Showdown on the High Seas

Dan Segal

There is something romantic about traveling by ship.  Whether it is because of the adventures of Sinbad or the love story of Jack and Rose, there is a draw to crossing the seas by boat.  Here is a break down of the cruise options in the Mediterranean and the Caribbean.

Affordability: 

Cruises in the Caribbean start at about $350 for a weeklong trip, while cruises in the Mediterranean begin at $500. Comparable cruises, such as a seven-night trip from Norwegian Cruise Line, have a price difference around $100. For the luxurious crowd, the No. 1 ranked cruise in U.S. News and World Report Allure of the Seas cruise from Royal Caribbean will set you back $639 in the Caribbean, and a whopping $1,093 in the Mediterranean. Both the Mediterranean and Caribbean have relatively cheap food, shopping, and tourist destinations if you avoid the traps. Most importantly, if you are planning on taking cruise around the Mediterranean you’ll have to get there first, and the airfare might be more expensive than the rest of the vacation.

Advantage: Caribbean

Excursions: 

The most popular destinations for Caribbean cruises are Cozumel, Mexico, Belize City, Belize, and St. Maarten, Netherlands Antilles. These stops are all beautiful beach destinations with many activities such as scuba diving, zip lining, and ATV riding, but they offer little variety in terms of sightseeing.  Cruises usually spend two or three days at sea due to travel time, meaning less time for on-shore excursions.

Some common destinations for Mediterranean include Bari, Italy, Santorini and Mykonos, Greece, and Dubrovnik, Croatia. Between those destinations alone you can experience a beautiful island-cities, the most infamous party scene in the Mediterranean, and a historic multicultural walled-off port city.   Let’s not forget the incredible cuisine – even the $3 gyros on any given street corner will make you strongly consider uprooting to these places. And the beaches are incredible. The cruises dock almost every day, which means more time exploring the various islands of the Mediterranean.

Advantage: Mediterranean

Accessibility:

Caribbean cruises are extremely popular and leave ports from Texas, Louisiana, and even as far north as Maryland and New York, although they mainly ship out from Miami and Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The high season for these cruises is June to August, and February to mid-April, as well as holiday season, which means a plethora of port cities, itineraries, and cruise lines to choose from whether you want to go for New Year’s Eve or Independence Day.

Mediterranean cruises have a much more standard high season; it stretches through the summer from May to September. They are also less accessible, with fewer popular cities and the necessity to fly from the States. However, the cruises that are offered generally offer diverse itineraries.

Advantage: Caribbean

Dan is a junior Business major from Livingston, New Jersey. A self-proclaimed history geek, cinephile, and avid traveler; he aims to walk away from every new destination with a good sense of the cuisine and a great story. He once jumped off of a moving train at the wrong station.

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