Your favorite Caribbean destination

[Pacificana]

We are thinking of going on a cruise this summer, and, since we haven't been to many places in the Caribbean, it's not easy to choose from all the available options. Any suggestions? Thanks

[cccer]

Personally I love St. Thomas. My wife goes shopping and I go to the same bar in some alley everytime and have a great time.

[Rockjock64]

St Thomasis also my favorite island....The shopping is excellent.

 

We are going again in 2010, my 2nd fav island is ANTIGUA so we are going on a cruise that lets us hit both islands

[Powriv]

St Maarten was great. Maho beach is beside the airport and to see the planes land is incredible. You feel you could touch the plane while standing on the beach. Orient beach is a great beach.

[filledwiththefire]

It depends on what you are looking for (of course)... My personal favorite thus far (and I've only done Western Caribbean cruises) is Cozumel, Mexico. I love to just spend the day on a white sand beach with a fruity drink in my hand and then head out to party at Carlos -n- Charlie's at night!

[frenchylover]

Has to be Honduras (Roatan) or Dominican Republic. Actually looking at an all inclusive in DR. Yeah, not a cruise but the single supplement is killing me on the ships as have to travel w/o DH this time.

[deepnite10]

we enjoyed George Town, Grand Cayman..very clean..but, very expensive..

 

if you don t like vendors hounding you..this is the place..

 

hearts of fire diamonds anyone?..right there it cost us a few

cruises..:mad:

[BlasterDave]

Most definately The Grand Caymans. Ocean water that looks like a swimming pool. BEAUTIFUL!!!!

[tiggerman101]

Dominica- Just a beautiful unspoiled island. This is a great port if you are into a lot of eco-touring (hiking, etc). Not great for beaches.

 

St Lucia- One of the most visually stunning islands I have been on. Many terrific sights and views.

 

Roatan- Great beaches and another lovely unspoiled island (changing quick though). Just a great "all around" port.

 

I have been to 12 ports in the last 6 months and those are my top three.

[Grandpaul]

I've been to them all and if I could go to to one right now it would be to Grand Cayman and go to Stingray City. Great experience.

 

Eastern Carib. I would pick St. Thomas because that is where St Johns(Trunk Bay) is.

[bluesea777]

We live on a beautiful island with great beaches and seas but we have been to many of the Caribbean islands during the several cruises we went on.

 

Our favourites are both Grenada and Dominica. St. Lucia is 3rd.

 

But we liked all the islands we visited - there is not a bad port.

[ATL2LAS]

I love Grand Cayman. Stingray city, Turtle farm and Hell. You can walk and find so many secluded beaches to just relax on.

[cb at sea]

Frankly, once you've been to a "tropical island", you've pretty much seen 'em all....they are more alike than different!

We love the Caribbean locations because of the weather/beaches--not really into the history, or architecture of the place!

St. Thomas has some gorgeous beaches (mainly on St. John, a neighboring island a sort ferry ride away) Shopping is good there, too.

GC is nice and clean, but expensive. San Juan is HOT and HUMID, but interesting.

We LOVE Coco Cay and Labadee--RCI's "private" beaches--what a fun day those are!

Aruba is the only true "desert island"--it's not lush--it's very dry and flat...

Since you haven't been to any, then any will suit you!

[alidor]

St. John, a neighbor island of St. Thomas, has the best beaches. Since 2/3 of it is a state park, the beaches are incredible with no hotels, shops, etc. on them. For more shopping and sightseeing, St. Thomas is a short ferry ride away.

 

Grand Cayman also has a great beach. Since it got severly hit by hurricane Wilma, I believe in 2004, a lot of the island is updated or new.

 

British Virgins are great also. St. Thomas can be crowded and littered at times. The British Virgins are way cleaner.

 

Been in the travel business for 32 years and my husband use to travel the Caribbean for business when he worked for a chemical company. Each island is different and has their own special qualities.

 

Also like Cozumel, Mexico for something more along a Mexican line.

 

Hope this helps!

