Cruising the Caribbean no longer necessarily means a trip to Miami or San Juan.

With growing congestion at the ports and vacationers demanding more variety, the major cruise lines are increasingly experimenting with alternatives.

In the latest move, Carnival says it will offer more Caribbean cruises from Tampa and New Orleans next year.

Two of the line's 12 ships, the Tropicale and Sensation, will set up shop in Tampa. The 1,495-passenger Celebration will head for the Big Easy.

In a similar move earlier this year, Miami giant Royal Caribbean moved one of its 12 ships to Port Canaveral, Fla., and next year the line plans to put its first in Fort Lauderdale.

Another competitor, Norwegian Cruise Line, launched the first Caribbean cruises out of Houston in May.

''Miami is still the hub of cruising. But the port of Miami is reaching capacity,'' says Royal Caribbean spokesman Rich Steck. ''We're all looking for alternatives.''

Miami can handle a maximum six ships at a time, although there's talk of adding room for two more, Steck says. But Carnival alone has four more ships coming in the next three years.

Miami's airport is also congested. For vacationers, the changes will mean more options for getting to cruise departure ports, as well as more variations on Caribbean itineraries.

Carnival spokeswoman Jennifer de la Cruz notes Southerners can save money by driving to Tampa or New Orleans instead of flying to Miami.

As for itineraries, the trip out of Tampa will add a stop in New Orleans to the traditional western Caribbean stopovers of Grand Cayman and Mexico.

However, going against the trend is Cunard, which is moving three of its luxury ships to Miami from Fort Lauderdale starting Nov. 15.

But that's the exception. Experts expect the number of ships sailing from alternative ports to continue to grow.

Royal Caribbean, among other lines, is keeping a close eye on Carnival's Tampa and New Orleans strategy and could follow, Steck says.

''We'll let them use their dollars to do the market testing.''

By Gene Sloan, USA TODAY

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