By Donald G. Davis, Jr.
Why would two rather ordinary people nearing 80 years of age take a six-month Around the World (ATW) cruise of 47,000 nautical miles, visiting 90 different ports? What could possibly motivate them to do such a thing? To spare your curiosity, the best thing about this cruise was sharing life for six whole months with Anita, my dear sweetie from Grand Junction CO!
Why did we go?
At first it was a kind of dare, like “What kind of people ever do this kind of thing?” Then it was: “Could we ever do this?” Then it was a matter of finances and timing. (The trip for each of us cost about same as a full-size, fully equipped pickup truck.) Anita had been on a couple of shorter cruises, one of which she shared with me. We discovered that were excellent travelling companions. Priorities also were important and who knew what condition we’d be in as years roll on. This was not on either of our “bucket lists,” but the idea grew on us over two years or so.
What was the ship like?
The Insignia of Oceania Cruises is one of the smaller ocean-going ships, with 680 or so guests and 400 crew members. (This puts it way smaller than ships with 5-6,000 passengers with many families with children.) It was built in France in1998 and refurbished in 2014. The smaller size enabled the ship to dock or anchor at places inaccessible to larger vessels. It also fostered camaraderie among guests and staff.
It has the expected standard features, such as a fitness center, good library, complete spa, swimming pool, two specialty restaurants and a buffet, a Grand Dining Room, three bars, an observation lounge forward, jewelry and clothing boutiques, and a casino—as well as a large assembly or gathering place for entertainment, lectures, church services, etc. In addition to the usual show band, singers and dancers, we thoroughly enjoyed the classically trained string quartet that played every evening several times.
The food, of course, was extraordinary—even though in six months, one grew familiar with the menus. We learned that in half a year we did not need to eat like one does on a ten-day cruise.
What route did you take?
The cruise started for us in Miami on 14th January with stops in Havana (Cuba) and Cartagena (Columbia) before passing through the Panama Canal and up the western coast of Central America to Los Angeles. From there we crossed the Pacific to Hawaii, French Polynesia, American Samoa, Fiji and on to New Zealand and Australia. Then north through Indonesian islands to the Philippines, Taiwan, and Japanese islands, before Japan itself. Then, southward along the east coast of Asia (China, Hong Kong, Viet Nam, Thailand) to Singapore. Then up the west coast (Malaysia, Thailand again) to Myanmar and over to the west coast of India (Cochin, Mangalore, Goa, Mumbai) and over to the United Arab Emirates and on to Egypt, the Suez Canal, and Haifa (Israel). From there to Cyprus and Greek islands to Athens, the west coast of Italy, Monaco, and around Spain, through the Strait of Gibraltar to the west coast, Portugal, the north coast to Bordeaux. Next was Southampton and Liverpool in Britain and Belfast, Dublin, and Cork in Ireland. Crossing the north Atlantic, we visited St. Johns, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, New York City, and Bermuda before returning to Miami on 11th July.
The weather was good with only two or three days of rock & roll seas. Temperatures varied a great deal from the tropics to beyond—Darwin, Bangkok, Dubai, Egypt—very hot, New Zealand, Japan, Britain, Ireland—quite cool. Some of the guests did snorkeling and scuba diving and found the Pacific islands and the Great Barrier Reef good places for that.
What was a typical day like—at sea and in port?
The six months were divided into 73 days at sea and 107 days in port—or a 40-60 divide. The “at sea” days obviously clustered around crossing oceans and seas. There were other times on shore/in port that occurred seemingly many days in a row. Generally, there was a reasonable mix to allow for anticipation and for recouping.
On the at sea days, we could have a leisurely breakfast and relax with reading, hearing good lectures on the history or wildlife of the regions we were headed for and the influence of relevant persons and events. Other presentations prepared us for what we would experience in the coming ports. Lots of activities were available—needlepoint, jewelry making, bingo, shuffleboard, put-put golf, Mensa-style group competitions, etc.
Besides getting to leisurely read 14 books that I would likely have never gotten to, I took beginning Bridge lessons and Anita and I practiced ballroom dancing (waltz).
