Introduction
Caribbean Cruises: The islands of the Caribbean are perhaps the quintessential tropical paradise and with good reason. A multitude of islands, each quite different, makes traveling on a Caribbean cruise a delight. The surrounding warm waters teem with coral reefs and marine life. And the relaxed pace of life in the region makes adopting a slower tempo a must.

Broadly speaking there are two major island divisions in the Caribbean. The Greater Antilles include the larger and better-known islands: Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic), Puerto Rico. The Lesser Antilles include many smaller islands: the Virgin Islands, Guadaloupe, Martinique, Barbados and Trinidad, to name just a few. To the north, are the Bahamas, lying partly outside the tropics, but Caribbean nonetheless.

The people and culture of the Caribbean have been shaped almost entirely by colonialism. At one time as many as four European powers held sway over various islands. The influence of Africa is everywhere, in music, in religion, in language. All this gives the islands a flavor quite distinct from the mainland.

Small ship cruises provide an ideal way to see the beautiful islands of the Caribbean. It’s probably the best place in the world for island hopping. Traveling by ship is the complete Caribbean experience of islands and the surrounding sea.
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Natural History
The ecosystems of the Caribbean are not as diverse as their mainland counterparts. Mammals in particular are quite limited. An exception is Trinidad, which was joined to South America as recently as 9,000 years ago and has an abundance of species similar to the mainland.

Like most tropical regions, the Caribbean has its share of reptiles. The rhinoceros iguana, more than three feet long, is found on Hispaniola and sports a black face and red eyes. Despite the fearsome appearance, they pose no threat to humans as they are herbivores.

Snakes are found on most islands, but are generally harmless. One poisonous variety does exist, the fer-de-lance, found on Martinique and St. Lucia. These killers may be up to eight feet in length.

Perhaps the noisiest inhabitants of the islands are the tree frogs. Their webbed feet with suction discs allow them to navigate the trees with ease. Although only an inch long, the tree frogs create a loud nocturnal chorus, particularly in the rainy season.

The animal visitors will most likely spot is the mongoose. The mongoose is not native and was introduced from India by sugar cane plantation owners to control rats. This was a disastrous mistake for the delicate Caribbean ecosystem. Rats, the mongoose’ intended quarry, are nocturnal whereas the mongoose hunts by day. The mongoose switched to hunting lizards, snakes and eating bird eggs. Now they run rampant throughout the islands.

Birds are much more numerous than land animals. Amazon parrots are found in the Caribbean, but are now endangered with only six species remaining.

The scarlet ibis makes its home in the mangrove swamps on Trinidad’s coast. One of the Caribbean’s most magnificent sights is when hundreds of these beautiful birds return to the roost at sundown.

Marine life is abundant in the Caribbean. One of the largest marine inhabitants is the manatee, making its home in quiet lagoons and sheltered seawater. These playful animals are found mostly in Cuba, Hispaniola and Puerto Rico and can weigh up to 1,300 pounds.

Coral reefs surround all the Caribbean islands. The best coral reefs are considered to be those in the Bahamas, Virgin and Cayman Islands. Beautiful reef fish such as the parrotfish, porcupine fish and flying fish inhabit these waters.

The flora of the Caribbean are often dense and luxuriant as might be expected for this humid, tropical region. Because the trade winds blow from the northeast, the windward northeastern sides of the Greater Antilles are where tropical rain forest is mostly found.

In the rain forest, trees are thin but very tall, soaring up to 130 feet to reach sunlight. The jungle canopy is so thick that only 3% of daylight reaches the forest interior. The lack of distinct seasons means that the jungle is flowering year round.

The Caribbean is a geologically active area. Earthquakes, while infrequent, do occur as the Caribbean plate moves against the much larger North American plate.

Volcanoes continue to wreak occasional havoc in the Caribbean. The island of Montserrat has recently been made mostly uninhabitable by the ongoing eruption of the Soufriere volcano, which began in 1995.

For more information on Caribbean natural history, see book selections below.
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History
The Arawaks were the earliest inhabitants of the Caribbean. They migrated from mainland South America, probably around 3,000 BC. The Arawaks were a peaceful, agricultural people. They were followed by the warrior-like Caribs in the first millenium A.D. The Caribs pushed the Arawaks into remote areas of the islands.

Today indigenous peoples are scarce indeed. Some Arawaks survive on Hispaniola and in the Bahamas. Remaining Caribs may be found on Dominica and St. Vincent.

Christopher Columbus’ arrival in the Bahamas in 1492 marked the beginning of the colonial era. Subsequent Columbus expeditions up to 1504 visited the remaining Caribbean islands.

Initially the Spanish used the islands for forts on trade routes to the more lucrative Latin American mainland. The lack of gold meant the Spanish paid little attention to the islands beyond their use as staging posts.

In the 1600s the British, French and Dutch encroached to colonize the islands. 1658 saw Jamaica wrested from the Spanish to become a British colony.

The late 1600s saw the rapid rise of the slave trade in the Caribbean. The numbers of slaves brought to the Caribbean, numbering in the millions, even dwarf the widely documented US slave trade (estimated at less than one million slaves).

Slaves were used to work the sugar plantations, with the largest numbers on Jamaica and Hispaniola. British traders predominated in the slave business, plying a triangular route: from Europe to West Africa with tradeable goods, from West Africa to the Caribbean with slaves, and from the Caribbean back to Europe with sugar and spices.

The early 19th century saw four colonial powers in the Caribbean. The Spanish controlled Cuba, Puerto Rico and eastern Hispaniola. France controlled Martinique and Guadaloupe. The Dutch administered Curacao and Aruba. And the British possessed Jamaica and many of the Lesser Antilles.

