Southern Caribbean?

[littleaussie]

Has anyone done a Southern Caribbean with Royal Caribbean?

We did a Disney one in 2014 and absolutely loved the intensity of exploring the islands each day. It seemed to be the main attraction with only 1 sea day - as opposed to the ship being part of the attraction.

I'd love to do another SC itinerary but Disney has priced us out. Since we are so active most days, I'm leaning towards another cruise line.

 

[bumbershoot]

Not until December! Going on Adventure out of San Juan.

 

[Laz]

2 years ago, we did both SC routes by doing a B2B on the Jewel of the Seas. Either route is great. I found some great tours that or not sponsored by RCCL. On St. Kitts, we got a great tour by just walking off the pier and asking. If you head to Aruba, check out Trikes Aruba! http://www.trikes-aruba.com/ It is so cool, but you must book online very far in advance due to the limited number of trikes. St. Lucia is beautiful, and has what they like to call a "Drive in Volcano." where cars can drive and park in the active Caldera (lots of steam and boiling water).

 

[georgina]

Going on the Jewel of the Seas in Dec out of San Juan. It's supposed to be updated this summer, so looking forward to see the new things. Thanks for the suggestions, Laz. I have not yet begun to research excursions. (have a DD getting married in June, so my thoughts are on that).

 

[ldo]

I have found that the more ports, the less important the ship, entertainment, etc. Many times on S. Carib. cruises, we were so tired from sun, sand, snorkeling that we just came back to the ship, showered, ate dinner, and then maybe went to a show, or even just vegged in the room, watched some TV and went to bed early to get ready for the next day. Same for Europe--we sailed (a just built) Carnival, Princess, RCCL and NCL with few sea days and lots of ports. With port intensive, the ship is more like a floating hotel. For lots of sea days, we strongly prefer DCL, but for 1 sea day, I would go with the better value.

 

[Laz]

Going on the Jewel of the Seas in Dec out of San Juan. It's supposed to be updated this summer, so looking forward to see the new things. Thanks for the suggestions, Laz. I have not yet begun to research excursions. (have a DD getting married in June, so my thoughts are on that).

We loved the Jewel. We were on her before she dry docked, but the crew did a great job keeping her looking and running great. As an older and smaller ship in the fleet, she lacks the latest toys to play with/on. However, we found that the cruise staff was extremely active in making sure we had a great time! For the adults, do not miss going to The Quest. Even if you do not participate, it is a riot.

 

[georgina]

We loved the Jewel. We were on her before she dry docked, but the crew did a great job keeping her looking and running great. As an older and smaller ship in the fleet, she lacks the latest toys to play with/on. However, we found that the cruise staff was extremely active in making sure we had a great time! For the adults, do not miss going to The Quest. Even if you do not participate, it is a riot.

Thanks. Our last cruise (march 2008) was a Western Caribbean on the Jewel. I do like the smaller size, we don't need the latest toys.
Our only other RCL cruise was Alaska on the Serenade (2004), which was new at the time, but same class as the Jewel I believe.

 

[IndyRnRfan]

We did a sc cruise out of San Juan back in 08. It was great. I'll have to check my plans at home to remember every port we stopped at. I'll update this post later.

 

[FairestOfThemAll37]

What kind of info are you looking for? I did the southern route on AoS this past November and have one booked again for the jewel when she gets back from Europe.

 

[georgina]

I'd like to hear hotel recommendations for one night in San Juan. I expect we will be taking cabs from the airport to hotel, and then to the ship the next morning.

 

[msjprincess]

If you're traveling with kids I would pick AoS over Jewel.

 

[georgina]

If you're traveling with kids I would pick AoS over Jewel.

If that is directed to me, we are not traveling with kids. I have no interest in anything bigger, things like ice skating rinks and on board parades are ridiculous to me on a Caribbean cruise. If we do future cruises we will probably go for smaller ships with fewer of those types of entertainments. I got a good deal for this one, but haven't bought the airfare yet so could still change my mind!

 

[msjprincess]

If that is directed to me, we are not traveling with kids. I have no interest in anything bigger, things like ice skating rinks and on board parades are ridiculous to me on a Caribbean cruise. If we do future cruises we will probably go for smaller ships with fewer of those types of entertainments. I got a good deal for this one, but haven't bought the airfare yet so could still change my mind!

