Miami

Full of mystique and magic, this sunshine-filled sailing segues from Miami to America’s tropical outposts of Charlotte Amalie and San Juan. Beautiful and British, Jost van Dyke’s shimmers as our benchmark for beautiful beaches but it’s Gustavia that captures our hearts with the swankiest spots for bikinis and beaches. Then we dive into San Juan’s self-assured energy of young chefs, contemporary artists, and music’s biggest names. 

Leaving the swaying palms and art deco swathes of Miami and her keys in our wake, we arrive in New Orleans for a gumbo of good times, joining street jamborees and joyful exuberance of jazz rippling along the Mississippi. Sweep to the Yucatan for jungle-strewn ancient Mayan ruins, swimming through pinch-yourself spectacular cenotes and a Mexican castaway island with coral reefs and soft white sands.

Coveted translucent waters convey us through the West Indies, beginning with Barbados and circling through the BVIs, via Trinidad and the Caribbean’s best birdlife. We’ll slip seamlessly between lush rainforest and active volcano, and from bountiful botanical gardens to the world’s most beautiful beaches, snorkeling the shallows and diving shipwrecks of the deep, each island sparkling with colour and conviviality.

From the art deco swathes of Sur de la Florida, we passage to the river of reeds in Roseau where rain forests wrap slumbering 4,000-foot volcanos. We scale the twin Pitons that spill into tropical valleys in Castries then pick flowers in Kingston gardens where members of the British Royal Family have planted trees.

Brilliant biodiversity, conquistadors and haute cuisine bridge our journey from Miami to Bridgetown as we make maiden calls in Santo Domingo and Les Trois-Îlets. But it’s the in-between outposts that stay with us – afternoons wandering jungle paths thick with secrets in Basseterre and Roseau, the wild kind of grace we find in Kingstown and the limey vibes in Bridgetown. 

Steel drums and jingle bells ring from balmy Bridgetown to Tobago’s rainbow markets and the French-Carib melange of Martinique, Gaugin’s Caribbean muse. Rum-soaked sunset draws lazy day into black-velvet night in Antigua, before Christmas Day calls us to Dutch Sint Maarten and poetic peaks lure to Tortola. Lounge in a poolside cabana en route to art-infused Miami and its multi-cultural world. 

Fireworks crackle above San Juan as 2026 dawns and an all-star Caribbean journey begins. Skim sun-kissed shores and pirate lairs in the British Virgin Islands and wander rainforest falls and wild beaches on Guadeloupe’s western wing. Infuse flavours of Carib-cool Bridgetown, before the jewel-toned isles of Martinique and St. Kitts fuel our lust for adventure with volcanic peaks and castaway coves. 

We trade the buzzy heartbeat of Miami for the whisper of waves between the Greater and Lesser Antilles. Step lightly into Cruz Bay during our maiden call to the low-key luxury outpost of the USVI then dash into remote Deshaies for intimacy with nature. A late departure from Bridgetown signals rum sundowners whilst Roseau serves up rainforests and hissing volcanoes and Phillipsburg reveals her clearest, bluest depths in a national marine reserve. 

Awaken the senses and quiet the mind during a 16-night voyage across a timeless sea. Firstly, fall under the spell of Cadiz and Funchal then find fathoms of peace enjoying the well-appointed amenities and a restorative wellness journey aboard EXPLORA I. After 6 languid days, the sun rises with calls in St. John’s, Road Town and San Juan before Miami ignites our imagination. 

From the UNESCO streets of sultry San Juan to the red rooftops of Saint Barthélemy, our journey begins with elegant ease. Retune to island-time among Antigua’s hypnotic bays and discover rum distilleries shrouded by the sage peaks of Tortola. Ribbons of white-velvet sand and baby blue shallows fringe pristine Anguilla, a waking dream before unscripted adventures in Miami.

Enchanting days of ocean-inspired wellness turn into gastronomic nights on the journey to Saint John, where hiking trails weave through virgin rainforest. Life imitates art in cinematic Deshaies, where Death in Paradise is filmed, and spice-scented streets snake through Grenada’s sainted capital. Delve into Bridgetown’s UNESCO heart before coffee and craters on smouldering Montserrat, last stop before historic San Juan. 

Boho brushstrokes and bijou boutiques render Saint Barthélemy in perfect clarity, accented by A-list beach bars and molten amber sunset. Delve into island history and hillsides shrouded in native forest on Tortola, before the cyan-sapphire spectrum of Antigua and Anguilla transfixes sparkling eyes. Embark on culinary adventures and mind-body pampering aboard EXPLORA I before Miami appears on dawn’s horizon.

