Caribbean Cruises

[bee*]

As I''ve said before, I''m a big planner and even though our wedding is 17 months away, D and I have been provisionally looking at honeymoons. We''re thinking of traveling around the Caribbean by ourselves, but we would like to go on a cruise for a couple of days beforehand. Can you recommend any cruise liners, or any places to visit or things to do. Thanks all!

 

[mintve]

i love all the travel questions!!! I took a southern caribbean cruise on Carnival. it was my first (and to this point, only) cruise and I was not as concerned with the cruise line as I was about the destinations. We flew to San Juan, Puerto Rico and stayed there a few days before the cruise. We embarked for the 7 days cruise in San Juan, then sailed to St. Thomas, Domnica (one of my favorite stops), Barbados and Aruba. It was fantastic!!! I loved the southern caribbean and would recommend all of those destinations.

Once you know which cruise you want to go on, a great place to shop for prices is on www.cruisecompete.com they have agents bid for your fare and you have no financial obligation. its great! They will offer lower rates, upgrades, onboard credits, etc!!

Have fun planning! I am a HUGE planner too! I''ve been planning our trip to hawaii for the past 8 months and we still have 4 months until we go!!

 

[meresal]

I''ve done 2 western and one eastern carr cruise... thankfully one of my western''s was in 2002, before the hurricane hit down there... cozumel and cancun are not the same at all. If your looking to travel a bit, I would go with the little islands(st thomas, st croix, etc) or that southern carribean cruise; it sounds AMAZING!!!

 

[bee*]

Thanks for your replies! Woohoo I''m so excited about going. So far our provisional plan is to fly from Dublin to Fort Lauderdale and then get a cruise for a couple of days, then go back to FL and then get a ferry over to some of the islands and travel around for about three weeks. Thanks for the recommendation on cruisecompete. I''m off to have a look in a minute!

 

[designchica]

I''ve cruised with Norweigan, Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and Holand America. Of those lines, I liked Holand America the best. Their food was excellent, the ship was very clean and not quite as big as some of the other liners.

As far as the islands go, I like St. Thomas, St. Croix, and Grand Cayman the best.

Have fun!

 

[~*Alexis*~]

Avoid Royal...their ships make people sick. They did a tv inside investigation and its not all that great. Things were dirty.

Although a cruise sounds great...one I have always wanted to take was one on Disney...you may thing you are too old to go...but you are never to old for Disney!!

 

[Maisie]

You can look for reviews and write ups on www.cruisecritic.com

 

[bee*]

Thanks everyone! That''s good to know about Royal. I''ll have to shop around lots.

 

[Steel]

Date: 1/9/2008 11:21:54 AM
Author: ~*Alexis*~
Avoid Royal...their ships make people sick.

Hi Bee,

I seriously wanted to do a cruise for our honeymoon, but a girl in my office went on a cruise with Royal 6 mths before we were married and her husband was motion sick for the whole trip. She loved it, but spent the time on board on her own as he stayed in bed while on the boat

.

I decided against it then.

Later I saw a Dr. Phil show where a lovely woman was attacking a cruise company (don''t know which one) because her husband was killed on board, I think it was the first night of their honeymoon. There seemed to be scandal because she alledged the ship left port before an investigation could be held. I was so pleased I had not booked when I saw that show.

Just passing on information.

FYI, we are actually considering a med cruise in the near future. A short one. So I am not put off, just a little cautious.

 

[Lynn B]

Date: 1/9/2008 11:21:54 AM
Author: ~*Alexis*~
Avoid Royal...their ships make people sick. They did a tv inside investigation and its not all that great. Things were dirty.

Although a cruise sounds great...one I have always wanted to take was one on Disney...you may thing you are too old to go...but you are never to old for Disney!!

Alexis,
We''ve taken quite a few cruises on several different cruise lines and I have to respectfully disagree with the above. We''ve cruised with Royal Caribbean three times and each time we were very pleased. I don''t know about the "inside investigation" you referenced, I''m just speaking from my own personal experience.

 

[bee*]

Thanks again for all the info. I''ve never been on a cruise so I''m totally clueless.

That''s awful about that guy that was killed Steel-really terrible.

