Southern - Which Itenirary?

[rwthompson82]

Hi All,

We are looking at the January 19, 2020 or January 26, 2020 Southern Caribbean cruise out of San Juan.

Jan 19 is Antigua, Bonaire, Aruba, Curacao
Jan 26 is Antigua, St. Maarten, Martinique, Barbados, St. Lucia

Jan 26 is a little bit cheaper...but not enough to make a difference. I do like than Jan 19 has MLK day... I also like than Jan 26 has an extra port.

However, I am mostly interested in the overall experience, understanding I can't go wrong with either. Is there anything unforgettable on one that would not have an equal at the other? Would either be better for kids (8 and 5)?

I have a deposit on both, but we are planning to re-shop when we are sailing this January.

Thanks!

 

[dcassetta]

Hi All,

We are looking at the January 19, 2020 or January 26, 2020 Southern Caribbean cruise out of San Juan.

Jan 19 is Antigua, Bonaire, Aruba, Curacao
Jan 26 is Antigua, St. Maarten, Martinique, Barbados, St. Lucia

Jan 26 is a little bit cheaper...but not enough to make a difference. I do like than Jan 19 has MLK day... I also like than Jan 26 has an extra port.

However, I am mostly interested in the overall experience, understanding I can't go wrong with either. Is there anything unforgettable on one that would not have an equal at the other? Would either be better for kids (8 and 5)?

I have a deposit on both, but we are planning to re-shop when we are sailing this January.

Thanks!

Bonaire is amazing. I would choose the 1/19 just for that.

 

[DCLCrazy64622]

Hi All,

We are looking at the January 19, 2020 or January 26, 2020 Southern Caribbean cruise out of San Juan.

Jan 19 is Antigua, Bonaire, Aruba, Curacao
Jan 26 is Antigua, St. Maarten, Martinique, Barbados, St. Lucia

Jan 26 is a little bit cheaper...but not enough to make a difference. I do like than Jan 19 has MLK day... I also like than Jan 26 has an extra port.

However, I am mostly interested in the overall experience, understanding I can't go wrong with either. Is there anything unforgettable on one that would not have an equal at the other? Would either be better for kids (8 and 5)?

I have a deposit on both, but we are planning to re-shop when we are sailing this January.

Thanks!

Bonaire all day long!

 

[rwthompson82]

Bonaire is amazing. I would choose the 1/19 just for that.

Bonaire all day long!

Thanks both for the positive feedback!

@dcassetta... Are you going on the Disney Magic Western out of Miami on Jan 20? (Noticed your countdown)... we will be on that cruise as well.

 

[dcassetta]

Thanks both for the positive feedback!

@dcassetta... Are you going on the Disney Magic Western out of Miami on Jan 20? (Noticed your countdown)... we will be on that cruise as well.

Yup!

 

[Chemist]

I was unimpressed with Aruba. We may have chosen the wrong beach, though. We just did the Disney excursion.

We had an amazing day sailing in Barbados.
(We went with Calypso cruises and had a wonderful time. They were great with our kids.)

Martinique was okay. We did the banana plantation tour. It was just okay for me, but my kids were fully engaged the whole time. It was a plus for them.
They were too young for mangrove kayaking (and it was too far away to do as an independent excursion) and the bat cave snorkeling was full.

 

[dad of 3 addicted to DCL]

We had an amazing day sailing in Barbados.
(We went with Calypso cruises and had a wonderful time. They were great with our kids.)

We're doing the 11 night southern this summer and I saw this. What was wonderful? Was the food good? How many snorkeling spots did you swim on and what types? TIA

 

[DietCokeMommy]

We’re booked on the 1/19/20 cruise. At one point we toyed with the idea of doing both of those cruises but decided against it. We went to both Barbados and St. Lucia on our honeymoon. We loved Barbados and didn’t like St. Lucia. I started researching the islands on that cruise and felt meh about all of them except Barbados, where we planned to do the same catamaran and snorkel we did in our honeymoon. The islands on the 1/19 cruise really excited me though. Bonaire is supposed to have world class snorkeling and Aruba and Curaçao look amazing.

I was unimpressed with Aruba. We may have chosen the wrong beach, though. We just did the Disney excursion.

What beach did you go to?

 

[Chemist]

We're doing the 11 night southern this summer and I saw this. What was wonderful? Was the food good? How many snorkeling spots did you swim on and what types? TIA

We did that cruise last summer. Our day with Calypso was the best. Our 5 and 10 year old boys were very welcomed. The food was excellent. Tons of appetizers, huge tray of lasagne.

