Dinsey Cruise in December - 7 Night Eastern OR Western?

[KevinFL]

So is one itinerary better than the other on a December cruise (or in general)?

 

[vacationer1954]

A lot of it will depend on you and your family - what you like most and don't care for.

 

[KevinFL]

The kids are 2 & 3 so we like a simple excursion if we get off the ship (i.e. just go to a close beach). Castaway Cay has been great and is on both itineraries.

We have done Western and enjoyed it. Would like to try Eastern; just wondering if one is better than the other this time of year.

 

[MickeyD]

The western tends to have calmer waters, especially at this time of year. It has been a few years since I cruised in December (we usually go in Feb), but as I remember, Castaway Cay was chilly, but the ports on the Western were warm. Did Eastern in Feb, so not sure on those.

 

[ScooterScott44]

Kevin, you just missed a thread on this - https://www.disboards.com/threads/eastern-vs-western.3690232/

There is some good info there. Having done both 2x’s I’ll say it depends on what you are looking to get out of the trip. To me the Eastern is a little more relaxing and the Western has a little more in the way of excursions. Tortola was swapped for St. Thomas for us in May but should be open by December. I can say that St. Maartin still showed needed more rebuilding but was getting close to business as usual. The Western didn’t have much hurricane damage from 2017 season but who knows what this year will bring.

 

[matthew517]

I prefer the western over the eastern any day. I went this past may on a eastern and the islands are still recovering. Went snorkeling in st john and the reef looked horrible.

 

[fredandkell]

I will add to @matthew517 comment and say that if the hurricane season is horrible, you'll most likely end up doing a Western as opposed to an Eastern in December anyway. And the Eastern costs more than the Western, but they won't refund you the cost difference if they have to switch your itinerary. Personally if I were booking Eastern I'd only do Feb. - April, and that way if the prior year's hurricanes were awful, you'd have plenty of time to cancel/change before your PIF date. If I had to travel in December, I'd def. go Western.

 

[FSU Girl]

The Eastern will have three sea days, the Western will have two. I think the Eastern will have more ports that are good for just beach days. I haven't done Disney's Western yet, will in January, but I did the Eastern in December. We had calm water and the ports farthest away had warmer water. Castaway Cay wasn't too cold either. This was over Christmas. I went early December to the Bahamas and it was freezing cold, but Florida was having a cold front so that probably contributed.

I think Eastern would work well if you want to spend most of the time at the beach, and it'll be something new to experience.