The Ultimate Guide To Your Caribbean Holiday
By Sarah Greaves-Gabbadon | Last Updated on September 4, 2024
If you're headed to the Caribbean on one of the 2024 cruises on offer, I have one thing to say: Welcome! I lived in Jamaica for decades, travel to the world's favourite warm-weather destination for work (as a travel writer) at least twice a month and am proud to call myself the region's biggest fan. So I couldn't be happier to share my home with you as you set sail on your Caribbean holiday.
Caribbean cruises are a great way to see the region, whether you're getting a taste of the islands on new ships like Utopia of the Seas® and Icon of the Seas® or returning to make memories at your favourite haunts on more intimate options like Enchantment of the Seas®. There are almost two dozen Royal Caribbean ships that sail to the region on three basic itineraries — eastern, southern and western.
With year-round sunshine, there's never a bad time to explore everything this part of the world has to offer. In the cooler months, the destination is a welcome — and warming — balm to winter-weary souls. Come summertime, lower prices make it easier on travellers' budgets. Although summer coincides with the Atlantic hurricane season, modern meteorological technology ensures that ships have plenty of notice of pending storms, so the captain can avoid any trouble spots and simply steer to fair-weather ports, where you'll have just as much fun.
The Caribbean comprises more than a million square miles, and cruise ships help you explore this captivating corner of the world. From sandy Jamaican beaches on western Caribbean cruises to the forested emerald peaks of St. Lucia on eastern Caribbean sailings to colourful waterfront capitals such as Curaçao's Willemstad on southern Caribbean cruises, there's plenty to see and do. Read on for where cruises can take you in this region of sand and sun.
Western Caribbean
The western Caribbean is home to some of the most popular islands in the world, including Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Mexico's Cozumel. It's also where you'll find the rugged Central American standout, Belize. But there are also beautiful, lesser-known gems — such as Roatán, Honduras — that are ripe for exploration.
I lived in Jamaica for decades, so excuse me if I'm biased (#sorrynotsorry) when I say that the Caribbean's largest English-speaking island is the total package. Jamaica cruises are the perfect introduction to the land of rum, reggae and Rastafarianism. Fuel your Jamaican jaunt with a piping-hot patty, which can come filled with chicken, beef or vegetables. Island food lovers are staunch fans of either those from Tastee or Juici bakeries (I'm forever Team Tastee, but you should try both and decide for yourself).
The crystal-clear turquoise waters surrounding Grand Cayman are where scuba diving first became popular as a recreational activity, so divers, snorkelers and swimmers will love it here. Whether you're a swimmer or not, don't leave the island (the largest of three Cayman Islands) without a visit to Stingray City, a nearby sandbar where you can stand knee-deep in the shallows, feeding chum to Southern Atlantic stingrays that weigh as much as 90 kilos. Good luck is said to follow those brave enough to smooch them, so pucker up!
In Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula, the approximately 480-square-kilometre island of Cozumel boasts the world's second-largest barrier reef, making it another must for snorkelers and divers. More of a landlubber? Hop on a 45-minute ferry over to Playa del Carmen, a boho beach town on the mainland, where you can chill shoreside and stroll Quinta Avenida (Fifth Avenue), checking out its bars and boutiques.
Headed for Costa Maya? I have fond memories of this Mexican port, where I hopped on the ship's shuttle to the beach at Mahahual and spent the day lazing on sugar-fine sands and eating my body weight in guacamole and chips at beachfront restaurants. Trust me, on Mexico cruises, this is time well spent! Conversely, Belize City is a jumping-off point for people who want to do much more than bask on the beach. Active and adventurous types can zipline through the jungle and tour ancient Mayan ruins. Or swim and snorkel with (friendly, I swear!) nurse sharks and stingrays at the appropriately named Shark Ray Alley.
Eastern Caribbean
Eastern Caribbean cruises may take you from The Bahamas' calm, pale blue waters to the frothy surfer-ready swells off Barbados's east coast, stopping at plenty of paradises in between.
The bevy of boutiques on ships like Freedom of the Seas® and Quantum of the Seas® are tempting. And in the Bahamian capital of Nassau and neighbouring Paradise Island, there are lots of other opportunities to snag duty-free designer baubles on Bahamas cruises. Savvy shoppers snap them up, but leave room in their budgets for locally made souvenirs. Like handwoven straw baskets, lamps made from conch shells and distinctive batik clothing and home accessories made from the islands' Androsia fabrics. Shop until you drop, and then raise a toast to your retail smarts at the nearest beach bar with a Goombay Smash, the potent national cocktail made with four types of dark and golden rums. It's also easy to find a bargain in the U.S. Virgin Islands of St. Thomas and St. Croix, and not just because they both boast duty-free stores galore.