[cruiseapril]

Our favorites so far are Curacao, Aruba, Bonaire, St. Thomas, and Dominica.

 

A favorite to us means a port we would enjoy staying at for a week or more.

[zacc]

My favorite Caribbean island....thats simple.....which ever one I am on at that given point in time!! Of course lounging at a shaded beach bar with a two for one happy hour going on only makes me like it even more!!!

[moniquet]

They are all more or less the same, lush and scenic. I like St. Kitts for wandering around, San juan too. Barbados and St.Thomas for beaches. Belize is also a favourite.

[mapsmith]

#1 Antigua

#2 Martinique (Yes it is French, but the people are the absolute best once you get to know them)

#3 Cayo Levantado, DM

#4 Puerto Rico.

[floridacruzin]

hands down for us Roatan, Honduras

[crzycick]

I've only been to 5 or 6 but my favorite is Roatan. I love how it's not touristy yet. We went to Fins and Flippers and it was fabulous!

[hubofhockey]

I would look at this discussion as Eastern Caribbean vs Western Caribbean. Once you make up your mind which you prefer, then look to certain itineraries. Most Eastern Caribbean itineraries include St Thomas. From St Thomas, you can go to St John, which to many, is one of the most beautiful places to see. I would favor an Eastern Caribbean itinerary nine times out of ten over a Western one.

 

Since OP want to do this in the summer, might want to consider Aruba, Curacao, Bonnaire (ABC islands) which benefit from tradewinds and don't get as hot as others.

[morecruise4me]

We are thinking of going on a cruise this summer, and, since we haven't been to many places in the Caribbean, it's not easy to choose from all the available options. Any suggestions? Thanks

 

It really does depends on what you like to do. If you want to see mayan ruins...Mexico (Cozumel, Costa Maya). If you like to go snorkeling, most of them have good snorkeling. I really like St. Thomas...not for the shopping, but for the beautiful beaches and snorkeling and proximity to St. John's. We also recently visited Virgin Gorda Baths, something I would recommend everyone do at least once. And Grand Cayman is fabulous for beaches and snorkeling. Haven't done Southern yet, that's our next stop :)

[DoniaG]

I'm with the poster who said they loved the island they're on! However, if forced to choose, I would pick Barbados - but only if you get a car and go exploring on your own. The west side of the island has glorious sandy Caribbean beaches - but the east coast is actually the Atlantic - and it looks like it with hills, rocky shore line, old stone churches, and BIG waves. Except for the vegetation, you could almost be in Cornwall. Not much of an area for lounging on the beach, but dramatically beautiful and unlike anywhere else in the Caribbean. I'm also very fond of the Bajan people - they are charming and helpful without being obsequious.

 

Word of warning. The roads are virtually unmarked and finding your way across the island can be a bit challenging. The only time I nearly missed a ship sailing was on my first trip there. Though that was more than 30 years ago, I haven't noticed much improvement on subsequent visits. The thing that saved us was discovering the bus stop signs - the ones marked "In town" are going toward Bridgetown; the ones marked "Out Town" are going away from Bridgetown. It is, however, a lovely place to be lost - as long as you can find your way back to the ship!

 

For shopping, I like both St. Thomas and the Dutch side of St. Maarten. Try to get off Main Street in both places to find more bargains. St. Lucia is visually stunning, but the rough terrain and bad roads make it a bit hard to navigate.

 

There are beautiful beaches on almost any island you visit - but IMHO Florida Gulf Coast compares quite favorably - and it's a lot closer to home!

 

Donia

 

P.S. Forgot to mention the magnificent pink sand beaches along the south coast. You gotta go down (and then back up) many steps to get down to them, but they're fabulous. And, for obvious reasons, relatively uncrowded. Also forgot that my favorite beer in all the world is made there - Banks Beer. Sadly, none of it ever leaves the island.

[cruiserbryce]

St Thomas has been our favorite stop in the Caribbean so far...we are going again in December, but also will visit some new ports that others have named here