Is Cruising All It’s Cracked Up To Be?

We always thought going on a cruise would be out of our league and we’d never be able to afford it. In our minds, it was synonymous with luxury travel and was one for the bucket list, but we didn’t know if we would actually achieve it.

Then a brochure for P&O fell through our letterbox advertising Caribbean Cruises. The offer was, if you booked before a certain date, you would receive £200 on board credit, plus the cruises weren't as expensive as we thought – deal clincher for us then! AND we flew there and back to ensure we received the most amount of time in the Caribbean as possible – WINNER!!
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We were super excited about visiting the Caribbean together for the first time and seeing some amazing countries, and this part of the world definitely did not disappoint!

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Our mega-ship the "Ventura" which held 3,000 passengers

​Bonaire 

There are many water based activities on the Dutch island of Bonaire and nature conservation is high on the island’s agenda. With 100% of the waters surrounding Bonaire and Klein Bonaire being a protected national park, this small country is known to be a hot spot for divers. Alternatively, you can take a catamaran snorkelling trip to Bonaire Marine Park or go kayaking at the Mangrove Eco Centre. For land lovers there are 4x4 or Harley Davidson adventures, you can go for a nature walk around the island to view the beautiful lakes or spot the pretty birds, or just stroll through the town enjoying the colourful buildings.

Related Post: A Guide to First Time Cruising

Our Cruise ship

We were on MV Ventura a “family friendly” mega-ship with 14 decks which can hold 3,078 passengers, whoa! The Titanic held 2,435 passengers – yes I know that’s a bad comparison, but on our first ever cruise, we couldn’t help but have irrational thoughts, especially when we were on the top deck at moonlight looking out over the vast open ocean; deep dark water as far as the eye could see. It was beautiful and quiet, so we pushed those silly thoughts aside and just enjoyed the silent-filled night with only the gentle noise of our floating resort gliding through the water.

For every Country we visited, we researched what there was to see and do. Cruise ships run excursions but generally they are more expensive than if you sourced a local company, and money from the excursion doesn’t always benefit the economy of the country you are visiting. Cruise ships dock, rarely buy local produce, dispose of waste but rarely give back to the community. We were mindful of this on our cruise and felt guilty for not contributing to less-than-wealthy Caribbean destinations, with this in mind, we used reviews on Trip Advisor to email companies and pre-book excursions in advance. During our research, we found that most local companies will often adjust tour routes so you aren’t following large numbers of tourists around from your own cruise ship, they will also pick you up and return you to the port in good time before your ship leaves.

​We both weren’t certified divers when we visited so chose to catch a 20 minute water taxi to Klein Bonaire and spend time relaxing on the white sand beach formed by the droppings of parrot fish poop. Fact of the day! We already knew in advance there were no amenities so took a packed lunch and refreshments.  

Approaching Klein Bonaire in a water taxi

​Donning our mask and snorkel, we waded into the aquamarine waters to search for the fishes which, apparently, is usually really good here. Alas, we visited at the tail end of bad weather so the visibility and conditions weren’t as good as we had hoped. We still managed to see some lovely coral and small marine life so we weren’t too disappointed, and with a beach as stunning as this, what was there not to enjoy?

Aruba
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Aruba is a tiny Dutch Caribbean island nine miles off the coast of Venezuela which can be seen on a clear day. Along with Bonaire & Curacao, Aruba forms what are known as the “ABC islands”. The picturesque capital of Oranjestad is full of colonial pastel coloured Dutch architecture and a lovely place to stroll around if beaches aren’t your “thing”. Aruba has one of the most ethnically diverse populations in the world and locals speak fluent English, Dutch, Spanish as well as their native Creole.

