• Kadi Kaljuste
  • Brad Ciccarelli
  • Kadi Kaljuste
  • Brad Ciccarelli

Around the World in 180 Days

January 14 to July 13, 2023 from San Francisco to San Francisco aboard Oceania Insignia Læs mere
  • Start på rejsen
    14. januar 2023
  • Boarding Oceania Insignia

    15. januar 2023 ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    Boarding was a breeze. As we entered the ship, we were directed to a special reception for the Around the World passengers. A lovely way to start our journey. Then, off to our cabin,, our home for the next six months!Læs mere

  • At sea day

    16. januar 2023, North Pacific Ocean ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    “At sea” days on Oceania can be as busy or quiet as you want. There are countless activities from lectures to fitness classes to trivia challenges. Both Brad and I like to get in some exercise so he walked laps on the deck track in the early morning and then went to the gym and sauna in the afternoon. I did a morning pilates class and walked on the treadmill in the afternoon.

    Early evening there was the Captain’s Cocktail party and then we had dinner with our friends Geraldine and Thomas in the Toscana restaurant. We could have gone to a show after dinner but decided we were too tired and called it a night.
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  • Ensenada, Mexico: margarita birthplace

    17. januar 2023, Mexico ⋅ 🌧 12 °C

    Arrived in Ensenada this morning and headed off the ship after breakfast to explore on our own. It’s not a big town but quaint. Its claim to fame is that a cantina here apparently created the margarita. Of course, we had to find it and have one😉

    As we walked, met two lovely couples also on the ATW, one from Minnesota and the other from North Carolina. Great company for having our margaritas.
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  • At sea

    18. januar 2023, North Pacific Ocean ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    It’s getting warmer out as we head to our next Mexican port so walking the track on deck is becoming more pleasant. We have another sea day tomorrow and hope to be able to have breakfast on the terrace of the Terrace Grill and spend time on our balcony🤞🏻Læs mere

  • Another day at sea

    19. januar 2023, North Pacific Ocean ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    Another day at sea as we head south and it was warm enough to have our breakfast and lunch on the terrace. Yay! Fun to have a brown booby come along with us for a while this morning.

    We quite enjoy walking on the deck track and I enjoy the fitness classes. We’re fortunate to have our friends Geraldine and Thomas on board who we met on our eventful trip on Marina in 2020. They also like to walk the track.Læs mere

  • Manzanillo, Mexico

    20. januar 2023, Mexico ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    Manzanillo is the biggest port in Mexico and is known as the ‘Sailfish Capital of the World,’ there’s a sculpture of a giant sailfish on the waterfront to make that point. It’s a smallish city of about 150,000.

    We didn’t have a formal excursion booked today so we went “free styling “ with our friends Geraldine and Thomas and our new Austrian friends Helmut and Renate. Of course, we had to walk over to the sculpture. We then strolled the streets and visited a farmers market, saw a woman with a parrot perched on her shoulder, watched tortilla-making, sat on a patio for a cold drink, and saw two “bad boys” get arrested. A full afternoon.
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  • Zihuatanejo, Mexico

    21. januar 2023, North Pacific Ocean ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    Insignia tendered in Zihuatanejo. Zihuatanejo and Ixtapa are sister cities. We didn’t venture to Ixtapa which is about four miles away because it’s primary a beach area with resorts built by the Mexican government in the ‘70s. We’d read that Zihuatanejo is more interesting. We found it quite charming with a lovely waterfrontLæs mere

  • Acapulco, Mexico

    22. januar 2023, Mexico ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    We took an Oceania excursion today since we’ve never been to Acapulco before. First up: cliff divers, the youngest of whom was 12. The more experienced the diver, the higher they climb. Quite unbelievable watching them climb the face of the cliffs, finding a perch and then watching for the current so that they time the dive for sufficiently deep water. Definitely the highlight of the day.

    We also visited a fort, a park, a cross/chapel high above the bay with spectacular views and a hotel that was once owned by Johnny Weissmuller and John Wayne.

    Our impression of Acapulco is that it’s tired and past it’s prime, no longer a favourite with the Hollywood crowd it attracted in its hay day in the ‘50s and ‘60s. It’s banking on its past glory.
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  • At sea day and no Peru😢

    23. januar 2023, North Pacific Ocean ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Quiet day at sea. Biggest development was the announcement today that we will not be visiting Peru due to the unrest there right now. Good call and not surprising but hugely disappointing. This is our second time trying to visit Peru - in March of 2020 we were onboard Marina when Peru closed its ports to us due to Covid.Læs mere

  • Puerto Chiapas and Tapachula

    24. januar 2023, North Pacific Ocean ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    Our last port in Mexico was Puerto Chiapas. Not much to see here so we shuttled to Tapachula, a city of about 350,000 that’s close to the Guatemalan border. It was a scorcher so we planned our visit for the morning. The shuttle dropped us off at the city square which was bustling. We visited the church, the museum, the market and then explored the nearby streets.

    Had a relaxing afternoon on board including afternoon tea.
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  • Puerto Quetzal and Antigua, Guatemala

    25. januar 2023, Guatemala ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Our first time in Guatemala so we took an excursion to Antigua, a colonial city and UNESCO World Heritage Site. It took about 90 minutes to get there but was well worth it. The drive was quite scenic past farms growing everything from sugarcane to bananas to coffee, all as we climbed into the highlands.

