Quote:
Originally Posted by CrushLive
Anyone else got cruise tips and info?
Looking into doing the Caribbean around January.
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Advice about the Caribbean:
Ports of call... Nassau, Bahamas - unless your a shopaholic, skip it. Not much to do but shop and hit the club overnight. There's a few water-related excursions that might be cool, but in comparison to the rest of the Caribbean, I wouldn't recommend it. The Atlantis Resort is probably the most exciting thing there, but everything related to it is a bit pricey.
Freeport, Bahamas - lots of history, but that's about it. I never bothered to explore the few times I was there... you have to take a shuttle from the boat to get anywhere and you aren't there very long.
Grand Cayman - awesome island! Lots of water sport excursions... some of the best snorkeling in the world (some of which you can do for free). Stingray City is really cool. Nice little shops for souvenirs and affordable restaurants and bars. Friendly people as well.
Grand Turk (Turks and Caicos) - Nothing to do here besides swim, snorkel and scuba. Wild horses still roam the island which is kinda cool. It's very pretty, just not very developed. Mind you, I was there before it was devastated by a series of hurricanes a few years ago. The island was shut down to tourism for about 9 months... so hopefully things are back to "normal" now.
Jamaica - I've only been to Ocho Rios and as I stated above, the locals can be very annoying and beligerant. The island itself is BEAUTIFUL. But if you're not in a tourist resort you will be bothered to buy EVERYTHING... handmade crafts (usually not handmade), rent a chair on the beach, weed, coke, mushrooms, EVERYTHING. I've had friends of people I worked with on the ship who took the wrong cab held at knife point and robbed then left in some random location on the island to find his way back to the ship. As is the case in any vacation town, you just have to be careful and stay in a group. The excursions in Jamaica are gorgeous... especially Dunn's River Falls (which is always crowded) and the Blue Hole (less known, but a lovely hike through the jungle with multiple swimming holes and dive points).
Cozumel, Mexico - LOVE this island. Very touristy, but plenty to do... food, bars, mopeds (a little dangerous), snorkeling, scuba, catamarans, shopping... basically anything you can think of doing on a typical tropical vacation, you can do here.
Progresso, Mexico - a lot like Cozumel but on the mainland with more historical excursions to check out. I've never been there myself, but I've heard good things.
Key West - I know you and you've been to Key West and you love it.
Other Caribbean ports I haven't been to but heard lots about
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San Juan - BEAUTIFUL... a favorite among ship employees
St. Martin - also highly recommended
Belize - highly recommended
Panama - highly recommended
As for cruise lines... as I mentioned, I worked for Carnival so it's the only line I've been on, but I worked with dozens of people who've worked and cruised on multiple lines as well as guests who are always comparing the cruise lines. Basically:
Carnival: set up to be affordable, but you pay for what you get (see what I did there?) Ships generally only go to major ports. Majority of guests on most Carnival ships are going to be a bit younger and rowdier (which you may be into)
Princess: A lot like Carnival in atmosphere, but a little more elite in that they're a little more expensive and go to some more interesting ports and offer more extensive cruises. If/when I go back to working on ships, this is probably the line I'll go back to.
Royal Caribbean: One of the most popular lines for a reason. They offer you a lot of on board stuff to do. They cost more, but that's cause they offer more. They do tend to cater to an older crowd though... so I wouldn't expect a big party ship for a 7 day cruise.
Norwegian: don't know a lot about them except that they're a little more expensive than Carnvial/Princess. I'd compare them to Royal.
Holland America: think of them as Carnival's version of Royal Caribbean. DEFINITELY cater to the older crowd. More expensive, fancier.
There are lots of other lines out there that I don't know specifics about though... Costa, Cunard, Disney, etc...