South America

Longer at sea, bigger on arrival.

South America turns the cruise calendar upside down. Its season peaks between October and March — the southern summer — which makes it the natural escape when the Mediterranean has shut down for winter. Most itineraries run the Atlantic coast between Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro, or round Cape Horn into the Chilean fjords.

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The ports themselves are a study in contrasts. You might dock in the middle of a working capital, walk off into Montevideo's old town or Buenos Aires' Puerto Madero in minutes, then two days later anchor off Ushuaia with nothing ahead but the Beagle Channel and Antarctica. Distances between calls are long here, so expect more sea days than a Caribbean week.

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Practicalities need a little more planning than Europe. English is less widely spoken outside the tourist trade, cash is still king in many markets, and taxi fares are worth agreeing in advance. Every port page here covers the local currency, the language you'll meet, and how far the terminal sits from anything worth seeing.