Fwman Posted April 18, 2023 Report Share Posted April 18, 2023 Why are there limited cruises to the southern Caribbean vs the eastern or western Caribbean? Thinking of booking one but trying to understand why they are not as popular. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpeedNoodles Posted April 18, 2023 Report Share Posted April 18, 2023 It takes longer to get there, for one thing, so it usually requires either originating in Puerto Rico or extending the sailing out of Florida to 8 days. CruiseGus, Happy Cruisers, JohnK6404 and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Srp431 Posted April 18, 2023 Report Share Posted April 18, 2023 Flights to San Juan are expensive. Coming from the midwest they can be excess of $1000 per person, even during off peak times. WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SPS Posted April 18, 2023 Report Share Posted April 18, 2023 I'm not sure what you mean by not as popular. There is a decent amount of them out there. Our last three Caribbean sailings have been Southern itineraries. (As winter cruisers from Michigan, we try to guarantee ourselves warm weather!) Two were 7-Nights out of San Juan. (As mentioned, flights can be pricey). One was an 8-night on Odyssey out of Fort Lauderdale. (Right @SpeedNoodles?!?! ) For cruises out of Florida, there are ships that generally alternate 6-night and 8-night cruises: the 6-night will be an Eastern/Western followed by an 8-Night Southern. This might be why it looks like there are less available, since only half of a particular ship's cruises are Southern. PPPJJ-GCVAB and SpeedNoodles 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USFFrank Posted April 18, 2023 Report Share Posted April 18, 2023 Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe there's also a size limitation on which ships can sail into those ports too. I don't look all the time, but whenever I looked up Southern Caribbean itineraries, I never saw anything above Voyager Class ships sailing there. EDIT. After reviewing other posts on this thread after mine, I stand corrected. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyfsu21 Posted April 18, 2023 Report Share Posted April 18, 2023 Odyssey sails the Southern Caribbean route out of Port Everglades and it’s arguably one of the best itinerary’s! Aruba and Curaçao are really great spots. I think it’s pretty popular. michaelp1446, Va4fam and FloatyBoaty 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jolly Ogre Posted April 18, 2023 Report Share Posted April 18, 2023 We are booked for this Dec on Symphony going to Aruba and Curacao out of Ft Lauderdale. michaelp1446, CruiseGus, AshleyDillo and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloatyBoaty Posted April 18, 2023 Report Share Posted April 18, 2023 Sailing Grandeur 12 night Southern Caribbean out of Miami in January - includes Panama, Costa Rica, Colombia, and Jamaica as well as the ABC's. Can't wait! Xaa 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnK6404 Posted April 18, 2023 Report Share Posted April 18, 2023 No, there is no size limitation... we did the 8-night Odyssey Southern Caribbean last year to Aruba and Curacao. Definitely one of the best itineraries we've sailed. We really want to get back to Aruba & Curacao! As mentioned, the larger vessels are all at least 8-night sailings all from Bayonne (not ABC Islands) or Florida (all include Aruba & Curacao)... I found many upcoming 8-12 night sailings on the larger ships like Symphony, Harmony, Oasis, and Odyssey... michaelp1446 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brdjnr Posted April 18, 2023 Report Share Posted April 18, 2023 (edited) we are booked on an 8 night one August 2024 on Adventure. Looking forward to the 2 sets of back to back sea days. edit to add out of Canaveral Edited April 18, 2023 by brdjnr specify departure port FloatyBoaty 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Cruisers Posted April 18, 2023 Report Share Posted April 18, 2023 An 8 night southern Caribbean is literally one of the best cruises I've taken from Florida. It feels a little "long" when you're more accustomed to a 6 or 7 night cruise, plus there are usually some nice breaks from the ports with a sea day or 3 to enjoy yourself onboard. Agree with the others that recommend Aruba and Curacao - to paraphrase a Backstreet Boy, God must have spent a little more time on those islands. PPPJJ-GCVAB, FloatyBoaty and tonyfsu21 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted April 18, 2023 Report Share Posted April 18, 2023 We will be doing our third ABC/AC cruise in 3 months on May 26 (Mariner). We love this itinerary. As @SpeedNoodles mentioned, it is the distance (from the US) that causes the limitation on these itins. PPPJJ-GCVAB, CruiseGus, DoomSlayer