Perhaps a fortunate few would board ships.
Bound for far off Zanzibar or Madagascar or ... some other exotic place that ends in --ar. The colors are brighter there, I'll be bound, and even birdsong must sound deliciously mysterious."
--from the secret daydream of Lady Caroline Lovell in The Singular Mr. Sinclair
Oh, my goodness! We got the most exciting email from Viking today! Our new itinerary is out and it's more filled with delights than I'd dare hope! 42 "new to us" ports and 15 "new to us" countries, along with many much loved places we'll be thrilled to visit again.
Date Port Country
January 5, 2025
Los Angeles, California
United States
January 6- 10
Sail the Pacific Ocean
At Sea
January 11, 2025 Oahu (Honolulu), Hawaii
United States
January 12, 2025
Kauai (Nawiliwili), Hawaii
United States
January 13-17
Sail the Pacific Ocean
At Sea
January 18, 2025 Bora Bora (Vaitape) French Polynesia
January 19, 2025 Moorea (Opunohu Bay) / Papeete Tahiti French Polynesia
January 20, 2025 Tahiti (Papeete) French Polynesia
January 21, 2025 Sail the South Pacific Ocean
At Sea
January 22, 2025
Rarotonga (Avatiu)
Cook Islands
January 23- 27
Sail the South Pacific Ocean/
Cross the International Dateline
At Sea
January 28, 2025
Bay of Islands (Waitangi)
New Zealand
January 29, 2025
Auckland
New Zealand
January 30, 2025
Rotorua (Tauranga)
New Zealand
January 31, 2025 Napier
New Zealand
February 1, 2025 Wellington New Zealand
February 2-4
Sail the Tasman Sea
At Sea
February 5 & 6 Overnight in Sydney
Australia
February 7, 2025
Sail the Australian Coast
At Sea
February 8, 2025
Brisbane
Australia
February 9, 2025
Sail the Australian Coast
At Sea
February 10, 2025
Whitsunday Islands
Australia
February 11 & 12 Overnight in Cairns
Australia
February 13, 2025 Sail the Coral Sea
At Sea
February 14, 2025 Thursday Island
Australia
February 15 & 16 Sail the Arafura Sea
At Sea
February 17, 2025 Darwin
Australia
February 18 & 19 Sail the Timor Sea At Sea
February 20, 2025 Komodo National Park (Rinca) Indonesia
February 21 & 22 Overnight in Bali (Benoa) Indonesia
February 23, 2025 Sail the Java Sea At Sea
February 24, 2025 Java (Semarang) Indonesia
February 25 & 26 Overnight in Java (Jakarta) Indonesia
February 27, 2025 Sail the Java Sea At Sea
February 28 & March 1
Overnight in Singapore Singapore
March 2, 2025
Scenic Sailing: Strait of Malacca At Sea
March 3, 2025 Kuala Lumpur (Port Klang)
Malaysia
March 4, 2025 Langkawi Malaysia
March 5, 2025 George Town Malaysia
March 6, 2025 Phuket (Patong Beach)
Thailand
March 7 & 8 Sail the Bay of Bengal At Sea
March 9 & 10 Overnight in Colombo
Sri Lanka
March 11, 2025 Sail the Laccadive Sea
At Sea
March 12, 2025
Male
Maldives
March 13-15 Sail the Indian Ocean
At Sea
March 16, 2025
Victoria, Mahé
Seychelles
March 17 & 18 Sail the Indian Ocean At Sea
March 19 & 20 Overnight in Mombasa
Kenya
March 21 & 22 Overnight in Zanzibar
Tanzania
March 23, 2025 Sail the Indian Ocean At Sea
March 24, 2025 Andoany, Nosy-Be
Madagascar
March 25- 27 Sail the Indian Ocean
At Sea
March 28, 2025
Maputo
Mozambique
March 29, 2025 Richards Bay South Africa
March 30, 2025 Durban
South Africa
March 31, 2025
East London
South Africa
April 1, 2025 Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth)
South Africa
April 2, 2025 Sail the Indian Ocean
At Sea
April 3 & 4
Overnight in Cape Town
South Africa
April 5, 2025
Sail the South Atlantic Ocean At Sea
April 6, 2025 Luderitz
Namibia
April 7 & 8
Overnight in Walvis Bay
Namibia
April 9 & 10
Sail the South Atlantic Ocean
At Sea
April 11, 2025 Luanda Angola
April 12-14 Sail the South Atlantic Ocean
At Sea
April 15- 17
Sail the South Atlantic Ocean
At Sea
April 18, 2025 Praia
Cape Verde
April 19, 2025
São Vicente Island (Mindelo)
Cape Verde
April 20- 21
Sail the North Atlantic Ocean
At Sea
April 22, 2025
Canary Islands (Santa Cruz de Tenerife)
Spain
April 23 & 24 Overnight in Agadir Morocco
April 25 & 26 Overnight in Casablanca Morocco
April 27, 2025 Seville (Cádiz)
Spain
April 28 & 29 Overnight in Lisbon
Portugal
April 30, 2025 Porto (Leixões)
Portugal
May 1, 2025 A Coruña
Spain
May 2, 2025
Sail the Atlantic Ocean
At Sea
May 3, 2025
Paris (Honfleur)
France
May 4, 2025 Dover
England
May 5 & 6, 2025
Overnight London (Greenwich)
England
Eat your heart out, Lady Caroline! I'm going to Zanzibar AND Madagascar!
Of course, I'm saddened by the reason for this new route. My heart aches for the people of Israel and all those in the Middle East who are embroiled in conflict. But I applaud Viking for opting to keep us out of range of active military actions.
We continue to be so grateful for the opportunity to make this voyage around our beautiful blue ball. The earth and its people are such a treasure and we're ready to experience many new parts of it.
Is there some place you've always wanted to see, but for some reason haven't? What's your "adventure worthy of the name?" Please share. It doesn't have to be a lengthy trip, just something you've been drawn to. Thanks in advance for your comments.
Nice itinerary. If you are overnighting in Cairns, the ship will be docked right in town. A good place for dinner is Pistacchi ... we ate there twice this year and enjoyed the food and the friendly staff very much. As for a place we have always wanted to see but haven't yet ... there are a number of places where we want to spend more in-depth time (Japan comes to mind) ... but Tibet-Nepal would be a first time that we need to fit into our travel calendar.
ReplyDeleteTibet-Nepal! That's swinging for the fences on my adventure-o-meter! But if anyone can manage it, it's you and Mui. Thanks for the recommendation in Cairns.
DeleteThe only problem is that I have to wait for your adventure to begin. I am grateful for the opportunity to tag along vicariously.
ReplyDeleteI'll be sharing my planning and "to-do's" before leaving our land life for 4 months all along the way. Granted, that's not as much fun as the actual travel, but it's all sooo important.
DeleteThanks so much for coming along for the ride!
How wonderful that you get an itinerary who so many new-to-you places. We are looking forward to following along.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Gordon. Hope you enjoy your taste of a WC next January. It's a totally different vibe from shorter cruises. Are you planning to blog?
DeleteI tried a blog on our Tokyo to SF Oceania cruise, and had also done one in 2019 when I did a boat journey. Very few people actually followed it, so we will probably just stay with FaceBook posts, that a lot more of my friends see.
Delete