View from our ship of the picturesque port in Oranjestad

For scuba divers and snorkellers, Aruba is often referred to as the wreck diving capital of the Caribbean. Two WWII wrecks lay just off the coast, SS Antilla which is the largest and one of the most intact of the Caribbean’s wrecks, and SS Pedernales.
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If you are a beach lover, head to Eagle Beach or Palm Beach which are the best on the island rated in the top 10 in the world! With an average of about 15 inches of rain all year, you are almost guaranteed a sunny day when you visit. We knew this in advance so caught a taxi to Eagle Beach, a photographer’s (and beach lovers!) paradise. The picturesque native divi-divi (also known as fofoti) trees dotted around have been used in various advertising campaigns.  It has powdery white soft sand, crystal clear waters and free cabanas to grab some shade if you need it. Its picture-postcard perfect in every way, a beach-lovers dream!

Pretty as a picture - the native divi dive or fofoti tree

Cabanas are dotted along the beach if you need a break from the sun

Jamaica

The most exciting destination for us was Jamaica and is a country I had longed to visit for many, many years. Our cruise ship docked at Ocho Rios in the north and we had pre-booked a “Nine Mile & Dunn’s River Falls Tour” with Jaital (this company no longer runs this tour but there are other companies who do). Dunn’s River Falls is the No. 1 tourist attraction in Ocho Rios and Nine Mile is the birthplace of the legendary Bob Marley. They really are the "Jewel of Jamaica", however if neither of these activities float your boat whilst you are in Ocho Rios, you can go rafting on the Martha Brae River, have a laugh whilst river tubing or, for the more adventurous, plunge 3,280 feet through the rainforest on a bobsled a-la “Cool Runnings” style!

Visiting Bob Marley's birthplace and museum dedicated to his life

Reaching the top of Dunn's River Falls

Jamaica lived up to our expectations and was, without a doubt, our favourite day throughout the entire Caribbean trip. It wasn’t just because of the fun we had visiting two awesome attractions, it was the people of Jamaica who are so full of life that made this country so special. It was because of this day trip we chose to return to Jamaica to renew our wedding vows four years later. If you are curious to discover more about Jamaica, we visited Negril which is famous for its seven mile white sand beaches, read our post “Jammin’ Jamaica”

Grand Turk

The view of this island from our ship was beautiful and the best we had seen on the two week cruise. We docked directly opposite a stunning beach with powder white sand, lush green palm trees and crystal clear waters so inviting, we wanted to just jump right in. We went for a snorkel in waist-deep water and were met with a stunning array of colourful fish who didn’t mind us sharing their territory. 

Lazing on the beach in port at Grand Turk looking at our ship! Such a pretty port

​Grand Turk is the capital of the Turks & Caicos Islands and situated 30 miles south of the Bahamas, and we all know how beautiful they are! That should give you a good indication of how stunning the beaches are on Grand Turk! The Turks and Caicos became a British overseas territory in 1973 so English is the official language, but the US dollar is its official currency. Many believe Grand Turk derived its name from the indigenous Turk’s Head cactus which is featured on the islands’ flag.

​We booked an afternoon “Gibbs Cay Beach and Stingray” encounter tour which was a short boat journey from the cruise centre. The Cay is a tropically beautiful and uninhabited island where stingrays enjoy the warm shallow waters and are happy to swim all around you.  

It was surreal feeling the stingrays against our ankles and they swum quite happily all around, we could see them so clearly through the crystal waters. We had an opportunity to hold a stingray and pose for photographs which, in hindsight we now regret (I can’t even bring myself to include a photo in this post because I feel so ashamed). We have since become more aware of marine life conservation and know it is wrong to touch any marine life and most definitely not to hold it out of the water. We now know not to participate in any excursion or activity anywhere in the world where they actively touch and handle animals, we wish we had been more aware at the time.

Stingray swim around your feet quite happily - no need to take them out of the water to enjoy them!

​St Maarten/St Martin

We had heard that the best way to see St Maarten island was to hire a taxi and take a private tour, so a few of us waited by a taxi rank and booked one between us which obviously kept the cost down.

​St Maarten is the smallest island in the world divided between two nations. The northern French half is known as St Martin and the southern Dutch half is St Maarten. The island has 37 beaches in its 34 square miles. We were taken to Maho Beach, infamous because the small airport runway almost meets the sand and is separated only by a narrow road and a flimsy fence. As we were on a whistle-stop tour of the island, we weren’t lucky enough to see a 747 fly over our heads but a small carrier plane did pass over. If you spend some time on this beach, then you should have the experience of being very close to the under-belly of a jumbo jet!  

