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Emerald Southern or Eastern itinerary?

Sherman78

By Sherman78,
in Princess Cruises

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Sherman78

Sherman78

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We are planning to book a cruise on the Emerald for next fall and are trying to decide between the Southern and Eastern itinerary.

 

We are not shoppers, mainly interested in beautiful beaches and scenery. The Southern itinerary includes Princess Cays, St. Thomas, Dominica, Grenada, Bonaire and Aruba.

The Eastern itinerary visits Princess Cays, St. Thomas, Antiqua, Barbados, St. Lucia, and St. Kitts.

 

We were recently on the CB and visited St. Thomas and Princess Cays. Enjoyed both but thought Princess Cays was the best part of the trip. Any suggestions or guidance on which itinerary might work best or us would be appreciated. Thanks!

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Sherman78

Sherman78

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chryalis - Actually I love your suggestion but not sure I could convince my DH. We just completed a 7 day on the CB which we both loved but he is hesitant about a 14 day cruise. Working our way up with 10 days for the next cruise then maybe a 14 day cruise after that. Baby steps you know:p

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chrysalis

chrysalis

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chryalis - Actually I love your suggestion but not sure I could convince my DH. We just completed a 7 day on the CB which we both loved but he is hesitant about a 14 day cruise. Working our way up with 10 days for the next cruise then maybe a 14 day cruise after that. Baby steps you know:p

 

actually, it would be 20 days....2 back to back 10 dayers:D

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wcal

wcal

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Back to back would be great if you have the time. We are doing the southern in February and maybe the following year we might do the eastern. It will give us something to look forward to after the February cruise is finished.

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rdsqrl

rdsqrl

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We are planning to book a cruise on the Emerald for next fall and are trying to decide between the Southern and Eastern itinerary.

 

We are not shoppers, mainly interested in beautiful beaches and scenery. The Southern itinerary includes Princess Cays, St. Thomas, Dominica, Grenada, Bonaire and Aruba.

The Eastern itinerary visits Princess Cays, St. Thomas, Antiqua, Barbados, St. Lucia, and St. Kitts.

 

We were recently on the CB and visited St. Thomas and Princess Cays. Enjoyed both but thought Princess Cays was the best part of the trip. Any suggestions or guidance on which itinerary might work best or us would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

If it were me, I would choose the Eastern itinerary. Of course, take that for what's worth since I haven't been to all of these islands. However, I can say that Aruba left me cold scenery-wise, although the beaches were pretty nice. I've never heard that Bonaire was that lovely, either -- I always thought of it more as a dive-oriented destination than one for great beaches and lush scenery. I have only heard great things about St. Lucia scenery-wise, and I know that Antigua and Barbados both have good beaches. Again, this is just my semi-uninformed opinion.

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Evilgrin72

Evilgrin72

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We are planning to book a cruise on the Emerald for next fall and are trying to decide between the Southern and Eastern itinerary.

 

We are not shoppers, mainly interested in beautiful beaches and scenery. The Southern itinerary includes Princess Cays, St. Thomas, Dominica, Grenada, Bonaire and Aruba.

The Eastern itinerary visits Princess Cays, St. Thomas, Antiqua, Barbados, St. Lucia, and St. Kitts.

 

We were recently on the CB and visited St. Thomas and Princess Cays. Enjoyed both but thought Princess Cays was the best part of the trip. Any suggestions or guidance on which itinerary might work best or us would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

I'm making the same choice for my honeymoon. However, the Eastern itinerary I saw has Dominica, not St. Lucia, so three of the six ports are the same. For me, it comes down to Aruba/Bonaire/Grenada vs. St. Kitts/Antigua/Barbados. Fiancee has never been to any of them, but I have been to Barbados and Antigua, so I'm leaning towards Southern as it has 3 new stops for me instead of just one.

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gopher's girl

gopher's girl

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EvilGrin - do something new for your honeymoon, it is a great way to start off the marriage :)

 

For the other undecided folk, do the Southern if you're divers, Eastern if you're shoppers, and flip a coin if you are neither and can handle going with the flow :)

 

Have great trips everyone!!

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ladysheri

ladysheri

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I looked at both of these itineraries as well when we were looking to book the Emerald for this fall. I picked the Southern because we got 2 sea days to start out the cruise and Princess Cays was at the end of the trip. Not sure why this appealed to me, but that helped me make my decision.

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cruiseapril

cruiseapril

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The Eastern has the scenery and some very fine beaches.

 

Aurba and Bonaire, in the Southern, both have excellent water sports, snorkeling & diving etc. They are arid islands with divi-divi trees and cacti. They also offer the Dutch culture and architecture.

Dominica is a Rain Forest island with good excursions, but few beaches.

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gosamer10

gosamer10

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We are planning to book a cruise on the Emerald for next fall and are trying to decide between the Southern and Eastern itinerary.

 

We are not shoppers, mainly interested in beautiful beaches and scenery. The Southern itinerary includes Princess Cays, St. Thomas, Dominica, Grenada, Bonaire and Aruba.

The Eastern itinerary visits Princess Cays, St. Thomas, Antiqua, Barbados, St. Lucia, and St. Kitts.

 

We were recently on the CB and visited St. Thomas and Princess Cays. Enjoyed both but thought Princess Cays was the best part of the trip. Any suggestions or guidance on which itinerary might work best or us would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

I will be sailing on the Emerald Princess March 2008. I will be doing the Eastern Itinerary... Princess Cays, St. Thomas, St. Kitts, Antigua, St. Lucia and Barbados. I feel this is the best itinerary. I have been to Grenada, Bonaire and Aruba. Aruba was nice. Bonaire was okay. Not much to do there. Small island. Grenada was awful. Very poor island and never recovered from Hurricane Ivan. Your best bet would be the Eastern cruise. Hope you have a wonderful time. I know I will!

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