Mexico v The Caribbean?

Question

Hi, i am travelling from Australia to the States next May (first time) for my honeymoon and my wife and i wish to go on a approx week long cruise while we are there. We can't decide between the Caribbean or Mexico. Does anyone have any experiances with either or know which one would be better suited for our honeymoon ? .. Thanks

Answer 1

i've been on lots of cruises and all the islands are very similar, but worth visiting.  you should look at a western Caribbean cruise.  i went on a week long one a few months ago that went to grand cayman, jamaica, haiti, and mexico , and if you want to see ruins mexico is definitely the way to go.  All the cruises have plenty of activities for people on their honeymoon, but get a balcony room so you can have a view (sunset/sunrise), a better experience and more comfortable room.  Also, after sailing with several different cruise lines my best experiences have been with royal Caribbean.  have fun.

Answer 2

I like the Caribbean MUCH better.  I have only been on one Mexico cruise (from Los Angeles to Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, and Cabo San Lucas, and back to L.A.)  I have also been on vacations to Cabo and Puerto Vallarata.  I've been on six Caribbean cruises--including ports from Martinique to Aruba to Jamaica--all over really!  I think especially for a honeymoon, Caribbean is just so much better.  The beaches are much nicer.  I find the best ones to be in the Eastern/Southernish? Caribbean... LOVE Tortola, Antigua, St. Lucia, & St. Maarten.  Those are theee best!  Try to avoid Barbados, because there, they REALLY like to rip off the tourists.  A lot.  It cost us $18 U.S. to buy an order of French fries, a little cup of orange juice, and a "cheese cutter" (a melted piece of cheese on a warm bun).  It was all very good though... but not worth $18.  That's a steak!  You should definitely consider (since this is a big event!) taking like a 9 or 10 day cruise because you're coming from so far away.  The beaches in Mexico are alright, but they aren't super awesome in my opinion.  Cabo's are pretty good though, sort of similar to a Caribbean beach.  The water in the Caribbean also seems to be warmer.  The Mexican towns are also not quite as welcoming and cute as the Caribbean ones.  The people on Mexico cruises are also quite a bit more wild.  Especially if you go on Carnival!  I really like Carnival though, along with Princess and Royal Caribbean.  Just remember to book a room with a balcony! :)

Answer 3

Stay with English speaking locales in the Caribbean.  Avoid Mexico, Jamaica, and Aruba; people tend to go missing there.

Answer 4

If you want to get in the water and swim or snorkel choose the caribbean, I have been on cruises to both sides and they are both beautiful and scenic with so many things to see and do....but the water in the Pacific is much much colder than the atlantic. we cruise every may and have found the weather and water fantastic.....there are many different iteneries that you can choose when doing the caribbean although my favorites at st thomas and st marteen....have fun and congrats

Answer 5

I have been on about 20 cruises with four different cruise lines and cruised all of the Caribbean routes and Mexico.  Here's what I recommend based on my experiences.

There are two factors to consider when planning a cruise (1) what activities are on ship, and (2) what port stops will be made that I will enjoy.

I have been on Norwegian, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Princess. All of these are good cruise lines. Royal Caribbean cruise line has some of the best on board activities including on various ships, ice skating or roller blading, mini-golf, table tennis, rock climbing wall, basketball court and on the new Freedom class ships, Liberty, Freedom and Independence of the Seas the flowrider where you can body surf right on ship. There are always pools and hot tubs and many ship have a Solarium (a cover area) with a pool and hot tubs for adults only. This is in addition to the regular pool and hot tubs for everyone. Some ships have water slides.

All of these lines have ships have great gymnasiums with a variety of equipment. The RC's Freedom and Liberty have THE best gyms I have ever seen on ships.

There are really three basic types of itineraries for the Caribbean.   Western Caribbean cruises typically go to Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Jamaica and a private cruise line island. If you go to Cozumel there is the opportunity to buy a tour to see Mayan ruins, if that's your interest.  Its 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 ( a short taxi/mini-van ride ($4-$5 per person each way), or do a swim with the dolphins/stingrays tour.

Cruises to the Eastern Caribbean typically go to St Thomas, St Maarten, a private cruise line island and maybe another island like Tortola or Puerto Rico. If you want to do a lot of shopping then pick a cruise with St Thomas as one of the port stops. St Maarten is also mainly a beach and shopping stop.

Most 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 and you can have a great day on these islands; only ship 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. RC's ships the Freedom and The Liberty which do both the Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries both have stops at Labadee.

The Southern Caribbean cruise itineraries typically start in Puerto Rico and go either to Aruba, Curacao, and St Thomas and St Maarten, OR they go to the southern Caribbean islands like Barbados, Grenada, Antigua, St Lucia and maybe St Thomas and/or St Maarten.   For the most part these latter islands are very much alike but nice to see. The main difference between these two Southern Caribbean itineraries, aside from the different islands, is the Aruba cruise has two "at sea" days with no port stops, while the other has a port stop about each day.

I have been on a Mexico cruise also and it was nice.  It had ports stops in Cabo St Lucas, Acapulco , and Puerto Vallarta.  My favorite stop of these was Cabo.  The best attraction for me was the cliff divers in Acapulco.  There is one big difference between Mexico and the Caribbean and that is the beaches are much prettier in the Caribbean.  And, the Caribbean gives you many more options for itineraries, for departure ports (cruises go to the Caribbean from as far north as NY City and then all over Florida, plus New Orleans, Houston (Galveston) Texas, and Mobile, Alabama.  SO the Caribbean offers many more departure ports, ships, dates and options.  And, for example if you want to go on the cruise lines newer ships your best bet is to go Caribbean out of Florida.

The main things that you want to do is book very early and by that I mean 9 to 12 months or more early so that you can get the best price. Also in the Caribbean you want to try to stay away from the hurricane season which in June through the end of October. (You will be OK in May) Secondly, look for the specials that will be listed on each cruise line's web site. Let that help determine when and where to go.

My favorite cruise line is Royal Caribbean but you cannot go wrong with Celebrity, Princess or Holland America. If you are looking for a real budget cruise and a party ship go on Carnival. If you want to basically be informal the whole cruise go on Norwegian. Finally, while you are looking at cruises pay attention to the ship and when it was launched. The best cruises will be on the newer ship, those launched about 2000 or later. That's my experienced opinion and advice.

If it was my honeymoon I would pick Celebrity, Princess, or Royal Caribbean, pretty much in that order, and go Western Caribbean.  Recommendation:  Do a Royal Caribbean cruise on the Mariner of the Seas out of Port Canaveral, Florida.  You can fly into the Orlando, Fl airport and perhaps go to Disney World if you want, and/or then go do a tour at NASA's Cape Canaveral facility before boarding the ship.  (I think there are even some rental car companies that will rent you a car for a day or two and let you drop it at the port so you don't have to keep it and pay for parking.)