Cruise Itinerary

Visit Guam on a Holland America Line cruise and experience the island “where America’s day begins.” Guam played an important role in WWII, one you can revisit while touring the War in the Pacific National Park and Asan Beach, where Americans reclaimed the island. Venture further into the past at Latte Stone Park, where you’ll find 2nd-century latte stone pillars, the foundations of elevated homes constructed by the Chamorro people. And explore historic Plaza de España, once the seat of colonial administrations, during your Guam adventure.

The Solomon Islands is a sovereign nation consisting of multiple island groups, scattered in the South Pacific east of Papua New Guinea. Its capital is Honiara, on the island of Guadalcanal. Many of the outlying islands in the nation are relatively untouched, but Honiara is a busier hub of international commerce. The islands’ recent history is scarred by the desperate battles fought between the Japanese and American forces during World War II. In 1942, the Japanese launched their last great land offensive in the islands, which culminated in the Battle of Henderson Field fought at Honiara. Of the estimated 36,000 Japanese troops on Guadalcanal at the beginning, only 1,000 survived, the rest having either been killed directly, or succumbed to disease and starvation. Ghostly evidence of this horrific warfare dots the island, and it is memorialized at the American Memorial overlooking the town and at a smaller Solomons Peace Memorial erected by the Japanese outside the city. On a lighter note, traditional arts and crafts are on display at the National Museum, which also boasts a display of eight traditional Melanesian houses from various parts of the country. Behind the museum is a cultural center. Above town there is a pleasant botanical garden, and the bustling Central Market is a great place to get a feel for everyday life in Honiara. Although English is the official language, only a small percentage of Solomonese speak it. The common language is Pijin.

As world famous beaches go, Champagne Beach is one of the big hitters. In 2003, CNN ranked it number nine in its list of top 100 beaches and independent travel specialists permanently include it on their list of 50 best beaches worldwide. It’s one of the world’s greatest natural beauties: picture-perfect beach white sand, turquoise water and nothing – save for the occasional cow or curious turtle - around. With only coconut plantations and a few friendly locals to keep you company, this might just be the island of your dreams. The glorious name “Champagne Beach” was given to the island in the 17th century, when Pedro de Quirós believed he had reached the famous unknown southern land or the “Tierra Australis Incognita” (or Australia as we now know it). He believed the effervescent bubbles of volcanic origin that bubble up from the crystal clear waters were reminiscent of the bubbles of Champagne. Additionally, the coastline is shaped like an art deco Champagne saucer, so the name stuck! The beach is located on the largest yet least populated island in the 40-island Vanuatu archipelago, near the village of Hog Harbor on Espiritu Santo Island. If you want to venture beyond the beach, then Espiritu Santu is also famed for its blue holes. The island is home to some of the clearest waters on Earth, benefiting from natural filtering from underground limestone caves. Ride or paddle your way through emerald green rainforest amid the sound of birdsong for an experience that will make your soul sing.

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.

Home to the original mutineers of the Bounty, Adamstown’s is today the capital of all four Pitcairn Islands. The islands – the last British Overseas Territory in the Pacific – include the namesake Pitcairn Island itself, plus the uninhabited Oeno, Henderson and Ducie. Pitcairn is the archipelago’s only inhabited island, with the population of just 50 centred in Adamstown. It is no surprise that the nine mutineers along with six Tahitian men, 12 Tahitian women and one child stopped on Pitcairn in 1790; with its sloped and varied landscape, lush tropical promise and equidistant location between Peru and New Zealand, Pitcairn would have seemed an ideal hiding spot for the mutineers to settle. The ship was burnt to avoid detection (the ballast stone remains of the wreck in Bounty Bay). However, the ideal bucolic life that mutineer leader Fletcher Christian had envisaged was not to be. Poor treatment of the Tahitian men led to alcoholism, chaos and carnage and by 1800 only John Adams – who had recently discovered Christianity – remained. Adams taught the women and children to read and write from the bible. The capital is named after him. Not only had the island been misplaced on early maps of the region, but it can also be very difficult to come ashore as large breakers tend to build up just in front of the small harbour of Bounty Bay. The local museum houses the HMS Bounty Bible, the same bible that Adams taught the women and children to read and write from in the early 19th century.

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.

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.

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.

This large, modern port serves Chile’s capital, Santiago, a city with Spanish colonial charm and a vivacious spirit. Encircled by the Andes and the Coastal Range, Santiago is centered around the Plaza de Armas, with several of the city’s landmarks: the 18th-century Metropolitan Cathedral the Palacio de la Real Audencia from 1808, the City Hall and the National Museum of History. North of San Antonio lie the picturesque old port and university town of Valparaíso and the colorful seaside resort of Viña del Mar. In between the coast and the capital are valleys filled with some of Chile’s most famous wineries, all inviting you to come and taste.