West vs east cruise 7 night

[holula]

Unfortunate truth! I would love it if they took one of the ships and had it do alternating 6-day and 8-day cruises. Would allow them to mix in more ports that are a bit further away on those 8-day ones.

Me too. Or throw in an odd 9 day cruise and do a 9/5 instead of a 5/5/4 a couple of times a year (not in peak summer.)

 

[auntlynne]

This is where you have to figure out what you would do in the specific ports (if you are a port person, not a stay onboard). The ship is the same.

I pick Eastern.

I was in St Thomas twice last year for port stops. Two cruise lines. Same exact excursion. St John Beach Break. You get on a ferry at the ship, 45 minute ride. Take a safari taxi (benches under a cover in the back of a pickup), then have 90 minutes in warm, mild, water, with views of the Virgin Islands. Shower, change and head back to the ship in St Thomas. I then had time to have a tasty burger and fries lunch at Tap & Still (think 5Guys) and get back onboard. View on the way to the beach, overlooking Trunk Bay. It’s the Virgin Islands National Park.




You can visit one of several very nice beaches on St Thomas. I have my favorites, but can recommend so many depending on what the desired experience is. And there are boat excursions.

The other stop is Tortola, British Virgin Islands; is also mainly about beaches. Typically, Jost Van Dyke or The Baths (both require a water transfer) or Cane Garden Beach (reachable by taxi) or some others.

I am a fan of the water and sandy beaches in both the Bahamas and the Virgin Islands, so will pick these. I am not a lie on the beach type. Ninety minutes of sun and water are enough for me. Don’t want to get that waterlogged feeling.

Neither of these are going to provide the waterfalls, horseback riding, zip lines, Stingrays, Mayan ruins … found in the a western Caribbean.

Cozumel is famous for its dive sites. But many cruisers don’t venture off to those. There are several day / beach resorts with a pool, sandy beach, possibly food and drink inclusive. Different levels of calm or party to meet varying desire.

I tried to get to Paradise Island (Cozumel) but had to switch due to the possibility of rough seas at the end of the day. It’s essentially a beach day facility. So I went to Chankanaab Beach Park. I wasn’t fond of its sand sitting atop rocky land, with access to water principally down stone steps. I like a sandy access.

Grand Cayman is famous for boat trips to swim with stingrays, )often combined with snorkeling), rum factory tours, a turtle farm, Hell - a jagged rock formation area, and Seven Mile Beach.

…and it is a tender port. Subject to cancellation if the seas are choppy. Which can make your port days fewer. Not always, but a possibility.

Jamaica - I just won’t go there. I got off the ship and saw the secure port area. And I have been to Honduras seven week-long trips - even when they were having a kidnapping a day.

Obviously, There can be other things, like private boat charters, dining, cultural… that’s for others to recommend or you to discover. I went with my experience and commonly reported activities.

I have vacationed in the USVI and have an affinity for them.

As for a shortened day at Castaway: the beaches are empty the last hour or longer, so that is just a matter of preference for morning, not the number of hours. If they really wanted all the hours, the guests could stay on the island.

Know yourself, think about your days in various ports and look to see if the week works for you - and the price. Or maybe a specific cabin.

For many, it is six of one, half a dozen of another. And, luckily for many of us, it eventually is a cruise in both areas.

Happy cruising, whatever you pick.

 

[asgur5]

This is where you have to figure out what you would do in the specific ports (if you are a port person, not a stay onboard). The ship is the same.

I pick Eastern.

I was in St Thomas twice last year for port stops. Two cruise lines. Same exact excursion. St John Beach Break. You get on a ferry at the ship, 45 minute ride. Take a safari taxi (benches under a cover in the back of a pickup), then have 90 minutes in warm, mild, water, with views of the Virgin Islands. Shower, change and head back to the ship in St Thomas. I then had time to have a tasty burger and fries lunch at Tap & Still (think 5Guys) and get back onboard. View on the way to the beach, overlooking Trunk Bay. It’s the Virgin Islands National Park.


View attachment 902104

You can visit one of several very nice beaches on St Thomas. I have my favorites, but can recommend so many depending on what the desired experience is. And there are boat excursions.

