A-Z Around the World by Cruise Ship
I recently completed an ABC’s of travel challenge, my A-Z Around the World. The goal is to think of somewhere you’ve been for each letter of the alphabet. I decided to specify that it had to be somewhere I had been by way of cruise ship. Each day I would write a tweet with a place from my travels. Have you ever wondered where cruise ships go? Here’s a start list!
Overall this was a super fun way to mentally revisit some of the places I’ve been and appreciate all I’ve been able to see and do. We all know that the past 10 months or so have been incredibly challenging, but doing this helped bring to focus how much there is to see and do and how much there is to look forward to once we all get through this.
For nearly every single place I remarked on the kindness of the people, and it’s true! People are at their base kind. When you travel you see humanity and it grows your empathy for your fellow people immensely. Without further adieu, a little bit of a silly post, a slightly expanded version of my Twitter travel challenge, let’s go around the world…
A-Z Around the World by Cruise Ship
A – Antigua, Guatemala
For someone that isn’t a coffee drinker, I must admit I found it fascinating to learn how coffee beans that make the drink we know as coffee come to be. While in Antigua I was able to visit a coffee plantation as well as visit a market, and see a beautiful church. To read about my experience check out this blog post about visiting the coffee plantation.
B – Bora Bora, French Polynesia:
Bora Bora is beautiful. I would love to properly vacation there someday (assuming it didn’t involve a $2000 plane ticket). Not only did I get engaged on my first visit to Bora Bora, I was able to go snorkeling with lemon sharks and stingrays. The local food is fantastic and the natural beauty is phenomenal. Want to know more about Bora Bora and the South Pacific region? Check out this post I wrote about the South Pacific.
C – China
Visiting China can be a bit complicated when you’re from the US – the visa can be a challenge and a bit expensive. However, it was totally worth it to climb the Great Wall of China, explore Shanghai, and eat authentic Chinese food.
D – Denmark
In Copenhagen I was able to see the famous “Little Mermaid” statue, walk around and enjoy the beautiful city, as well as admire all of their offshore wind turbines. It was wonderful to see the renewable energy at work.
E – Estonia
Prior to visiting Estonia I knew very little about it. I had heard they were forward thinking in terms of Wi-Fi connectivity What I found was a country full of history, beautiful architecture, and kind people.
F – France
J’aime la France! When I was a little girl my dream was to visit Paris. I’ve been able to visit Paris twice now and have even visited other parts of France. While onboard the Seabourn Encore in 2017 we visited Sete & Marseille. Incredible food and culture – ashore and onboard. They were even pretty good as I tried to speak French. To read more about my experience sailing on Seabourn, check out “Is a Luxury Cruise Really Worth It?”
G – Greece
Feta. Gyros. Sangria. Beaches. The Acropolis, birthplace of democracy. Incredible history, food, excellent donkey riding experiences up hillsides in Santorini. If you want a place to fall in love with, look no further than Greece. The islands, the history, the incredibly beauty. And, did I mention the food?
H – Hawaii
Worth all of the sea days to get to these incredible islands. Beautiful nature, wonderful traditions, and the familiarity of being part of the United States. I have been lucky enough to helicopter over the Waimea Canyon on Kauai, visit Volcano’s National Park on the Big Island, hike Diamond Head at sunrise and visit the Pearl Harbor memorial on Oahu, visit craft markets, beaches and botanical gardens on Maui. There is an island for everyone. Want to know why most Hawaii cruises leave from mainland North America? Take a look at this post on The Jones Act.
I – India
Exploring India opened my eyes to a lot of things. During my visit I saw several sides to India, but above all I saw and experienced kindness from the people. Among the most random and fun days ashore I’ve ever had (and it also happened to be my birthday), we followed the sound of music and were welcome into a family wedding – including helping with the flowers. Had a wonderful dinner at a fancy hotel, saw lots of cricket being played, and happened to see part of a Bollywood movie being filmed. Want to read more about my adventures in India? Take a look at this post, That Time I Went to India.
J – Jordan
We didn’t find the Holy Grail while visiting Petra, but we had a lovely time exploring the beauty and history of this country (and making some new camel friends!) Want to hear more about my time in Jordan, take a look at this post on Al’Aqaba and Petra!
