The sun-kissed sands, the turquoise blue waters, greenery all around, vast areas of virgin land waiting to be explored and a vibrant culture-that is the Caribbean for you. Cruising the Caribbean is such an exciting prospect, for at each turn lies the joy of discovering, the joy of experiencing unsurpassed beauty. When you're cruising the Caribbean, you will be touring the little islands and countries that dot the Caribbean Sea. They cover an area from the southeastern fringes of Mexico to the northwestern part of Venezuela.

Usually the cruises are undertaken in two kinds of packages: one tour that covers the eastern Caribbean and another that covers the southern Caribbean. Generally, the eastern Caribbean packages will have the British and the American Virgin Islands, Bahamas, Puerto Rico, St. Martin and St. Maarten on their tour schedule. The southern Caribbean cruises will cover tropical paradises like Aruba, Antigua, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada and St. Kitts.

The seven-night packages are a popular lot. But if you can, opt for the weekend getaway of three nights, or the longer duration ten-eleven night and even fourteen-night tours. The best aspect of such cruises is that there's one to suit every pocket. You have the very luxurious and very expensive Royal Caribbean cruises. Royal Caribbean International has some of the world's finest luxury liners in its fleet. Their ships, like the Empress of the Seas and Rhapsody of the Seas, are known for their evening entertainment choices.

On the other hand you have the budget tours such as those offered by the online travel agents like Sherman.com and expedia.com. The budget tours may not be exactly rolling in luxury, but they are definitely worth the money, in that they cover the same places as the luxury liners do.

Given the choice of cruises, the choice of destinations and the different budget options available, the Caribbean cruises surely gives one the feeling of "cruise control”.