Few American cruise destinations have a past as engrained in popular culture as Salem. Settled by European fishermen in 1626 and named for the Hebrew word for peace – “shalom” – the seaport in 1692 was anything but peaceful. Multiple attractions harken back to the days of the witch trials, including the Witch House and the Trials Memorial. The Maritime National Historic Site comprises the Custom House, the enduring wharves and buildings along Derby Street and the Friendship of Salem, a replica of the East Indiaman tall ship launched in 1797.

Your yacht docks in Warnemünde, a charming resort town with a popular beach, a pretty promenade and gabled fishermen’s houses. Nearby Rostock enchants with its university established in 1419, St. Mary’s Church with its famous astronomical clock, the 13th-century Town Hall and the quaint Old Town. You might also travel inland to the quintessential fairy-tale castle of Schwerin Palace.

Rugged mountains, rainforest, black sand beaches and natural wonders: this is Dominica, the Nature Island. Volcanoes forged the striking interior of high peaks, deep gorges, rivers and waterfalls. Geothermal forces are still at work, from roiling the waters of Boiling Lake to blowing bubbles at Champagne Reef. The dramatic underwater topography of boulders, plunging stone walls and ancient craters is filled with colorful tropical fish, making for great diving and snorkeling as well as whale watching.

Picturesque half-timbered houses and cobblestone streets, Denmark’s highest waterfall and third largest forest, historic round churches, castle ruins and photo ops everywhere you go – welcome to Bornholm, a Danish treasure that lies closer to Sweden than Denmark. With the island’s comparatively mild climate, beaches are the main attraction for the hardy Swedes, but visitors from everywhere are enchanted by medieval Rønne and the unique round churches that were used as fortresses as well as places of worship during the Middle Ages.

An amazing amalgam of sights and sounds, Rome is a kinetic tapestry stimulating every sense. The ring of church bells and honks of early morning traffic echo off the weathered stone of ancient buildings. Office workers dash past fruit stands and sidewalk cafés in the shadows of elegant palace façades. Meanwhile, tourists make their way from piazza to piazza, monument to monument, church to church: the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, the Vatican Museums, St. Peter’s Basilica.