Which of the following itineraries would be best for my summer cruise?

June 3, 2007 2:39 PM

Which of the following itineraries would be best for my summer cruise?

They're pretty similiar, but since I know very little about any of these places I thought I'd ask for advice.

My four options are:

Miami, Florida; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Philipsburg, St. Maarten; Labadee, Haiti; Miami, Florida

Miami, Florida; Labadee, Haiti; Montego Bay, Jamaica; George Town, Grand Cayman; Cozumel, Mexico; Miami, Florida

Miami, Florida; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas; Philipsburg, St. Maarten; Miami, Florida

Miami, Florida; Labadee, Haiti; Ocho Rios, Jamaica; George Town, Grand Cayman; Cozumel, Mexico; Miami, Florida

posted by nimkip to travel & transportation (7 comments total)

Personally I would recommend either one that stops in Grand Cayman. My wife and I were on a cruise that stopped there last year and absolutely fell in love with the place. Oh, and as you're going in a summer months make sure to get travel insurance. Don't want a hurricane ruining your fun and wasting your money.
posted by tundro at 2:53 PM on June 3, 2007

My vote is for the Grand Cayman, too. I don't love Cozumel but you can take a 45 min ferry over to Playa del Carmen for a few dollars.
But if shopping for good buys on jewelry is your thing the St Thomas-St. Maarten ones is a good bet although Playa del Carmen has nice shopping for silver and European shops.
posted by beccaj at 3:07 PM on June 3, 2007

It'd help to know what you like--are you into diving or snorkelling? seeing nature but staying dry? shopping? displays of local culture? Different ports of call are better for different things usually.
posted by jacquilynne at 3:11 PM on June 3, 2007

The fourth cruise is the one I would take. That sounds like the Royal Caribbean Mariner of the Seas West Caribbean cruise. Excellent boat and itinerary.

All are obviously good, but I really the stops on the fourth itinerary.
posted by whoisjustrin at 4:03 PM on June 3, 2007

It depends on what you like to do. If you love to shop, then St. Thomas and Grand Cayman are probably the best ports on the list (IMO). If you love the idea of doing beachy stuff, then I'd probably go with #3 or #4 - Cozumel is fantastic for laying around drinking fruity frozen drinks for hours on end; Ocho Rios has great snorkeling and the Dunns River Falls is a must; Grand Cayman has stingray excursions; St. Thomas is great on its own, but you can also take a ferry to St. John, which is stunning and has fun snorkeling (this is definitely a Must See Before You Die island!).

St. Maarten is pretty, but I am never blown away when I visit. The shopping is second-rate compared to St. Thomas, and the beach isn't amazing compared to other ports.
posted by gatorae at 6:15 PM on June 3, 2007

Oh, and tundro's advice about travel insurance bears repeating - it is an absolute MUST during hurricane season, especially if you are leaving out of Miami.
posted by gatorae at 6:17 PM on June 3, 2007

I liked Cozumel, but all I did there was dive, and I could have done that in the Caymans.

I loved Grand Cayman. I would have traded most of the rest of my trip to stay there. If you like to get wet, snorkeling and diving there is great. I also went on a little boat excursion out to visit the stingrays (sorry, there are popups on that site) and they were wonderful, and ate squidbits right from my hands. I've never been a fan of "purchased experiences", but this was one of the best places I've been. If you book with an individual operator (instead of through your ship) make sure you take one scheduled to return WELL before your curfew, because the ship won't wait for you if you're late.

Other stuff you can do there include visiting the sea turtle hatchery, going for rum cake, or shopping for cheap presents in the little town of Hell. There are fine jewelry stores as well.

I didn't really find Ocho Rios, Jamaica to be as much fun. The organized outings were very crowded (there were a couple of other ships in port) and those from my group who went felt rushed to get through. That included climbing the waterfall and a mountain biking excursion. I took a cab to a nice beach away from the port and hung out with a hermit crab and a lot of fish.

I don't know that I would allow this to influence my choice of destination, but if I did end up in St. Maarten, I would make it a priority to go sunbathe on Sunset Beach at the end of the heavy jet runway and take pictures of the 747s as they approach.
posted by Sallyfur at 9:41 PM on June 3, 2007