Nieuw Statendam - Western Caribbean from Fort Lauderdale

Where this cruise calls, day by day

6 ports and 2 sea days over 7 Nights.

1. Day 1

   Fort Lauderdale, FL

   United StatesDepart

   Port Everglades is the easy one. Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International sits barely two miles from the berths - the shortest airport-to-ship hop of any major US homeport - and the eight passenger terminals are spread far enough apart that traffic rarely knots the way Miami's does. Check your terminal number before you set off; they are not close together.

   • Las Olas Boulevard for lunch, then the walk down to the beach
   • The Water Taxi loop along the New River and Intracoastal, past the yacht basins
   • Bonnet House Museum and Gardens, a 1920s estate hemmed in by condo towers
   • Hollywood Broadwalk, 20 minutes south, for a flatter and cheaper beach day

   Getting ashore

   Eight passenger terminals (2, 4, 18, 19, 21, 25, 26 and 29) ring the harbour on separate access roads, and FLL is about 2 miles out - often under 15 minutes door to door.

   Best months

   Nov-Apr (Aug-Oct is peak hurricane season)

2. Day 2

   Half Moon Cay

   BahamasPort

   Little San Salvador Island is owned by Carnival Corporation and called on by Holland America, Carnival and Princess ships. It has long been the best-regarded of the private beaches - a two-mile crescent of pale sand with very little built on it - and it is now being expanded and rebranded RelaxAway, with a pier that finally ended decades of tendering in 2026. The barbecue lunch is included; cabanas and horseback riding are not.

   • The two-mile crescent beach and its shallow entry
   • Horseback riding that finishes in the sea (extra cost)
   • The included beach barbecue
   • Kayaks, snorkelling and the stingray encounter (extra cost)

   Getting ashore

   Historically a tender call; a pier opened in 2026 as part of the RelaxAway expansion, so check what your particular sailing lists.

   Best months

   Dec-Apr for the calmest conditions; Aug-Oct calls are the likeliest to be missed for weather

3. Day 3 · At sea

4. Day 4

   Ocho Rios

   JamaicaPort

   Ocho Rios shares its harbour with a bauxite loading terminal, so the view from the deck is industrial before it is tropical. The compensation is how close everything is - Dunn's River Falls, the tiered limestone cascade people climb in a linked human chain, is ten minutes away, and Island Village and Turtle Beach are a walk from the pier. Vendor pressure in town is among the most persistent in the Caribbean.

   • Climbing Dunn's River Falls
   • The Blue Hole at White River
   • Dolphin Cove
   • Konoko Falls and its botanical garden above town

   Getting ashore

   Ships dock at the Ocho Rios pier; Island Village and Turtle Beach are a five-minute walk and Dunn's River Falls about ten minutes by taxi.

   Best months

   Dec-Apr is driest; May and October are the wettest months and Aug-Oct is hurricane season

5. Day 5

   George Town

   Cayman IslandsPort

   George Town has no cruise pier, and that shapes everything: every passenger from every ship arrives by tender at one of two small harbourfront landings. When winter northwesters blow up, calls are cancelled outright and the ship sails on. Ashore it is a tidy, expensive capital of banks and duty-free shops - the actual draw is offshore at the Stingray City sandbar and up the coast at Seven Mile Beach.

   • Standing waist-deep with the rays at the Stingray City sandbar
   • Seven Mile Beach
   • Cayman Turtle Centre in West Bay
   • Starfish Point and Rum Point on the north shore

   Getting ashore

   Tender port - 10-15 minutes to the George Town landings, with Seven Mile Beach another 10-15 minutes by taxi or public bus.

   Best months

   Dec-Apr is driest; Sep-Oct brings the most rain and hurricane risk, and winter swells can scrub the tender operation entirely

6. Day 6

   Cozumel

   MexicoPort

   Cozumel is an island 12 miles off the Yucatán that runs almost entirely on cruise traffic - three piers, up to six ships at once, and a downtown built to absorb them. Which pier you draw matters more than anything else: Punta Langosta puts you in San Miguel on foot, while Puerta Maya and the International Pier sit a few miles south and need a taxi. The reason to come is underwater, on the Palancar and Colombia reefs.

   • Snorkel or dive Palancar Reef
   • Chankanaab Park's lagoon and shore snorkelling
   • A beach club day at Mr. Sancho's or Nachi Cocom
   • San Gervasio Maya ruins in the island's interior

   Getting ashore

   All ships dock; Punta Langosta is a walk into San Miguel, while Puerta Maya and the International Pier are 3-4 miles south, about 10 minutes by taxi.

   Best months

   Dec-Apr is driest and calmest; Jun-Nov is hurricane season, and sargassum can wash ashore May-Aug

7. Day 7 · At sea

8. Day 8

   Fort Lauderdale, FL

   United StatesArrive

   Port Everglades is the easy one. Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International sits barely two miles from the berths - the shortest airport-to-ship hop of any major US homeport - and the eight passenger terminals are spread far enough apart that traffic rarely knots the way Miami's does. Check your terminal number before you set off; they are not close together.

   • Las Olas Boulevard for lunch, then the walk down to the beach
   • The Water Taxi loop along the New River and Intracoastal, past the yacht basins
   • Bonnet House Museum and Gardens, a 1920s estate hemmed in by condo towers
   • Hollywood Broadwalk, 20 minutes south, for a flatter and cheaper beach day

   Getting ashore

   Eight passenger terminals (2, 4, 18, 19, 21, 25, 26 and 29) ring the harbour on separate access roads, and FLL is about 2 miles out - often under 15 minutes door to door.

   Best months

   Nov-Apr (Aug-Oct is peak hurricane season)