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Caribbean Vacation destinations?

bczoom

Super Moderator
Staff member
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Thinking about going on a family vacation. Looking for destination ideas, primarily in the Caribbean.

Most likely a cruise of about a week duration.

Any particular places you like (or don't)?

For cruise lines, which do you like? We didn't care for Carnival but did like Norwegian.
 
years ago for my birthday we went to the island of antigua and stayed at a very nice family friendly hotel called the jolly harbour.

they have day and night entertainment- and also the ability to book excersions (like for example a day on a catamaran)

i can't help you with the cruise thing sorry- i've never personally been on a cruise ship
 

squerly

Supported Ben Carson
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Took a 10 day cruise on Holland America about 10 years ago. Very nice all around. I believe they had 1 stuard for every 2 passangers. I know we never wanted for anything. 10 days was long though. We stopped in Jamaca (try not to do this if possible) also in Grand Cayman and Causamel. Excellent diving in GC and Casamel.
 

jpr62902

Jeanclaude Spam Banhammer
SUPER Site Supporter
Took a 10 day cruise on Holland America about 10 years ago. Very nice all around. I believe they had 1 stuard for every 2 passangers. I know we never wanted for anything. 10 days was long though. We stopped in Jamaca (try not to do this if possible) also in Grand Cayman and Causamel. Excellent diving in GC and Casamel.

I did a similar trip on a Celebrity cruise: Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman, Cozumel and Key West. Celebrity has a bit more stuffy of a clientele as I understand -- not as many Budweiser chugging party animals as you would see on a Carnival cruise.

Another option is an all inclusive resort. Cancun and Cozumel have fantastic deals. I've stayed at the Occidental Grand on Cozumel a couple of times and enjoyed it very much.
 

JEV

Mr. Congeniality
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When looking at a cruise line, read the most recent reviews on that line, as well as their island stops. I've been on 7 cruises and seen most of the islands. Almost all stop at St. Thomas for the shopping. I'm cruised out for now, and would prefer another all-inclusive. Again, check out the reviews as well as consult a travel agent who deals with these types of trips. They will be the most honest with you, especially if they are a friend. Truth be told, the islands are all just about the same...shopper friendly at the ports, and abject poverty away from the port for the most part. I've cruised Carnival, Princess, Disney and Royal Carribean. Each has it's pluses and minuses depending on your expectations. Food is all about the same.
 

joec

New member
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I enjoyed Jamaica (food), Virgin Islands (diving), Bimini (just fun) and Grand Cayman (diving also). I don't count Key West since I was born and raised in Miami and nothing to hop down to the keys for a weekend. I also have never nor want to take a cruse.

I also had a great time in Aruba but really a long trip as well as Costa Rica where I wanted to retire at one time.
 

bczoom

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Thanks everyone. Keep 'em coming.

I looked around briefly and the cruises to the Caribbean drop off to almost nill in the summer. It looks like all the ships do Mediterranean tours for the summer. Might end up doing an all-inclusive somewhere instead.
 

JEV

Mr. Congeniality
GOLD Site Supporter
Thanks everyone. Keep 'em coming.

I looked around briefly and the cruises to the Caribbean drop off to almost nill in the summer. It looks like all the ships do Mediterranean tours for the summer. Might end up doing an all-inclusive somewhere instead.
The Cribbean is one hot, muggy place in the summer. We did one cruise in August and the rest have been during our winter. Not a place you want to be in the summer. The UP of Michigan is great in the summer, IMHO.:brows:
 

joec

New member
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In all honesty you would much rather enjoy the visit to the Caribbean in November to January as that is like warm there. I wouldn't recommend a summer vacation there unless you like 90 deg heat and 100% humidity which I am used to.
 

bczoom

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OK, off to Canada (or Alaska) we'll go. I guess the Caribbean isn't like Hawaii with similar temps all year. I'd expect muggy in Central America/Mainland but had a mental picture that islands would remain relatively cool. Oh well.
 

JEV

Mr. Congeniality
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Although a little pricey ( IMO ), Mississippi river cruises are also pretty unique cruises right here in the good old USA.
 

bczoom

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Staff member
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We'll start with a couple "baby" vacations and may wait until winter to head South.

Sandusky Ohio parks this weekend and again in May.
A week at the Outer Banks in July.
2-3 camping trips with the Cub Scouts
Kids only will do a week in the Finger Lakes and/or Lake Ontario over the summer.
 

