Eastern Caribbean vs Southern Caribbean-suggestions please

[gabe'smom]

We are planning our next family vacation and are wanting to take a cruise on DCL. I'm torn between taking an Eastern Caribbean cruise in September 2015 vs taking a Southern Caribbean cruise in January 2016. I would appreciate any thoughts, suggestions, and recommendations on what might be our better option. I know either one of them will be fantastic, but which one would you choose and why?

Family consists of myself, DH, DS10, and DD7. DH and I have done a 3 day Bahamas cruise on DCL 13 years ago, but that is the only cruise that we have done.

Here are some of the things I have been thinking about.
-how is the weather in January? Will it be warm enough?
-itinerary? Barbados, Grenada, Martinique, Antigua & St. Kitts vs St. Maarten ,St. Thomas & Castaway Cay
-5 stops & 1 sea day vs 3 stops & 3 sea days Is it better to have more days at sea or more port stops?
-Castaway Cay - Southern doesn't stop here, is it worth it?
-Fantasy vs Wonder, newer, bigger ship or smaller, older ship?

Any information you can give will be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!
Renae

 

[ThistleMae]

I've been researching both of these as well. I decided it was more about the ship than the ports. While I'd like to go to the Southern Caribbean, the dates of sailing and where I would like to sail from, just didn't work for me. The southern Caribbean seems to be moderate temperatures all year round, so the weather there may not be an issue, but the trip getting there, depending on where you are sailing from might. I'm from NH, so sailing from NYC would be really cold until I got down into the Bahama's. That was too many days of not being able to be on deck swimming. So after much research, I decided to sail out of NYC in the spring to go to Florida and two Islands just off the coast. Also, it depends on what you like to do for shore excursions. I've been to Bermuda three times; we love to snorkel. We rent scooters and go all over the Island. Love it there! Anywhere in east, west or southern, there are going to be beaches, boating and shopping. I don't know that any one place is more beautiful than another, it's all a tropical paradise.
The boat is very important! Look at utube videos. Read reviews. Ask about onboard activities! Have fun!

 

[jcarwash]

From what I know, DCL offers far fewer southern cruises while the easterns are quite common -- the Fantasy is doing easterns every week right now, for example.

So I guess I'd say if you're open to taking a southern, and it works with your schedule, it's a very interesting option. My cruise choices right now are more along the lines of -- this is WHEN I can travel, what's being offered that week...so it's much less likely I'd be able to take a southern.

I would miss going to Castaway Cay though...that's my favorite part and your kids would love it. My opinion is that it's definitely worth it. So great.

Meanwhile...a quick peek shows what I expected - a Jan 2015 southern on the Wonder looks cheaper than a Sep 2015 eastern on the Fantasy. I'd also go for price if it works with my schedule.

 

[Justacruiser]

We are planning our next family vacation and are wanting to take a cruise on DCL. I'm torn between taking an Eastern Caribbean cruise in September 2015 vs taking a Southern Caribbean cruise in January 2016. I would appreciate any thoughts, suggestions, and recommendations on what might be our better option. I know either one of them will be fantastic, but which one would you choose and why?

Family consists of myself, DH, DS10, and DD7. DH and I have done a 3 day Bahamas cruise on DCL 13 years ago, but that is the only cruise that we have done.

Here are some of the things I have been thinking about.
-how is the weather in January? Will it be warm enough?
-itinerary? Barbados, Grenada, Martinique, Antigua & St. Kitts vs St. Maarten ,St. Thomas & Castaway Cay
-5 stops & 1 sea day vs 3 stops & 3 sea days Is it better to have more days at sea or more port stops?
-Castaway Cay - Southern doesn't stop here, is it worth it?
-Fantasy vs Wonder, newer, bigger ship or smaller, older ship?

Any information you can give will be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!
Renae

I would do the Fantasy Eastern with the 3 stops and CC. I would take the opportunity to enjoy the ship and the kids enjoy the areas on board. Been on both itineraries and they are both great, however enjoy the Fantasy this time. Doing the Southern you are OFF the ship alot and that is also an added cost. And if you and the kids like beaches at all, CC is a MUST. It's not even close IMHO. Do the Fantasy and do the Southern some other time.

 

[stickeymouse]

I would go with whichever is cheaper and better suits your schedule. Castaway Cay is incredible and possibly the highlight of any Disney Cruise, but seeing the "rarer" Southern Caribbean islands would also be special. Both cruises go far enough south to ensure a warm climate no matter what time of year.

 

[dyannac]

In my opinion, for your family, I would go for the Fantasy. Especially since this is the first time your kids will be going. Cast Away is a must and it's nice to have a few sea days to just chill out. There is so much to do and see on the ship that having the sea days is really nice and the Eastern Itinerary is pretty good. I'm considering the Southern Caribbean only because it would be about the Itinerary and not the ship. That would be my 9th cruise and I've been on all four ships. So, I wouldn't be be compelled to make all of the shows and activities and all the amazing things there are to do on the ship because I would have done them all before. I considered the last Southern Caribbean cruise, but I chose not to because I went with family members who had never cruised before and I didn't think that sailing would have been the best experience for them for a first time Disney cruise especially with no Cast Away.