Thanks for the info Lynn. I know that different people will probably have different experiences with different cruises so it''s really useful to hear all the pros and cons so we can decide.

I think that we will probably only be going on a 3/4 day one, max 5 days as D wants to get on dry land asap so we can start island hopping.

 

[Lynn B]

Bee,

Cruises are fun because you get to see different places without unpacking! You can be as *busy* or as "lazy"

as you want to be. I totally recommend one for a stress-free vacation. Enjoy!

Lynn

 

[bee*]

Thanks Lynn! They do sound great. I think that we''re hoping to do one that will take in maybe Jamaica and a couple of other places that we probably aren''t going to visit by ourselves when we''re on our honeymoon.

 

[DiamondSeeker7]

I love cruising! I have sailed with Royal Caribbean, Princess, Celebrity and Carnival. My favorite is Royal Caribbean. It had what I was looking for in a cruise. What is it that you are looking for? The best advise I heard about cruising is to cruise with the cruise line that offers the "product" you are looking for. What tops your list? Food? Entertainment? As for itineraries I enjoy the Southern Caribbean the best. My fiance and I are actually planning to get married on a cruise. If you have any questions feel free to ask! I have to agree cruisecritic.com is great!

 

[nebe]

I went on the Carnival Cruise Lines Destiny about four years ago (wow...) We went to Puerto Rico

, St. Thomas

, Dominica

, Barbados

and Aruba

. I didn''t really get to see Puerto Rico at all, which was disappointing. Dominica was beautiful but dirty. Barbados was awful. It was dirty and the people were really frightening, I''ll never go back. Aruba was like Boston with a great beach, which is fine if you want to be somewhere industrialized. St. Thomas though... St. Thomas stole my heart. It was so beautiful, the island is incredible, it has one of the top 3 beaches in the world and the people are so nice. It''s breathtaking. I''m definitely going to vacation there for a week or two again.

I wouldn''t take another cruise, but that''s because I get sea sick. The cruise I took was the only time I''ve been out of New England, and it was a lot of fun, but I''m definitely not a boat person. I might be going to Trinidad this year to stay with some family members, so I''ll keep you all updated about how that works out! Let me know if you want any pictures from any of the specific islands I went to.

 

[bee*]

Date: 1/9/2008 7:44:08 PM
Author: DiamondSeeker7
I love cruising! I have sailed with Royal Caribbean, Princess, Celebrity and Carnival. My favorite is Royal Caribbean. It had what I was looking for in a cruise. What is it that you are looking for? The best advise I heard about cruising is to cruise with the cruise line that offers the ''product'' you are looking for. What tops your list? Food? Entertainment? As for itineraries I enjoy the Southern Caribbean the best. My fiance and I are actually planning to get married on a cruise. If you have any questions feel free to ask! I have to agree cruisecritic.com is great!

I think what tops our list is one that offers great itineraries off the boat as we''re not people that like to relax so we want to get out and about as soon as we''re able to. Food is also high on our list as we''re huge foodies! One thing I was going to ask is are you alone much or are there people surrounding you at all times. Also are many kids usually on a cruise as I can''t see my romantic honeymoon lounging by the pool with kids running around!

 

[bee*]

Date: 1/10/2008 3:28:30 PM
Author: nebe

I went on the Carnival Cruise Lines Destiny about four years ago (wow...) We went to Puerto Rico

, St. Thomas

, Dominica

, Barbados

and Aruba

. I didn''t really get to see Puerto Rico at all, which was disappointing. Dominica was beautiful but dirty. Barbados was awful. It was dirty and the people were really frightening, I''ll never go back. Aruba was like Boston with a great beach, which is fine if you want to be somewhere industrialized. St. Thomas though... St. Thomas stole my heart. It was so beautiful, the island is incredible, it has one of the top 3 beaches in the world and the people are so nice. It''s breathtaking. I''m definitely going to vacation there for a week or two again.

I wouldn''t take another cruise, but that''s because I get sea sick. The cruise I took was the only time I''ve been out of New England, and it was a lot of fun, but I''m definitely not a boat person. I might be going to Trinidad this year to stay with some family members, so I''ll keep you all updated about how that works out! Let me know if you want any pictures from any of the specific islands I went to.

