Destination: calica

Language: Spanish

Climate: Average 82 Degrees

Currency: Peso

alica, on the shores of the Yucatan Peninsula, offers guests a welcome Mexican twist on the Caribbean cruise experience. The ship arrives in the port of Calica, which frankly, is not the most attractive port, a dusty pier in the middle of a dusty, barren commercial zone. But not to fear: Calica is merely the jumping-off point for your Mayan adventure, with a line of Mexican cabs to take you where you want to go.

Arriving in early evening on your first day in Mexico, you have two choices: take the shore-excursion bus to Cancun ($40), about an hour away, for a few hours in the area's largest, rowdiest tourist center. Or take a cab ($10 for up to four passengers) to smaller Playa del Carmen, just a few minutes away. CruiseHavana suggests the latter option. The trip to Cancun does not allow the proper freedom for a long night of bar hopping.

If spending the evening in Playa del Carmen, CruiseHavana suggests a first stop at The Blue Parrot, and a seat at a beach-side table. Happy hour (two-for-one drinks) lasts long into the night at The Blue Parrot. For post-midnight frolicking, the place to be is Captain Tutix, down the beach, where bar maidens jump atop tables for mesmerizing in-synch salsa, and the music blares into the early morning.

When you arise, after a short respite back on the ship (assuming you're not too bleary-eyed), you'll have a full day ahead in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. For the culturally inclined, take the next excursion bus inland, bouncing your way past small villages where dusty thoroughfares are still home to wandering roosters and hens, along highways overhung on either side by dense jungle growth, until you finally settle to a halt in the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza. Then climb the grey-rock steps to the very top of an ancient pyramid, to the temple at its peak, where to this day the walls remain adorned with Mayan carvings of warriors and jaguars.

Closer still is the equally inspiring Mayan ruins at Tulum, which hug the cliffs of the Caribbean. For the non-culturally inclined, just take a taxi back to Playa del Carmen, where you'll find a beautiful beach, and the seemingly endless Happy Hour already begun.

Incidentally, the name of the Yucatan Peninsula has a curious origin: When the arriving Spaniards asked the native Mayans what the region was called, the Mayans answered "Yucatan" - which in Mayan means "I don't understand."