East or West Carribian?

[katmigordon]

We are two adults, who are more into food and culture than anything athletic and high energy.
We are looking for a 7 day out of Port Canaveral, and East & West Carribain seem to be my choices - which would be our best bet?

And in the name of consolidating posts - can someone point me to trip reports for Concierge on the Fantasy? Fantasy does the 7 day right?

 

[DCLDVC1]

We are two adults, who are more into food and culture than anything athletic and high energy.
We are looking for a 7 day out of Port Canaveral, and East & West Carribain seem to be my choices - which would be our best bet?

And in the name of consolidating posts - can someone point me to trip reports for Concierge on the Fantasy? Fantasy does the 7 day right?

I've done both and prefer the Eastern for the extra sea day and beautiful ports.

https://www.disboards.com/threads/honeymooning-on-the-fantasy-swdas-completed-3-7.3730002/

 

[katmigordon]

I do love an extra sea day - can you tell me anything about the differences in ports? From your own POV of course.

I've done both and prefer the Eastern for the extra sea day and beautiful ports.

https://www.disboards.com/threads/honeymooning-on-the-fantasy-swdas-completed-3-7.3730002/

 

[lklgoodman]

I would also recommend EC, we've done 3 EC cruises, each cruise went to different islands. We've done WC twice and both times we missed Grand Caymans and Jamaica due to weather. The beaches at St. Thomas and Tortola are really nice if that is what you are interested in doing. Cozumel was ok, can't say about GC or Jamaica since we had to stay on the ship. I hear GC is really nice, hopefully some day we will go there. The Fantasy does 7 nights.

 

[ThinkTink1]

I’ve done the Western Caribbean.... I though Grand Cayman was very pricey for food... think 1 shared fish taco platter with 1 beer and 1 mixed drink came to about $50 US.... Cozumel I had a great time riding on scooters and stoping at beachside restaurants and the prices were super reasonable.... think like 1 mixed drink 1 beer app and entree maybe $30 and I am highballing that one.... NOW I’ve never done an Eastern Caribbean cruise BUT I was just in St Thomas in Sept for 5 days... super expensive but we were not in the port side of the island so maybe a little less pricey there but the views SPECTACULAR and the snorkeling some of the best!! At this point I would take any cruise lol but if I had a choice right now I’d go Eastern Caribbean!!

 

[cvjw]

We have done both. We aren’t fans of the western, but love the eastern. We love extra sea days and not having to change time zones. Also, we have been to Mexico, Jamaica and grand caymen multiple times, so we do not even leave the ship on the western.

 

[pearljammer]

I’ve seen you post on here a LOT, especially about concierge. I’d choose Eastern over Western any day but if you’ve not done either, I don’t know that it matters too much. Base your decision on what works best for you. Most of us can’t even relate to the option of concierge so .....I’m sure if you search hard enough, you’ll find concierge posts/reviews. Given the state of things, it may be a while before anyone is too comfortable cruising, much less caring if it’s concierge, east, west, upside down, right side up, etc. As long as we can do it in a somewhat healthy manner would be nice at this point.

 

[katmigordon]

Don't I just know it?
I'm planning this trip for 2021 in the hopes that it will help keep me from thinking about the fact that my September 2020 Anniversary trip will probably not be happening.

As to what works best for me? I have no clue, both seem equally viable so I wanted opinions from those who had done both and could give me some insight. I knew somebody on here had posted a link a while back to several Fantasy specific Concierge trip reviews and so was hoping that person might see this and hook me up since all of my research had been for the Wonder.

As to caring or not, this is still a forum for planning trips for DCL, and this pertains to that. If you don't wish to deal with the normal types of posts here given the state of the world today, I get that. What I don't get is the need to come in here and scold me for using the forum as intended.

I’ve seen you post on here a LOT, especially about concierge. I’d choose Eastern over Western any day but if you’ve not done either, I don’t know that it matters too much. Base your decision on what works best for you. Most of us can’t even relate to the option of concierge so .....I’m sure if you search hard enough, you’ll find concierge posts/reviews. Given the state of things, it may be a while before anyone is too comfortable cruising, much less caring if it’s concierge, east, west, upside down, right side up, etc. As long as we can do it in a somewhat healthy manner would be nice at this point.

 

[pearljammer]

Don't I just know it?
I'm planning this trip for 2021 in the hopes that it will help keep me from thinking about the fact that my September 2020 Anniversary trip will probably not be happening.

As to what works best for me? I have no clue, both seem equally viable so I wanted opinions from those who had done both and could give me some insight. I knew somebody on here had posted a link a while back to several Fantasy specific Concierge trip reviews and so was hoping that person might see this and hook me up since all of my research had been for the Wonder.

As to caring or not, this is still a forum for planning trips for DCL, and this pertains to that. If you don't wish to deal with the normal types of posts here given the state of the world today, I get that. What I don't get is the need to come in here and scold me for using the forum as intended.

I’m not trying to scold. But I personally don’t know what difference concierge has on western or eastern itinerary to be honest. I would think the service would be the same regardless. If I choose inside stateroom I wouldn’t ask the difference in an inside stateroom Eastern vs Western.

Perhaps that’s more the point I was getting at. Concierge I would think would be irrelevant to the itinerary...but again....given I’ve never sailed concierge, what do I know. So to your point, I guess this isn’t the right forum for me. No worries.

