Explora Journeys — Wild Beauty and Tropical Festivities — Luxury

San Juan

Arrive and settle into the Condado Vanderbilt at your own pace. Puerto Rico in December is the island at its most festive — but the beach, the old city, and the rum are always there regardless.

Accommodation: Condado Vanderbilt Hotel, San Juan

San Juan

A full day at your leisure in San Juan. The oldest US city, El Yunque rainforest, the Condado beachfront — how you spend it is entirely up to you.

Accommodation: Condado Vanderbilt Hotel, San Juan

San Juan

Board EXPLORA III at the San Juan Cruise Port Terminal. Embarkation 12:00–15:00, departure at 18:00. Fifteen nights, eleven countries, and the most diverse arc of the Caribbean await.

Accommodation: EXPLORA III, an Explora Journeys vessel, San Juan

Road Bay

Anguilla is the most underrated island in the Caribbean — its residents would like to keep it that way. The beaches are genuinely the whitest in the region, the water a blue that defies description, and the island's culture of genuine hospitality sits alongside some of the Caribbean's most sophisticated restaurants. Shore excursions include Shoal Bay Coastal Connection and a Speedboat Snorkelling Adventure.

Accommodation: EXPLORA III, an Explora Journeys vessel, Road Bay

St. John's

The island of 365 beaches in the Christmas season, when the yachts fill English Harbour and the hillside gatherings at Shirley Heights run long into the tropical night. Shore excursions include a Helicopter Flight over Antigua and Montserrat and the Great Bird Island Eco-Adventure.

Accommodation: EXPLORA III, an Explora Journeys vessel, St. John's

Basseterre

The volcanic peak of Mount Liamuiga draws clouds down around its summit while the slopes below are green and warm. The island's sugarcane heritage is visible in the scenic railway that circles it; the Brimstone Hill Fortress looks out over six islands from its lava promontory. Shore excursions include the Open-Air Safari Truck and Ziplining through the Valley of Giants.

Accommodation: EXPLORA III, an Explora Journeys vessel, Basseterre

The first full day at sea and the opportunity to let the ship become a destination. EXPLORA III carries the design sensibility of Patricia Urquiola — warm materials, considered spaces, a ship that feels more like a very good hotel than a cruise liner.

Accommodation: EXPLORA III, an Explora Journeys vessel, British Virgin Islands

Grand Turk

The Turks and Caicos are a vertical garden of coral reef beneath extraordinarily clear water. Grand Turk has a wall dive that drops hundreds of metres into the Atlantic trench, and the reef at Gibbs Cay is where wild stingrays glide in shallow water. Shore excursions include a Glass-Bottom Boat Tour and a Reef Snorkelling Adventure.

Accommodation: EXPLORA III, an Explora Journeys vessel, Grand Turk

Another day on open water, heading west toward the Florida coast. The sea in the Straits of Florida has its own deep, intense colour — fed by the Gulf Stream — and the flying fish that leap beside the bow are a reminder that the ocean is far from empty.

Accommodation: EXPLORA III, an Explora Journeys vessel, British Virgin Islands

Miami

Miami in December is the city at its best — the humidity has eased, the light is extraordinary, and the Art Basel effect has made it a serious cultural destination. The Pérez Art Museum, the Wynwood Walls, the Everglades — or simply the beach in 25-degree December warmth. Shore excursions include A Taste of Cuba in Little Havana and an Everglades Airboat Adventure.

Accommodation: EXPLORA III, an Explora Journeys vessel, Miami

Southbound past Cuba and toward Jamaica. These days at sea are when the ship's rhythm becomes fully your own — the particular quality of Caribbean air, salt and warmth, that carries something tropical underneath.

Accommodation: EXPLORA III, an Explora Journeys vessel, British Virgin Islands

Jamaica operates at a frequency all its own. The rhythms of reggae born in Nine Mile, the waterfalls of Dunn's River, the jerk chicken smoking over oil-drum grills beside the road. Shore excursions include Nine Mile and Bob Marley's Birthplace and the Green Grotto Caves.

Accommodation: EXPLORA III, an Explora Journeys vessel, British Virgin Islands

A day between Jamaica and the Dominican Republic, with the Windward Passage behind you and the Mona Passage ahead. The kitchen has been restocking with fresh ingredients from Jamaica's markets — order the Blue Mountain coffee after dinner and watch the stars.

Accommodation: EXPLORA III, an Explora Journeys vessel, British Virgin Islands

Catalina Island

Off the south-east coast of the Dominican Republic, Catalina Island is a mango-shaped fragment of sand and forest where the coral reefs are among the healthiest in the Caribbean. The wreck of a seventeenth-century Spanish galleon in the shallow water has been colonised by seahorses and silent sponges.

Accommodation: EXPLORA III, an Explora Journeys vessel, Catalina Island

Jost Van Dyke

The Bubbly Pool is a natural jacuzzi formed by Atlantic waves surging through a gap in the rocks — it works best in a swell, which December usually provides. White Bay's powder-fine sand backs the famous Soggy Dollar Bar, where the Painkiller cocktail has been served since the 1970s. It is Christmas week and the anchorage is full of yachts strung with lights.

Accommodation: EXPLORA III, an Explora Journeys vessel, Jost Van Dyke

Philipsburg

The Dutch half of a dual-nation island — duty-free shopping, world-class windsurfing, and some of the Caribbean's most interesting creole cooking. The view of aircraft approaching Princess Juliana Airport, clearing the beach by metres, is famous enough to have its own spectator area. Shore excursions include a Coastal Jet Ski Adventure and Snorkelling by Boat.

Accommodation: EXPLORA III, an Explora Journeys vessel, Philipsburg

Charlotte Amalie (Saint Thomas)

The capital of the US Virgin Islands carries traces of its Danish colonial past in the street names and the ochre warehouse buildings along the waterfront. Charlotte Amalie is the ferry port for Saint John, eight kilometres to the east, whose national park contains some of the most beautiful beaches in the Caribbean. Shore excursions include a Safari-Bus Visit to Scenic Saint John and Snorkelling at Trunk Bay.

Accommodation: EXPLORA III, an Explora Journeys vessel, Charlotte Amalie (Saint Thomas)

San Juan

The familiar outline of El Morro at the harbour entrance, the same warm air. Disembark and transfer to the Condado Vanderbilt — three days before Christmas, San Juan is at its most festive.

Accommodation: Condado Vanderbilt Hotel, San Juan

San Juan

Your final morning in Puerto Rico, to spend entirely as you choose. Transfer to Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport for your onward journey.

Accommodation: Condado Vanderbilt Hotel, San Juan