Norwegian Joy: 15-Night Panama Canal from Miami

Miami cruise port, officially called PortMiami, is the busiest cruise port in the world by passenger volume. Millions of people pass through here every year, and nearly every major cruise line uses it as a home port.

Cartagena de Indias is a Caribbean port city of about 1 million people on Colombia's northern coast, and one of the best-preserved colonial cities in the Americas. The walled old city (Ciudad Amurallada) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, built by the Spanish starting in the 16th century to protect the gold and silver being shipped back to Europe.

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.

Stretched along Banderas Bay with the Sierra Madre mountains rising directly behind the shoreline, Puerto Vallarta draws about 290,000 residents year-round and far more during the winter cruise season. The city has managed to grow as a tourist destination while keeping its Mexican identity intact, particularly in the Zona Romantica and the malecon (boardwalk) areas where local life and tourism coexist on the same streets.

Cabo San Lucas sits at the very tip of Mexico's Baja California Peninsula, where the Pacific Ocean meets the Sea of Cortez. This is a tender port: ships anchor in Cabo San Lucas Bay and passengers ride small boats to the marina.