Western or Eastern Caribbean cruise?
Both on Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas. The Western one goes to Labadee, Haiti; Grand Cayman and Cozumel. The Eastern goes to St. Thomas, St. Maarten, and CocoCay, Bahamas. Price is the same. First time cruisers so we need help deciding!
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You will enjoy the eastern much more. But I guess it's really personal opinion, if you really want to find out for yourself google each spot and see what u think. But I've been to cayman, Cozumel, st. Thomas, st. Maarten, and cocobay and the eastern ones were better all in all.
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Western or Eastern Caribbean cruise?
Both on Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas. The Western one goes to Labadee, Haiti; Grand Cayman and Cozumel. The Eastern goes to St. Thomas, St. Maarten, and CocoCay, Bahamas. Price is the same. First time cruisers so we need help deciding!
Actually I'd say exactly the opposite. Western is better than Eastern b/c Eastern often includes a stop in Bahamas. I hate the Bahamas. There is nothing unique about it. Everything is made in China, each booth sells the exact same things and it's more expensive than buying it on the ship itself. Western cruises often include Cozumel and Belize which are the best ports of call that I've been to so far. The Bahamas was my least favorite. Western has better ships and better more unique shore excursions. I haven't been to them all yet but I've been to Cozumel, Belize, Honduras, Grand Cayman, San Juan, Aruba, Barbados, St Thomas, St Martins, Dominica, Grand Turk, Key West and several in the Bahamas (private islands and Freeport).
Ive done both on the Freedom. Btw, its an awesome ship. On the eastern itinerary, you get more of the ports known for shopping. Plus the beaches of St. Martin and St. Thomas are incredible. The eastern route is by far the most popular and therefore costs a little more than the western route.
If you have never been to any of the places then you cant go wrong with either. When it comes down to a decision like this, I usually take the one with more ports of call. In this case it would be the Western.
Both would be a good cruise though, and you can always do the other another time.
Definitely, the Eastern. St Thomas and St Martin have alot of great beaches and shopping
Grand Cayman and Cozumel were just ok.
I would choose Western Carribean but that's because I've been there and greatly enjoyed it. I LOVE grand cayman.
western
I have cruised on the Freedom and been to the eastern and western Caribbean itineraries many times. The main difference is there is more shopping opportunities in the eastern Caribbean stops and opportunity to visit Mayan ruins in the western Caribbean. Both itineraries have great beach stops.
Eastern Caribbean typically go to St Thomas; St Maarten; ( and maybe Tortola British Virgin Island; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and Grand Turks). The cruise ship will also have a private cruise line island stop. If you want to do a lot of shopping then pick a cruise with St Thomas and St Maarten as the port stops.
Western Caribbean cruises typically go to Cozumel and Costa Maya, Mexico; Georgetown, Grand Cayman; Ocho Rios, Montego Bay, or Falmouth, Jamaica; and a private cruise line island. If you go to Cozumel or Belize there is the opportunity to buy a tour to see Mayan ruins, if that's your interest. Cozumel considered the best place to go for scuba and snorkeling. If you go to Jamaica the two main attractions are a river raft float trip (not rapids) and the Dunn's River Falls climb. If you go to Grand Cayman you will likely want to go to 7-Mile Beach or do a swim with the dolphins/stingrays tour.
Eastern and Western Caribbean cruises have a private island stop where the ship takes food ashore for an all day beach party with games and entertainment. All of the cruise lines have what they call their private island, only ship's people on them for the day. Royal Caribbean has THE best private island I have ever been to at Labadee, Haiti. Its a huge place that has multiple beaches and many activities. Royal Caribbean and Celebrity both use Labadee and another private islands called Cococay, Bahamas. You cannot find a better private island stop than Labadee.
The Western Caribbean gives you great beaches, a great private island and the opportunity to visit Mayan ruins (they are unique to western Caribbean itineraries). I love the western Caribbean because it's cheaper getting to the beaches and the beaches are great, and the private island is the best. A Taxi to the beach in Grand Cayman is $4.00 per person each way vs in St Thomas where it's about $10 a person each way.
I just did the western Caribbean cruise on the Freedom this past January and loved it.