Southern Caribbean Cruise Vacations

With the sunniest climate of all areas in the Caribbean, the Southern Islands of the Caribbean will give you your fill of the warm stuff. Cruises in the Southern Caribbean feature a lot of island hopping and a lot of time at port. You have different experiences available each day on a Southern Caribbean Cruise.

Most Southern Caribbean cruises begin from San Juan, Puerto Rico and last 7 or more nights ,though shorter cruises are offered. The high season is during the Winter, but a few cruise lines offer trips year round.

Things To Do

Like all Caribbean locations, there is plenty of water recreation available – swimming, beach play, snorkeling, sailing, and sunning. Natural beauty is everywhere. Swim off a black sand beach next to a volcano on Martinique or explore extraordinary limestone caves in Barbados. Take a bike tour or swim at the base of a waterfall in Dominica.

The islands of the Southern Caribbean were colonized by the British, French, Spanish, Dutch and Portuguese. Some remain territories of these European countries and all display strong cultural influences from their respective European settlers, so each island exhibits a very different feel.

Because there are so many different ports of call relatively close together, a Southern Caribbean vacation tends to be a busy one, with different things to see and do each day.

Ports of Call

Because there are so many port choices, itineraries can vary quite a bit between cruise lines. Listed below are the possible ports of call for a Southern Caribbean cruise.

St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands St. Maarten Antigua Martinique Barbados

St. Lucia Aruba Curacao Dominica Grenada

St. Kitts St. Barts Caracas, Venuzuela Isla Margarita, Venuzuela

Season / Trip Lengths / Departure Ports

The most popular time to cruise the Southern Caribbean is during the Winter with most of the major cruise lines offering trips. A few cruise lines (Carnival and Royal Caribbean) offer Southern Caribbean cruises year round. Cruises as short as 3 nights are available, bit typical cruises last 7 nights. In the peak winter months longer trips of 9 to 12 nights are available.

Most Southern Caribbean Cruises depart from San Juan, Puerto Rico though some ships sail from other islands. Cruises with longer itineraries are available from Miami and Fort Lauderdale.