BERMUDA

Other islands offer an escape from civilization. Bermuda offers a chance to bask in it. Where else can you explore a shipwreck that inspired Shakespeare or watch cricket under the shade of a palm? The atmosphere is properly British, in tints of pastel. You won't find crowds or rental cars because it might disturb the neighbors. In short, Bermuda is a haven of civility surrounded by a sea of tranquility. The perfect place for golfing, tennis, swimming, snorkeling, sailing and just about any other watersport known to man. And the perfect antidote for everything you want to forget.

TAHITI

Is there any group of islands in the world as romantic as the Society Islands? Or as beautiful, for that matter? Doubtful. They inspired a mutiny on the infamous Bounty. They captured the imagination of Paul Gauguin. They've been immortalized by some of the world's great writers from Herman Melville, Robert Louis Stevenson and James Michener to Somerset Maugham. These sirens of the South Pacific evoke balmy days, sultry nights and panoramas that could only have been created by Nature in her finest hour. Here giant curls of turquoise break onto reefs that protect blue lagoons and white beaches. Jagged peaks crown emerald rain forests, while some islands appear barely to float above the breaking waves. But what truly distinguishes French Polynesia is the people . On our South Pacific cruises, you'll see their love for these islands through music, dance and flowers. Their hospitality is legend.

THE CARIBBEAN

Stretching all the way to South America, a great archipelago cradles the Caribbean, islands where gentle trade winds keep the tropical climate comfortable, and where frothy whitecaps frolic in turquoise bays. Here calypso rhythms and spices scent the air and coral carpets the ocean floor.Each island has a charm all its own. Some are mountainous. Some are desert-like. Some are covered with lush, tropical greenery. And with as many independent nations as there are countries in Europe, the Caribbean traces a heritage from around the world.

Many luxury ships cruise the Caribbean all winter long, so there's bound to be a sailing that matches just what you had in mind. Close your eyes and imagine: gently swaying palms, a sugar-white beach and a sun-dappled sea caressing the shore. Now think how easy it is to make fantasy a reality. Just pick a date and book now.

SOUTH AMERICA

It is a land of stunning extremes - the world's highest waterfall, longest mountain range, driest desert and largest rain forest. Stretching from the steaming Amazon basin to the bone-dry Atacama desert to the glacial peaks of the Andes, South America contains enough beauty and soul-searing diversity to quicken the pulse of the most experienced traveler.

Especially with the famous explorer Jean-Michel Cousteau as your guide, who will be joining us at key points along the way. Come experience the sensuous rhythm of Rio and the beautiful wonders of the Amazon. Discover the Chilean Lake District and trace the vast empire of the Incas in Peru. No matter where you turn, you can't help but feel moved by it all. But then why resist? Especially when you can return at night to the pampered comfort of your cruise ship.

PANAMA CANAL

It has been called "the big ditch," "the bridge between two continents," "the greatest shortcut in the world." When it was finally completed in 1914, the 51-mile waterway shaved  nearly 8,000 miles off the distance between New York and San Francisco and changed the face of the industrialized world. In 1882, the Frenchman Ferdinand de Lesseps with a labor force of 10,000 men set out to blast his way through the jungles of Colombia. The project ended seven years later in disease, bankruptcy and disaster, and it is President Theodore Roosevelt who is largely credited with the completion of the Canal. Still, much of the credit belongs to this masterful visionary who convinced a skeptical world to attempt the impossible.

But while the history of the Panama Canal is fascinating, it is the natural beauty that surprises most of all - an ever-changing panorama of jungle-clad hills, shimmering Lake Gatún, the high-arched span of the Americas Bridge and the intricate workings of the locks and gates, themselves.

ASIA

The lands around the Ring of Fire rise slowly out of the infinite Pacific telling a tale that is as old as the earth itself - of continents colliding to create spectacular mountain ranges, including the Ring of Fire, the continuous volcanic chain that encircles the Pacific. Perhaps a grand cruise across the Pacific filled with some of the most memorable sights on earth - Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula, a land of fire and ice that remains one of the wildest places on earth, the ancient treasures of the Far East, New Zealand and the wonders Down Under and the intoxicating islands of French Polynesia.
Come divine secrets of ancient civilizations and gaze upon scenes of mesmerizing beauty. Geysers gushing across a rugged landscape. The perfect symmetry of a pagoda at sunrise, rising phantom-like over a misty plain. Swirling patterns of a Maori warrior's ritual tattoos. Sampans in mist-shrouded harbors at dawn. Amazing visions. An amazing cruise.

ALASKA

This is what the Earth must have looked like at the dawn of Early Man. More wilderness than can be charted. More wildlife than can be counted: bears, bald eagles, moose, deer, whales, spawning salmon. Its immensity overwhelms. Glaciers advance and retreat forming ridge after ridge of mountain peaks receding into the distance. In spring, swift streams somersault over 1,000-foot precipices in a headlong rush to the sea. Dense, dark green primordial forests stretch as far as the eye can see. Everything seems larger than life. But it's not just the size, it's how you fit into its gigantic proportions that is the soul-searing beauty of an Alaska cruise vacation. With activities and tours that range from the mild to the wild, and everyone succumbs to the wonder. No wonder they say that once you've been to Alaska, you never really come all the way back.