Cunard's cruise liner Queen Victoria departs Sydney Harbour. Photo / Getty Images
If you are mulling the whole global getaway thing, consider it the ultimate gap year, writes Teresa Machan.
World cruise. Repeat: world cruise. Sounds exotic, right? At a time when many of us travel frequently, and make a priority of working through our holiday wishlists, it is increasingly hard to find that little bit of "wow!" that gets the must-book-this pulse racing.
So, what exactly is a world cruise? Think of it as the ultimate gap year, squeezed into three months — a way of seeing multiple, exotic destinations in one solid chunk of time, with the added advantage of comfort.
If you did most of your travelling as a student or with a young family, here is your chance to put bells and whistles on your holiday experiences. Stay overnight in Hong Kong and dine in one of the city's memorable harbour-front restaurants. Soar over Manhattan on a float plane or take a helicopter flight over Iguazu Falls in South America.
Of course, there will be tick-list experiences you have missed. Seeing the cherry blossom in Japan, the safari holiday you always wanted to take, the trip to the Med for which you never quite found the time. With safari options from Cape Town and transits along the Panama Canal, a long cruise is a convenient, cost-effective way of capturing those experiences — as well as visiting destinations you may not have yet have heard of.
Life on board can be as luxurious as you make it. Some lines offer unlimited Wi-Fi and butler service; others pre-stock your mini-bar and throw in Business Class flights. All the lines in our round-up have their own selling point.
So, now you have your raison d'etre for travelling and your guaranteed wow factor, how do you make it happen?
What qualifies as a world cruise varies enormously, as do the routes taken, the cost, what is included, and the time each cruise takes — anything from 99 to 243 days. In the cruises featured here, prices range from $180 per day (Fred Olsen) to $787 a day (Regent Seven Seas).
Below this, we highlight the best cruises this year and through to 2020, taking into account budgets, durations, destinations, educational content and suitability for solo travellers.
Try: Fred Olsen Cruise Lines
Countries visited: 29
Ports visited: 63
Islands visited: 13
Nights in port: 28
If value for money is a key requirement — along with plenty of time at sea — then Fred Olsen can't be beaten: $29,800pp for the company's 168-day 2019 world cruise aboard the 880-passenger Boudicca works out at about $177 a day. The cruise offers an above-average number of overnights, and in destinations often ignored by other cruises such as Bali, the Andaman Islands, Kochi (India) and Yangon (Myanmar). Note, however, that this is not a full circumnavigation — the Americas and Pacific Islands remain untouched. In a smart piece of programming, the ship is scheduled to overnight in Sydney on New Year's Eve for the fireworks. Departs Dover on October 3.
Try: P&O Cruises
Countries visited: 23
Ports visited: 31
Nights in port: six (San Francisco, Honolulu, Sydney, Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai).
Islands: 11
Like Cruise & Maritime and Fred Olsen, P&O gives you a long time at sea without charging a king's ransom: its 99-night Western Circumnavigation in 2019 aboard the 2094-passenger Arcadia works out at just over $200 nightly. Port overnights (six) are few but include — unusually — a night in Dubai. P&O has made life especially easy for those who want sectors of the full itinerary, with as many as 16 options, from the popular UK to Australia leg (Southampton to Brisbane or Sydney) to segments such as Hong Kong to Southampton (35 nights from $7555, or $215 daily, departs Hong Kong March 12). From $19,880pp, departing Southampton January 6.
Try: Crystal Cruises
Countries visited: 23
Ports visited: 47
Islands: 11
Nights in port: 17
High-end operator Crystal is sparing with its world cruises, but when it does them, it does them very well, often with a twist. It also places an emphasis on wide-ranging lectures, so if an educational element is important, consider the company's 25th world cruise. The 105-day trip is aboard the 1070-passenger Crystal Serenity on an Epic Empires and Idyllic Isles voyage, which sets off from Miami and travels through the Panama Canal before venturing into the South Pacific. The trip, which is also available in seven sectors of 13-18 days, is good for Kiwis keen to spend some of the time relatively close to home, with a focus on the Pacific (Fiji, Tahiti) and Australasia (our own Dusky, Doubtful and Milford Sounds, plus Mooloolaba and Airlie Beach, both Australian maiden ports). The cruise ends in Rome, via the Middle East and a handful of Mediterranean ports. From $57,780pp, or $550 daily, departing Miami for Rome on Jan 6, 2020.
Try: Cruise Maritime
Countries visited: 25
Ports visited: 42
Islands: eight
Distance travelled: 64,573km
Nights in port: one (French Polynesia)
If you are a solo traveller and are worried you'll feel isolated on a long cruise, then consider Cruise Maritime's 120-day option aboard the 1400-passenger Columbus, which, unusually, has 150 cabins designed for solo travellers. The company also offers two world cruise routes — from Europe to Sydney and back (47 days) — but with options to leave or join the voyage at ports such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Auckland, Fremantle and Adelaide. More unusual ports of call include Rabaul (Papua New Guinea) and Kagoshima, Japan (for the gardens). It's also among the best-priced world cruises. From $21,480pp, or $179 a day, departing Tilbury on Jan 5.
Try: Cunard
Countries visited: 20
Ports visited: 33
Islands visited: 11
Nights in port: four (San Francisco, Sydney, Hong Kong and Cape Town).
If you want a full circumnavigation of the world then look to Cunard's choice of world cruises, which include the 107-night round-trip from Southampton in 2019 aboard Queen Victoria. This voyage devotes more time than some cruises to the US (Florida, San Francisco and Hawaii) and Australasia, with four ports in Australia (Sydney, Darwin, Brisbane and the Whitsunday Islands)and three here (Auckland, Tauranga and the Bay of Islands). Next year and 2020 also see an increased emphasis on options between Southampton and Australia, such as the 56-night cruise to Sydney aboard Queen Mary 2 (departs Jan 10, 2020). From $28,750pp, $268 daily, and $12,520pp, $223 daily, respectively.
