Optional tours are available from most ports for an additional charge.
Itinerary
Day Balboa / Fuerte Amador, PanamaDeparts 06:00 PM One of the entrances to the Panama Canal on the Pacific side, Balboa/Fuerte Amador was founded in 1519 and is a short distance from Panama City. In 2012 Balboa was ranked #1 in Latin America in the category of world's busiest container ports. Sightseeing highlights include the colonial homes, the Administration Building, the Goethals Memorial, the Prado, and the local handicraft markets of traditional Panamanian crafts.
Day Panama Canal, PanamaArrives 04:00 AM Departs 06:00 PM At nearly 48 miles long, on your transit through the Panama Canal you will enter three sets of locks that raise and lower the vessel 85 feet between the calm Pacific Ocean and the shimmering waters of the Atlantic. Your voyage features a daylight hours transit with numerous observation vantage points for outside viewing and comfortable indoor air-conditioned lounges. Expert onboard commentary enhances your journey as you watch the day to day workings of this bucket list experience.Â
Day Bocas del Toro, PanamaArrives 08:00 AM Departs 05:00 PM Bocas Town was established on Colon Island in this archipelago by the United Fruit Company in the 1920s as a base for its banana plantations. The picturesque period charm of the town is today exploited by the locals to attract tourists. All of the islands have lovely beaches, mangrove waterways to explore and even several different indigenous populations who make and sell colorful handicrafts. A plentiful variety of wildlife including many species of birds, animals and sea turtles adds to the area's appeal. Panama shares the nearby Parque Internacional La Amistad (Friendship), a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with Costa Rica.
Day Cartagena, ColombiaArrives 10:00 AM Departs 06:00 PM The Spanish founded Cartagena, officially known as Cartagena de Indias, in 1533. The city rapidly became a thriving commercial port, where precious stones and minerals from the New World awaited shipment back to Spain. Situated in a bay on the Caribbean Sea, Cartagena had the most extensive fortifications in South America, once guarded by 29 stone forts and a high wall of coral-stone measuring 16-miles long, 40-feet high and 50-feet wide. Completed in 1657, the Castle of San Felipe de Barajas is said to be the most grandiose work of military architecture erected by Spain in the Americas. Today, Cartagena's riches are found in the Boca Grande, an area of the city with beautiful waterfront hotels, trendy restaurants, casinos and boutiques.
Day Santa Marta, ColombiaArrives 08:00 AM Departs 05:00 PM Romantic Santa Marta has it all: history (Colombia's oldest city), natural beauty (from gentle bays and beaches to the highest coastal mountain range in the world),
and its very own celebrity. Simon Bolivar (âThe Liberatorâ) is known as the George Washington of South America, and this was his Mount Vernon. Visit his beautiful
estate or head to one of the two UNESCO Biosphere Reserves nearby.
Day At Sea
Day Oranjestad, ArubaArrives 08:00 AM "Located off the coast of Venezuela, the windswept Dutch island of Aruba is otherworldly. Here, the beaches are spectacularly pristine, the waters are romantically restless, the island interior is lunar-like and filled with cacti, and the trees areâquite famouslyâbent in the wind. The island's consistent trade winds are part of the destination's allure: They keep the humidity, rain and hurricanes common in much of the Caribbean during its off-season at bay.
The main port and capital city, Oranjestad, is a maze of Dutch-colonial architecture painted in a palette of Caribbean pastels. There are some historic sites of note and myriad shops, from boutiques to megastores, selling all sorts of keepsakes, with jewelry and gold being popular itemsâin fact, gold was mined here in the 19th century. In Oranjestad and along the beaches you'll also find a treasure trove of excellent seafood restaurants, while farther afield are lighthouses, gold mine ruins and natural wonders that reflect the rugged appeal of Aruba.
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