Oceans & Lands - Luxury & Expedition Travel

10/28/2026

If Belfast is not on your list yet, this little ship is a good reason to put it there. SS Nomadic, built at Harland & Wolff in 1911, ferried first- and second-class passengers out to the great liners at Cherbourg — including, on April 10, 1912, the passengers who boarded Titanic for her maiden voyage. She came home, restored, and now rests in dry dock in the Titanic Quarter as the last surviving White Star Line vessel — a quarter the size of Titanic, and the last of her line in existence. I caught her during our Grandeur days in Belfast, and I stood there longer than I planned. That is the thing about Belfast: it keeps a story like this tucked into a dockyard, waiting for you to come stand in front of it.

10/20/2026

Welcome to Nagasaki, indeed.

Step off the ship in Nagasaki and this is your greeting party — a four-piece band in full kimono: drum, shamisen, saxophone, and one gloriously committed trombone. Not a recording. Not a speaker hidden in a planter. Actual musicians, in the sun, playing you into port like you've arrived somewhere that matters.

Every port city should take notes. This is how you say hello.

10/20/2026

A little travel news roundup — three stories worth knowing:

African Travel, Inc, my preferred safari partner, has unveiled its 2027 collection: 50th anniversary, small-group portfolio doubled, and Uganda is back — gorillas in Bwindi, chimps in Kibale.

Regent Seven Seas Cruises new Seven Seas Prestige (debuting December 13) will feature Galileo's Bar, built around a Negroni observatory. Aperitivo hour, at sea.

And Scenic marks 40 years, with early access open on its 2028 collection — including a new Emerald Danube sailing and a reimagined South of France.

Just the news, no sales pitch. Though if any of it sparks a daydream, you know where to find me.

10/18/2026

In Sicily, we eat.

Not the way we eat at home — the hurried, standing-at-the-counter way. In Cefalù, lunch is a seaside event. We sat outdoors at a restaurant right on the water, waves crashing on the rocks beneath us, the Mediterranean doing what it does best — and time simply slowed down. Nobody checked a watch. Nobody rushed the courses. We just got to be.

Tomato salad with red onion and basil, dressed with Leonardi balsamic and Sicilian olive oil. Pasta with lobster. W**e, limonata, good company. This is the part of travel you can't learn from a brochure. You have to sit at the table.

On tour with our magnificent friends at Private Luxury Tours in Italy, who always seem to know exactly where the good tables are.

10/18/2026

Somewhere outside Nairobi, there's a nursery where the toddlers weigh a quarter-ton and drink from oversized baby bottles. This is the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, and that little one with its trunk in the air is working on a bottle like it's the most important appointment of the day — which, for an orphaned elephant calf, it honestly is.

The keepers here raise these calves around the clock until they're old enough to join the herds of Tsavo. It's some of the most patient conservation work on the planet, and it's a short drive from Nairobi, which means there's no good excuse to skip it on the way to safari.

Fair warning: you will make embarrassing noises. I did.

10/13/2026

I've had ONE cabin suddenly come available on our New Zealand expedition cruise. I can only hold this space for a couple of days so if you missed out signing up before...here is your LAST CHANCE

Imagine the opening scene of an epic cinematic journey...  Fade in on the windswept shores of Dunedin as you step aboard the elegant SH Minerva on March 8, 2027. Lines cast off, and your 13-night New Zealand in Depth voyage begins—sweeping from the wild south to the sunlit north like a Peter Jac...

10/08/2026

To everyone who followed along on our Japan adventure, THANKS! I loved having you along for the ride, even if your version involved a lot less luggage.

You saw the temples, the gardens, the ship, and probably more of my meals than you ever needed to. But one of my favorite parts was watching what happened between the people on the trip.

Some arrived in Japan having never met. Four days later, they were belly laughing together at dinner like they’d known each other for years. Finding their kindred spirits, sharing stories, making plans for the next day. Somewhere along the way, “the people on our trip” became friends.

That’s a pretty special feeling. And it’s a big part of why I love taking these groups out into the world.

So if you enjoyed following along… why not COME along next time?

Our Explorers Club trips are adventures you take WITH me, and we have some wonderful ones ahead:

• New Zealand with Swan Hellenic & Kensington Tours
• Normandy & the D-Day Beaches with Scenic
• Venice & the Dolomites with Uniworld & Private Luxury Tours in Italy Inc

Have a look here:
https://www.oceansandlands.com/explorers-club

There’s more in the works, too, including a Crystal Cruises sailing from Puerto Rico to Rio de Janeiro. Details coming soon!

You don’t need to arrive knowing everyone. As Japan reminded us, that part tends to sort itself out at happy hour. 😉

Come see a little more of the world with us. We’ll save you a seat.

Travel to the farthest reaches of New Zealand aboard an elegant expedition yacht, navigating dramatic fiords, secluded islands and seldom-visited shores. This is New Zealand beyond the familiar—wild, magnificent and seen from an entirely different perspective.

08/26/2026

Imagine pulling into Bellagio by classic wooden boat, with the lake catching the last light and the bell tower rising above the waterfront. Not a bad way to begin a stay on Lake Como.

I've just booked my clients at Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni, Bellagio’s only five-star luxury hotel. A magnificent and grand old hotel overlooking the water, evenings strolling in the village and several days to enjoy one of the most beautiful settings in Italy.

Fabulous touring and care from my team at Private Luxury Tours in Italy Inc, is the icing on the cake.

I may be a little jealous of this one.

08/16/2026

Luxury cruising has been at the heart of Oceans & Lands since the beginning.

We’ve sailed the ships, experienced the suites, dined in the restaurants and explored the destinations. Over the years, that firsthand experience has given us an intimate understanding of the world’s finest cruise lines and, just as importantly, the differences between them.

Because true luxury at sea isn’t simply about beautiful ships. It’s about exceptional service, extraordinary cuisine, spacious accommodations and traveling the world in a way that feels effortless.

From intimate yachts and elegant ocean ships to the world’s great rivers, we know where luxury cruising truly shines and which experience is right for each traveler.

Exceptional ships. Impeccable service. Remarkable places.

Your Next Great Journey: Luxury Cruising. Explore Here: https://www.oceansandlands.com/luxury-collection

08/11/2026

You can go to Venice anytime you wish. You may have already been. But you cannot, and have not experienced it like this. Unless you come with me.

Four nights among the soaring peaks and storybook villages of the Dolomites. Then the entire Venetian lagoon aboard Uniworld Boutique River Cruises spectacular S.S. La Venezia, timed so that our final night unfolds beneath the extraordinary fireworks of the Festa del Redentore. One of the world's MOST atmospheric displays, almost an hour long. This video is one I filmed myself.

This is not simply another comparable trip to Italy. It is one of those rare journeys when the destination, the ship and the moment align perfectly—and I have no intention of pretending it can be recreated whenever the mood strikes.

Several staterooms have already been claimed. Those who join us will experience one of the most spectacular nights Venice has celebrated for centuries.

Those who wait will simply see photographs.

Venice & the Dolomites | July 2028

If this journey has your name on it, now would be the time to say so. https://www.oceansandlands.com/venice