Norwegian Bliss - January 12, 2024

Sail past Los Arcos, the soaring rock archway at the extreme southern tip of Baja California that guards Cabo's perfect harbor. This idyllic bay once sheltered treasure ships from the Orient, and pirate brigs bent on those treasures. Now Cabo caters to an international vacation set, and has a strong artistic tradition famous for its black-coral jewelry.

Hollywood discovered this little fishing village back in the 1960's, and since then luxury resorts and bougainvillea-covered villas have flourished in the delightful seaside climate. Yet hints of past tranquility remain: cobbled courtyards where the locals hold their markets, and superb sport-fishing just offshore.

Manzanillo is located between Puerto Vallarta and Acapulco and features beautiful, unoccupied beaches, excellent cuisine, and plenty of activities, including horseback riding, kayaking, world-famous deep-sea fishing, scuba diving and snorkeling, and yes, shopping. Spend a day fishing in the "Sailfish capital of the world" and your nights dancing away in the active nightlife downtown.

Whitewashed villas ring magnificent Acapulco Bay, forming an unforgettable spectacle. View Mexico's premier Pacific playground from the scenic highway above the harbor, then stop to enjoy Acapulco's most famous attraction: the daredevil cliff-divers of La Quebrada, who pray at a nearby chapel, then plunge from the 130-foot-high cliffs.

The festive strains of a marimba band are never far away in Puerto Quetzal, your gateway to Guatemala's authentic Amerindian culture. Enjoy an excursion to Antigua, the former colonial capital, celebrated for its European flavor and magnificent architecture.

Founded in 1519 by Pedro Arias de Avila, Panama City flourished in early colonial times as the Pacific port of transshipment of Andean riches to Spain. Construction of the Panama Canal brought assured prosperity, and American sanitary measures and disease control made Panama a clean and healthful tropical city. The city has a reputation as a drug transshipment point between South America and the United States.

Spend an unforgettable day cruising the Panama Canal, a fifty-one-mile waterway through the rainforest that is one of the world's engineering masterpieces. The ship glides down the canal with inches to spare, through locks that raise and lower it like a toy. Along the way it crosses enormous Gatun Lake, and the amazing Gaillard Cut, blasted out of a solid mountainside.

Once the port where the wealth of the New World flowed back to the Old, Cartagena also served as a notorious base for privateers and pirates. Today, you can stroll the tree-lined Spanish colonial artistry of old in the streets and see the works of the Gold Museum. The port is also a great place to find bargains on emeralds.

Explore all that Miami has to offer, from the magnificent Port of Miami, to the world famous Everglades and Biscayne National Parks, historic Coconut Grove, and trendy South Beach. Other attractions include the Miami Seaquarium , Miami MetroZoo, and sports teams the Dolphins, Heat and Marlins. No wonder so many celebrities, such as Gloria Estefan, Madonna and Ricky Martin, call Miami home.