EPIC World Quest - Around the World Cruise

Some of Life’s Obstacles

When it comes to planning an epic international adventure there are always two major obstacles, time and money. Sadly, opportunities to take large periods of time off from work and having the financial resources to do so are few and far between. Many hard-working Americans delay extended periods of international travel to when they retire. When it comes time to retire additional life obstacles present themselves in the forms of healthcare issues, either their own or those of close family members. Simply put, life just seems to get in the way.

The average American worker earns 15 days of paid vacation each year, and once they achieve 15 years of seniority the average number of paid vacation days increases to 20 paid vacation days per year. However, the average American worker only spends 5 years with a company before changing employers. About half of Americans don’t even possess a passport. The accrual of fewer paid vacation days and more frequent transitions between employers presents challenges and opportunities for extended international travel.

Creating Opportunities During Periods of Transition

I am not the average American worker. I just retired from the Army after 24 years of service and am amid transitioning between military and civilian careers. While my chosen profession had its challenges, changing employers every 5 years was not one of them. One of the many benefits of a military career is 30 days of paid leave each year. Exercises, deployments, and organizational requirements always often prevent travel opportunities, but periods of transition like leave before or after a deployment, leave in conjunction with moving from one assignment to another, and separation from service provide great opportunities to travel.

Over the course of my military career, I have been able to take advantage of some of those transitions and take some epic adventures. After a yearlong deployment, my sister and I hiked the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. Between assignments I hiked through the French, Italian, and Swiss Alps around Mont Blanc and took a couple fantastic trips to Costa Rica. I also incorporated an exotic overland truck journey from Cape Town, South Africa to Nairobi, Kenya (a 6,500-mile camping journey) into my summer semester during grad school. These “trips of a lifetime” made a lasting impact and shaped my life.

Choosing Our Adventure

As I approached the biggest transition of my adult life (retiring from the military and starting a second civilian career), I sought the advice of many that made that transition before me. One piece of sage advice that I received was to take some time to “decompress, spend time with family, and travel”. I was very fortunate that my last assignment was in Germany, and it provided me several opportunities to travel and see lots of Europe, so as I planned transitioning from the military, I looked at possible travel opportunities that focused on other parts of the world. I came across Oceania Cruise’s Epic World Quest - a 196 day Around the World Cruise.

Over the course of my military career, I packed a few duffle bags and departed on a 6-to-15-month solo government sponsored adventure. Often to some of the less desirable parts of the world. Priscilla’s and my adventures together were mainly cross-country road trips, European road trips, and shorter long weekend backpack trips. We treated the 196-day Around the World Cruise as a “family deployment” placing all our earthly belongings into storage, living out of suitcases, and traveling to some of the most desirable parts of the world.

With Great Risk Comes Great Reward – or – an Expensive Life Lesson

A 196 day Around the World Cruise seemed like an impossible and unattainable dream. However, making this unattainable dream a reality it became abundantly clear that this Epic World Quest fit perfectly into a planned period of transition. We placed all our household goods in long-term storage, fully embraced a period of homelessness and unemployment, and turned this time of transition into an adult gap-year. However, life is filled with uncertainty. We booked this cruise in January 2020 before what we knew about COVID-19. We remained resolute with our plan, not knowing if it would be drastically modified, cut short, or completely cancelled.

On 21 December 2021, we boarded the Oceania Insignia in Miami, Florida for a 196 day Around the World – Epic World Quest. In the days leading up to this adventure itinerary modifications removed Australia and New Zealand, added stops in California, Hawaii, French Polynesia, Samoa, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Philippines, and Taiwan.

On the first leg of our journey, political unrest in Nicaragua led to a port of call cancelation. Additional stops in Guatemala and Mexico were also cancelled to various reasons. We will blog about each port of call and share our experiences on this Epic World Quest for those thinking or planning to take such and adventure themselves. If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to contact us via email. We look forward to sharing this adventure with you!