    Antigua is at about 1,500 metres elevation and has a population of about 50,000. It was founded in 1543 and is considered a model of city planning using the grid system.

    We loved it.
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  • San Salvador, El Salvador

    26. januar 2023, North Pacific Ocean ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    Early start from the port in Acajutla for an excursion to San Salvador which is said to be 90 minutes from the port. It took more like two hours to get there because of heavy traffic so we were on a tight schedule. We visited the historic area downtown which was colonial and in the process of being restored.

    Tourism is relatively new to El Salvador given its past - civil war and gang crime. Its first cruise ship docked only seven years ago; ours was the seventh to visit just in January. The government is investing resources to build the sector as well as to make tourists feel safe and looked after.

    And boy did they! Once we arrived at the city square, Brad noticed there was a police officer with our group at every turn. And a large police presence in general. That said, we didn’t find it scary and went off to the local market in our free time.

    We learned about the most significant event in El Salvador’s recent history - the assassination of El Salvador’s Archbishop on March 24, 1980. It’s reported that a car stopped outside the church, a lone gunman stepped out, aimed down the aisle and shot him as he was saying mass. He had been critical of the government and his assassination had been ordered by the president. The public outcry and outrage over this assassination led to 12 years of civil war. His crypt is in the church where he was shot and died.

    The country is recovering and rebuilding and we sensed an energy and optimism in the streets.

    As I mentioned, traffic was terrible and it was clear we’d be late to the port for the on board deadline time. We weren’t concerned because we were on an Oceania excursion so the ship wouldn’t leave without us🤣 What we didn’t expect, is an actual sirens-blaring police escort all the way back to the dock! It was like out of a movie. What was particularly hilarious, is that our guide said the locals would assume this was a prisoner transfer. Typically, when buses have a police escort, that’s what’s going on – a transfer of the most dangerous criminals in the country.

    A memorable visit on many levels.
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  • At sea day

    28. januar 2023, North Pacific Ocean ⋅ 🌧 25 °C

    Leisurely day: reading on our balcony and walking on the deck track and gym treadmill. The Oceania Club cocktail party was this evening and we went with our new friends Clark and Madeline from Kelowna, B.C. They’re also on the Around the World so we’ll have many more evenings together.

    We cross the equator around midnight tonight. We’ll be in Ecuador tomorrow.
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  • Manta and Montecristi, Ecuador

    29. januar 2023, Ecuador ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    Arrived at the port in Manta - tuna capital of the world - this morning and headed out to explore the area after breakfast. Not really scenic but once we reached the beach area it was more interesting. It was quite hot so we headed back to the ship before noon and had lunch.

    We’d booked an excursion for the afternoon: to travel by chiva, an Ecuadorian bus, to Montecristi, where the Panama hat originated. People mistakenly believe the hats originated in Panama. UNESCO has added weaving the hats to the “List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity” since there are few weavers remaining.

    We were in Ecuador in 2016 and Brad bought a Panama hat then in Quito but it got destroyed a few years ago when he put it in the overhead bin on a flight 😫. Brad’s a hat guy so he was excited to be able to replace it. Which he did. It’s in a special box so it’ll make it home safely.
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  • Food porn: dinner at Toscana

    30. januar 2023, South Pacific Ocean ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

    Oceania is known for its food; its executive culinary director is Jacques Pepin. There are a number of restaurants on board Insignia including two specialty restaurants: Polo Grill and Toscana. They’re the only restaurants for which you need a reservation. We had dinner at Toscana, the Italian specialty restaurant tonight and it never disappoints.Læs mere

  • Guayaquil, Ecuador

    30. januar 2023, Ecuador

    We have two days in Guayaquil to replace our Peru ports. We’ve never been here before but fortunately we have a friend in Toronto from here who gave us a list of places to see. Armed with the list, we took a taxi from the port and headed to Santa Ana Port, the start of the waterfront paths, parks, amusement rides, restaurants and public art. Incredibly beautiful. It’s about 2.5 kilometres and it was hot and humid so we took our time.

    We then ventured toward the city centre to squares and and parks and to find a spot for lunch. The first we went into had no free tables. The second did. We sat down and saw phots of dishes on the wall and decided to go with the “pollo” or chicken. The man at the cash came over and I pointed and said two please with Coke Light. He seemed frazzled and was trying to explain something but my one beginner Spanish class from school was of little help.

    About five minutes later, another customer, a young Ecuadorian man, came to our table and explained in English that the items pictured on the wall are only available at dinner. The lunch menu is on a blackboard on the sidewalk. 😲 He then kindly accompanied me to the sidewalk and helped translate the menu. We ordered again and the owner smiled, nodded and gave us two thumbs up. We enjoyed our lunch…the bill was $6.50 US!?!
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  • Guayaquil day two

    1. februar 2023, South Pacific Ocean ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    It was overcast and drizzly today but still warm and humid. We decided to shuttle into the city and walk around a bit and then ride the cable car that’s part of the city’s transit system and get an aerial perspective. As a “senior” my fare was 35 cents US and Brad’s was the regular adult fare of $1.70 US. What a deal!

    Back on board by the afternoon in time to have afternoon tea and sailed away at 5 p.m. Bye, Ecuador!

    We’re now at sea for a couple of days.
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  • Sea day…Food porn: brunch extraordinaire

    1. februar 2023, South Pacific Ocean ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    Oceania is known for its food and today’s brunch demonstrates why that reputation is well deserved. Everything looked beautiful and tasted even better.