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Around the World 2025
  • Jeff Allison

Around the World 2025

Around the world cruise on Oceania Insignia Les mer
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  • Jeff AllisonAround the World 2025Reisende
    Sailing in to Mo'orea
    View of 'Ōpūnohu Bay from our anchoring spot.Coming up on our motu.Sea turtle off the shore as seen from our little catamaran.View of the island as we sail away.1The boys and their grandfather in the GDR.

    Mo'orea

    17. juni, Fransk Polynesia ⋅ ☀️ 81 °F

    The views as we cruised to our anchoring spot at Mo’orea were maybe the most spectacular we’d yet had in French Polynesia, which is saying something. We anchored at the mouth of 'Ōpūnohu Bay with a perfect view of Mount Tohivea. It was the kind of place where it felt like you could sit and stare at the scenery all day.

    But we did have an excursion planned, called a “Motu Picnic Escapade.” We tendered in to the pier and immediately transferred to a small catamaran that would take us out snorkeling and to a motu (small islet). The snorkeling stop was with sharks and rays, so it was pretty similar to things we’d done already, but it was still fun. Then it was on to the motu for the picnic. Along the way we were able to spot some sea turtles swimming.

    There were actually two small islets sitting off the coast of Mo’orea with a narrow channel between them. We snorkeled in the channel, which had a reasonably strong current running through it. That made going up-current some work, but drifting down was easy. The snorkeling was so-so; shallow waters, lots of dead coral, but some living and enough fish to keep it interesting.

    After snorkeling we went back on shore for the picnic. There was not a ton of vegetarian food, but what they had was good and we had enough. There was some time after lunch to do your own thing, which frankly was not really needed. Thomas had fun with a dog who routinely swims over to the motu from the “mainland.”

    Going back to the ship was another beautiful journey. We passed by one of those hotels with rooms built out over the water that had been out of commission since before the pandemic. They had a dolphin still living there and his caretaker had him do some jumps for us as we passed by. I never did get the story on the dolphin as far as why he’s still there.    Les mer

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  • Jeff AllisonAround the World 2025Reisende
    The port at Fakarava.
    Nurse shark swimming in the shallows.Snorkelers at work. The better snorkeling was further out.Thomas and his friend.Looks like Ken is leading his congregation here.Local signpost.A pair of white terns.The coral church.1Interior of the coral church.View along the beach on the sea side of the atoll.

    Fakarava

    18. juni, Fransk Polynesia ⋅ 🌬 81 °F

    Our next stop in French Polynesia was at Fakarava. Unlike the previous islands, which were mountainous remnants of volcanoes, Fakarava is an atoll, where the volcanic cone has completely eroded away. All that is left is the reef surrounding a large lagoon.

    Not a lot of people live on Fakarava and there isn’t much infrastructure. Given this, we had no real plan for the day. We took a tender in around 10:00 and looked around the pier area. To the right looked a little better than to the left, so we went that way. Almost immediately we saw a sign for tourist information, so we went in there. We were assisted by a very nice young man who had a large photograph of the area and helped us figure out where we might want to go.

    We walked down the street a bit and found a shaded grassy area looking out over the lagoon. Looked like a good place to try, so we set our stuff down there. While looking out at the water we saw three different nurse sharks cruise by, which was very cool. Linda, David, Liz, and Thomas headed out to snorkel while DJ, Tom, and myself stayed at camp. Then we would rotate. The snorkeling was decent if you went out far enough. I was lucky enough to see a sea turtle while I was out there.

    A number of other ATW passengers came by and joined us and after a while we had a pretty good beach party going. Some of us walked down to the “coral church,” which was a very pretty Catholic church. Inside it was decorated largely with ornaments made from local materials.

    After the church we made the short walk to the ocean side of the island, which was much rougher and windier than the sheltered lagoon side. And then it was time to tender back to the ship.    Les mer

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  • Jeff AllisonAround the World 2025Reisende
    The view as we climb up from the bay.
    It came down hard for a brief while.Taipivai Valley, where Melville lived for several weeks.This wooden monument was carved into a relief map.Statue in the Taipivai Valley.Crossing a stream.Horses were a common sight on the road.Waterfall across the valley.Sometimes the road got pretty steep.Looking down at the north shore of the island.Huge banyan tree at the archaeological site where we stopped.Our expanded crew marching into the archaeological site.There was a lot of green!You didn't want to get put into this hole. You weren't coming out.Petroglyphs on this turtle-shaped rock. Turtles were venerated by the indigenous people.Thomas, DJ, and our guide Debora provide some scale against the banyan tree.Beautiful beach.This goat picked a pretty nice spot to graze.Entrance to the Catholic church.The altar was a beautiful combination of traditional Catholic and Polynesian influences.

