Best and Worst Caribbean Cruise Ports for Vacationers

1. San Juan, Puerto Rico

Natural Beauty 5/5 | Beaches 4/5 | Excursions 5/5 | Local Culture 4/5 | Safety 4/5 | Total 22/25

San Juan Puerto Rico is in the running for the best Caribbean cruise destinations. It really has it all – history, unique culture, great beaches, jungle, and a ton of things to do.

In Old San Juan, you can visit La Forteleza, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Old San Juan has an European-like charm and a ton of history.

Alternatively, you can take an excursion out of the city for rum tasting at the Bacardi Factory, waterfall hiking in the El Yunque Rainforest, or a catamaran tour of the island.

In addition to having a ton to do, San Juan feels super safe and Old San Juan is walkable from the cruise terminal.

I love Southern or Eastern Caribbean cruises that start in San Juan so I can stay for a few days prior to embarkation.

Pros:

• Great mix of jungle, mountains, and beaches
• The cruise port is close to a lot of attractions
• There are a ton of different things to do, from relaxing on the beach to active adventures
• Unique and vibrant local culture, including architecture, food, and friendly people
• Great gateway to other top Caribbean cruise ports

Considerations:

• No notes, I love San Juan!

The Best Things To Do:

1. Old San Juan Food and Walking Tour
2. Casa Bacardi Rum Tasting
3. El Yunque Rainforest Adventure

Positive Reviews:

Love that so much is accessible by foot. You can take a short walk and tour the fort or enjoy the many shops closer to the port.  – LoveandLight

Very walkable city. Downloaded a walking tour and saw a ton of the city. – Fire2149

Negative Reviews:

Previous visit we walked around Forteleza St and did the pina colado thing and shopped. Not my favorite port but there are some things to do. – tigg21rrr

Read more about San Juan

2. Charlotte Amalie, St Thomas

Natural Beauty 4/5 | Beaches 5/5 | Excursions 3/5 | Local Culture 4/5 | Safety 4/5 | Total 20/25

St Thomas has the most beautiful beach in the Caribbean, Magen’s Bay. Just look at the photo above to see what I mean! The water is bright blue and the sand could not be softer.

St Thomas is a US Virgin Island and a popular luxury vacation destination. Unlike some of the other best Caribbean islands to visit on a cruise, there is not a ton of activities to do in St Thomas.

Instead, St Thomas is a great place to soak in the beauty and relax.

Pros:

• Beautiful beaches
• Super safe port
• Good shopping
• Luxurious atmosphere

Considerations:

• Not a ton of excursions, so it’s a great place to relax on the beach

The Best Things To Do:

1. Magens Bay
2. Mountaintop Viewpoint
3. St John Day Trip

Positive Reviews:

Magens bay is amazing! Stunning water and beach! – Pippy

St. Thomas was terrific, and the length of the stop allowed us to see most of what we wanted to see. – Demotage

Negative Reviews:

Beautiful island, but I couldn’t find much to do. We went to Magens Bay since it was reviewed as top 10 beach in the world. – tigg21rrr

Read more about St Thomas

3. Castries, St Lucia

Natural Beauty 5/5 | Beaches 4/5 | Excursions 5/5 | Local Culture 4/5 | Safety 3/5 | Total 21/25

St Lucia is a popular cruise port and honeymoon destination in the Southern Caribbean. It’s known for the lush jungle, iconic Piton mountains, and white sand beaches.

It’s home to popular resorts such as Sandals or Sugar Beach. St Lucia is so popular because there are many things to do, such as relaxing on the beach, taking a mud bath in the mountains, ATVing through the jungle, or taking a catamaran cruise to the Pitons.

I’ve visited St Lucia a handful of times and already have a return trip booked. My favorite thing to do there is taking a catamaran tour to the Pitons for an up-close view of the beautiful mountains.

