Our pick of the best Caribbean cruise itineraries for the year ahead continues…
An old American car in Cuba. Credit iStock
Miami sand and surf
Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic, with its sand and surf beach and unspoilt nature park, is a first for Oceania Cruises on this Miami return trip on board Riviera that also calls at the Turks and Caicos Islands, Puerto Rico and St Barts among its seven ports of call.
Departs 13 January 2017 for 10 days, from £2,269pp cruise only, including gratuities, selected drinks and wifi (0345 505 1920; oceaniacruises.com).
The Southern Caribbean from Miami
Royal Caribbean’s newly renovated Navigator of the Seas will be offering one of the few southern Caribbean itineraries that does not require sailing from Puerto Rico. The Miami round trip calls at Bonaire and Labadee in Haiti, as well as Curacao and Aruba.
Departs 6 January 2017 for nine nights, from £839pp cruise only (royalcaribbean.co.uk; 0844 493 4005).
Barry White Jnr at Cozumal
There’s a complimentary AzAmazing Evening listening to Barry White Jr at a beach party on the Mexican resort island of Cozumel, as well as a trip through the Panama Canal to four Caribbean islands, including the ABCs – Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao, on this round trip from Miami on board Azamara Quest.
Departs 1 December for 18 nights, from £4,039pp including return flights or £2,939pp cruise only (0844 493 4016; azamaraclubcruises.co.uk).
Christmas from Miami
Spend Christmas Day horse riding on a beach or hiking through the rainforest on the island of Nevis on Azamara Quest’s Christmas Voyage from Miami to Puerto Rico, calling at both the US and British Virgin Islands plus St Thomas and St Barts.
Departs 19 December for eight nights, from £2,649pp including return flights or £1,329pp cruise only (0844 493 4016; azamaraclubcruises.co.uk).
West Indies hideaway
Take to the sea in a kayak, enjoy a Caribbean barbecue at Turtle Cove in the US Virgin Islands, or swim with dolphins around the British Virgin Islands on Azamara Quest’s West Indies Hideaway Voyage that also visits Guadeloupe, Dominica, Nevis and Gustavia in St Barts on this round trip from Miami.
Departs 4 January 2017 for 11 nights, from £3,119pp including return flights or £1,849pp cruise only (0844 493 4016; azamaraclubcruises.co.uk).
A brightly painted building
in Havana, Cuba. Credit AWL
Colonial charm
New for Viking Ocean Cruises’ 2016 programme is a return trip from Puerto Rico that starts with an overnight in San Juan then sails to explore British, French and Dutch colonial charm as well as the
exuberant cultures of places such as Pointe-à-Pitre in Guadeloupe and Basseterre on St Kitts and Nevis among the nine ports visited.
Departs regularly between October 2016 and February 2017 for 11 nights, from £2,940pp including return flights, excursions, selected drinks and wifi (0800 298 9700; vikingcruises.co.uk).
Houston to Jamaica
Princess Cruises’s Caribbean & Panama Explorer cruises from Houston, Texas, on board Caribbean Princess in a roundtrip that takes you to Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, and then to Central America, returning to Houston for the day before setting off for Colombia and Panama with a second chance to visit Mexico’s Costa Maya and Cozumel.
Departs 20 March 2016 for 21 days, from £1,438pp cruise only. Flights can be arranged via Princess (0843 374 4444; princess.com).
New York to Fort Lauderdale
Enjoy plenty of sea days while sailing from New York City to Fort Lauderdale in Florida with calls at three very different Caribbean islands: St Maarten, the Dutch side of the island shared with French St Martin; spectacular Antigua, with its historic Nelson’s Dockyard and spectacular beaches; and beautiful Bonaire, off the coast of Venezuela in the southern Caribbean.
Departs 27 October 2016 for 10 days, from £678pp cruise only. Flights can be arranged via Princess (0843 374 4444; princess.com).
The Unspoilt Grenadines
Visit Bequia, one of the unspoilt Grenadine islands, where houses are made from driftwood and stones and the sea is a way of life. Follow this with a day in Tobago, which has the oldest protected rainforest in the West. These are just two of the eight islands visited in Princess Cruises’ Caribbean Connoisseur round trip from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, which also takes in the Virgin Islands and Martinique.
Departs 20 December 2016 for 14 days, from £1,778pp cruise only. Flights can be arranged via Princess (0843 374 4444; princess.com).
Eco-treks in the Domincan Republic
St Vincent and the Grenadines are among the least touristy islands in the Caribbean, with sea turtles a regular sight in the warm waters that lap the white sand beaches. Seabourn’s Caribbean Skies cruise from Fort Lauderdale to Barbados also calls at the Dominican Republic’s Punta Cana, for eco-treks, golf and horseriding, as well as seven other islands.
Departs 24 January 2017 for 12 days, from £4,300pp cruise only, including gratuities, excursions and selected drinks (0843 373 2000; seabourn.com).
Coconut palms in the Dominican Republic. Credit Getty
Panama ports
Seabourn Odyssey has a new Caribbean programme starting in February 2017 from Barbados to Fort Lauderdale, exploring the western Caribbean including three ports new to Seabourn in Panama: Portobelo, Colon and Bocas del Toro.
Departs 5 February 2017 for 15 days, from £4,999pp cruise only, including gratuities, excursions and selected drinks (0843 373 2000; seabourn.com).
Guadeloupe paradise
Caribbean Yacht Harbours is the name of a charming Seabourn Odyssey cruise leaving Barbados for St Maarten calling at a different island every day. These include Roseau in Dominca with thermal springs, waterfalls and whale watching tours, plus Deshaies in Guadeloupe, where the BBC’s Death In Paradise series was filmed.
Departs 4 March 2017 for seven days, from £2,500pp cruise only, including gratuities, excursions and selected drinks (0843 373 2000; seabourn.com).
Cuban fusion
You can add a seven-night hotel stay in Jamaica to Thomson’s classic Cuban Fusion cruise, a roundtrip from Jamaica’s lively Montego Bay, with its reggae bars and palm-fringed beaches where attractions range from a crocodile nursery to the James Bond backdrop of Dunn’s River Falls. A day in Havana also feels like a film set, and there are calls at Mexico’s Cozumel beach resort and the Cayman Islands.
Departs 29 November 2016 for seven days, from £1,074pp including return flights and gratuities (0203 451 2688; thomson.co.uk).
The British Virgin Island beaches
Paradise Islands is the aptly named Thomson Celebration roundtrip from Barbados that calls at the British Virgin Islands for its wonderful beaches and St Kitts for its sugar plantation history, with sister island Nevis just a ferry ride away. In all, five islands are visited.
Departs 3 April 2016 for seven nights, from £1,183pp including return flights and gratuities (0203 451 2688; thomson.co.uk).
Dutch Caribbean
A classic seven-night roundtrip on Thomson Discovery will take you to Aruba, where Oranjestad is like a psychedelic Amsterdam, all gabled houses and Caribbean colours. It also includes the other Dutch islands of Bonaire and Curaçao, while Castries offers a snuba experience – a cross between scuba and snorkelling with mask, fins and an air supply.
Departs 18 December 2016 for seven nights, from £1,274pp including return flights and gratuities. Week’s hotel stay in Barbados available (thomson.co.uk).
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