The Up Side Of Caribbean Cruising
When my Caribbean cruise ship called at overrun St. Thomas, I fled to nearby Jost Van Dyke in the British Virgin Islands, February 16, 2007.
by Wendy Perrin
I've been reading a lot lately about how the Caribbean has lost much of its allure for cruisegoers. It's why Caribbean sailings are so cheap (demand can't meet supply) and why cruise-line CEOs are wringing their hands over the weak Caribbean market. Now, I'm no propagandist for Caribbean cruises -- as anyone who remembers the sad saga of my last Caribbean cruise knows (and if you don't, you can read the full story of my ill-fated adventure in Conde Nast Traveler's August 2007 issue) -- but I am here to tell you that if you want to explore a destination by cruise ship, you're better off in the Caribbean than in most other parts of the world where the big ships cruise.
As someone who has six Caribbean sailings under her belt (all were work assignments), as well as another six elsewhere in the world (three in the Mediterranean, one from Peru down to Ushaia, one in the Galapagos Islands, and one on the Yangtze River), I can assure you that:
(1) The Caribbean is the region where it's easiest to do your own independent thing in port, rather than being herded around inefficiently as part of the ship's group-tour shore excursions.
That's because the infrastructure in Caribbean ports is great. Everything you need -- taxi hire, car rental, a cybercafe -- is right near where the ship docks. In Conde Nast Traveler's August issue I advise precisely how to organize your independent sightseeing activities so as to get the max out of any port of call.
When our ship called at St. Lucia, we explored scenic parts of the island a long way from the pier and had lunch at secluded Ladera Resort. This was our lunchtime view, February 13, 2007.
(2) Most of the Caribbean's best sights to see are places you can get to from the ship in the limited amount of time you have.
When
you're sailing along the coasts of vast countries, on the other hand, you can't possibly get to many of the best sights, since they're too far inland. (Most people sailing along the coast of South America won't see Maccu Picchu, nor will most people sailing along the coast of China ever see Yunnan Province.)
(3) When you're cruising among small islands, you don't feel cheated when you've got only 7 or 8 hours in port.
You can get a pretty good feel for a Caribbean island in that short period of time -- enough to know whether you want to go back someday or not. In Europe, however, you can end up frustrated when you're trying to see Florence or explore Provence in only 8 hours.
Any cruisegoer who complains that Caribbean islands are overrun with tourist crowds and tacky shops is either not choosing the right itinerary (Windstar and Sea Dream Yacht Club, for instance, avoid such ports) or is not using their time in port wisely. You want to high-tail it away from the shopping-mall-style piers and spend your time exploring the authentic stuff. In our August issue I tell you how.
Charlie and Doug enjoying an ice-cream break in Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, during our cruise-ship call there, February 12, 2007.
RSS Feeds
If the option of free seating on the HAL Prinsendam is offered should we take that instead of late dining?
We are going to Scandinavia & Russia and plan to do independent shore excursions.
Posted by: JoanReam | May 15, 2008 at 01:25 PM