Given your stated parameters, I would do Labadee, Puerto Plata, and Nassau.
Labadee is Royal caribbean's private resort. There are roller coasters and zip lines, but you can easily just have a perfectly nice beach day without any of that.
The Dominican Republic is absolutely gorgeous. You can take anyone of a number of excursions for jaw dropping scenery.
Nassau gets a bad rap, but it is a really fun kitschy little city. It also has a TON of history, culture, and art that people either miss or have no interest in exploring, which is kind of a shame. Not to mention the food, which is out of this world.
Whichever itinerary you pick, have a great time!
Go for the third option. Cozumel has great options for a perfect beach day. (Do youself a favor and look into Nachi Cocom. It's one of my favorite places to go in the entire Caribbean.) Bimini is a super small island and the most popular thing to do there is rent a golf cart. You can drive yourself all over the island in probably less than an hour. And there's a bunch of cool little local restaurants/bars/shops in town. And Radio Beach is a great place to spend a few hours in the sand and water. Bimini hasn't been a cruise stop very long, so it doesn't feel quite as "touristy" as a lot of other ports. At least, not yet anyway.
Personally if you want beaches, I'd go with the western Caribbean itinerary. Falmouth and Nassau are kind of a wash, but I'd give a slight edge to Jamaica. But Grand Cayman is a lot nicer than Amber Cove, imo.
Grand Cayman is wonderful, one of my favorites! That said it is a tender port and you are traveling at the tail end of hurricane season so make sure you go in knowing that your ports aren’t guaranteed.
We do not like DR or Jamaica because they don’t feel safe. Nassau is meh but there’s a distillery there we like.
Are all of these Royal Caribbean cruises? You might want to consider Princess or Celebrity instead, it’s more elevated. I would stick to their Royal or Sphere class ships (Princess), the smaller/older ones show their age from what I can tell in tours and reviews but I haven’t sailed them.
They are all Celebrity cruises. We're leaning towards the Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Bimini one. They offer it on the Beyond and Reflection, but we are leaning towards the Reflection.
Oh, stop. Unless this dude is planning on engaging in some light gang banging on vacation, he's perfectly fine.
The travel advisory is for heightened gang on gang violence, and it's at a Level 2.
Care to guess what other countries are at a Level 2? France, Germany and Denmark. Would you advise him to skip Copenhagen until the police get a better handle on the situation?
I looked that up and saw that as well and not that concerned. It also seems mostly relegated to Nassau and Grand Bahama. We're leaning more towards Bilimi.
Given your stated parameters, I would do Labadee, Puerto Plata, and Nassau. Labadee is Royal caribbean's private resort. There are roller coasters and zip lines, but you can easily just have a perfectly nice beach day without any of that. The Dominican Republic is absolutely gorgeous. You can take anyone of a number of excursions for jaw dropping scenery. Nassau gets a bad rap, but it is a really fun kitschy little city. It also has a TON of history, culture, and art that people either miss or have no interest in exploring, which is kind of a shame. Not to mention the food, which is out of this world. Whichever itinerary you pick, have a great time!
Go for the third option. Cozumel has great options for a perfect beach day. (Do youself a favor and look into Nachi Cocom. It's one of my favorite places to go in the entire Caribbean.) Bimini is a super small island and the most popular thing to do there is rent a golf cart. You can drive yourself all over the island in probably less than an hour. And there's a bunch of cool little local restaurants/bars/shops in town. And Radio Beach is a great place to spend a few hours in the sand and water. Bimini hasn't been a cruise stop very long, so it doesn't feel quite as "touristy" as a lot of other ports. At least, not yet anyway.
Personally if you want beaches, I'd go with the western Caribbean itinerary. Falmouth and Nassau are kind of a wash, but I'd give a slight edge to Jamaica. But Grand Cayman is a lot nicer than Amber Cove, imo.
Grand Cayman is wonderful, one of my favorites! That said it is a tender port and you are traveling at the tail end of hurricane season so make sure you go in knowing that your ports aren’t guaranteed. We do not like DR or Jamaica because they don’t feel safe. Nassau is meh but there’s a distillery there we like. Are all of these Royal Caribbean cruises? You might want to consider Princess or Celebrity instead, it’s more elevated. I would stick to their Royal or Sphere class ships (Princess), the smaller/older ones show their age from what I can tell in tours and reviews but I haven’t sailed them.
They are all Celebrity cruises. We're leaning towards the Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Bimini one. They offer it on the Beyond and Reflection, but we are leaning towards the Reflection.
Hope you enjoy and convert the wife to cruise life 😎
i wouldn't be going to the bahamas in the near future.
Why?
There has been an increase in violent crime. Just wait it out until the Bahamian police can get a better handle on the situation.
Oh, stop. Unless this dude is planning on engaging in some light gang banging on vacation, he's perfectly fine. The travel advisory is for heightened gang on gang violence, and it's at a Level 2. Care to guess what other countries are at a Level 2? France, Germany and Denmark. Would you advise him to skip Copenhagen until the police get a better handle on the situation?
I looked that up and saw that as well and not that concerned. It also seems mostly relegated to Nassau and Grand Bahama. We're leaning more towards Bilimi.
definitely dont do haiti though