Southern Caribbean--Yes or No

[lklgoodman]

I'm thinking of booking the Jan 19, 2020 Southern Caribbean cruise tomorrow. For those that have done a southern how did you like it? My dd will be in middle school then and if we go on this cruise she would only miss four days of school. We've been on the Wonder twice already, just sailed her this past March, so I already know I love her. I love CC and this cruise doesn't go to CC, so just a little worried I would miss CC. This cruise leaves from San Juan and goes to Aruba, Antigua, Bonaire, and Curacao. we haven't been to any of these islands, we did go to San Juan on our cruise this past March, it was just a port of call though. Also a little concerned about the airfare/hotel costs for San Juan. If we don't do this cruise we'll just go on the Fantasy again, we've done a WC and will be doing EC Jan 2019. We really liked the Fantasy and would be glad to go on her again, but it will probably be doing SWDAS cruises then and we will have done 2 already, and we're not SW fans. So if you did a Southern, would you do it again? And for those who have booked this cruise, why did you choose it?

 

[dcassetta]

I'm thinking of booking the Jan 19, 2020 Southern Caribbean cruise tomorrow. For those that have done a southern how did you like it? My dd will be in middle school then and if we go on this cruise she would only miss four days of school. We've been on the Wonder twice already, just sailed her this past March, so I already know I love her. I love CC and this cruise doesn't go to CC, so just a little worried I would miss CC. This cruise leaves from San Juan and goes to Aruba, Antigua, Bonaire, and Curacao. we haven't been to any of these islands, we did go to San Juan on our cruise this past March, it was just a port of call though. Also a little concerned about the airfare/hotel costs for San Juan. If we don't do this cruise we'll just go on the Fantasy again, we've done a WC and will be doing EC Jan 2019. We really liked the Fantasy and would be glad to go on her again, but it will probably be doing SWDAS cruises then and we will have done 2 already, and we're not SW fans. So if you did a Southern, would you do it again? And for those who have booked this cruise, why did you choose it?

I think that ABC + Antigua itinerary is amazing and would have booked this cruise if the dates for the WBPC did not work for me.

 

[deide71]

I'm thinking of booking the Jan 19, 2020 Southern Caribbean cruise tomorrow. For those that have done a southern how did you like it? My dd will be in middle school then and if we go on this cruise she would only miss four days of school. We've been on the Wonder twice already, just sailed her this past March, so I already know I love her. I love CC and this cruise doesn't go to CC, so just a little worried I would miss CC. This cruise leaves from San Juan and goes to Aruba, Antigua, Bonaire, and Curacao. we haven't been to any of these islands, we did go to San Juan on our cruise this past March, it was just a port of call though. Also a little concerned about the airfare/hotel costs for San Juan. If we don't do this cruise we'll just go on the Fantasy again, we've done a WC and will be doing EC Jan 2019. We really liked the Fantasy and would be glad to go on her again, but it will probably be doing SWDAS cruises then and we will have done 2 already, and we're not SW fans. So if you did a Southern, would you do it again? And for those who have booked this cruise, why did you choose it?

I booked this one today. It will be our third southern Caribbean cruise on Disney. Hands down my favorite Caribbean itineraries are southerns. I absolutely love San Juan, the beaches on Antigua amazing, and it includes the ABC islands. This is going to be a great cruise.

 

[lklgoodman]

I booked this one today. It will be our third southern Caribbean cruise on Disney. Hands down my favorite Caribbean itineraries are southerns. I absolutely love San Juan, the beaches on Antigua amazing, and it includes the ABC islands. This is going to be a great cruise.

Is it easy to find hotels that are close to the port? I've got going to Orlando to PC down. Guess I'll have over a year to figure everything out if we do the Southern.

 

[deide71]

Is it easy to find hotels that are close to the port? I've got going to Orlando to PC down. Guess I'll have over a year to figure everything out if we do the Southern.

