The voyage ends, as all things must. The staff pulled no punches in the final days of our semester to make memorable moments. The formal Captain’s dinner and sea Fear Factor filled the time while our faithful ship made for the mainland. We made port to little fanfare; frankly mostly anxious parents waited on the …
Day One We docked in downtown Honolulu at pier II right next to the Aloha Tower. (by now we were experts at noting landmarks for locating the ship!) After more than two months away it felt very good to be back in the US. Aside from declaring as citizens rather than visitors, there were some …
When you think of Fiji you might imagine the crystal clear light-blue water and white-sand beaches that proliferate on the internet. Well, that’s not all of Fiji. We docked in the port of Suva, the capital and largest city in Fiji which is a more built-up and industrial area than most you’ll find. First up …
New Zealand was billed as an exciting thrill-seeking destination. Many people were exited to partake in extreme sports, Bungee Jumping or Zorbing, venture off to see the dramatic landscapes from Lord of the Rings, or get a sense of scale for the extensive sheep farming industry. But Dad and I were excited about visiting Auckland …
Early the next morning we headed off to the Airport because I had booked my most extravagant excursion yet. I remember agonizing over the expense, but in the end my Dad’s advice that “You’re already half way around the world, take advantage of the opportunities that presents” won out. So I flew 600 miles up …
After 10 days at sea, we were very ready to get off the ship and see some sights south of the Equator in Australia. We docked in Brisbane, at the Queensland Bulk Terminal. (Not the usual spot for a passenger vessel, which was a constant source of confusion for taxi drivers during our stay.) Experienced …
My final day in Japan, I took a train up to the historic city of Kyoto with a friend from the ship. We arrived with little fuss, and got tickets for the sightseeing hop on hop off bus that allowed us to see many different sites in the city. We enjoyed a sampling of the …
On my third day in Japan we took a bus back to Osaka from Hiroshima and on the way we stopped in a town called Himeji to see the beautiful castle there. It is the finest feudal fortress left from the Sengoku (warring states) period, and the architecture really does shine. Touring the grounds I …
Early the next morning I boarded a bus in Osaka and we headed to the Shin-Osaka bullet train terminal. The city was pretty empty still compared to the bustle I’d seen yesterday, but you can see there are signs of it awakening. Japan is very train focused and there’s a whole separate terminal for their …
Some of us on board woke up very early to watch the ship come into Osaka harbor. I was one of them and got a few shots of looming islands in the darkness. When we made our formal entry to the harbor, we were greeted by the local fire boat crew who made a sweeping …