21-Day Eastern & Western Caribbean Holiday: Belize & Mexico

There is an abundance of things to see and do in the Ft. Lauderdale area: visit the newly redesigned Ft. Lauderdale Beach and cafes, stroll the historic Riverwalk, shop the luxurious stores on Las Olas Boulevard or adventure to the Everglades for an intriguing air boat excursion.

The Caribbean is full of tropical wonders and natural beauty. But there’s nothing like Half Moon Cay, our pristine private island paradise in the Bahamas. Cruise to the Bahamas with Holland America Line and discover the most stunning, highest-rated private-island experience in the region, Half Moon Cay. This island has won Porthole Cruise Magazine’s Best Private Island award 17 consecutive years, and was also named the best in Travel Weekly's Readers' Choice Awards. As soon as your toes touch that powdery white sand and your eyes settle on the perfect blue-crystal clear water, you’ll understand why this island is one of the most sought out destinations. Whether you are planning a romantic getaway or a family vacation, book a Bahamas cruise and explore Half Moon Cay's beautiful beaches, exciting cruise excursions, exclusive beach cabanas and more.

Philipsburg is the capital of Sint Maarten, the Dutch side of the Caribbean island Saint Martin. Beachfront bars line the boardwalk along Great Bay. Voorstraat, or Front Street, has duty-free shops and casinos. The St. Maarten Zoo is home to parrots, monkeys and a playground. Sint Maarten Museum displays artifacts from the indigenous Arawak people. The ruins of 17th-century Fort Amsterdam stand on a nearby peninsula.

St. Kitts and Nevis are a pair of islands that form a single Eastern Caribbean nation. Ripe with historical sites, the larger St. Kitts passed hands among the Spanish, French and English, with the latter establishing the strongest foothold. The architecture and layout of its capital city, Basseterre, are all typically British. And the island's sprawling, colonial-era plantations are a reminder of the tumultuous history of the tobacco, rum, sugar and slave trades that were here for generations. Beyond its rich past, St. Kitts offers golden-sand beaches for relaxing, a lush jungle interior that welcomes heart-pumping adventure, laid-back bars with fantastic sunset views and restaurants serving up über-local fare.

The lovely, European-influenced port of Charlotte Amalie wins the prize for Caribbean shopping thrills. Cameras, jewelry, watches, perfumes are all here. So are beautiful beaches, undersea gardens and tales of Blackbeard. Sample shore excursions: Sea Trekking Helmet Dive & Coral World; Champagne Catamaran Sail & Snorkel to St. John; St. Thomas Ocean Racing; Ultimate Island Experience.

There is an abundance of things to see and do in the Ft. Lauderdale area: visit the newly redesigned Ft. Lauderdale Beach and cafes, stroll the historic Riverwalk, shop the luxurious stores on Las Olas Boulevard or adventure to the Everglades for an intriguing air boat excursion.

The Caribbean is full of tropical wonders and natural beauty. But there’s nothing like Half Moon Cay, our pristine private island paradise in the Bahamas. Cruise to the Bahamas with Holland America Line and discover the most stunning, highest-rated private-island experience in the region, Half Moon Cay. This island has won Porthole Cruise Magazine’s Best Private Island award 17 consecutive years, and was also named the best in Travel Weekly's Readers' Choice Awards. As soon as your toes touch that powdery white sand and your eyes settle on the perfect blue-crystal clear water, you’ll understand why this island is one of the most sought out destinations. Whether you are planning a romantic getaway or a family vacation, book a Bahamas cruise and explore Half Moon Cay's beautiful beaches, exciting cruise excursions, exclusive beach cabanas and more.

Holland America Line's Montego Bay cruises takes you to the island of One Love. Jamaica is, after all, the home of the reggae musical genre and the Rasta religion with which it is so entwined. Along with being laid-back and "irie, mon," the western Caribbean island nation boasts plenty of natural beauty: pristine, reef-facing beaches; crystalline waters; and a lush, mountain and jungle interior. Just as internationally lauded are the island’s eco-friendly soft-adventure offerings, from snorkeling and horseback riding to zip lining and traversing waterfalls. Our cruises to Montego Bay, Jamaica are much more than just a beach destination, They also promises cultural attractions, which, along with its spicy cuisine, are as much of a draw as its powdery sand and sparkling sea. So, take a Montego Bay cruise with Holland America Line and discover the natural beauty this island has to offer.

Crystalline waters, snorkeling with tame stingrays, civilian submarines: This duty-free port has it all, plus Seven Mile Beach and a charming turtle farm. Sample shore excursions: Stingray City Cruise & Island Drive; Reef & Wreck Snorkel by Boat; Scuba Adventure; Nautilus One Semi-submarine.

Located just 40 miles northeast of mainland Honduras, Roatán Island is a Western Caribbean paradise. Enjoy the ease of Mahogany Bay’s new state of the art cruise ship terminal; relax on a soft sand beach; and explore the Carambola Botanical Gardens and nature trails in search of iguana, parrot, and archaeological sites dating back to Mayan times. Sample shore excursions: Roatán West Side Island Tour; Submarine Boat Ride & West End Village.

Set on a peninsula that juts out into the Caribbean Sea, Belize City may no longer be the capital of Belize (that is Belmopan, since 1970), but it is the country’s largest metropolis. Established in the 17th century as a British trading post for lumber, the city, then known as Belize Town, was an important source of mahogany and logwood. Though the Spanish and English fought over the Central American territory, it became a British colony in 1862, and remained so until it gained independence in 1981. Many of the traditional colonial structures have survived, including the Government House and St. John’s Cathedral, as well as stately houses of the period.Haulover Creek, a tributary of the Belize River, divides the city into north and south sides; the famous Swing Bridge, a manually operated bridge from the 1920s, and much of the local boat traffic are found on this waterway. The north is where many of the cultural attractions are located, including the Museum of Belize and the Fort Street Tourism Village, a harborfront shopping and dining area catering to cruise-goers. Albert Street, on the south side, is considered the main downtown commercial area; it’s lined with stores, gift and souvenir shops, banks and restaurants.

A cruise to Cozumel will take you , anto an island in the Caribbean off the eastern coast of Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula. Cozumel is a popular destination as , drawsit draws many scuba divers, snorkelers and seekers of sand and sun who are attracted by the reliably sunny and tropical climate. The island and its environs also offer all other manner of on- and around-the-water attractions, many of which are quite unique, such as underwater sculpture gardens, a submarine excursion to see a shipwreck and a sailboat-racing experience that's second only to the America's Cup. For visitors who are intrigued by Mexico's Maya culture, there are several archaeological sites in and around Cozumel, including the UNESCO-inscribed Chichén Itzá and, on Cozumel itself, San Gervasio, once a site where women made offerings to the goddess of fertility and childbirth. When you're done sightseeing on your cruise to Cozumel, there's shopping for traditional Mexican crafts, jewelry and leather goods, including custom-made sandals, and excellent food (the seafood, of course, is stellar).

There is an abundance of things to see and do in the Ft. Lauderdale area: visit the newly redesigned Ft. Lauderdale Beach and cafes, stroll the historic Riverwalk, shop the luxurious stores on Las Olas Boulevard or adventure to the Everglades for an intriguing air boat excursion.