Caribbean cruise guide

In terms of activities, one day you could be snorkelling with stingrays off
Grand Cayman, on another climbing waterfalls in Jamaica, or zip-lining over
St Lucia’s rainforest canopy, river tubing in Dominica, or kayaking along
Grenada’s indented coast. The wide choice of non-cultural excursions makes
the Caribbean ideal cruise territory for families.

With over two dozen cruise lines operating in the Caribbean in the winter
months the choice of ship is as varied as the islands they visit, ranging
from the biggest ships in the world offering every conceivable facility
(think giant, floating resort hotels) to intimate, luxurious vessels
accommodating just more than 100 passengers.

Week or fortnight-long itineraries are typical, either off the Eastern
Caribbean (usually including Puerto Rico, Antigua, St Lucia, Barbados), the
Western Caribbean (taking in Jamaica and Mexico) and the Southern Caribbean
(usually going right down to the Dutch Antilles). But you can also take
three-night taster cruises from Florida to the Bahamas (though not
officially in the Caribbean), or month-long Caribbean cruises that start and
end in Southampton.

Cruising in the Caribbean doesn’t suit everyone. Ships and their passengers
can completely overwhelm some ports, particularly in the winter months when
several ships may be docked in a port on the same day. Unlike on a
Mediterranean cruise where independent exploring is often easy, in the
Caribbean you normally need transport to get to main sights – in some cases,
the ports themselves are the islands’ least appealing locations – and most
passengers sign up for organised excursions. There’s also the cost of the
long-haul flight: the number of Britons taking Caribbean cruises has dropped
in the past few years, probably due to significant increases in airfares.

If, none the less, you think a Caribbean cruise may be for you, the following
advice should help you plan and book a holiday.

When to travel

Mid-December through April is the peak time for Caribbean cruises. Then, the
weather is at its best – typically hot and sunny, relatively dry, with low
humidity and pleasantly cool nights – and the widest choice of cruises is
available. Downsides of travelling during this period are that prices are at
their highest and ports and key sights can be very busy. In the summer and
autumn the weather is stickier and wetter – though normally with short,
heavy downpours rather than days of continuous rain – and the islands are
quieter.

June to November is the Caribbean’s hurricane season, with September and October the most likely months for major storms – as well as the cheapest
months to cruise. Given that cruise ships can change course, the chances of
being caught up in a big storm are extremely small; a more likely scenario
is that your itinerary will be disrupted.

How to book

Tempting, late-booking cruise-only deals for Caribbean sailings are easy to
find, especially for sailings between September and November. However, for
British holidaymakers, transatlantic airfares account for a large chunk of
the overall cost of most Caribbean cruise holidays and fares with scheduled
airlines usually increase closer to departure. Therefore, there is a strong
financial argument for Britons to book Caribbean cruises well ahead.

With so many large ships sailing the Caribbean cabin availability is rarely an
issue. Christmas/New Year is the one time of year when you should book well
in advance, followed by Easter.

Given the dauntingly large number of ships and itineraries on offer in the
Caribbean, turning to a specialist cruise agent makes sense. Two of the
largest independent agents are Cruise.co.uk
(0800 408 6200; cruise.co.uk), and Iglu
Cruise (020 8544 6620; iglucruise.com) – their websites are a good place to
start for deals with all the major cruise lines operating in the Caribbean.
Mundy Cruising (020 7399 7670; mundycruising.co.uk)
is particularly well-regarded for
luxury cruises.

Which ship?

Caribbean sailings on large (and sometimes vast) ships are possible with
almost all the major cruise lines, including Carnival Cruise Lines, Disney
Cruise Line, Fred Olsen, Holland America Line, MSC Cruises, Norwegian Cruise
Line, P O Cruises, Princess Cruises, Thomson Cruises, Royal Caribbean
International and Celebrity Cruises. A nine-night Southern Caribbean
fly-cruise with the latter (0845 456 0523; celebritycruises.co.uk)
costs from £1,349 per person.

For luxury cruises there’s also Crystal Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises.
Seabourn, SeaDream Yacht Club, Silversea Cruises and sail-cruise Star
Clippers and Windstar Cruises offer smaller, more atmospheric and sometimes
more luxurious ships that sail to less-frequented ports and islands.
Seabourn (0843 373 2000; seabourn.com)
offers a seven-day Caribbean Yacht Harbours cruise from Barbados to St
Maarten this month from £2,160, excluding flights.

Shore excursions

There’s no shortage of these but they can be expensive. Compare prices and
options on shoreexcursions.viator.com
and cruisingexcursions.com: by selecting your ship and dates of travel, you
can see available tours and activities from your port on the day you are
scheduled to be there. Also consider taking day or half-day island tours in
private taxis. Drivers can make good guides, and compared with group
excursions such tours can be more personalised and the cost per person can
work out far cheaper, particularly with four in a taxi – though do fix a price
in advance.

Safety and health advice

Crime is a thorny issue on some Caribbean islands and cruise-ship passengers
can be seen as easy pickings. Last year cruise holidaymakers were subject to
a shooting in broad daylight in the centre of Barbados’s capital Bridgetown,
and robbed at gunpoint at a popular botanical garden in St Lucia. Leave
valuables on board the ship; if nervous consider sticking to guided
excursions and consult gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice
for up-to-date information specific to the islands you are visiting.

Getting there

Most Caribbean cruises start from Florida (from Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Port
Canaveral and Tampa). However, some sail from a Caribbean port, thus
allowing you to spend more time in the heart of the region and avoid the
hassles of US immigration. Bridgetown (Barbados) is the most popular
Caribbean departure point for UK cruise passengers, with frequent flights
from London to the island. Many Caribbean cruises also commence in San Juan
(Puerto Rico), but there are no direct flights there from the UK.

British Airways (ba.com) flies
non-stop from London to Miami, Orlando, Tampa and Barbados, and Virgin
Atlantic (virgin-atlantic.com) non-stop London to Miami, Orlando and
Barbados, and Manchester to Orlando and Barbados. A flight specialist such
as Trailfinders (trailfinders.com)
can help find best fares and cheaper, indirect options to Florida.

Charter flights, some seasonal, are available with Thomson (thomson.co.uk/flights)
from a selection of UK airports to Orlando and Barbados, and Thomas Cook
Airlines (flythomascook.com)
Manchester to Orlando and Barbados. Thomas Cook also operates winter
charters to Barbados for P O Cruises, from Gatwick and Manchester.

Top tips

Repositioning cruises between Europe and the Caribbean in the autumn and
spring, crossing the Atlantic by sea one way, flying the other, can be
remarkably good value. Fred Olsen and P O Cruises also offer a few
long Caribbean cruises departing from and returning back to Britain.

A few nights on land – for example on Barbados, where there’s a good choice of
hotels and lots to see before your cruise departs – will help you
acclimatise and recover from the long flight. Specialist cruise agents are
good bets for tailor-made cruise-and-stay packages.

Large resort-style ships with Carnival Cruise Lines and Royal Caribbean
International can be unpleasantly lively during the annual American Spring
Break holiday period, in March.

US dollars are widely accepted on most Caribbean islands. However, you’ll
often be given change in local currencies. To avoid ending up with unwanted
currency, go armed with small denomination US dollar notes.

Further reading

Berlitz Cruising Cruise Ships 2014 (insightguides.com; £17.99),
the most authoritative print guide to cruising, has various sections
relevant to the Caribbean, and detailed assessments of the ships sailing
there. The related app costs £6.99. Useful websites include cruisecritic.co.uk,
for passenger reviews and general advice; and cruisetimetables.com, for
which cruises depart when from a particular port.

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