anne

Planning a special trip with our family on Holland America in the winter. <BR>Which itinerary would you do? <BR>Ship is Volendam: Going: Bonaire, Isla de Margarita (Venezuela), St. Lucia, Dominica, St. Thomas, OR <BR> <BR>Ship is Zaandam: Going: Curacao, LaGuadia (Venezuela), Trinidad, Martinique, St. Thomas. <BR> <BR>Heard some negative things about the Venezuela ports. What do you know. Thanks.

mike

Anne, <BR> <BR>I'm no expert, and I've only been on Princess, but I'd do the Volendam. <BR>Bonaire and Curacao are similar, part of the ABC islands, with Bonaire less developed. I loved Curacao, and I know the diving is great in Bonaire, but I would guess they are about a break even. <BR> <BR>Isla Margharita was a waste, and I've heard worse for the Princess version of LaGuadia (not sure if they're the same) - refineries. IM at least had some beach nearby. I think both of these are fuel stops for cheap oil, but what do I know. I would figure these like a day at sea. <BR> <BR>I've heard nice things about Dominica, and I was unimpressed by Martinique. We didn't do any specific excursion, but shopped and went snorkling which was not great. <BR> <BR>St. Lucia was beautiful, had interesting sites including the volcano which had its side blown out. The see and sea tour of the island was beautiful with a fun sail. I have heard less than flattering reports about Trinidad. <BR> <BR>So, on a side by side comparison, all others being roughly equal, St. Lucia and Dominica would point me to the first choice over martinique and trinidad in the second choice. <BR> <BR>Hope it helps. <BR>Mike

Andy

Anne- are you locked into Holland AMerica for some reason? I would look at Radisson or Celebrity or even WIndstar Caribbean cruises--You don't mention age,no.of kids etc-- <BR>THere are TONS of great ships out there that have better island itineraries--just make sure you do a SOUTHERN CARIBBEAN out of SAN Juan to hit the better islands like Barbadoes,Martinique,Aruba,StTHomas and St.MArtin--the ones you asked about have some pretty similar and/or crummy islands where there isn't much to do.. <BR>Hope this helps

April

I thought Port-of-Spain in Trinidad was creepy. I've read negative comments here about Martinique although I liked it. Not knowing the ships and based on itinerary alone, I would pick the first one since it includes St. Lucia and Dominica.

Lindsay

We visited a couple of the ports of call you listed last year. <BR>Firstly, Caracas, Venezuela - we took the ships excursion in lovely coaches for a tour of the city. This felt safe though we did notice at each stop there were armed guards. It is an wonderful chance to say you've visited South America. Just don't go walkabout in the port of La Guaira. <BR>Martinique was gorgeous and one of the best islands we've visited. St Thomas of course is the best of all for beach and shopping duo in one day! Happy cruising.