Star Princess - Caribbean Island Hopping

Where this cruise calls, day by day

5 ports and 3 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

   Princess Cays

   BahamasPort

   Princess leases the southern end of Eleuthera near Bannerman Town - a 40-acre beach strip rather than a whole island, and a close neighbour to Disney's Lookout Cay. It is a tender call, which slows the day noticeably, and the offering is deliberately plain: a long beach, a barbecue lunch included in the fare, and bungalows, floats and snorkel gear for rent.

   • The half-mile beach and its roped swimming area
   • The included beach barbecue
   • Snorkel gear, kayaks and banana boats (extra cost)
   • Private beachfront bungalows (extra cost)

   Getting ashore

   Tender port - roughly 15-20 minutes each way, and choppy conditions cancel the call outright.

   Best months

   Dec-Apr for the calmest tendering; Aug-Oct calls are the most at risk of being missed

3. Day 3 · At sea

4. Day 4

   Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas

   U.S. Virgin IslandsPort

   The busiest shopping port in the Caribbean, and it feels like it — four to six ships on a peak day and duty-free jewelry stores stacked end to end along Main Street. What saves a call here is everything outside town: Magens Bay's long sheltered crescent, and the ferry to St. John, where about two-thirds of the island is national park.

   • Magens Bay
   • Ferry to St. John for Trunk Bay and Virgin Islands National Park
   • Coki Beach and Coral World Ocean Park
   • Skyride to Paradise Point above the harbor

   Getting ashore

   Most ships dock at Havensight, about a mile east of town — a mall at the pier, a cheap open-air taxi, or a 20-minute waterfront walk; Crown Bay is a similar distance west.

   Best months

   Dec-Apr dry season; Aug-Oct is hurricane season

5. Day 5 · At sea

6. Day 6

   Grand Turk

   Turks and Caicos IslandsPort

   Grand Turk is seven miles of scrub and old salt ponds with a resident population smaller than the ship calling on it. Carnival's cruise center is a self-contained beach compound — pool, bar, Margaritaville — with good sand at the pier and a wall that drops into deep water a few hundred yards offshore. Cockburn Town, the actual settlement, is quiet, weathered and a short taxi away.

   • The beach at the cruise center, running into Governor's Beach
   • Wall diving and snorkeling on the offshore drop-off
   • Cockburn Town's Front Street and the Turks & Caicos National Museum
   • Gibbs Cay stingray excursion

   Getting ashore

   Docked at the Grand Turk Cruise Center with a beach at the gate; Cockburn Town is about 10 minutes by taxi.

   Best months

   Dec-Apr; the island is dry and low-lying year-round, with Aug-Oct hurricane risk

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)