Panama Canal Passage

The humble beginnings of the City of Vancouver, in the settlement of Gastown on Burrard Inlet, rose out of the old growth forests and the sawdust of the old Hastings Mill. Its location between the Pacific Ocean and the snow-capped coastal mountains creates one of the most idyllic settings of any city in the world. As a world-class city it has the best of both worlds, intermingling urban sophistication with a sense of wilderness and outdoor adventure. Whether you are exploring Vancouver’s diverse downtown core, strolling through the giant trees of Stanley Park or taking in the 20 miles (30 km) of uninterrupted waterfront trails along the seawall, you are bound to fall in love with Canada’s third largest metropolitan center, which is consistently ranked as one of most livable cities on earth. In 1886, the Canadian Pacific Railway reached Vancouver, completing Canada’s ‘National Dream’ of a connection between east and west, and opening up new trade routes between Asia and Europe. The city was named for British captain and explorer George Vancouver.

Your ship will anchor off this picturesque town nicknamed The American Riviera, set on slopes rising from a handsome sandy beach to the steep backdrop of the Santa Ynez Range. Much of the local architecture cleaves to the Spanish Colonial style dictated by the Mission that marked is founding, with adobe-styled facades and red barrel-tiled roofs. The Mission is a functioning church, and the older sections comprise an interesting museum of California’s earliest days as a Spanish colony. The County Courthouse, just off the central State Street shopping area, is a more recent exemplar of the style, ornately finished with colored tiles and handsome murals. Its tall clock tower, with a fascinating visible clockworks, is an excellent place to take in views of the whole city and the dark Channel Islands basking in the shining sea offshore. The harbor, where your tender lands, is a working fishing port, as well as a tourist attraction with restaurants, yacht services and a maritime museum. At the other end of the yacht marina and past a short beach, Stearns Wharf extends to an assortment of restaurants and souvenir shops. Just beyond the mountains, one of California’s most famous wine-producing regions awaits, as well as the picturesque Danish community of Solvang.

“PV” takes to its glamorous role as the Cannes of the Mexican Riviera with gusto. With clear warm waters, movie-star beaches and a host of nearby sporting activities, it is definitely ready for a close-up!

The nine glistening bays of Huatulco were virtually unknown outside the state of Oaxaca until the first coastal highway was completed in 1982. Now part of Mexico’s ‘Master Plan’ to develop certain coastal areas into premium resorts, Huatulco may one day rival Acapulco and Cancun in the competition to attract tourists from around the world. The pleasing subtropical climate, fine golden sand beaches and warm waters certainly won’t disappoint.

Puerto Chiapas is located in the southern Soconusco region of the Mexican state of Chiapas, close by the Guatemalan border. The region produces both coffee and cacao for chocolate, and so provides opportunities to see how these commodities are grown, processed and used worldwide. Bananas and tropical blooms are two other regional agricultural mainstays. If you have never tasted a truly tree-ripened banana, the experience can be revelatory. There are some pre-Columbian ruins at Izapa, although nothing on the scale of other, more famous Mayan ruins in Mexico and Guatemala. Favorite activities that have been developed for visitors include people-to-people opportunities in some of the nearby rural (and very friendly) communities.

Once the site of an impressive ancient Mayan civilization, Guatemala was conquered by Spanish conquistadors in 1524. Puerto Quetzal is Guatemala’s largest Pacific Ocean port, offering access to the natural and historic wonders of Guatemala. Beyond the black-sand beaches that surround Puerto Quetzal, a narrow ribbon of lowland runs the length of the Pacific shore, where local farmers raise cotton, sugar, bananas and maize. Bordering the fertile lowlands, the Guatemalan highlands suddenly emerge, rising to heights of 2500 to 3000 feet. Jutting boldly from the southern highlands is a string of volcanoes, adding even more drama to this diverse land of ancient Maya ruins, Spanish Colonial heritage and breathtaking scenery.

The principal town of Costa Rica’s Gulf of Nicoya, Puntarenas gives access to several of the nation’s ecological reserves, including the Monteverde Reserve, as well as highlights of the highlands such as the famous woodcarving center of Sarchi and the distinctive highland town of Grecia with its metal Gothic church. At the nearby Carara National Park, visitors can see the “Pura Vida” waterfall, some 650 feet high and keep an eye out for brilliant Scarlet Macaws.

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.

Miami is the busiest cruise port in the world, hosting a myriad of ships year-round from all over the globe. Although it is technically not on the Caribbean Sea, no other American city exudes more of the diverse tropical appeal of the Caribbean. The city is home to a large and vibrant immigrant population that blends snowbird refugees from more northern climes with emigres from all Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as sizable groups from Europe, the Middle East and Asia. From the hot-blooded Art Deco haunts of South Beach to the natural wonders of the UNESCO-inscribed Everglades and the laid-back charms of the Keys, South Florida offers a bounty of appealing attractions that make an extended stay in the region nearly mandatory for those either embarking or disembarking here.