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EXPLORA III · Caribbean & Central America

15 nights, Miami to Miami

December 20, 2026 – January 5, 2027 · 15 nights · 13 stops · round-trip

Explora's name for it: An Extended Journey Through Caribbean Rhythms and Festive Island Nights

This is a long Caribbean loop, fifteen nights round trip from Miami, calling thirteen ports across nine countries with one full day at sea built around fireworks. The pace is generous rather than rushed: most calls are walk-off, one-day affairs where the town starts a few steps from the gangway. San Juan is the clearest example, with the ship tied up at the Old San Juan piers so the cobbled grid of plazas, the cathedral, and the two stone forts begin within a short walk. Pointe-à-Pitre brings a French Caribbean rhythm, Creole markets and a colonial grid you can cover on foot in a self-guided morning. Ocho Rios puts Jamaica's waterfalls and rivers a short taxi from a walkable shopping district, and Samaná trades duty-free for a green peninsula of mangrove parks, a sandbar island, and rainforest reached on horseback.

This itinerary rewards anyone who wants the Caribbean broken into bite-size, low-friction days rather than long inland excursions. The water is the throughline: Jost Van Dyke is one slow afternoon at White Bay, Saint John builds the day around protected national-park beaches and reef. If you want deep cultural immersion or a single anchor city, skip it; this is a survey, not a deep dive. Note that some ports run on a hard calendar for what you came to see, so match your sailing to what you actually want ashore.

The ship is all-suite and all-oceanfront.

Miami (open port guide)MiamiOcho Rios (open port guide)Catalina Island (open port guide)Jost Van Dyke (open port guide)Philipsburg (open port guide)Charlotte Amalie (Saint Thomas) (open port guide)San Juan (open port guide)St. John's (Antigua) (open port guide)Pointe-à-Pitre (open port guide)At Sea - FireworksCruz Bay (Saint John) (open port guide)SamanáPuerto Plata (open port guide)Puerto Plata

The itinerary, port by port

13 calls over 15 nights, round-trip from Miami. Open any port for my full day-ashore guide, what to see, when to go, and how the day actually runs.

Getting there: Flights to Miami (MIA) are already bookable for these dates. I watch the fare for booked clients so you book at the right moment. When to book your flights →

  1. Embark
    Miami

    Miami is the busiest cruise port in the United States, set on Dodge Island in Biscayne Bay a mile or two off downtown. Port guide →

  2. 2
    Ocho Rios

    Ocho Rios is Jamaica's north-coast adventure hub, built around one famous waterfall you climb in a human chain and a cluster of rivers, gardens, and beaches within a few minutes' drive. Port guide →

  3. 3
    Catalina Island

    Catalina is a low-key island an hour off the Southern California coast, where the small port town of Avalon ends at clear, kelp-forested water that draws snorkelers and glass-bottom boats. Port guide →

  4. 4
    Jost Van Dyke

    Jost Van Dyke is a four-mile sliver of the British Virgin Islands with roughly 300 residents, no traffic lights, and a beach-bar culture that built the BVI's reputation. Port guide →

  5. 5
    Philipsburg

    Philipsburg is the Dutch-side capital of Sint Maarten, a narrow strip of town wedged between Great Bay and a salt pond. Port guide →

  6. 6
    Charlotte Amalie (Saint Thomas)

    Charlotte Amalie is the capital of the U.S. Port guide →

  7. 7
    San Juan

    San Juan's old quarter is a walled Spanish colonial town on a headland, founded in the early 1500s, with two stone forts run by the U.S. Port guide →

  8. 8
  9. 9
    Pointe-à-Pitre

    Pointe-à-Pitre is the commercial capital of Guadeloupe, a French overseas region, and the city wears that dual identity openly: Creole markets and a French colonial grid, euros and Caribbean spice. Port guide →

  10. 10
    At Sea - Fireworks
  11. 11
    Cruz Bay (Saint John)

    Saint John is the quietest of the U.S. Port guide →

  12. 12
    Samaná

    Samana sits on a green peninsula at the head of a wide bay on the Dominican Republic's northeast coast, a quieter, more nature-led call than the island's resort ports.

  13. Disembark
    Puerto Plata

    Puerto Plata is the Dominican Republic's north-coast amber capital, a town of faded Victorian gingerbread houses sitting under the green wall of Mount Isabel de Torres. Port guide →

Fares on this departure, decoded

Reading the fare fine print is the job. Here's what this sailing currently carries:

Invitation to Discover More
Explora's discovery fare, available across most of the calendar. Onboard credit where the offer applies.
Founders Fare
A founding-era fare on a selected set of sailings. Onboard credit where the offer applies.
Air-Inclusive Fare
A fare that folds airfare into the voyage price on a smaller set of sailings.

The ship and your suite

This sailing is aboard EXPLORA III, all-suite, every suite with a private ocean-front terrace. Suites run from the entry Ocean Terrace to the Owner's Residence; the right tier depends on how you travel. Compare suites → · What's included →


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