Caribbean Cruise: Opinions/Recommendations Needed

Hi there,
My wife and I are thinking about taking a 7-day cruise to the Caribbean
in late Jan or early Feb. This would be our 2nd cruise (our first one was
to the Bahamas)

We have been reading past posts here but still looking for recommendations
or opinions specific to our planned trip.

Some background info:
+ We are leaning toward Norwegian Sky.
+ Things we like to do a
- On the ship: relax, enjoy the shows, and food, and our time together
- Off the ship: sightseeing and some local food.
+ Things we avoid:
- Anything inappropriate for a 4-month pregnant women (trip time)

1. Itineraries: We have 2 options, which one would you recommend?
+ San Juan, Puerto Rico; St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands;
St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda; Fort de France, Martinique;
Island of St. Martin-Maarten, Guadeloupe; Tortola, British Virgin Islands;
San Juan, Puerto Rico
+ San Juan, Puerto Rico; St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands; Roseau, Dominica;
Bridgetown, Barbados; Castries, St. Lucia; Basseterre, St. Kitts and Nevis;
San Juan, Puerto Rico

2. San Juan
As recommended, we _probably_ fly in and out a day before and after the
trip. It all depends on the airfare and hotel. Our schedule is very
flexible.
- Any tip on where to get the best deal on airfare and hotel? I'm thinking
Priceline.
- What are recommended point of interests for the short stay we have there?
- Do you recommend any decent hotel that is not too expensive and provides
transportation to the ship and to/from the airport?

3. What are your recommended activities for each of the island given the
short time on land there?

4. Dining/Food:
Expedia reviews say the buffets are "lackluster." What about the main
dining option? What kinda food do they have? I'm still looking for
a menu but haven't found it on the web yet.
Since my wife is pregnant, we'd like to see what is available.

5. Entertainment:
Could you give us an idea of what shows would be on or what the must-sees
are?

6. Any other recommendations or things we should avoid?

That's all we have for now. Thanks in advance for your recommendations.

--Henry

PS. Merry Xmas to all. It's been great reading your reviews .. and flames

wrote:
Some background info:
+ We are leaning toward Norwegian Sky.
+ Things we like to do a
- On the ship: relax, enjoy the shows, and food, and our time together
- Off the ship: sightseeing and some local food.
+ Things we avoid:
- Anything inappropriate for a 4-month pregnant women (trip time)

What was your first trip on. NCL Sky is a good choice. There are a number of
dining venues with various menus, you can browse them in the afternoon before
dinner. Dining room food is good on NCL. I will say that those "lackluster"
buffets have an excellent vegetarian Indian section on most NCL cruises, so
I find them very good. If you like Indian food, this is very good.


1. Itineraries: We have 2 options, which one would you recommend?
+ San Juan, Puerto Rico; St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands;
St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda; Fort de France, Martinique;
Island of St. Martin-Maarten, Guadeloupe; Tortola, British Virgin Islands;
San Juan, Puerto Rico
+ San Juan, Puerto Rico; St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands; Roseau, Dominica;
Bridgetown, Barbados; Castries, St. Lucia; Basseterre, St. Kitts and Nevis;
San Juan, Puerto Rico

The Exotic Southern vs the Deep Southern. I took the Exotic Southern about two
years ago, you can read about it on my travel pages (check out my signature) on
the NCL Majesty. It is a good itinerary, though I was tired the day in Tortola,
so we only visited the botanicaly GArden in Road Town and then returned to the
ship for a lazy afternoon. All the stops are good, the view heading out of
San Juan is fantastic. Cannot speek for the Deep Southern, though I want to
go on it some day.

2. San Juan
As recommended, we _probably_ fly in and out a day before and after the
trip. It all depends on the airfare and hotel. Our schedule is very
flexible.
- Any tip on where to get the best deal on airfare and hotel? I'm thinking
Priceline.
- What are recommended point of interests for the short stay we have there?
- Do you recommend any decent hotel that is not too expensive and provides
transportation to the ship and to/from the airport?

I try to catch Spirit Air to San Juan ,but I am in DC and they have flights.
I also stay at a little local guest house, Hosteria del Mar in Ocean Park, when
I visit. My sister lived in San Juan for 3 years and recommended this and it is
inexpensive. The cheap rooms were a tad loud.

3. What are your recommended activities for each of the island given the
short time on land there?

4. Dining/Food:
Expedia reviews say the buffets are "lackluster." What about the main
dining option? What kinda food do they have? I'm still looking for
a menu but haven't found it on the web yet.
Since my wife is pregnant, we'd like to see what is available.

5. Entertainment:
Could you give us an idea of what shows would be on or what the must-sees
are?

I like the shows a lot, especailly on NCL. I try to make all of them.
6. Any other recommendations or things we should avoid?

That's all we have for now. Thanks in advance for your recommendations.

--Henry

PS. Merry Xmas to all. It's been great reading your reviews .. and flames

--
Julie
**********
Check out my Travel Pages (non-commercial) at
http://www.dragonsholm.org/travel.htm

Juliana L Holm wrote:
What was your first trip on.

Julie, thanks for your info. Our first trip was also on the RCCL Sovereign
of the Seas.

About snorkeling, if you do it on your own, do you have to get on a boat
and sail out to some certain spots or is there any place near the shore/beach
where you can see nice fishes? The reason I'm asking is that my wife is
not a swimmer and I can't convince her to go too far off shore.

I'll hit the bookstores to do some research on the itinerary and post more
questions later

--Henry

That's exactly our issue, so I've compiled a lot of data and put it all
into a website on snorkeling sites.

http://www.cruisereviews.com/info/snorkeling.htm

I have a ton of beach access sites noted. My favorites include places
in Cozumel, Cayman, Barbados, St. John and Bermuda. My favorite
off-the-beach snorkeling itinerary is the Southern Caribbean, sailing
from San Juan, PR.

If you hit the bookstore or Amazon.com, some great books on snorkeling
and scuba diving sites are the "Best Dives" series by Joyce and Jon
Huber.

--Tom

wrote:


About snorkeling, if you do it on your own, do you have to get on a boat
and sail out to some certain spots or is there any place near the shore/beach
where you can see nice fishes? The reason I'm asking is that my wife is
not a swimmer and I can't convince her to go too far off shore.

If possible take a 10 day cruise to southern carrib. Also check other
cruise lines - NCL is OK but Princess /Celebrity are better

Tom & Linda wrote:
That's exactly our issue, so I've compiled a lot of data and put it all
into a website on snorkeling sites.
http://www.cruisereviews.com/info/snorkeling.htm

Hi Tom,

I have just scanned through the URL and found it very informative.
Thanks.

--Henry