World Cruise Segment – New York to Sydney

A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture and fashion, and entertainment. The city consists of five boroughs and an intricate patchwork of neighborhoods. Some of these include Lower Manhattan and the New York Stock Exchange, Battery Park and South Street Seaport, Chinatown, trendy SoHo and Greenwich Village, along with Little Italy, the flat Iron District and Gramercy Park. Famous Central Park covers 843 acres of paths, ponds, lakes and green space within the asphalt jungle. Many districts and landmarks have become well-known to outsiders. Nearly 170 languages are spoken in the city and over 35% of its population was born outside the United States.

A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture and fashion, and entertainment. The city consists of five boroughs and an intricate patchwork of neighborhoods. Some of these include Lower Manhattan and the New York Stock Exchange, Battery Park and South Street Seaport, Chinatown, trendy SoHo and Greenwich Village, along with Little Italy, the flat Iron District and Gramercy Park. Famous Central Park covers 843 acres of paths, ponds, lakes and green space within the asphalt jungle. Many districts and landmarks have become well-known to outsiders. Nearly 170 languages are spoken in the city and over 35% of its population was born outside the United States.

Adjectives such as glitzy and glamorous and fun and funky only hint at the reason Miami’s a world-renowned international destination. In the 500 years since Ponce de León arrived in search of the elusive fountain of youth, people have flocked here to capture the city’s energy, vitality and alluring charms. While the city’s noted for its towering palm trees, glittering blue ocean vistas and pristine beaches, beautiful weather, beautiful places and beautiful people it’s also home to an intriguing history, lively culture and postcard-perfect architecture. From the “walking trees” and ‘gator spotting in the Everglades to celebrity spotting in South Beach, Miami’s sure to impress.

Note: Upon disembarkation, please collect your bag, go through customs and hand your bag to your tour driver who will stow and lock it underneath your bus. Disembarkation tours end at the airport; therefore guests who have post-cruise packages at local hotels must disembark at MIami International Airport. Guests will then be responsible for their transportation to the hotel.

One of the more interesting cities on your itinerary steeped in history. This was the transit port for all the wealth Spain derived from South America. The famous “Old City” is comprised of 12 square blocks filled with attractions, boutiques and restaurants.

Throughout Colombia, the Spanish Empire’s influence in the New World is self-evident. Its fortress walls, quaint narrow streets, and balconied houses are all vivid reminders of Spain’s hold on Cartagena and throughout the Caribbean and South America. This is the land of El Dorado and flamboyant adventurers in search of the ever-elusive gold. Cartagena’s well-constructed fortifications defended its borders against seafaring pirates whose attacks lasted for more than 200 years. Today this modern and bustling city, seaport, and commercial center still boasts much of its original colonial architecture. Your journey here will provide you with a significant link to the region’s grand past.

**Please note that passengers may encounter numerous local vendors at various tourist locations and may find them to be persistent in their sales offers.

Cruising through the Panama Canal will be one of the unforgettable experiences of your voyage. It takes approximately eight hours to navigate the 50-mile waterway linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, allowing you to experience firsthand one of the engineering marvels of the 20th century. Completed in 1914, the canal marks the culmination of a dream born in 1513, when Balboa became the first European to cross the Isthmus of Panama and sight the Pacific. In 1880 Ferdinand de Lesseps and the French Canal company, builders of the Suez Canal, began construction in Panama, only to be defeated by disease, staggering cost overruns, and massive engineering problems. The French sold their claim and properties to the United States for $40 million, a staggering loss of $247 million on their investment. The United States began construction in 1904, completing the project in 10 years at a cost of $387 million. Building the canal meant solving three problems: engineering, sanitation, and organization. The project, for example, required carving a channel through the Continental Divide and creating the then-largest man-made lake ever built, as well as defeating yellow fever and other tropical maladies. The United States oversaw the operation of the Panama Canal until December 31, 1999, when the Republic of Panama assumed responsibility for the canals administration. The Panamanian government controls the canal through the Panama Canal Authority, an independent government agency created for the purpose of managing the canal.

The breezy, seaside city of Manta is the second largest port in Ecuador and possesses one of the world’s most varied terrains. To the west of Manta lie the Galapagos Islands. To the east rises the great rampart of the Andes. The Mantas were known for their traditional balsa rafts in the coastal waters and their ceramics and pottery. A huge tuna statue greets you on its shores, a whimsical nod to the tuna capital of the world. Fresh seafood is always on the menu, and a stroll along the promenade lets you take in the beach scene. The bustling center of town, an easy walk from port, displays a lively marketplace selling Panama hats, silver jewelry and apparel. There is lush green parkland; the nearby colonial town of Montecristi, the center of the Panama hat industry; and the Pacoche Wildlife Refuge, home to indigenous flora and fauna and cheeky howler monkeys. Explore the rich culture, heritage and people of Manta during scenic adventures that take in the Archaeological Museum, which highlights a small, well-curated collection of ceramics of the Manteño-Huancavilca culture that flourished here between 800 and 1550 A.D. Whether you explore its past or its vibrant city of today, a day in Manta is a rich and colorful experience.

