23_598309 ch15.qxd 10/20/05 10:55 AM Page 272 Chapter 15 Landing in the Caribbean In This Chapter ᮣ Poking around the ports of embarkation ᮣ Calling at the Caribbean’s ports ᮣ Enjoying the best excursions ᮣ Exploring private islands hen most people think cruise, they think Caribbean, whether Wthey mean to or not. It’s almost creepy, like they’ve been programmed — and maybe they have. For a dog’s age, the cruise indus- try focused laserlike on the region, and it’s still the top cruise destina- tion, for good reason. On the practical side, the Caribbean islands (and The Bahamas, which aren’t technically on the Caribbean Sea but might as well be) are pretty much in Florida’s backyard, and are so close to one another that it makes for easy sailing. On the unpractical side are white-sand beaches, swaying palms, clear turquoise waters, tropical fish, lush gardens, deep rain forests, waterfalls, mountains, rivers, and even volcanoes — plus rich Caribbean culture, spicy Caribbean food, European colonial history, and a big dollop of laid-back island living to top it all off. The multicultural history of the region creates a checker- board blend, with the architecture, language, and customs of the Spanish, French, Dutch, Swedish, British, and Americans in their former (and cur- rent) colonies or possession. Pre-Columbian peoples, European explor- ers, pirates, and shipwrecked sailors all contributed to the stories behind numerous ruins, forts, churches, synagogues, historic homes, and museums. StormingCOPYRIGHTED the Shore MATERIAL Now granted, a lot of the islands are touristy, but often it’s confined to the vicinity of the docks and other resort areas. If you tire of shopping for fine jewelry, local handicrafts, and duty-free items (or of tipping back the beers at an island bar), you can head to more isolated and frequently gor- geous spots along the coast or in the interior, either on your own or a shore excursion. In this chapter, we list a selection of the best excursions offered by cruise lines in all the ports. 23_598309 ch15.qxd 10/20/05 10:55 AM Page 273 Chapter 15: Landing in the Caribbean 273 Major sights on many of the islands are also perfectly accessible on your own, either on foot or with the aid of a taxi or other transportation. As is true everywhere, the cruise lines contract with local operators to run these tours, so you may be able to get the same trips cheaper by book- ing them yourself once you arrive. Of course, you may just want the ease of having the cruise line do it for you, figuring the extra few bucks they make off the top is worth it. Shore excursions aren’t what they used to be either. For every bland bus tour or mindless booze cruise, the cruise lines over the past few years have also been programming more and more active excursions, includ- ing rain forest hikes, mountain biking, golf, jungle canopy exploration, scuba, sport fishing, horseback riding, and more. The prices listed in this chapter are based on 2005 rates and may be slightly higher in 2006. Boarding Ship for the Caribbean The main port cities for Caribbean cruises remain in Florida — Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Cape Canaveral/Cocoa Beach, and Tampa — plus San Juan (Puerto Rico). In recent years, though, cruises have been leaving from alternative homeports such as Galveston and Houston, Texas; Charleston, South Carolina; Norfolk, Virginia; Jacksonville, Florida; and even as far north as Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York. Beyond Puerto Rico, other Caribbean islands also serve as homeports, including St. Thomas and Barbados. In this chapter, we cover the most heavily trafficked ports of embarka- tion for Caribbean cruises — Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Cape Canaveral/ Cocoa Beach, Tampa, and Galveston — hitting the see-and-do highlights, whether you only have a few hours before or after your cruise or are planning an extra couple days. (Prior to Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans served as a popular port — and may again — but cleanup from the dev- astation could take months or even years.) The cruise lines typically offer pre- and post-cruise packages for hotels, sometimes with a rental car, admission to local attractions, and/or organized tours. San Juan, which is a port of embarkation and a popular port of call, is covered in the ports of call section. Miami Maybe more than anyplace else in the U.S., Miami seems to embody the cultural mash-up of fashion, celebrity, design, and wealth that is America in 2006. It’s the most Latin city in the country, with a stylin’ club scene that’s utterly replaced the retirement condo lifestyle that predominated in the 1970s. It’s like the Rat Pack era has returned, only now it’s got a Latino accent. 