Caribbean

The Caribbean stretches from the Bahamas down to the South American coast, and no two islands play the same tune. Barbados is polished and British-tinged, St Lucia is all volcanic drama, Grenada smells of nutmeg, and Aruba barely sees a drop of rain. For UAE travellers it pairs naturally with a cruise: unpack once and let the ship do the island-hopping.

The classic season runs December to April — dry, warm and reliably calm — which lines up neatly with the UAE winter and the festive break. Fly via London, Paris or the US East Coast; most sailings leave from Miami, Fort Lauderdale, San Juan or Barbados.