If you're an outdoorsy type (or cruising with one), islands such as Dominica, St. Lucia and Puerto Rico have your name on them. Known as "the nature island," lush and mountainous Dominica will live on as your jungle fantasy come to life. Take a leisurely boat ride through the mangroves on the Indian River (one of the island's 365 waterways), where you'll spot river birds and see the house used in one of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies. Or slip on your sneakers and hike a section of the Waitukubuli National Trail, a 185-kilometre route that winds past waterfalls and over mountains. St. Lucia is famous for its twin volcanic peaks, the Pitons, which preside over the island's southwest coast. The hours-long hike up Gros Piton is probably best left to the fittest in your crew. But a short drive from the port in the northern capital of Castries is the 20-minute hike to the colonial-era fort at Pigeon Island National Park, an active excursion the entire family can enjoy. There's no training required, and dreamy Caribbean views are included. My best tip: Wear your swimsuit so you can cool off at the park's beach before Navigator of the Seas® whisks you away.
In Puerto Rico, there are 38 kilometres of hiking trails suitable for all levels at El Yunque National Forest, about an hour's drive from the port in San Juan. It's one of the smallest United States national forests but the most diverse, with 250 species of trees, 150 types of ferns and 97 species of birds. Don't forget your camera.
Searching for some local flavour? You don't have to spend a fortune on your Caribbean holiday to enjoy it. On Dominican Republic cruises, the must-try is mamajuana, a potent local liqueur made with steeped leaves, tree bark, herbs and spices. The (acquired) taste is a lot like port, and it can be drunk as a digestif. But mamajuana's reportedly aphrodisiac properties are what make it so popular, so drink responsibly. Try a fried fish cutter (sandwich) in Barbados, where Cuzz's food truck on Bridgetown's Pebbles Beach is a classic. My serving suggestion: Accompany it with a Caribbean view and local brew (try Banks beer) as you sit on the sand. Those with a taste for tropical tipples shouldn't leave San Juan without a piña colada. The famous drink is the island's national cocktail, invented here at either the Caribe Hilton Hotel or at the Old San Juan bar Barrachina, depending on who you speak to. Sample both — you can't go wrong with either one.
Southern Caribbean
Adventure? Check. History? Mouthwatering cuisine and rummy cocktails? Check and check. The southern slice of the Caribbean ticks all the boxes.
No doubt you'll be hitting a Caribbean beach (or three) on your Caribbean cruise, but beyond the sand, a rip-roaring adventure awaits. On Aruba, for example, you can tour Arikok National Park's sprawling and cacti-studded desert landscape on horseback or in an all-terrain vehicle. Bring sunglasses and a hat, because things will get dusty. At Labadee — which is on a small number of southern Caribbean itineraries — you can get a bird's-eye view of Haiti's palm-fringed coastline on the almost one-kilometre-long Dragon's Breath Flight Line, which zips you through the trees at up to 80 kilometres an hour. On the neighbouring island of Curaçao, the Ostrich Farm is one of the Caribbean's most unlikely adventures. But where else will you have the chance to stand on an ostrich egg to find out that it won't crack under your weight? The Scenic Railway, also known as the "sugar train," on St. Kitts circumnavigates the island on tracks formerly used to transport sugarcane from plantations to the port. It offers a beautiful ride through the island's interior.
History also comes to life in Puerto Rico at the Spanish colonial fort of Castillo San Felipe del Morro, where you can tour the more-than-500-year-old bastion and snap a selfie in one of its iconic sentry boxes, called garitas. There's also St. Kitts's Brimstone Hill, which took more than a century to build and is considered one of the finest examples of military architecture remaining today.
After a day of exploration, you'll need something to quench your thirst. In the Caribbean, you can do way better than plain water. Visiting Bonaire is the perfect opportunity to try Cadushy, a cactus liqueur made here from a succulent known locally as kadushi. It'll make a great addition to your home bar, as will guavaberry liqueur from St. Maarten. Pick up a bottle of this island spirit — made from aged rum, cane sugar and local guavaberries — when the ship pulls into Philipsburg for a flavorful souvenir. In Martinique and Guadeloupe, connoisseurs will appreciate rhum agricole, a potent and funky cousin of the classic Caribbean spirit. It's made from sugarcane juice rather than molasses. Raise a glass and toast to your Caribbean dreams come true!