Thanks Nebe-it''s great to hear your opinion on some of the places that you visited. That''s disappointing to hear about Barbados

 

[mintve]

Date: 1/14/2008 5:31:27 AM
Author: bee*

Date: 1/10/2008 3:28:30 PM
Author: nebe

I went on the Carnival Cruise Lines Destiny about four years ago (wow...) We went to Puerto Rico

, St. Thomas

, Dominica

, Barbados

and Aruba

. I didn''t really get to see Puerto Rico at all, which was disappointing. Dominica was beautiful but dirty. Barbados was awful. It was dirty and the people were really frightening, I''ll never go back. Aruba was like Boston with a great beach, which is fine if you want to be somewhere industrialized. St. Thomas though... St. Thomas stole my heart. It was so beautiful, the island is incredible, it has one of the top 3 beaches in the world and the people are so nice. It''s breathtaking. I''m definitely going to vacation there for a week or two again.

I wouldn''t take another cruise, but that''s because I get sea sick. The cruise I took was the only time I''ve been out of New England, and it was a lot of fun, but I''m definitely not a boat person. I might be going to Trinidad this year to stay with some family members, so I''ll keep you all updated about how that works out! Let me know if you want any pictures from any of the specific islands I went to.

Thanks Nebe-it''s great to hear your opinion on some of the places that you visited. That''s disappointing to hear about Barbados

for what its worth, I think that is the same ship and same itinerary I had and I loved it. But, everyone has different preferences. I liove teh Boatyard EBach in Barbados. I just floated in the clear water for hours. I thought i was really pretty. ANd we tried the local beer on each island, so we had a little bit of local flavor too!

As far as kids, on my ship, there were kids and they swam in the big pool. that area was crowded and loud w/ music and lots of people. But, there are other parts of the ship where there are only adults and it feels more isolated and quiet. That is where we spent most of our time when we were on the ship.

 

[bee*]

Thanks Mintve! It''s great to hear all the opinions. I have to sit down now and go through all the sites.

 

[surfgirl]

bee, I'm not sure if you checked out the blog where I've posted quite a bit about my 5+ weeks in the Eastern Caribbean this past Fall. I was working there so I had a totally different experience than a tourist would have but that said, a couple of thoughts:

1. I dont think there are any "ferry's" that go between Florida and the islands, other than cruise ships. There are ferry's between some islands, particularly when it's a "sister/twin island" situation such as St. Kitts/Nevis (cheap ferry takes about 40 minutes and runs many times per day). Also St. Vincent & the Grenadines has ferries between the main island of St. Vincent and the other islands, varying in time from 1 hour or so to the closest island of Bequia, and nearly all day for the farthest islands.

2. You might be able to do a cruise one way, and get off on one of the islands that you want to be on anyway? Worth asking about.

3. As I said, I didn't have such a terrific time in the Caribbean and if it was me, I'd go to Hawaii instead. I dont like the vibe in the Carib, people seemed a bit agitated and aggressive (no doubt because there's a huge disparity between locals and tourists) and I'm not a fan of the party scene and it seems like most people out there just wanted to lay in the sun and drink/party alot. Overall, I liked the smaller, quiet out of the way places the best. I wasn't able to get to Barbuda (tiny isle off of Antigua) but I hear it's lovely and quiet and remote. I did really enjoy Bequia but I wouldn't want to spend more than a day there as it would be quite boring I think. That said, Canouan, one of the Grenadines that's a bit further away from St. Vincent and still reachable by ferry, has one of the most gorgeous resorts in the region. I cant remember the name but I think it's a one-resort island so shouldn't be hard to find. It's one of those places where you have a flag at your bungalow and you raise it when you need something, otherwise the staff keep away and give you your privacy. That sounded good to me...

Anyway, good luck with your planning. If you want to see any of the photos I took, you can check out my blog and scroll to the 2nd/3rd/4th pages or thereabouts. I think the Carib. photos are there.
www.noodleprincess.com

ETA: bee, you seem a bit adventurous, have you considered a trip to someplace like Costa Rica or Belize instead?

