Caribbean and Cuba: Cienfuegos - Antigua

Arrive in Cienfuegos and embark on Sea Cloud II.

Cienfuegos, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2005, whose name literally translates as "Hundred fires" is also known as the Pearl of the South. The city owes its grand, romantic architecture to the French colonists who first settled there. The beautiful old town of Trinidad de Cuba is a true gem, with lovingly restored colonial facades, sleepy lanes, and a turquoise sea. This friendly town, with its important past at the center of sugar cane cultivation, has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site for many years, along with the cultivated landscape of the Valle de Los Ingenios, or "Valley of the Sugarmills".

Enjoy this day offshore, relaxing and taking in the smell of the fresh ocean breeze up on deck.

The El Morro fortress towers high above the bay. It was almost completely destroyed by the pirate Henry Morgan but just 20 years later was once again strong enough to withstand any attack. Santiago de Cuba, an architectural gem, is proud not only of its reputation as the birthplace of the revolution but also of its musicality. If you go for a walk, sooner or later you will find yourself in an authentic Salsa bar. The whole city has music in its blood, and nowhere else do people make so much music or dance so much. The rhythms of the Salsa, Son and Rumba are just as thrilling in clubs, bars and schools as they are in the famous Buena Vista Social Club.

Port Antonio was once the world's banana capital, but for a long time now international VIPs have discovered this town for themselves. Some properties can be found near the clear deep waters of the Blue Lagoon. The pretty little town, surrounded by sugar cane fields and banana plantations, impresses, particularly with its delightful beaches. The Rio Grande is the island's largest river and channels its course over 60 kilometers (37 miles) in green solitude through the jungle and into the sea. Historically, bananas and other fruit were carefully transported on bamboo rafts along the waterway to the port. Nowadays the rafts have been equipped with bench seats and are used for excursions.

Enjoy this day offshore, relaxing and taking in the smell of the fresh ocean breeze up on deck.

On this island, which is part of Hispaniola, Columbus founded the first Spanish colony in America. Santo Domingo, the present capital of the Dominican Republic, is the first and oldest European-founded city in the New World. Old in the New World still means relatively young - it corresponds to Renaissance visions of the ideal and was the model for many cities in Latin America. A visit to the historic old city is like a journey through time. The splendid stone buildings are testament to the era of the colonial conquests and have been smartened up as World Heritage Sites under the protection of UNESCO.

Enjoy this day offshore, relaxing and taking in the smell of the fresh ocean breeze up on deck.

Explorers and privateers once used to cross swords in the Sir Francis Drake Channel. Nowadays the sea around the British Virgin Islands is one of the world's best sailing areas. Heavenly bays, gorgeous beaches, idyllic anchoring spots, smart yacht clubs and charming little beach bars make the island a popular haunt for sailors. On Virgin Gorda, once called "The Fat Virgin" by Columbus due to its shape, you can find "The Baths", one of nature's most beautiful oddities, in the National Park. Ground to a sphere and polished to a shine, the huge granite formations on the beach and in the water create a multi-branched labyrinth of giant boulders.

The Sir Francis Drake Channel, where swords were once crossed, is now one of the most beautiful sailing spots. Jost van Dyke, the smallest of the main islands in the British Virgin Islands, is a mountainous volcanic object of beauty with fewer than 300 inhabitants. One of them, Foxy, has been mixing his cocktails since 1968 and the bar of the same name enjoys a legendary reputation as perhaps the most famous beach bar in the Lesser Antilles. The island's past is less reputable - it was named after a Dutch pirate. The island gives its most beautiful treasures to all who visit - fine sand, green palm trees, colorful beach bars and the luminous blue of the sea.

St Barthélemy, affectionately known as St Barths by most, had already had many "owners" before the Lesser Antilles were acquired by France in 1877. When the first estate was acquired by the banker David Rockefeller in 1957, the island's future was finally sealed. It became a refuge for the international jet set and an elegant holiday paradise for many Hollywood stars. For over 40 years, St Barths has cultivated a luxurious lifestyle with a Caribbean laissez-faire approach. You can stroll through the charming main town of Gustavia, whose beautifully restored houses and colonial facades look out over the sea with its elegant superyachts, browse in the shops for precious items, or enjoy a sundowner in the picturesque harbor surrounded by clusters of high-class bars and restaurants.

Arrive in St. John's, Antigua and disembark.

St John's is the capital of this small island in the Antilles, a former British colony. From Shirley Heights in the south, you have a fantastic view of the English Harbour and Nelson's Dockyard, an old restored shipyard named after the Admiral. Visit Betty's Hope, a restored sugar mill where "white gold" would have been processed during the island's bitter past. Now sweet black pineapples grow in the gently rolling landscape around Boggy Peak. The coast is lined with bays and lagoons, dazzling white palm-filled beaches - one for every day of the year - and an almost unbroken coral reef.