Dargo

Like a bad penny...
GOLD Site Supporter
Thanks everyone. Keep 'em coming.

I looked around briefly and the cruises to the Caribbean drop off to almost nill in the summer. It looks like all the ships do Mediterranean tours for the summer. Might end up doing an all-inclusive somewhere instead.

We are taking 3 more yet this year; including being gone over Christmas. Travel season starts next week for me. I'll be in Napa for a week and then the three cruises start. Two of them are 10 days and the other one is 7 days. We've been on about 20 cruises and love them. Only cruise I'd never go on again is the Star Fleet (old time looking big masted ships). Accommodations SUCK and the crew eats with the passengers and when the food is gone, it's gone. I freaking had a company spend 10 grand for my wife and I to have a miserable time and starve!! I lost almost 12 pounds on that trip. NEVER again.

One other place to positively avoid; Jamaica! Two years ago we had to have the US Coast Guard come ashore to get us back to our hotel in Ocho Rios from Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville. The locals are waaaaaay past rude and are fighting among each other to see who can get to the tourists first to rob them. NEVER AGAIN!! On the light side, if you're into risking your life, you can really get cheap, and I mean dirt cheap, trips to Jamaica now. They couldn't pay me enough to go there again. We climbed that fucking Dunn River Falls just to see two donkeys pissing and shitting in the water at the top along with 6 fully grown men totally nude bathing and relieving themselves in the water!! Fuck that noise!! Being that Jamaica's main product is tourism, they are history!

I think we're taking one trip through the Panama Canal. I don't know how it will be, but several have said it was enjoyable. Probably the best tourist spot is St. Thomas at the port area of Charlotte Amalie. Lots of stores and outdoor street vendors. We've been there dozens of times. Heck, we are in the background scenes of "Weekend at Bernie's 2". It was filmed at the (now gone) Stoffer's Grand Resort that was on the other side of the island. Got to meet Andrew McCarthy (asshole) and Jonathan Silverman (great guy). Have pictures with him and he stopped and had lunch with my wife and I. The director actually screwed up and filmed a ground level balcony scene on OUR balcony. When we came back in from a trip to Jost Van Dyke and tried to get to our room, their security stopped us. We got hotel security who told them to leave. Instead of making them move all of their set, they just put us in a few background scenes at the pool and eating at a cabana.
 

FrancSevin

Proudly Deplorable
GOLD Site Supporter
Go the the Antilles "Windward Islands"

St Vincent, Lucia, Mystique, Mearou, Barbados, Tobbago Keys, Union Island and Palm Island.

Friendliest people, smaller cruise ships, fewer tourists, better prices, and the air is fresh and brisk. The hot muggy cannot get a foot hold on the smaller islands.

Went there myself with the wife and parents on a chartered 53 foot sloop. Absolutely the best weather and the nicest, proudest, people I ever encountered.

Even the local French were tolerable.
 

Dargo

Like a bad penny...
GOLD Site Supporter
In all honesty you would much rather enjoy the visit to the Caribbean in November to January as that is like warm there. I wouldn't recommend a summer vacation there unless you like 90 deg heat and 100% humidity which I am used to.

Um, not in the last 20 years or so when we have been going; at least to St. Maartin, St. Thomas and St. John. Here is their annual weather temps; it's cooler in Nov - January by maybe 5 degrees or so, but generally it's always 85 to 90 each day St. Thomas yearly weather.

Oh yeah, that time when we took the short boat trip to Jost Van Dyke from St. Thomas we met Jimmy Buffett (supposedly where he wrote Cheeseburger in Paradise) and ate lunch with Robert Plant there (only 1 bar there). Plant was pretty well out of it and Buffett was pretty cool unless you tried to mug with him for pictures or ask for autographs.
 

joec

New member
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Um, not in the last 20 years or so when we have been going; at least to St. Maartin, St. Thomas and St. John. Here is their annual weather temps; it's cooler in Nov - January by maybe 5 degrees or so, but generally it's always 85 to 90 each day St. Thomas yearly weather.

Oh yeah, that time when we took the short boat trip to Jost Van Dyke from St. Thomas we met Jimmy Buffett (supposedly where he wrote Cheeseburger in Paradise) and ate lunch with Robert Plant there (only 1 bar there). Plant was pretty well out of it and Buffett was pretty cool unless you tried to mug with him for pictures or ask for autographs.

