Caribbean Cruise Destination Guide

The Caribbean Islands, the destination that comes into its own once winter gets underway in the UK. This is the time many of us start dreaming of a Caribbean cruise. The region's appeal is undeniable: Swaying palm trees, swaths of beach, turquoise waters, and great nightlife are just some of the islands' draws. But knowing you want to hit the beach and choosing which island to visit are two different matters and this is where a Cariibean cruise comes into its own.

Savensail also specialises in weddings in the Caribbean. If you want to have your wedding in the Caribbean whether ashore or at sea, then please call Kathy who is our Caribbean Weddings & Honeymoon consultant. Get married on your cruise ship with P&O Cruises or Princess Cruises or Royal Caribbean or NCL Cruises - we can arrange everything for you.

On a cruise you have the opportunity to visit several of the hundred or so islands, many with incredibly different personalities and offerings, first-time cruisers are easily confounded by the array of choices, and even return visitors can make mistakes.

Here is just a small selection of the Caribbean Islands you can visit on your cruise holiday with Royal Caribbean, P&O Cruises, Ocean Village Holidays, Seabourn, Costa Cruises, NCL Cruises, Princess Cruises any many, many more...

Antigua (pronounced an-tee-gah), the larger of the two islands, has made a name for itself among the rich and the famous for its coral reefs, miles of sugar-white sand, calm waters, and remote, high-end beach resorts. Though no longer British in governance, cricket is still played here and a historic harbor that served as Britain's main naval base during the Napoleonic wars is a popular tourist draw, with Shirley Heights (the historic fort atop the harbor), attracting locals and tourists alike to toast the sunset with live reggae music, BBQs and juicy libations. Antiguans claim the two best beaches are Dickinson Bay and Half Moon Bay, but, if you're looking for a more private reprieve, deserted Green Island, off the island's east coast, may be your best bet.

While much of the Caribbean can become unbearably hot after April, the remarkable Dutch-owned ABC islands – Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao – are located on the fringes of the hurricane belt and thus blessed with dry, balmy weather all year long. Of the three, Aruba is the most developed for beach tourism; it's become a hugely popular package destination in recent years, complete with multiple casinos – which all accept US dollars. In the process, it's also generated the highest repeat-visitor rate in the Caribbean. Why? While it's definitely got the white-sand beaches and quality diving, food, and nightlife, its best selling point is that it's guaranteed to have good weather – no matter when you go. Only Bonaire and Curaçao can match that, but you don't go to those islands for the beach: Bonaire is a diver's haven, while Curaçao appeals to history and culture buffs who may never actually set foot on the sand.

The easternmost Caribbean island, Barbados has long been popular with British expats, who've flocked to its upscale resorts and golden-sand beaches for over a century. One of the richest islands in the British crown, Barbados has a compelling West Indian culture that's part upper crust – cricket games, tea-time, and starched shirts still prevail here – and part Creole, with steel-drum music and fish fries on offer. While it has suffered somewhat in the posh department with the advent of package trips, the island remains a cut above many in the region, with fine beaches, superlative service, great dining, excellent golfing, and bona fide culture; when you're not on the beach, you can explore plantation houses and Anglican churches by day, and attend nightly calypso parties and barbecues by night.

The three British islands that form the Caymans – namely, Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman – have long been popular with divers and celebrities, but each has its own appeal. Lying between Cuba and Jamaica, the chain is among the closest isles to the United States, and, at under two hours by plane from Miami, hosts some of the easiest beaches to reach. As its name suggests, Grand Cayman is the largest and most developed of the three, with deluxe condos and luxurious resorts lining Seven Mile Beach (which is actually only 5.5-miles long), one of the Caribbean's finest swaths of sand, and some 100+ offshore dive sites. Those seeking a more private experience head to the secluded beach at Rum Point (in the north), near the island's hugely popular Stingray City, where families delight in swimming with, and feeding, some very social (and safe) stingrays.

The most industrialized of the Dutch-owned ABC Islands (Aruba and Bonaire are the A and B), Curaçao (pronounced coo-ra-sow) is also the trio's most sophisticated, offering visitors a unique taste of cosmopolitan Dutch living in a Caribbean setting. The stunning capital, Willemstad, evokes 17th-century Amsterdam, but adds brilliant colors to its gingerbread roofs and wedding-cake trims; the lot is so remarkable that it's earned a UNESCO World Heritage Site designation – exceedingly rare for a Caribbean city. With some 55 different cultures living here, you're more likely to find international cuisine of the sort you'd expect of New York, although restaurants in under-developed parts of the island do serve local dishes like iguana. While there are beaches here, they're pebbly and scruffy, with more cacti than palm trees; the deep-blue waters are more spectacular than the island scenery, and harbor snorkeler- and diver-friendly shipwrecks, fish, and rock formations.

Striking, unspoiled beauty is the essence of Grenada (pronounced gre-nay-dah), where sheltered white-sand beaches, cascading waterfalls, dense rainforests, and crystal-clear waters abound. Part of an independent, three-island nation (with Carriacou, the largest of the Grenadines, and Petit Martinique), Grenada's secluded and seemingly undiscovered aura is its greatest appeal. Home to an underwater volcano and the largest shipwreck of the Caribbean, scuba diving is prime here, with most diving facilities located just 15 minutes from the popular white sands of Grand Anse Beach. It's not all about sand and scuba here, though, as Grenada is also known as the “Spice Island” for the abundance of mace, cloves, cinnamon, vanilla, cocoa, and nutmeg produced here. You can sample its history in old plantations, like the River Antoine Estate, the Caribbean's oldest waterwheel-powered distillery; in Market Square (in the capital city of St. George), where spices are sold in colorful handcrafted bags; or in the island's signature Nutmeg Colada, a coconut cream, grated nutmeg, and rum libation usually made with the island's own fragrant River Antoine rum.

Outside of the tourist-developed section between the capital, Castries, and the white-sand lined northern part of the island, the British-owned island of St. Lucia remains mostly untouched, with lush rainforests, velvety green mountains, a simmering volcano, banana plantations, and miles of white- and black-sand beaches. With a South Pacific feel, St. Lucia offers posh spa resorts in an exotic, tropical setting that manages to be popular with honeymooners, couples, and families alike. A string of package-catering resorts condensed around Rodney Bay overflow with British tourists and not much else, but a few special hideaways, like the intimate Anse Chastanet, are found on the southwestern shoreline, overlooked by jungle-cloaked mountains.

This two-island nation, located closer to Venezuela than most of the Caribbean (save the ABC islands), offers a very different Caribbean experience. Trinidad, the larger of the two islands, is home to a melting pot of different cultures from India, Syria, Venezuela, Africa, Europe, and many more, which makes for abundant cultural festivals (in fact, Trinidad's Carnival is revered as the best party in the Caribbean). Inexpensive inns and guesthouses cater to visitors here, while a delectable mix of culinary specialties of international influence offer some of the Caribbean's most unique, and affordable, dining. Outside of the congested and commercialized capital of Port-of-Spain, the island's wildlife sanctuaries offer the Caribbean's richest ecosystems, but its beaches are removed and hard to reach. If sand is what you're after, head to sister island Tobago; here, a more laid-back and beachy atmosphere pervades, attracting vacationers who want to scuba dive along the offshore reefs, explore lush rainforests, and bask on powdery sands, all of which are still relatively free of tourists and overdeveloped resorts.

Call the team at The Cruise Village on 0844 736 9370 to discuss your cruise holiday to the Caribbean.

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