 

[vinotinto]

January is too cold for CC (been there, don't that - oops, I see you would do sept for Eastern, so that works well)!. I've been to Barbados, Antigua, ans St Kitts on cruises, as well as St Martin. Visited St Thomas when I flew there to get to St John. Southern Caribbean itineraries are worth it, IMHO. I do like St Martin for the French aspect, and St Thomas is good as a gateway to St John and BVIs, so if the Eastern works better in terms of ship or logistics, it will still be a good trip. But, we really liked Barbados, Antigua, and St Kitts and they were easy as 1-day cruise stops.

 

[SnowWhite2]

For your kids ages and having it be their first cruise, I would suggest the Fantasy. The Southern itinerary is great but in my opinion it is for more seasoned cruisers who have done the "regular" cruise routes and looking for something more port intensive. Your kids will love the ship and want to do all of the fun things on board so the Fantasy would be a great introduction to cruising for them. Plus Castaway Cay is my favorite and I don't like beaches!

 

[bumbershoot]

We did an Eastern (Sint Maarten, San Juan, and CocoCay) last year January and it was utter perfection. SO hot in SJ, SO warm in SM, and just wonderful on Royal's private island. Seriously could not have been better.

We did a normal Bahamas (including Castaway) one February and it was fabulous as well. And we were on Castaway this January and it was lovely, too.

One time on Castaway in October the water actually felt colder than in Feb, because the air was warmer than it was in Feb. Make sense?


The 5 ports is something that sounds great to me, but it would exhaust my husband. So think about that. If you're the type to have official things to do in each port, it's going to get more expensive.

I adored Sint Maarten (didn't bother to go to the French part of the island Saint Martin because San Juan had exhausted us and we kept it lowkey), and we LOVE sea days. Love love love.

 

[KashasMom]

We are planning our next family vacation and are wanting to take a cruise on DCL. I'm torn between taking an Eastern Caribbean cruise in September 2015 vs taking a Southern Caribbean cruise in January 2016. I would appreciate any thoughts, suggestions, and recommendations on what might be our better option. I know either one of them will be fantastic, but which one would you choose and why?

Family consists of myself, DH, DS10, and DD7. DH and I have done a 3 day Bahamas cruise on DCL 13 years ago, but that is the only cruise that we have done.

Here are some of the things I have been thinking about.
-how is the weather in January? Will it be warm enough?
-itinerary? Barbados, Grenada, Martinique, Antigua & St. Kitts vs St. Maarten ,St. Thomas & Castaway Cay
-5 stops & 1 sea day vs 3 stops & 3 sea days Is it better to have more days at sea or more port stops?
-Castaway Cay - Southern doesn't stop here, is it worth it?
-Fantasy vs Wonder, newer, bigger ship or smaller, older ship?

Any information you can give will be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!
Renae

The Southern Caribbean itineraries are SO much better than Eastern/Western Carib. And the weather is warmer (Southern) year round. We were just at CC in Feb and it was absolutely freezing when we got off the ship. (We didn't swim.) We've been there in December as well and the weather wasn't much better. CC is nice but not as amazing as people lead you to believe. The BBQ buffet is decent but it's just a beach.....plenty of nice beaches in the Caribbean! That being said....I would go with the Fantasy because....with DCL it really is about the ships (shows, characters, kids' clubs, etc.). IMO it doesn't make sense to spend all the extra $$ to go with DCL on a port intensive itinerary. Another reason is that the Fantasy is a great ship. Your kids are at a good age to enjoy the activities on the Fantasy (more things on the Fantasy than Wonder such as Aquaduck, Mid Ship Detective Agy, etc.). I've only done the Fantasy & the Magic and didn't care for the Magic so I know I wouldn't like the Wonder.

 

[alldiz]

For me a no brainer. Southern Caribbean. Better weather and ports.
Happy planning
Kerri

 

[buckeyeprincesses]

We switched our cruise so that we can do the southern itinerary. We get to travel to San Juan because that is the port it leaves from. We get to stay there for a few day prior. We get to visit amazing ports that DCL only visits every so often. We can do an eastern cruise at any time. The southern itinerary so far is only for the first few months of 2016 from what I can tell. Plus, prices are a bit cheaper for the 7 day southern. DH and I have only been one one other cruise, it was RCI and I found out I was pregnant a month before our cruise. I was very limited on activities and excursions on the cruise because of this. We felt trapped on the boat. I don't think I would enjoy that many days at sea. Had friends that cruised last month and did not make it to CC because of the weather. They said that they made it seem like missing CC was pretty common. If CC is your deal breaker, keep that in mind especially since September is right in the middle of hurricane season. If the water is too rough due to any storm in the area, you may not make it to CC.

 

[Ofinn]

I've done both. Hands down I'd do the Southern. The southern Caribbean will be warm. Water will be warm. San Juan is such a great city. Your 10 year old will love the forts. We home school and we really enjoyed seeing the West Indies. It's such a big part of elementary school history books. I love cc but the ships don't always make it there so I wouldn't let that be the deciding factor.

 

[Trera]

Now that we just got back from our 7 day Western on the Magic, we have an itch to add the Southern Cruise possibly to our upcoming cruises as well. I think the port selection looks great and I think the weather should be great.