How to choose Eastern or Western

[Kajudy]

We have booked the Eastern cruise for Dec 13, but now are wondering about the Western.... how do you decide which one to do??? I have read some posts saying St. Maarten isn't all that great... the Dolphin encounter excursion on the Western sounds really neat... Decisions, decisions!!!

We have 4 kids, ages 3, 5, 8, 12... the woman I spoke with at DCL when making reservations said that the Eastern would be more relaxing because of the fewer stops, but I am not sure we would be doing a whole lot of extra stuff anyhow.

Any words of wisdom from those of you who have experienced both??

Thanks!

Karen

 

[FantasticDisFamily]

We printed out the itineraries, excursions, and navigators for both and then each member of the family went through marking those items that they considered a "must do" or a "this would be way cool to do". For us the Western turned out to have more must do and way cool to do items. So we went Western. It also helped that Key West was one of those places we'd like to visit sometime on our list! So we could take care of two "vacation" options with one trip so to speak.

You, DH & the two older kids might consider marking the itineraries as a way to help deciding.

Deb

 

[Favorite Auntie]

I like the Eastern because there is one more day at sea. Those days are so relaxing! I also happen to love St Marten and would be upset if they dropped it. If you want more time on the ship - do the Eastern, if you are the type of person that will be off the ship the minute it is cleared and ready to go - do the Western.

 

[AnnMorin]

My vote is Eastern.. we have done both and are contemplating doing a southern (unfortunately other line unless Disney expands its ports of call) next year. I prefer the Eastern. The western is nice especially grand cayman- the stingrays are amazing and the water is just picture perfect. however, with kids especially key west is a waste (not very kid friendly-fun for adults though) and I prefer the extra day at sea, I felt very rushed having a port the day after I got on. Also in my opinion the Eastern seems more tropical and more like an adventure, it takes two days to get to the first port and you can see the water change from dark to light blue as you get farter southeast, the climate change is just so neat, with key west you are in a warm climate immediately. I would do the western again but much prefer the east.