Help me out...eastern vs western

[minbrad]

Hello cruise experts. I know what you're going to say, both are excellent...but I really want honest opinions. Me, DH and DD9, cruising May 2013. We don't care about snorkeling. Like the extra sea day on eastern but doesn't that mean more crowds at the pool!?! We'd stay on board in Costa Maya so it's technically another sea day for us. I'm not sure that Mexico is safe. We just want relaxed excursions, even island tours. Give me your best reviews! Thanks in advance!

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Oh yikes! It's too hard to pick!
Sea days do have more crowds by the pool, it's true. But sea days also mean more activities scheduled if that's a factor.
IF you're worried about Mexico, and I'm not sure you need to be, do the Eastern! You'll definitely find great excursions and island tours. Easy fix!

 

[joanna71985]

I haven't done either yet, but I'm doing the Eastern in Oct. I picked the Eastern because I like more sea days, and I also didn't feel comfortable getting off in Mexico (but I am looking forward to the ports for the Eastern). I may do a Western someday

 

[Tusportsfan]

We've done nothing but Bahamas cruises with DCL so far, but I do know that when we do manage to do a Fantasy voyage, it will be an Eastern one - the multiple, smaller islands just seem more interesting than Mexico.

 

[iloverags2]

We did the Western on the Magic two years ago and loved it! Granted, that cruise had a call on Key West whereas the Fantasy goes to Costa Maya instead. I will say we absolutely fell in love with Grand Cayman, which was a total surprise since we booked the itinerary mainly for Key West (love, love, love) and Cozumel. Having said all that, we preferred the extra port call just because we enjoy seeing as many places as possible. If you prefer sea days, then you will most likely enjoy the Eastern better (as noted, more activities are planned on sea days as opposed to a day in port). Honestly, though...you cannot go wrong with either!

 

[angieandtrevor]

There is pros and cons to each but if I was to have to pick my favorite it would definitely Eastern, all of the islands have their own unique beauty but St. Thomas and St. Maarten are stunning (IMO). In both ports we did really reasonable island tours ($25 each I think) which gave us 3 hours of shopping, 2 hour island and 2 hours at a beach. For me it was the perfect way to experience the island because you got to see a little of everything but most of the tour guides will customize your tour if you preferred to do something longer or eliminate something else. I don't mind sending you the links to the companies we used, they were both very reliable and their tours were exactly what we were hoping for. Even if you decided not to do any tours you can definitely walk into town in St. Thomas and do the water taxi in St. Maartens.

St. Thomas has the best jewelry shopping if you are into that, I have gotten some beautiful pieces that have been appraised for a lot more once I returned home but you definitely have to really save for this port, that is why I chose to go Western this fall, a little easier on the wallet Definitely go to Maho Beach in St. Maarten, it is pretty cool to see the planes fly right over your head.

I doubt you will be disappointed with either direction, all of the ports are pretty fantastic. If only all decision were this much fun....good luck

 

[ChuckElias]

I'm not into the shopping, so I prefer the Western Loop. It's probably not quite as good without Key West (I will echo the "love, love, love" ), but we haven't done a Caribbean cruise in several years, so I can't really say for sure. My wife LOVES 7-mile beach on Grand Cayman.

The nice thing about St. Thomas is that it's only a short ferry to St. John, which I actually do love.