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Maps of itineraries


Fairlynew

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Is there any where on Royal's web site that shows a map of the route the ship takes, as opposed to the list of ports?  I am planning to book a Caribbean cruise in January of 2022, and I want to make sure it goes far enough south.  I do not find Nassau warm enough for me in March and know that I won't like it in January.  I know I can look at a globe, but that takes a lot of effort.  

Thanks.

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Royal doesn't always include an itinerary map on it's own website but there are many 3rd party cruise booking sites that do include a map.  You don't have to book through those 3rd parties to look at the maps.

My personal preference is to review an itinerary using online maps so I build the itinerary on an atlas type world map.  I find this creates awareness beyond the cruise itself so that I can see how close we are sailing to other countries not specifically on that itinerary.   Over time this is retained so when I see another itinerary with different ports I have awareness of where in the world that may be or if a certain country is in the news I can recall seeing that on a world map and I have some awareness of where it is.   

On the cruise as we sail along a coast I then have awareness of what country we may be sailing past.  This is of course more work compared to simply looking at a cruise generated map designed to sell the cruise but over time it builds more broad awareness of world geography.

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Being a geographically challenged person, I love this idea.  I'm so challenged in this area, that I have no idea where to find online maps.  Also, do you use an online atlas type map?  Your post has set a goal for me: I will try to use your ideas to develop an awareness of what I am sailing past, rather using guesswork, as has been my habit.  Of course, the operative word here is TRY.  

Thank you.

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More often than not I start with Apple or Google maps.  Just search online for "map St Maarten" or "map Spain".

For my brain, doing this search for all ports of call, zooming in and out, changing to satellite vs road map let's me explore the region and I begin to visualize the itinerary, how far the next port is from the last port, what the body of water is like, how it all pieces together.   

The satellite view will often let you find the deep water ports with a ship in the picture so you get an idea what side of an island the cruise port is located on, etc.  

For me it's all part of the fun involved with planning a cruise.  It's a learning experience that broadens my knowledge of the world.  I'm pretty well rounded in Caribbean geography now but as I look to do more in Europe for example I walk away with a perspective of Norway, where the big cities are, what the shape of the country is like, what countries border it and so on.  

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22 hours ago, Fairlynew said:

Is there any where on Royal's web site that shows a map of the route the ship takes, as opposed to the list of ports?  I am planning to book a Caribbean cruise in January of 2022, and I want to make sure it goes far enough south. 

I would skim and look for Southern Caribbean itineraries as some of the commonly visited islands on those itineraries are close to South America.

You can also use Google Maps (maps.google.com) and type in the name of the port and when you zoom out you can easily see where it is located relative to Florida which should give you a sense of how far south the island is. 

The Eastern Caribbean itineraries will include the Bahamas but will also get you further south.  Western Caribbean will nearly always include Cozumel and Costa Maya which is further south as well.  Basically, just avoid itineraries that only have "Bahamas" in the title.

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23 hours ago, Fairlynew said:

Is there any where on Royal's web site that shows a map of the route the ship takes, as opposed to the list of ports?  I am planning to book a Caribbean cruise in January of 2022, and I want to make sure it goes far enough south.  I do not find Nassau warm enough for me in March and know that I won't like it in January.  I know I can look at a globe, but that takes a lot of effort.  

Thanks.

My in put would be to choose an itinerary for the Southern Caribbean.  There are some that even cruise to Aruba.  

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Thank you.  I decided upon an 8 day Eastern cruise on the Allure with the following itinerary: 

  1. Day 1 - Fort Lauderdale, Florida
  2. Day 2 - Cruising
  3. Day 3 - Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic
  4. Day 4 - Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas
  5. Day 5 - Philipsburg, St. Maarten
  6. Day 6 - Basseterre, St. Kitts & Nevis
  7. Day 7 - 8 - Cruising
  8. Day 9 - Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Phillipsburg is the only repeat port for me on this one, and it looks like it goes well below the Bahamas.

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  • 11 months later...

I think you can also look at the Marine Traffic app and narrow it down to cruises, it might show you the itinerary...but i know it shows you a live location where your ship is.  

You know what would also be helpful is an app of your ship and a live GPS of where you are on the ship. so you can see where you're walking to. 

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