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Caribbean Cruises
The
region that consists of the Caribbean Sea and its islands is a place
that is well worth a visit. As all of the islands have a very different
aspects about them then seeing one does not really mean you have seen
them all. The islands are grouped together however some are surrounded
by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the
North Atlantic Ocean and the surrounding coasts.
Geographically the region
is southeast of the Gulf of Mexico and the North American and a good
way to see the islands in one trip is to take a Caribbean cruise around
the island. One of the ports the cruise ships tend to stop at is
Barbados and many times if you fly in from the UK this is many times
the port that you start your tour from. The islands
Situated largely on the Caribbean Plate the region comprises more than
700 islands, islets, reefs, and cays so on your cruise obviously there
will not be time to visit them all. However a few of the most popular
ones are usually along route and you will get a nice feel of the region
as you will normally stop at each port for at least a day and be able
to get a slight feel of the main town and time to even more shopping if
you haven't done enough on the ship already.
The port in Bridgetown
Barbados is just outside the hub of the main town and has very much to
offer. Barbados is a sovereign island country in the Lesser Antilles.
It is 34 km in length and up to 23 km in width so even compared
to countries such as the UK this island is very small and you may be
able to get a tour around the island to get a glimpse of its beauty
covered over its area of 431 square km. Barbados is situated in the
western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometers east of the
Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea and many people that have
visited this Island on a cruise have later come back on a further
holiday and stayed much longer or use it as their honeymoon destination.
168 kilometers east of this
island is Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Like many of the islands
the major Music that is popular in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
includes big drum, calypso, soca, steelpan and reggae. Apart from
the tourist industry that provides work in the service sector keeping a
large part of the economy afloat, the rest of its income comes from
agriculture, dominated by banana production which is the most important
sector of this lower-middle-income economy. The government has been
relatively unsuccessful at introducing new industries which has been a
bit of a shame as when tropical storms hit the island it wiped
out many of the crops in the process. The tourism sector has more
potential for development and with filming of the Pirates of the
Caribbean movies helped to expose the island to more potential
visitors and investors.This could be one of the islands you visit on
your cruise trip.
Trinidad and Tobago is another beautiful island
to visit along the cruise line and lies on the continental shelf of
South America. It is thus geologically considered to lie entirely in
South America however as the West Indies are generally considered to be
part of North America and as the English speaking Caribbean language
and cultural links of Trinidad and Tobago are more akin with North
America, the nation is often treated as part of North America. The
terrain of the islands is a mixture of mountains and plains.The climate
is tropical and very much like Barbados there are two seasons annually:
the dry season for the first six months of the year and a rainy season
in the second half of the year. The majority of the population live in
the island of Trinidad locates most of the major towns and cities.
There are three major municipalities in Trinidad: Port of Spain, the
capital, San Fernando, and Chaguanas. The main town in Tobago is
Scarborough.
On your Caribbean cruise you could come across Saint
Kitts and Nevis. These islands were among the first in the Caribbean to
be settled by Europeans. Saint Kitts was home to the first English and
French colonies in the Caribbean, and thus has also been titled "The
Mother Colony of the West Indies" Saint Kitts and Nevis is a
twin-island federation whose economy is characterized by its dominant
tourism, agriculture and light manufacturing industries. Sugar used to
be its main export as the economy has slowed in recent times many of
the sugar fields have been burnt down to make way for housing
developments.With lush green terrain and beautiful beaches this is
fantastic island to visit on your Caribbean cruise.
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