Does anyone prefer either Tortola or St. Kitts over St. Maarten? have it narrowed down to three itineraries and was just trying get a little info on these ports. Your input is greatly appreciated. Thanks

Tortola was very nice
They have a jitney tour of the island right at the dock for $20.pp
We found the local supermarket to buy bottled water across from the marina
St Kitts & St Martin are also good but it depends on what your interests are
Lots of shopping near the dock on all the islands

We've been to all 3 places- St. Maarten a couple times- there we snorkled or went to Orient Beach- always great times--At St. Kitts we did the railway along the old sugarcane fields- a very pleasant day (great mango dacquris), but at Tortola we went on a snorkling trip that took us out to a place were we snorkled in the ocean and then could go snorkling in caves- there were openings in the tops of the caves so some light came in- the coral there was very vivid- I'll never forget that day- although I'd warn you to wear dive gloves- I accidently touched the coral-depth perception can be off in the water and I got a touch of sun-poisoning ( I was having such a good time that even with sunscreen I was in too long- I now wear an acrylic hoodie over my swimsuit- my husband says I look like a pearl diver- but this way I don't miss out on the next day's activities)

Thanks for your replies. I just cant decide if I want to go on the Royal Caribbean cruise that stops at St. Maarten or the Princess cruise that stops in Tortola or the Carnival cruise that stops at St. Kitts and Dominica. They all do stop at Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua, and St. Maarten.

I'd opt for Tortola. Absolutely beautiful island. Not crowded, especially if you are the only ship in port. St Maarten can be jam packed especially if there are many ships in port. With that, it is wall to wall tourists.

A picture is worth a thousand words:

St. Maarten is one of my least favorite ports. Dominica,if you enjoy snorkeling, is one of my most favorite. Tortola is a good port as well. If you do the itinerary with Dominica, do the Champagne Reef snorkel. It is one of the best snorkels we've done in the Caribbean. Grenada is also a fantastic port, the Grand Anse Beach is beautiful and Flamingo Bay is another great snorkel.

It's so hard to decide

Which itineraries have you narrowed it down to? Which ships? Sometimes the ship can make up for a less desirable port. Don't get me wrong, St. Maarten is a nice port. I like snorkeling, and the snorkeling there, well, isn't. So that's one reason I don't like it that much. Another reason is because they charge to use the restrooms at Orient Beach. I understand it's a way to generate revenue for the bars/restaurants on the beach, but it just isn't right. St. Maarten is fine, the locals are very friendly, if you're a shopping lover-it's a great place. Any island beats a day in the office, for sure. So don't let me discourage you from St. Maarten. Let us know which ones you're considering.

Well we've got it narrowed down to Royal Caribbean's Serenade of the Seas or Carnival's Victory ship. Royal Caribbean stops at St. Maarten and Carnival does not but instead stops at St. Kitts and Dominica instead. I plan took book next month just trying to weigh out our options. What do you think?

I'd have to go with Carnival Victory on that one. Dominica is definitely one of my favorite ports, and St. Kitts is a great one, too. I believe that the Victory is a newer ship. The Victory is a larger ship than the Serenade.

I also had the Princess itinerary in mind too. It's on the Caribbean Princess and it stops at Tortola instead. How do you feel about Tortola or the ship?

I'll be on the Caribbean in a couple of weeks. I would imagine it will be similar to the Emerald, but will take a bunch of pictures and post them when I get back. Here are the pictures from the Emerald. Tortola is a great island. We've done 2 catamaran sail/snorkels there, both went over to Norman's Island area. One had a cave and one was around a rock formation like the pitons in St. Lucia. We had a cab driver take us around the island for $20. He took us to a restaurant that over looked where the Caribbean and the Atlantic met, it was breath-taking. Then he took us to a real nice beach on the northwest side of the island. It was gorgeous. He showed us where Jimmy Buffet wrote "Cheeseburger in Paradise". I know the Caribbean Princess has the Skywalker lounge, which is in my pictures of the Emerald. I don't think it has the Sanctuary, but it does have the MUTS (movies under the stars). This upcoming cruise is only a 3 day cruise, so I won't get to check everything out on board, but I'll do my best to try as much as I can.

I'll let you know more as soon as I return!

My personal preference would be Tortola.
Tortola Pic

Tortola seems very beautiful. I guess I'm just scared that the Princess ship might be too quiet for us. Am I crazy to think that? After ready a few bad reviews over the Carnival Victory I'm leaning more towards Royal Caribbean. We're pretty active but Carnival ships sound
chaotic.

Princess, in the Caribbean, for a 7-10 day itinerary will have a younger demographic than on their longer cruises. They have the Skywalker lounge which is their disco and other clubs on board. They don't have the rock wall, the flo-rider, or the ice skating rinks like Royal Caribbean. I don't think you could go wrong with either Royal or Princess. Carnival offers a good product as well, but they usually have a lot more children on board. Not that that's a bad thing. We think Princess is just a bit better than Royal, but that's our own preference. Just to let you know, reviews can be taken with a grain of salt. Usually, the negative reviews are from someone who was looking for compensation for something they felt they deserved a free cruise for, and they didn't receive it. Best wishes!

We just got back from an 8-day cruise and one of the islands we visited was Tortola. It is a nice small island, with high mountains, and low valleys, reminding me of St. Lucia, which is just awesome.

If you have time and do see Tortola, try to visit the Queens staircase. They also have straw markets real close to the ship so you can get some nice T-shirts, etc. at a reasonable price.

We did the Carnival Liberty, and actually we (Carnival) were probably the only 3 ships in Tortola at that time.