The US-Spanish war of 1898 resulted in the Spanish being ejected from the Caribbean. The US took over administration of Cuba, Puerto Rico and the now Dominican Republic.

The 20th century was a time of both hope and disappointment for the Caribbean. Hope for better times with the end of colonialism. Disappointment as civil unrest and poverty persisted stubbornly in many places.

Cuba achieved independence early but the US intervened frequently in the face of unstable governments. The long standing government of Fidel Castro, despite continued US opposition, has presided over a period of quiet, if austere, stability.

Puerto Rico, through US territorial status, has achieved much greater prosperity than its neighbors. An enlightened industrialization programme combined with very low tax levels has allowed Puerto Rico to outpace its neighbors.

Jamaica, independent since 1962, is perhaps the quitessential Caribbean idyll. But recurring political unrest and widespread poverty bedevil the country. The country now recognizes that tourism offers a great economic opportunity.

Haiti has hobbled through the 20th century under brutal dictatorships and the worst poverty in the western hemisphere. Only in the last five years has democracy tenuously taken hold. The Dominican Republic, while still poor, has fared better.

The Lesser Antilles, while politically stable, lack the cohesiveness that might improve their economic lot. Attempts at regional alliances and free trade areas have been unsuccessful.

For more information on Caribbean history, see book selections below.
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Culture
It is in culture that the diversity of the Caribbean is most apparent. The early demise of indigenous peoples meant that Caribbean culture is shaped by a blend of external influences from the colonial era.

Ethnically the region is quite varied. The mingling of the various groups has made racial classification more difficult than perhaps anywhere else in the world. A rough estimate is that the Caribbean is 40% black, 40% white, 18% mulatto and 2% Asian Indian.

Racially, the islands divide mostly along colonial lines. The former British and French colonies are black and mulatto dominated, a legacy of slavery. The former Spanish colonies are predominantly white, with the exception of the Dominican Republic. The Spanish colonies did not develop an early plantation system. Asian Indians comprise 40% of the population of Trinidad.

The official languages of the Caribbean islands are the languages of the former colonial powers. The actual spoken languages are again Caribbean in character, that is, a blend of many influences. On the former British and French islands, the spoken languages have many Africanisms.

English may be the official language of Jamaica, but it is patois that visitors will hear on an everyday basis. Patois is a musical language, full of wit and wisdom, drawing on a multitude of influences from Portuguese to African. Contrast this with the island of St. Barthelemy, where a form of 17th century French is spoken.

Religion plays an important role in Caribbean life. Most residents are adherents to Christianity in some form, but once again distinctive Caribbean variations enter into the picture. Former Spanish and French possessions are Roman Catholic while former British islands profess various forms of Protestantism.

On Haiti, ostensibly Roman Catholic, voodoo or vodou is widely practiced. This religion, often misunderstood, has its origins in West Africa. Indeed voodoo is now enjoying a resurgence in Africa, thanks to returning Haitians. Central to voodoo is the contact between believers and the spirit world in order to receive advice or prophesy.

Jamaica is home to the Rastafarian sect, made famous throughout the world by reggae musician Bob Marley. Rastafarianism gained strength in the context of Jamaica’s stubborn poverty, by giving a voice to poor Jamaicans. While pacifist and apolitical, the group’s countercultural ideas brought them into conflict with the authorities. Although there are many splintered groups within Rastafarianism they are united by belief in an African homeland.

For more information on Caribbean cultures, see book selections below.
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Dos and Don'ts
Caribbean Travel Tips:

Ask permission before photographing people. Some may not wish to be photographed and your respect will be appreciated.

Don’t buy products made from endangered species such as turtle and coral. Doing so places these species in greater danger.

Have some warm clothes on hand for overnight trips into the highlands. While days are warm, temperatures drop quickly at night.

Be gentle when diving or snorkeling in coral reef areas. Living corals are easily damaged by coming in contact with divers and their equipment.

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Weather
The Caribbean is typically tropical: hot and humid year round. Sea breezes and trade winds moderate the effects however. The variability is in precipitation. May to October mark the rainy season in the Caribbean while December to April are generally dry.

While the Caribbean climate is generally agreeable, hurricanes pose a significant threat to the islands. During the Atlantic hurricane season, from June to October, an average of seven hurricanes can be expected in the Caribbean. Some are very destructive, Hurricane Georges in 1998 killed many thousands of people on Hispaniola. Only the southernmost of the Lesser Antilles are free of hurricanes.

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Best Time to Go
December to April
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Temperature Range
62F (16C) – 98F (36C)
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Books
Reef Fish Behavior: Florida Caribbean Bahamas, by Ned Deloach
Natural History
Reef Fish Behavior is a well-written and comprehensive illustration of fish behavior observed by divers and snorkelers.

Snorkeling Guide to Marine Life, by Paul Humann
Field Guide
The most recent of Humann and company’s superb underwater field guides.

Under the Black Flag, The Romance and Reality of Life Among the Pirates, by David Cordingly
History
The Golden Age of piracy is brought to light.

Southeastern & Caribbean Seashores, by Eugene H. Kaplan
Guide Book
From rocky shores to sandy beaches, everything you might want to know about the shore is covered in this beautifully illustrated, authoritative guide to the seashore from Cape Hatteras to the Gulf and Caribbean.

Don't Stop the Carnival, by Herman Wouk
Literature
Herman Wouk's comic masterpiece of life in the Caribbean.

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