Perfect Caribbean Escape

New England’s largest city, Boston, Massachusetts, is home to historic sights and modern neighborhoods; stores and restaurants with old-time character; and gracious green spaces as well as a beautiful waterfront. Legendary figures of the American Revolution come alive at buildings and attractions along Boston’s Freedom Trail, including the Paul Revere House and Old South Meeting House, and in Lexington and Concord just outside Boston. Pay homage to great U.S. presidents at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum and in the town of Quincy, birthplace of Presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams.

Each of Boston’s neighborhoods has its own personality and things to do, whether you’re enjoying the food of the North End’s Little Italy, admiring the beautiful 19th-century architecture of Beacon Hill or watching the street performers in Cambridge’s Harvard Square. The waterfront offers harbor views, while boat tours allow you to take in the city skyline while sightseeing. In every neighborhood, shopping and dining reveal Boston’s true eclectic self, from casual to high-end, but always interesting.

Finally, Boston is a city of green spaces where you can relax and enjoy the outdoors. The Emerald Necklace, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, is a 445-hectare (1,100-acre) chain of nine linked parks, including the lovely Boston Common and Public Garden.

The Caribbean is full of tropical wonders and natural beauty. But there’s nothing like Half Moon Cay, our pristine private island paradise in the Bahamas. Cruise to the Bahamas with Holland America Line and discover the most stunning, highest-rated private-island experience in the region, Half Moon Cay. This island has won Porthole Cruise Magazine’s Best Private Island award 17 consecutive years, and was also named the best in Travel Weekly’s Readers’ Choice Awards. As soon as your toes touch that powdery white sand and your eyes settle on the perfect blue-crystal clear water, you’ll understand why this island is one of the most sought out destinations. Whether you are planning a romantic getaway or a family vacation, book a Bahamas cruise and explore Half Moon Cay’s beautiful beaches, exciting cruise excursions, exclusive beach cabanas and more.

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.”

Amsterdam-like canals, gabled Dutch colonial buildings, an exotic floating market. This bustling duty-free port has it all. Plus the world-famous Curaçao Liqueur Distillery and an intriguing coral reef teeming with parrotfish and queen angelfish. Sample shore excursions: Curaçao Dolphin Encounter; Curaçao See & Sea Tour; Highlights of Curaçao with Folkloric Show; Canoe Safari; Willemstad Trolley Train.

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.

Its official name is Cartagena de Indias—or “Cartagena of the Indies”—but call it Cartagena for short. The formal name hints at this Colombian city’s colonial relationship with Spain; it was founded in 1533 and named after the mother country’s Cartagena. Colombia declared independence in 1810, but there’s plenty about its fifth-largest city that evokes old Spain, including the impressive fort of Castillo San Felipe de Barajas, and the wall that encloses the old town, one of the few intact structures of its kind in the Americas. Both were considered important enough to inscribe on UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites in 1984. They may be historical artifacts, but the fortress and wall aren’t merely tourist attractions; they are central to daily life here. Take a stroll and you’ll see couples sitting atop the wall, locked in passionate embraces; parents watching their children walk it like a balance beam; and friends chatting while enjoying the Caribbean breeze. Along with history, there’s cultural and culinary intrigue here, too. This colorful city was a muse of the late Nobel Prize–winning writer Gabriel García Márquez, and is increasingly being recognized outside Colombia for its cuisine, which takes many cues from Caribbean ingredients. (Don’t leave without trying the coconut rice.)

At the center of one of the world’s greatest engineering projects is a place where nature has been given a space to flourish—the vast Gatún Lake. The lake includes some 33 kilometers (20 miles) of the 77-kilometer (48-mile) route that ships follow through the Panama Canal. While a passenger gazing at its forested shores may assume they are looking at a landscape that predates the canal, the lake is as much a manmade creation as the various locks. It was formed in 1912, with the damming of the Chagres River, and the islands that dot the lake were once the peaks of hills.