On the in-port days we generally had to get up early to be ready for a coach tour excursion that would leave just after 8:00 a.m. and last for four hours or a full seven or eight hours. Some tours were mostly by bus with a few stop offs for photos and brief visits. Others entailed a great deal of walking, climbing up and down steps. Some included lunch or a snack, others did not.
A number of overnight excursions were offered to guests up for the challenge—Ayers Rock in Australia, the Great Wall of China, Angkor Wat in Cambodia, the Taj Mahal in India, Petra in Jordan, and Egyptian sites. We elected local tours for health reasons.
What ports did you want to see most? Most and least favorite places
I’d only been before to about a quarter of the ports of call, so there were a lot of new sights for me. I most wanted to see French Polynesia and the South Pacific, Japan, the Gulf States, the Greek islands, and Portugal. But I found the island of Rhodes, Sorrento and the Amalfi coast, and Lisbon particularly fascinating. Ireland and Wales had its own unique appeal, as always. Kagoshima in Japan, Historic Lisbon, Oporto, and La Coruna (way to Santiago de Compostela) were especially attractive to me, as was St. George, Bermuda.
That said, I always tried to picture myself as making this place my home. And here, the weather was a factor, for sure. It seems little wonder, I suppose, that Americans of European ancestry prefer cooler, dryer climates for an average temperature. If my favorite place was Oporto in Portugal, then my least favorite place was Salalah in Oman.
The fact that both Anita and I had been offered positions separately in Wellington, New Zealand thirty years ago made us wonder why we did not consider them more seriously.
A hearty thanks goes to Anita for taking and selecting photos all along the way to place on her Facebook page: Anita Tureck Pisciotte. The visual record is there for all to see. Thanks, too, to Eddie Collins who forwarded messages to groups at home.
Where would you like to return?
I would like to return to Oporto or northwestern Portugal and Spain, to Kinsale, Ireland, and to St., George, Bermuda. There are surely other places to further explore at cooler times of the year.
Were there any dangerous moments?
A security detail of maybe half-dozen very muscular men (ex-Navy Seals?) were on the ship from Mumbai in India to Haifa in Israel. (The women noticed them first, for some reason). We also had lights out at dusk from India to Egypt to not attract pirates, a pirate drill and there was an armed guard on our long tour bus from and back to Safaga in Egypt when we did a day tour to see the Valley of the Kings and the temple at Luxor.
En route we averted or were just a head of the volcano in Hawaii, an earthquake in Indonesia, a hurricane in the Bay of Bengal, the attack on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, and the bombing in Cairo. In short, we stayed ahead of potential dangers.
What were the guests like?
A little over half of the 680 guests were on the ATW cruise. Others came on for a segment or two–Los Angeles, Papeete (Tahiti), Sydney, Tokyo, Singapore, Dubai, Rome, London. The former, with some notable exceptions, seemed more relaxed and longsuffering than those guests on for several weeks who seemed to want to wring as much as they could in their shorter time.
The USA was home to most folk, with Canada, Australia and Europe represented also. Several guests spoke German, Spanish and Japanese as a native language. Most of the guests and their spouses were white and retired from successful careers and were quite self-sufficient financially—owned several homes, had lived in several places, were well traveled, and very politically conservative. Of these, many had made Florida their home. Many had been on previous ATW cruises and had signed on in advance for others in coming years. (It’s cheaper than a nursing home, someone said!) They had been on the standard tours and were hunting for private tours and unusual sights. There seemed to me to be a certain sense of entitlement—that they deserved every amenity that they could squeeze out the ship’s program. That said, there were many sincere, reasonably transparent and thoughtful folk. We came to enjoy this trip of a lifetime for what it was. But we don’t identify ourselves as “cruisers” as a desirable way of life. There are too many important relationships and meaningful involvements at home that give us immense satisfaction.
How did you make friends?
