Fortaleza, on Brazil’s northeastern Atlantic coast, greets visitors with wide sandy beaches that stretch for miles along warm, blue water. Beyond the city’s shoreline, dramatic dunes and inviting waters make Fortaleza an ideal base for exploring nearby beach towns like Cumbuco and Canoa Quebrada, each with its own rhythms and landscapes.

The Gobi Desert, spanning across northern China and southern Mongolia, is one of the world’s most iconic and mysterious landscapes. Known for its vast stretches of arid plains, towering sand dunes, and rugged mountains, the Gobi offers a stark, breathtaking beauty that has captivated explorers and travelers for centuries.

This coastal route runs between the Gulf of Alaska and Puget Sound, and is a popular route for cruise ships. Cruise passengers can expect to see a breathtaking amount of wildlife, as well as Ketchikan, Wrangell, Prince of Wales, Sitka, Juneau, Haines, Skagway and Glacier Bay.

Lijiang sits in northwest Yunnan, shaped by its role as a trading town on routes linking Tibet, Sichuan, and Southeast Asia. It is closely associated with the Naxi people, whose language, music, and traditions remain central to local identity.

Sapporo, (säp-pô´rô), capital of Hokkaido prefecture, SW Hokkaido, Japan. One of Japan's most rapidly growing urban centers, Sapporo is famous for its annual snow festival. It was the site of the 1972 winter Olympics.