Try: Oceania Cruises
Countries visited: 38
Ports visited: 70
Islands visited: 24
Nights in port: 17
If you want to skip winter altogether, the 2020 Around the World in 180 Days sailing aboard Insignia is one of Oceania's longest-ever cruises. You'll sail 18 seas, three oceans, travel 81,653km and access 67 world heritage sites. The major ports you'd expect on four continents are visited, but the geographic scope of this cruise is more varied than Oceania's previous world voyages: Alaska, the Aleutian Islands and the Inside Passage are included for the first time, for example, along with a circumnavigation of South America that includes the Falkland Islands. If that's not long enough at sea, add 10 or 15 days and conclude the trip in Miami or New York instead of San Francisco. From $66,515pp, or $369 daily, departing Miami Jan 8, 2020.
Try: Silversea Cruises
Countries visited: 31
Ports visited: 52
Islands visited: 13
Nights in port: 16 (Tahiti, Sydney, Bali, Osaka, Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Ho Chi Minh, Mombasa, Cape Town, Walvis Bay, Seville, Lisbon, Bordeaux).
The 132-day Tale of Tales voyage from San Francisco to London is Silversea's most ambitious world cruise to date. Why Tale of Tales? Because the trip will feature guest writers and other speakers, some little known, others, such as author Paul Theroux and photographer Steve McCurry, among the finest names in their field. Beyond the lecture content, Silversea's pitch is intimacy: a small ship (the 382-passenger Silver Whisper) and a mix of smaller ports of call combined with stops in Asia, Australia and the Pacific. This means visits to Praslin in the Seychelles, for example, along with Mamoudzou, off Madagascar, Banjul (Gambia) and Dakar (Senegal). From $93,460pp or $708 daily, departing San Francisco Jan 6.
Try: Seabourn
Countries visited: 36
Ports visited: 62
Islands visited: 22
Nights in port: 16 (Bridgetown, Dakar, Walvis Bay, Cape Town, Mombassa, Chennai, Singapore, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Bemoa in Bali, Cairns, Sydney, Suva, Honolulu and San Francisco)
Seabourn's first world cruise in six years, a 146-day circumnavigation from North America, will visit dozens of off-the-beaten-track ports including Dakar, in Senegal, and Mombasa in Kenya. Cruising highlights include sailing up the Saigon River to Ho Chi Minh City. No fewer than 20 Unesco heritage sites are on the itinerary and there are visits to safari parks and game reserves in Kenya and South Africa. Also available are Seabourn Journeys — longer pre- and post-cruise land-based excursions to and from destinations such as Cape Town, Singapore and Sydney. From $119,274pp, $817 daily, departing Miami on January 4, 2020.
Try: Regent Seven Seas
Countries visited: 35
Ports visited: 63
Islands visited: 15
Nights in port: 14 (San Francisco, Honolulu, Tahiti, Auckland, Sydney (two nights), Bali, Singapore, Colombo, Mumbai, Luxor, Jerusalem, Barcelona, Bermuda).
Around the world in luxury, and with plenty of time in key destinations? Look at Regent Seven Seas, but hurry: their one or two world cruises a year sell fast. The 14 port overnights on the 131-day 2020 world cruise and a choice of 392 free shore excursions help account for this popularity, but the itinerary is also distinctive for the time it spends in Indian and Sri Lankan waters (nine days) and in the Middle East (20 days). Near the end there is a 15-day in-depth cruise of the Mediterranean: excellent if you have not visited the likes of Florence, Rome, Sicily, Monte Carlo and Barcelona. From $100,966pp, or $770 daily, departing Miami Jan 6, 2020.
Try: Princess Cruises
Countries visited: 29
Ports visited: 41
Islands: 17
Nights in port: five (Huahine, Polynesia; Singapore; and three nights in Cape Town).
The 111-day 2019 world cruises offered by Princess Cruises showcase many destinations often overlooked on these longer cruises, including the Maldives, Madagascar, Namibia and the islands of St Helena and Reunion. The two departures are round-trip from Fort Lauderdale or Los Angeles, or opt for one of Princess's range of sector "world" cruises from London, Sydney, New York and Dubai, including London to Sydney (50 days, 18 ports) and vice versa, or New York to Sydney (38 days, 14 ports). Note that these sector voyages are very popular. From $38,610pp, or $348 daily, round-trip from Fort Lauderdale, departing Jan 5; departing Los Angeles from $40,777pp, $367 daily, on Jan 20.
Try: Viking Cruises
Countries visited: 59
Ports visited: 113
Islands visited: 21
Nights in port: 22
There are world cruises — and then there are world cruises. This one is for people who love time — lots of time — at sea. Viking is a long-established luxury river-cruise operator but has now entered the world of ocean cruising — and entered with a bang. It is with some justification that it calls its world cruise, aboard the 930-passenger Viking Sun, the Ultimate World Cruise, because at 243 days (that's eight months) it's by some distance the longest such cruise available in 2019. The itinerary is especially strong in South America, with visits to the Amazon and Chilean fjords — less so in the US — and includes destinations such as Iceland and Greenland that are ignored by most world cruises. You can choose a shorter 127-day sector from London to Los Angeles (33 countries, 61 ports). From $133,170pp, or $548 daily, round trip from London departing August 31.
The trendy spot is just six minutes from the Waikiki beach.