    Nuku Hiva

    20. juni, Fransk Polynesia ⋅ ☀️ 79 °F

    Our final stop in French Polynesia was at Nuku Hiva, an island in the Marquesas group. I hadn’t come up with a plan for this stop, so we hurriedly looked for a tour guide or some form of transport to get us around. We lucked out here: I found a listing on Tripadvisor that just had an email address and sent off a query. Got a response back that the guide was open and could give us a tour around the island for seven people. Great!

    We were on the first tender to the dock. Upon arrival we looked around but did not see our guide…hmm. I didn’t have a phone number, so just replied to the email I had. But a few minutes later a modified pickup truck with benches and a canopy in the back pulled up. This was Debora, our guide. She apologized for being late and we piled in for our tour. Debora has lived her whole life on Nuka Hiva, is married to the former mayor of Taioha'e, the regional capital, and worked with the UN when they were establishing a UNESCO heritage site on the island. She really knew her stuff.

    We rode up and over the central mountain peaks, going through a pretty good tropical downpour on the way. The canopy held up though, and the four of us in back – myself, Tom, Thomas, and DJ – enjoyed the experience greatly. Our first stop was in the Taipivai valley, where Herman Melville lived for several weeks after deserting the ship he was on. This experience became the background for his book Typee. We learned a bit about Melville and also got a few banana hand pies that were delicious.

    The remaining tour consisted of stops at scenic viewpoints and a brief history of the local population. Like so many of the stories of indigenous populations coming into contact with Europeans, it was a sad story. Before the Europeans arrived, there were an estimated 200,000 people living on Nuku Hiva and the surrounding islands. By the early 20th century that number had dropped to 2,000, mainly due to introduced diseases. Much of the local culture, which was passed down verbally, was lost. Some was recorded, ironically by Europeans, and there are efforts underway to preserve that culture as much as possible.

    Leaving Nuku Hiva means an end to the South Pacific portion of our journey and an end to any new stops for us. The reality that the trip is coming to an end is setting in. On the bright side, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji, Samoa, and French Polynesia were all wonderful – strikingly beautiful and welcoming. We’d come back in a heartbeat to any of them, but I think Vanuatu and Fiji wound up tops in our hearts.    Les mer

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  • Jeff AllisonAround the World 2025Reisende
    The crew at dinner in Toscana.
    Thomas and DJ competing during the country fair.Game night.We bought the Lego Endurance at the ATW auction.ATW picture. We had to do this again as some people missed it.Diamond Head as we sail into Honolulu.At the Ala Moana Center.Zebra Doves (an introduced species) on Magic Island.Looking back at the city from Magic Island.Sunset and a surfer.

    Sea days and Honolulu

    25. juni, Forente stater ⋅ ⛅ 79 °F

    After leaving Nuku Hiva and French Polynesia, we had four sea days to get us up to the Hawaiian Islands. These were filled with the usual activities, plus rehearsal for the magic show that Henry is putting on, the Country Fair (we didn’t win anything in the raffle but Tom did), and the crossing the equator ceremony.

    We pulled into Honolulu a little before 3:00 PM on Wednesday, meaning there would be little time for shoreside activities. We’d been told that everyone would need to exit the ship for immigration processes, so we’d planned some activities with friends to kill that time. Turns out that did not happen, and instead we’d all be called by deck to come down to the lounge to clear face-to-face immigration. Instead of announcements being made for each deck, however, it was just a huge cattle call. We had been waiting in our room for the announcement when I saw people leaving the ship. So we went down to find a line extending from the lounge to the boutiques. Fortunately the process was quick and the line didn’t take too long, but this was poorly handled.

