Wellness travel has a reputation for being something you do at a remote mountain retreat or a villa tucked away somewhere near the ocean. But what if you rethought what wellness travel actually looked like? You’d find that some of the most restorative experiences you can have don’t happen on land at all.

If you’ve never considered a five-star Caribbean cruise as a wellness retreat, it might be time to redefine your thinking. The combination of sea water and sunshine has restorative powers after all.

There’s something grounding about being on an island; maybe it’s the edges, the sense that the world stops at the water. The best ones don’t just offer beaches; they have character, flaws even, that make them real. Luxury here isn’t flash or loud; it’s thoughtful, lived-in, a bit like being let in on a secret.