Top 5 Winter Cruises to the Caribbean
This winter, if you live close to one of the cruise ports you don’t need to board a plane to find a piece of sun-splashed paradise. Even if you live away from the cruise ports, you are just a four-hour flight or less away from one of these ports. Let’s find paradise and cruise with one of the top five winter cruises to the Caribbean.
1. Winter Cruises with Royal Caribbean
Royal Caribbean’s wide range of cruises will allow you to “bring summer heat to the winter months” and keep you away from the jackets and mittens. These cruises start at $300 and up sailing from Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Port Canaveral, Tampa, Cape Liberty (New Jersey), Galveston (Texas) and Baltimore (Maryland).
The 10-night Western Caribbean Cruise on the Grandeur of the Seas departs Baltimore on January 24, visiting Cozumel (Mexico), George Town (Grand Cayman), Falmouth (Jamaica) and Labadee (Haiti). If you need to catch a flight to Baltimore, choose either Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) or Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA). BWI is only about 10 miles from the city center and DCA is
44 miles away.
New Yorkers and those living around the Pennsylvania and New Jersey area may want to take advantage of the 12-night Western Caribbean Cruise leaving from Cape Liberty New Jersey on January 25. This Anthem of the Seas cruise takes you to Labadee (Haiti), Falmouth (Jamaica), George Town (Grand Cayman), Puerto Costa Maya (Mexico), Roatan (Honduras) and Cozumel (Mexico).
Cape Liberty in Bayonne New Jersey is about 15 miles from New York City and almost
200 miles from Pennsylvania. It usually takes over an hour to get from New York City to Cape Liberty.
For shorter cruises and more frequent cruises, check out the 4-night Western Caribbean Cruise from Fort Lauderdale to Cozumel on the Independence of the Seas. You may want to combine a cruise to the Caribbean with a vacation in Miami or Orlando.
Information: More cruises on
Royal Caribbean
2. Winter Cruises with Norwegian Cruise Line
From New York City, Norwegian offers 7-Day Bahamas and Florida with Norwegian Breakaway, 14-Day Southern Caribbean with Norwegian Breakaway and 9-Day Eastern Caribbean with Norwegian Gem.
Norwegian Breakaway is one of the newest and largest ships in the Caribbean. Inside this floating paradise is The Waterfront, a quarter-mile oceanfront promenade filled with restaurants and bars. The Aqua Park and Sports Deck on Floors 16 and 17 offer five multi-story waterslides including the fastest waterslide at sea.
Norwegian Gem will take you from New York to San Juan (Puerto Rico), St. Thomas (U.S. Virgin Islands), Philipsburg (St. Maarten) and Tortola (British Virgin Islands). There’s only one departure on the 14-Day Southern Caribbean with Norwegian Breakaway (January 17-31).
Norwegian ports of embarkation for Caribbean cruises include Houston, Miami, New Orleans and Tampa. Find the cruise that best suits your needs at
Norwegian Cruise Line.
3. Winter Cruises with Celebrity
Celebrity cruises leave from Miami, Fort Lauderdale and San Juan (Puerto Rico) to Southern, Western and Eastern Caribbean. Their most interesting itinerary departs from San Juan to Tortola (British Virgin Islands), Roseau (Dominica), Fort de France (Martinique), Basseterre (St. Kitts) and Charlotte Amalie (US Virgin Islands). You will need to fly into San Juan to join this cruise. It’s best to combine your cruise with a few days of vacationing in San Juan.
Read more about
5 Things to Do in San Juan.
Find the cruise that best suits your needs at
Celebrity.
4. Winter Star Wars Cruises with Disney Cruise Line
Disney and Star Wars fans can cruise on the 7-Day Western Caribbean Cruise from Port Canaveral with Star Wars Days at Sea departing January 9, January 23, February 6, February 20, March 5, March 19, April 2 and April 16 on Disney Fantasy.
The Star Wars Day at Sea is filled with Disney and Star Wars entertainment, plenty of activities in celebration of all things Star Wars and lots of opportunities to meet Darth Vader, Chewbacca, Stormtroopers and more. Guests will also stop at Castaway Cay, Disney’s private island.
Disney cruises also depart from Miami, San Juan and Galveston to the Caribbean.
Information: More
Disney Cruises
5. Winter Cruises with Princess Cruises
Your Caribbean vacation starts the moment you step inside a Princess Cruise ship. Princess offers steel pan drum lesson, Caribbean-infused beat of Zumba, lively island music by Caribbean performers and fresh Caribbean local cuisine on board their Caribbean cruises besides the rock climbing, slides and pools.
Winter cruises to the Caribbean are only available from Fort Lauderdale. Whether you are looking to take a cruise in the Southern, Western or Eastern Caribbean, Princess Cruises offers cruises for four to 21 days. Some of these longer cruises are no longer available after December 18.
Find the cruise that best suits your needs at
Princess Cruises.
Read more on cruising:
7 Cruises from New York City
Transatlantic Repositioning Cruises for Those Who Hates Flying
5 Tips to Buying Cruise Travel Insurance
Have you been on a winter cruise with any of these cruise lines? Let us know.
