Top 5 & Least 5 Favorite Caribbean Ports
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- Опубліковано 19 чер 2024
- If you are considering a Caribbean Cruise, check out my Top 5 Favorite and Least Favorite ports. There are some surprises in here and you might not agree. Let's get the conversation going! #cruisereview #cruise #caribbean #caribbeancruise #travel #travelblogger #sanjuan #stmaarten #stthomas #perfectdayatcococay #cococay #keywest
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Chapters:
00:00 Intro
0:52 Caribbean Season
1:25 Subjective Criteria
2:53 Ports Visited
3:41 San Juan
5:41 St Maarten
7:31 St Thomas
9:58 Coco Cay
11:36 Key West
12:42 Freeport
13:36 Nassau
15:05 Caracao
16:27 Falmouth
17:35 Costa Maya
19:53 Recap
Very good info and we’ll done. I lived in the Caribbean for 20 years. Something that bothers me is when I mention where I lived and the response is something like “I think that may have been one of the places I went to on a cruise, but I don’t remember. Cruisers - these islands are countries rich in history and culture. They are more than beaches and bars and shops. Learn about the places you are visiting. Enjoy.
Thanks! The are still some great island countries that I can't wait to visit. We were in St Maarten and a tourist on an excursion bus asked the guide if they celebrated the 4th of July. We're headed back to the Eastern Caribbean in December! Thanks so much for watching!
We have cruised Caribbean since 1991. Additional ports to consider.
Martinique. Beautiful town right at the cruise port. Great market with herbs. Smells terrific. Relatively inexpensive conducted tour of the active but historic fort. Library is beautiful and free WiFi. Large park and beach area. Most cruises will sail by the island’s active volcano. When you get home, you can tell your friends you visited France since Martinique and Guadeloupe are part of France like Hawaii is a state of the US.
Guadeloupe. Similar to Martinique with beautiful French town. Open markets, including herb market.
We love Curaçao. Great walking city and vegetable market from Venezuela. A number of interesting museums.
Bonaire. Beautiful small town port. Nice walking. Good snorkeling right in town or excursion to Klein Bonaire right across from the town.
Dominica. We haven’t been their for quite awhile. It is a very lush island. The town isn’t much, but travel into the rain forest is great. If they still offer the river tubing, it is terrific.
Totally agree with Old San Juan.
Barbados is a nice and relatively modern city. There is a nice historical museum in the government complex. Two old historic churches are interesting for historical value. Short walk from cruise port to town.
Not really a fan of St. Lucia, but most cruises include a sail by the Pitons, which are spectacular.
Unless you take an excursion, not much to do in St. Kitts.
St. Thomas ok, but take an excursion to St. John.
We love British Virgin Islands, but Road Town, where the ship docks, isn’t much. We have chartered sailboats there twice twenty years ago. An excursion from Road Town to Norman Island can be good. It’s the island that inspired Stevenson’s Treasure Island.
Half Moon Cay isn’t as whizzbang as Cocoa Cay, but the beach has to be one of the best in the Bahamas.
Those are great islands! We need to get to more of the Southern Caribbean. We are doing Curacao again in March and will have to check out the vegetable market and the museums. We also get to see Aruba which for some reason we have never visited. Costa Rica and Panama Canal will also be new. Thanks so much for describing some of those other islands. They are now on the list!! Thanks for watching!
@@seemoreseascruises3791 Thanks and you are very welcome. Aruba is a very popular island, but I don’t get it. The town is bland and has mostly American chain restaurants. Of the three Dutch islands in this chain, Aruba comes in last for me. We stopped at Costa Rica twenty years ago. Lush and beautiful. Get the book Paths Between the Seas for the history of the Panama Canal. We stopped there once but haven’t traversed it. Keep up great work.
This was helpful. Thank you for sharing
I am glad that you found it helpful. A related video discussing ports where I feel that you need an excursion will be dropping later this afternoon. Thanks so much for watching!
Very informative. Enjoyed learning about the islands. You guys sure have been around🤩😘
Very glad that you enjoyed it. Thanks for watching!
I love your video background! Very much enjoyed your video. Thanks!
Thanks so much! And thanks for watching! I just added something from St. Thomas to the video set that I picked up from our last cruise.
