Cruise Itinerary

According to the popular 1960 beach movie, Fort Lauderdale is "where the boys are." The city's reputation as America's Spring Break capital, however, has been replaced with the more favorable image of a prime family tourist destination, attracting more than 10 million visitors annually. The most popular beach resort in Florida is even more rightly famed as the "Yachting Capital of the World," with more than 40,000 registered crafts calling its waters home. The city also prides itself on being the "Venice of America" with more than 300 miles of navigable waterways. Fort Lauderdale boasts world-class theaters, museums, sightseeing, and shopping.

St. Maarten offers a delightful case of split personality. Legend has it that a Frenchman and a Dutchman divided ownership of the island through a walk-off: Standing back to back, the two headed in opposite directions, walking around the island until they met. Perhaps the Dutchman paused for a refreshing brew. At any rate, the French ended up claiming 21 square miles of the island to 16 square miles for the Dutch. This lively tale says much about St. Maarten's easygoing ways. No formal boundary exists between the Dutch and French sides of the island; a simple welcome sign tells you when you cross from one country to the other. But the differences are as noticeable as the spelling of the island's name. The French spell it St. Martin. And it's this split personality that lends so much to the island's charms, including an international reputation for the finest cuisine in the Caribbean.

The 290 square mile island of Dominica lies between Martinique and Guadeloupe in the eastern Caribbean and is the largest and most mountainous of the English speaking Windward Islands. Discovered by Columbus on a Sunday (hence its name), Dominica was once inhabited by fierce Carib Indians and is still home to 3,000 of their descendants.

The charms of this, the loveliest of Caribbean islands, are many and varied. Soufriere is the world's only “drive-in” volcano; Marigot Bay is almost unbelievably pretty and the Creole cuisine is rightly famed throughout the Caribbean.

Barbadians, or Bajans in local parlance, consider their island nation the most British of the Caribbean: Queen Elizabeth II is still head of state, and English products are stocked in many of its stores and restaurants. Barbados is known as the birthplace of international pop star Rihanna, but it has also produced some of the biggest Caribbean calypso and soca music stars. The summer Crop Over festival is a huge carnival event. With live music and crafts for sale, the popular Friday fish fry at Oistins Bay is a fun place to mingle with the locals. Centered around a waterway called the Careenage and its handsome Chamberlain Bridge, the historic center of Bridgetown, the country's capital, was granted UNESCO World Heritage status in 2011 for its wealth of British colonial architecture dating from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. Among the famous figures who visited Bridgetown when it was at its peak was none other than George Washington, who spent two months in 1751 in a house that still stands today, on his only trip abroad. Barbados is only 34 kilometers (21 miles) long, and even if your time is limited, you can explore much of the island using Bridgetown as your base. The less populated, rugged east coast of this coral island is strikingly beautiful and home to a number of different turtle species. The west coast, often nicknamed the "Platinum Coast," is where you'll find some of the island's most popular beaches and biggest mansions. The interior, with its 340-meter-high (1,115-foot-high) Mount Hillaby, historic sugar plantations and lush gardens, will lure you away from the beach for a few hours.

Sailors through the centuries have rated it one of the worlds prettiest harbours and it is hard to disagree. Horseshoe-shaped and set in a volcanic crater, Grenadas capital and cruise port St Georges is flanked by two forts, with colourful French colonial style buildings ranged along the front. It is the perfect entrance to one of the Caribbean's most scenic islands. Only 12 miles by 21, it is awash with waterfalls, mountain valleys, rainforests, lakes and volcanic craters. The beaches are to die for, especially Grand Anse - a two-mile stretch of pure white sand just around the bay from St Georges. Grenada is also the island you can smell before you can see it. The 'Spice Island' grows more spices per square mile than anywhere else on the planet with nutmeg its signature seasoning. In fact, gentle haggling with spice vendors is part of the fun of cruising to this laid-back Caribbean island.

Trinidad, the birthplace of steel pan and calypso music, is one of the Caribbean's most vibrant and interesting destinations. The island and its capital city, Port of Spain, are both industrial and cosmopolitan. In fact, Trinidad and Tobago is the largest oil exporter in the Western Hemisphere and one of the most industrialized nations in the West Indies. About the size of Delaware, the island of Trinidad boasts a profusion of floral growth and an incredibly diverse population. Once a prime destination for business travelers, it is now becoming a serious vacation destination. There is plenty to see here, from the Asa Wright Nature Center, devoted to naturalists and bird watchers, to the more traditional tourist attractions like the Queen's Park Savannah, the Royal Botanic Gardens, and the Magnificent Seven, a strand of impressive colonial houses reflecting Trinidad's unique heritage. Port of Spain serves as your gateway to this lush tropical island with echoes of its colonial past.

Located off the coasts of Venezuela and Colombia, the windswept Dutch island of Aruba feels like another world. When you take a cruise to Aruba, you can relax in the shade of a swaying Divi Divi tree on a pristine beach or explore untamed coastal cliffs in an exotic landscape filled with cacti. Just one day on an Aruba cruise can lead to a lifetime full of stories.

Named for the fez-like scarlet blossoms of the cactus that grows here, Grand Turk is a pristine place of simple pleasures. Float dreamily over vibrant coral reefs, dine on conch fritters, set your watch to "island time."

According to the popular 1960 beach movie, Fort Lauderdale is "where the boys are." The city's reputation as America's Spring Break capital, however, has been replaced with the more favorable image of a prime family tourist destination, attracting more than 10 million visitors annually. The most popular beach resort in Florida is even more rightly famed as the "Yachting Capital of the World," with more than 40,000 registered crafts calling its waters home. The city also prides itself on being the "Venice of America" with more than 300 miles of navigable waterways. Fort Lauderdale boasts world-class theaters, museums, sightseeing, and shopping.