Norwegian Jade - December 22, 2025

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.

Blessed with a non-stop breeze, neat little Oranjestad reflects the Dutch passion for cleanliness. Stroll the town's chic shops, venture out to see the wind-formed divi-divi trees, or visit an undersea garden of brilliant corals on a semi-submersible craft.

Hospitable and always sunny, Curacao bids you a warm welcome. The friendly inhabitants, first class hotels, wonderful climate, crystal clear seawater, fascinating architecture, floating market, pontoon bridge, secluded bays, rich fauna and flora, and the many possibilities for excursions and entertainment make Curacao the tourist's paradise.

St. Lucia is one of the most scenic volcanic islands in the Caribbean. By helicopter, fly over beautiful Castries Harbor and Les Pitons, St. Lucia's dramatic twin volcanic peaks.

This fertile isle is a land of rain forests, tropical flowers, and abundant sugar cane. After a stroll around the charming colonial streets and shops of the capital, Basseterre, tour the island or visit Brimstone Hill Fort, an impressive construction that is one of the wonders of the Caribbean world.

Puerto Plata is located on the northern coast of the Dominican Republic. It is known as the Amber Coast because of its rich deposits of the fossil resin. The province sprawls out over 70 miles of coast, white sand beaches, protected coral reefs, coconut groves, coastal lagoons, and crystalline waters. In the city, you can visit Mt. Isabel de Torres, a national park and botanical garden.

The question is never What will I do in New York? but rather, What won't I do in New York? With over 18,000 restaurants, 150 world-class museums, and more than 10,000 shops filled with brand names and bargains from around the world, New York City has something for everyone. And that's not including the shows, landmarks and history that make New York one of the finest cities in the world.