    We had some shopping we wanted to do so we went over as a group to the Ala Moana Center. We picked up some essentials and then got a quick bite (which was very good!) in the food court. After that we crossed the street to Magic Island to watch the sunset. It was all very nice for an impromptu Waikiki visit.    Les mer

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  • Jeff AllisonAround the World 2025Reisende
    Park area where we camped out for the day.
    View along the beach.Diamond Head from the jetty.Surfer statue.Loved the banyan trees!Linda and our executive chef Farid watching us depart.Another sunset picture :)

    Honolulu day 2

    26. juni, North Pacific Ocean ⋅ 🌬 79 °F

    Despite having been to Hawaii many times, we’ve never spent much time in Waikiki. So our plan for our day in Honolulu was to have a day at Waikiki Beach. We took an Uber to Kapi Olani Park, which is at the end of the beach near Diamond Head, and set up shop there. From this spot we could get in the water, walk down Kalakaua Avenue to see the shops and eateries, check out the zoo and/or aquarium if we wanted, and just generally see what people do on Waikiki.

    We started off with some swimming. While the beach is obviously a nice sandy beach, the bottom quickly turned rocky where we were. That didn’t stop the boys from having a great time, though. There was just enough wave action to keep it interesting without being exhausting. We got some good vegetarian food from a spot just down the beach and the boys and their grandfather walked down a ways to get some ice cream.

    One interesting bit was when a monk seal swam between the boys and I and the shore. We were no more than six feet from it and he looked huge! Apparently he was looking for a spot to haul out on the beach, but it was far too crowded for his comfort. Surprising to get so close to one, though!

    We made a full day of it, getting back to the ship around 4:30. Sail away was at 6:00, so we ate out on the Terrace to watch Oahu slip away. Next up is Hilo and the Big Island and our final port stop of the trip.    Les mer

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  • Jeff AllisonAround the World 2025Reisende
    Morning rainbow as we cruise into Hilo harbor.
    Steam and smoke rising from Kilauea crater.The rim of the crater looking like the top of a brownie.'Ohi'a lehua tree. Our guide told us a nice mythological story about the tree and its blooms.Another view of the crater. The whole thing collapsed in 2018.Our crew, including Michael and Sarah, walking the trail.Bamboo orchid.

    Hilo

    27. juni, Forente stater ⋅ ⛅ 73 °F

    Our excursion for the stop in Hilo was to Volcanoes National Park. The trip started with the obligatory and totally unnecessary shopping stop, this time at Big Island Confectionary. We did pick up some cookies as a gift for Ken, whose birthday was upcoming. After that it was about 45 minutes up to the park itself.

    We had three stops in the park. The first was at the overlook for the Kilauea crater. The crater had been active, but was in a quiet period while we were there. We saw steam and smoke, but no lava. We then went to the visitor center where we got stamps to put in the boys’ national park passport books. The final stop was at the steam vents. These are openings where collected water hits hot rocks, creating steam. These were interesting, and there was a good trail that we took that gave additional looks at the Kilauea crater.

    We got back to the ship after the Terrace closed, so we had a late lunch at Waves. The last port call of the trip was over and now it was just the road home.    Les mer

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  • Jeff AllisonAround the World 2025Reisende
    The magic show cast.
    Thomas with the "Can Do."Donya with the SS Patrick.DJ at the final Sing Out Loud performance.Our last game night.Valerie and the dance show cast, plus GM Laurance.Many members of our cruise family gathered for the final night farewell party.

    Final Days

    2. juli, North Pacific Ocean ⋅ ☁️ 61 °F

    We had five sea days from Hilo to San Diego, which meant plenty of time for good byes, packing, and other activities. I’ll just touch on the highlights.

    We entered our second ship building competition of the cruise. We built our ship, the “Can Do,” out of discarded aluminum cans, duct tape (obtained from fellow passenger Jeff), a coat hanger, dental floss, and twine (obtained from fellow passenger Angela). The sea trial day came and went without any notice and we thought the event might have just been dropped, but then it got scheduled for the next day. There were only two entrants, ours and Donya’s, which celebrated her late husband Patrick. We were both awarded first place.

