Five insider tips: Ed's favorite island cruise adventures

ISLAND: MOUNT DESERT ISLAND, BAR HARBOR, MAINE

Sail with: R Family Vacations (RFamilyVacations.com) aboard the Norwegian Cruise Line's Norwegian Dawn (NCL.com)

Rosie's cruise charter company visits this enchanting New England locale next summer. Home of Acadia National Park, this island offers up a wide range of outdoor activities. Soak up the rugged coastline, take in the wilderness, and observe wildlife among the Porcupine Islands from a kayak (CrystalSeas.com).

ISLAND: TOBAGO CAYS, SAINT VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES

Sail with: RSVP (RgVPVacations.com), which has the same parent company as this magazine, aboard Star Clippers' Royal Clipper (StarClippers.com). A postcard-perfect cluster of islets contained within the Grenadines, Tobago Cays are best visited by this elegant and luxuriously appointed vessel. With five masts and 42 sails, the Royal Clipper carries its 220-plus passengers quietly and in grand style. Settle into a settee in the ship's crow's nest and enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime sunset over the Cays.

ISLAND: SAMANA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

Sail with: Atlantis Events (AtlantisEvents.com) aboard Celebrity Cruises (CelebrityCruises.com) Infrequently visited by gay cruises, this remote patch of paradise will reward you with some of the best diving in the Caribbean, a rain forest to explore, and the winter migration of humpback whales.

ISLAND: BORA BORA, TAHITI

Sail with: Princess Cruises (Princess.com) Recalling the Hawaii of yesteryear, Bora Bora is sumptuously inviting-elegant in its pared-down desert island beauty. Luxuriate, rejuvenate, repeat. Much to the surprise of many visitors, Tahiti boasts a strong presence of male-to-female cross-dressers (called rae rae in Tahitian culture) who live their lives quite openly.

ISLAND: GOTLAND, SWEDEN

Sail with: Silversea Cruises (Silversea.com) Located about 70 miles off Sweden's eastern coast in the strategically crucial Baltic Sea, Gotland has been at the crossroads of Western civilization since the beginning. Walk around the walled, cobbled, and incredibly well-preserved medieval port town of Visby (the island's capital and largest city), then tackle the countryside by bike.

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