Miami, Key West and Treasured Islands of the Caribbean Cruise and Tour

Day 1 - Miami

Join your tour group at the hotel.

Hotel Croydon, Miami (4-star)

Day 2 - Miami

Sprawling white sands lapped by clear waters, curving art deco architecture and the vibrant soul of Little Havana. The city is all these things and more but today you get to see it and feel it for yourself. Welcome to Miami. This morning we’ll head out on a guided tour before spending the afternoon as you please. Perhaps bite into freshly baked arepas on Lincoln Road or take in Wynwood’s eye-popping murals. If you want to put up your feet, there’s no better place than Miami Beach for people watching and boundless sea views.

Hotel Croydon, Miami (4-star)

Day 3 - Key West

Palm-lined streets with elegant gingerbread mansions and tin-roofed conch houses. Key West is a rum-soaked paradise with a vibrant Caribbean charm. It’s a tropical oasis - a seven-square-mile island dropped in impossibly blue waters. But it’s also laden with history and as you spend the next couple of days sinking your toes into the sand, you’ll begin to understand why Hemingway never left.

24 North Hotel Key West (3.5-star)

Day 4 - Key West

Today we take the conch train, which follows a route around the island. You’ll see ornate Victorian mansions, stop by where Ernest Hemingway would socialise, and explore Old Town Key West. You’ll learn about the Conch Republic’s history and residents, both past and present. We’ll also visit Hemingway’s 1930s home, located in the very heart of Old Town Key West, where the Nobel Prize winner wrote for more than 10 years. The rest of the day is yours to spend as you please. Perhaps do as the locals do and enjoy the dramatic sunset with a rum punch.

24 North Hotel Key West (3.5-star)

Day 5 - Everglades National Park - Fort Lauderdale

In a state renowned for pristine palm-lined beaches, the Everglades offers an entirely different experience. It’s the third-largest National Park in the USA, but there is no wilderness like it anywhere else in the country. It’s a vast subtropical area, where cypress trees tower overhead and the toothy grins of the resident reptiles peer up from below the water’s surface. This afternoon, we enjoy an airboat ride to explore the area to its fullest, before continuing to Fort Lauderdale Beach.

Sonesta Fort Lauderdale Beach (4-star)

Day 6 - Fort Lauderdale

Beautiful beaches, a network of Venice-like waterways and gleaming yachts bobbing in the marina. It’s little wonder most people don’t stray too far from the coast when they visit Fort Lauderdale. It’s known as Miami’s northern, laid-back sister city and with a leisurely morning to spend as you please, we hope you’ll feel the same way. Perhaps sit back in a deck chair on the beach or get back to nature in the peaceful and green central park. This afternoon we head to the port where we’ll board our ship. You’ll have time to settle into your cabin before we set sail this evening.

Koningsdam (4-star)

Days 7-8 - At sea

Two leisurely days at sea to enjoy the delights of the ship. Perhaps opt for a treatment at the Greenhouse Spa & Salon or sit on deck taking in the views.

Koningsdam (4-star)

Day 9 - Philipsburg, St Maarten

This Leeward island has been famously bisected into French and Dutch territories since 1648 and, as such, is referred to as both Saint Martin and Sint Maartin. Each side is as beautiful as the other and in their respective capitals - Marigot and Philipsburg - there are ancient stone forts and candy-coloured buildings lining romantic winding streets. In Philipsburg, you’ll find some excellent art galleries, lively discos and neon-lit casinos, while on the French side, you’ll find streetside cafes serving café au lait and pain au chocolat and al fresco eaters clinking glasses of rosé and feasting on savoury crepes. On both sides the beaches are beautiful and the water warm. You might like to join an island tour to experience it all or take to the water on a catamaran cruise.

Koningsdam (4-star)

Day 10 - St John's, Antigua and Barbuda

The volcanic island of Antigua is something special. Known for its white sand beaches lined with palm trees - it also boasts charming harbours and lush countryside. You can wander through the port of St John’s, the capital of the dual-island nation of Antigua and Barbuda - it’s a port of brightly coloured buildings looking out onto bobbing yachts and fishing boats. Maybe take part in a spot of snorkelling or take in the views from a dockside restaurant.

Koningsdam (4-star)

Day 11 - Fort-de-France, Martinique

Martinique's capital, Fort-de-France, is a good-size French city on a fairly small island. It's a breeze to get around and within a short drive of Fort-de-France Bay you'll find beach restaurants where you can enjoy a ti' punch while listening to local zouk music. Or head south to see the area where Napoleon's wife, Empress Joséphine, grew up on a plantation.

Koningsdam (4-star)

Day 12 - Roseau, Dominica

Sitting between the French islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique, Dominica is the least visited of the larger Caribbean islands. It’s home to one of the most lively natural wonders in the West Indies, known as the Boiling Lake - a flooded fumarole that bubbles and boils with dramatic effect. A lush rainforest surrounds the lake - Morne Trois Pitons National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site - and it teems with birds, tree frogs and colourful bromeliads.

Koningsdam (4-star)

Day 13 - Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis

This warm and welcoming two-island nation is ripe with historical sites. The larger Saint Kitts has passed hands among the Spanish, French and English over the years and the architecture is typically British. You might like to spend the day exploring the island’s colonial-era plantations. They serve as a reminder of the tumultuous history of the tobacco, rum, sugar and slave trades that were here for generations. Alternatively, do as the locals do and kick back on the beach for ‘limin’ (hanging out, drinking and talking). Ship to shore tender service.

Koningsdam (4-star)

Day 14 - Saint Thomas, US Virgin Islands

Pristine hammock-strewn beaches, spectacular viewpoints positioned among verdant tropical foliage, fantastic snorkelling - Saint Thomas is just as striking and alluring as any of the islands dropped in the Caribbean Sea, with the addition of an undeniable American twang. Excellent shopping, fancy dining and - rather unexpectedly - an ice museum are some of the island’s activities. Elsewhere, the capital - Charlotte Amalie - is named after the Danish queen and is full of Danish-colonial architecture. The island is also cloaked in extensive parkland just waiting to be explored.

Koningsdam (4-star)

Day 15 - At sea

A final full day at sea to make the most of the ship.

Koningsdam (4-star)

Day 16 - Half Moon Cay, Bahamas

All Bahamas islands are full of tropical wonders and sun-kissed beaches, but Half Moon Cay is Holland America Line’s private island in the Bahamas, so you’re really in for a special experience. This crescent-shaped slice of heaven is the highest-rated Bahamas private island and today is all about making the most of its natural beauty. Perhaps take a bike ride around the island, opt for a nature walk, head out on a stingray adventure or take to the waters on a glass-bottom boat ride. Ship to shore tender service.

Koningsdam (4-star)

Day 17 - Fort Lauderdale

Disembark and say goodbye to your tour group for your onward travel.

Fort Lauderdale