    We had a magic show on the first sea day. Fellow passenger Henry is a practicing magician and taught a group of us some tricks. We started out just messing around but then Henry thought maybe we could put on a show. So the eight of us got a slot in the Insignia Lounge for the pre-dinner show. It turned out great! All four members of our family performed and had a wonderful time. The only bummer was that CD Bryn promised to do a video recording of the show and failed to follow through on that. We did get David and Linda to record from their seats, so we do have that record of the performance. I was really proud of the boys for getting up and doing their tricks in front of a live audience.

    The final Sing Out Loud performance was emotional as the group had secretly prepared a song for our ATW hosts Paul and Carolyn. As the show was ending they told everyone to stick around and then sang “Thank You for Being a Friend” from Golden Girls. Even Paul got a bit teary-eyed. Shout out to Devin for being the only performer in both of these shows!

    Finally, on the last sea day, Elizabeth performed in a belly dancing show. Fellow passenger Valerie had been leading classes for months and, like Henry, thought it would be fun to turn the activity into a show. It was terrific! The ladies (and one man!) in the group were originally going to be background dancers, but Valerie wanted them to all have the spotlight for a while so they all got solos. It went very well.

    Overall we tried to squeeze as much out of the final days as we could. It was hard to believe that our grand adventure was coming to an end.    Les mer

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  • Jeff AllisonAround the World 2025Reisende

    Birds!

    2. juli, North Pacific Ocean ⋅ ☁️ 63 °F

    This was not a birding trip, obviously. There weren’t even any birding outings or walks on the trip. But I was always on the lookout for birds. Given that, I wound up with 165 life birds on the trip. For you bird nerds, here’s the list (taxonomic order of course!):

    Lesser Whistling-Duck
    Ruddy Shelduck
    Paradise Shelduck
    Brazilian Teal
    Cape Teal
    Brown Teal
    New Zealand Scaup
    Rusty-margined Guan
    Indian Peafowl
    Picazuro Pigeon
    Malagasy Turtle-Dove
    Oriental Turtle-Dove
    Red Collared-Dove
    Little Cuckoo-Dove
    Asian Emerald Dove
    Zebra Dove
    Crimson-crowned Fruit-Dove
    Nuku Hiva Imperial-Pigeon
    Barking Imperial-Pigeon
    New Zealand Pigeon
    Greater Coucal
    Pied Cuckoo
    Asian Koel
    Shining Bronze-Cuckoo
    White-throated Needletail
    Satin Swiftlet
    African Swift
    Bradfield's Swift
    Pacific Swift
    House Swift
    Glittering-bellied Emerald
    Antillean Crested Hummingbird
    Buff-banded Rail
    Slaty-breasted Wood-Rail
    Gray-headed Swamphen
    Black Crake
    Blue Crane
    Indian Thick-knee
    Pied Avocet
    South Island Oystercatcher
    African Oystercatcher
    Yellow-wattled Lapwing
    Red-wattled Lapwing
    Chestnut-banded Plover
    White-fronted Plover
    Pheasant-tailed Jacana
    Eurasian Curlew
    Spotted Redshank
    Common Greenshank
    Curlew Sandpiper
    Sabine's Gull
    Brown-hooded Gull
    Brown-headed Gull
    Black Noddy
    Damara Tern
    Yellow-billed Tern
    Large-billed Tern
    Black-naped Tern
    Lesser Crested Tern
    Greater Flamingo
    Lesser Flamingo
    Snowy Albatross
    Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross
    Spectacled Petrel
    Fluttering Shearwater
    Asian Openbill
    African Woolly-necked Stork
    Asian Woolly-necked Stork
    Lesser Adjutant
    Milky Stork
    Painted Stork
    Lesser Frigatebird
    Little Cormorant
    Bank Cormorant
    Cape Cormorant
    Japanese Cormorant
    Buff-necked Ibis
    Black-headed Ibis
    Eurasian Spoonbill
    Indian Pond-Heron
    Chinese Pond-Heron
    Eastern Cattle-Egret
    Medium Egret
    Humblot's Heron
    Spot-billed Pelican
    Shikra
    Fiji Goshawk
    Swamp Harrier
    Gray-headed Fish-Eagle
    Spotted Eagle-Owl
    Eurasian Hoopoe
    Crowned Hornbill
    Blue-tailed Bee-eater
    Chestnut-headed Bee-eater
    White-throated Kingfisher
    Pacific Kingfisher
    Channel-billed Toucan
    Philippine Pygmy Woodpecker
    New Zealand Kaka
    Red-crowned Parakeet
    Eastern Rosella
    Monk Parakeet
    White-winged Parakeet
    Golden-capped Parakeet
    Blue-and-yellow Macaw
    Red-and-green Macaw
    Red-shouldered Macaw
    Rifleman
    Pale-legged Hornero
    Masked Water-Tyrant
    Dusky-chested Flycatcher
    Tui
    Dark-brown Honeyeater
    Gray Gerygone
    Polynesian Triller
    Whitehead
    Rufous Whistler
    Fiji Woodswallow
    Southern Boubou
    Philippine Pied-Fantail
    New Zealand Fantail
    Black Drongo
    Malagasy Paradise-Flycatcher
    Azure-winged Magpie
    North Island Saddleback
    Stitchbird
    North Island Robin
    Rufous-naped Lark
    Southern Crag-Martin
    Black Bulbul
    Light-vented Bulbul
    Swinhoe's White-eye
    Orange River White-eye
    Chestnut-hooded Laughingthrush
    Samoan Starling
    Black-collared Starling
    Crested Myna
    Chalk-browed Mockingbird
    Song Thrush
    Chinese Blackbird
    Marico Flycatcher
    Blue Rock-Thrush
    Orange-bellied Flowerpecker
    Southern Double-collared Sunbird
    Seychelles Sunbird
    Bornean Spiderhunter
    Asian Fairy-bluebird
    Red Fody
    Fan-tailed Widowbird
    Madagascar Munia
    Chestnut-breasted Munia
    Southern Gray-headed Sparrow
    Cape Wagtail
    Paddyfield Pipit
    Yellow-throated Longclaw
    Common Chaffinch
    Yellow-fronted Canary
    Oriole Blackbird
    Yellow-hooded Blackbird
    Plumbeous Warbler
    Red-capped Cardinal
    Yellow-billed Cardinal
    Orange-fronted Yellow-Finch
    Saffron Finch
    Barbados Bullfinch    Les mer

