# HELP--Which Caribbean Cruise?????



## jyager (Oct 4, 2012)

#1. Ports of Call: 
Departs From San Juan, Puerto Rico visiting Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, U.S.V.I. >> Castries, St. Lucia >> Pointe-A-Pitre, Guadeloupe >> St. John's, Antigua >> Frederiksted, St. Croix, U.S.V.I.
#2. Ports of Call: 
Departs From San Juan, Puerto Rico visiting Tortola, British Virgin Islands >> Philipsburg, St. Maarten >> Basseterre, St. Kitts >> Pointe-A-Pitre, Guadeloupe >> Bridgetown, Barbados

Tuggers--Never been to the Caribbean before. Which of these cruises do you think we would enjoy the most. Mainly, which Ports of Call are the most scenic and enjoyable. Thanks!!!!! PS-Both cruises are on Royal Caribbean out of San Juan.


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## geekette (Oct 4, 2012)

Take a look at cruisecritic dot com as it is the Tug of cruising.

Specifically check out the Ports of Call section on the board.


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## pedro47 (Oct 4, 2012)

geekette said:


> Take a look at cruisecritic dot com as it is the Tug of cruising.
> 
> Specifically check out the Ports of Call section on the board.



Also check the RC message board section. 

Suggestion, I would fly into San Juan one day before the actual cruise.


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## Caladezi (Oct 5, 2012)

Which ship and line are you looking at?


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## Caladezi (Oct 5, 2012)

I just re-read the original post and see that both trips are on RC.


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## Passepartout (Oct 5, 2012)

The sad thing about cruises is that port calls are simply not long enough to get any sort of idea of the culture and 'flavor' of a place. The stops are generally 8 a.m. til 5 or 6 p.m. It gives you time for a quick taxi trip to the highlights, a lunch ashore and hurry back to the ship.

We have taken many cruises, and honestly, the Caribbean ones are my least favorite. Your experience may be different. A cruise vacation is a great, all inclusive, unpack once vacation. Pick one line and cruise with them enough times to gain 'status', and enjoy yourself. RCCI is as good as any and better than most.

Jim


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## geekette (Oct 5, 2012)

pedro47 said:


> Also check the RC message board section.
> 
> Suggestion, I would fly into San Juan one day before the actual cruise.



Yes, at least one day.  We missed sailaway on our first cruise out of Miami because it was raining in Cincinnati.  Do not trust airlines to get you there in time, get there early and relax so you can board as soon as they let you!


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## caribbeansun (Oct 6, 2012)

I'd take #2 myself and I'd book a day sail in Tortola, prefer St. Maarten over St. Lucia, Antigua is okay but nothing special.  Of course these are just my own preferences and I have no idea where your own interests lie.




jyager said:


> #1. Ports of Call:
> Departs From San Juan, Puerto Rico visiting Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, U.S.V.I. >> Castries, St. Lucia >> Pointe-A-Pitre, Guadeloupe >> St. John's, Antigua >> Frederiksted, St. Croix, U.S.V.I.
> #2. Ports of Call:
> Departs From San Juan, Puerto Rico visiting Tortola, British Virgin Islands >> Philipsburg, St. Maarten >> Basseterre, St. Kitts >> Pointe-A-Pitre, Guadeloupe >> Bridgetown, Barbados
> ...


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## jyager (Oct 10, 2012)

Thank you for all you're thoughts!!!


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## DianeH (Nov 14, 2012)

Hi,
We are going on our second cruise in March so are not seasoned cruisers by any means!  First one was Pride of America 7 day around the Hawaiian Islands, loved it but loved the fact that we jumped ship on our final day in Kauai and spent another week at a timeshare exchange 

This time we are cruising the southern Carribean, on HAL.  Our ports include St Thomas, St Barts, St Lucia, Barbadoes, Grenada, Antillies and the HAL island Halfmoon Cay.  We live on the west coast so purposely planned the 14 day cruise.

Geekette is right on with cruisecritic.com.  We have already printed off all the writeups on each port so we have some idea of what we want and do not want to do.

Hope you have fun!

Diane


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## pianodinosaur (Nov 14, 2012)

Both cruise options sound great.  We have used our cruises to select future timeshare vacations and hotel award redemption vacations.  Royal Caribbean is a well run cruise line and you should have a great time with either itinerary.  Puerto Rico is wonderful.  Spend some extra time there if you can.


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## staceyeileen (Nov 14, 2012)

What ships??  RCL has lots of them.  That makes a huge difference to me personally.


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## lvhmbh (Nov 15, 2012)

Diane, if you are a wine drinker be aware that HAL allows you to bring wine on board (I think beer too).  We brought a case on board last time.  There is an $18 corkage fee if you bring it to restaurants.


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## m61376 (Nov 15, 2012)

DianeH said:


> Hi,
> We are going on our second cruise in March so are not seasoned cruisers by any means!  First one was Pride of America 7 day around the Hawaiian Islands, loved it but loved the fact that we jumped ship on our final day in Kauai and spent another week at a timeshare exchange



We went on the NCL Hawaiian cruise the first summer they did it-?2004- it was a great way to visit the islands, but as a cruise we dubbed it the "shame of Aloha." It was the worst cruise experience as a cruise (service, cleanliness, food, etc.) that we ever experienced. We had trouble even getting clean bedding the day of arrival, and sheets were never changed the entire week. Free style dining meant waits of 2+ hours every night. I could go on and on, but  suffice it to say I would never go on another NCL cruise. RCCL and Celebrity cruises have been great. Carnival is a bit of a step down, but far superior to the NCL America line. 

Look for the newer ship and/or the most recently refurbished. Not only will the ship be nicer, but they tend to put their more experienced staff on the newer ships, so you'll get better service. The other consideration is do you want a megaship- pluses and minuses there. Look at reviews on cruise critic.


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