Can anyone recommend any specific eastern Caribbean cruise destinations & cruise lines?

TINKERTOY ..... the 1 & only says:

I have been on about 20 cruises with five different cruise lines and cruised all of the Caribbean routes and Mexico. Here’s what I recommend based on my experiences.

There are two factors to consider when planning a cruise (1) what activities are on ship and the demographics of the other passengers, and (2) what port stops will be made that I will enjoy.

I have been on Norwegian, Royal Caribbean, Holland America, Celebrity and Princess. All of these are good cruise lines. Royal Caribbean cruise line has some of the best on board activities including on various ships, ice skating or roller blading, mini-golf, table tennis, rock climbing wall, basketball court and on the new Freedom class ships, Liberty, Freedom and Independence of the Seas the flowrider where you can body surf right on ship. There are always pools and hot tubs and many ship have a Solarium (a cover area) with a pool and hot tubs for adults only. This is in addition to the regular pool and hot tubs for everyone. Some ships have water slides.

All of these lines have ships have great gymnasiums with a variety of equipment. The RC’s Freedom and Liberty have THE best gyms I have ever seen on ships.

You did not say where you live but you can cruise to the Caribbean from as far north as NY City. And, the Caribbean gives you many more options for itineraries, for departure ports (cruises go to the Caribbean from as far north as NY City and then all over Florida, plus New Orleans, Houston (Galveston) Texas, and Mobile, Alabama. So the Caribbean offers many more departure ports, ships, dates and options. And, for example if you want to go on the cruise lines newer ships your best bet is to go Caribbean out of Port Canaveral, Ft Lauderdale, or Miami, Florida.

The main things that you want to do is book very early and by that I mean 9 to 12 months or more in advance so that you can get the best price. All you need is a $250 to $300 deposit per person to book and hold your reservation and then you just pay it in full by 70 days beforfe the cruise. Also in the Caribbean you want to try to stay away from the hurricane season which in June through the end of October. Secondly, look for the specials that will be listed on each cruise line’s web site. Let that help determine when and where to go.

There are really three basic types of itineraries for the Caribbean. Western Caribbean cruises typically go to Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Jamaica and a private cruise line island. If you go to Cozumel there is the opportunity to buy a tour to see Mayan ruins, if that’s your interest. Its considered the best place to go for scuba and snorkeling. If you go to Jamaica the two main attractions are a river raft float trip (not rapids) and the Dunn’s River Falls climb. If you go to Grand Cayman you will likely want to go to 7-Mile Beach or do a swim with the dolphins/stingrays tour.

Cruises to the Eastern Caribbean typically go to St Thomas, St Maarten, a private cruise line island and maybe another island like Tortola or Puerto Rico. If you want to do a lot of shopping then pick a cruise with St Thomas as one of the port stops. St Maarten is also mainly a beach and shopping stop.

Most Eastern and Western Caribbean cruises have a private island stop where the ship takes food ashore for an all day beach party with games and entertainment. All of the cruise lines have what they call their private island and you can have a great day on these islands; only ship’s people on them for the day. Royal Caribbean has THE best private island I have ever been to at Labadee, Haiti. Its a huge place that has multiple beaches and many activities. RC’s ships the Freedom and The Liberty which do both the Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries both have stops at Labadee.

The Southern Caribbean cruise itineraries typically start in Puerto Rico and go either to Aruba, Curacao, and St Thomas and St Maarten, OR they go to the southern Caribbean islands like Barbados, Grenada, Antigua, St Lucia and maybe St Thomas and/or St Maarten. For the most part these latter islands are very much alike but nice to see. The main difference between these two Southern Caribbean itineraries, aside from the different islands, is the Aruba cruise has two "at sea" days with no port stops, while the other has a port stop about each day.

My favorite cruise line is Royal Caribbean but you cannot go wrong with Celebrity, Princess or Holland America. If you are looking for a real budget cruise and a party ship go on Carnival. If you want to basically be informal the whole cruise go on Norwegian. Finally, while you are looking at cruises pay attention to the ship and when it was launched. The best cruises will be on the newer ship, those launched about 2000 or later. That’s my experienced opinion and advice.

If all of this does not answer your questions just go to a travel agent, like an AAA or American Express office, and they will answer your questions and help you book at no cost

Gabriel A says:

Hey! It strictly depends on how many nights you want to take on board but I would recommend for the first time doing something like:

Baltimore, Maryland; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas; Samaná, República Dominicana; Labadee, Haití;
or
Miami, Florida; Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas; Philipsburg, St. Maarten; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Labadee, Haití; Miami, Florida
or
Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Nassau, Las Bahamas; Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas; Philipsburg, St. Maarten; Fort Lauderdale, Florida

The cruise line depends on what kind of style you are looking for. Royal Caribbean would be my choice, if not you have Carnival, Celebrity, NCL and Princess are in the top options.

Hope to have helped!

Kristin says:

I recommend consulting Elite Incentive Travel. They provide options for luxury, leisure, and honeymoon/romance travel and they’ll help you find specials that aren’t otherwise listed.