Caribbean cruises from Miami: Western, Eastern and Southern routes compared

Caribbean cruises from PortMiami split three ways by their ports. This guide explains how this site files each sailing as Western, Eastern or Southern Caribbean, what the official sources say about the main ports on each route, and where to compare dates and fares.

Sailing counts and fares below fill in from this site's schedule on every build. Fares are starting fares per person, taxes and fees included, read on November 14, 2026.

What is the difference between Western, Eastern and Southern Caribbean cruises from Miami?

The ports. On this site, a cruise from Miami with one stop in the ABC islands, Barbados, the Windward Islands, Colombia or Panama's Caribbean coast is a Southern Caribbean cruise. Otherwise its stops in Mexico, Belize, Honduras, Jamaica and the Cayman Islands are counted against its stops in Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, St. Maarten, the Dominican Republic and Turks and Caicos, and the side with more makes it Western or Eastern.

A tie goes by the name the line gives the cruise. Stops in the Bahamas count for neither side, so a week with a private island day and three Mexican ports is still Western. A cruise that calls only in the Bahamas, at Key West or at the lines' islands there is a Bahamas cruise, covered in the Bahamas guide.

Route	Ports this site files under it	Sailings	Shortest	Starting fares
Western Caribbean	Mexico, Belize, Honduras, Jamaica, the Cayman Islands	469	4 nights	$238 to $10,249
Eastern Caribbean	Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, St. Maarten, the Dominican Republic, Turks and Caicos	696	4 nights	$289 to $24,049
Southern Caribbean	The ABC islands, Barbados, the Windward Islands, Colombia, Panama's Caribbean coast	251	7 nights	$374 to $43,750

Starting fares per person, taxes and fees included, read on November 14, 2026.

One line's own examples show the split. Holland America names Cozumel, Grand Turk and Martinique among the places its Caribbean cruises from Miami go, and this site files those as a Western, an Eastern and a Southern port.

Where do Western Caribbean cruises from Miami go?

To Mexico, Belize, Honduras, Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. This site's schedule lists 469 Western Caribbean sailings from Miami, the shortest 4 nights, at starting fares of $238 to $10,249 per person, taxes and fees included, read on November 14, 2026.

• Cozumel, Mexico. Carnival said in 2016 that its cruises visiting Cozumel dock at Puerta Maya, "Carnival's modern three-berth facility in Cozumel". Puerta Maya is still on Carnival's Paradise Collection list. The release covers Carnival's ships only.
• Roatan, Honduras. Carnival's port there opened in 2009 as Mahogany Bay and is now called Isla Tropicale. It has two berths for Carnival's Excel- and Vista-class ships, 52 shops, three restaurants and four bars. A pool area called Mangrove Bay added 48,000 square feet of recreation space when it opened on May 20, 2026, and guests who rent a cabana or daybed get a free chairlift ticket.
• Jamaica. The Port Authority of Jamaica places Ocho Rios on the island's northern coast and says the historic port of Falmouth was revitalized to take modern cruise ships. Its page gives no berth counts.
• Harvest Caye, Belize. Norwegian calls it "NCL's exclusive resort in Belize". It is in southern Belize, with a 7-acre beach, a pool with a swim-up bar and a zip line NCL measures at 914 meters. NCL's page says ships will either dock or anchor offshore there, without saying which.

The Western Caribbean page lists every sailing on this route.

Where do Eastern Caribbean cruises from Miami go?

To Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, St. Maarten, the Dominican Republic and Turks and Caicos. This site's schedule lists 696 Eastern Caribbean sailings from Miami, the shortest 4 nights, at starting fares of $289 to $24,049 per person, taxes and fees included, read on November 14, 2026.

• Amber Cove, Dominican Republic. Carnival Corporation's port sits just outside the historic center of Puerto Plata. It opened in 2015 on 25 acres and had welcomed approximately seven million visitors by its tenth anniversary in November 2025. The anniversary release lists restaurants, shops, bars, pools, a zipline, and waterfront and hilltop cabanas.
• Taino Bay, Dominican Republic. Puerto Plata's other cruise port has an official site in Spanish. It lists a lazy river and pools. MSC's Miami page names Puerto Plata among its "fan-favorite stops", with San Juan.
• Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos. On Carnival's Paradise Collection list, with Amber Cove, Isla Tropicale and Puerta Maya. Holland America names it too.

The Eastern Caribbean page lists every sailing on this route.

Do cruises from Miami still stop at Labadee?

Not with Royal Caribbean before May 2028. Royal Caribbean's travel updates page, last updated November 2, 2026, says: "We have suspended all visits to Labadee fleetwide through April 2028." Some of its older itinerary pages still show Labadee calls.

The replacement ports for those sailings are not published, so this site leaves out Royal Caribbean sailings before May 2028 that still list Labadee. If you booked one, the travel updates page and your cruise documents are the places to check.

Where do Southern Caribbean cruises from Miami go?

To the ABC islands, Barbados, the Windward Islands, Colombia and Panama's Caribbean coast. One stop there is enough for this site to file a cruise as Southern Caribbean. The schedule lists 251 Southern Caribbean sailings from Miami, the shortest 7 nights, at starting fares of $374 to $43,750 per person, taxes and fees included, read on November 14, 2026.

• Curaçao. The Curaçao Ports Authority says cruise ships use the Mega Pier and the Otrabanda wharves in the St. Anna Bay inlet. Its cruise page carries no date.
• Martinique. Holland America names it among the places its Caribbean cruises from Miami go.

The Southern Caribbean page lists every sailing on this route.

How do you choose a Caribbean route from Miami?

Start with the nights you have, then the ports. The shortest Western sailing on this site's schedule is 4 nights, the shortest Eastern 4 and the shortest Southern 7, so compare those with your time off before you compare fares.

For fares, compare the cost per night. The lowest starting fare per night was $48 on a Western sailing, $48 on an Eastern one and $47 on a Southern one, per person, taxes and fees included, read on November 14, 2026. Gratuities come on top on several lines, and the cruise lines guide lists them.

If you want one of the line-run ports, start with the line. Isla Tropicale and Puerta Maya are Carnival's and Harvest Caye is Norwegian's, so Carnival's and Norwegian's Miami pages are the place to look.

Next steps

• Compare dates and fares on the Western, Eastern and Southern Caribbean pages.
• For shorter trips, see the Bahamas guide and the weekend and short cruises guide.
• Before you book, the documents guide covers what to carry on a round trip from Miami.
• Browse every sailing by month on the cruises page.