Region guide
Southern Caribbean cruises
The Southern Caribbean sits below the main hurricane belt, which makes it the most weather-reliable Caribbean region and the one with the least overlap between ports.
Southern Caribbean at a glance
Season
Sails year-round, busiest November – April
Typical length
7–10 nights
Departs from
Fort Lauderdale, San Juan, Bridgetown
Countries
Aruba, Curaçao, Bonaire, Barbados, St. Lucia, Grenada, Dominica, Martinique, Guadeloupe, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago
What sailing the Southern Caribbean is like
Southern Caribbean itineraries reach Aruba, Curaçao, Bonaire, Barbados, St. Lucia, Grenada and the Windward Islands. Most sail from San Juan or Barbados, because reaching these islands from Florida consumes most of a seven-night week in transit.
No two ports here feel alike. Willemstad is Dutch colonial architecture in sherbet colours; Bridgetown is British West Indian; Fort-de-France is French, with the euro and French road signs; Roseau opens onto rainforest and sulphur springs. A group that has already done the Western Caribbean twice will find nothing repeated here.
Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao lie outside the usual hurricane track and are noticeably drier than the rest of the Caribbean, with cactus-and-scrub landscapes rather than rainforest.
Cruise ports in the Southern Caribbean
Every port we cover in this region, with how ships berth and how far the town is from the gangway — the two facts that decide how a large group spends the day.
Aruba
A dry, cactus-covered Dutch Caribbean island below the hurricane belt, with a pier in the middle of its pastel capital.
Barbados
The easternmost Caribbean island and a major Southern Caribbean homeport, with a UNESCO capital, rum history and a wild Atlantic coast.
Bonaire
A diving island where the entire coastline is a protected marine park, with a pier in a very small Dutch capital.
Curaçao
A UNESCO-listed Dutch colonial capital in sherbet colours, split by a harbour channel crossed on a floating pontoon bridge.
Dominica
The Nature Island — rainforest, hot springs and a boiling lake, with a pier in the middle of a small, weathered capital.
Grenada
The Spice Island — a horseshoe harbour town built into a volcanic crater, with nutmeg estates inland and an underwater sculpture park offshore.
Guadeloupe
A butterfly-shaped French department in two halves — a limestone beach island and a rainforest volcano island — joined by a bridge.
Martinique
A French department in the Caribbean — euros, baguettes and road signs from metropolitan France, under a volcano that destroyed a city in 1902.
St. Lucia
A steep volcanic island defined by the Pitons, with a pier in central Castries and a drive-in volcano at Soufrière.
St. Vincent
A lightly visited volcanic island with the oldest botanical garden in the western hemisphere and the Grenadines strung out to the south.
Planning a group trip here
What to weigh up
- The ABC islands sit below the main hurricane belt — the most weather-reliable Caribbean choice
- Ports are genuinely distinct, so a repeat group sees something new each day
- Usually needs a flight to San Juan or Bridgetown rather than a drive to Florida
- Ten-night itineraries are common and give a slower pace than a packed seven-night week
Who sails the Southern Caribbean
The three kinds of group we plan for most often, and how a block of cabins works for each of them.
Other cruise regions
Alaska
The Inside Passage and Gulf of Alaska — glaciers, small former gold-rush towns and the shortest cruise season of any major region.
Western Mediterranean
Spain, France and Italy in a single week, with a major city almost every morning and the shortest sailing distances in the Mediterranean.
Greek Isles & Aegean
Santorini, Mykonos and the Aegean islands, with Ephesus on the Turkish coast — the most scenic and the most tender-dependent Mediterranean region.
Adriatic
Croatia, Montenegro and the Italian east coast — walled medieval towns, short sailing distances and fewer ships than the Western Mediterranean.
Mexican Riviera
Mexico’s Pacific coast from West Coast homeports — the drive-to region for California, Arizona and the Southwest.
Western Caribbean
Mexico, Belize, Honduras, Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, reached from Gulf Coast and Florida homeports.
Eastern Caribbean
The Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, St. Maarten and the northern Leewards — walkable towns and short tender-free port days.
The Bahamas
Short sailings from Florida to Nassau, Freeport and the cruise lines’ private islands — the easiest first cruise for a group.
Take a group to the Southern Caribbean
Five cabins or more held together as one block, quoted once, with each household booking and paying separately. Tell us roughly when and how many.