Pros:

• Great mix of jungle, mountains, and beaches
• The cruise port is close to a lot of attractions
• There are a ton of different things to do, from relaxing on the beach to active adventures
• The island is naturally super beautiful, and the Pitons are an amazing sight

Considerations:

• The roads are very windy, so it can be challenging for people who get car sick easily

The Best Things To Do:

1. Pitons Catamaran Tour
2. St Lucia Snorkeling Adventure
3. Jungle Zipline

Positive Reviews:

Love St. Lucia. Lots to do. booked a tour with beach, snorkel, waterfall and hot springs mud bath. Our favorite day.  – deetrix1

St. Lucia is such a beautiful, unspoiled island. – knani

Negative Reviews:

We spent almost the entire day riding around in a bus. St. Lucia is very impoverished and the locals can be aggressive trying to sell their stuff. – Savmom

Read more about St Lucia

4. Roatan, Honduras

Natural Beauty 4/5 | Beaches 3/5 | Excursions 4/5 | Local Culture 4/5 | Safety 4/5 | Total 19/25

Roatan is one of the most overlooked cruise ports. It’s super common on many Western Caribbean itineraries, but is also one of the most fun destinations.

Roatan is a small island in Honduras, off the coast of the mainland. Although it’s small, it has a ton to offer. There are great beaches, ATV tours, chocolate factories, and nature preserved.

Roatan is also located on the Mesoamerican reef, which has some of the best snorkeling in the world.

I’ve visited Roatan twice in the past few years, and loved it both times. The first time we took an ATV tour around the island, to a chocolate factory, beach, and through the jungle. It was a little scary, but a great way to see the island.

The second time, I took a combo tour that visited an animal sanctuary and beach club. I even got to hold a monkey!

Pros:

• Beauiful lush rainforest, combined with great beaches
• The local people are so nice and welcoming
• The island does not get overcrowded when cruises visit, so everything feels intimate
• Close to the US, so easy to find on cruise itineraries

Considerations:

• The cruise excursions for Roatan aren’t great, so I recommend booking on your own

The Best Things To Do:

1. Customizable private island tour (choose your own adventure)
2. Island ATV excursion
3. Snorkeling the Mesoamerican reef

Positive Reviews:

This was the BEST snorkeling I’ve ever seen in 30 years of cruising. The reefs are unbelievable and I would not miss this if you have the chance. – Tybro

The area around the ship is not nice, but if you do an excursion, then there are a lot a great things to see and do, especially snorkeling and scuba diving. – backandforth78

Negative Reviews:

Went to a private beach here which was just okay. Lunch was served at 10am which threw most people for a loop, we really didn’t care but I will say the booze they used was bottom self here and made it hard to finish a drink. – okie82

Read more about Roatan

5. Coco Cay, Bahamas

Natural Beauty 4/5 | Beaches 5/5 | Excursions 3/5 | Local Culture 1/5 | Safety 5/5 | Total 18/25

Cococay is Royal Caribbean’s private island in the Bahamas. Its commonly referred to as “perfect day at Cococay,” because of the paradise-like atmosphere of the island.

I have mixed feelings about private islands. On one hand, they are literally designed to be great for cruise passengers. The food is free, your drink package works, and every amenity is focused on fun and relaxation.

However, you miss out on the local experience and culture of the destination you are visiting as the island becomes an extension of the ship.

That said, Cococay is an objectively amazing island. The beaches are beautiful, there are a ton of things to do, and since it’s owned by the cruise line, its super easy to plan your day. No need to worry about taxis, scheduling tours, or other logistics.

