Donna Heiderstadt, a New York-based freelance travel writer and editor, has visited 99 countries (and counting), taken 70-plus cruises and written about her global experiences for the past 25 years.

Other popular destinations include Kawa Kawa River for wildlife cruises, Bukit Bongol for hiking, the Tamu Market for cultural experiences, and Mantanani Island, a paradise for snorkeling and diving.

Fran Golden is an award-winning cruise journalist whose work regularly appears in Bloomberg, Travel + Leisure, Afar and other leading publications and websites. She is the author of numerous cruise ...