Imagine this: you’re getting ready to plan your family’s next cruise vacation. You’ve narrowed down the options in your budget and are ready to bring them to your crew for a vote. The options are an Eastern Caribbean cruise or a Western Caribbean cruise. But now you and your family have questions about which is better and how to ensure you get everything you want from your vacation.
Well, luckily for you, I’ve sailed on 50 cruises around the world, including numerous Western and Eastern Caribbean itineraries. And I’m sharing my best tips for deciding between the two options for your next vacation. Keep reading for our top five questions you should ask yourself before booking an Eastern or Western Caribbean cruise, plus our pick between the two.
1. How long do you want to cruise for?
The biggest question you’ll need to answer before your next cruise vacation is how long you want to cruise. Western Caribbean sailings offer more variety in itinerary length, ranging from short four- or five-night sailings to weeklong adventures. Eastern Caribbean cruises are often a week or more. They can be a bit more restrictive for those looking for a quick trip or those who want to maximize paid time off.
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If you’re looking for a cheaper itinerary, Western Caribbean cruises are often less expensive, mostly due to the shorter itinerary length. Even among weeklong Eastern and Western Caribbean cruises, Western Caribbean options are often a few hundred dollars cheaper.
2. Where do you want to depart from?
Where you embark your cruise is just as important as which itinerary you pick. If you want to do an Eastern Caribbean itinerary, you’ll most likely embark from Florida’s Eastern seaboard, at ports like PortMiami, Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, and Port Canaveral near Orlando. These are all easy to get to by plane from most major cities in the United States.
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If you’re looking at a Western Caribbean itinerary, you’ve got more embarkation port options. All of the ports mentioned above have ships sailing Western Caribbean itineraries. Plus, you can add Tampa, Florida; Galveston, Texas; New Orleans, Louisiana; and Mobile, Alabama to the list of port options. The smaller cruise ports in the deep South can be easier to get in and out of, but the cruise seasons can be limited.
3. Where do you want to visit?
The biggest and most obvious differences in Eastern and Western Caribbean sailings are where you’ll actually visit. Western Caribbean sailings include ports of call such as Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Mexico, Belize, and Honduras.
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Eastern Caribbean cruises often stop at places like San Juan, Puerto Rico; Grand Turk; and the Dominican Republic. Additionally, many of the Lesser Antilles, such as St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Tortola in the British Virgin Islands, St. Kitts, and St. Maarten, are on the list of ports.
4. Do you want more port days or more ship time?
You’ll want to look closely at the number of sea days and the number of port days on each itinerary. Shorter Western Caribbean itineraries, like a four-day Western Caribbean from Galveston on the Carnival Breeze, offer two sea days and one port day, which may not be enough of either for some folks. Longer seven-night sailings offer three days at sea and three port days, which brings more balance in port days and sea days.
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For Eastern Caribbean sailings, since most are weeklong offerings, there are usually three sea days and three port days. This allows your family plenty of time to enjoy the destinations and the ship. I particularly love the seven-night Eastern Caribbean offerings from Royal Caribbean (which visits Perfect Day at CocoCay, St. Thomas, and St. Kitts & Nevis) and Disney Cruise Line (which calls upon Disney Castaway Cay, Tortola, and St. Thomas). Both of these offerings are from Port Canaveral, which is easy to reach from most major airports.
5. What types of excursions does your family want to do?
There are similar shore excursions and activities in both Eastern and Western Caribbean stops. Think things like shopping, beach days, and active adventures, so you can’t go wrong with either choice here. If your family is into history, the Western Caribbean may be a better fit with tours to Mayan ruins, including Chichén Itzá, one of the seven New Wonders of the World. While I’ve done beach days on both itineraries, I think the sandy shores are prettier on Eastern Caribbean itineraries. Think soft white sand and crystal clear water.
Our senior cruise editor’s pick:
Let’s be very clear that any cruise itinerary you pick will be fun, as long as you’ve done your research on the cruise brand and what it has to offer for your family. That being said, if we’re only picking a cruise based on Eastern or Western Caribbean, I’m going Eastern all the way.
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I recently sailed with Disney Cruise Line on one of its newer ships, the Disney Treasure, to the Eastern Caribbean, and it was equal parts relaxing and exciting. The ship was a destination in itself, with so much to do on board. I really appreciated the two sea days at the beginning of the trip, and a final sea day at the end of the week to really soak in all that the ship had to offer.
I also loved visiting St. Thomas and Tortola, both of which are some of the most stunning island approaches I’ve ever witnessed. On each island, there was so much to do that it was hard to fit it all into one day. My favorite experience was a beach and snorkeling excursion in St. Thomas, where my family snorkeled in quiet coves that opened to the ocean, where fish, turtles, and stingrays swam around us. We ended the excursion on a beautiful beach that wasn’t overrun with people. And because you’re so close to other islands, some excursions allow you to island hop from one to the next throughout the day, which is great for repeat visitors who want to see something new.
We also made a stop at Disney’s private island, Castaway Cay, which was another perfect beach day where I didn’t have to think about anything but when to apply more sunscreen and what time to be back on the ship.