Absolutely! We stay here: https://www.elconvento.com/ . It is right in the heart of Old San Juan, about a 15 minutes taxi ride to the Pan American Pier. Great for exploring the forts: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castillo_San_Felipe_del_Morro.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castillo_San_Cristóbal_(San_Juan).


Others enjoy the Condado area for access to the beach. Also a shot taxi ride to the Pan American Pier.

We go to Valley Church Beach in Antigua, about $20 taxi fare round trip, $20 to rent chairs and an umbrella. The beach is stunning and not terribly busy, especially compared to Casaway Cay.

I have not yet been to Aruba, Bonaire or Cuacao but they have been on my list. I have only heard great things.

We first did the Disney Southern itinerary in 2014. I was a bit worried about traveling all the way to San Juan with the kids, but it was pretty painless. We flew into MCO the Friday before the cruise, stayed at the Hyatt and then flew to San Juan in the morning. We were able to spend some time exploring San Juan before boarding and I was so charmed by the city that on our next 2 cruises we flew into San Juan one and then two days before to do more sightseeing. The sense of history there is staggering, the people are friendly, it is very easy to navigate.

 

[surran12]

We’re going on our first Southern Cruise and first Wonder cruise in January and are very excited after 3 Fantasy cruises. From he Northeast at least the airfare was negligibly more but hotels I am finding are quite a lot more and I am thankful I have a lot of Hilton points to use up and we are staying at the Embassey Suites for 2 nights before the cruise

 

[DietCokeMommy]

We're going to book this cruise tomorrow! I’m a big beach person and I love the islands in the southern Caribbean. I’m excited because this cruise will be a whole bunch of new places for us. Bonaire is supposed to have some of the best snorkeling in the world.

I’m kind of meh about Castaway Cay. I like it fine, but it doesn’t blow me away. To me I it’s a beach with food and lots of chairs and umbrellas and lots of people. The Bahamas are not really my favorite location and the water is always cold when we go (we like to vacation sometime January-March to get away from Boston winters). I’m way more excited about snorkeling in Bonaire, which is supposed to be some of the best in the world.

The one thing I’ll really miss about CC is the mango from the buffet. OMG I could eat my weight in it :-D.

 

[Cruising Engineer]

We went on the Wonder to the southern Caribbean in 2016 out of San Juan and loved it. The Fort at San Juan was great, but the city was not a pleasant place to walk around. Lots of half constructed building abandoned and open manholes with plywood covering the opening. The hotel was within half a mile from the port.
The cruise was fantastic and really enjoyed learning about each island we visited (we're into historical/food adventures). Well worth the time and experience. Plan on doing it again within 5 years.

 

[hrhdhd]

I’m way more excited about snorkeling in Bonaire, which is supposed to be some of the best in the world.

You can't go wrong with Woodwind Snorkling in Bonaire. Book soon; they sell out fast.
https://www.woodwindbonaire.com/

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

We did Southern on the Wonder this past January and hands down it was our fav. We have previously done Eastern and Western on the Fantasy as well as Western and Bahamas on the Magic.
Loved San Juan. Loved the ports and scenery. Loved the weather.
Sailing out of Florida in Dec or Jan, it was on the cool side, Bahamas was also cool.
Southern was perfect. They don’t get cool like Florida or Bahamas do in the winter.
Only negative is no castaway cay.
(For some)

 

[GoofyLovingFamily]

We were on the inaugural port stop to Bonaire this year. Hands down, our favorite port in the Caribbean. I say book it. Price is good too.

 

[GoofyLovingFamily]

We flew Southwest Airlines. We booked opening day for them and price was amazing.

 

[DietCokeMommy]

You can't go wrong with Woodwind Snorkling in Bonaire. Book soon; they sell out fast.
https://www.woodwindbonaire.com/

That’s the plan!

