I've been on a bunch of cruises. This is my take.
They all have good food. The drink packages aren't worth it unless you're planning on drinking from noon to midnight. I bought it once and analyzed the cost. I broke even and felt like I had to drink more to get my money's worth. Choose "Any Time Dining" so you can eat dinner when you want. Pick an itinerary that takes you to as many islands as possible. I prefer the Eastern Caribbean. Get an outside room with a balcony. Don't get a room on the next to the top floor under the Lido Deck. You'll hear all that noise above you with people walking around and rolling carts. The best time to go is October when the kids are in school and the weather is warm and the rates are low. August isn't bad either. It's cooler down there than it is here. The best port of Ft. Lauderdale, then San Juan. In Ft. Lauderdale, the airport is about 5 minutes from the cruise terminal.
Cruise lines.
Carnival: Bottom of the bucket in my opinion. It's a fun time with a lot of partying. The passengers are a younger group with trailer trash and other lower life forms mixed in. I don't recommend getting in the pools or hot tubs.
Disney: Top of the line, but way too many little kids for my liking.
Royal Caribbean: Pretty good and middle of the road. The last one I took was on one of the Oasis Class Ships. A total feat of engineering. It's a floating city. I think it'll haul about 3000 passengers. Still a fair amount of kids and families, but not too bad.
Princess: My favorite. Very nice with an older group of passengers. Excellent. I highly recommend it.
Norwegian: Also very nice. Very similar to Princess.
Eastern Caribbean Islands.
Puerto Rico: I've only been to San Juan and it's OK.
St. Thomas: It's OK, but if you have enough time, take the ferry to St. John. The beaches are better. They drive on the left side of the road, but they're a US territory. WTF is with that?
Jamaica: It's a third world schithole. Watch your ass and don't trust anybody. If you go ashore, take a shore excursion to a closed resort and stay there.
St. Lucia: Third world schithole but absolutely spectacular. If you're on a cruise ship, you won't have enough time to go up to the Pitan's. The people were really nice.
St. Kitts: Another great island, however, go to the eastern end of the island. It's the best part.
St. Martin/St. Maarten: One of my most favorite places in the world. It's half French and half Dutch. The Dutch side is better. They drive on the right side of the road. The last time I was there, we rented a jeep and drove around the island and went to a couple of different beaches. I love this place.
Barbados: Pretty good, but a little bit off the beaten path.
Martinique: It's OK, but it's mainly French speaking and it can hard to communicate with the people.
Antigua: Really nice little island and people are nice.
Nassau, Bahamas: Pay for a shore excursion to the Atlantis. Pretty spectacular resort. The people are nice but don't go into town after dark.
Dominican Republic: Another third world schithole, but the people were very nice. The beach we went to was beautiful.
Last edited by StoneCutter; 05/17/19.
