One year ago, on July 12, 2024, we disembarked from Oceania’s Insignia after boarding it on December 29, 2023. Our six-month Around The World expedition began in Miami and concluded in New York City.

“It seems like it was just yesterday.”

Superlatives truly don’t do this trip justice; it was an awesome experience of a lifetime. Despite facing some weather challenges and rerouting due to global political unrest, it surpassed any other journey we have done.

• We traveled from Miami down through the Panama Canal,
• Up the west coast of South America to Los Angeles, and then
• Across the ocean to Hawaii.
• We journeyed through French Polynesia to New Zealand and Australia.
• Our route continued up to Asia, India, and the Arabian Peninsula.
• We were rerouted around Africa instead of passing through the Suez Canal due to political disruptions.
• We then made our way through Portugal, Spain, and France to England before
• Crossing to the Azores and finally arriving in New York City.

With so many ports, places, people, and experiences to revel in, I documented the journey through 134 posts and over 2,000 pictures.

We made great new friends among fellow travelers aboard a small cruise ship, which had a capacity of 600 passengers, making the experience even more superb.

Scroll down the page or use the Jump- To’s for a retrospective of the journey.

Jump To

• Favorite Pictures
• Favorite Stories
• Favorite Posts
• Where’d We Go and What’d We See?

Favorite Pictures

Here are a few of my favorites…

Want more Favorite Pictures? Go here!

Favorite Stories

Among the 134 posts, here are my Top 20 Trip Stories (with commentary). Some of the stories were funny, some were educational, some were sad, and some were a time for reflection, but all were eye-opening and enriched the experience.

When	Where	Title
07/02/24	Stonehenge, England	An Explanation
06/19/24	Breaking News: Rescue at Sea
06/16/24	Banjul, The Gambia	2 of 2- A Drive through Town
06/16/24	Banjul, The Gambia	1 of 2- A(nother) Museum, A Monument, A Factory, Critters, A Mosque, and Electricity
05/23/24	Zanzibar, Tanzania	2 of 3- Former Slave Market
05/22/24	Mombase, Kenya	Tsavo East National Park
05/19/24	Victoria, Republic of Seychelles	A Walk in the Park and Local Wildlife
05/04/24	Cochin, India	An Out-of-Business interlude
04/07/24	Hong Kong, China	A Peak, A Beach, and the Final Resting Place of an Icon
03/29/24	Hiroshima, Japan	Peace Memorial
03/17/24	Manila, Philippines	Fort Santiago and a Request
03/17/24	Manila, Philippines	Death of a Hero
03/11/24	Surabaya, Indonesia	Technique Test and Night Moves
02/22/24	Sydney, Australia	Bucket-list Images
02/18/24	Dunedin, New Zealand	Glorious Scenics, but a big challenge
02/13/24	Auckland, New Zealand	Day 2: streetwalk and an experiment
01/22/24	Nawiliwili, Kauai (Hawaii)	A cautionary tale
01/10/24	Puerto Vallarta, Mexico	Puerto Vallarta, Mexico and a commentary
01/07/24	Costa Rica	Amazing…
12/31/23	Port Antonio, Jamaica	A Jamaican adventure…

Favorite Posts

Whittling down the 134 trip posts to the 35 most memorable places…

When	Where	Title
07/02/24	Salisbury, England	Storefronts, Buildings, and Signs, oh my
06/28-29/24	Bordeaux,  France	A day and a half in wine country
06/27/24	Bilbao, Spain	High Point, and Art
06/18/24	Mindelo, Cape Verde	A Walk through the Market
06/09/24	Sao Tome, Sao Tome & Principe	1 of 2- A (small) National Museum in a (small) nation
06/04/24	Luderitz, Namibia	Short Town and Port walk
06/02/24	Cape Town, South Africa	Day 2- Stellenbosch = WINE
05/23/24	Zanzibar, Tanzania	1 of 3- Grocery shopping in Africa
05/12/24	Dubai, UAE	2 of 2- A Magical Evening at the Al Sahara
05/12-23/24	Dubai, UAE	1 of 2– Stroll Amongst The Noveau Riche
05/07-08/24	Mumbai, India	Laundry, Gandhi, and more
04/26/24	Langkawi, Malaysia	Above It All and the Art of Rice
04/22/24	Singapore	A Bridge, a Temple, a Market, a Late Afternoon, and… a Vending Machine
04/12/24	Hue, Vietnam	A Royal Evening
04/10/24	Ha Long, Vietnam	Tuk Tuking
04/03-04/24	Shanghai, China	3 of 3- Nightscenes and Leavin’ Town
03/24-25/24	Tokyo, Japan	A Shrine, a Tower, and an evening departure
03/22/24	Kagoshima, Japan	One with the fishies
03/18/24	Ilocos Province, Philippines	Vigan and back
03/17/24	Manila, Philippines	Out and About… Hotel, Church, and… Eggs
03/09-10/24	Benoa, Indonesia	3 of 3- Benoa Port
03/07/24	Komodo, Indonesia	There be dragons!
03/04/24	Darwin, Australia	All Things Aviation
02/23/24	Sydney, Australia	The Opera House and Goodbye
02/22/24	Sydney Harbor, Australia	An early morning ode to the port
02/15/24	Napier/ Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand	More Wine and a pop quiz
02/14/24	Tauranga, New Zealand	Short walk to a beautiful beach
02/12/24	Waiheke Island, New Zealand	Wine island!
02/11/24	Bay of Islands/ Russell, New Zealand	An island trip
02/04/24	Pago Pago	Roadtrip!
01/31/24	Bora Bora, French Polynesia	Bora Bora, French Polynesia
01/29/24	Rangiroa, French Polynesia	A walk across an island and back
01/07/24	Antigua, Guatemala	Antigua, Guatemala– The Old City & Volcanoes
01/03/24	Panama	The Panama Canal
01/02/24	Cartagena, Columbia	Cartagena, Colombia– City Tour

Where’d We Go and What’d we see?

Index of where we went… with links:

Around the World 2024: Trip Highlights

Pictures of what we saw, sorted into categories:

Explore the Around the World 2024 Categories

July 12, 2025

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