why would you prefer the Eastern itinerary? Just curious. The reason why we prefer the Western one is that it has one more port stop than the Eastern. That is the only reason.

 

I think we are looking to book on the weekend.

 

Thanks for all the replies everyone.

[johnny cruise]

tcdtcd,

 

Why would you prefer the Eastern itinerary? Just curious. The reason why we prefer the Western one is that it has one more port stop than the Eastern. That is the only reason.

 

.

 

The port in Jamaca can change before the cruise:( you should check often.

 

JC:D

[mexico5]

It can change before you even leave for your cruise? Why would this be? I can understand if you are on the ship and have bad weather or something but this I have not heard before. Has this happened to you?

 

If you have booked your cruise already and they let you know this after the fact, can you change to another ship in the same cruiseline?

 

Is there something about the Jamaica port that is different than the rest?

[loveJake]

We are booked on the Star for December, it's strange that you are being given a difference in price, the Star being more. The prices are exactly the same doe 12/06 where I booked our cruise. I chose the Star because of the Western ports.

[flvol77]

tcdtcd,

 

Why would you prefer the Eastern itinerary? Just curious. The reason why we prefer the Western one is that it has one more port stop than the Eastern. That is the only reason.

 

I think we are looking to book on the weekend.

 

Thanks for all the replies everyone.

 

JMO but I would much rather go to the eastern....of course when we went on the grand (western) three three years ago we went to costa maya...which I hated.

 

I loved st thomas and st maarten....I hated cozmel (dirty) Cayman was the only stop that I liked.

[mexico5]

Sorry, I made a mistake. I meant to say that the Caribbean was $900. more.

 

I have no idea of what a good price for a cruise is, but for our first cruise I thought we should use a TA. We are flying out of Canada, which makes the airfare just as much as the cruise!

 

Yes, I do like the Western ports also, one extra one to get off the ship and explore!

 

Did you book your cabin already? After we decide the ship, that is the next thing I have to figure out. I know we want a covered balcony and a mini suite. Trying to figure out the best one.

[johnny cruise]

It can change before you even leave for your cruise? Why would this be? I can understand if you are on the ship and have bad weather or something but this I have not heard before. Has this happened to you?

 

 

?

 

 

We had booked the cruise because it said we would be going to Ocho Rios, we booked a cat to Dunn River Falls. We had been to Montego Bay before and didnt like it at all. About two weeks before the cruise we seen that it got changed to MB, About 9 hours later it went back to OR so i was happy again. I think thay dont have the room for alot of ships, but i could be wrong.

 

JC:D

[tennisobo]

We have been on both ships.

Advantages of Star: Covered pool. This came in handy on the last sea day when we got a cloud-burst. I was still able to splend a pleasant day by the pool.

 

Advantages to the Caribbean: MUTS-we liked it

Cafe Caribe- some food choices are different between the two buffets on this ship.

 

Ports: Until you visit both you will not know which your prefer! :)

 

We liked the Eastern better: Less tendering. This saves time getting onshore and you will have more time for what you would like to do.

 

Less ports meant more relaxing. When we had more ports, we did more shore excursions. I came away from my cruise wishing I had spent more time just relaxing on deck. Obviously, this may not be what you're looking for. :)

 

We did not notice any difference in the number of passengers with these two ships. Both made for a wonderful vacation. Have fun! I love the planning and anticipation.

[Aquarian]

I'm always a bit surprised when I read negative comments about the extra passengers on the Caribbean Princess. I have been on 8 cruises and am a platinum Princess cruiser. My last two cruises have been on the Caribbean Princess and I do not find the extra passengers to be a negative factor. And I don't consider her to be an entry level cruise. What's that all about? About the only time I notice the difference is in the Horizon Court after embarkation whenever everyone hits the buffet after arriving! MUTS did not require reservations last week on our cruise. Princess seems to be very talented in that the passengers are pretty well distributed throughout the ship and not congregating in one or two places at the same time. We never had trouble finding pool chairs either. That being said, go with the itinerary that interests you the most. All Princess ships are nice and each have features that make them special. I think your itinerary choice is more important.

[mexico5]

Yes, I think we are going to go for the itinerary that we like the best. Both ships seem comparable, so now we will decide on Eastern or Western. Probably Western Caribbean just because of the number of ports, not the "quality" of ports, if that makes sense. We have not been to any of the ports(except Cozumel) so we have no idea of which ones we will like. Our main concern is the number of times(ports)we can off the ship. Who knows, maybe the next cruise we will pick certain ports to see, but for now, we do not know what kind of cruisers we are! I guess we are picking ports for quantity and nothing else.

 

Western has 4 ports and Eastern has 3.

 

Thanks again for all the great replies, since we will probably be making up our minds this weekend!