We’ve done both on the Fantasy, Eastern in 2013 and Western in 2014. Eastern was definitely a more relaxing, laid back cruise, while Western seemed more adventurous to me. I think part of that was the extra sea day on the eastern. I wouldn’t hesitate to do either again, but have to give a little extra nod to eastern, only because I LOVE sea days.Hi - Thinking about going on the 7 day cruise next year. Which one did you enjoy and prefer most? Eastern or Western?
Thank you.
April
Having been on each twice, I probably prefer the Western. As Mouse~House said, I think the excursion options are more varied with the Western, especially at Cozumel. I generally prefer more sea days, but we skipped getting off the ship in Jamaica our last time on the Western, which essentially gave us another sea day.Hi - Thinking about going on the 7 day cruise next year. Which one did you enjoy and prefer most? Eastern or Western?
Thank you.
April
but have to give a little extra nod to eastern, only because I LOVE sea days.
If I were you I would check out the different activities at all of the ports and choose the itinerary that interests you the most.
This is my thought on the choice:
No matter which itinerary you choose first doesn't matter, because you will become addicted and do the other itinerary as soon as you possibly can!
Checking the excursions was how I originally chose to go on the Western itinerary. Since then I tried to go on the Eastern itinerary but ended up doing the Western due to a hurricane going through the Eastern Caribbean, and I chose the Western itinerary again because Jamaica was added instead of Key West, and hubby and I always wanted to go there. Planning on the Eastern itinerary soon, to I absolutely can't wait! But lorimay is right, whichever you choose first, you'll want to go on the other itinerary as soon as possible!
Bumping as i found this while searching. We are also trying to decide which one to take. Which one has ports that are best suited for an elderly woman who can walk on her own but not long distances. 1 hour max in the heat. My mom would like to get off the boat maybe for an hour or two for something within walking distance is. Or ports that offer air-conditioned tours that aren’t too long. But my mom actually might prefer to stay on board. Also which one has the most tender ports. I read above the Cayman Islands does tenders so do all the other ports in the eastern and western itineraries have pier stops? Also our travel time would be end of August if that plays a role with water or temperature conditions. I figure risk of hurricane is just as great eastern and western, correct?
The one thing that really would interest me would be Cozumel and seeing the Myon ruins. If anyone can come at is this a trip one can do on their own hands a lot cheaper than a Disney port excursion ?
Take my advice with a grain of salt (since we're taking our first cruise ever in February - Eastern on the Fantasy), but - from what you describe, it sounds like the Eastern would suit your traveling party better. We chose Eastern for our first, as we've never seen any ship (let alone a Disney ship), and we want to enjoy it and relax. The extra sea day and relaxed ports of call appealed to us. We'll almost certainly do a Western at some point, but we're trying this first!
From what I've read - you can't go wrong no matter what you try! Happy cruising!