Southern Caribbean Holiday 10 Nights • Orlando (Port Canaveral), Florida • Celebrity Apex

When you sail to the Caribbean from Cape Canaveral, it’s worth arriving a day or two earlier to experience everything there is to see and do. Check out the charming lifestyle of nearby Cocoa Beach. Work on your tan before your cruise at one of the oceanfront resorts. Enjoy local seafood at the numerous rustic restaurants located on the water. Climb the four-story Exploration Tower at the Port for one of the best views of the ocean. Plus, no stay in Cape Canaveral is complete without visiting the area’s main attraction, the Kennedy Space Center, where you can meet an astronaut or even watch a rocket launch. Or since you’re less than an hour away from Orlando, you can visit the nearby theme parks to add even more wonder to your unforgettable Caribbean vacation.

Philipsburg, St. Maarten

In the 17th century, Dutch and French soldiers decided to share this little island, and today it remains happily split between France (Saint Martin, north side) and the Netherlands (Sint Maarten, south side).

Cruise to St. Maarten and explore the dozens of alluring beaches that ring the island. At Orient Beach, sunbathers bask and beachcombers stroll on the white sands, while divers and snorkelers
explore the sunken shipwrecks and marine life just offshore. You'll really get blown away at Jet Blast Beach (officially Maho Beach), next to the airport.

Embrace all the beauty of the island on a tour to the French capital, Marigot, where you can explore the quaint streets and cafés, open-air market, and 18th-century Fort Louis. Take a scenic cruise of Simpson Bay Lagoon, site of luxurious villas and megayachts. More tours show you charming Grand Case and Orient Bay.

Both Philipsburg and Marigot are celebrated culinary capitals, and locals do enjoy outdoor cooking. Try the barbecued ribs and chicken. Leading French chefs flock to Marigot, where they give their sophisticated cuisine a Caribbean twist.

Shoppers find electronics, rum, cigars, jewelry, and designer brands in the hundreds of duty-free and tax-free stores on Philipsburg’s mile-long Front Street.

Fan out from Castries to find escapes for every taste. Near the port, browse Pointe Seraphine, for duty-free goods, or colorful Castries Central Market, for native spices and hand-made crafts. Sample the best of St. Lucia on a highlights tour to the Castries Market, historic Catholic church, and city square, and don't miss breathtaking views from Caribelle Batik, offering artisanal goods. Or, join a leisurely coastal cruise past Marigot Bay. Novelist James A. Michener described it as "the most beautiful bay in the Caribbean."

Cruise to Antigua, named by Christopher Columbus in 1493, and discover 365 Caribbean beaches—one for every day, every type of beach—hidden among the countless cliffs and bays. The lush rainforest, dramatic landscapes, and turquoise waters tempt eco-adventurers from swimmers to hikers to zip-line flyers


Swim and snorkel with gentle stingrays—even feed and pet them—and snorkel the coral reefs that ring the island and teem with life. Take a scenic catamaran sail. Stop at Paradise Reef and peer below the surface of the clear Antiguan waters. Lie on a golden beach and sip a rum punch or enjoy some lobster on your St. John’s cruise.

Antigua and neighboring Barbuda form an independent country in the British Commonwealth. The English settled here in 1632 and imported slaves to build sugar plantations. They became independent in 1981. The capital and largest city, St. John's, is one of the more developed and cosmopolitan municipalities in the Lesser Antilles.

Antigua’s hotels and resorts serve excellent European cuisine, featuring the fresh catch of the day. Go native and try the local fungi (like polenta, paired with salt fish), callaloo (a popular West African / Caribbean dish), and hearty pepper pot.

When it's time to go shopping, find Caribbean fashions, local crafts, and designer fashions in the duty-free shops of St. John’s. Browse luxurious Heritage Quay or quaint seaside Redcliffe Quay.

Charlotte Amalie is the enchanting capital of St. Thomas that has attracted pirates and sailors the world over for centuries. The island enjoys a fascinating fusion of Danish, French, Spaniard, West African and Carib influences. There’s so much to discover on a cruise to St. Thomas. For a nice overview of the island’s history head to Fort Christian Museum. Built as a military fort by the Dutch in 1680, this historic landmark features exhibits chronicling the history of the Virgin Islands from the Stone Age to the present, as well as natural history collections, and an art gallery. Experience the beauty of St. Thomas beaches with a wonderful picnic on Magens Bay beach or snorkel in the turquoise Caribbean Sea where you’ll come up close to corals, sponges, and schools of colorful tropical fish. Authentic island dishes like savory curries with roti, the freshest seafood, and delicious drinks made with the finest local rums are readily available on restaurant menus. And, while the beaches and ocean are beautiful, there is one thing that really sets St. Thomas apart - shopping. This island is the most commercial of all the U.S. Virgin Islands. Browse through the shop-lined streets of the capital city and shop for duty-free trinkets and bargains on everything from liquor to imported china and crystal.

There's a place for those who want to slow the pace of life. That place is Grand Turk, the capital of the Turks and Caicos. That's not to say that shore excursions on Grand Turk don't run the gamut from horseback riding to stingray swims to catamaran tours—and one of the biggest draws here is diving, with the islands lying along the third largest barrier reef in the world. But traffic is sparse, and with a population of less than 4,000, everybody really does know everybody else's name. There are no fast food restaurants or chain hotels. You may even see a horse or donkey, once a means of transportation during the days of Grand Turk's salting industry, roaming along Governor's Beach or through the narrow alleys in historic Cockburn Town.

When you sail to the Caribbean from Cape Canaveral, it’s worth arriving a day or two earlier to experience everything there is to see and do. Check out the charming lifestyle of nearby Cocoa Beach. Work on your tan before your cruise at one of the oceanfront resorts. Enjoy local seafood at the numerous rustic restaurants located on the water. Climb the four-story Exploration Tower at the Port for one of the best views of the ocean. Plus, no stay in Cape Canaveral is complete without visiting the area’s main attraction, the Kennedy Space Center, where you can meet an astronaut or even watch a rocket launch. Or since you’re less than an hour away from Orlando, you can visit the nearby theme parks to add even more wonder to your unforgettable Caribbean vacation.