The pirates of the Caribbean knew where to hang out in the countless islands and cays that dot these tropical waters between the Bahamas and the northern coast of South America.

And so do today's cruise lines, with itineraries to allow landlubbers to discover some of the cutest little coves, the best beaches and prettiest ports this alluring, warm body of water has to offer.

No treasure of the swashbuckling buccaneers of yore can compare with the richness of the West Indies and its value to the cruise-line industry.

I chose a 14-day cruise with Holland America (HAL) out of Tampa because it offered the most ports of call with the fewest full days at sea.

The itinerary took us from Tampa to HAL's privately leased isle of Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas, and then to San Juan (Puerto Rico), St. Thomas (U.S. Virgin Islands), Antigua, St. Lucia, Curaao, Aruba, the Cayman Islands and back to Tampa.

It would cost you and arm and a leg, like it did some of the pirates, to visit all these archipelagos on your own, but cruising gives you an overall taste of what the following islands and ports of call have to offer so you can come back on your own and stay longer in your favourite tropical hideaway.

Half Moon Cay, Bahamas

This crescent-shaped island is our captain's favourite place to visit, and I can see why. As our tenders ferrying passengers came closer to shore, the water changed colour from a steely dark blue to turquoise. And the cream-coloured beach extended along the shore as far as the eye could see.

Named after British explorer Henry Hudson's ship, Half Moon, the cay has no permanent residents, but locals from the other Bahamian islands come on shore to assist in catering to the tourists.

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Islands in the sun beckon