We snorkeled with the turtles and at a shipwreck. Sailed awhile to a beach and swam ashore. Others just swam.

Nice sail back.

There were three families on board, nice group.

Amazing day.

 

[Chemist]

We’re booked on the 1/19/20 cruise. At one point we toyed with the idea of doing both of those cruises but decided against it. We went to both Barbados and St. Lucia on our honeymoon. We loved Barbados and didn’t like St. Lucia. I started researching the islands on that cruise and felt meh about all of them except Barbados, where we planned to do the same catamaran and snorkel we did in our honeymoon. The islands on the 1/19 cruise really excited me though. Bonaire is supposed to have world class snorkeling and Aruba and Curaçao look amazing.

What beach did you go to?

Arashi. Disney excursion. Beach was rocky. Food was nasty. Whole area was ugly desert.

Maybe we would have enjoyed another beach more. Appeal of Arashi was that it was out of the hotel zone.

 

[DietCokeMommy]

Arashi. Disney excursion. Beach was rocky. Food was nasty. Whole area was ugly desert.

Maybe we would have enjoyed another beach more. Appeal of Arashi was that it was out of the hotel zone.

Ah, I’ve heard Arashi is not great. I’m thinking we’ll just lean in to the hotel area thing and go to Eagle or Palm Beach.

 

[rwthompson82]

We’re booked on the 1/19/20 cruise. At one point we toyed with the idea of doing both of those cruises but decided against it. We went to both Barbados and St. Lucia on our honeymoon. We loved Barbados and didn’t like St. Lucia. I started researching the islands on that cruise and felt meh about all of them except Barbados, where we planned to do the same catamaran and snorkel we did in our honeymoon. The islands on the 1/19 cruise really excited me though. Bonaire is supposed to have world class snorkeling and Aruba and Curaçao look amazing.

What beach did you go to?

I never considered B2B... it sounded great until I remembered my children. Ha.

We are leaning towards 1/19. I don’t know why this matters, but I also think it will be cool being 20 miles or so from South America.

The 11:45pm on board time in Aruba is great too, as we should be able to do something really great that day without rushing off of the ship or being squeezed for time on shore.

 

[GoofyLovingFamily]

We went to DCL’s first port stop in Bonaire. It was our favorite Caribbean port by far. I really wanted to book that cruise to go again but we have 3 other DCL booked.

 

[surran12]

We went to DCL’s first port stop in Bonaire. It was our favorite Caribbean port by far. I really wanted to book that cruise to go again but we have 3 other DCL booked.

Sorry to slightly hijack the thread but have seen all the positive posts regarding Bonaire and I will be in Bonaire his January and am curious what, if anything, is not to be missed? Was thinking of renting some golf carts and touring around but would appreciate any and all advise you might have.

 

[GoofyLovingFamily]

Sorry to slightly hijack the thread but have seen all the positive posts regarding Bonaire and I will be in Bonaire his January and am curious what, if anything, is not to be missed? Was thinking of renting some golf carts and touring around but would appreciate any and all advise you might have.

We did the golf carts. It was great. They let us tour on our own pace. Bonaire Cruises give you a map. We drove around awhile then returned to the ship for lunch. They let us park near the ship. We went back out after we ate. The highlights are on the map. I wish we had gone to Donkey Sanctuary based on other cruisers pics and reviews.

 

[bobbiwoz]

I think I would pick the first because it has one less port, and that’s an extra day to enjoy the ship. I do prefer the Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao islands for snorkeling.

 

[kammom18]

Ah, I’ve heard Arashi is not great. I’m thinking we’ll just lean in to the hotel area thing and go to Eagle or Palm Beach.

Eagle Beach is EVERYTHING!!!

 

[kammom18]

We did the golf carts. It was great. They let us tour on our own pace. Bonaire Cruises give you a map. We drove around awhile then returned to the ship for lunch. They let us park near the ship. We went back out after we ate. The highlights are on the map. I wish we had gone to Donkey Sanctuary based on other cruisers pics and reviews.

We did the Donkey Sanctuary in Aruba and it was nice until I got kicked in the butt by one. It was quite funny but it stunned me because I wasn’t expecting it. They will follow you around begging for food so just be aware.

 

[DietCokeMommy]

Eagle Beach is EVERYTHING!!!

I keep flip flopping between Eagle and Palm.

 

[Chrissy-Mickey]

We're looking at the January 26, 2020.
Seems more varied, or as varied as you can get with Caribbean islands. The ABC islands hold no interest for us (been to Aruba myself, and family has been to all three).