Day 1 Philipsburg, St. Maarten | Embark
St. Maarten is the only Caribbean island with 100 percent duty-free shopping. In Philipsburg, more than 500 stores sell luxury items like leather goods, electronics, cameras, designer clothes, etc. Water sports are big on both sides of the island, and numerous operators rent boats, supply equipment for parasailing, waterskiing, windsurfing or kayaking. or offer deep-sea fishing expeditions.
Day 2 At Sea
- Ship
- 1 Breakfast, 1 Lunch, 1 Dinner
Relax aboard the Sea Cloud Spirit and enjoy beautiful panoramas.
Day 3 Soufrière, St. Lucia
- Ship
- 1 Breakfast, 1 Lunch, 1 Dinner
Two famous volcanic cones are indisputably the emblem of St Lucia and have been designated as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Gros and Petit Piton tower over the southern, windward side of the island and, in Soufrière, seem close enough to touch. The volcanoes have long been extinct, but the sulfur springs demonstrate the power of the earth's core and still bubble up. In the Botanical Gardens, natural abundance is combined with artistic arrangements to create a colorful tropical paradise. Some people claim that Josephine, who later became Napoleon's wife, used to bathe in the little pool in the garden.
Day 4 St. George's, Grenada
- Ship
- 1 Breakfast, 1 Lunch, 1 Dinner
Beautiful beaches, aromatic spice plantations, dense rainforests, waterfalls and a volcano that has long been extinct, picturesquely towering over this stunningly beautiful island. For many people, Grenada is the incarnation of a tropical paradise and St George's the most beautiful little port in the Grenadines. All around the horseshoe-shaped bay, numerous houses remind you of colonial times. There is a good reason why nutmeg is immortalized on the national flag. Alongside cloves, cinnamon, and ginger, it is one of the island's biggest exports.
Day 5 At Sea
- Ship
- 1 Breakfast, 1 Lunch, 1 Dinner
Relax aboard the Sea Cloud Spirit and enjoy beautiful landscapes.
Day 6 Kralendijk, Bonaire
- Ship
- 1 Breakfast, 1 Lunch, 1 Dinner
The second-largest island in the ABC islands, which forms part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, is an idyllic natural paradise with many different faces. In the hilly northern region, lush tropical greenery prevails and in the same areas have a desert-like character with cactuses as high as trees and natural salt lakes that attract whole flocks of pink flamingos. The island also gleams with rugged rocky cliffs, mangrove forests, several small bays, endless sandy beaches, and a long offshore coral reef.
Day 7 Oranjestad, Aruba
- Ship
- 1 Breakfast, 1 Lunch, 1 Dinner
Aruba, the most westerly island in the Netherlands Antilles, is also the last in the arc of the Antilles before you reach the South American mainland. Its capital, Oranjestad, founded in 1796, shows that everything here is a bit different. Caribbean pastel-colored houses and Delft tiles, carved wooden doors and Dutch gables, all-around balconies and colonial galleries. All of these features combine to create a style that can only have one name - Aruban. Aruba also offers a distinctive natural landscape, with an inland desert, extensive sand dunes, oddly formed cliffs, impressive cactus forests, strangely shaped divi-divi trees, and countless aloe plants.
Day 8 At Sea
- Ship
- 1 Breakfast, 1 Lunch, 1 Dinner
Relax aboard the Sea Cloud Spirit and enjoy stunning views.
Day 9 Cartagena, Colombia
- Ship
- 1 Breakfast, 1 Lunch, 1 Dinner
Cartagena was once the richest city in the New World and a popular target for pirate attacks since a large part of the Spanish treasure was stored there. Sir Francis Drake also instilled terror into the Spanish city. After Drake's invasion, the city was fortified with an 11-kilometer (7 miles)-long rampart and the immense San Felipe fortifications. Today Cartagena is one of the most beautiful colonial cities on the American continent and is protected by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.
Day 10 At Sea
- Ship
- 1 Breakfast, 1 Lunch, 1 Dinner
Relax aboard the Sea Cloud Spirit and enjoy beautiful panoramas as the vessel sails its way to Panama.
Day 11 Transit Panama Canal | Balboa and Panama City
- Ship
- 1 Breakfast, 1 Lunch, 1 Dinner
The idea of connecting the Atlantic and Pacific at the narrowest part of Central America has been around for many hundreds of years, but from a technical perspective, this tremendous achievement only became possible much later. The French took on the project in 1881, after the successful opening of the Suez Canal in Egypt in 1869. But it would be more than 30 years before the canal was finally completed in 1914. This masterpiece of technology is just under 82 kilometers (50 miles) long, has 12 lock basins and negotiates a difference in altitude of 26 meters (85 foot). The Panama Canal is one of the world's most important waterways and most spectacular ship canal.
Day 12 Balboa and Panama City, Panama
- Ship
- 1 Breakfast, 1 Lunch, 1 Dinner
A monument on the seafront commemorates the man who gave the city its name. In 1513 Spanish conquistador Vasco Núñez de Balboa arrived here, becoming the first European to reach the Pacific Ocean overland. Nowadays, the Puente de las Américas, an enormous arched bridge carrying the Panamericana road, spans the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal in Balboa, connecting North and South America. East of the canal, the breathtaking skyscrapers tower above Panama City, whose glitzy boom town ambiance contrasts starkly with the lovingly restored Casco Viejo which dates back to the colonial era and the ruins of the old town of Panama Viejo which is listed as a UNESCO world heritage site.
Day 13 Isla Coiba and Coiba National Park, Panama
- Ship
- 1 Breakfast, 1 Lunch, 1 Dinner
The Coiba National Park covers the island of Coiba, the largest in the country, and 38 other smaller tiny islets. It is one of the world's largest marine national parks and is protected by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. Because the island broke off from the mainland around 15,000 years ago, a unique range of flora and fauna and an extraordinary variety of species are preserved here. Beautiful deserted beaches nestle up to the delightful turquoise sea.
Day 14 Golfito and Casa Orquideas, Costa Rica
- Ship
- 1 Breakfast, 1 Lunch, 1 Dinner
Golfito is Costa Rica’s most southern port town. It located across from the Osa Peninsula on the Golfo Dulce. Golfito is known to surfers as the gateway to Pavones, just to the south, and to sport fishermen as the year-round sportfishing mecca.
The Orchid House is just a few-minute boat ride from Golfito. But this place is a world away and is a sanctuary for botanists and nature lovers. The gardens are a continuous work in progress but are meticulously maintained by the on-site naturalists. Plants including orchids, heliconias, bromeliads attract over 100 bird species that are attracted to the park’s grounds.
Day 15 Quepos, Costa Rica
- Ship
- 1 Breakfast, 1 Lunch, 1 Dinner
Quepos was a lively little port at the time of booming banana exports. Today it is a gateway to the Manuel Antonio National Park, which lies to the south. The park covers an area of just 683 hectares and is one of the most diverse rainforests in Costa Rica. Paths lead you from the beautiful sandy beach straight to the heart of this untamed green kingdom. More than 1,000 varieties of plant and prolific wildlife, including whole herds of inquisitive apes, sloths, coatis and raccoons, iguanas, many species of bird, and unique colorful butterflies have made this place their home.
Day 16 Puntarenas, Costa Rica | Disembark
Disembark after breakfast and continue your independent trip back home.