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  • Jeff AllisonAround the World 2025Reisende
    Docked in San Diego. Not many places where you can get three aircraft carriers in one shot.
    The goodbye crew bids us farewell.One last shot of our home for six months.

    THE END

    3. juli, Forente stater ⋅ ⛅ 63 °F

    We arrived in San Diego in the pre-dawn hours on July 3rd, 180 days since our departure from Miami on January 5th. It was a funny feeling to look out at a city that we are so familiar with after such a long series of new places.

    We were very sad to leave the ship in the morning. Not only did it mean an end to an incredible adventure, it meant leaving the friends we’d made. At the beginning of the cruise we were told that the ATW passengers would become like family. We scoffed at that a little at the time. But it absolutely came to be true. It took a little longer for us to form these bonds because for the first several months we were not as available as others due to our schooling responsibilities on sea days. As we wrapped up the school year and had more free time during the day, we were able to spend more time with people and get to know them. As we did we realized what an incredible set of folks we were with. So many interesting stories and so many strong, smart, fascinating people! As we debarked in San Diego we walked through a collection of ATW passengers who were staying on until Miami or New York. Dressed in their Oceania bathrobes, they clapped and hugged us as we left. I don’t think there were many dry eyes.

    Our main goal for the trip was to see a bunch of new places and to introduce the boys to them so they could potentially return to those they liked later in life. That happened as we’d hoped. What also happened was that they grew and bloomed in ways we hadn’t anticipated. As the only kids on the ship for the vast majority of the cruise, their interactions were all with adults. That led to a big boost in confidence and them becoming comfortable talking with anyone. I never would have guessed that they would be performing in front of large groups on the ship: Devin from early on with Sing Out Loud, and both of them in the magic show near the end of the cruise.

    I’d like to think this has made them, and us, better people. We live in a fractured society, with people living isolated lives and interacting online only in their echo chambers. The cure for that is not to blacklist those who are not like you, it’s to get to know people better. The better we know each other the more likely we are to care about one another. And this starts with basic social skills, like listening attentively and being nice even when you don’t really want to. I saw the boys doing that and it filled me with pride. Liz and I were talking on the way home and said that after the decision to have kids, taking this trip was the best thing we’ve ever done.    Les mer

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    Reisens slutt
    3. juli 2025
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