The seven-night route begins and ends in Florida most of the time and visits three or four ports: Nassau (Bahamas), Grand Turk, and/or a cruise line private island in the Bahamas (such as Disney Cruise Line’s Castaway Cay or Holland America Line’s Half Moon Cay), plus St. Thomas, St. Martin, and Puerto Rico.
Good For: These bustling ports offer beaches and shopping, especially souvenir shops and duty-free jewelry from international chain stores. Cruise line private islands are big on water sports and kids’ activities. In each port, you’ll also find plenty of active excursions sold by the cruise lines, including everything from ziplining to biking, diving, and snorkeling — often with either stingrays or dolphins. Day cruises, which offer snorkeling or partying on boats or catamarans, are popular too.
Downside: This one is easy: Crowding. There can be more than 10,000 cruise passengers in town at the same time in any of these three ports, so traffic jams are common, and quiet local charm can be hard to find.
These seven-night routes begin and end in St. Thomas, San Juan, or St. Martin, and sometimes Fort Lauderdale, and visit five or six ports (one a day usually): several British Virgin Islands, St. John, St. Barts, Anguilla, Les Saintes, and/or Dominica.
Good For: These are great choices for beach lovers and privacy seekers. The white sand in these destinations is soft and dreamy, with plenty of romantic coves.
Downside: It might take you an extra flight to get to the port of embarkation, since many of these cruises depart from a Caribbean island.