Viking Mars: 14-Night Panama Canal & Central America

Fort Lauderdale cruise port, officially Port Everglades, is one of the busiest cruise ports in the world and the closest major competitor to PortMiami, just 25 miles to the south. It sits on the southeastern coast of Florida across the cities of Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, and Dania Beach.

Colon sits at the Atlantic (Caribbean) entrance to the Panama Canal, serving as the port of call for ships that transit the canal or stop before or after the crossing. The Colon 2000 cruise terminal and the nearby Cristobal pier handle the cruise traffic, both located away from the city center in secure port compounds.

Roatan cruise port serves one of the Bay Islands of Honduras, a Caribbean destination famous for some of the best scuba diving in the Western Hemisphere. The island sits along the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef (the world's second-largest coral reef system) about 40 miles off the Honduras mainland.

Belize City is the largest city in Belize, a small Central American country on the Caribbean coast known for its barrier reef (the second largest in the world), jungle ruins, and laid-back culture. The city itself has about 60,000 residents and a rough, unpolished feel that can surprise passengers expecting a typical Caribbean port.

Cozumel cruise port is one of the busiest in the Caribbean, with multiple ships docking on the island every day during peak season. Cozumel is a flat, laid-back island off the eastern coast of Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula, and it's been a cruise staple for decades.