and 3 others 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Va4fam Posted April 18, 2023 Report Share Posted April 18, 2023 We just got back from 8 day Southern Caribbean on Odyssey 2 days ago. It was one of the best cruises we've ever had. Perhaps the length of the trip reduces the frequency of Royal's schedule, but there seem to be numerous options. Xaa, FloatyBoaty and PPPJJ-GCVAB 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloatyBoaty Posted April 18, 2023 Report Share Posted April 18, 2023 1 hour ago, JohnK6404 said: No, there is no size limitation... we did the 8-night Odyssey Southern Caribbean last year to Aruba and Curacao. Definitely one of the best itineraries we've sailed. We really want to get back to Aruba & Curacao! Maybe there's a size limitation for Bonaire since it's so tiny? I was on Allure to Aruba and Curacao last fall and I loved those islands so much, but was disappointed that I couldn't say I'd done the ABC's because we didn't go to Bonaire. So I put it on my "cruises to do list" (which is very very long) and will hit all 3 on a smaller ship this time. It also rained half the day we were in Curacao - I kept saying "well, I'll just have to come back then"! Also love Antigua, St Kitt's, St Maarten so so much JohnK6404 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted April 18, 2023 Report Share Posted April 18, 2023 I was surprised to learn that Bonaire is actually larger than Aruba, by land mass. Curaçao is the largest, then Bonaire with Aruba being the smallest. That’s not true of population, but it is for land mass. FloatyBoaty 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan79 Posted April 18, 2023 Report Share Posted April 18, 2023 4 hours ago, Srp431 said: Flights to San Juan are expensive. Coming from the midwest they can be excess of $1000 per person, even during off peak times. I wish $1000!! I’ve got a 2024 cruise out of San Juan booked and I’m looking closer to 1500pp to fly out there from the west coast. WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyfsu21 Posted April 18, 2023 Report Share Posted April 18, 2023 1 hour ago, Ryan79 said: I wish $1000!! I’ve got a 2024 cruise out of San Juan booked and I’m looking closer to 1500pp to fly out there from the west coast. Are you flying out of San Juan for a change in itinerary from the normal routes? What is the benefit of trekking to San Juan instead of just cruising out of the CONUS? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan79 Posted April 18, 2023 Report Share Posted April 18, 2023 @tonyfsu21Yeah pretty much. By starting in San Juan, I have a 7 nighter that goes to St Thomas, St Maarten, St croix, St Lucia and Barbados. Only one sea day and don’t have to visit Nassau or PDCC which I’ve been to numerous times. That gets me much farther east in the Caribbean than a 7nighter out of FL. With you being in FL, I would 100% look at those San Juan itineraries to shake things up a little. tonyfsu21 and FloatyBoaty 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAYNO Posted April 18, 2023 Report Share Posted April 18, 2023 The ABC's were on my bucket list. Since my cruise there last fall, but not including Bonaire, the complete ABC's will remain on my bucket list. FloatyBoaty and WAAAYTOOO 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloatyBoaty Posted April 18, 2023 Report Share Posted April 18, 2023 @Ryan79 that looks like such a fun & beautiful itinerary. I'm interested in cruising out of San Juan to get to Martinique, Trinidad, and Tobago. I think Barbados is also mostly reached out of San Juan? I can't fit it into my schedule with a couple of other things I'm looking at, so those islands will have to remain on my Caribbean wish list for now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruiseGus Posted April 19, 2023 Report Share Posted April 19, 2023 3 hours ago, Ryan79 said: I wish $1000!! I’ve got a 2024 cruise out of San Juan booked and I’m looking closer to 1500pp to fly out there from the west coast. Guess it is what airport or area your flying out of, typically from Chicago O'Hare it costs about the same to fly to San Juan as it does to Ft Lauderdale or Miami. At least that has been our experiance, we love going out of San Juan, but hate that they have done away with Freedom and Voyager class ship from there and lately have been sailing Radiance class which we dislike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinK Posted April 19, 2023 Report Share Posted April 19, 2023 I would like to see more sailing from Cape Liberty sailing to South Caribbean, not just to Bahamas , Bermuda and Canadian. 8 to 11 days are perfect.. Villageidiot 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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