Cruising under the Golden Gate Bridge into San Francisco is one of the world’s greatest travel experiences for it acts as gateway to a fascinating city set across dozens ofhills overlooking the bay. The hippies are long gone but San Francisco’s scenic beauty, laid-back ambience and more than 3,000 restaurants make it a joy to visit. The famous Fisherman’s Wharf harbourfront restaurant and multi-coloured boats complex, where seals happily sunbathe on its wooden decking, faces out towards the former island prison of Alcatraz which is now a major tourist attraction just like the city’s colourful Chinatown district and upmarket shopping centre in Union Square. And no visit to San Francisco would be complete without a trip on the city’s 130-year-old tram system carrying you up and down the improbably steep streets made famous by that stomach-churning Steve McQueen car chase in the movie Bullitt. From the city, you can also visit the pretty resorts of Sausalito and Monterey.

Cruising under the Golden Gate Bridge into San Francisco is one of the world’s greatest travel experiences for it acts as gateway to a fascinating city set across dozens ofhills overlooking the bay. The hippies are long gone but San Francisco’s scenic beauty, laid-back ambience and more than 3,000 restaurants make it a joy to visit. The famous Fisherman’s Wharf harbourfront restaurant and multi-coloured boats complex, where seals happily sunbathe on its wooden decking, faces out towards the former island prison of Alcatraz which is now a major tourist attraction just like the city’s colourful Chinatown district and upmarket shopping centre in Union Square. And no visit to San Francisco would be complete without a trip on the city’s 130-year-old tram system carrying you up and down the improbably steep streets made famous by that stomach-churning Steve McQueen car chase in the movie Bullitt. From the city, you can also visit the pretty resorts of Sausalito and Monterey.

Welcome to Los Angeles, a city where life thrives with vibrancy somewhere between reality and dream! Home to such paraphernalia as Disneyland, fast food, convertibles and in-line skating! Shop ‘til you drop on Rodeo Drive and take a walk down Hollywood Boulevard, stepping on those famous bronze stars. Discover beautiful architecture and spectacular vistas at the Getty Museum and before you board Artemia for the next part of your odyssey make sure you delve into the historical past and impressive present of another magnificent ship – SS Queen Mary!

Welcome to Los Angeles, a city where life thrives with vibrancy somewhere between reality and dream! Home to such paraphernalia as Disneyland, fast food, convertibles and in-line skating! Shop ‘til you drop on Rodeo Drive and take a walk down Hollywood Boulevard, stepping on those famous bronze stars. Discover beautiful architecture and spectacular vistas at the Getty Museum and before you board Artemia for the next part of your odyssey make sure you delve into the historical past and impressive present of another magnificent ship – SS Queen Mary!

Manzanillo is a Pacific Ocean port city and resort in the Mexican state of Colima. It’s the site of 2 bays, Bahía de Manzanillo and Bahía de Santiago. The latter is known for beaches such as Playa La Audiencia, with calm surf for water sports. The waters off the coast have numerous coral reefs, shipwrecks and other dive sites. With a high concentration of marlin, the area is also known for deep-sea sportfishing

The Panama Canal is the worlds biggest short-cut. You will be amazed by its sheer scale and clockwork efficiency.

The largest island in the Dutch Antilles, Curaçao is home to more than 50 nationalities. Willemstad is full of 17th, 18th and 19th century Dutch and Spanish Colonial architecture. The two sides of the city are divided by Santa Anna Bay, a narrow channel flanked by pastel-tinted, gabled houses and spanned by the spectacular swing-aside Queen Emma pontoon bridge. On one side you will find the 18th century Fort Amsterdam and Breederstraat, gateway to Willemstads main shopping and restaurant district where you can buy everything from Delft pottery to Italian silk ties, Japanese electrical goods, Indonesian batik clothing, locally-made black coral jewellery and, of course, the sapphire-blue liqueur to which Curaçao has given its name.

Barbados is the most British of the Caribbean islands, where cricket is the national passion and afternoon tea a tradition. Yet the flawless skies, lilting rhythms of both speech and calypso and the endless beaches all provide vivid reminders that you are a long way from home. Enjoy a stroll around Bridgetown, the capital which boasts impressive colonial architecture and take a snap of what used to be known as Trafalgar Square.

Ponta Delgada in the Azores, is a tiny speckle of islands in the Atlantic.The Islands are rurally lovely, their fields separated by hydrangea hedges rather than walls. The twin lakes of Sete Cidades will amaze: one turquoise the other vivid emerald.

The city center is a charming mix of old city walls and a large modern shopping centre. With multiple restaurants, museums, cinemas and theatres there is plenty to be explored. Time spent at embarkation and disembarkation ports may be limited which may restrict availability of shore excursions.