My fiancée and I are looking for a good Caribbean cruise in October and were wondering which islands are best to see and which Cruise line to take?
It seems like a lot of the cruises don't run in this month due to Hurricane season so I'm looking for other good options.
EDIT We'll be travelling in 2012.
This is less than an answer, but more than a comment…
A large percentage of your travel budget will be spent on the cruise itself, given that it includes lodging, food, and transportation. As it appears you don't have your heart set on seeing a particular part of the Caribbean, the next important question is: what is your "cruising style"?
I've been on three cruise lines: Holland America, Royal Caribbean, and Norwegian. I'd go on another cruise in a heartbeat on one of them—because it fits the sort of traveling my husband and I like to do. If you like to dress up and eat high-end food, the cruise line you want isn't the one that caters to honeymooners on a tight budget or to families with small kids. If you like things to be super-flexible, you don't want the cruise line that assigns you a nightly dining reservation at their one restaurant. And so on…
If you like upscale, be aware that all cruise lines put their best efforts into their longer cruises. I've been on cruises ranging from 4-14 nights, and the experience (and amenities!) pretty closely tracked with the trip length.
Once you've figured out what cruise line and trip length work for you, there are likely to only be a few options left. Take whichever of them works best—there really are no bad Caribbean trips (so long as the weather cooperates, of course).
The Princess Cruise Line has a Caribbean cruise in the fall.
It may start in November, rather than October, but could be suitable for your needs. Their October cruise, which I took some years ago, goes from New York to Nova Scotia (and back) via New England.
Friends I am staying with are travelling with Royal Carribean on a cruise in October. They're starting from Miami, but I gather there are four main crusies - the west, noth, east and southern Caribbean cruises. They're on the Southern, and it encompasses several of the islands - I can only dream of it ;)
Their site is a little annoying, but this is the search result for Caribbean cruises, wWhich is just a form for your details, and they'll send you more information, I gather.
This may not help you at this point in time but for future reference....there are plenty of options for the Caribbean in October! Regradless of it being in hurricane season October has many options on many cruise lines covering the three main itinerary options (Eastern Caribbean, Western Caribbean and Southern Caribbean) as well as Bermuda and Bahama options on shorter itineraries or 7 night itineraries out of northern ports such as Boston, New York and Baltimore. In fact, it being hirricane season is a great reason to cruise! If your cruise occurs during a hurricane the ship will simply divert around the bad weather and move on whereas with a land-based resort vacation it is what it is!
I love cruising and especially love going to the Caribbean. I would simply rotate the three major itinerary options! You may go to the same islands every third cruise but these locations and the ships never get old. If I had to chose the islands of only one itienrary though I would recommend the Southern Caribbean.
