Many inexperienced cruisers or first-time cruisers are a little unsure where to go, so I have decided to talk about the various types of Caribbean Cruises to begin, as this is where most people start their cruise adventures.
Any cruise may stop at a private island owned by the cruise line or other unique stops, depending on the cruise line.
Cruise Itinerary Names, Generally
- Bahamas – often blended with an Eastern Caribbean or “Bahamas and FL” type itinerary
- Western Caribbean – Mexico gulf side and nearby islands
- Eastern Caribbean – tends more towards Puerto Rico, and southeast of there
- Southern Caribbean – Further south, usually includes at least one or more the “ABC” islands of Aruba, Barbados, and/or Curacao.
How Far They Can Reach by Sailing Days
- 3-5 night cruises usually visit the Bahamas & a private island, sometimes 1-2 stops elsewhere.
- 7 night cruises can take you from Florida to the Eastern or Western Caribbean, usually not southern.
- 8-10 night cruises are great if you’d like to visit the southern Caribbean
- 11+ nights are great if you want to visit more unusual ports of call or something else special, unique or further away.
Western Caribbean
Western Caribbean cruises tend to include most definitely some Mexico ports of call, like Cozumel, Costa Maya, Playa del Carmen, or Progreso with Cozumel being #1! They also tend to stop at these locations, which is typically about as far as you can get on a 7 night or less cruise:
- Belize’s Belize City
- Cayman Islands’ Grand Cayman at Georgetown
- Florida, USA’s Key West, Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Tampa, or Port Canaveral (more likely from a northeast port in NY or MD)
- Honduras’ Isla Roatan
- Jamaica’s Falmouth, Montego Bay, Ocho Rios, or Port Antonio
Long Western Caribbean Cruises: Some cruise lines offer 10+ night cruises, which may combine Central American & Caribbean island ports with several days at sea.
Eastern Caribbean
Eastern Caribbean cruises go from the Bahamas/FL region to many, many ports of call around this region:
Destinations that are most common for Eastern Caribbean Cruises are:
- Antigua: St. John’s
- Bahamas: Freepport, Nassau or Grand Bahama
- Barbados: Bridgetown (also found in Southern)
- Bermuda
- Dominican Republic: Amber Cove, La Romana
- Martinique
- Puerto Rico: San Juan
- St. Croix, USVI
- St. Kitts: Basseterre
- St. Lucia: Castries
- St. Maarten: Philipsburg
- St. Thomas, USVI: Charlotte Amelie
- Tortola, BVI: Tortola
- Turks & Caicos: Grand Turk
Southern Caribbean
Southern Caribbean cruises often include the same cruise port countries as the Eastern, such as Antigua, Puerto Rico, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, St. Maarten, & St. Thomas but also include:
- Aruba – Oranjestad
- Barbados – Bridgetown
- Bonaire – Kralendijk
- Curaçao – Willemstad
- Dominica
- Grenada – St. George’s
- St. Lucia – Castries
- St. Vincent & the Grenadines – Bequia, Mayreau, Tobago Cays
- Trinidad & Tobago’s Tobago (Pigeon Point beach)
- Venezuela’s Los Roques Islands
Ready to plan your cruise?
If so, Easy Breezy Journeys is here to make it easy for you! Just click HERE to answer a few quick questions and we’ll get started!
