The fun begins as the 700-foot Queen Emma Pontoon Bridge swings open to let your ship ease into Willemstad’s St. Anna Bay. The bridge may seem tiny from a towering cruise ship, but it’s the world’s largest floating pedestrian bridge and was considered a great engineering feat in 1888. Today, it connects two shopping areas on a waterfront lined with Dutch pastel-colored colonial buildings, credited to an early Dutch governor who banned white buildings because the glare gave him headaches.

Curacao has 38 beaches and more than 100 dive sites with visibility ranging from 60 to 150 feet and water temperatures between 75 and 85 degrees. Throughout the island, you’ll run across Cacti, flamingo clouds, salt flats, and, offshore, a protected coral-reef underwater national park. A drive through Christoffel Park offers views of exotic flowers, 10-foot cacti, and rare animal species. You can also swim with dolphins, mingle with ostriches, and explore the immense Curacao Sea Aquarium, along with windsurfing, sailing, deep-sea fishing, horseback riding, golf, tennis, squash, hiking, and duty-free/tax-free shopping. After sunset, the island’s nightlife is ablaze with casinos, discos, and the fine liqueur that made Curacao famous.

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