Great list. I totally agree and even though I haven't been to all of these ports yet by using your pictures and other videos on UA-cam, I totally agree with your thinking here. This is why, for me, when I plan my cruises I favor the private island stops over the tourist trap ports. I am not interested in over priced junk and t-shirts. I can get any t-shirt I want off the Internet. I am interested in great beaches and amazing food. I can go to a pool anywhere, including on the ship, so when I cruise I want a great beach. I really like what I see of MSC's private Island. I have been to Half Moon Cay .... it was beyond words amazing.
I would take a good beach, hike or mountain adventure over the t-shirt shops any day! I think you would like Perfect Day at Coco Cay too. I was just at the MSC's private island and I will be having a complete walk through review coming soon. I was impressed with the size. When we were there before we only experienced a small part of the island. Thanks for watching!
In costa maya the fishing village like 15 mins away by trolly is one of my favorite mexican ports.. try it food was amazing there
That sounds like a great addition to the port! That should improve options for cruisers. Thanks for sharing and for watching!
Hope to travel that way some time, I love it.
Lots of great places to visit with many different experiences!
Agree about Costa Maya! We bought a bracelet at one stand that claimed they were hand made. After purchasing we walked to another stand and saw the same bracelets in a bin on the floor for a quarter of the price that said “made in china” 😂
We all have done it! We did the exact same thing on a magnetic therapy bracelet. I think all ports have the tourist trap shops close by. The true finds are off the beaten path and happen by accident or by speaking to the locals away from the port.
It must be hand made in China lol
Haven't been to all of these places but, for everyone I have been to, I would agree with your list completely.
Nassau has improved with the upgrades to the physical port since filming this but has a way to go yet. Thanks for sharing and for watching!
We also did the Dolphin Discovery in Cozumel in October of this year! My favorite by far, it was my 50th bday cruise with my mom and I wanted to swim with the manatees, they were so well taken care of. The facility itself was well maintained, we were very impressed. The maintenance and well being of the marine life was very important to me. Costa Maya's should probably be closed down and revamped!!
The Cozumel Dolphin Discovery is awesome! I am so glad that you enjoyed it! I agree, that Costa Maya compound looks so unhealthy for the dolphins. thanks for sharing your experience, hopefully more people will check out the Cozumel program like we did! Thanks again for sharing and for watching!
@@seemoreseascruises3791
Once I realized you were a fellow Hoosier I had to subscribe and support. I am just getting started on my island bucket list, but I am looking forward to knocking them off one by one!!
@@alisamoss3250 😄Thank you so much! Go Hoosiers!
Fantastic video!!! Thank you for your efforts. Subscribing to your channel!!
Thanks so much! And I really appreciate you subscribing!
In previous NCL cruises we were taken to Roatan, Belize, Costa Maya and Cozumel. All solid misses IMO. In under a month, we will be on the NCL Getaway visiting Bermuda, St. Maarten, , U.S.V.I., Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic. I am a little mobility restricted so we tend to shy away from excursions. I just want to walk to a comfortable barstool where I can enjoy a cold beer and a cigar, maybe find a nice a cigar shop and buy a few.
Your upcoming destinations sound like a great opportunity to find a good cigar downtown near the port and have a great afternoon! Both St Maarten and St. Thomas have some downtowns that are fairly accessible with lots of bars and cafes. San Juan is also another one of my favorites. Make sure you take advantage of that cigar lounge on the Getaway but I am very sure you already knew that. Have a great cruise!
Completely agree with you about Falmouth, we stopped there with Royal Carribean back in 2013. The port area itself was ok but me & my wife made the mistake of taking a walk outside the gates. I've never seen so many police in a small area trying to stop the locals begging tourists for money. In the end we got tired of our arms being grabbed and hopped back on Independence of the Seas for the rest of the day. Occo Rios definitely has a much better vibe, the hotel complex just outside the port is excellent fun.......from what I can remember 🍹🍹🍹 🤣
I like Ocho Rios better too. Just feels more safe although you still have to be aware of your surroundings. As side note here, I just got back from a cruise that stopped in Nassau and though the downtown was still somewhat depressed, the port itself has improved greatly. The new construction and clean up project looks really good. Thanks for sharing and for watching!
