Caribbean Cruise or Thailand. WWYD?

[MrsSmellersIsntMyName]

Decisions decisions!

Which would you choose?

Teenage DCs.

We’ve left it very late to book for this Christmas. So not many options re availability!

3 days in Miami and 7 day Caribbean cruise or 3 days in Bangkok and 7 days in Phuket.

Thailand option is slightly more expensive.

Thank you!

Which Caribbean islands? That would make s difference to me. And what ship? Do you like the idea of the ports or would you prefer to be static in a beach resort?

Gosh definitely Thailand. I've travelled a lot in Asia and always wanted to go.

Igloo cruises have loads of availability in the Caribbean over Christmas. You don’t have particularly limited choice.

You won’t see much of Thailand. Just a beach resort.

I disagree with Bubbles - depends what you want to do in Thailand.
Bangkok, palace, wats, Jim Thompson house, day trip to Kanchanaburi or Ayutthaya
Explore Phuket old town, cooking class, plenty of wats to visit, watersports etc

Thailand (or Vietnam) any day of the week.

If it's Club Med in Phuket I'd choose that over almost anything!

But my teens would also love Florida (I'd go Orlando for theme parks and NASA), followed by a cruise on one of the ships that's set up for families, like Royal Caribbean's or Carnival's.

Thailand as you'll have the option to do/see as much or as little as you'd want. Showing my complete ignorance of cruising here (and happy to admit it if I've got it wrong) but it seems to involve a lot of time sitting on a boat and being let off for a couple of hours at every stop so you only get a few crammed in & hurried snippets of every place you visit. Actually staying somewhere is better for the local economy and tourist trade as well (and yes the hotel may be foreign owned but overall..).

I also agree with @ShanghaiDiva that no one is stuck in either Bangkok or Phuket. Essentially you could have something planned for everyday, should you be looking for that. Far easier to get out of a hotel and explore than it is to get off a ship! (As a quick disclaimer, cruising personally doesn’t appeal to me at all as I don’t like boats! Having said all of the above, I’ve know people who absolutely love Caribbean cruises and go with what works for your family best!)

No you don’t get to know an island on a cruise but teens get to meet other teens. I do agree visiting a country is better but it’s a long way for 10 days.

Caribbean 100%!

Interesting thanks.

There are various cruises available so I’m looking into the different itineraries, but it’s the flights we’re struggling with.

I think teenagers would prefer the cruise. But I just can’t decide!

On cruises you can choose just to sit as your family, I think it's freestyle dining.

What's your budget? Thailand is very cheap once you are there. Miami is quite expensive and the dollar/£ exchange rate doesn't help.