The action is sizzling in Freeport, the resort centre of Grand Bahama Island. You’ll find plenty of razzle-dazzle entertainment, from a casino to music clubs to barefoot beach bars. But if you’re looking for the Bahamas’ seductive, palm-fringed beaches, gentle turquoise seas and nature at its most vivid, you’ll find that too. On Carnival cruises to Freeport, set sail for idyllic sun-baked days on white sand beaches.

• Soak up the scenery on Xanadu Beach’s powdery crescent of sand
• Explore ancient caves and mangrove forests in Lucayan National Park
• Snorkel the sparkling waters of a coral reef
• Snorkel or dive the island’s fringing coral reef
• Close encounters with dolphins or explore nature trails at Garden of the Groves
• Shop for Bahamian goods in outdoor markets and duty-free goods in international boutiques.
• Shop at the lively Straw Market and colorful Port Lucaya Marketplace

• Freeport was founded in the 1950s as a ‘free port’ offering tax breaks to investors and businesses
• Much of the movie Pirates of the Caribbean: Black Pearl was filmed in and around Freeport.
• Many shallow reefs trace the 60-mile shoreline of Grand Bahama Island. Its name, in fact, comes from the Spanish phrase for ‘great shallows’ (gran bajamer)

This tiny tropical isle has one of the Bahamas’ prettiest beaches and dozens of island activities. Settle in under a coconut palm, dig your toes into the powdery sand, or simply play to your heart’s delight.

• Sail, swim or snorkel the shallow blue-green Atlantic
• Snorkel, kayak or take a glass-bottom-boat ride at Stingray Cove
• Feel the velvety touch of a stingray’s wings in Stingray Cove
• Take a beach horseback ride and enjoy views from the island’s highest point
• Sip a fruity rum punch in a Bahamian open-air bar
• Let the kids loose in the pirate ship at the Aqua Park
• Sip flavorful umbrella drinks at Rumrunner’s beach bar

• Half Moon Cay is one of the Out Islands of the Bahamas, located between Eleuthera and Cat Island
• Half Moon Cay was named ‘Best Private Island’ by Porthole Cruise Magazine for the last four years
• The entire 2,400 acres of Little San Salvador Island is an international bird sanctuary and nature preserve. Only 2 per cent of the island has been developed – and the other 98 per cent is pristine wilderness.

It’s a sunny charmer with quaint architectural remnants of a colonial past, dotted with old windmills, grassy trails and picture-perfect beaches. You can relax beachside at the Grand Turk Cruise Center, or set out on an island exploration, snorkelling the vibrant coral reefs or strolling breezy, bougainvillea-clad Duke Street. Carnival cruises to Grand Turk deliver you to an enchanted island outpost.

• Swim in the sparkling turquoise seas off Governor’s Beach
• Snorkel the fringing coral reef or dive the 7,000-ft vertical wall just minutes offshore
• Swim with stingrays in Gibbs Cay
• Tour historic Cockburn Town and the old salinas (salt pans)
• Shop for duty-free jewellery and local crafts in the colorful Grand Turk Cruise Center
• See historic landmarks, from an 1853 lighthouse to sturdy Bermudan bungalows
• Sip a frosty Turks Head Lager at a beachside bar
• Sample fresh conch, a Caribbean mollusk, after an educational tour of Conch World

• Grand Turk was the site of the 1962 splashdown of John Glenn’s space capsule Friendship 7, and the first landing of Columbus in the new world in 1492
• The Turks & Caicos National Museum showcases the island’s stellar ‘Message in a Bottle’ collection of bottles washed up on these shores during the last 40 years.

The southernmost island of the Florida Keys, Key West is a sunny, fun-loving place with lots of history, plenty of charm, and more than a little touristy goofiness. Stroll through Old Town, home to gingerbread houses wrapped in picket fences.Take in the palm-shaded streets lined with gaily painted bungalows, vintage saloons, and blooming tropical flowers. Take to the sparkling seas on a fishing, diving, or snorkelling cruise, or park yourself on a beat-up barstool in an old-time saloon. In no time, you’ll see why artists and writers have flocked here for generations.

• Stroll amid 19th-century architecture in Key West’s Old Town
• Step inside the breezy homes of Hemingway and Audubon
• Take a tour of President Truman’s vacation home, the Little White House
• Take a ride on a trolley through the colorful streets of Key West
• Charter a fishing boat for prime deep-sea fishing
• Watch the sun melt into the Gulf of Mexico at Mallory Square while jugglers and musicians entertain
• Join the perpetual party in one of the town’s old-time fisherman’s saloons
• Sample fresh seafood and local conch in a dockside raw bar

• 42 bridges connect Key West to the mainland
• In 1985, treasure hunters plucked more than $450 million in gold and artifacts from the Nuestra Señora de Atocha that sailed in 1622.
• You can see the haul at the Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Museum near the docks
• Playwright Tennessee Williams lived in Key West in the 1940s and owned a house at 1431 Duncan Street

The historic and cultural heart of The Bahamas, Nassau is one of the world’s most popular cruise ship ports – one million travellers board cruises to Nassau annually. Carnival cruisers come for fine beaches, shopping, water sports and the fun-filled attractions at the Atlantis Resort, connected to Nassau by a bridge to Paradise Island. Get into a carnival mood by doing do as the locals do – sway to the lilting rhythms of steel-pan bands, savour fresh conch in Arawak Cay, and sip cold Kalik beer to beat the heat. The charms of this tropical isle revolve around sun, sea, and sand. So don’t miss a dip in the turquoise Atlantic or lazing on the curving crescent of Cable Beach.

• Double down at the casino at the Atlantis Resort
• Tour the undersea ‘ruins’ of Atlantis on a tour of Atlantis Resort
• Spend an afternoon swimming and soaking up the sun on Cable Beach
• Stroke dolphins during a Balmoral Island dolphin swim
• Stroll 18th-century colonial streets and climb the sandstone Queen’s Staircase
• Immerse yourself in colonial Nassau on a walking tour of the colorful 18th-century downtown
• Celebrate the colorful festival known as Junkanoo on Nassau streets
• Shop at the lively markets in Nassau’s town centre
• Shop for straw baskets and Junkanoo crafts in outdoor marketplaces

Buckle up for big adventure on the Space Coast when you book a Carnival cruise from Port Canaveral, Florida. Rockets blast off from the kennedy Space Centre, stock cars hug the turns at Daytona International Speedway, and screaming roller coasters zoom through Orlando. Despite all these manmade thrills, your cruise from Port Canaveral departs from a coastline of sugary sand beaches and protected islands for native wildlife.

• See a rocket up close at the Kennedy Space Center
• Stroll along the bustling Cocoa Beach boardwalk before your cruise liner departs
• Ride the intertwining roller coasters of the Dragon Challenge at Universal Orlando
• Get your hands dirty with the pit crew at Daytona International Speedway
• Visit Walt Disney World and Universal Studios
• Take an airboat tour and see alligators up close