The other stop is Tortola, British Virgin Islands; is also mainly about beaches. Typically, Jost Van Dyke or The Baths (both require a water transfer) or Cane Garden Beach (reachable by taxi) or some others.

I am a fan of the water and sandy beaches in both the Bahamas and the Virgin Islands, so will pick these. I am not a lie on the beach type. Ninety minutes of sun and water are enough for me. Don’t want to get that waterlogged feeling.

Neither of these are going to provide the waterfalls, horseback riding, zip lines, Stingrays, Mayan ruins … found in the a western Caribbean.

Cozumel is famous for its dive sites. But many cruisers don’t venture off to those. There are several day / beach resorts with a pool, sandy beach, possibly food and drink inclusive. Different levels of calm or party to meet varying desire.

I tried to get to Paradise Island (Cozumel) but had to switch due to the possibility of rough seas at the end of the day. It’s essentially a beach day facility. So I went to Chankanaab Beach Park. I wasn’t fond of its sand sitting atop rocky land, with access to water principally down stone steps. I like a sandy access.

Grand Cayman is famous for boat trips to swim with stingrays, )often combined with snorkeling), rum factory tours, a turtle farm, Hell - a jagged rock formation area, and Seven Mile Beach.

…and it is a tender port. Subject to cancellation if the seas are choppy. Which can make your port days fewer. Not always, but a possibility.

Jamaica - I just won’t go there. I got off the ship and saw the secure port area. And I have been to Honduras seven week-long trips - even when they were having a kidnapping a day.

Obviously, There can be other things, like private boat charters, dining, cultural… that’s for others to recommend or you to discover. I went with my experience and commonly reported activities.

I have vacationed in the USVI and have an affinity for them.

As for a shortened day at Castaway: the beaches are empty the last hour or longer, so that is just a matter of preference for morning, not the number of hours. If they really wanted all the hours, the guests could stay on the island.

Know yourself, think about your days in various ports and look to see if the week works for you - and the price. Or maybe a specific cabin.

For many, it is six of one, half a dozen of another. And, luckily for many of us, it eventually is a cruise in both areas.

Happy cruising, whatever you pick.

Thanks great post.

 

[sponica]

Is the extra sea day really all that great? On a 7 day trip it almost seems like a slight negative to me as you can stay on the ship on one of the western port days giving you the same amount of ship days as the eastern except on that port day you stay on the ship the ship is far less full giving you a day with lots of space in the pool areas. Sure its always nicer when the ship is moving but you will get plenty of that on either trip.

On a eastern trip it feels like you will never get any time where the ships are empty because the lack of port days. If i did eastern i would get off at all ports. Im assuming thats what most people do?

Are the nice beaches closer to port in the eastern trip vs the western trip?

I just have absolutely zero interest in the western ports. They just don't speak to me.

 

[CaseyCruiser]

I just have absolutely zero interest in the western ports. They just don't speak to me.

Agree

 

[kiford]

It really depends on your own personal preferences. We aren't beach people so we don't care about that.

We've been to all or most of those ports before and sometimes don't bother to get off or only get off and wander around for a very short period of time. So while we may get to be on the ship when it's less busy, we still like the extra day at sea. I want to sit and watch the water, and there are usually slightly more activities than on a port day.

In general, which one we do is typically driven by schedule rather than itinerary especially since we're fine with either one even if we do prefer an extra day at sea.

 

[Dug720]

I’ll enjoy a sea day on the ship with way less people on the Western too. This isn’t a popular opinion though!

Unless you're talking about Falmouth. Pretty sure that's on the scale of Nassau for people staying on board.

 

[starvenger]

I just have absolutely zero interest in the western ports. They just don't speak to me.

They are basically beach days with 1 or 2 excursions of interest in each port. Nothing wrong with that, but it does get repetitive.

 

[Erica1016]

Is the extra sea day really all that great? On a 7 day trip it almost seems like a slight negative to me as you can stay on the ship on one of the western port days giving you the same amount of ship days as the eastern except on that port day you stay on the ship the ship is far less full giving you a day with lots of space in the pool areas. Sure its always nicer when the ship is moving but you will get plenty of that on either trip.

