6 Day Western Caribbean Cruise From Tampa

Do you like fish? Not necessarily to eat. Just to look at. Because if you do, you’re going to love Cozumel, Mexico,where sheltered coral reefs make this one of the best snorkeling areas in the world. Abundant and colorful marine life turn the sea into a visual fantasy.

Of course, you might even love it if all you like are beautiful secluded beaches, great shopping, and authentic Mexican cuisine. That’s the deal with Cozumel; there’s a lot to like.

Its beauty is deep. Not skin deep; we’re talking underwater. For however gorgeous the land-based sites are on this largest of the Cayman Islands, it is snorkeling, diving and glass-bottom boat and submarine rides that provide the most breathtaking natural attractions.

Grand Cayman is one of a group of three islands named “Las Tortugas” by Columbus, because he found them populated by turtles, or “tortugas.” Today, the national symbol is a peg-legged pirate turtle.

A friendly people, Caymanians have traditionally counted on the sea for their livelihood. Since the islanders’ identity was gleaned from the sea rather than from the land, the Caymans’ human history took a different turn from that in other Caribbean islands. Most of the early citizens were seafarers from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Blacks later migrated to the island from Jamaica in search of better paying jobs and a higher standard of living. The Caymans never suffered from the indignities of plantation slavery, so racial tolerance developed more easily, further reinforced by interracial marriage. This mixing process plus the continuing immigration of British and American people result in a culture that is Caribbean yet recognizably Western.

Key West, (wèst) city (1990 pop. 24,832), seat of Monroe co., S Fla., on an island at the SW end of the Florida Keys, c.150 mi (240 km) from Miami, 90 mi (145 km) from Cuba. It is the southernmost city of the continental U.S., a resort and artists’ colony and fishing center. Winslow Homer painted there; Ernest Hemingway, whose home is a museum,
wrote there.

Montego Bay, (mòn-tê´go) city (1991 pop. 83,446), NW Jamaica. A port, railroad terminus, and commercial center, it is one of the most popular resorts in the Caribbean. There is an active trade in sugar, bananas, coffee, and rum and some light industries.

Jamaica’s north-western node is the thriving port city of MoBay. This is resort Jamaica at its purest and most puerile, where a crowded touristy mishmash of one-way streets full of honking cars and pedestrians almost obscures the scintillating beaches, the golf courses, the historic houses and the mountain-village life going on behind the narrow coastal strip. Despite MoBay’s reputation as a hustlers’ city, there are attractions which make it worth being asked ‘Hey, Jake! Smoke? Coke?’ every few steps. Many admirable Georgian stone buildings and timber houses still stand downtown, and there is an excellent variety of arts and crafts. Every kind of water sport is offered, although most of the good beaches are the private domains of resort hotels. Those seeking a budget holiday with a lively nightlife and shops and markets packed with bargains will be right at home, as will those seeking to spend a week idly sunning at an all-inclusive upmarket resort. However, if you’re interested in Jamaica beyond the tourist ideal of ‘Caribbean-ness,’ you’ll find little in Montego Bay.

Tampa, (tàm´pe) city (1990 pop. 280,015; met. area 2,067,959), seat of Hillsborough co., W Fla., a port on Tampa Bay; inc. 1855. A highly industrialized city, it is the center of a metropolitan area that includes Clearwater and St. Petersburg. It is a resort and processing and shipping hub for the area’s products, particularly phosphates. It has a shrimp fleet, breweries, and a famous cigar industry, centered in its colorful Ybor City section. Nearby Busch Gardens, a theme park
with an African zoo and tropical gardens, is a well-known tourist attraction. The Spanish explored the area in 1528, but European settlement began only in 1823. Tampa was an important military base in the Spanish-American War.