 

[katmigordon]

Oh my goodness, ok now I see the confusion.
I don't think that East or Werst will affect the concierge Exp, but I'm SURE that Fantasy or Wonder will, so I'm looking for the difference between ship classes.
My original question was about East or West to help pick an itinerary so I could set my sights on a date - since I didn't know one from the other. THEN I added the question about Concierge on the Fantasy.

And I never said this wasn't the right forum for you, I said I understand if focusing on all of this seems a little frivolous at the moment to you (as that's how your post came across), I just wasn't sure why you were upset with me for asking questions the forum was meant to answer. Now I see that it was probably one big misunderstanding and I hope we can move on in that spirit. We all know ANNOYING the internet can be sometimes and how it lends itself to misunderstandings.


I thought instead of making it two different posts, I would consolidate them into one, as I tend to ask a lot of questions when I'm in planning mode and I was trying to avoid my bad habit of spamming the forum with questions.

I’m not trying to scold. But I personally don’t know what difference concierge has on western or eastern itinerary to be honest. I would think the service would be the same regardless. If I choose inside stateroom I wouldn’t ask the difference in an inside stateroom Eastern vs Western.

Perhaps that’s more the point I was getting at. Concierge I would think would be irrelevant to the itinerary...but again....given I’ve never sailed concierge, what do I know. So to your point, I guess this isn’t the right forum for me. No worries.

 

[DCLCruiseFan09]

So there are a few different options. I have done an Eastern Caribbean Sailing (5 night on the Magic San Juan to Miami twice) and a 7 night Western on the Fantasy.

Eastern Vs Western Carribean ports offer a lot of the same activities as far as port excursions go. Beaches, Active port adventures (ATV tours, Zip Lines, Etc) it's all there. Usually what it boils down to for people is When they can travel and which is itinerary is being offered. A lot prefer the additional sea day on the Eastern itinerary over the additional port day.

Personally, on the Eastern cruises I have done, there is a lot more ship motion/rougher seas. The Western sailing I did was one of the calmest cruises I have ever been on with minimal motion.

Alas, I can't provide a lot of assistance on the Concierge Classic Ship vs. Dream Class ship debate. From my understanding, they work to provide the same level of accommodation on all ships when traveling concierge. There are small quirks however with each ship that are different.

 

[lklgoodman]

If you haven't looked at the different port excursions for each port, you may want to do that. Even if you don't plan on booking excursions with DCL, it still gives you an idea about what's available at each port. I also like to read reviews on TripAdvisor. Seems like most of the excursions for Falmouth require longer travel time. I found beach excursions for both Tortola and St. Thomas were reasonably priced and we really enjoyed them. We had beach days booked for GC and Jamaica, both cost more than the EC ones. Since weather cancelled both WC ports, I have no idea if they would be worth the extra cost. Sorry you may not be able to do your Sept. cruise. Our next cruise is booked for March 2021, and I'm slightly worried about the virus coming back next Spring.

 

[DCLDVC1]

I do love an extra sea day - can you tell me anything about the differences in ports? From your own POV of course.

Grand Cayman on the Western is a tender port so there's a chance you won't be able to go ashore if the weather isn't perfect. The water is gorgeous and stingray city is a lot of fun.

 

[mevelandry]

We are two adults, who are more into food and culture than anything athletic and high energy.
We are looking for a 7 day out of Port Canaveral, and East & West Carribain seem to be my choices - which would be our best bet?

And in the name of consolidating posts - can someone point me to trip reports for Concierge on the Fantasy? Fantasy does the 7 day right?

Which ports?

 

[JM_97]

There's an EC in August '21 that I've been looking into. I liked that itinerary over the WC ones. I am just not sure how DCL and cruising/traveling will look by then with COVID-19

 

[katmigordon]

All the more reason to go with Eastern then, we have a hard time with tenders given the step down onto and back up to the boat... my knee pops out of place when I look at it funny.

Grand Cayman on the Western is a tender port so there's a chance you won't be able to go ashore if the weather isn't perfect. The water is gorgeous and stingray city is a lot of fun.

 

[katmigordon]

I have a great deal of faith, we will be good to go by then.
And by that time, if we're not? We're going to have MUCH bigger problems than we have now.

There's an EC in August '21 that I've been looking into. I liked that itinerary over the WC ones. I am just not sure how DCL and cruising/traveling will look by then with COVID-19

 

[DCLDVC1]

Oh my goodness, ok now I see the confusion.
I don't think that East or Werst will affect the concierge Exp, but I'm SURE that Fantasy or Wonder will, so I'm looking for the difference between ship classes.

The biggest difference between Concierge on the Wonder and Fantasy is the location and size of the lounge and sundeck.

On the Wonder, the lounge is on deck 10 midship and the sundeck is on 11 while the Concierge staterooms are scattered throughout deck 8. The lounge and sundeck are huge and provide an amazing view.

On the Fantasy, the Concierge staterooms are on deck 11 and 12 forward with the lounge located in the middle of the rooms on 12 and the sundeck on 13 so it's much more convenient. However, there's no view from the lounge and a limited view from the sundeck.

The service you receive from the Concierge Hosts should be the same on all ships.

 

[JM_97]

I have a great deal of faith, we will be good to go by then.
And by that time, if we're not? We're going to have MUCH bigger problems than we have now.

That's what I was thinking. I was thinking about a 5 night double dip for this year (kind of last minute) before COVID 19 happened but this one is so tempting. This trip would be to Tortola, St. Thomas and Castaway Cay

 

[lizzyb]

I prefer Eastern. We enjoy the ports much more and like the extra sea day.