East Caribbean cruises

East Caribbean cruises are among the most popular of all cruises in the world. Therefore, it is not surprising to learn that this part of the Caribbean is geared to handle massive numbers of tourist arrivals. Most cruise vacationers to East Caribbean come from the US and from Canada and for good reason as well. Flying times to departure ports such as Fort Lauderdale and Miami as well San Juan as well as Barbados is very short – even from the UK – which is why many British cruise vacationers have also taken a liking to East Caribbean cruises.

Popular destination

The East Caribbean became a popular cruise destination during the sixties when the big transatlantic cruise line ships had to compete with passengers opting to fly to the East Caribbean. During the Prohibition in the thirties, this part of the world also saw a flourishing booze cruise phenomena. Before actually taking East Caribbean cruises, it makes sense to understand that notwithstanding the fact that the Caribbean islands lie close to each other, they are still quite different in terms of their cultures and physical attributes.

At first, East Caribbean cruises involved just spending time on the beaches, hitting a few boutiques and then there would be bus tours followed by buffet meals. However, an enterprising cruise line gave these cruise options a second look and created East Caribbean cruises that offered much more by including other options such as snorkelling classes. Once people tried out such cruises, they took to them like ducks to water. That first cruise line was none other than the one called Carnival which was soon followed by Norwegian Caribbean Line and others.

Snorkelling/diving cruises

When choosing your East Caribbean cruises, it makes sense to check how to get the most out of them, especially when wanting to snorkel and/or dive. You need to check factors such as the amount of control that the cruise line has over your activities and also whether they offer diving classes onboard their cruise ships. You also will want to find out if the ship does in fact conduct their own diving excursions or is it selling commercial diving/snorkelling tours in the form of shore excursions.

Rent/Borrow/Own

If it is snorkelling or diving that is of interest, it is important to check which option is the best in terms of using equipment: rent/borrow/own.

Islands of Turks and Caicos

This is one of the best East Caribbean cruise destination for divers because here there are miles and miles of high vertical walls from which to dive from heights of up to seven thousand feet high into an abyss. There are several exciting snorkelling options available here where there is abundance of marine life as well as outstanding corals.

Bahamas

The corals in the waters around the Bahamas are populated with wonderful corals which make this a great place to shallow dive as well as snorkel. In addition, it is also possible to view sharks as they feed around the waters in Nassau and other sites that are worth checking out include the Abacos and Bimini and a smattering of small sized islands laying in this part of the Eastern Caribbean.