Western or Eastern?

[Luv2trav]

I am sure this has been discussed before but which is better and why you do you like one more than the other? We are planning on one this July and can't decide. Here are the ports for this summer and of course both stop at Castaway Cay.

Western Ports-Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Jamaica
Eastern Ports-Tortola, St Thomas

Thank you.

 

[MUN]

We've done both, but the ports have changed since our cruises. Our WC cruise had Costa Maya instead of Jamaica, and our EC cruise had St. Maarten instead of Tortola. Costa Maya was our least favorite port, so by swapping Jamaica for Costa Maya I think DCL strengthed the WC cruises. I don't think you can go wrong with either.

MUN

 

[wilma-bride]

I preferred the itinerary (spread of sea days and ports) for the Eastern but St Maarten was our favourite stop, which has been replaced with Tortola now. I didn't enjoy our Western as much but I think that was more to do with having main dining and everything feeling a bit rushed. The ports were closer together/felt too crammed in and I didn't like not having the sea days in the middle. I also did not really like Costa Maya or Cozumel personally.

 

[Luv2trav]

I kinda like the 2 seas days to start with on the Eastern cruise. This will be our first cruise and I like the idea of having 2 days to feel out the ship before adding in Ports. Such a hard decision.

 

[MUN]

I kinda like the 2 seas days to start with on the Eastern cruise. This will be our first cruise and I like the idea of having 2 days to feel out the ship before adding in Ports. Such a hard decision.

Do them both.

 

[Sytrace]

We have done both and also had Costa Maya as a port of call before it was replaced with Jamaica.
We like the St. Thomas/Tortola run the most due to more sea days. But if they could put Jamaica, Tortola and St. Thomas in one cruise, I would be a happy Mama.

Not that fond of Mexico and Caymans anymore, we usually just stay onboard and have some fun on the Aquaduck. We are going back to Tortola and St. Thomas in September (we were there in January for the first time)

Honestly, either route is wonderful and a great vacation. Have a wonderful cruise whichever you decide on. Or do both. lol

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

I am sure this has been discussed before but which is better and why you do you like one more than the other? We are planning on one this July and can't decide. Here are the ports for this summer and of course both stop at Castaway Cay.

Western Ports-Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Jamaica
Eastern Ports-Tortola, St Thomas

Thank you.

We be done both but with St Maarten instead of Tortola. We loved both but for slightly different reasons.

We all thought the Eastern was a more relaxed, sleepy casual feel. It started that way because of the 2 sea days.

The western took on a more adventurous, thrill seeking feel because there was more to do in the excursion area for us.

That's just my experience. I don't think either way you'll regret it.

 

[wjs3]

I like them both, but if I had to pick one, I'd do Eastern. As mentioned above, I also like the 2 days at Sea to start the cruise which usually helps me and my family settle in and enjoy the ship a bit more.

All the stops have cool stuff to do/things to see and various levels of culture shock (the good kind) in my opinion. I think that's a matter of preference.

I also agree with the poster above who says "do them both!"

 

[hoffman1]

We have done both and prefer the Western.
In fact, we have another Western booked for December!

 

[Muskegon78]

We have done both (our Western was Key West instead of Jamaica, on the Magic). I think our next one would be Western, I would rather have and extra port than and extra sea day

 

[Jkpark]

We be done both but with St Maarten instead of Tortola. We loved both but for slightly different reasons.

We all thought the Eastern was a more relaxed, sleepy casual feel. It started that way because of the 2 sea days.

The western took on a more adventurous, thrill seeking feel because there was more to do in the excursion area for us.

That's just my experience. I don't think either way you'll regret it.

This was us, too. We loved St Maarten and loved having an extra sea day. Our excursions were more beach day/sight seeing/snorkel.

On the western we ziplined in Jamaica and did the Dolphin excursion in Cozumel (Royal Swim - amazing!) - both fun and thrilling for the whole family. We stayed on the ship the morning of Grand Cayman to enjoy the ship a bit more.

One advantage if this is your first cruise, more sea days = more possible times to book Palo brunch. But seriously - you can't go wrong.

 

[baileyfamily]

I guess we're the opposite of most people here. I wish DCL would do more Mexican ports. My family loved doing the historical and cultural excursions there when we went to Mexico (Cozumel and Progresso) with other cruise lines. A lot of other Caribbean ports seem to lack those types of excursions, and while we love water sports, they're kind of all the same after a while.

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

Eastern! We really were not fans of Cozumel at all and for GC, we just stayed on board to enjoy alternative activities and had much more fun that way! We do the same for Nassau and a few other ports that we have learned we don't like! LOL

 

[Endflag]

We did the western itinerary this past January so it did not include Jamaica unfortunately. But we enjoyed both Cozumel and Grand Cayman immensely. Cozumel was much more enjoyable for us than Nassau ever has been. Hopefully the next time we are back we will be able to explore more and it will not rain the entire time we are in port.

 

[Jestocost]

Have done the older Eastern/Western itineraries a few times each and, in general, prefer the Eastern ports and the additional sea days. We're doing the Tortola stop for the first time next week and Jamaica in October, however!

 

[Muskegon78]

We

Have done the older Eastern/Western itineraries a few times each and, in general, prefer the Eastern ports and the additional sea days. We're doing the Tortola stop for the first time next week and Jamaica in October, however!

We were just on that last week. let me know if you have any questions before you leave