Topic Wiki

IslandsKosherPoints Hotels?Notes
Anguilla   ??               
Antigua   ??               
Aruba   Chabad   Marriott, Ritz Carlton,...etc            
Bahamas  Chabad  Atlantis-Marriott, Baha Mar-Hyatt  Weather forcast always says rain but in reality mostly nice weather 
Barbados    Chabad              
Bermuda    Colder, and Bermuda Triangle....
Cuba    ??              
Curaçao   Chabad          Hyatt     
Cancun   Kosher Restaurants, Chabad   St Regis, Hyatt, Westin...etc            Not Carribean but close enough
Cozumel   Chabad +         Not Carribean but close enough
Dominican Republic    Chabad + Year Round Kosher Hotel  Westin            
Grand Cayman    Kosher Frozen Food at the Ritz and Chabad Ritz, Westin..           
Jamaica    Chabad   Hyatt, Hilton            
Martinique    Chabad             
Puerto Rico    ChabadSt Regis x2, Ritz Carlton, W...etc            80% of the Island doen't have power All restored now
St Barts   Chabad              
St Kitts    Supermarket Carries many marked itemsPH            
St Lucia   Chabad              
St Martin   Chabad            
St Thomas    Chabad   Ritz Carlton, Wyndham, Westin on ST John            
Turk & CaicosChabad              
* Zika Status - I think its fair to say they all have it today most islands just stop reporting it.


HT: Davidmal

Feel Free to edit the wiki
« Last edited by mendelk on August 08, 2021, 09:13:33 PM »

Author Topic: Carribean Islands (Which One?) Master Thread  (Read 161002 times)

Offline joelr773

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Re: Carribean Islands (Which One?) Master Thread
« Reply #140 on: December 03, 2014, 05:08:29 PM »
+1
This way you can see and learn the pros and cons of 5 islands -- plus, the ship itself is an experience. No need to pack/unpack, rent cars either... Afterwards, if you really love a particular destination, i.e. St. Thomas, St. Barts, then you can go for an entire week.

However, the flights to MIA or FLL (where the cruise lines depart from) are much cheaper than flying direct to the Caribbean.
+1 agree 100%

Offline nirc

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Re: Carribean Islands (Which One?) Master Thread
« Reply #141 on: December 03, 2014, 06:21:18 PM »
So do it without kosherica if too expensive. I loved my cruise going to few places instead of just one.

Yes absolutely

+1
This way you can see and learn the pros and cons of 5 islands -- plus, the ship itself is an experience. No need to pack/unpack, rent cars either... Afterwards, if you really love a particular destination, i.e. St. Thomas, St. Barts, then you can go for an entire week.

However, the flights to MIA or FLL (where the cruise lines depart from) are much cheaper than flying direct to the Caribbean.

what are your thoughts on Carnival vs. Royal Caribbean?

Offline joelr773

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Re: Carribean Islands (Which One?) Master Thread
« Reply #142 on: December 03, 2014, 07:08:32 PM »
I took celebrity

Offline CS1

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Re: Carribean Islands (Which One?) Master Thread
« Reply #143 on: December 03, 2014, 07:17:14 PM »
what are your thoughts on Carnival vs. Royal Caribbean?

RC is much more upscale. This matters much more on a cruise ship than it does on a plane trip.
The job on a plane is to keep the traveler safe, satisfied (it you're lucky) and travel in relative comfort.

On a cruise ship however, in addition to the 5-Star Meals and waiters/customer service, you are also dealing with an ambiance,
the entertainment onboard, shows, casinos, shopping/Duty Free, classy marble and glass hallways, comfortable rooms, competent, helpful and friendly staff, etc..... 

Also, the caliber of people that are surrounding you all week as you sail along in a 'floating hotel' are of higher, more respectful, classy people....

I took celebrity

The new Celebrity is awesome --- The Solstice class is very upscale, new, no smoking, etc...
California Gourmet Belgian Nut-Free Chocolate Chips https://bit.ly/CaliforniaGourmetDirect

Offline nirc

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Re: Carribean Islands (Which One?) Master Thread
« Reply #144 on: December 03, 2014, 07:33:59 PM »
the 2 cruises i was thinking about, depart from san juan, PR on jan 18 for 7 nights. thoughts?

