Now that I've been on a 4 day Bahamas cruise, I want to try a 7 day Caribbean Cruise next.

Anyone out there that has been on both the Eastern and Western Carribbean Cruises ?

Key West on the Western Cruise doesn't sound like a very interesting/exotic destination for a cruise, but maybe Cozumel makes up for it.

I'm particularly interested in which cruise's island destinations have the best beaches, it's tough to tell sometimes from the guidebooks.

Thanks !

We did the western double dip, which skips Key West (no biggie) and replaces Grand Cayman with Costa Maya. Didn't like Costa Maya at all, but double Castaway Cay was great. Doing the eastern this year and really looking forward to it. It sounds like there are more cultural things to see at the eastern ports, where to me the western seems to have more beach-activity type stuff.

I've done west more recently.
I loved Grand Cayman and had the BEST KEY LIME PIE EVER in Key West.... but I could have lived without Cozumel... not as tropical as the other ports ... but I still had a lot of fun. I think w/ Cozumel I was off the ship literally an hour before I went back on (I had more fun on the ship than off).

You need to experience both. I have been on both over the last several years. Key West was great and each port quite exotic. I think the shore excursions on the Western cruise are more interesting and unique than the Eastern; however, I was quite overwhelmed by the beauty of the Eastern ports as well. (I had heard that Eastern was less spectacular, and even though there is one less port, I think that St. Thomas/St. John and St. Maarten are two of the prettiest and geographically interesting ports I've ever been to. And you can never discount the importance of that extra day at sea...my favorite!!)

And you can never discount the importance of that extra day at sea..

I agree! The extra sea day was the main reason why we chose the Eastern route for our first Disney Cruise. The ports weren't really the main attraction for us, but the ship and all the activities aboard is what our family wants to experience.

Hi,

The Western Caribbean is great if you like going to the beach and stopping in a lot of ports. Key West is a very funky and fun place - it was my favorite port after Castaway Cay. Just me, Jimmy Buffett tunes and a whole lot of key lime pie!

Eastern Caribbean is great if you want to enjoy the ship and its amenities - looking to relax. The ports are fun, but the itinerary is more about the cruise than the ports. The US Virgin Islands are beautiful.

Castaway Cay is so wonderful. It is really paradise and such a relaxing, gorgeous place with as much or as little as you'd like to do.

Have a great day!