This was our 3rd cruise (all on Royal Caribbean and all on voyager class ships). We've done the eastern and western routes, but after this cruise I think the southern route is the best!! You get the best bang for your buck by being able to experience 6 islands (if you include Puerto Rico as one of the islands) instead of the usual 3. The weather is amazing and the beaches in the southern caribbean can't be beat by any we've seen in the eastern or western routes.

We took this cruise august 1-8th and did the St Maarten-st kitts-antigua (st John's)- st lucia- barbados route. Wow!!!!! We got to see so many places and tour so many islands, I would do it again in a heartbeat.

That being said, if you prefer to experience the cruise boat, this might not be the route for you, as we were very tired at te end of the day and struggled to stay awake for dinner and shows. we definitely had no energy to drink (so count me in for a vote against the drink package on this route). You can always stay on the boat during the day, but a lot of things are closed (shops and casino). There are still activities scheduled during the day though, but not a lot of people stay on the ship. We didn't even see many people the whole week until the last day, which was at sea. Read more