No, I was talking about the OP since she has kids in her avatar.

 

[bumbershoot]

things like ice skating rinks ... are ridiculous to me on a Caribbean cruise.

Might seem ridiculous, but it's terrific fun!

 

[Laz]

I'd like to hear hotel recommendations for one night in San Juan. I expect we will be taking cabs from the airport to hotel, and then to the ship the next morning.

We stay at the Sheraton by the convention center. Yes, it may be a more expensive motel, but it is a close taxi ride and a very nice hotel. Most important to my wife is very good WiFi so she can get some work done the night before the cruise. We usually do room service for dinner and order a pizza. For breakfast they have little in house coffee shop (we don't eat much because we know we are about to board the ship and attack the Windjammer)

 

[AquaDame]

We stepped off the Jewel of the Seas on this itinerary on Sunday - happy to answer any questions you may have. We had also done the Southern on the Magic back in Oct 2014. We chose the itinerary that went to Barbados, St Lucia, Antigua, St Maarten and St Croix but they also do another that goes to Aruba and St John as well as some other ports I can't remember.... a lot of cruisers on with us stayed for a B2B to hit those islands also.

Previously we stayed at the Embassy Suites which was fine but more expensive than just staying at the Airport Hotel (literally in the airport) as we did this time. The Embassy Suites was much nicer but our room was serviceable and comparable to staying at a motel. Small and basic but the free breakfast was better than I was expecting and it was quiet enough. It was also booked solid with Disney and RCCL cruisers! It was nice walking across the street to get a rental car for a day and dropping it off that night after exploring and dinner to avoid the overnight airport parking fee of $26 to keep it overnight. The rental itself was just $30 through Costco with Alamo.

 

[CrowMomma]

I'd love to hear more about your recent experience on the Jewel! We have the same itinerary and will be doing a spring break cruise (myself, DH and DS 7) on March 20th. This is our first time on RC, but we've been on several Disney Cruises. We live close to Port Canaveral, so this will be my first time flying to the cruise port, but we'll be coming in a few days early to stay at a resort on another part of the island and then the night before in the Hyatt close to the Pan American terminal. We wont be flying out until a day later and we're thinking about staying at the Embassy Suites.

 

[aVASTGrl]

I'd like to hear hotel recommendations for one night in San Juan. I expect we will be taking cabs from the airport to hotel, and then to the ship the next morning.

We stay at the Sheraton by the convention center. Yes, it may be a more expensive motel, but it is a close taxi ride and a very nice hotel. Most important to my wife is very good WiFi so she can get some work done the night before the cruise. We usually do room service for dinner and order a pizza. For breakfast they have little in house coffee shop (we don't eat much because we know we are about to board the ship and attack the Windjammer)

I just got off of Adventure this past Saturday, and we did our pre/post cruise stay at the Sheraton Convention Center, too...we loved it! My friend booked it through Priceline, so it was a lot cheaper than what it's advertised as (he insisted on a blind bid, hence we ended up away from the beach) but it was perfect, Really nice rooms, and the pool/pool deck is superb. Taxis to and from the Port were around $16-$19 for 3 of us

 

[monsterkitty]

We're going on Adventure of the Seas in June. We've booked our flight down to San Juan, arriving 3 days before the cruise so we can see San Juan. We are now looking at flights home. DH feels that we can book a flight for late afternoon the day we dock. I would be more comfortable leaving the next day. What do other people do? Do you leave the day the ship docks, or the day after? If you leave the day the ship docks, what time do you think is safe to book a flight home?

TIA

 

[aVASTGrl]

We're going on Adventure of the Seas in June. We've booked our flight down to San Juan, arriving 3 days before the cruise so we can see San Juan. We are now looking at flights home. DH feels that we can book a flight for late afternoon the day we dock. I would be more comfortable leaving the next day. What do other people do? Do you leave the day the ship docks, or the day after? If you leave the day the ship docks, what time do you think is safe to book a flight home?

TIA

We left the day after to have more sightseeing time, but we were off the ship by 11 am, and we waited until they literally kicked us out hahaha! If you have an afternoon flight, you'll get to disembark early, or you can self-assist and leave whenever you want, if you're worried about it.