 

[bee*]

Thanks so much for that surfgirl. One of the main reasons why we were looking at the caribbean is that D wants to do a bit of fishing on our honeymoon and being the lovely fiance that I am, I told him that he can

We really aren''t sitting around on the beach people so the reason why we were looking at the caribbean is that there seemed to be quite a bit to do between the various islands. I will definitely look at you blog and read it. When we go on holidays we prefer to blend in with the locals rather than stick out as tourists, so it will be great to get your view having worked there.

ETA-wow-just looked at Belize-it looks fab. We''re definitely open to suggestions for travelling anywhere. We''ve travelled quite a bit but we haven''t been to Central America before.

Also that link didn''t seem to open for me-is that the correct one? Thanks again surfgirl!

 

[surfgirl]

Bee, let me try the link again:

http://www.noodleprincess.com/

You can also do a lot of fishing in Hawaii. I hear the Big Island is wonderful, as are Kauai and Lanai...Then there''s Greece...closer to you and really gorgeous...and I think they have fish there

 

[bee*]

thanks surfgirl! We are hoping to go somewhere near the US as we also want to spend a week in NY as part of our honeymoon. I've also been to Greece a couple of times and have travelled around on a school trip also so we're kind of ruling out Europe as we've been to nearly all the countries here. Costa Rica looks amazing, as does Belize!

ETA-I just read through your blog-it's so cool! Thanks for giving me the link.

 

[surfgirl]

Date: 1/15/2008 7:22:42 AM
Author: bee*
thanks surfgirl! We are hoping to go somewhere near the US as we also want to spend a week in NY as part of our honeymoon. I''ve also been to Greece a couple of times and have travelled around on a school trip also so we''re kind of ruling out Europe as we''ve been to nearly all the countries here. Costa Rica looks amazing, as does Belize!


ETA-I just read through your blog-it''s so cool! Thanks for giving me the link.

You''re welcome bee! I thought it might help to see "non travel brochure" photos. I get the Europe thing and I figured as much since you seem to buzz around the EU quite a bit. But yeah, Costa and Belize seem wonderful and honestly, I''ve NEVER heard anyone come back from either place and not say anything but fantastic things about both locations.

 

[bee*]

Date: 1/15/2008 12:41:07 PM
Author: surfgirl

Date: 1/15/2008 7:22:42 AM

Author: bee*

thanks surfgirl! We are hoping to go somewhere near the US as we also want to spend a week in NY as part of our honeymoon. I''ve also been to Greece a couple of times and have travelled around on a school trip also so we''re kind of ruling out Europe as we''ve been to nearly all the countries here. Costa Rica looks amazing, as does Belize!



ETA-I just read through your blog-it''s so cool! Thanks for giving me the link.

You''re welcome bee! I thought it might help to see ''non travel brochure'' photos. I get the Europe thing and I figured as much since you seem to buzz around the EU quite a bit. But yeah, Costa and Belize seem wonderful and honestly, I''ve NEVER heard anyone come back from either place and not say anything but fantastic things about both locations.

I''ve just sent D to have a look around some sites on fishing in Costa Rica so hopefully he''ll be happy with that! Thanks again

 

[surfgirl]

bee, just a reminder that Hurricane Season in the Caribbean is about Aug-Oct...dont know your wedding date but wanted to throw that out there.

 

[bee*]

Thanks surfgirl-our wedding is on June 18th 09 so we''ll probably be heading on our honeymoon on June 20th and we''ll be going for approx a month so think we''ll just miss the hurricane season. When we were walking the dog this evening, we were talking about it so we''re now going to have a peak at central America and maybe Hawaii also. I love the honeymoon planning part

 

[diamondgirl5k]

I did a cruise with Royal Caribbean and it was wonderful.. we stopped and explored on all the islands and there was so much to do on the boat, and the fooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooood it was great.. the only downside was that we stayed in a room all the way at the bottom of the ship with no windows and it was tiny.. so id recommend trying to get a room with windows or even a balcony that way when youre in the room (which you will be since its your honeymoon ) you won''t feel so confined..

 

[bee*]

thanks! If we do go for a cruise, we''re hoping to get a room with a view of the ocean. Glad to hear that the food is amazing (we''re big foodies!!)