So relieved to hear that the dolphin excursion is good in Cozumel bc we booked that for our family! 🤗🤗
The dolphin facility in Cozumel has been one of the best that I have seen. It is modern, large and all the sea life seemed to be very well cared for in clean natural surroundings. We did the VIP Small Group tour that included lunch, the sea lion show as well as a swim with the manatees too! I highly recommend it if the budget allows. You have more time with the dolphins and there it is a more intimate group. I hope that you enjoy it and thanks for sharing and for watching!
@@seemoreseascruises3791 yes the tour we booked said it included manatees too! So excited!!
You will love it if you have not already gone!! We did the manatee swim in October and I was impressed!! They are my faves and they were well taken care of, all of the marine life was. And the facility was very clean!!
@@AlisaMossbarger we haven’t gone yet! We don’t go until next November 😆 so excited though!
@@elissajones5154you will love it. We used shore excursions to book and got the manatee swim only but with everything included
Great list, but a few comments here agree with me: Curacao is one of the best ports! Plan ahead of time and you will have PLENTY of things to do even if you just stay in downtown. Some of the buildings may look old(historic buildings) hence the reason you might have felt unsafe but Curacao is one of the safest destinations.
I have received a few comments regarding Curacao. We are actually visiting there again at the end of next month. I planned an excursion for the morning to go to a national park and explore some popular caves. We have the afternoon to stroll around town so we are going to give it another chance. Thanks for watching!
I agree. I actually liked it the best of all the ports I have visited, although that is a small number. I absolutely loved the architecture.
Taking my first caribbean cruise in two months. We are stopping at the first three on your list as our first three stops.
You will love those ports. I just got back from San Juan and St Thomas and they always deliver! Make sure that you explore el Morro fort in San Juan or take the Bacardi tour if you have time. The $15 entry fee to el morro (credit card only) also pays for admission into the other fort, San Cristobal, both operated by the US National Park Service. Paradise Point across from the downtown cruise port in St Thomas has beautiful views. There are two ports now in St. Thomas so depending on the port, I would take a cab downtown or purchase an excursion so that you can see the area. Have a great cruise and thanks for watching!
I went to Falmouth in December of 2019 on a princess cruise and my god I wish I stayed in the port. The port was pretty nice and I would’ve been fine staying there eating beef patties. My wife is from Haiti so when she saw the downtown past the gates it reminded her of home. So against my wishes we left the port and headed downtown, even though our concierge told us not to before we got off. Just walking around, but of course being harassed by locals. On all of our trips our main goal is to try the food. A local by the name of Johnny comes up starts asking questions, learns we’re looking for food specifically oxtail and says sure I know the spot. Takes us through the hood stopping at little shops to get us to buy stuff. We then get to a jerk chicken restaurant, I’ve never had food so dry before. The chicken and even the rice was dry. Didn’t get my oxtail. $17 for a single plate and two bevs. Gave the waitress $30 for the bill and tip and she gave me an ungrateful stare like “that’s it?”. At this point I’ve seen enough, and I’m ready to head back but no. Johnny wants to show us the church of Usain Bolt which I said no to so he takes us through another enclosed market place and takes me aside to ask for money. I gave him $40 for his troubles and he has the audacity to ask me to make it $100. To which I said no, defeated he takes us back. I’m sure we were safe, I can handle myself but I look very out of place. The stares and the random guys tailing us was enough for me to be on edge. Other than that our cruise was great even got to watch the carnival glory and carnival legend crash into each other at Cozumel lol.
Thank you so much for sharing this! We felt the same way about Falmouth and had friends on one cruise that stopped there that did the same thing. This is a couple from our gym and the husband is a very big guy and he grabbed his wife and went directly back to the port area. Luckily many ports like this are increasing the offerings within the gates so guests have plenty of options in the safe port areas. We recently visited Puerto Plata, DR and I felt that it was very similar to Falmouth. There is a great port facility there too. I can't believe you were on the same itinerary week as that Carnival crash in Cozumel. That had to be a sight to behold! Thanks so much for sharing and for watching!
Excellent video! It's hard to find honest info.
Thanks so much! I am glad that you enjoyed it. Thanks for watching!
To me anything in Cozumel is top notch. It’s my happy place.
We did an excursion last time in Cozumel and really enjoyed it. The dolphin swim compound in Cozumel is one of the best that I have seen. There is a lot of fun to be had in Cozumel. Thanks for sharing!
