Keith Bunton simply can’t get away from work for six to nine months at a stretch. Lucky man.
He’s been hotel manager of the Fascination and the Destiny, the Carnival ships that cruise the Caribbean. (In April he’ll have the same role on the cruise line’s new ship, Elation, when it starts cruising the Mexican Riviera.) Bunton’s responsibilities are basically similar to those of a landlubber hotel manager at a resort: Make sure every employee does his or her job so guests can have the fun they paid for and expect.
Needless to say, he gets around.
In four years with Carnival, Bunton has made numerous stops at such Caribbean ports as San Juan, Puerto Rico; St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands; Cozumel, Mexico; Key West; Ocho Rios, Jamaica; and Caracas.
Cruise ships may have many similarities. But each time the gangplank is put in place, you’re in a different land with a unique cache. We asked Bunton to size up the top Caribbean ports of call . . .
Most frequented
St. Thomas, in the Virgin Islands. It’s next to St. John, which is considered to have one of the 10 most beautiful beaches in the world. It’s probably the most popular off-ship excursion because of the beaches and the underwater park there. St. Thomas is very Americanized, but it has some of the best scuba diving in the Caribbean. A lot of people don’t know about that. You can dive at reefs where, about 15 feet below the surface, you can find shipwrecks from the 1600s and 1700s. That type of exploring is exciting.
Most farsighted
St. Thomas is also the best place for learning scuba diving. Keep that in mind if you don’t know how to dive but want to dive in the Caribbean because this is often the first of many ports of call. Go to a place called Coki Beach — this is the best place. You can get a resort certificate that will allow you to dive at other places. Plus, Coki Beach is often frequented by dolphins.
Most popular
Aruba. The main city, Oranjestad, is a very friendly town. The people are super: Visitors are not hounded by peddlers as they are in several other ports. But it is a little more expensive. Combined with friendliness and the level of hospitality is the newness of stores, restaurants and casinos. The beaches are among the best in the Caribbean.
It also has a different type of climate: Think about Arizona surrounded by an ocean. That’s what it’s like. There are a lot of divi-divi trees and cacti. It’s a very dry climate. Hardly any bad weather.
Most exotic
Guadeloupe. People don’t realize how lush it is. I’ve been to Costa Rica to explore the rain forests, and Guadeloupe is like that — only more so. You’ll want, though, to get beyond the tourist area. See the waterfalls and volcanoes.
Most upscale/star-studded
Aruba. Stars and people with money enjoy the beaches and laid-back feeling of the island. And again, there’s the climate. It’s kind of like the Wild West, but surrounded by an ocean.
Most action-packed
St. Maarten has a Dutch and a French side; it’s split right down the middle, and this makes for an extremely diverse culture. Plus, the island has very beautiful beaches.
But Cozumel is wild and crazy — a party island. It has a Mexican persona: You feel as if you’re stepping into Mexico. At other islands, you step into other cultures, but not as dramatically. At Cozumel, you get off the ship and you see guys in sombreros with “tequila shooter” belts.
Cozumel, where the ship actually docks, is an island. Whenever you go to Cozumel, you stop and tender (refuel) at Playa del Carmen, on the Mexican mainland, and anybody who wants to can get off there. We sell tickets to side trips from there to the Tulum ruins and other pre-Columbia ruins, like Xel-ha and X-Can. Shella has some of the best snorkeling I’ve ever seen; Xel-ha gives you the chance to swim with dolphins and stingrays.
Strangest weather
Caracas. We port in La Guaira, about 40 miles from Caracas, which is surrounded by very high mountains. It’s always cloudy and rains quite a bit. Many islands in the Caribbean are kind of like that.
Most dramatic approach
San Juan, Puerto Rico, because of El Morro, the old Spanish castle right at the port. It’s quite impressive. You can see it from 2 or 3 miles offshore, depending on time of day and the weather.
The most picturesque port to leave is St. Thomas. It’s a picture postcard view.
Best shopping
St. Thomas, definitely, if you’re talking about jewelry. That’s what people buy on cruises that’s of significance. That and watches. You can buy diamonds, necklaces and so on in Charlotte Amalie (the principal city) — a very wide selection at the best prices. Why? Possibly because this is the No. 1 destination in the Caribbean: More people visit there than anywhere else. The Fascination gives out a list of recommended stores.
Best bargains
Grenada or Cozumel.
Grenada is a spice island, and the main thing you buy as a souvenir is a spice. It’s a less touristy island — it has not developed to that stage yet. The people on Grenada are not yet upscale to where everything will cost you an arm and a leg. What kind of spices? Nutmeg, cinnamon, bay leaves . . . Then again, you can get spices at Guadeloupe — saffron and other stuff. I’m not much of a chef, so I don’t know much about specifics.
At Cozumel, the Mexican blanket is still alive and well — still a deal. You can get a great blanket for 5 bucks.
Also, silver. Look for a marking that says “925” — this indicates that it is a high grade of silver and won’t turn different shades of brass.
Another good buy is leather goods. Though Cozumel is just a little island, they have the same stuff you’d find elsewhere in Mexico. A nice pair of boots, quality leather jackets and purses.
Biggest surprise
Caracas and La Guaira are a big disappointment if you don’t take a tour. We try to tell vacationers this, but it’s hard to sell; they think they’ll naturally see something cool.
But Caracas is a huge city — millions live there — and there’s a lot of poverty and not much to see. It takes a 40-minute ride to get from La Guaira to Caracas, and once you’re there, you can see . . . a city.
But that’s not why you want to go there.
People who want to see something exotic should take the side trips we offer — to rain forests and some colonial towns.
That’s surprising in a negative way.
For a different kind of awakening, try Aruba or St. Maarten: Folks are always surprised at how the islanders are really laid-back and cool.
There’s a nudist beach on the French side of the island. Some people come back to the ship very surprised at having wandered into that!
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For details on cruise vacations and their ports of call, contact your travel agency. Or, check out “Caribbean Ports of Call” (Fodor’s; $10) or the “Caribbean Ports of Call” series by Kay Showker for Globe Pequot Press, which is divided into three regions: Northeastern, Southeastern and Western. Each is $12.95. These books tell what you can see and do at dozens of destinations.