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St Maarten is the leading island in the Caribbean for naturists and despite nudity being common place on the French side, the only “official” nudist beach is at Orient Beach. As we looked at the picturesque view of the sailing ships and rocks dotted along the shoreline, we didn’t realise we would also be staring at a naturist liberally applying suntan lotion in a rather bold way!
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This is a very pretty island and it’s lovely to see the two different cultures so distinctively in a small location.

​Antigua

Antigua has always been a popular wedding/honeymoon destination so we knew the beaches would be special. This was the only port which had a steel band playing as we stepped off the ship – aaaaaaah, music to our ears! This was the sound of the Caribbean that we had been waiting for! For me, the sound of steel band is quintessentially Caribbean.

​We caught a taxi to one of the island’s 365 beaches, Runaway Bay, which was another classic Caribbean gorgeous location. Oh it’s difficult travelling from one glorious beach island to the next isn’t it! So we lay on the powder-soft white sand and enjoyed our first encounter of jerk-chicken bought from a beach shack whilst supping a very strong rum-punch. I’m unsure if it was the punch or the hot Caribbean sun which left me with a warm glow!

Our first taste of jerk chicken on Runaway Bay, Antigua

Dominica

This island is dominated by rich, vibrant rainforest and relatively untouched by tourism, therefore it is a nature lovers paradise! If you are looking for a Caribbean island with scenic walks, waterfalls and more greenery than you can shake a stick at, this is the place for you!
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We had pre-booked a “Roseau Valley Treasures” excursion with Bumpiing Tours prior to our visit based on the excellent reviews on Trip Advisor. We liked that they catered for people on cruise ships but they also time their visits around crowded excursions run by cruise operators. Our first stop was Morne Bruce, a lookout point where you can see the entire town – very impressive!

Morne Bruce lookout - you can see our ship from here!

​Champagne Reef is one of the “signature” dive and snorkelling sites in the Caribbean. It’s a marine protected area about 20 minutes drive from the capital and derives its name from the champagne-like bubbles escaping from the volcanically generated gas formed under the earth which then rises to the surface. It really is like swimming in a champagne glass – and as for the marine life – it’s beautiful! An array of colours and many different type of fish – stunning!  

As part of the tour were the Botanical Gardens, Trafalgar Falls and Ti Tou Gorge; a freshwater pool inside a cave used in the Hollywood Blockbuster movie “Pirates of the Caribbean 2”. We also stopped in the lush Dominican’ rainforest at a hot mineral bath accessed by a short walk down a flight of natural steps – how fabulous! We would thoroughly recommend booking this trip with Bumpiing Tours if you are visiting Dominica.

Trafalgar Falls

St Lucia
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Unfortunately the weather wasn’t so great when we visited so we didn’t have an opportunity to see the famous Pitons, instead, we did something called Snuba! 

The blue sky didn't last - the grey clouds and rain came over us

​Snuba is a mixture of Scuba and Snorkelling (Snuba stands for Surface Nexus Underwater Breathing Apparatus) which enables you to breathe through a tube and swim below the surface up to 10 feet (just like scuba). Your air supply is on a light support raft at the surface and it’s a fantastic way to bridge the gap between snorkelling and diving; no diving qualification is required. It’s the ideal underwater experience which gives you a taster of what it would feel like to go further below the surface; it was this trip that convinced Sy that yes, an open water diver course was the next step for him! If you follow us, you know that he is now an Instructor!

​Barbados

Barbados is the Caribbean playground of the rich and famous, and the west coast is known as the “Platinum Coast”, one of the most expensive areas in the world to live. A “whose house belongs to which A-list celebrity” tour didn’t appeal to us ... instead, we had read about a turtle snorkel encounter so pre-booked a catamaran tour with “Ocean Mist Catamaran Tours” (sadly this brilliant company are no longer in operation).

