The Bahamas contain 700 islands covering 150,000 square miles of tropical sea with approximately 5,000 square miles of land. The islands have flat coral formations and some low rounded hills.

Each island of The Bahamas has a unique personality. The cosmopolitan Nassau city has duty free shops, golf, museums and restaurants. There are bright, white sand beaches on the island.

If you love sea diving, the coast of San Salvador offers challenging and exciting adventure. The Inagua National Park offers the spectacle of nesting flamingos and other exotic wildlife. The Exumas offers a 100-mile-long cruise along a string of pristine cays.

The main cruising islands in The Bahamas are: The Abacos Islands, Bimini and the Gulf Stream Islands, the Berry Islands, the Exuma Cays chain, Harbour Island, Eleuthera and Cat Island, the Out-Islands, Grand Bahama, Freeport and Port Lucaya, Nassau and Paradise Island.

With more than 40 islands and cays, the Virgin Islands in the Caribbean archipelago are ideal cruising ground, particularly for the honeymooners. They are ideal for yachting and water sports as well.

To 60 miles east of Puerto Rico, the British Virgin Islands comprise of rugged mountain peaks silhouetted against

Six stars is the highest rating. These cruise lines have everything of the finest possible quality. Interiors are lavish and made of high quality wood, leather, fabric. The crockery used is expensive. Food served is exotic and tasteful. The cabins are very large. The staff is quite large and they try to provide personal attention to all passengers. These are meant for very high income groups. The atmosphere is quiet and social with few activities and few passengers. 5 Star cruise lines are also of very good quality. They have more activities as compared to 6 stars. These are more suitable for upper middle class. 4 star cruises are quite affordable with good quality service and food. These are more suitable for family vacations and first timers. 3 star cruises are very popular and find customers coming back again and again. These are full of activity and good for any age group and budget. They exist in large numbers and cover many locations. 2 and 1 star cruises are very pocket friendly but lack the spic and span glamour of new ones. Services are not bad and provide a good experience of cruising at a very reasonable price.

The Viking ships basically fall in three categories, large transport vessels (Knarr), Longships, for military use, and small coastal sailing and exploration vessels (Karv). Although as often depicted, all Viking ships did not carry the ?dragonhead? or ?serpent? figures. They were used mainly on warships or ships owned by high-ranked people. The Knarr were known for their maneuverability and loading capacity. The other designs included Byrdling, Skute and Ferje. The longships also had a number of variations, the Busse, the Skeide, the Snekke, the Sud, and Drakkar. The Busse were reportedly large capacity Viking ships with cargo capability, such as the “Ormen Lange” of King Olav Tryggvason, and they could have as many as 35 pair of oars. The Skeide was a Busse variation with smaller size and capacity. The Snekke were the most common ships, used by
Canute the Great, and William the Conqueror, renowned for their speed and durability. The Suds evolved near the end of the Viking era and are said to be the biggest Longships. The Drakkar are the most easily recognizable Viking ships due to their distinct dragon or serpent design that symbolized the superior rank of the commanding warrior.

The basic

It is always good to gather some general information about a proposed vacation destination. Cruise liners offer their best rates during the months of January, May, September, October, November and first two weeks of December. If you want a smooth sailing experience, then June is the month to plan your vacation in as the Caribbean sees the smoothest seas in June. February is the month for the roughest seas and is best avoided. The general forecast for the Caribbean is that the most likely time for hurricanes is in the month of September.

All inclusive Caribbean cruises are a wonderful way to unwind and relax. All inclusive is a concept that refers to all the expenses of the vacation paid in a lump sum usually upfront. Once this is done one can just sit back and relax, without having to worry about paying for each and every thing.

Your all inclusive Caribbean cruises could be a Western Caribbean cruise starting from Ft. Lauderdale, Miami, Tampa, or Port Canaveral and going on to New Orleans or Galveston, and sometimes Baltimore and Charleston. Typical ports of call on this route are Jamaica, Cayman Islands, Cozumel, Costa Maya, Cancun