In the British Virgin Islands, alternatives to the main island of Tortola include Jost Van Dyke, Virgin Gorda and Norman Island.
In the French Caribbean, celebrity hotspot St Barts, Guadeloupe and Iles des Saintes welcome the select crowds smaller ships bring.
St Kitts can cater for the world’s largest ships, but its smaller sister Nevis, with rain-forested hills dotted with old sugar plantations, caters for smaller craft.
On St Lucia, Vieux Fort is a quieter alternative to Castries; on Dominica, boutique ships swap busy Roseau for a smaller port close to the town of Portsmouth; Marigot, the main town of French St Martin, is a far cry from Philipsburg, the commercialised capital of Dutch St Maarten.
Who to book with
The biggest names, such as Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Line, Princess, Celebrity and MSC Cruises, offer the most popular routes with most departures from the main Florida ports, though New York is gaining in popularity.
Carnival Cruise Line’s offerings include short cruises to the Bahamas from a range of US ports, while Virgin Voyages brings a fresh flavour to Caribbean explorations with departures from Miami and Puerto Rico.
Disney Cruise Line departs from Port Canaveral, among others, to cater for guests wanting to combine a stay at Walt Disney World with a cruise.
Premium lines, such as Azamara, Oceania, Silversea, Regent Seven Seas Cruises and Seabourn, usually sail from Miami, but some offer departures from Caribbean ports too.
Viking features varied sailings, including Panama Canal transits on voyages from Fort Lauderdale.
French company Ponant features the French Caribbean islands heavily with many of its 2024/25 voyages departing from Martinique and Guadeloupe, while boutique line SeaDream Yacht Club, which has two mega-yachts for just 112 guests, sails to a host of Caribbean hideaways, departing from St Martin, Puerto Rico and St Thomas, among others.
Tall ship lines Star Clippers and Sea Cloud Cruises offer similar off-the-beaten track itineraries with departures from St Maarten and Barbados, as does Windstar Cruises.
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Publish date : 2024-09-20 04:00:00
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