World Cruise Itineraries

By David Barclay | May 31, 2023

It’s always fun to dream about major travel bucket list trips. Going on a safari, visiting Antarctica, and possibly in the future going into outer space are all worthy trips for a travel bucket list. For those who like to cruise (which I do) another major bucket list trip is a World Cruise.

Stemming from increasing popularity, in recent years many cruise lines have started offering World Cruises. A few cruise lines offer more than one World Cruise each year. And there is no set route for a world cruise, which means each cruise is unique (even for a particular line, its World Cruise itineraries will vary dramatically each year). What this means is there are a multitude of options to pick from to find the perfect World Cruise for each traveler. Although many of the Mainstream and Premium lines have started offering World Cruises (Royal Caribbean made headlines recently for offering a 274 day World Cruise dubbed “The Ultimate World Cruise”) the cruises I’ve highlighted are offered by my favorite luxury cruise lines. If I’m sailing the world for 3-4 months to explore new cultures and unique sites, I don’t want giant water slides and Broadway performances, I want refined travel accommodations and likeminded travelers on board.

I’m not expecting you to read this post and immediately decide you want to book a World Cruise for the beginning of 2024. A World Cruise is something you might spend years planning and saving for, it’s not an impulsive decision. And if you asked me a few years ago, I would have also said that World Cruises are really only suited for retirees, who have the free time available to be away for several months. But my opinion on this has slowly evolved. Cruise ships are improving their broadband internet connections dramatically. On my recent trip to the Galapagos, I was able to use Verizon’s Wi-Fi calling feature to make calls to the U.S. which sounded perfectly clear with no noticeable delay or lag. Many cruise lines are launching new ships and retrofitting in-service ships to utilize Starlink’s network of low earth orbit satellites. This is a game changer, finally providing reliable and fast internet service wherever a cruise ship may sail. Since World Cruises include a fair number of sea days as the ships need to cover a lot of distance, they now might be an options for those who’s careers allow them to work remotely with flexible work hours. Work during the sea days (and maybe when visiting a familiar port) and explore on the port days, all the while being pampered by the ship’s crew and the multiple dining options on board.

Another aspect of World Cruises that many people don’t know about, but opens up the opportunity to travel for those of us still working and with family obligations, is that you don’t have to sail the full World Cruise itinerary. On most World Cruises, only a portion of the guests are aboard for the full duration. Many World Cruises are broken up into smaller segments and guests can choose to sail one or more segments. If you scroll down to my first World Cruise example, the itinerary map highlights each starting/stopping point for a segment. So while you might not have 136 days to commit to the full World Cruise, you might be able to carve out time to sail a 9-20 day segment of the cruise.

I hope I have intrigued you to learn a little more about World Cruises and I hope you will take a few minutes of your day today (even if you aren’t a cruiser yet) to look at my sampling of World Cruises and day dream about spending several months exploring the breadth of our world.

If you’d like to learn more about World Cruises, please see my World Cruises page on my website.

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Controtempo – World Cruise 2025 – Tokyo to New York City

136 Days, 59 Port, 30 Countries
Silversea

Silversea’s 2025 World Cruise will sail on one of its newer and largest ships, the Silver Dawn. With 8 dining establishments including the famous La Dame and the new S.A.L.T. Kitchen which prepares food from the region being visited, guests on this World Cruise won’t have to worry about becoming bored with the food. Silversea is also sprinkling in unique bespoke events on this cruise to create lifetime memories. Silversea includes its door-to-door fares for this World Cruise, which include transfers to/from the airports, business class air and a pre-cruise hotel stay. For those unable to sail the entire 136 days, the itinerary is divided into 10 smaller segments.

Pricing starts at $81,000 per person.

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Extraordinary Horizons – World Cruise 2024 – Los Angeles to Athens

145 Days, 72 Port, 28 Countries
Seabourn

Sailing aboard the Sojourn, one of Seabourn’s 450 guest ships, this World Cruise is very East Asia, Southeast Asia, and Oceania intensive. As is common with World Cruises, this itinerary includes 20 overnight port stays in major ports including Sydney, Shanghai, Bangkok, and Singapore. The cruise includes door-to-door service with transfers to/from the airports, business or first class air, personal valet luggage shipping service, unlimited laundry, and substantial shipboard credits. World Cruise guests also experience a gala bon voyage dinner, multiple exclusive World Cruise events and receive a special World Cruise gift.

Pricing starts at $79,399 per person.

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The Sense of Adventure – World Cruise 2026 – Miami to Miami

155 Days, 77 Port, 41 Countries
Regent Seven Seas

For those who want to circumnavigate the world, Regent is offering the opportunity in 2026! The Seven Seas Mariner will depart Miami on January 10th and return 155 days later having traveled 39,722 nautical miles. Guests will visit 6 continents (all except for Antarctica), sail on 3 oceans and overnight in 16 ports. All guests receive first class air to Miami, enjoy a pre-cruise gala event, will experience multiple exclusive shoreside events, receive complimentarily door-to-door luggage service, have unlimited laundry service, and will get a commemorative gift.

Pricing starts at $97,599 per person.