Carnival Valor

Day    Port    Arrive    Depart
Day 1    San Juan, Puerto Rico       10:00 PM
Day 2    St. Thomas, USVI    7:00 AM    5:00 PM
Day 3    ...   Fun Day At Sea    ---    ---
Day 4    Barbados    8:00 AM    5:00 PM
Day 5    St. Lucia, WI    8:00 AM    5:00 PM
Day 6    St Kitts, WI    8:00 AM    6:00 PM
Day 7    St. Maarten, NA    7:00 AM    5:00 PM
Day 8    San Juan, Puerto Rico    7:00 AM   

Royal Caribbean's Adventure Of The Seas

18-Jan    San Juan, Puerto Rico          8:30 PM       
19-Jan    Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas     8:00 AM     5:30 PM    Docked   
20-Jan    Basseterre, St. Kitts     8:00 AM     5:00 PM    Docked   
21-Jan    Cruising                   
22-Jan    Oranjestad, Aruba     8:00 AM     10:00 PM    Docked   
23-Jan    Willemstad, Curacao     8:00 AM     6:00 PM    Docked   
24-Jan    Cruising                   
25-Jan    San Juan, Puerto Rico     6:00 AM

i chose these 2 even though there are many others departing from NY, FL, Texas is because the ones i mentioned have the most stops in exotic locales for me to check out.

Offline Yaalili

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Re: Carribean Islands (Which One?) Master Thread
« Reply #145 on: December 03, 2014, 07:46:31 PM »

Besides for Barbados the first cruise does not have many exotic stops, that you would not be able to get from a cruise that is leaving from MIA/FLL. All those go to the virgin islands as well. Plus on your first cruise you have one more place but that is on Shabbos so both cruises really have 4 destinations each. I would choose the second one, seems more exotic to me.

Offline nirc

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Re: Carribean Islands (Which One?) Master Thread
« Reply #146 on: December 05, 2014, 02:17:37 AM »
Besides for Barbados the first cruise does not have many exotic stops, that you would not be able to get from a cruise that is leaving from MIA/FLL. All those go to the virgin islands as well. Plus on your first cruise you have one more place but that is on Shabbos so both cruises really have 4 destinations each. I would choose the second one, seems more exotic to me.

what i meant by exotic, was just stops that the cruise ship makes. 4 is the max number, unless i am prepared to spend double the amount as the above 2 cruises i mention.

wherever i will be departing from, i will fly down 2 days prior. so if leaving from PR, that means i get to spend 2 days there instead of Miami.

Offline Yaalili

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Re: Carribean Islands (Which One?) Master Thread
« Reply #147 on: December 05, 2014, 02:22:21 AM »
what i meant by exotic, was just stops that the cruise ship makes. 4 is the max number, unless i am prepared to spend double the amount as the above 2 cruises i mention.

wherever i will be departing from, i will fly down 2 days prior. so if leaving from PR, that means i get to spend 2 days there instead of Miami.

And?? What I was saying was that from those 2 cruises that depart from PR, the RC seems a lot better.

Online mgarfin

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Re: Carribean Islands (Which One?) Master Thread
« Reply #148 on: December 09, 2014, 11:55:27 PM »
I just came across Dans TR on Aruba. he writes that Aruba wasn't the first choice in the Caribbean islands.  what's the first choice?

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Re: Carribean Islands (Which One?) Master Thread
« Reply #149 on: December 10, 2014, 12:53:11 AM »
I just came across Dans TR on Aruba. he writes that Aruba wasn't the first choice in the Caribbean islands.  what's the first choice?

Don't think it was about first or second choice there, it would have been a lot further down on the list. Reason why Aruba was picked was simply because it made sense for connections on Jetblue.

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Re: Carribean Islands (Which One?) Master Thread
« Reply #150 on: December 10, 2014, 07:49:53 AM »
So what's first choice?

Offline lunatic

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Re: Carribean Islands (Which One?) Master Thread
« Reply #151 on: December 10, 2014, 07:52:25 AM »
So what's first choice?
There is a lot of chatter in the cancun thread

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Re: Carribean Islands (Which One?) Master Thread
« Reply #152 on: December 10, 2014, 08:36:45 AM »
About first choice?

Offline yos9694

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Re: Carribean Islands (Which One?) Master Thread
« Reply #153 on: December 10, 2014, 06:31:56 PM »
Depends what you want. Dan may favor Hawaii because of hiking activities and waterfalls that you don't have in the Carribean, but that's not everyone's thing. Any Carribean island is going to have snorkeling options ranging from good to awesome, some have diving opportunities close to shipwrecks, beaches ranging from meh to beautiful or even astounding. The big downside is crowds, especially on ports of call islands on cruise days.

