Eastern vs, Western cruise?

[treloarf]

If anyone has gone on both Eastern & Western, which one did you like best. We went on the Easter 3 years ago & would like to go again next year, but considering the Western.

Does anyone know why the Western is more expensive, especially in DVC points.,

Any comments would be appreciated. Are the ships crowded over the Columbus day week in Oct. since it is value season?

 

[jlawall]

I've been on both, the eastern was nice, to me, the western was to die for! We are sailing againg next summer on the western.

 

[ragdoll]

I really thought that I would prefer the Western but ended up liking the Eastern better. However, if I were you I would still go with the Western. Then next time you could book the one you prefer. I am glad that we did the Western but we rebooked the Eastern with the new itinerary which was a great option.

 

[MarkRG]

The simple answer is the Western is more expensive because it visits three ports instead of two (and cc on both, of course). A lot of the cruise price is set by the port fees wich are huge to say the least.

Now that said, the ports of call on the two cruises are very different.

Shopping-

I prefer the Eastern ports. I didn't go for the in your face nonsense at Cozumel. But if you enjoy haggling, you'll be in your element. And Grand Cayman was ok, but not that big a thing, and Key West is more like visitng any tourist destination in the continental US, some cool local stuff but that's not the real focus there.

Tourist Attractions -

Both directions are quite strong on this, but it depends on what your focus is. If you want the true 'touristy' experience (I admit, that's what my interest is) They are totally equal. Both eastern and western have cool and interesting excursions to go on. On the Eastern, Coral World is a cool place to visit. On the Western, Stingray City is a do not miss. Key West is a cool place for the party crowd, as is Cozumel.

My opinion is you need to do both at least once to really get a full experience. Go for the Western, you'll not be disappointed.

 

[jrabbit]

We have done both Eastern and Western cruises.

We don't shop (much at least). The water is the focus of our excursions.

Snorkeling is better on the Western (or at least more opportunities): Key West, Grand Cayman and Cozamel. On the Eastern St. Maarten seems to be iffy because of the winds that kick up a lot of sand in the water. We snorkeled in St. Johns and it was very, very good - definatly will do that again - Trunk Bay way cool.

We enjoyed Orient Beach on St. Maarten a lot, very beatiful beach with lots to do. There are some very nice beaches on Grand Cayman (7 mile beach) and on Cozamel - take your pick they are all nice and about the same.

Western: something different each day (key west, sea, grand cayman, cozamel, sea, castaway cay, home). Eastern: sea, sea, st. maarten, st. thomas, sea, castaway cay, home).

I think I liked the eastern better, and I really can't tell you why

We are going on the eastern again next year on one of the "trial" iteneraries. Taking the kids out of school for a week - oh well.


As mentioned earlier, there are more stop on the western cruise and the fees add up. And the Magic has the best parking spots!! Which probably cost more. On the eastern, there are not a lot of options on where to park in the ports they stop at.

 

[Favorite Auntie]

The Eastern is more relaxing with one more of the glorious days at sea, and the Western is a bit more adventurous. Depends what you like to do - relax - or excursions-

 

[Rhonda]

We definitely prefer the Eastern. The Virgin Islands are beautiful - especially St. John! The snorkeling is wonderful there too, and the beaches are beautiful!

The shopping is better, IMHO, on the Eastern too. You can get some great deals on jewelry, liquor, etc. in St. Maarten. They also have some great souvenir-type shops. St. Thomas also has good shopping.

The Western seemed to us more like a "party" atmosphere. We stopped in Jamaica, where all there was to do was go to Margaritaville and drink. Not that we didn't have a good time - we did! Cozumel was the same. Not as relaxing.

 

[jwann]

Thanks for all this info -- we, too, are debating the eatern/western thing.
These boards are great!

 

[Robert and Kelley]

Well to put our 2 cents in.. We have cruised both and prefer the Western. We had more fun on the western excursions. We had a slight bout of seasickness on the Eastern but we were all fine on the Western. We are taking our 5th Disney Cruise in January and are repeating the Western cruise.

 

[cruzindon]

We too prefer the eastern route. We enjoyed the beaches in St. Maartin & St. Thomas more than on the western, as well as the extra day at sea.

It was more relaxing.

 

[TartanFan]

We're a divided family on this one! I prefer the Eastern coz of the extra sea day and I liked the beaches at St Maarten and St Thomas (not particularly into snorkeling or watersports). DH likes the Western - he likes more activity (actually I think he just wants to go back to Carlos n Charlies!) and DD (11) wouldn't really care where the ship goes so long as there's the Oceaneer Lab, Scoops and other 11 year olds to giggle with!