The city center is a charming mix of old city walls and a large modern shopping centre. With multiple restaurants, museums, cinemas and theatres there is plenty to be explored. Time spent at embarkation and disembarkation ports may be limited which may restrict availability of shore excursions.

The largest of the Portuguese islands in the Madeiran archipelago, Madeira offers a wealth of sites of historical interest, marvellous fish cuisine and, of course, its own famous Madeira wine. Unusually, Madeira has no sandy beaches, but it does offer the visitors wonderful walks, not only through its towns, but through its mountains and hills.

Watching the Atlantic surf crash down on the rugged east coast of this richly diverse island and, for a moment, you may feel you could be on the Cornish coast but the moment you hear the waves of gospel singing emanating from a tiny local church you realise you could not be anywhere else but Barbados. While, over on the sheltered west coast, the glorious beaches are pure Caribbean. And there are more beaches and a lot more bars, cafés, restaurants and clubs creating a vibrant 24/7 lifestyle on the south coast, too. In the capital and cruise port, Bridgetown, there are intriguing signs of its British colonial past while, across the island, you are really spoilt for choice. You can enjoy every watersport under the sun; stunning nature walks and bike rides; or maybe a trip to the uniquely magnificent Harrisons Cave underground complex of caverns, waterfalls, stalactites and stalagmites.

The largest island in the Dutch Antilles, Curaçao is home to more than 50 nationalities. Willemstad is full of 17th, 18th and 19th century Dutch and Spanish Colonial architecture. The two sides of the city are divided by Santa Anna Bay, a narrow channel flanked by pastel-tinted, gabled houses and spanned by the spectacular swing-aside Queen Emma pontoon bridge. On one side you will find the 18th century Fort Amsterdam and Breederstraat, gateway to Willemstads main shopping and restaurant district where you can buy everything from Delft pottery to Italian silk ties, Japanese electrical goods, Indonesian batik clothing, locally-made black coral jewellery and, of course, the sapphire-blue liqueur to which Curaçao has given its name.

The Panama Canal is an artificial 82 km waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a conduit for maritime trade

Cabo San Lucas, a resort city on the southern tip of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula, is known for its beaches, water-based activities and nightlife. Playa El Médano is Cabo’s main beach, with outdoor restaurants and numerous bars. Past the marina is Land’s End promontory, site of Playa del Amor (Lover’s Beach) and El Arco, a natural archway in the seacliffs.

Cruising under the Golden Gate Bridge into San Francisco is one of the world’s greatest travel experiences for it acts as gateway to a fascinating city set across dozens ofhills overlooking the bay. The hippies are long gone but San Francisco’s scenic beauty, laid-back ambience and more than 3,000 restaurants make it a joy to visit. The famous Fisherman’s Wharf harbourfront restaurant and multi-coloured boats complex, where seals happily sunbathe on its wooden decking, faces out towards the former island prison of Alcatraz which is now a major tourist attraction just like the city’s colourful Chinatown district and upmarket shopping centre in Union Square. And no visit to San Francisco would be complete without a trip on the city’s 130-year-old tram system carrying you up and down the improbably steep streets made famous by that stomach-churning Steve McQueen car chase in the movie Bullitt. From the city, you can also visit the pretty resorts of Sausalito and Monterey.