23_598309 ch15.qxd 10/20/05 10:55 AM Page 274 274 Part V: Calling All Ports: Where to Go and Why The Gulf of Mexico & the Caribbean Memphis TN OK AR Atlanta SC Red MS Charleston i GA p AL p i s Dallas s i s UNITED STATES Brazos s i TX M Jacksonville LA Cape New Orleans Canaveral Houston Rio Grande San Antonio Tampa FL Galveston Fort Lauderdale Miami Key West Gulf of Mexico Monterey Matamoros Havana Saltillo Yuc MEXICO ata n C Isla de la Tampico h Juventad Playa del an Progreso Carmen n el Mérida Cozumel CAYMAN Chichén Bahia de Campeche Itzá Campeche YUCATAN Mexico City PENINSULA Veracruz Belize City Balsas Coatzacoalcas Belmopan Roatán Oaxaca BELIZE GulfGulf ofof HondurHHondurasondurasas Acapulco Golfo de GUATEMALA HONDURAS Tehuantapec Guatemala Tegucigalpa City San Salvador NICARAGUA Lake EL SALVADOR Maracaibo LagoLago dede Managua NicNNicáraguaicáraguaagua Golfo de los PACIFIC Mosquitos San Jose OCEAN Caldera COSTA RICA 0 300 mi N 0 300 km 23_598309 ch15.qxd 10/20/05 10:55 AM Page 275 Chapter 15: Landing in the Caribbean 275 ATLANTIC OCEAN B A H A Freeport/ M Lucaya A S Nassau Turks & Caicos Andros Is. Islands St. Martin/ Sint Maarten St. Barts G I N Great V I R Barbuda Inagua San Juan N D S Antigua CUBA I S L A St. Kitts Montserrat Camagüey DOMINICAN Guadeloupe REPUBLIC PUERTO & Nevis HAITI RICO (U.S.) Dominica Santo G Port-au-Prince Domingo Martinique IS. R E A T St. Lucia E R S A N T I L L E S E Barbados Kingston JAMAICA L St. Vincent L I T Grenada N Tobago Caribbean Sea A R Trinidad L E S S E Curaçao Aruba Gulf of Honduras Bonaire Caracas Caroni Maracaibo Barranquilla oco LLakeake rin MaracaiboMaracaibo O Lago de Nicáragua Apure VENEZUELA PANAMA COLOMBIA Colon a San Cristóbal n e Panama l a City d g a Cauca M ra Gulf of Uraricue Panama Medellín BRAZIL Meta Bogotá Guaviare Branco 23_598309 ch15.qxd 10/20/05 10:55 AM Page 276 276 Part V: Calling All Ports: Where to Go and Why Florida Homeports 85 319 19 29 10 10 Fort Walton Beach 98 231 10 Pensacola 98 River Jacksonville Destin CENTRAL Tallahassee TIME EASTERN 319 Panama City Apalachicola 19 TIME 27 98 319 A 27 p a l a ApalachicolaApalachicola c h e CRUISE LINE HOMEPORTS e OCALA NATIONAL FOREST B MIAMI Carnival a y Celebrity Crystal Norwegian Oceania Royal Caribbean Silversea Windjammer Tampa FORT LAUDERDALE Carnival Clearwater Celebrity Costa Gulf of Crystal Cunard Mexico Holland America MSC Cruises Princess Radisson Royal Caribbean Seabourn Silversea Windjammer BIG CYPRESS CAPE CANAVERAL Carnival NATIONAL PRESERVE Disney Royal Caribbean EVERGLADES TAMPA Carnival NATIONAL PARK Celebrity Holland America Royal Caribbean JACKSONVILLE ACCL Carnival Clipper 23_598309 ch15.qxd 10/20/05 10:55 AM Page 277 Chapter 15: Landing in the Caribbean 277 0 30 mi GEORGIA 1 Amelia Island 0 30 km Jacksonville Beach JJacksonvilleacksonville 10 St. Johns River Jacksonville Lake City S uw a 75 n 295 St. Augustine n e St. Augustine e R Beach ATLANTIC i Gainesville Apalachicola v 95 e r OCEAN OCALAOCALA A1A 24 NATIONALNATIONAL 41 FORESTFOREST 19 40 Daytona Beach 98 Ocala 4 Cedar De Land 1 Key Homosassa Orlando Springs 75 NASA-Kennedy Bee Line Space Center 50 Expwy. Cape Tarpon Springs 528 27 Canaveral 98 Kissimmee Merritt Island 19 Florida’s Tampa Lakeland Winter 95 Melbourne Haven 4 ClearwaterClearwater A1A 60 Turnpike Tampa Bay 60 K St. is sim Vero Beach Petersburg m e 17 e Bradenton R 64 i v e Fort Pierce 17 r Sarasota 98 70 72 70 Jensen Beach 75 27 41 Lake 31 Okeechobee Riviera Beach West Palm Beach hatchee River 441 Palm Beach Caloosa 80 27 Cape 95 Coral Captiva Island Fort Myers Delray Beach 27 Sanibel Island Big Cypress Boca Raton Everglade Pkwy. Pompano Swamp Beach Naples (Alligator Alley) Port 75 84 595 Fort Lauderdale 29 BIGBIG CYPRESSCYPRESS Dania Everglades NATIONALNATIONAL Hollywood PRESERVEPRESERVE Everglades Port of Marco City 41 Island Miami Miami Ten 195 EVERGLADESEVERGLADES Homestead Thousand NATIONALNATIONAL Islands PARKPARK 1 Bay Biscayne Flamingo Florida Bay Key Largo Plantation EY S F L O RI D A K Long Key Marathon Key West 1 23_598309 ch15.qxd 10/20/05 10:55 AM Page 278 278 Part V: Calling All Ports: Where to Go and Why Of course, all the stuff that made Miami a resort destination in the first place is still there too: sparkling beaches, crystal clear waters, palm fronds, and that particularly Miami style of resort hotel, jutting up right from the beach’s edge. And it’s the undisputed cruise capital of the world, with nearly 4 million passengers embarking here annually. Cruising into port Miami International Airport (% 305-876-7000; www.miami-airport.