@@seemoreseascruises3791 you’re welcome! And I had a friend do a dolphin excursion and she and her daughter loved it. I have heard it’s the best one in the Caribbean.
I had the same feelings regarding the dolphins in Costa Maya 😢
The water was also very dirty in the port swimming pool. I didn't want my kids to go in, but they really wanted to and I was trying not to be a hypochondriac/worrier so I gave in. Anyways, my 4 yr old daughter accidentally swallowed a gulp of the water. A day later she was projectile vomiting. She became so sick and dehydrated that we spent time in the medical area on the ship and took an ambulance to the ER as soon as our cruise ended.
Moral of the story:
Don't swim in dirty water guys, it's not worth it 😬 and Costa Maya port: please clean your pools!
Wow that is awful! I can not believe that venue still operates. I can only imagine what condition those dolphins must be in. So sad that you had to endure that. The Cozumel location is so wonderful.
In San Juan, a block down from the Walgreens, there's a CVS that's usually empty.
yes there is! It is actually larger and a bit better than the Walgreens. Thanks for watching!
Regarding Fitch Martin. We took an excursion around the island. At several stops there was trash, the island was filthy, and we could not find it well-kept. Our discussion when around to the Dutch side and things were nicer and prettier but very dense. We won’t go back there and if we do we won’t get off the ship. There’s no pride of ownership there.
That is very interesting for sure! I agree that there is a huge difference between the French and Dutch side. We also found the Dutch side nicer. The mountain bike and treetop zip line tours were two of our favorites. I also like how the port is right there close to town but admittedly, we have taken a cab into town the last few times instead of walking. Thanks for watching!
I agree with most of what you said EXCEPT.... in your map, of ports you have visited, you don't even have BONAIRE (near Aruba and Curazao... they don't call them "ABC islands, for nothing"! Then on worse ports, I would move NASSAU to one of the best ports. I always tell people, just get out of the touristy area ie. the closest 3 streets which only cater w. stores for the cruisers. Nassau has a FREE map that has 20 places of "must see" that are walkable from the port...incl. 2 museums, 2 forts, The Cloister Park (with marble columns, etc brought from Italy) and not included in the map: gazillion chruches, the Graycliff area (google it/UA-cam it) incl. seeing Cuban-born rolling cigars, about 3 ft from you., chocolate factory/museum, wine factory museum, beer factory/museum, the Greycliff 1700 Hotel, Art Museum, etc. ... You mentioned Curazao "being boring", did you go to the Jewish Synagogue/Museum? (any/all persons welcomes regardless of religion, or not) In Key West.... something missed by most is the Cuban Museum of "San Carlos Institute" (on Duval St. a few ft. from the Hemingway house).... it's the best Cuban museum in the world, with incredible history.....
Thanks for these great suggestions!! The map that I used was captured online and it did not include Bonaire. I could have added it but since we have yet to visit it, I did not include it. Nassau has work to do still IMO but with their new port area coming along, I think that they will advertise other items to see. The port director recently commented that they have failed the cruise passengers and are working hard to advertise some of the areas you listed. Let's hope they are successful because it is such a huge port. We are headed to Curacao on our cruise next month and have booked an excursion in the morning to see some historic sites and caves outside of downtown. We are going to walk downtown in the afternoon so I'll research the Jewish Museum - we recently went to the Holocaust museum in DC and was blown away. Just recently in Key West we did the San Carlos Institue after visiting the Keys many times. We loved it and I highly recommend it! Thanks so much for watching and providing more details on these locations! I love the feedback.
Thought you would visit St Lucia
That would be great! I have heard really great things about St Lucia.
I agree , every port we have been to so far is so low quality. And seems like the portions are so small.
Honestly yucatan pogresso is probably the poorest place we have been as there is nothing to do! Unless your paying for an excursion. We decided to walk around it was probably the most boringest and unsafe place we have been.
Kinda sad , so you really even get your moneys worth going on cruises? It seems like they always take you to places they make and or that are super poor.
We just got back from an Eastern Caribbean cruise and stops in St. Thomas and San Juan are excellent ports where walking around downtown is a pleasure and you really don't need a ship excursion. I do agree that most Western Caribbean itineraries going to Mexico and the Yucatan require a purchase of an excursion. We have begun doing 3rd party tours from Viator when going to Mexico. They are cheaper and much smaller groups. Just seeing new places makes the cruise totally worth it to me. Thanks for sharing and for watching!
