A Grand Journey through Moorish Marvels and the Lavish Spectacle of the Caribbean

Breathe in the cultural heart of Catalan; an elegant blend of high energy and undisturbed tradition. Muse over the origins of captivating Gaudi architecture within the enchanting labyrinth that is the Gothic Quarter. Savour the flavours of fresh tapas and crisp cava in breezy plazas, tranquil terraces and coveted cafés, or glide down to a shimmering beach club to unwind. Imagine a visit to peaceful Passeig de Gracia, where modernist buildings merge to showcase iconic global labels. And, as dusk falls, prepare for urban action and swing by the lively bohemian bars to fiesta on the leafy stretch of La Rambla. If you’re serious about style, this colourful city provides plenty to celebrate.

Breathe in the cultural heart of Catalan; an elegant blend of high energy and undisturbed tradition. Muse over the origins of captivating Gaudi architecture within the enchanting labyrinth that is the Gothic Quarter. Savour the flavours of fresh tapas and crisp cava in breezy plazas, tranquil terraces and coveted cafés, or glide down to a shimmering beach club to unwind. Imagine a visit to peaceful Passeig de Gracia, where modernist buildings merge to showcase iconic global labels. And, as dusk falls, prepare for urban action and swing by the lively bohemian bars to fiesta on the leafy stretch of La Rambla. If you’re serious about style, this colourful city provides plenty to celebrate.

Presenting divers, windsurfers and nature lovers with the ultimate gifts of discovery, this journey fully displays Mother Nature’s tour de force of beauty above and below the Caribbean Sea’s surface. With a lovely enticement of ease, we begin in Barbados, an island of wonders: flying fish, green monkeys, subterranean waterfalls, and towering banyan trees with shaggy aerial roots that inspired the island’s Portuguese name, the “bearded ones.” The lure of geography blesses us on Sunday Island, formally baptised Dominica, where sperm whales swim her waters all year long. Uncrowded and unspoilt, its mountainous heart includes the 1,342-meter-high volcano and namesake Morne Trois Pitons National Park (a UNESCO gem) ringed by primordial rainforests thick with blooming orchids, jungle grottos, hot springs, and a profusion of rainbows in a swirling cloud of mist. Surround yourself in cerulean blue, tranquility and sky on Bonaire, considered the Caribbean’s shore-diving capital with more than 50 dive sites in a national marine park and coral reef all ringing the coastline. Head to Lac Bay, the birthplace of windsurfing, where an endless sweep of turquoise water mixes with a 90% chance of favourable winds. Following a westerly breeze, we find the city and harbour of Willemstad, both of which have earned a UNESCO award, with brightly coloured Dutch-gabled buildings that look like a tropical Amsterdam. With 26 hours in the Dutch West Indies port, we can take our time exploring this semi-arid island. Walk the Queen Emma Bridge, visit the Israel-Emanuel Synagogue, learn about African empires or take a walk on her wild side at the Ja Kok Salt Ponds, a briny inland lake where we may find the island’s national bird — the precocious pink flamingo — vividly strutting in flocks of profusion. Our Journey of discovery returns to Barbados, the birthplace of rum, where we salute Mother Nature with our final toast of ¡Salud!, Santé!, Prost!, Skål!, Cin cin!, and Kanpai!

In the spirit of you-never-regret-an-indulgence, we call seductive islands adorned with alluring landscapes. Bathed in sun from day one with ten glorious nights aboard EXPLORA I, where everything sizzles a bit more. The pageantry of beach and city play out for us in Miami. Wholly glamorous, rakishly aplomb, and mythically fabled in literature and film, this seaside city lives more like a small global country with residents and guests from around the world. No passports are required in the last bolt hole of America as we glide into Key West where local characters are as colourful as the scenery. We depart while the setting sun is pitching slanted rays across Sunset Key and focus on the sumptuous offerings of our ship. For two languid days, time loses its tug and we learn that slow is not a speed but a tempo best marked according to massages at the Spa and well-crafted cocktails. Pristine Virgin Gorda greets us with a riot of dreamlike landscapes too vivid for words. See for yourself the marvel of cathedral-like grottos created by sky-high boulders and the offshore schools of silvery bonefish. Saint Barthélemy, named for the brother of Christopher Columbus, is now the pin-up poster boy of French swagger and yacht-set good looks. Temptations of joie de vivre continue in Deshaies where boulangeries dish-out coconut sorbet, waterfalls tumble into vast canyons and a jade mountain peers magnificently over an aquamarine bay. In style and en-vogue, Castries is the most haute with her gob smacking Pitons, hot mineral mud baths, banana plantations and a volcano we can actually drive into! We end our reverie in Bridgetown which has the high-tea reputation of being more British than the British! Cheers to a jolly good Journey.