K – Kusadasi, Turkey
Kusadasi is not only the place that I bought my mom a beautiful pocket book and got a few random marriage proposals (this city is why, prior to marriage, I had purchased a fake wedding band to wear while going ashore. Yup.) While the city is beautiful on it’s own, the real crown jewel is how close it is to the ancient city of Ephesus and the house of the Virgin Mary.
L – Lima, Peru
While going through Lima’s airport can be a long and very hot experience (the air conditioning does not keep up with it), and you have to be a bit careful going from the airport to the ship at night, there are some beautiful things in Lima! The architecture, cute shops with such incredibly vibrant colors, restaurants, breweries, and kind people.
M – Mexico
Another of the countries home to food that feeds my soul. Amazing food, sunsets, and margaritas. Mexico has beaches, incredible food, and is full of lots of fun random surprises. The night these photos were taken our friends wanted to find a food truck and we ended up at a Her Majesty the Queen themed gay bar with $1 beers.
N – New Zealand
New Zealand is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been. The land is varied and beautiful. There is a beautiful history, and they keep the history and culture of the Maori people alive. It’s also fun to visit movie sets like Hobbiton! On the other side of the world but definitely worth the flight. Wondering how to visit New Zealand by cruise ship? Take a look at guide to New Zealand cruises. Want to read more about New Zealand? Here’s a post about one day in Waitangi.
O – Oman
In Muscat I was able to visit the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, enjoy the marketplace, have a lovely meal, and experience a bit of the vibrancy and color of this country.
P – Portugal
I have not spent enough time in Portugal. I stopped in Lisbon and Madeira before crossing the Atlantic. Portugal was a beautiful, vibrant, and welcoming country! I wish I had pictures at night as Lisbon was so bright and vibrant. And, Madeira – even in November was hot as all hell.
Q – Quebec, Canada
A staple of a Canada/New England cruise. A culture all it’s own, but gives you a taste of France and the Mediterranean, sitting outside at a cafe and amongst beautiful architecture.
R – Russia
I was lucky enough to visit St. Petersburg several times while working in the Baltic region for a contract. I was able to visit the famed Hermitage Museum, Peterhof Palace, and the Church of the Spilled Blood.
S – Sri Lanka
I had a lovely visit to Sri Lanka. Visiting the Gangaramaya Temple, a Holy Bodhi tree, the Viharamahadevi Park, and went shopping for fabric. It was a warm (and also literally warm, it was so hot out that day) and kind visit. This visit was in 2019. 3 weeks later there was a terrorist bombing at a church.
Travel teaches you so much, but most of all I feel that travel can expand the empathy you feel towards humanity. When you hear of a terrorist attack on the news your compassion for those people grows when you have met the people and experienced their culture.
T – Tonga
A beautiful stop in the South Pacific and part of the UK Commonwealth of countries. Full of history, beautiful markets, and really wonderful fruit smoothies. It also stands out as being such a flat island. A lot of islands in the South Pacific are a bit mountainous, as you can see in the picture it is quite flat.
U – United States
It may seem silly to put the US as that is where I am from, but without cruising I do not know if I ever would have explored Alaska or Hawaii. While I am grateful for the experiences around the world that I have had, being able to see more of what my own country has is also incredible. Here are some pictures of my years in Alaska.
V – Vatican
I’m not sure I could accurately describe the overwhelming feeling of “awe” that I felt the first time I went into St. Peter’s Basilica. It is still my favorite piece of architecture I have seen and experienced first hand.
W – Washington, USA
I had a hard time coming up with a W. Luckily home porting in Seattle has come to the rescue. A state with some truly incredible natural beauty.
X – no where yet… any suggestions?!
Y – Yokohama, Japan
I was lucky enough to visit quite a few places in Japan during a Grand Asia cruise in 2017. While it rained every day we were in Japan, and I didn’t spend much time in Yokohama, I still enjoyed every minute of this culture. And, yes, that is a Starbucks in the base of that giant train station.
Z – Zahran Street, Aqaba, Jordan
Alright, putting this on the list is a bit of a stretch. Clearly I need to visit somewhere that starts with a Z. I am thinking Zurich (and not just the airport) is the top of the list. For now though, Zahran Street was a fun adventure through a lovely marketplace, with pigs, fish, and fresh veggies!
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