A cruise around the fabulous Caribbean islands is the ultimate laid-back holiday. Here’s part one of our pick of the best itineraries for the year ahead
Traditional fishing boats in St Lucia. Credit AWL
Treasured Island
Explore the southern Caribbean with a Titan package that includes three nights in Miami before leaving Florida’s Key Largo for 11 nights on a Holland America cruise that features the tiny islands of St Thomas and St Maarten plus an included excursion to the Everglades Safari Park.
Departs January, February and March 2017 for 16 days, from £2,799pp including hotel and return flights
(0800 988 5873; titantravel.co.uk).
Miami return trip
Regent Seven Seas Cruises’ new ship Seven Seas Explorer launches in July and will spend winter in the Caribbean. ‘The most luxurious ship ever built,’ as Regent Seven Seas Cruises calls it, will offer four itineraries including a roundtrip from Miami calling at Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic as well as five other islands.
Departs December 2016 to March 2017 for 10 nights, from £4,769pp including hotel, return flights, daily excursions, gratuities, selected drinks and wifi (02380 682 280; rssc.com).
Miami to Los Angeles
After cruising through the Caribbean Sea to the Cayman Islands and Columbia on Seven Seas Navigator, you can tick off the must-do Panama Canal transit on your way to Central America’s Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Guatemala before hitting Acapulco in Mexico and finally San Diego and Los Angeles.
Departs 5 January 2017 for 16 nights, from £6,269pp including hotel, return flights, daily excursions, gratuities, selected drinks and wifi (02380 682 280; rssc.com).
The Bahamas and east coast
Seven Seas Mariner leaves Miami on a round trip that takes it to Nassau in the Bahamas then three days in Bermuda, but also includes a day at Norfolk in Virginia on America’s east coast and an overnight in Charleston, South Carolina – two unusual and historic ports where America’s trade relationship with the Caribbean was first forged.
Departs 8 April 2016 for 12 nights, from £3,999pp including hotel, return flights, daily excursions, gratuities, selected drinks and wifi (02380 682 280; rssc.com).
Southampton to the Caribbean
Saga Pearl II makes several maiden visits, such as peaceful Port Antonia in Jamaica and British Virgin Islands’ Virgin Gorda during an epic return trip from Southampton that includes a day in incredible Havana, in Cuba, and another to the island’s former capital Santiago de Cuba.
Departs 8 November 2016 for 42 nights, from £6,851pp including UK mainland travel to and from Southampton, gratuities and selected drinks (0800 505030; travel.saga.co.uk).
A colourful chalet on Grace Bay Beach on Turks and Caicos. Credit Getty
Southampton return trip
New for 2017 is Saga Pearl II’s month-long return trip to the Caribbean from Southampton, with two days in Trinidad and Tobago’s Port of Spain and Scarborough. Martinique, Montserrat and Tortola are among the eight Caribbean islands visited.
Departs 28 January 2017 for 31 nights, from £4,953pp including UK mainland travel to and from Southampton, gratuities and selected drinks (0800 505030; travel.saga.co.uk).
Panama Canal
Another new itinerary for Saga is the 66-night Central American Discovery that visits 18 ports new to Saga Sapphire on a round trip from Southampton that includes the islands of St Lucia and Trinidad, but also takes you through the Panama Canal to Central America and Mexico, then back to Cuba and Jamaica.
Departs 11 January 2017 for 66 nights, from £11,224pp including UK mainland travel to and from Southampton, gratuities and wine with meals (0800 505030; travel.saga.co.uk).
The Bahamas and Barbados
Week-long round trips from Miami often take in the nearby Bahamas, but if you choose a slightly longer cruise you can get as far as the popular islands of Antigua, Martinique and St Lucia – just three of the seven islands Oceania Cruises’ MS Riviera visits in its Sunny Celebrations cruise.
Departs 22 December for 12 days, from £3,639pp cruise-only, including gratuities, selected drinks and wifi (0345 505 1920; oceaniacruises.com).
Bermuda and the Bahamas
Oceania Cruises offers an unusual combination of Caribbean-style relaxation in Bermuda, with two nights in vibrant Hamilton and a stop in the Bahamas’ beach resort and colonial capital Nassau, plus a day at Port Canaveral – not far from Florida’s Orlando theme parks, and an overnight stop in South Carolina’s Charleston.
Departs 12 April for 12 days, from £1,899pp cruise only, including airfare, gratuities, selected drinks and wifi (0345 505 1920; oceaniacruises.com).
Escape to Margaritaville
Norwegian Cruise Line’s new ship Norwegian Escape, launched last autumn, offers the first Margaritaville at sea – a totally tropical restaurant chain inspired by singer Jimmy Buffet – plus one of the largest deck top fun zones during its regular Caribbean cruises throughout 2016, such as the Eastern Caribbean return trips to Miami that take in the American Virgin Islands and British Virgin Islands.
Departs March, June, July and December for seven nights, from £830pp cruise only. (0845 201 8900; ncl.co.uk).
The crystal-clear waters at
Nassau. Credit Getty
Party on Great Stirrup Cay
Short cruises always have a special party atmosphere and Norwegian Sky’s four-night round trips from Miami to two of the Bahamas islands and Norwegian Cruise Line’s private island Great Stirrup Cay includes unlimited beer, wine and spirits.
Departs 6 March 2016 for seven days, from £1,556pp including return flight, hotel and selected drinks (ncl.co.uk; 0845 201 8900).
New Orleans roundtrip
Western Caribbean round trips to New Orleans are as laid-back as they sound on Norwegian Dawn, with a relaxing day at sea before hitting the palm-fringed beach and coral reef diving or snorkelling at Cozumel in Mexico. There is another coral reef off Roatan in Honduras while Harvest Cay in Belize has rainforest for eco-explorers.
Departs 6 March for seven nights, from £1,611pp including return flight (0845 201 8900; ncl.co.uk).
Barbados roundtrip
For a pre-Christmas treat consider a December round trip from Bridgetown, Barbados, to six distinctive islands including Martinique, where the port of Le Marin is a brand new stop for this Silversea cruise.
Departs 15 December for six nights, from £1,650pp cruise only, including gratuities, selected drinks and wifi (0844 251 0837; silversea.com).
The Caribbean and Central America
Take a round trip from Florida’s sunny Fort Lauderdale to the Cayman Islands via Central America on board Silver Spirit, with calls at Costa Maya and Cozumel in Mexico, plus beach days in Belize and Honduras, where swimming, snorkelling and marlin fishing are on the menu.
Departs 21 March 2016 for 10 days, from £2,650pp cruise only, including gratuities, selected drinks and wifi (0844 251 0837; silversea.com).
New York to Barbados
Leave the skyscrapers of Manhattan for sun-kissed beaches and tropical rainforest in this seven island cruise on board Silver Whisper that includes spice island Grenada, Antigua and Barbuda’s capital St John’s, and volcanic St Barts, with its iguanas and night-blooming cacti.
Departs 24 October 2016 for 12 days, from £2,850pp cruise only, including gratuities, selected drinks and wifi (0844 251 0837; silversea.com).
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