When you think of a World Cruise, do you expect the cruise to circumnavigate the earth?  Some cruise lines have labeled their long cruises as World Cruises, even though they may remain in one ocean or one hemisphere.  The definition of a World Cruise in these cases appears to be any long cruise – say of over 100 days or so.  

 After a little google research, I came across this definition of what it means to circumnavigate the earth.  These definitions became important when people sought to establish records for going “around the world” faster than anyone else in a particular category.  

 You could go “around the world” in less than 100 feet if you drew a small circle around one of the poles.  But going around the world exactly at the equator is not very practical either.  

 For a World Cruise to be considered a circumnavigation of the earth, many people have established the following criteria.  

• Start and finish at the same point, traveling in one general direction
• Reach two antipodes (Two diametrically opposite places on Earth)
• Cross the Equator
• Cross all longitudes
• Cover a minimum of 40,000km or 21,600NM (a great circle)

Everything on this list is pretty straightforward except for the antipodes.  

What is an Antipode?  

An antipode is a point on the exact opposite side of the earth (or other sphere) from a given location.  If you drew a line (vector) from your location to the center of the earth and continued that line until it emerged from the other side of the earth’s surface, that point of intersection on the other side is the antipode.  

There are several websites (HERE and HERE) that are useful for calculating the antipodes for any point on earth.  

Of all the criteria for circumnavigating the earth, the most difficult to achieve is reaching two antipodes.  Many previous World Cruises never quite get there – but we will in 2023 as we approach Auckland for our first antipodes and Malaga for the second.  

With the above in mind, our 2023 Grand World Voyage will meet the criteria for a circumnavigation of the earth or a true World Cruise.  

I shared this information with Capt Friso and he said he wasn’t previously aware of this information and announced that we would be receiving a special certificate as we cross our second Antipodes near Malaga in April.  

Stephen Barry rocked the Mainstage this evening in his final show.  He performed a wonderful mix of Broadway hits from Les Misérables and Phantom, along with an amazing medley of Meatloaf hits.  

Stephen shared that while performing on the streets of London in 2016, he sang a duet with West End Star Celinde Schoenmaker.  Watch this amazing video of their performance of “All I Ask of You” with over 500K views!