​It was a fantastic relaxing day, there was plenty of room to sunbathe – or throw a fishing line off the back of the boat as one gentleman did to catch King Fish! That was our lunch sorted.

Sustainable fishing at it's best - that's lunch sorted

Sy and I enjoyed relaxing on the boat

Fun on the boat

We don’t eat fish, Sy doesn’t like the taste of it and I am concerned about sustainable fishing methods, but you can’t get more sustainable than one man and his line. The BBQ’d snapper was meaty and very, very tasty so even Sy enjoyed it.
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However we were here for the snorkelling, not just the fantastic catamaran journey and snorkelling with the turtles was magnificent! We anchored in an area the captain thought they would be and just waited. The turtles soon swam by so when they were spotted, we just popped into the water and watched as they cruised around – but no touching and no trying to chase them!! I would thoroughly recommend this trip and it’s such a shame that Ocean Mist Catamaran Tours are no longer in operation.

So, is cruising all it’s cracked up to be?

The pros –If you are undecided as to which Country to visit, whether this be around the Caribbean or Mediterranean, cruising is a fantastic opportunity to see a lot of different islands in one holiday. It’s a perfect “taster” and if, like us, you find one you wish to return to, as least you have an idea of what to expect.

The cons – If, like us, what you love about a new Country is getting to know its people, culture and language, that is sadly missing. You only have an opportunity to spend a few hours in each place, so can only really pick a couple of things to do and, although an island tour is great, we felt we wanted more time at each stop to soak up the atmosphere.

One final say - If you love the idea of cruising and care about the environment, please read this fabulous post by Jenn from By Land and Sea “10 Ideas For More Sustainable Cruise Travel” 

​Things we would do differently with hindsight:

1. We wouldn’t use P&O – if felt as though the staff were more like teachers and there appeared to be a lot of “telling off” for the smallest of things that didn’t make us feel comfortable. We knew we were a captive audience, but we felt their Customer Service was lacking in favour of trying to sell to us all the time. We became friendly with people who were allocated the table next to us at dinner and they had used Royal Caribbean. They said there was a huge difference between the two companies and they would recommend Royal Caribbean, but they wouldn’t recommend P&O. I am not recommending you shouldn’t book with P&O, I am saying that they weren’t the cruise liner for us.

2. To get the cheapest deal we opted for an Inside cabin which meant no windows or natural light and if we were to go on another cruise, we would choose one with a balcony. I can’t think of anything nicer than having my morning coffee on a balcony watching us cruise into port.

3. We would pick a liner that wasn’t so big – we were on the Ventura which held over 3,000 people and although it was beautiful and impressive, there were just too many people for our liking. We don’t like being around crowds of people so to be surrounded by 3,000 with no means of escaping these crowds wasn’t comfortable for us.  

4. We would pick a liner that was more suited to our age and not “one size fits all”. This was a family cruise liner and the entertainment didn’t always suit our taste and for two weeks with no where else to go at night other than stay on the ship, sometimes this meant the evenings dragged. Docked near to us at one Port was a German ship called Aida, they bikes and segways for hire when you disembarked, now that would suit us a lot more.

5. We would choose a non-UK based company, not because we have anything against the British (we are British!) but we like to go on holiday and escape “the every day” so to hear the British accent all around us couldn’t help us totally escape mentally. The beauty for us about travelling is meeting people from different nationalities around the pool or at dinner, I always say that you learn so much about other countries and cultures through travelling; not just from the place you are visiting, but from the people you meet travelling.

We never say “never again” and this type of holiday ticks many boxes and provides a luxury experience. For someone’s first cruise, our advice would be to read reviews about the ship and cruise company and experience they provide carefully and if it’s something you want to do – you should definitely do it!  

We certainly do not regret our cruise, we will simply learn from this experience and do things better in the future!
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Have you been on a cruise, what did you like and dislike about it? Which company did you use and would you recommend them? Share your experience with us in the comments below ... we want to hear from you!

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