Destination: isle of youth

Language: Spanish

Climate: Average 67 Degrees Winter, 81 Degrees Summer

Currency: U.S. Dollar Preferred

hile your stop at the Isle of Youth does not boast the architecture and culture of Havana, it certainly has charms all its own. The ship tenders passengers to pristine Punta Frances, in Cuba's untouched national park.

As you dock, a Cuban band strikes up a tune, playing favorites from the "Buena Vista Social Club" soundtrack, a perfect welcome. When you arrive on the beach, stake out a deck chair for the morning, then wander off on a long, peaceful walk, following the countryside to the east, around the bend.

When you return, relax and enjoy the view on what is truly one of the great beaches of the Caribbean, and one rarely seen by American eyes. Once a pirate refuge, the Isle of Youth is now known for two things: its beaches and its undersea splendors, its coral reefs and sunken wrecks - considered by experts to be one of the most highly rated diving regions of the world.

If you're an undersea buff, the Valtur Prima offers a morning dive, complete with a lobster lunch afterwards, an excursion which comes highly recommended. Incidentally, the island bears its name because the Cuban government sends its youth here to work and study: there are 50,000 students in the island's populated regions.