Yes but the humidity is down to about 70% those times a year and there is always a breeze off the ocean. For a Miami boy that is perfect weather. :wink:
 

BigAl

Gone But Not Forgotten
SUPER Site Supporter
Thanks everyone. Keep 'em coming.

I looked around briefly and the cruises to the Caribbean drop off to almost nill in the summer. It looks like all the ships do Mediterranean tours for the summer. Might end up doing an all-inclusive somewhere instead.


Hey boomer ,
I flew the family into Georgetown for about 10 days and we stayed right on the beach at a little 3 bedroom rental place . The owner is a old family friend on my wifes side .He lined us up with a 22' Boston Whaler to rent and a truck to drive . It was pretty laid back ,but the kids had a blast Island exploring and diving .
I could check and see if he is still in business if you want .
 

rlk

Bronze Member
GOLD Site Supporter
We just returned from a 10 day cruise through the Caribbean and the Panama Canal. This was our second cruise with Princess. Princess tends to market to a little older crowd, and they are not stuffy at all. They do have 2 formal nights but we skipped both of them.

We had stops in Aruba; Cartagena, Columbia; the Panama Canal; Colon, Panama; Limon, Costa Rica; and Grand Cayman.

Remember, the Caribbean is very close to the Equator, so during the summer months it will be hot.

Good luck and let us know what you decide.

Bob
 

tommu56

Bronze Member
GOLD Site Supporter
We'll start with a couple "baby" vacations and may wait until winter to head South.

Sandusky Ohio parks this weekend and again in May.
A week at the Outer Banks in July.
2-3 camping trips with the Cub Scouts
Kids only will do a week in the Finger Lakes and/or Lake Ontario over the summer.


We will be down with the Tribe staying in Kill Devil Hills in July also
I think 1/2 the people down there are from PA.

tom
 

OhioTC18

Gone But Not Forgotten
GOLD Site Supporter
We took a 7 day Carnival cruise and were very happy. We left from San Juan and had stops in St Thomas, Aruba, Venezuela, Grenada and Guadalupe. It was fantastic. This was years ago, but I'd do it all over again.

edit.........Carnival no onger offers that cruise, dammit
 

norscaner

Active member
We have never done a cruise as my sweety does not like confined spaces and being a country boy crowds are not my cup of tea. We have done the "all included " resorts, 4 and 5 star rating, but found too many loud drunken people at them. It seems that people feel they have to get their monies worth in drinks and food.
Places stayed were Puerto Plata Iberostar, Punta Cana Iberostar Bavaro, Punta Cana Barcello, La Romana Bahia Principe. We stayed one week at two and two weeks at the other two. We found that we liked more to go off resort and would usually find a local to hire for a tour of the area.
We soon tired of the resort life and started renting houses in more remote islands first rental was on Roatan, we were looking for a place to dive and also relax in an out of the way place. Listing for rental is ..http://www.vrbo.com/130789 . Great diving and a great place to explore the inner island. We stayed here for 2 weeks and found we still didnt experience everything. Cost of living was very cheap. Truck rental was average ...you need a truck to get into the back country . People very friendly and not over crowded with tourists .
The next year we went to Cayman Brac listing...http://www.vrbo.com/56252 Another out of the way place, shore diving was incredible much the same as Roatan. The sea life was abundant and larger than Roatan as there was less pressures from divers and not as much local fishing. Cost of living was higher than roatan about the same as here at home. The people here were incredible. We never locked anything including when we went off to dive leaving the car open with everything in it. A rental car is a must to access all the shore diving spots. We stayed here three weeks.
This next trip, we just booked the rental is to Utila. We are going for 4 weeks this time . The diving here is also rated very high. Again lots of shore diving and an amazing place to visit. No car rental needed as this place is boat access and very limited roads.We are just closing the deal on the house so I will post a picture of it as soon as it is secure.
As you can see we pretty well organize our vacations around diving and remote places away from tourists. This may not be for too many but if you have any questions feel free to contact me I will do what I can to answer any question.

P.S. feel free to correct any spelling as I went to the same school as Big Al. :)
 

Kane

New member
Don't overlook South West Florida. Some of the prettiest white sand beaches and aqua green water in the world. Siesta Key (voted #1 beach in US). Anna Maria Island. Captiva Key.

Screw the expense of cruises or Caribbean airfare. Rent a condo or a house for a week/month and relax.
 
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