Destination: Southern Caribbean

By Kimberly Coyne

Explore the Southern Caribbean! - *Photo by Canva*

Mountains, beaches, shopping, water-sports and casinos are the hallmarks of a Southern Caribbean itinerary. With such diverse options from island to island it’s no wonder that exploring the southern most part of the Caribbean is on many cruisers’ list of preferred destinations. Mosts saililngs from the U.S. take 10 to 12-nights in order to reach the furthermost point. Some may opt to begin their journey from San Juan where 7-night cruise options are available.

The most common considerations when planning a Caribbean cruise are the line and ship as well as the ports of call, length of cruise, and type of accommodations. For first-time or limited-experience cruisers, figuring out the differences between the various itineraries such as Eastern, Western and Southern Caribbean can be a bit daunting. In the most simplistic form, when looking at a map of the Caribbean, the Southern Caribbean includes the islands in the southern most region of the Caribbean including the ABC island of Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao along with St. Lucia, St. Kitts, Barbados, the Grenedines and Guadalope Islands.

1. Itineraries

2. When to Cruise

3. Excursions

4. Member Reviews

5. Find a Cruise

Itineraries

The islands of the Southern Caribbean are widespread and range from mountainous with a tempered climate to more flat and arid and warmer all year round. The most common ports include the ABC islands of Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao. Other Southern Caribbean islands include Grenada, St. Lucia, Martinique, Guadeloupe, and (in the Grenadines) Bequia, Canouan Island, Union Island, Tobago Cays, and Mayreau. Don’t expect a cruise to stop at all these ports as some are limited on the size ship allowed. Many of the smaller islands can only be accessed.

Learn More About The Southern Caribbean

What homeports sail to the Southern Caribbean?

There are several cruise lines departing from U.S. homeports sailing to the Southern Caribbean offering 10 night or longer sailings. Typically ports include one or two of the ABC islands as well as stop or two in the Eastern Caribbean (St. Thomas or St. Maarten) as well as the Bahamas (Nassau or a private island). U.S. Homeports include Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Port Canaveral, Tampa, New York, Baltimore and Galveston.

For those looking for a true all Southern Caribbean cruise, flying to San Juan or Barbados is the best option. Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Celebrity, Disney and a few others homeport in San Juan offering 7-night roundtrip itineraries. Royal Caribbean and MSC both offer sailings roundtrip from Barbados. Both of these homeports provide in-depth Southern Caribbean itineraries, many with ports of call stops not available when sailing from a U.S. homeport.

See All Southern Caribbean Cruises

When to Cruise

Cruising the Southern Caribbean is available virtually year-round with the greatest variety of lines and ships calling this area home from October through April. Peak season includes Thanksgiving, Christmas and January through March. Basically when it’s cold and snowy in the U.S. and Europe, the warm temperatures of the Southern Caribbean are the place to be.

Being the most southerly islands Hurricane season is rarely a problem, which makes this part of the Caribbean a prime choice from June though December cruises. Typically the best values are found in September, October and the first two weeks of November and December.

For those choosing to cruise in the summer months, keep in mind that heat and humidity can be intense. Sunscreen is a must year round, but particularly in the summer months. Additionally, ensuring everyone stays hydrated is important.

Excursions

The Southern Caribbean offers a wide range of activities sure to please travelers of all ages and abilities. Following are a few examples of popular port activities but there are a lot of options for each port of call.

St. Lucia Island Adventure by Land and Sea

Barbados a Private Bajan Cooking Class

Martinique North Island Tour

See all Caribbean Port Excursions from Shore Excursions Group

For shore excursion options from Get Your Guide, check out their offerings in each port of call. A few examples include:

St. Kitts Sail and Snorkel with Open Bar

St. Lucia Zip Lining and Rainforest Adventure

Bonaire Cave Exploration and Snorkeling

Curacao Jeep Safari Tour

See All Southern Caribbean Excursions from Get Your Guide

Below is a sample of excursions in Aruba, but Get Your Guide offers options in virtually every Southern Caribbean port.

Member Reviews

Sharing the cruise experience by writing a review, helps other travelers learn more about what to expect on their upcoming cruise. From onboard experience to various ports of call community members are a great source of information. Following are a few examples of what our community members shared about their visit to the Southern Caribbean:

About Willstead, Curacao: “Snorkeling excursion was fun. Visited the downtown shopping area. Nice walk. Pedestrian bridge was cool to see.” -mdland1962

About St. George’s, Grenada: “The river tubing excursion was exciting, and the staff made it even better!” -JoeHighSeas

About Roseau, Dominica: “Loved Dominica. We did Shore Excursion Group Jewels of Dominica. Very nice tour and guide.” -Anne3Bill

Explore All Member Reviews for the Southern Caribbean

Find a Cruise

Cruiseline.com and Shipmate make it easy to find a great cruise deal to the Southern Caribbean. Using the Find a Cruise tool to search cruises to the Southern Caribbean by homeport, ports of call, cruise line, and more. Don’t forget to use the Price Drop Alert to get an email alert if the price drops on your ship and sailing date.

Check out the Southern Caribbean cruises from these homeports: