Cape Liberty Cruise Port is in a very industrial area with not much to do. The check-in process is very smooth, and the terminal to hip shuttle can be replaced with an easier process. We got onto the ship within minutes, and our vacation began. Getting off the ship on Monday the 27th was also easy and we were in our taxi from the ship within 25 minutes. Overall, one of the easier cruise ports we have sailed out of.
St. Maarten is one of my family and I's favorite ports. We had enjoyed going to Divi Little Bay Resort on the Dutch side on previous cruises, but we decided to do something different this cruise. We booked a room at the Westin Hotel on Dawn Beach to have access to the private amenities on the island. We enjoyed our day and I became sunburn all over (two weeks later and I'm still peeling.)
We docked at the West Indian Company Dock, alongside the Celebrity Constellation and Norwegian Epic. In the distance, we were able to see the Allure of the Seas at the Crown Bay dock on the other side of town. We went to the Marriott with its own private beach. We were at the beach for a while and then went shopping at the mall right near the pier. The island itself is very nice, despite all of the iguanas we saw at the beach. On St. Thomas, we get cell service from AT&T as St. Thomas is part of the United States Virgin Islands.
San Juan is a very nice place, but here's the thing: you never have a full day in Puerto Rico. We were in port from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. All we did was walk around town for a little while and it was a let-down because nothing is open that early in the morning. We were with the Navigator of the Seas, and again, everything was very crowded. We get cell service again here because Puerto Rico is part of the United States. I wonder if any ship has a full day in San Juan. In five cruises that have sailed there out of my seven, I have never had a full day there.
Labadee, Haiti is one of Royal Caribbean's very own private beach island. We were in dock with the Navigator of the Seas, so everything was so crowded. Most of Labadee's workers was run by workers from both ships, and there was 4 buffets set up throughout the island. There are two beaches, the rough-wave Atlantic Ocean facing beach and the very calm Columbus Cove, which faced the ship and was located in the inner bay. One last day at the beach was very fun and we weren't looking forward to heading back up to New Jersey after leaving. Labadee is (in my opinion) the best private island I have been too (second is Cayo Levantado, Dominican Republic.)