The surface of the lake sits at an elevation of between 25 and 27 meters (82 and 87 feet) above sea level. At its Caribbean end, the Gatún Locks raise ships traveling towards the Pacific to the level of the lake; at its other end, the Pedro Miguel and then the Miraflores Locks lower them back to sea level. In addition to opportunities to see the infrastructure of the canal, created at the expense of millions of dollars and thousands of lives, Gatún Lake is fascinating for its remarkable biodiversity. More than 100 species each of mammals and reptiles, as well as some 500 different birds, thrive in the nature reserves in and near the lake.

Colon lies on the stunning Caribbean coast of Panama, where unparalleled beaches and lush tropical scenery are de rigueur. In nearby Portobello, discover the ruins of Spanish forts, watch the colorful yachts sailing in the bay or hunt for treasures in the local markets. Travel to the Gatun Locks for a bird’s eye view of the immense ships passing through the Panama Canal.

Surrounded by nearly half of all the animal species on earth and 8,000 species of plants, marvel as you take the chance to tour tropical flower farms or ride a Mawamba boat through the jungle canals near Puerto Limon. Explore the capital city of San Jose, where museums beckon and markets burst with luscious local tastes—mangoes, bananas, pineapples, papayas.

One of the first things you’ll notice on your Key West cruise is the colorful gingerbread wooden houses and the amazing sunsets, and the constant crowing of roosters. Hundreds of the noisy birds—along with their quieter-clucking mates—roam the streets at all hours, and are nearly as synonymous with Key West cruises as its six-toed cats, the famous furry residents of Ernest Hemingway’s mansion in the Old Town district. They’re all part of the quirky charm of the United States’ southernmost point, whose compact 11 square kilometers (4.2 square miles) pack in everything from gorgeous historic architecture and spectacular fishing and sailing to a raucous party scene along famed Duval Street. All of which is truly enjoyed by vacationers who cruise to Key West, Florida.

The beach is just the beginning of the adventures that await guests visiting Port Canaveral, located on the Atlantic coast of Central Florida. The white sands along the beach are made for long days in the sun, while the waters are ideal for sports, including some of the best surfing on the East Coast. Waterfront restaurants serve local seafood and festive drinks on patios overlooking the cruise ships’ arrivals and departures. Nearby, Cocoa Village offers tree-lined streets to stroll while shopping.

Port Canaveral, on Florida’s Space Coast, is an ideal launching spot to get to the nearby Kennedy Space Center and to Orlando’s famous theme parks, which are between 60 and 90 minutes away by car. Guests get to see NASA treasures and experience a space-shuttle-launch simulator and even have the chance to meet a veteran astronaut among the adventures at the Kennedy Space Center. Walt Disney World, SeaWorld Orlando and Universal Orlando Resort offer thrill rides, shows and attractions, and invite guests into their themed worlds of fun.

New England’s largest city, Boston, Massachusetts, is home to historic sights and modern neighborhoods; stores and restaurants with old-time character; and gracious green spaces as well as a beautiful waterfront. Legendary figures of the American Revolution come alive at buildings and attractions along Boston’s Freedom Trail, including the Paul Revere House and Old South Meeting House, and in Lexington and Concord just outside Boston. Pay homage to great U.S. presidents at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum and in the town of Quincy, birthplace of Presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams.

Each of Boston’s neighborhoods has its own personality and things to do, whether you’re enjoying the food of the North End’s Little Italy, admiring the beautiful 19th-century architecture of Beacon Hill or watching the street performers in Cambridge’s Harvard Square. The waterfront offers harbor views, while boat tours allow you to take in the city skyline while sightseeing. In every neighborhood, shopping and dining reveal Boston’s true eclectic self, from casual to high-end, but always interesting.

Finally, Boston is a city of green spaces where you can relax and enjoy the outdoors. The Emerald Necklace, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, is a 445-hectare (1,100-acre) chain of nine linked parks, including the lovely Boston Common and Public Garden.