 

[deide71]

We’re going on our first Southern Cruise and first Wonder cruise in January and are very excited after 3 Fantasy cruises. From he Northeast at least the airfare was negligibly more but hotels I am finding are quite a lot more and I am thankful I have a lot of Hilton points to use up and we are staying at the Embassey Suites for 2 nights before the cruise

I agree hotels are definitely more expensive than Miami or Port Canaveral, that being said I enjoy exploring San Juan much more than either of those home ports so it is worth it to me.

 

[deide71]

You can't go wrong with Woodwind Snorkling in Bonaire. Book soon; they sell out fast.
https://www.woodwindbonaire.com/

Thanks for the tip! I will look into them!

 

[AquaDame]

This will be our fourth Southern... so you could say we enjoy them a little! We love the food and people of San Juan - very friendly and feels kind of pirate-y to walk the cobbles and see the forts and architecture in Old San Juan. Such good rum to be had in the stores and on excursions, the snorkeling is great and weather has always been lovely in January - especially compared to home. We were on the inaugural Bonaire cruise this year also and had a OK time snorkeling (though it was a bust - we went through Disney and all the spots were taken for boats so we had to go to plan D before we found a really mediocre spot). My husband immediately said we need to try again. I loved how different the terrain is, kind of deserty with cactuses and flora that's very different from many of the other islands. Aruba we rented a car and had a blast driving all around the island, wandering through caves, stopping at various beaches and spots for food and rum. We ended up having a very late night there - I think all aboard was 11:45pm - so we got to watch the sunset and have a really nice dinner on the island. I want to go to Curacao too so this cruise is a no brainer for us!

 

[WanderlustNZ]

My family are cruising this January and our initial plan was to cruise on the Fantasy doing a Western with a Star Wars day at Sea. We love the Fantasy, love Star Wars, love Castaway Cay, but sadly didn’t love the price.

After much research and changing my mind multiple times, we are now doing a 2 week Southern Caribbean with Celebrity (another company we really like). The fact that it was a similar price, yet twice as long, obviously played a roll when deciding to book. However, the biggest reason was the ports. Of all the popular Caribbean ports, there really aren’t any that look as appealing to me as the Southern ones - they look stunning.

As mentioned, the further South you go, the warmer it gets, which is appealing cruising in January. Plus, while Castaway Cay is gorgeous, it offers little in the form of experiencing a different culture or way of life. While I would love to go back one day, I also think there’s something lovely about experiencing places you haven’t already been.

So, yes, my vote is for the Southern (even though I’m still 3 months from experiencing it for myself).

 

[JeffSongster]

I did the Southern Caribbean a couple of years ago. I loved the cruise itself, but, felt it was too busy. I enjoy a couple of sea days during my cruise. My Southern had 6 ports and 1 Sea Day. We also risked it and flew in the morning of the cruise and flew out the day we arrived back. Airfare wasn't terrible, we booked with Southwest.

 

[dakotix]

Sounds like fun

 

[DCLCrazy64622]

I'm thinking of booking the Jan 19, 2020 Southern Caribbean cruise tomorrow. For those that have done a southern how did you like it? My dd will be in middle school then and if we go on this cruise she would only miss four days of school. We've been on the Wonder twice already, just sailed her this past March, so I already know I love her. I love CC and this cruise doesn't go to CC, so just a little worried I would miss CC. This cruise leaves from San Juan and goes to Aruba, Antigua, Bonaire, and Curacao. we haven't been to any of these islands, we did go to San Juan on our cruise this past March, it was just a port of call though. Also a little concerned about the airfare/hotel costs for San Juan. If we don't do this cruise we'll just go on the Fantasy again, we've done a WC and will be doing EC Jan 2019. We really liked the Fantasy and would be glad to go on her again, but it will probably be doing SWDAS cruises then and we will have done 2 already, and we're not SW fans. So if you did a Southern, would you do it again? And for those who have booked this cruise, why did you choose it?

The ABC islands are absolutely beautiful and completely different from the Bahamas area. Definitely do it. You won’t regret it. Especially with Bonaire.