Pros:

• Free food, no taxis required, complimentary activities
• If you get the drink package, free drinks
• Beautiful white sand beaches
• A ton of bars and restaurants
• Super safe and easy to navigate

Considerations:

• Lacks local culture

The Best Things To Do:

• Thrill Waterpark
• Swim up Bar at South Beach
• Jet Ski Rentals

Positive Reviews:

Literally a perfect day. – backandforth78

I love their island a great deal. Gorgeous to look at, easy to get around, beautiful beaches. – leapol

Negative Reviews:

Not bad. We did the Coco Beach day pass. It was very quiet, great water and pool. Lunch was OK. we realized that we should have saved the $ and just went to one of the free beaches. – Michele

Families are getting priced out at Coco Cay. Absolutely ridiculous for a family of four to go to thrill water park for 5 hours costing over $600. – Charlie

Read more about CocoCay

6. Cozumel, Mexico

Natural Beauty 3/5 | Beaches 4/5 | Excursions 3/5 | Local Culture 4/5 | Safety 4/5 | Total 18/25

Cozumel is another super popular Western Caribbean cruise port, often combined with Roatan, CocoCay, and Costa Maya.

Even though a lot of cruises visit Cozumel, it’s a great port. Cozumel is a small island in Mexico off the coast of Cancun. It’s located on the Mesoamerican reef, so it has amazing snorkeling. There are also many great beach clubs and fun island tours.

As a kid, I loved visiting Cozumel and getting my hair braided on the beach. As an adult, I love renting a car to drive the perimeter of the island, stopping at beach clubs along the way.

Pros:

• Super tourist friendly, with many restaurants, public beaches, and things to do
• Close to Miami, so easy to find on cruise itineraries
• Very safe, kind locals, and easy to experience the local culture

Considerations:

• Some days, there can be 4+ ships in port, making it a little crowded

The Best Things To Do:

• Snorkeling the Mesoamerican Reef
• Rent a car for an island tour
• Visit Punta Sur National Park

Positive Reviews:

Daughter and I took a taxi to l Iovely resort. Beautiful beach, great food, wonderful service, friendly guests. Fabulous time, hated to leave. – Lady of the Lodge

The water was so clear it was amazing – Jcdeese

Negative Reviews:

Has not changed in years and needs a makeover. If you book an excursion, you are paraded thru many shops as you zig zag to the excursion pick up. –Royerskine

Read more about Cozumel

7. Labadee, Haiti

Natural Beauty 4/5 | Beaches 4/5 | Excursions 2/5 | Local Culture 2/5 | Safety 5/5 | Total 17/25

Pros:

• Beautiful beaches and scenery
• Super safe and protected area
• All-inclusive food and drinks (with drink package)
• No need to get taxis or coordinate excursions

Considerations:

• You cannot explore beyond Labadee to see more of Haiti

The Best Things To Do:

• Swim out to the floating bar at Adrenaline beach
• Explore the nature paths on the island
• Take a ride on the zipline

Positive Reviews:

Gorgeous! Clean beach great customer service, felt safe. – Skinny03

We chose to do Labadee on our own this time and just enjoy the hammocks and barbeque. We had a great time relaxing and enjoying our day on this beautiful Haitian peninsula. Coco Cay and Labadee are always ports I look forward to because everything is clean, food, drinks good and no traffic. – Duane

Negative Reviews:

Royal Caribbean needs to do a better job with this port. Sad, kind of pathetic stepchild to CoCo Cay. RC needs to invest some money in the infrastructure and make it more upscale. – gelormbi

1. Nassau, Bahamas

Natural Beauty 3/5 | Beaches 4/5 | Excursions 3/5 | Local Culture 2/5 | Safety 4/5 | Total 16/25

I went back and forth on whether I should list Nassau as one of the best or worst Caribbean cruise ports. It get a bad reputation and many people elect to spend the port day on board their ship.

However, there are also quite a few great things to do in Nassau. You can visit an amazing resort, take a sightseeing tour, taste local cuisine and rum, or charter a boat.

My biggest issue with Nassau is how crowded it can get. There can be five or more ships in port, which overwhelms the island a bit.

Also, one of the most popular things to do is a resort pass, which can be hard to justify spending money on when a cruise is already an all-inclusive resort that you’ve paid for.

