Ocean Realm

How popular are Caribbean cruises? Royal Caribbean just built a cruise ship called Oasis of the Seas which is 360 metres long and can carry over five thousand passengers. This floating palace gives a whole new meaning to the words cruise holidays“. It contains a park with over twelve thousand trees and plants, multiple swimming pools and Jacuzzis, and a shopping mall that rivals anything you’ll see on dry land. It definitely raises the bar for comfort and luxury in the cruise industry.

Before the Oasis, the Queen Mary II was the largest passenger ship in the world at just over 345 metres, but she’s a trans-Atlantic ocean liner, not a Caribbean cruise ship. The Oasis and other ships of her class were built to service the Caribbean. Travellers seeking time away visiting the tropical paradises of the Upper and Lower Antilles have demanded something bigger and better and the industry has provided it for them.

So where are all of these cruises going? The most popular destinations in the Caribbean are Puerto Rico and Jamaica, but there are quite a few who travel to the lesser known islands of the Lower Antilles to experience more wide open space and less commercialism. If you’re looking for a private week away with your spouse or partner you might want to look for something no one else is looking for.

The Caribbean is also bordered by the upper coast of South America and many of the port cities there are popular destinations for cruise goers. Maracaibo, Caracas, and Puerto La Cruz in Venezuela see their share of traffic during the cruise season. If you go a little further east you’ll hit the nations of French Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, and Grenada, all of which get their share of tourists coming in on the cruise ships.

Central America also offers its share of beauty and tourist attractions. The port cities of Costa Rica and Panama are friendly and open to take in cruise ships and their passengers. Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Honduras also have their share of attractive features. The Caribbean touches all of these and they offer some nice mainland options for extended cruises.

What’s the best reason to visit the Caribbean on a cruise? For most it is unquestionably the availability of tropical islands and beaches, but there are cultural, historical, and social reasons to visit some of the cities on the continents that surround the Caribbean. If you’re looking for cruise vacation options for you and your family it’s nice to know there are other options besides that 360 metre cruise liner.

Sarah Van Rensburg is a travel lover and avid writer, focussing on a range of travel topics including cruises.