The Top 5 Cruising Destinations
08/22/2007 06:08 a.m.
The Western Caribbean is the number one cruising destination, outstripping the next three combined at 43.2% of all cruising. This region's proximity to Florida is its main positive attribute, as well as the splendour of some of the most common ports of call, such as Grand Cayman, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Belize, Costa Rica, or Cozumel and Playa del Carmen and the Mexican Riviera. Many of the Western Caribbean ports are on the mainland, thus allowing a greater breadth of activities.
A completely different form of cruising is at number two, the awe inspiring wilderness of Alaska at 16.3%. There is plenty of action at the ports of call of Anchorage, Ketchikan, Juneau, Valdez and Skagway but unlike the tropical cruises the most exciting times are at sea as you watch orcas frolic outside your cabin window and witness mighty glaciers calving into indigo fjords.
The Eastern Caribbean is number three at 14.1%, however that is a bit of a slippery slope as the borders between what is called the Eastern and Southern Caribbean are not exactly etched in stone. Generally, anything south of Sint Maarten is considered Southern Caribbean, even nearby islands like St. Barth that are just a short hop away and are actually an administrative part of French St. Martin. Most certainly the U.S. and British Virgins are in the East, as well as the "big guns" of Puerto Rico and the Bahamas.
At 9.5% for fourth place, the Southern Caribbean includes some spectacular gems such as the English-speaking Barbados, St. Lucia, and Trinidad & Tobago; the French Guadaloupe and Martinique (which are actually a part of France, just like Paris!); the semi-autonomous Dutch "ABC" islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao just off the South American continental shore; and Isla De Margarita which is a Spanish-speaking part of Venezuela itself.
The glories of Hawaii are number five at 4%, and anyone who has ever cruised past Kauai's Na Pali coast where "South Pacific" was filmed will know they have found paradise!
Tags: caribbean, north america, oceania, jamaica, alaska, hawaii
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