Personal favorites were Barbados for the Jewish history, shul, and cemetary as well as shipwreck diving, and Barbuda for the unmatched remoteness and privacy, and incomparable (but yet deserted) beaches. Others that have charm and I would go back to are St. John and to Nevis, also because of their remoteness and lack of crowd, but neither have much to offer besides beach & swimming/snorkeling.

Aruba has pretty diverse geography. There is an enormous stretch of beach with very swimmable water, and a few miles away is a big desert, which is interesting to explore in a jeep offroad. It also makes for a fantastic gateway to Curacao, which can be hard to get to directly but is a great place to spend Shabbos.
« Last Edit: December 10, 2014, 07:08:01 PM by yos9694 »

Offline Galitzyaner

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Re: Carribean Islands (Which One?) Master Thread
« Reply #154 on: December 11, 2014, 01:21:11 AM »
Depends what you want. Dan may favor Hawaii because of hiking activities and waterfalls that you don't have in the Carribean, but that's not everyone's thing. Any Carribean island is going to have snorkeling options ranging from good to awesome, some have diving opportunities close to shipwrecks, beaches ranging from meh to beautiful or even astounding. The big downside is crowds, especially on ports of call islands on cruise days.

Personal favorites were Barbados for the Jewish history, shul, and cemetary as well as shipwreck diving, and Barbuda for the unmatched remoteness and privacy, and incomparable (but yet deserted) beaches. Others that have charm and I would go back to are St. John and to Nevis, also because of their remoteness and lack of crowd, but neither have much to offer besides beach & swimming/snorkeling.

Aruba has pretty diverse geography. There is an enormous stretch of beach with very swimmable water, and a few miles away is a big desert, which is interesting to explore in a jeep offroad. It also makes for a fantastic gateway to Curacao, which can be hard to get to directly but is a great place to spend Shabbos.
Wow, sounds like you've been around the Caribbean quite a bit! Just curious, for comparison purposes, I see you only mentioned certain places (I'm assuming you've been to all of them).
Have you also been to Puerto Rico, Dominican, Grand Cayman, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Cancun, Turks/Caicos, and Bermuda?

Offline yos9694

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Re: Carribean Islands (Which One?) Master Thread
« Reply #155 on: December 11, 2014, 07:11:19 AM »
Wow, sounds like you've been around the Caribbean quite a bit! Just curious, for comparison purposes, I see you only mentioned certain places (I'm assuming you've been to all of them).
Have you also been to Puerto Rico, Dominican, Grand Cayman, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Cancun, Turks/Caicos, and Bermuda?

Never been to any of the Carribean islands on your list, ironically (except airports). I always looked to avoid highly popular islands because it makes it that much harder to get a nice beach to myself. Turks and Caicos though is one I would love to go to but just haven't had the chance. I heard fantastic things from people who went.

Bermuda is a different story, its not even in the Carribean. Been there on business though. Not warm enough to be a winter getaway, and much too tiny.

Offline cooljoe613

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Re: Carribean Islands (Which One?) Master Thread
« Reply #156 on: January 01, 2015, 11:25:02 PM »
lifestyle resort Puerto Plata - Dominican Republic

All inclusive and there is a kosher restaurant under the OK

i hope too do a trip report when i get back




Offline E-MAN

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Re: Carribean Islands (Which One?) Master Thread
« Reply #157 on: January 01, 2015, 11:33:06 PM »
lifestyle resort Puerto Plata - Dominican Republic

All inclusive and there is a kosher restaurant under the OK

i hope too do a trip report when i get back
Please do. I heard about this place but never from anyone who's actually been there

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Re: Carribean Islands (Which One?) Master Thread
« Reply #158 on: January 03, 2015, 06:40:14 PM »
Does anybody know what the humidity is like on St. John's in Feb? How about Turk and Caicos Islands? I'm looking at One or the other of those places but humidity is a killer for me.

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Re: Carribean Islands (Which One?) Master Thread
« Reply #159 on: January 08, 2015, 03:38:27 PM »
lifestyle resort Puerto Plata - Dominican Republic

All inclusive and there is a kosher restaurant under the OK

i hope too do a trip report when i get back
http://www.vipkoshervacations.com/

This one? Pls write a TR. Doesnt look expensive plus kosher food.