Our curtain rises over heavenly Road Bay, where somnolent palms bow before snow-white sands and silvery fish flash through shallows. Sailboats stand sentinel on St. John’s cerulean shores and patchwork peaks rise above lesser-travelled Phillipsburg. Follow gentle trade winds to Spanish Town, with its nearby shelter of giant-moulded boulders and enchanted pools, then succumb to extraordinary pleasures aboard EXPLORA II. 

Leafy grounds lull us to islands that live in the realm of immortality. Road Bay and St. John’s bring sands so serene they entice models and rock stars to frolic. Greater yet is Gustavia where our near-midnight departure gives us VIP access to barefoot-chic beaches and in-demand brasseries for after-dinner dancing. Tortola teases with boulder-laden lagoons yet the greatest indulgence is two days at sea, cocooned in our European wellness of pampered modernity. 

Warm tides and starlit skies serenade an enchanting overnight in Bermuda, before we embrace the fathomless blue of the Atlantic. Every dawn brings new indulgence aboard EXPLORA II: mind-body well-being, spellbinding pools and non-pareil culinary riches. Delve into primordial landscapes on the Azores before clattering castanets hail leisurely days in Andalusia and elegiac architecture abounds in beautiful Barcelona. 

This 17-night journey features the gift of time to pursue the ship’s delightful diversions. Seek personal enrichments, enhance your wellness, enjoy cooking classes and cocktails on your private terrace. But it’s the in-between that stays with you --  the free-spirited shores of Tangier, surfing sand dunes and gentle waves in Gran Canaria, and the Caribbean’s mix of waterfalls, jungles and powder-puff beaches. 

We ply a Southern course from Miami, stopping in the Victorian heart of Puerto Plata, to reach the little latitudes of the Caribbean Sea where the ABC islands glisten. Late departures in Kralendijk and Willemstad let us indulge in these Dutch darlings whilst Willemstad wows with sorbet-hued harbour houses. We calm the pace during two days at sea before Ocean Cay Marine Reserve, our private escape, answers the dream of being gloriously secluded on a paradisiacal island.

There’s no place like EXPLORA II for the Holidays, when families hold fast to tradition and forge new, warm-weather memories. We deck the halls on snow-white beaches where fathoms of adventures are found deep in the Carib’s Southern realm. Our most precious gift, Ocean Cay Marine Reserve, lets us unwrap cooling cabanas, seaside massages, chic cocktails and moments to remember. 

Lesser-travelled shores connecting Central to South America have our full attention. After two well-deserved days of respite at sea, we call on Colón, our gateway to the modern marvel of the Panama Canal, then find sanctuary in Bocas Del Toro, a purposefully preserved outpost where nature is overwhelming. Puerto Limon calls out with howler monkeys and bird song before George Town gives us the utmost of luxe on its infamous 7-Mile Beach.

Celebrations of American Thanksgiving launch us from Miami to a cornucopia of Mesoamerica mysteries. After we dive reefs, swim cenotes, and seek blessings at the temple of a Mayan moon goddess, we find more Mayan alters in Belize City, both in lush jungles and mysterious caves. Go off charts in Santo Tomás de Castilla, a remote outpost with more UNESCO Mayan cities before we flock to fun-Florida’s Key West and Miami. 

From soulful San Juan, a dusting of Antillean islets paint an indelible artwork in tropical brushstrokes. Calypso echoes drift across Antigua, before seeking barefoot luxury in Saint Barthélemy well into late night. Indulgences continue aboard EXPLORA II as we drift from jungle-draped slopes in the Dominican Republic to iridescent jewels in the Florida Keys.

A journey of seven sanguine days lets us compare the cerulean lagoons of Tortola with the pristine jade forests and beaches of Antigua. A late departure from Saint Barthélemy, combined with locals who dance under the stars, offer a truly mesmerising scene as we begin our return to Miami blessed with uninterrupted bliss as the skyline appears on a deliciously humid horizon. 

Sailing between Miami and Heaven with two days at sea leads us into an Ocean State of Mind of curated wellness and culinary experiences. Heart-shaped Magen’s Bay, beloved beach in Charlotte Amalie, rises to undulating mountains dotted with thriving gardens. In Terre-de-Haute and Fort-de-France we find boulangeries selling croissants before rising with dawn to peer into the mile-wide crater near Basseterre.