Enjoy a long goodbye to the U.S. as our voyage departs Bayonne, New Jersey, and traces the east coast southwards. After two relaxing days on the ocean, we get in the party spirit with daytime stop in buzzy Fort Lauderdale, gateway to the Caribbean. Now we venture out into the emerald sea on the ultimate island-hopping adventure. We have seven islands in our sights, and the first is the Dominican Republic, where we call in at Samana, a town famous for whale-watching during winter – there's even a museum dedicated to this awesome creature. Next comes San Juan, Puerto Rico, with its seductive mix of deep history and lively nightlife amid old colonial streets. Then chic Gustavia provides an elegant introduction to St. Barths, where the best chefs fly in their produce every day from Paris. Onwards to St John’s, capital of Antigua, an island that boasts beautiful beaches – they say there’s one for every day of the year. More flavors of France await in Pointe-à-Pitre in Guadeloupe with its 19th-century marketplace, the Marché Couvert, modeled on those built at the time in the French capital, and Fort-de-France in Martinique, where you’ll find a statue of Napoleon’s Josephine. Our final stop is Bridgetown, jump-off point for the platinum beaches of Barbados.