Caribbean vs. Bahamian Cruises

[DznyGrlSD]

:wave: Long time member, 1st time poster in this section.

My mom & I are thinking about taking a cruise next March. Neither of us have ever been on a cruise (or out of the country) before.

What is your preference for cruises? Caribbean or Bahamian and why? We're looking at a 6 or 7 day cruise.

Any opinion/input is much appreciated!!

 

[wizards8507]

Eastern Caribbean or Western Caribbean? Big difference.

 

[SeaBase86]

I have personally been on 10 Disney Cruises. At first I started out with the 3 and 4 night cruises but once I experienced the 7 night voyages I enjoyed them more because it gives more time (there's never enough time though). That being said if it is your first time you may want to test a 3 or 4 night Bahimien cruise to test if you like it. These cruises visit Nassau, Bahamas and Disney's Castaway Cay. These are great little escapes. There are 2 Caribbean iteneries (these may change during your sail date), the Eastern takes you to St. Maarten, St. Thomas, and Castaway along with 3 days at sea. The Western takes you to Key West, Cozumel, Grand Cayman, and Castaway Cay along with 2 sea days. All cruises I would highly recommend but for first timers maybe a shorter one will be best.

Best of luck on deciding .

 

[Disneyfalcon]

I prefer the Caribbean cruises because, as stated, they're longer!

I can't get enough time on the ship, an 11 night cruise last summer was awesome.

I find the ports in the Western and Eastern Caribbean to be a little more exciting than the Bahamas. In Nassau, Atlantis is awesome, but otherwise there's not as many options there.


Castaway Cay is the best port and it's on Bahamas and Caribbean itineraries, so you can't lose there.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

I think normal or even semi-normal people would never consider this when deciding between Eastern or Western Caribbean cruises but it's THE deciding factor for our family: St. Maarten has the airport runway that brings the big passenger jets really super duper looooow over the beach. See? If we ever got to St. Maarten we'd spend the entire day on the beach watching planes, taking pics & video. My hubby is a huuuuge aeronautics buff and seeing a 747 land & take off from this airport is a dream of his. I'm currently seeking info to make sure this is just what he does next May for his 40th birthday.

 

[Disneyfalcon]

I think normal or even semi-normal people would never consider this when deciding between Eastern or Western Caribbean cruises but it's THE deciding factor for our family: St. Maarten has the airport runway that brings the big passenger jets really super duper looooow over the beach. See? If we ever got to St. Maarten we'd spend the entire day on the beach watching planes, taking pics & video. My hubby is a huuuuge aeronautics buff and seeing a 747 land & take off from this airport is a dream of his. I'm currently seeking info to make sure this is just what he does next May for his 40th birthday.

That is so awesome!:lol:

 

[DznyGrlSD]

Eastern Caribbean or Western Caribbean? Big difference.

Western Caribbean. Key West, Cozumel (SP?) & Grand Cayman.

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Western Caribbean. Key West, Cozumel (SP?) & Grand Cayman.

That one!

 

[DznyGrlSD]

I think that's the one we're going to take (as long as I can convince her to go with me!) It launches March 17th, 2012.

Next question: are the shore excursions worth it?

 

[Disneyfalcon]

I think that's the one we're going to take (as long as I can convince her to go with me!) It launches March 17th, 2012.

Next question: are the shore excursions worth it?

That's tougher! Sometimes yes. Whenever we've paid to go on an official shore excursion, we've loved it. They are well run, fun, safe, organized, etc. You don't have to think about where to go and how to get there, you just go and enjoy.

On the other hand, we've done several cruises where we didn't want to spend the extra money and have done things on our own. We've enjoyed what we've done and saved a lot of money.

Sometimes you can book the exact same thing outside of Disney and save some money too. The downside there is if the ship can't port, you've usually lost your money. You also give up the security of being with Disney. If you're on a Disney excursion, you won't miss the boat. If you're not, it's all up to you!

I usually recommend going through the excursions and seeing if there's any that sound awesome and get great reviews. There's one on that cruise for example (Xcaret) that I've heard amazing things about and is probably worth every penny. If you can swing it, go for it. If you can't afford them, don't let that stop you. You can have a great time on a cruise and never spend a penny on excursions.

 

[kerri12]

great

all this trips make a perfect trip there.

 

[ChuckElias]

Favorite itineraries:

1) Mediterranean (12-night).
2) Western Caribbean. (7)
3) Northern European Capitals (12)
4) Southern Caribbean. (7)
5) Eastern Caribbean (7)
6) Bahamian (3)
7) Mexican Riviera (7)

I could probably write a short book about what I liked and didn't like about each itinerary, but I'll keep it short. I like the Western Car. cruise because it includes Key West. I like the Southern cruise to Tortola because it's so easy to get to Virgin Gorda, which is AMAZING. I like the Eastern cruise because I like St. John (I'm not a big St. Maartin fan, tho.) And the Bahamas cruise is before Mexico because even though it's short, only 3 nights, you get a stop at Castaway Cay, which you don't get with the Mexican Riviera, obviously.

Don't get me started on the European cruises. They were both a-MAZ-ing! But I know we're not really talking about those choices, so I'll stop now!