Eastern or Western..which do you prefer?

[tbuot]

We went on the Western last year and our booked for the Eastern in 2004. We really enjoyed the Western cruise and was wondering which one you all like better. The Eastern seems like a much more leisurely cruise.

 

[rae519]

Premature to say, but I do enjoy the time at sea and the Eastern does give me that!
(Also, I love St. Thomas!)


Rae

 

[tbuot]

rae519

I just private messaged you....I did it right before I read your post.

 

[tbuot]

Does anybody else have any comparisons or opinions?? Would love to hear from all you experts that have done both ...

 

[inkkognito]

WESTERN ALL THE WAY!!!
We've done the Eastern once and the Western three times, so that will tell you which one we prefer. The extra sea day on the Eastern is nice, but the ports don't really ring my chimes. They're okay, but to me they're nothing special. And with having to get up practically at sunrise for immigration, I can take a BIG pass!
I don't think I'll ever get tired of the Western ports, especially Cozumel. I love their eco-parks, and the other things we've done (horseback riding and the jeep tour) were awesome. I would repeat any of the experiences we have had there again in a minute. In Grand Cayman, you have to snorkel with the stingrays at least once, and Key West is the neatest place for just walking around and exploring town. The Western ports have a lot of character. I just love them
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com

 

[dizneykids]

isn't it funny how people see things differently.

i agree with barb that the 6am immigration thing is a major pain, but my family agreed we prefer the eastern itinerary. while we've only done each one only once (as opposed to barb and tony), we've concluded we prefer the more leisurely pace of the eastern and the extra day at sea. i wasn't very impressed with either grand cayman or cozumel as cities, but i'm sure that the weather (cloudy, gray and/or rainy) had a part in that. key west was nice, but we can do that more easily on our own at any time.

that said, i was disappointed with what i see as a significant cutback on activities on board. the personal navigator used to be a full two pages long with stuff to do...this time, some days, there was only a single page of activities. not that we weren't always busy, but it just didn't seem like there were as many options as in the past.