Caribbean cruise adventure

What is the best way to explore the Caribbean if you don’t have your own boat and don’t have 3 months to do it? We also asked ourselves this question when planning our trip and then came to the conclusion that we might be able to try a cruise ship. I think there are a lot of prejudices about “cruise ships” (only for old people, chic, party, boring…), which are not all true.

The choice of ship is a challenge in itself. There is about the whole spectrum, from luxury liners to party boats. I then found the offer of the Norwegian Cruise Line sympathetic, because the ships are big but not huge, the motto “freestyle” is celebrated and the price seemed very reasonable. The “freestyle” motto means that there are no specially defined times and dress styles for meals. Admittedly, I would have liked the sailboat offers even better, but that was a bit above our level in terms of price.

So we dared to experiment and booked an outside cabin without a balcony on the Norwegian Dawn. The program of the 10-day Caribbean cruise was as follows:

Miami, Florida – Samaná, Dominikanische Republik – Tortola, Britische Jungferninseln – Philipsburg, St. Maarten – St. John`s, Antigua – Bridgetown, Barbados – Basseterre, St. Kitts – Miami, Florida

The Caribbean cruise surprised us positively. On the ship, the nations were very mixed, as Europeans they were outnumbered. It had numerous families, indeed many elderly people but also some young couples. In my opinion, the ship itself resembles a travelling hotel. I found the inner workings really very impressive. But I only used the gym effectively (with an unobstructed view of the ocean it’s easier to step dance) and the restaurants.

The cabin was not large, but practical and comfortably furnished. Each room is assigned a steward, who inquires about the well-being every day very nicely.

For meals, there were three restaurants included in the price and several specialty restaurants with extra charges. The morning buffet was really great and catered for all tastes. Dinner was ok but not a highlight. You can actually eat somewhere all day, but since you are fortunately not on the ship all day, this fact has not had a negative effect.

During the three days we spent at sea, we enjoyed the sea breeze on the sun deck. The crowds here were limited, as the older people tended to pass the time in the casino. The mini-pool, on the other hand, I didn’t find incredibly attractive and refrained from bathing. Basically, however, all these impressions provided a positive basic feeling.