At lunch and dinner, we made it a practice of sitting at a table for four or six so that we could meet new people who had also chosen to sit with more than just two. (Because we were just waking up, at breakfast we usually ate together, just the two of us.) We quickly found folk who were open and willing to share their lives with us. There were others who were the opposite. Some who engendered some mutual attraction, usually through overlapping interests, life experiences, or similar values—we enjoyed having drinks or meals with, though we continued to try to meet new people and to make single guests feel welcomed. The cruise thoughtfully sponsored gatherings for solo guests, Friends of Bill (the AA group) and for LGBTQX guests. I suppose we ended up with a dozen or fifteen couples and single folks with whom we may keep up. A helpful directory of contact information was produced for the ATW guests who wanted to be included.
An interesting thing for Anita and me is that this was the first real opportunity to meet and evaluate people as potential friends—together. Heretofore, she had her family and friends in Colorado and elsewhere and I had mine in Texas and elsewhere. But on the cruise, we met folk together and were likewise treated as a couple without questions. Who we were both drawn to and why provided good discussion!
What did you learn and how did you grow?
Having never been on a cruise, or any other experience of this kind of venture, I was eager to find out how to connect with the number and variety of guests. The point of contact with each one was different—and it usually involved revealing one’s own self and asking good questions. This is something I have done all my adult life, whether a campus work environment, at Westminster Manor where I live, at my church, on public transportations, etc. I found this same satisfying and fulfilling experience on the cruise ship.
Spiritually, the journey was one of growth for me. I was able to work through on almost a daily basis the 180-day devotional guide by Charles Ringma, Dare to Journey with Henri Nouwen (2000). Nouwen was a Dutch-born priest who wrote many books, taught theology at Harvard and finished career (and life) recently as a worker with severely disabled people. I also participated in an informal Bible study group that gathered weekly on sea days. Anita and I attended the regular Sunday ecumenical worship that averaged 40-50 in attendance. (I was honored to preach four times.) Finally, as is our practice, Anita and I regularly blessed our food before beginning to eat. After giving thanks, we remembered those who do not know where their next meal was coming from or where they would sleep at night—a constant reminder of our privileged and blessed position. Those who joined us, when appropriate, seemed appreciative of this fact, as well.
It hardly needs mentioning that Anita and I grew in our relationship with one another. Six months is a long time to be together so much of the time. But we really liked having each other for company and companionship. Our matching shirts and penchant for holding hands were bonds that others seemed to enjoy as well.
Did the experience meet or exceed your expectations?
My expectations were moderately high and the cruise amply met those aspirations. Though not a primary goal of my life, the cruise amply met my curiosity about the wide, wide world—cultures I had not encountered before. The relatively short times in so many ports had a downside of going very quickly, but the positive side was the variety of venues.
What did you like best and least about the cruise?
Earlier I mentioned that the best part of the cruise was being with Anita for the extended time—a kind of “slow boat to China” and well beyond. The wonderful thing was not having to pack up every so many days, to have nourishing food and good sleep every night. The variety of ports and shipboard activities meant that there was no chance to be bored whatsoever.
The sad thing is that the trip was an introduction only to many sights, sounds, smells, and ideas that will take time to process. It also causes some grief that the friends who be became close to will never be as accessible as they were for six months. The last two weeks or so there were considerable public displays of affection among guests and staff who had had such close contact for an extended period of time. This was good to see.
Would you do it again?
We think probably not. This was a once in a lifetime trip for us and time is running out. There may be shorter cruises, but six months away requires a great deal of preparation beforehand and catching up afterward. Before the cruise, no one among our friends had ever been on a cruise around the world, nor had anyone they knew done such a thing. In a kind of perverse way, that made the cruise even more attractive and unique.
Now we have the photos, the memories and the certificates to prove it!
What is your main and lasting impression?
Other countries and societies can do some things far better, easier, and cheaper than we are used to the USA. While still a desirable place to be a citizen, other nations have a great deal to be proud of. The USA does not have all the answers to human organization. Natural beauty is universal and must be preserved.
I was personally interested in signs of the Christian faith in the various nations we visited. Besides historic and symbolic church edifices that spoke of a tradition rather than a current and living faith, I noted some active engagement and smaller store-front meeting places that showed vitality.
In short, I guess I came away humbled and determined to show more understanding and compassion to the citizens of this planet and to join with others of like mind. The cruise was an extraordinary experience.