Caribbean cruises
Warm-water weeks from Florida, Texas, and New York.
Caribbean photos
Island routes
Eastern, western, and southern Caribbean patterns, with the ports travelers actually ask about.
Caribbean sample itineraries in this planner run about a week and leave from a U.S. homeport. Eastern routes lean toward the U.S. Virgin Islands and the northern Leeward Islands. Western routes usually include Cozumel and a stop such as Grand Cayman or Roatan. Southern routes stretch farther, often toward San Juan, St. Kitts, or Barbados, and they need a few more nights.
The right pattern depends on how you want to spend a port day. A beach call and a walkable capital feel different, and a seven-night cruise cannot do both well if the ship is also crossing a long stretch of open water. Use the sample list to see which homeport keeps the flying, or the driving, reasonable.
When these sailings run
December through April is the drier stretch for most of the region, and it is when Florida and Texas ships are fully committed to these routes. Seas can still be lively on an open crossing.
June through November is hurricane season, with the historical peak in August, September, and October. Summer sailings are a real product, often with more room on board, but you should be comfortable changing a port if a storm tracks through. This site cannot tell you what a future storm season will do.
- NassauA frequent first or last call, and the overlap with short Bahamas itineraries.
- Charlotte Amalie and PhilipsburgThe usual pair on an eastern week, with a harbor walk and a beach within reach of the pier.
- CozumelThe anchor call on most western Caribbean samples, sometimes shared with a Mexico search.
- San JuanA useful southern embarkation or call when you want a longer island route.
Ports that match this region
Cruise lines in these samples
Cruise inquiry
Find your perfect Caribbean cruise
Share where you want to sail. An advisor reviews your inquiry and follows up by phone or email.
Questions about Caribbean
Is Cozumel a Caribbean cruise or a Mexico cruise?
Both descriptions show up in brochures. In this planner, a western Caribbean week that happens to call at Cozumel is filed under Caribbean. A Pacific coast trip from Los Angeles is filed under Mexico.
Can I stay on the ship in port?
Yes on almost every call. The sample pages do not assign excursions, because those are sold separately and change by sailing.
Do eastern and western weeks feel the same?
No. Eastern weeks spend more time in the Virgin Islands and nearby. Western weeks are built around Mexico’s Caribbean coast and the western islands. Pick the calls you care about before you pick a ship.