Pros:

• Beautiful beaches
• Great resorts to get a day pass to
• Easy to get to from Florida

Considerations:

• There can be a lot of ships in port, making it quite crowded
• The island is mostly focused on tourism, so it can be hard to experience the local culture
• Windy weather

The Best Things To Do:

• Boat Charter
• Resort Day Pass
• Swimming with Pigs

Positive Reviews:

Last time I was in Nassau was 2006- it is quite a bit more built up since that time! We went to the Swimming with the Pigs excursion, so we did not spend much time at the actual Nassau port. The excursion was fabulous- would definitely recommend. – Supernova Eyes

Negative Reviews:

Really not our cup of tea. I have been to Nassau many times. It is too crowded, and the people are too pushy to sell things or provide rides, or to just give them money – Brenda

Nassau isn’t my favorite port. The cruise port itself is newly remodeled. Basically it’s a huge shopping mall. – Jon

Read more about Nassau

2. Costa Maya, Mexico

Natural Beauty 4/5 | Beaches 2/5 | Excursions 3/5 | Local Culture 2/5 | Safety 3/5 | Total 14/25

Costa Maya is a port town in Mexico, a few hours south of Cancun. I’ve actually had a ton of fun in Costa Maya, but after two visits, I feel like I’ve done everything there is to do there.

Costa Maya is primarily a cruise port, and not many people visit as a standalone vacation. There are a few beaches near the port, but most things to do are an hour away.

The most popular things to do are the Chacchoben ruins or Bacalar lake, both of which take around 1.5 hours on a bus to get to from the port.

Pros:

• Good natural beauty
• A few things to do in the general area

Considerations:

• The best excursions are over an hour from port
• There isn’t much to do near the cruise terminal
• Since Costa Maya is primarily a cruise port, there isn’t much local culture around

The Best Things To Do:

• Chacchoben Ruins
• Bacalar 7 Colors Lagoon

Positive Reviews:

The weather was not the best, but the port is beautiful and has a lot of activities.  – Rafael

We took a 50 minute bus ride to the Mayan Ruins and say 3 ruins. The bus seemed very new and our guide was very informative. – emazzio

Negative Reviews:

It’s just not a very interesting place, except for the Chacchoben pyramid excursions. The surrounding water at the port looks beautiful, and I wish they would let you access it more. – backandforth78

No beach access here. Just shopping. –1jmcdonald1cc

Read more about Costa Maya

3. Georgetown, Grand Cayman

Natural Beauty 3/5 | Beaches 1/5 | Excursions 2/5 | Local Culture 2/5 | Safety 4/5 | Total 14/25

Grand Cayman was one of the biggest disappointments on my recent Western Caribbean cruise. The first issue with the port was that it is a tender port.

This means you need to take a small boat from your ship to shore, which took us at least an hour. Tendering isn’t the end of the world but I did miss the convenience of walking off the ship to port.

The second issue was that there were four ships in port and it was way overcrowded. It was challenging to get a taxi, and the beach we visited was sold out of chairs by the time we arrived.

The final issue was that the most popular beach on the island, seven mile beach, was almost completely washed away in a hurricane a few years back.

This wiped out most of the beach clubs, and severely reduced the beachfront at the remaining areas.

One of the most popular things to do in Grand Cayman is stingray city, which I haven’t done for at least a decade, so maybe that would have been a better choice for the day.

Pros:

• Clear blue water that is good for swimming

Considerations:

• Beaches washed away from hurricane
• Need to tender to land
• Can be overcrowded with cruise ships

The Best Things To Do:

• Stingray City
• Coral Beach Club at 7 Mile Beach

Positive Reviews:

Beautiful island and could definitely see myself spending time there. – growingsealegs

Water is the prettiest I have ever seen. The tender ship annoying but necessary. The beach is soooo crowded. It like 7 rows deep and packed.  – mrscageiii

Negative Reviews:

This is one of the few ports where you have to tender to. Tendering made a lot of passengers sea sick–including myself. – lovenandlight

Grand Cayman has its beautiful Seven Mile Beach, but the rest of the island is just okay. – soul traveler