Volendam: 27-Night South 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.

St. Maarten cruise port is one of the busiest in the Caribbean, with ships docking at the A.C.

Martinique gives you something most Caribbean ports can't: an actual piece of France in the tropics. This is a French overseas department, so the bakeries are real, the wine is good, and the Creole cuisine draws from both metropolitan French technique and Caribbean soul.

Barbados cruise port is in Bridgetown, the capital of the easternmost Caribbean island. Bridgetown Port (Deep Water Harbour) sits just outside the city's UNESCO-listed historic center, with modern terminal facilities including 21 duty-free shops, restaurants, car rental agencies, and a tourism office.

You've probably seen photos of Willemstad even if you don't realize it: that row of pastel-colored Dutch colonial buildings along the Handelskade is one of the most photographed waterfronts in the Caribbean. It's been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997.