An around-the-world cruise is often thought of as the pinnacle of a sailing vacation. Some cruisers embark on it as a single trip of a lifetime, while others are frequent repeat guests, working a world cruise into their annual travel plans. There are also enduring urban legends about older travelers who elect for extended world voyages as a retirement plan.
Whatever the reason, the allure is strong. Why not unpack once, enjoying fairy godmother-like service, exemplary amenities, and always changing views for months on end? Plenty of retired cruisers with time and money on their hands do exactly that, choosing an extended at-sea lifestyle for at least a portion of the year (around-the-world cruises often run from December or early January through March or April).
Here's everything travelers need to know about taking an around-the-world cruise, including tricks from veteran world cruisers, booking tips, and some of the best itineraries in 2023 and beyond.
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Advice from frequent world cruisers
Roger Foenander and his partner David Mutton—loyalists to Viking Cruises—note the lack of pressure to see and do things on longer journeys, which provides plenty of freedom to relax. That might mean attending onboard enrichment lectures, spending the afternoon playing cards with fellow passengers, or dipping into the onboard spa and sauna before cocktail hour.
Linda Wiseman, who’s traveled with Cunard, suggests new faces can help get ahead of any monotony: “In the dining room, we tell the maître d’ not to seat us with another couple who is sailing the whole thing—that way, our seat mates switch every few weeks, and we can meet different people.”
New Orleans-based philanthropist Phyllis Taylor observes that world cruises are a class set apart, without the frenzied pace of shorter sailings:
"The difference between a short cruise and a world cruise is night and day, storm and calm, fleeting thought and thoughtfulness. I enter the bar in the evening, in no time my favorite song is being played, my favorite drinks sit before me. I go to dinner and my favorite table is waiting for me, and my waiter has already served the iced water with lemon just as I like it."
But the real value of a world cruise, she says, is the chance to fully immerse in and savor the experience: “With an extended cruise you absorb the lifestyle of life at sea; with the great advantage of having a crew and staff that treats you like royalty.”
The best around-the-world cruises to book in 2023 and 2024
An homage to the first world cruise with Cunard
This year marked the centennial of what is generally regarded as the first World Cruise: a 1922 roundtrip New York sailing lasting 130 days by the Cunarder Laconia. The sailing was actually a full ship charter to American Express, who took full responsibility for marketing and selling the voyage.
Since the original world cruise departed in November 1922 and sailed through the winter season, Cunard is celebrating the milestone in 2023 with several Centenary World Voyages, with departures on Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria that will call at many of the same ports as the first world voyages a hundred years ago.
While the 2023 itineraries are nearly sold out, there are similar options to book in 2024 as well. Queen Mary 2 departs New York January 3, 2024 for a 123-night sailing to Australia, traveling eastbound via Portugal and the Canary Islands, Namibia, South Africa, Mauritius, Reunion, Australia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand, returning via the Persian Gulf, Greece, and Spain, before reaching New York via a second Transatlantic crossing.
Queen Victoria departs Southampton, England, on January 11, 2024, for a 107-night sailing with calls at Bermuda, Florida, and the Caribbean before transiting the Panama Canal and visiting Guatemala, Mexico, the U.S. West Coast, Hawaii, Samoa, Fiji, New Zealand, Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, South Africa, Namibia, the Canary Islands, and Portugal, returning to Southampton in late April.
Travelers not wishing to undertake the full voyage can book segments of the World Voyages, such as Southampton to Sydney on Queen Victoria (60 nights) or Sydney to New York on Queen Mary 2 (49 nights), although Cunard throws in extra perks like free gratuities, cocktail receptions, and a gala dinner ashore for guests taking the full World Cruise.
Cunard advertises Britannia Inside cabins on the 123-night Queen Mary 2 sailing from just under $21,000 before taxes and port fees, or just under $180 per person per night (based on double occupancy).
Cross the Panama and Suez canals with Holland America
Holland America Line’s 2024 Grand World Voyage is a 128-day roundtrip sailing from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, departing January 3, 2024, onboard the Zuiderdam. Passengers will visit several islands in the Caribbean, and cross the Amazon River to navigate through several ports in Brazil before exiting via the Panama Canal. Then it's off to Costa Rica, Mexico, and the Hawaiian Islands. From there, the ship crosses the International Dateline and calls upon Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands before stopping at several ports in Japan—including Kobe and Tokyo—as well as Hong Kong, mainland China, Vietnam, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and India. A tour through the Persian Gulf is followed by a Suez Canal crossing and visits to Israel and Turkey. On the final leg of the trip passengers will visit Greece, Italy, Spain, and the Azores, before crossing the Atlantic back to Fort Lauderdale in mid-May.
Fares start at $23,000 before taxes and port fees—also just under $180 per person per night. Holland America offers full-cruise guests additional amenities such as complimentary laundry, dry cleaning and pressing, plus in-suite bottled water and soft drinks.
Book even farther ahead for a mid-size or smaller ship
Smaller ships like those operated by Viking and Silversea have a devoted following and require further advance booking. Silversea’s World Cruises are currently waitlisted through 2024, and the January 2025 sailing has a few suites remaining.
Viking’s December 2023 cruises still have limited space. The 138-day itinerary from Fort Lauderdale to London transits the Panama Canal, calls in Hawaii French Polynesia, New Zealand, Australia, Southeast Asia, India, and the Mediterranean. Fares start just under $60,000 per person before taxes and port fees and include special World Cruise exclusives like Business Class air, onboard gratuities, virtually all drinks on board, and free luggage shipping to embarkation.
Booking tips for around-the-world cruises
How much is a cruise to go around the world?
World cruises, which may not actually circumnavigate the globe entirely, but are generally in a category that covers at least three continents and lasts from 90 to 150 days generally start around $180 per passenger per night based on double occupancy.
Is an around the world cruise worth it?
That’s certainly subjective, but travelers already accustomed to cruising who appreciate the amenities of a ship and the lifestyle of a new port to view through the window every few days will likely consider world cruises a good value.
How much does a 180 day cruise around the world cost?
The longest world voyages we found generally lasted up to 140 to 150 days at their upper limits, although it’s not uncommon for devoted cruise fans to string together several voyages to remain onboard as long as they wish—but they'll need to book each concurrent voyage before one of them sells out.