I am trying to decide between st Thomas and st Maarten. Can you tell me which one was your favorite?
That is a tough one but the quick answer is St. Thomas. We both love St. Thomas and it is so beautiful with the bay and the downtown. St Maarten has many more excursions and companies that will take your money and you will have a great day! There are many beaches and areas to explore in St. Maarten and it is much more commercial. St. Thomas is pristine and relaxing. It is always about what you and your traveling party want as an experience.
@@seemoreseascruises3791 thank you!!
St thomas
Nassau is really nice now
Last time I was there, the new port improvements were almost done. The port looks really great and hoping the downtown starts to improve with the added visitors. Obviously heading in the right direction!
Enjoyed your recommendations and video , however I encourage anyone looking to enjoy a dolphin swim to watch The Cove documentary . Dolphins really need to be free and not performing tricks for tourists . There are so many fantastic cruise excursions without exploiting animals
Great comment! I do agree with you. There are so many really poorly run venues where you just know that the dolphins are not well.
You’re giving wrong information. There is domestic cell phone service in St. Thomas.
Thank you for the update. It also might depend on the plan that you have. Check with your carrier. AT&T charged us the $10 international day pass when we used our phone there just a few months ago -Dec 0f 2023.
I totally disagree with your assessment of Curaçao. We spent 3 weeks on the island this winter and absolutely loved it. It is very safe and very not like the US which is exactly what we wanted. With better advance research you would have found tons of things to do. We certainly did. Cruising there this winter.
You completely nailed it! More planning and knowing what to expect is so extremely important. We were there again early this year and we did an excursion taking us out of town to a few different locations. We learned a lot about the island and did another drive through the downtown. Under a new lens, we enjoyed it much better this time. I do think that you need to plan something while visiting there by cruise ship. The facade of downtown is beautiful and the bridge is very nice but a half day downtown is sufficient IMO. Thanks so much for sharing and I am very glad that you enjoyed yourself there and hope you have another great adventure this winter!
Guess you never went to mambo beach in Curacao
No we did not experience that either time we were there. Thanks for posting the suggestion and thanks for watching!
That took a lot of guts to assemble and present! FWIW we agree that the Bahamas are just about DONE! Absolutely DONE! And ANYWHERE in Jamaica is a DANGEROUS DUMP! Thanks for the video.
Glad that you liked it. The new Nassau port build was nice but the downtown still is dead. You have to do an excursion there for sure. Freeport and Bimini also need a ton of help. I agree with you for sure!
Totally agree with your least favorite: Costa Maya. Huge, huge , HUGE disappointment. The shore excursion to Mahahual Beach is one of our worst disappointments in recent travel years. Mahahual Beach is absolutely terrible. The food is very, very bad ( all members of our family got sick with food poisoning after that day) and the drinks take forever and by the time they finally reach you the ice completely melted and watered down the expensive drinks.
Please avoid at all cost if you can. A simple aerial view in Google Maps of this place and lack of recommendations even on Trip Advisor sustain all these affirmations.
Costa Maya is horrible.
On a positive note : thank you so much for your “Best” suggestions….and …hat off for your beautiful background in your room used for this video. Very tasteful. Subscribed and followed.
Thanks so much for watching and for sharing. I have been to Costa Maya three times and I just can't grab the vibe there. It is such a tourist trap and it seems like they are forcing things on you. The dolphin encounter complex there is so small and the water is a horrible green. Those dolphins can not be healthy. Thanks for subscribing and I just did a video on Eastern vs Western Caribbean itineraries that you might like after this one.
I just got back from St M and St T, both were trash. I’ll never go back. Worse yet Megan’s Bay was a complete disappointment. They call that place one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. Not even top 20.
Why? Both were dirty, the street level vendors were like flys, you just got tired of them and they wouldn’t go away. Both places are over run by tourists and it shows. Just my opinion.
That is really disappointing to hear. The last time I was at both, we didn't go downtown. We did water based excursions in St M and a tour of some of the mountain top views in St T. Very unfortunate that the tourist trap vendors have taken over. Thanks for sharing and for watching!