Ports of Call
Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Fort Lauderdale has a little bit of everything: smooth, white sandy beaches, endless shopping on Las Olas Boulevard, and the Atlantic Ocean welcoming you to swim almost year-round. Once a spring break town, Fort Lauderdale is now known as the “Venice of America” for its intricate system of canals and lush tropical landscape. Head to Hugh Taylor Birch State Park for trails and biking blanketed by mangroves. Travel down the Florida Everglades on an airboat tour, complete with alligator and flamingo sightings. Or beat the heat with a trip to the Museum of Science and Discovery in downtown Fort Lauderdale, where kids and adults alike will learn something new.
Grand Turk
On a cruise to Turks and Caicos, you’ll visit Grand Turk, the capital of the dreamy archipelago of 40 low-lying coral islands and cays. Here, dazzling white sand swirls into the iridescent turquoise shallows. Under the water, sheer-sided walls drop off into deep ocean canyons, creating spectacular conditions for scuba diving. This is a British Overseas Territory, so you’ll see English architecture blending with the bright colors of the tropics.
Grand Turk is languorous living at its best, with life operating on “island time”, iguanas basking in the sunshine, and wild donkeys wandering the streets. Here, you can dive on one of the world’s finest coral reefs, horseback ride in the surf, big game fish, and above all, relax on those spectacular beaches.
Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic cruises bring you to a world of almost impossible beauty: a landscape of jungle-swathed mountains, serene mangroves, and silvery-gold beaches. Then there’s the intoxicating rhythm of merengue, the atmospheric old cities, and the aroma of freshly roasted coffee beans on the tropical breeze.