Note: Manta offers little in the way of tourist infrastructure. Transportation and tour guides are imported to the area. Despite the sometimes hot and humid conditions there is no guarantee of air-conditioned vehicles.

Callao is a seaside city on the Pacific Ocean in the Lima metropolitan area. Callao is Peru’s chief seaport and home to its main airport, Jorge Chávez International Airport. Callao municipality consists of the whole Callao Region, which is also coterminous with the Province of Callao.

Callao is a seaside city on the Pacific Ocean in the Lima metropolitan area. Callao is Peru’s chief seaport and home to its main airport, Jorge Chávez International Airport. Callao municipality consists of the whole Callao Region, which is also coterminous with the Province of Callao.

Saint Martin is part of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean Sea. It comprises 2 separate countries, divided between its northern French side, called Saint-Martin, and its southern Dutch side, Sint Maarten. The island is home to busy resort beaches and secluded coves.

The monoliths of Easter Island have fascinated and puzzled Westerners since the Dutch seaman Roggeven made landfall there on Easter Sunday, 1722. The mystery of Easter Island’s first settlers remains just that – a mystery. Today, most anthropologists believe the island was settled as part of the great wave of Polynesian emigration. (The oldest of the Moai, as the great monoliths are called, date to 700 A.D.) The society that produced the Moai flourished during the 16th and 17th centuries, but population growth, deforestation and food shortages led to its collapse. Today some 3,400 souls inhabit this 64-square-mile island, which lies some 2,200 miles equidistant from Tahiti and South America.

The society of Rapa Nui possessed stone-working skills on a par with those found in the Inca Empire. Islanders also possessed a script called Rongorongo, the only written language in all of Oceania.

Lying below the tropic of Capricorn, halfway between New Zealand and the Americas, lonely Pitcairn Island is one of the most remote inhabited islands in the world. It was here that Fletcher Christian and eight of the mutineers of the HMS Bounty, along with their Tahitian companions, came in search of a new life. Set aflame and sunk by the infamous mutineers, parts of the legendary HMS Bounty shipwreck are still visible in the waters of Bounty Bay.

Today, one of the island’s most famous residents is its sole surviving Galapagos Giant Tortoise, named Turpen, who was introduced to Pitcairn sometime between 1937 and 1951. Several species of seabirds also nest here, including the flightless Henderson Crake, Fairy Terns, the Common Noddy, the Red-tailed Tropic Bird and the Pitcairn Island Warbler.

Tahiti is not just an island – Tahiti has always been a state of mind. The bustling capital of Tahiti and her islands, Papeete is the chief port and trading center, as well as a provocative temptress luring people to her shores. Immortalized in the novel “Mutiny on the Bounty,” who could blame the men of “HMS Bounty” for abandoning their ship in favor of basking in paradise? And what would Modern Art be without Tahiti’s influence on Gauguin and Matisse? Today the island is a charming blend of Polynesian “joie de vivre” and Gallic sophistication. But venture out from Papeete and you find a landscape of rugged mountains, lush rainforests, cascading waterfalls and deserted beaches.

Contrasting with other French Polynesian ports, Papeete’s coastline initially greets you with a vista of commercial activity that graciously gives way to both black and white-sand beaches, villages, resorts and historic landmarks.

Mo’orea is a South Pacific island, part of French Polynesia’s Society Islands archipelago. It’s known for its jagged volcanic mountains and sandy beaches. In the north, Mount Rotui overlooks picturesque Ōpūnohu Bay and the settlements around Cook’s Bay. Inland, hiking trails wind through rainforest on the slopes of Mount Tohivea.

Straddling a narrow isthmus created by 60 different volcanoes, New Zealand’s former capital boasts scenic beauty, historical interest and a cosmopolitan collection of shops, restaurants, museums, galleries and gardens. Rangitoto, Auckland’s largest and youngest volcano, sits in majestic splendor just offshore. Mt. Eden and One Tree Hill, once home to Maori earthworks, overlook the city. One of New Zealand’s fine wine districts lies to the north of Auckland.

Auckland served as New Zealand’s capital from 1841 until 1865, when the seat of government moved to Wellington.

Sydney, capital of New South Wales and one of Australia’s largest cities, is best known for its harbourfront Sydney Opera House, with a distinctive sail-like design. Massive Darling Harbour and the smaller Circular Quay port are hubs of waterside life, with the arched Harbour Bridge and esteemed Royal Botanic Garden nearby.