In today’s time-poor working environment, very few people have the time for a complete world cruise. Unless you’re particularly well off, just won a lottery or celebrating a big superannuation or redundancy package, there aren’t too many of us ready to shell out tens of thousands to sail around the globe for 100 consecutive nights or more.
So here’s the tip. Take a segment of a world cruise between two ports and enjoy your luxury circumnavigation a bit at a time. Next year, find a new segment. You could cruise, not only different ports or revisit favourites, but use different cruise lines and ships as well.
Spotlight: Cunard’s QM2 118-night voyage has segments as short as two nights.
Break out of the regular
Some cruise ports just keep popping up on every line’s itineraries, often with good reason, such as customs, refueling and reprovisioning. But many innovative cruise lines, often those with smaller ships, will seek out more unusual ports outside the typical routes in order to offer their guests extra enrichment and experience such as overnights and extra special shore excursions.
For example, Southeast Asia and the vast Pacific Ocean are offering new destinations that bigger ships will have difficulty with such as Bintulu in Malaysia, PNG and Solomon Islands, Niue, Easter island and Chile's Robinson Crusoe Island in the Pacific.
Spotlight: Azamara Club Cruises will spend two nights and three days exploring Yangon
Resort to Cruising
While a world cruise has always been the pinnacle of ultimate travel, the ships of old have sometimes left a bit to be desired. Not so today. The latest luxury cruise lines are all going head-to-head with consistently upmarket offerings. Many ships have onboard facilities rivaling land-based resorts like extensive spa and wellness, sumptuous dining and Broadway-style entertainment. All these delights will make short work of the sea days as you traverse the longer ocean legs.
Some spa services go beyond the usual facials, skin analysis, manicures and pedicures to medi-spa offerings like Medi-Spa Cosmetic Treatments such skin tightening and Dermal Filler Treatments
Spotlight: The award-winning Crystal Spa is the only Feng Shui-inspired spa at sea
The World is Not Enough
Choosing a world cruise itinerary and matching vessel is always going to the tricky bit, but in truth, it’s hard to make a bad decision with the quality and variety of vessels on offer. Your experienced Cruiseabout agent will always help you make the right choice based on your budget and travel desires.
The trend for the top cruise lines today is to go beyond simply joining the dots between ports and create a complete vacation package that enables you see and experience locations in a thoroughly enriching and rewarding fashion. Look for cruise lines that spend extended time in regions you really want to visit.
Spotlight: Silversea’s epic 116-night voyage calls on 62 ports in 25 countries
Cruise from home
Lovely as that may be, you don’t have to fly to Southampton or Florida to start your world cruise. Options are available to start - and finish - much closer to home. Princess Cruises, for example, offers the option to sail in and out of Sydney, adding more shipboard enjoyment and avoiding the sometimes bothersome and stressful processes of long haul flight connections - especially with all your luggage for a world cruise.
Spotlight: Sea Princess 104-day roundtrip from Sydney
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