Second Attempt on the Oceania Insignia

This January is our 2nd attempt to do this amazing cruise.  I am going to change things up a bit so its not so boring to read.  Don't know yet what I have planned but will see what happens. So lets refresh your memory.  Some of the itinerary highlights

 Continents visited:  5

 Countries we will visit:  44

 Islands we will visit:  46

 Ports we will visit:  90

 National Capitals we will visit:   17

 Total of Overnight stays:   19

 Largest Population:   Shanghai, China

 Smallest Population:  Devils Island French Guiana

UNESCO World Heritage Sites accessible:   55

Times Zones crossed:  24

Number of times we will cross the Equator:   4

International Date Line Crossed:   1

Oceans we will cruise in:   3

Sea's we will cruise in:  12

Days at Sea:   74

Total of Nautical Miles traveled:   46,068

We will sail on the Andaman Sea, Arafura Sea, Atlantic Ocean, Cape of Good Hope, Caribbean Sea, Coral Sea, East China Sea, Gulf of Guinea, Gulf of Thailand, Hainan Strait, Indian Ocean, Java Sea, Karimata Strait, Mozambique Channel, Old Bahama Channel, Pacific Ocean, South China Sea, Sulu Sea, South Pacific, Straits of Florida, Tasman Sea, Timor sea, Yellow Sea, and through the Panama Canal.

Our Overnight Destinations Highlights are

Cape Town, South Africa  Feb 9-10

Rangoon, Burma (Myanmar)  Mar 8-10  2 overnights

Singapore, Singapore  Mar 14-15

Bangkok, Thailand  Mar 18-19

Saigon, Vietnam Mar 22-23

Hanoi, Vietnam Mar 25-26

Hong Kong, China Mar 28-29

Xiamen, China Mar 30-31

Shanghai, China  Apr 2-4  2 overnights

Beijing, China  Apr 6-7

Bali, Indonesia Apr 26-27

Sydney, Australia  May 9-10

                                      

                     You can see our route that we will take

Our Insignia Ship

              Our Ship for the next 6 months....Isn't she lovely 

Inside Stateroom Amenities

• Prestige Tranquility Bed, an Oceania Cruises Exclusive, with 1,000-thread-count linens
• Refrigerated mini-bar with free and unlimited soft drinks and bottled water replenished daily
• Complimentary 24-hour room service
• Signature Belgian chocolates with nightly turndown service
• Plush cotton towels
• Thick cotton robes and slippers
• Bulgari amenities
• Handheld hair dryer
• Flat-screen television with live satellite news and programming
• DVD player with extensive 24-hour room service menu
• Wireless internet access

Here we go again

As many of our friends know we were due to depart on our 180 Day "Around The World" cruise on January 9 2015. Unfortunately our ship, Oceania Insignia, suffered an engine fire in early December, while docked in Castries, St. Lucia in the Caribbean. Tragically, 3 men died from smoke inhalation, a crew member and two sub-contractors working on the engine. All passengers were returned by charter flight to Miami and from there to their home; all luggage was packed by crew members and sent to the passengers by FedEx. However, it was determined that the damage would take at least 9 weeks to repair and therefore the first half of the world cruise, from Miami to Singapore, was canceled. That was the Africa  portion that we really had not been to any ports. The options for the guests were to cancel entirely, to fly (at cruise line expense) to Singapore and complete the last half of the cruise back to Miami, or to re-book the same world cruise taking place in January, 2016. We chose to re-book for 2016.  It will just to be postponed a year. Considering we originally booked the cruise in 2013, and it has flown by, we figured, "What's another year?" Of course we're not getting any younger and our health issues are not a problem. We still have complete confidence in Oceania Cruise Lines and are certain the ship will be better than new when the repairs were completed. Many of the people we have meet who were taking the cruise in 2015 have also moved to 2016. The cruise line is protecting the price we paid in 2015, along with all the amenities, and we will receive a pecentage of the canceled cruise to Singapore as compensation for the change of plans and disappointment. We were in quiet a jam due to renting out our unit in Florida, not waiting to go back to Canada for the winter, so we jumped on our favorite line and Ship, Holland America ms Amsterdam. The rest is history as you have read prior.