I think it depends on what you enjoy doing. We love sea days becuase there are lots of activities we like (trivia, etc). While the ship is quieter on a port day, there are also fewer activities scheduled.

We enjoy the pool and hot tubs, but are not sit around the pool all day type of people. So, we go and enjoy the pools early in the morning when they're empty (port days and sea days).

We also aren't big on excusions. We typically get off and walk around a bit, but that's about all. So for us the Eastern is great. We can enjoy the extra sea day and aren't bothered that St. Thomas is a shorter port day.

 

[auntlynne]

Unless you're talking about Falmouth. Pretty sure that's on the scale of Nassau for people staying on board.

That (Falmouth) is exactly the Jamaica stop I treated like most of my recent Nassau stops. … Except I have gone in to town in Nassau + Atlantis twice and Blue Lagoon. I will get off if in Nassau again - just to see what the new port area looks like.

 

[asgur5]

I just have absolutely zero interest in the western ports. They just don't speak to me.

So what do you enjoy doing at the eastern ports?

 

[ddonner]

We actually prefer Western. We turn Jamaica into a "sea day" by staying onboard. For us, the more hours at Castaway Cay, the better!

 

[juxtapose]

I did Eastern as a teen many years ago and while I loved the beaches at the ports, I got extremely seasick on the 2 days down (even without rough seas) so we are doing Western next year so I can get off the ship more if I'm seasick. I'd love to do an Eastern cruise but only if it spent 4-5 days down at ports there instead of just 2.

 

[jwalk03]

I did Eastern as a teen many years ago and while I loved the beaches at the ports, I got extremely seasick on the 2 days down (even without rough seas) so we are doing Western next year so I can get off the ship more if I'm seasick. I'd love to do an Eastern cruise but only if it spent 4-5 days down at ports there instead of just 2.

I know Disney doesn't offer it very often, but we did a 7-day Carnival Cruise from San Juan that visited St. Thomas, Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, and St. Maarten and it was fantastic! Easily one of my favorite cruises ever, even though it was quite busy with only 1 sea day.

 

[asgur5]

Are there tours that enable you to spend a good 4 hours at the islands like st johns when porting in st thomas? Either with disney or local providers? All the tours im looking at seem to be about 4-4.5 hours but after you catch ferries and other transportation it seems like you only get 2 hours or less to actually enjoy these amazing looking places. That simply is not enough time.

 

[auntlynne]

Are there tours that enable you to spend a good 4 hours at the islands like st johns when porting in st thomas? Either with disney or local providers? All the tours im looking at seem to be about 4-4.5 hours but after you catch ferries and other transportation it seems like you only get 2 hours or less to actually enjoy these amazing looking places. That simply is not enough time.

I found a couple that are 4 hours once you get to St John. If you are good at grabbing a taxi and catching a scheduled ferry on your own, it could make good use of a port visit if 8:45 - 3:45.

The challenge is timing for the hourly ferry departure.

And also what you are wishing to see. For a beach lover, this one gives you a variety.

But if you want to see the sugar mill ruins, hike some trails, or go up a mountain to see some sights, that might work better if you could arrange a taxi tour! Perhaps.

Any focus for your adventure?

Here’s an example from Viator:




Continued…

 

[auntlynne]

The dock Disney uses (West Indies Co, WICO) is not one if the pick up locations. You would need to go to the other side of the harbor for Crown Bay. Not far, but an additional step.

…Continued…

 

[auntlynne]

Check this out. Four hour tour once on the island. Flat rate for group of 1-8. On website, it shows as $450. On TripAdvisor, more expensive. Good reviews. Again, get your self to Red Hook for ferry crossing to Cruz Bay. The ferry is not long, but timing is the key. Miss the boat, you wait until next one.

https://www.stjohnislandtours.com/#4hourtour

 

[sponica]

So what do you enjoy doing at the eastern ports?

We haven't done the eastern itinerary yet, I just have absolutely no interest in cozumel or cayman or falmouth. They aren't destinations I would choose to fly to, whereas Tortola and St Thomas are.