TWICE AROUND THE WORLD

I was reading the March issue of Travel Leisure, and saw two items of interest: a different sort of tour through the island of Oahu and an announcement of Oceania Insignia's 218-day circumnavigation, hitting 44 countries and territories in 109 port stops. You have time to save some money for this trip, as it leaves Miami on 28 December 2022, starting at $55,400/person. At $254/day, a good price for that ship.

So that inspired me to dream about an absolutely fantastic back to back global adventure. We're presently pondering over a possible Fall 2021 journey that includes a 16-day Celebrity cruise from Tokyo to Singapore, using the Star Alliance Around the World ticket for the rest of the way. The primary reason is to participate in the Dubai World Expo, scheduled to run from 1 October 2021 to the end of March 2022. The more sensible and safer option is to take the Island Princess from Los Angeles to Dubai on a 52-day cruise on 19 January 2022, then select ideal stops going west back to Honolulu. One additional highlight would be a Crystal Christmas River Cruise in Europe.

So it occurred to me, what about doing both, that is, going twice around the world. Here are my first thoughts about such an itinerary:

Leave Honolulu in mid-October on a Star Alliance World ticket for Tokyo. That's only seven months away!
Spend one week on Japan Rail Pass to track the change in Fall colors.
Board the Celebrity Solstice in Yokohama on 5 November 2021 to Singapore. We currently have a reservation in Aqua Class.
Fly from Singapore (after staying a couple of nights at their amazing airport) to Dubai. Spend a few days in that fascinating city-country, and, of course, the Expo.

After a few days, fly to Munich, then to Basel to catch a Crystal Christmas Cruise to Amsterdam.
Add an additional city in Europe.
A couple of stops in the USA, ending up in Los Angeles.

Board the Island Princess in Los Angeles on 19 January 2021 for a 112-day world cruise. We currently have placed a deposit only from Los Angeles to Dubai. The ship arrives in Dubai on March 13 so the World Fair is still on.

March 14 can be spent at the Expo. One day is enough for a second visit.
Ship leaves on March 15.

Among the interesting stops are:

Day 63: Suez Canal
Day 70: Athens, Greece
Day 74: Naples, Italy
Day 78; Monte Carlo, Monaco
Day 79: Marseille, France

Day 80: Barcelona, Spain
Day 84: Lisbon, Portugal
Day 89: Madeira, Portugal
Day 98: Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Day 102: Panama Canal

Day 104: Puntarenas, Costa Rica
Day 109: Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Day 112: Los Angeles

To complete the Star Alliance Around the World ticket, fly back to Honolulu to complete two global adventures.
As things develop, this duo-circuit will no doubt be adjusted as input is received.

Here is RollingStone's 30 Greatest Rock & Roll Movie Moments. Not close to what my list would be, but noteworthy, nevertheless. #30 is Elvis' C'mon Everybody from Viva Las Vegas in 1964 and #1 is the Ronettes' Be My Baby from Mean Streets in 1973. A real fantasy: one of my close friends at Stanford from Illinois said he dated Ann-Margret when they were in high school. She's in the #30 video.

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