Cruises

A high percentage of Caribbean cruises make at least one stop in the Virgin Islands. Charlotte Amalie in St. Thomas is the most popular port, followed by historic Frederiksted in St. Croix, and Road Town in Tortola.

Miami is the cruise capital of the world, but ships also leave from San Juan, New York, Port Everglades, and other points. Most cruise ships travel at night, arriving the following morning at ports of call, where passengers can go ashore for sightseeing and shopping.

Which Cruise Line is for You?

Once you've decided that a cruise to the Virgin Islands is right for you, you'll need to choose your cruise line. Two helpful resources for choosing a cruise line are Frommer's Cruises & Ports of Call (Wiley Publishing, Inc.) and Cruise Vacations for Dummies (Wiley Publishing, Inc.). Below you'll find a rundown of various ships cruising the Virgin Islands.

Carnival Cruise Lines (tel. 888/CARNIVAL; www.carnival.com) offers affordable vacations on some of the biggest and most brightly decorated ships afloat. It's the richest, boldest, brashest, and most successful mass-market cruise line in the world. Its boats leave from Miami, Tampa, New Orleans, Mobile, Port Canaveral, and San Juan, and stop over at selected ports throughout the eastern and western Caribbean, including St. Thomas, St. Lucia, San Juan, St. Martin, Barbados, Martinique, Grand Cayman, and Jamaica. Most of its cruises offer good value, last from 4 to 8 days, and feature nonstop activities, lots of glitter, and the hustle and bustle of armies of passengers and crew members embarking and disembarking at every port.

Celebrity Cruises (tel. 877/202-4345; www.celebrity-cruises.com) maintains 10 medium-to-large ships offering cruises of between 7 and 11 nights to such ports as Key West, San Juan, Grand Cayman, St. Thomas, Ocho Rios, Antigua, and Cozumel, Mexico, among others. The line is unpretentious and classy (several notches above mass-market), but offers pricing that's nonetheless relatively competitive. Accommodations are roomy and well equipped, and the cuisine is among the most refined on the seas.

Princess Cruises (tel. 800/PRINCESS; www.princess.com) places more emphasis on luxury living on a mass scale than any other line afloat. The company's ships usually carry fewer passengers than similarly sized vessels on other lines. Cruises last between 7 and 15 days, and include stops at such islands as Aruba, Barbados, Caracas, Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia, St. Martin, St. Kitts, and St. Thomas.

Royal Caribbean International (tel. 866/562-7625; www.royalcaribbean.com) leads the industry in the development of megaships. This mainstream, mass-market cruise line encourages a restrained house-party atmosphere that's somehow a bit less frenetic than that of other "party-style" cruise lines. Though accommodations and accouterments are more than adequate, they are not upscale, and cabins aboard some of the line's older vessels tend to be a bit more cramped than the industry norm. Using Miami, San Juan, or Fort Lauderdale as their home ports, Royal Caribbean ships call regularly at such ports as St. Thomas, San Juan, Ocho Rios, St. Martin, Grand Cayman, St. Croix, and Curaçao. Most of the company's cruises last for 7 days, although some weekend jaunts from San Juan to St. Thomas are available for 3 nights.

Seabourn Cruise Line (tel. 800/929-9391; www.seabourn.com) is an upscale, expensive outfit known for luxurious, small-scale ships. Its deluxe Seabourn Legend and Seabourn Pride spend from 10 to 14 days sailing the eastern Caribbean, leaving from Fort Lauderdale. There are more activities than you'd expect aboard such relatively small ships (10,000 tons), and an absolutely amazing amount of onboard space per passenger. Cuisine is superb, served within a dining room that's unapologetically formal.

How to Get the Best Deal on Your Cruise

Cruise lines operate like airlines, setting rates for their cruises and then selling them in a rapid-fire series of discounts, offering almost whatever it takes to fill their ships. Because of this, great deals come and go in the blink of an eye, and most are available only through travel agents.

If you have a travel agent you trust, leave the details to him or her. If not, try contacting a travel agent who specializes in booking cruises. Some of the best agencies include: Cruises Inc., 1415 NW 62nd St., Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309 (tel. 888/218-4228; www.cruisesinc.com); CruisesOnly, 100 Sylvan Rd., Suite 600, Woburn, MA 01801 (tel. 800/278-4737; www.cruisesonly.com); The Cruise Company, 10760 Q St., Omaha, NE 68127 (tel. 800/289-5505; www.thecruisecompany.com); Kelly Cruises, 1315 W. 22nd St., Suite 105, Oak Brook, IL 60523 (tel. 800/837-7447; www.kellycruises.com); Hartford Holidays Travel, 129 Hillside Ave., Williston Park, NY 11596 (tel. 800/828-4813; www.hartfordholidays.com); and Mann Travel and Cruises, 4400 Park Rd., Charlotte, NC 28209 (tel. 866/591-8129; www.manntravelandcruises.com).

A Few Money-Saving Tips -- Book early: You can often get considerable savings on a 7-day cruise by booking early. Ask a travel agent or call the cruise line directly.

Don't sail alone: Cruise lines base their rates on double occupancy, so solo passengers usually pay between 150% and 200% of the per-person rate. If you're traveling alone, most lines have a program that allows two solo passengers to share a cabin.

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Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.

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				Frommer's Virgin Islands, 9th Edition Author: Darwin Porter Pub Date: August 27, 2007 Price: $17.99				Related Titles: Bahamas For Dummies, 4th Edition Caribbean For Dummies, 4th Edition Frommer's Bahamas 2009