Barbados and Southern Caribbean from La Romana

La Romana is a city on the Dominican Republic’s Caribbean coast and a gateway to nearby resort areas. Overlooking the Chavón River, Altos de Chavón is a re-created 16th-century Mediterranean village with artists' workshops. An obelisk painted with colorful images of local life stands in the city center. South of the city is Catalina Island, with beaches, coral reefs and the wrecked ship of pirate William Kidd.

Located in the southern Caribbean, Aruba stands out with its desert-like vistas, wind-shaped trees, natural rock formations and breath-taking beaches. Its terrain offers plenty of opportunity for exploration and off-road trekking. As you arrive on an MSC Caribbean and Antilles cruise in Oranjestad, the tax-free capital named after William I (the Prince of Orange and the first King of the Netherlands), admire the city’s charming Dutch Colonial architecture with its antique buildings and houses that blend in with today’s modern architecture. Not much grows on Aruba. However, its hot dry climate is ideal for aloe farming. Book an MSC excursion to the Aruba Aloe Museum & Factory, and learn about the 160-year history of aloe farming on the island. If adventure is on your agenda, get on a UTV on an MSC excursion that will take you through Aruba's outback, skirting along the coastline with visits to the Alto Vista Chapel, the Bushiribana Gold Mill ruins that remind us of Aruba's 19th-century…

A beauty to behold, Curaçao, a Dutch Caribbean island just off the coast of Venezuela, offers dramatic coastlines, hidden beaches tucked into coves, expansive coral reefs, wondrous caves and two different climates: one wet and tropical, the other dry. Abuzz with European flair, Willemstad, the capital, boasts a thriving art and culinary scene, pretty pastel-coloured colonial architecture, museums and a go-go attitude, thanks in part to its booming economy. As you arrive on an MSC Caribbean and Antilles cruise in Willemstad, you’ll have options for MSC excursions at your fingertips as diverse as its climate: Cultural tours or nature tours? Beach or hiking? A blend of both? The choice is yours. Start by exploring the narrow alleys and gaze at the curious houses in bright colours in the picturesque old town of Willemstad, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Dutch colonial-style houses with sloping roofs, and alternating pink, light green, blue and yellow colours contrast with the monochrome bl…

Kralendijk is the capital of Bonaire, a Dutch island in the Caribbean Sea. Colorful architecture dots the shopping street of Kaya Grandi. The Bonaire Museum displays archaeological finds, shells and old photos. Off the coast is Bonaire National Marine Park, with a coral reef sheltering tropical fish. This stretches west to Klein Bonaire Island, where the sandy beaches provide a nesting ground for sea turtles.

Scents of spices such as cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg waft through the air as you arrive on MSC Caribbean and Antilles cruise to St. George’s, the capital of the island of Grenada. Nicknamed the “Spice Island” for its agriculture, Grenada’s symbol is the nutmeg, the island’s most famous product, which also appears on the nation’s flag. Originally colonized by the French in the 1600s, who wiped out the native Carib peoples during conflicts, Grenada was captured by the British in 1762 and remained under British rule until its independence in 1974. St. George’s offers many attractions starting with its beautiful views, botanical gardens, parks and heavenly beaches, most notably the Grand Anse Beach nearby. Start your journey with a guided walk on an MSC excursion through the capital’s winding maze of streets from the Carenage, the horseshoe-shaped harbour, with its lively waterfront promenade. Gaze at picturesque 19th-century pastel-coloured Creole houses made of brick and stone with red-…

La Romana is a city on the Dominican Republic’s Caribbean coast and a gateway to nearby resort areas. Overlooking the Chavón River, Altos de Chavón is a re-created 16th-century Mediterranean village with artists' workshops. An obelisk painted with colorful images of local life stands in the city center. South of the city is Catalina Island, with beaches, coral reefs and the wrecked ship of pirate William Kidd.

Offering some of the best vistas in all the Caribbean, St. Maarten is the smallest inhabited island in the world shared by two nations - France in the north and the Netherlands in the south. Dubbed the true melting pot of the Caribbean, the 37-square-mile island is home to people of 47 different nationalities and more than 400 restaurants, featuring a hugely diverse variety of cuisine. The island also has two capitals: Philipsburg on the Dutch side, and Marigot in the French part. Once you arrive on an MSC Caribbean and Antilles cruise in St. Maarten, explore how the two cultures have blended their very distinct characters on one of our MSC excursions. Your St. Maarten cruise will dock in Philipsburg, founded in 1763 by John Philips, a Scottish captain in the Dutch Navy. Philipsburg, with its pastel-coloured West Indian houses, is known for its duty-free shopping along Front Street, the Great Salt Pond, which once made the island literally “worth its salt,” and attracted the attention…

Offering some of the best vistas in all the Caribbean, St. Maarten is the smallest inhabited island in the world shared by two nations - France in the north and the Netherlands in the south. Dubbed the true melting pot of the Caribbean, the 37-square-mile island is home to people of 47 different nationalities and more than 400 restaurants, featuring a hugely diverse variety of cuisine. The island also has two capitals: Philipsburg on the Dutch side, and Marigot in the French part. Once you arrive on an MSC Caribbean and Antilles cruise in St. Maarten, explore how the two cultures have blended their very distinct characters on one of our MSC excursions. Your St. Maarten cruise will dock in Philipsburg, founded in 1763 by John Philips, a Scottish captain in the Dutch Navy. Philipsburg, with its pastel-coloured West Indian houses, is known for its duty-free shopping along Front Street, the Great Salt Pond, which once made the island literally “worth its salt,” and attracted the attention…

An MSC Caribbean and Antilles cruise to St. Kitts and Nevis will introduce you to the sister volcanic islands of the Caribbean. These islands have been a premier destination for elite tourists for more than 200 years and served as a haven for European nobility in the 19th and 20th centuries. Basseterre, founded by the French in 1625, became the capital of St. Kitts in 1727, when the Eng-lish took over the island. It remained under British rule until the islands declared their independence in 1983. Throughout the city’s long history, natural disasters and conflicts have afflicted Basseterre; most buildings date from the latter part of the 1800s. A visit to the city’s two cathedrals, St. George’s Anglican Church and the Catholic Cathedral of Immaculate Conception, will appeal to those with a love of history and architecture. On South Square Street, visit Georgian House, one of the better-preserved examples of local 18th-century architecture. Leaving Basseterre, take a panoramic drive on…

“One beach a day,” Antigua’s motto, refers to the island’s 365 beautiful beaches that are famous, secret or even set in volcanic craters. There’s a beach for every lifestyle, for those who are social and ones who seek solitude. When you arrive on an MSC Caribbean and Antilles cruise in the port of St. John’s, the capital and commercial centre of Antigua and Barbuda, embrace the city’s colourfully vi-brant houses dating to its British colonial period, along with the evocative white baroque towers of St. John's Cathedral, and the Fort James and Barrington fortresses. The laid-back cosmopolitan city, with its distinctly British flair, is renowned for its shopping at luxury boutiques and high-end shopping malls. Beyond the city, book an MSC excursion to the historic Nelson's Dockyard in English Harbour, dedicated to Admiral Horatio Nelson, who was stationed in the West Indies be-tween 1784 and 1787. The shipyard, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the largest of Antigua’s National Parks and…

La Romana is a city on the Dominican Republic’s Caribbean coast and a gateway to nearby resort areas. Overlooking the Chavón River, Altos de Chavón is a re-created 16th-century Mediterranean village with artists' workshops. An obelisk painted with colorful images of local life stands in the city center. South of the city is Catalina Island, with beaches, coral reefs and the wrecked ship of pirate William Kidd.