Most people start their cruising life with a short cruise to the Bahamas or the Caribbean. This is a great way to get your feet wet, learn the ropes and get the lingo down. But the fact is, a 3 or 4-day cruise is simply not enough time to really experience ship life and all the fun you can have. It will teach you the basics, but you really haven't cruised until you've done 7 nights or more.
With a 7-night cruise, you can select between the Eastern, Western or Southern Caribbean, and each itinerary has its high points. Typically, Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries sail from ports in Florida, New York, Galveston and New Orleans.
Southern Caribbean cruises that are only 7 nights always sail from San Juan, Puerto Rico. It's a bit more expensive to fly to San Juan than to one of the Southern US ports, but you'll get usually 5 or 6 islands instead of 3 or 4; and they are pretty exotic islands at that, like St. Lucia, Barbados, St. Martin. There are some Southern Caribbean itineraries that are 10 or 11 days that sail from Florida, so you don't have the expense of San Juan airfare. You will have more days at sea, usually about the same number of islands. So it's a trade-off.
Historically, the Western Caribbean is more popular than the Eastern, although it is a very personal decision. For the Westerns, you'll usually visit Grand Cayman, Cozumel and maybe Costa Maya or Progresso in Mexico. On the Eastern side, you'll almost always get St. Thomas, and then maybe Nassau, St. Martin and San Juan. Every ship is different, but generally these are the usual suspects.
Many cruise lines also add a day at one of their private islands, reserved exclusively for their guests. These are big fun, and they give you that day at the beach that you might have missed while sightseeing in the other ports of call.
Of course, like any port of call, you can stay on the ship if you like. If you do get off, you can come and go as you please--just be sure to be on board when they pull up the gangway, because they don't go back for anybody! And they are on a set schedule-- if they tell you to be back on board at 4:45 pm, they mean it, because at the stroke of 5 pm, they will pull out and be on their way.
The Caribbean has so many faces, each one different and well worth exploring.
We've been to the Eastern side any number of times, and we really love it, especially St. Thomas/St. John. But we like Cozumel and Grand Cayman, too, and have been there several times, too.
In cruising, there's hardly ever a bad day, even if the weather isn't cooperating, which is pretty rare. After all, you're on vacation!
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2 comments:
what happens if you do accidently miss coming back from an excursion in time???
Sad to say, but if you're late coming back from an excursion and miss the ship, you are out of luck.
That's why you should always do excursions from reputable operators like ShoreTrips or the cruise line tours. They are in contact with the ship and can alert them if a vehicle breaks down making you late for the ship.
If you're late because you spent too much time in a bar or shopping, you are on your own.
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