Caribbean: Curacao to Colon

Arrive in Curaçao and board the Sea Cloud II. Attend dinner as the ship sets sail.

Curaçao, alphabetically the last of the ABC, is the largest in the Netherlands Antilles in terms of land area. The neat capital, Willemstad, a trading post for the Dutch West India Company in the 17th century, with its well preserved colonial architecture, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The picturesque location of the wide harbour canal, boulevards with beautifully restored facades and colourful, typically Dutch gabled houses make Willemstad a lively "Little Amsterdam", in the bright Caribbean light, beneath palm trees, with azure bays and pearl-white beaches.

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 some areas there is 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.

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. See 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 which 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.

Enjoy the ship's luxurious amenities as it sails to Colombia.

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 mile)-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.

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

Arrive in Colon, Panama and disembark after breakfast for your continued independent journeys.