19 Night Cruise sailing from Papeete to Los Angeles aboard Silver Spirit.

The newest vessel in the Silversea family, Silver Spirit offers the distinctive luxuries and celebrated lifestyle Silversea guests adore, plus enticing enhancements including Stars Supper Club, an Asian-themed restaurant, an expansive 8,300-square-foot spa, a resort-style pool, four whirlpools, and the largest suites in the Silversea fleet - 95% with private verandas.

Highlights of this cruise:

Papeete
Formed by two ancient volcanoes and joined at the isthmus of Taravao, Tahiti is the largest island of the Society Archipelago and economic heart of French Polynesia. Ever since the famous French impressionist painter Paul Gauguin immortalized Tahitian maidens in vibrant colours on his canvasses, Tahiti has embodied a mysterious allure and still summons up the romance of the South Pacific as a tropical paradise.

Rising in the centre, Mount Orohena and Mount Aorai are the island's highest points; deep valleys radiate in all directions from these central peaks, and steep slopes drop abruptly from the high plateaus to coastal plains. The rugged and rocky Northeast Coast lacks a protective barrier reef, and is thus exposed to intense, pounding surf. Villages lie on a narrow strip between mountains and ocean. The South Coast is broad and gentle, with large gardens and coconut groves sheltered by a barrier reef from the sea.

Papeete, Tahiti's capital, is French Polynesia's only real city and a major South Pacific port of call for freighters, cruise vessels and yachts. With hills rising abruptly behind the town, Papeete stretches along the waterfront for about a mile. Running the entire distance, tree-shaded Boulevard Pomare is lined with new apartment buildings, banks, sidewalk cafes, boutiques, and government offices. Just off the seafront boulevard is Papeete's public market and centre of activity. The atmosphere of the 'marche', as the market is locally known, reflects an earlier Papeete; earthy, vibrant and filled with amiable confusion.

There was no city and the area attracted little attention until 1818, when Reverend Crook of the London Missionary Society settled here. Papeete began to grow in earnest when Queen Pomare made it her capital in the 1820s, and sailing ships took advantage of the protected harbour. By the 1830s, Papeete had become a regular port of call for whalers. When the French made Tahiti a protectorate in 1842, the military arrived on the scene, and French Catholic priests and nuns soon followed. When fire destroyed almost half of Papeete in 1884, a law was passed prohibiting the use of native building materials. In 1906, huge waves resulting from a cyclone wiped out a number of homes and businesses.

Explore this lively town and take in its unique mix of exotic and French ambiance.

Bora Bora
Located 160 miles (257 kilometres) northwest of Tahiti, Bora Bora is the epitome of an idyllic South Pacific island. Emerald-green hills and crystalline blue lagoons highlight the spectacular beauty of this once quiet retreat, now a favourite destination for tourists, hotel entrepreneurs, and film producers. During World War II, 4,500 U.S. troops were stationed on Bora Bora. In 1977, an army of Italian filmmakers descended on the island for the filming of the movie Hurricane and most recently, the Vince Vaughn film Couples Retreat was shot here. James Michener, author of Tales of the South Pacific, called Bora Bora 'the most beautiful island on earth'. Painters and artists are equally enthralled by its seductive power.

The island is 20 miles (32 kilometres) in circumference and a round-the-island tour can take from 90 minutes to several hours depending on the conveyance used and number of stops made. The island's major community is Vaitape Village, which features most of area's shops and boutiques. Scattered across Bora Bora are a number of maraes, or ancient Polynesian temple ruins, that are worth visiting. Tours by jeep into the rugged interior are equally popular, especially for World War II buffs. Swimming, snorkelling, diving and various other water-related activities are also popular with guests.

Kailua Kona
The Kona coast, on Hawaii's western shore, divides into two distinct areas - the north with spectacular sandy beaches followed farther up by a long bleak slope of barren lava trails from dormant Mauna Kea all the way down to the sea. Southwards, the hillsides are more fertile and there is still a feel of the old Hawaii.

The Big Island's main resort is officially called Kailua, but mostly everyone simply refers to it as Kona, or Kailua-Kona. It is by far the island's most developed area. Whilst the main road, Ali'i Drive, is lined with shops, hotels and condominiums, most of the shoreline vista remains intact thanks to low-rise buildings.

To show just how fertile lava can be when tended, miles of multi-hued bougainvillea and poinsettias line Ali'i Drive like a colourful lei. East of town is the 8,271-foot (2,521-metre) Mount Hualalai, where local people still earn a living growing vegetables and taro on small farms spreading over the side of the mountain.

In the centre of Kona stands the Hulihee Palace built as the governor's residence in 1838. The relatively simple dwelling was heavily damaged during the last big storm and is now under restoration. The north end of downtown is home to Ahuena Heiau, where King Kamehameha spent the last years of his life.

A dozen miles south of Kona at Kealakekua Bay is the site where Captain Cook was killed on his second voyage to Hawaii. South Kona is also the prime source of the famous Kona coffee.

Lahaina
The second-largest island in the Hawaiian chain, Maui is known as the 'Valley Isle', and attracts roughly a third of all visitors to Hawaii. Located in the middle of the archipelago, Maui epitomises what most visitors have in mind when they picture a Hawaiian tropical paradise. With an abundance of golden beaches, lush valleys with sparkling waterfalls, dense rainforests and pristine seas, the 'Valley Isle' is an ideal holiday destination.

Maui is home to a handful of farms and ranches, a dwindling number of sugar plantations and quaint historic towns. Maui is also highlighted by Hawaii's best-known dormant volcano, Haleakala, which is renowned for its moon-like craters, towering cinder cones and austere landscape.

Lahaina, Hawaii's former capital, is located on the island's West Coast. Many of the old buildings in this 19th-century whaling town have been renovated. In the 1860s, the Lahaina area saw the milling and harvesting of sugar cane as one of the most lucrative industries. With more than 45,000 tons produced annually from only 5,000 harvested acres, the need for efficient transportation led to the Lahaina Kaanapali & Pacific Railroad, which replaced cattle and mule teams. In the early-1900s, the railroad began carrying the growing number of sugar mill workers. Today, the train re-enacts this voyage through the sugar cane fields in old-fashioned, open-air rail cars.

The small centre of Lahaina is filled with shops, restaurants and art galleries. On the ocean side of Front Street stands the landmark Banyan tree. Planted in 1873, it is reputedly the largest of its kind in Hawaii. To the north of Lahaina lies the Kaanapali resort area, where luxury hotels line the sandy beach.

Los Angeles
Few cities in the world capture the imagination the way Los Angeles does-from the bronze stars in the sidewalk along Hollywood's Walk of Fame to the spandex-clad in-line skaters zipping along the Venice Boardwalk. Visitors flock to Hollywood in search of film and television stars; to Beverly Hills for a glimpse of glamour and privilege; and to the beaches all along the coast, where the sunny, laid-back California good life is alive for all to see. Looking at a map of Los Angeles, first-time visitors are sometimes overwhelmed. Here's some advice: relax, do your best to accept the traffic, and set your priorities. Los Angeles is as much an idea as it is a physical city. It sprawls across 467 square mi, and no single locale-whether it be Hollywood, downtown, Beverly Hills, or the Venice Boardwalk-fully embodies L.A. It's in the mix that you'll discover the city's character. We've tried to identify a few of the highlights.