Demand for circumnavigations is growing, reports Jane Archer
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Maybe it’s the allure of escaping the British winter or of getting away from the relatives after the Christmas overload but, nearly 100 years after it was invented, world cruising is still hugely popular.
Not only have two more cruise lines decided to grab a slice of the business by scheduling voyages around the world for 2017 – a first for Cruise & Maritime Voyages (CMV) and the first for six years for Regent Seven Seas Cruises – but reports suggest a lot of demand.
P&O Cruises said sales for its 2017 voyages were 15% above target just two days after bookings opened in September, while Regent reported almost three-quarters of the top cabins on its world cruise were snapped up on the first day of sale despite a price tag of more than £65,000.
P&O Cruises has world voyages round-trip from Southampton on two ships, Arcadia and Aurora, in 2017. Each is taking a classic route to Australia and New Zealand but Arcadia sails westbound, starting in the Caribbean and Panama Canal and coming back through Asia, while Aurora heads east through Asia and comes back across the Pacific.
Departures are on January 2 and 9 respectively, with prices from £11,299 for 114 nights and £10,299 for 104 nights.
Global options
Regent’s new world cruise is also a classic 128-night westbound voyage sailing round-trip from Miami that includes overnight stays in Bali, Mumbai, Safaga (for tours to Luxor, Egypt) and Haifa in Israel.
There is also a two night stay in Yangon, Burma. The voyage, on the 490-passenger Seven Seas Navigator, costs from £36,299 including flights, transfers and Wi-Fi.
CMV said more than 140 people booked the full 120-day circumnavigation on Magellan within a month of it going on sale in May, rising to 250 by September, with another 150 people booked to do one of the world cruise sectors.
Sector sailings are offered by all lines and are shorter holidays within the long voyage for those who don’t have the time or money for a full circumnavigation but want to experience the ambience of a world cruise.
CMV head of marketing Mike Hall said one enterprising client has booked a voyage from Tilbury to Australia on the company’s ship Astor and a world cruise sector from Singapore back to Tilbury on Magellan.
CMV’s world cruise departs Tilbury on January 5, 2017, and follows a westbound route through the Caribbean, Panama Canal and South Pacific to Australia and New Zealand, heading back to the UK through Asia, the Suez Canal and Mediterranean.
Prices start from £8,999 for 120 nights; solo travellers pay a 25% supplement.
January departures
While ships have changed a lot since 1922, when Cunard’s Laconia made history by steaming around the world, some things are the same. As in Laconia’s days, world cruises depart in January and last up to four months.
Also then, as now, passengers faced a lot of days at sea as the ship steamed between continents. To avoid that, Seabourn has now given up on world cruising and instead offers long sailings that focus on specific parts of the world.
In 2017, for instance, Seabourn Sojourn will sail an 89-day voyage around the North Pacific from Singapore to Seattle with multiples calls in Japan and China. It is priced from £38,499 cruise-only departing March 4.
Itineraries have also evolved over the years. Cunard’s Queen Victoria, for instance, will make history on its 2017 world cruise, a 120-night voyage round-trip from Southampton, by becoming the largest ship to sail up the Amazon. It costs from £12,899 cruise-only departing January 5.
Queen Elizabeth’s 120-night voyage, meanwhile, visits four Japanese ports, with overnight stays in Hiroshima and Kobe. The cruise, from £13,299 cruise only, leaves Southampton on January 7.
In line with the trend for ships to stay longer in key destinations, Holland America Line’s 111-night world cruise on Amsterdam has overnights at nine ports including Honolulu, Osaka, Xingang (the port for Beijing), Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore, Mumbai, Aqaba and Istanbul.
The voyage, round-trip from Fort Lauderdale, departs January 4, 2017, and is priced from £12,600 cruise-only.
Best for luxury: Silversea
If luxury means cruising with just a few hundred other people on a small ship with included drinks, no gratuities to pay and butlers to attend to your every wish, Silversea’s world cruise has it all.
And more, because passengers booking the full voyage – a 116-day journey from San Francisco to Monte Carlo on the 382-passenger Silver Whisper – will also be invited to a pre-cruise dinner at the Four Seasons Hotel in San Francisco, an overnight trip to Xi’an in China to see the Terracotta Warriors and a 1940s evening at Hawaii’s Pacific Aviation Museum, Pearl Harbor.
They will also be entitled to a complimentary three-night cruise on Silversea’s new Silver Muse when it launches in May 2017. The sailing is priced from £39,750 per person, including business-class flights, drinks, gratuities and $4,000 per suite onboard credit.
Best for lots of days at sea: Princess Cruises
Clients looking for the ultimate in relaxation will be in seventh heaven on Princess Cruises’ 111-day voyage around the world in 2017.
True, there are ports to explore, but with a total of 73 days at sea this is a perfect choice for those seeking downtime to catch up on all the books and gym visits they have been putting off.
And, of course, they’ll also have plenty of time to snooze, learn to dance and indulge in a spa treatment or ten.
The cruise, on the 700-passenger Pacific Princess, is a westbound itinerary from Fort Lauderdale to New Zealand and Australia and back departing January 3. Prices from £14,438 cruise-only.
Best for not going around the world: Crystal Cruises
Crystal Cruises’ 2017 world cruise on Crystal Serenity is a great itinerary but a tad disappointing for anyone wishing to circumnavigate the globe.
Despite being billed as a world cruise, it is actually a 94-day voyage around South America and to Antarctica round-trip from Miami – still perfect for clients who fancy a long cruise at the start of the year.
Departing on January 10, it is also a great way to see South America as there are just 20 sea days (including in Antarctica as Serenity is not allowed to land passengers there) and overnight stops in ports including Callao in Peru, Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro.
Fares are from £24,748 cruise-only including drinks, gratuities and a meal in both Prego and Silk Road restaurants.
Best for value: Fred Olsen Cruise Lines
Spending up to four months on a cruise is never going to be cheap, but it can be good value.
Fred Olsen’s 107-night round-the-world voyage on Black Watch, departing January 3, 2017, costs about £108 per person per night for an outside cabin, which includes all meals and entertainment.
The cruise is round-trip from Southampton so there are no air fares to pay, and passengers get to experience a multitude of destinations and cultures, from Aruba in the Dutch Caribbean and Bora Bora in French Polynesia to Sydney and Singapore, where there is a three day call.
This sailing is from £11,599 cruise-only for an outside cabin.
Best for escaping the UK: Oceania Cruises
Oceania Cruises’ epic 180-day world cruise is the ultimate getaway – six months away from home, ticking off six continents, 36 countries and 98 ports.
It’s on the 684-passenger Insignia, departing Miami on January 6, and follows a classic westbound route – but does it all far more leisurely than other lines and with more highlights.
For instance, passengers will call at nine ports in the South Pacific, spend nine days in Spain and Portugal and sail the east coast of Canada and the US, including a cruise along the Saint Lawrence River and a two night stay in Bermuda.
It is priced from £25,409 including flights, gratuities to a value of $8,300, and $1,000 onboard credit (both amounts per cabin), plus internet and laundry.
Best for Australia: Cunard
Queen Mary 2’s 118-night global voyage is ideal for clients who want to visit Australia but don’t like flying.
After setting sail from Southampton, there are a few ports of call in Africa and the Indian Ocean, but the focus is down under, specifically Fremantle, the port for Perth.
Queen Mary 2 then ticks off another 10 ports in Australia, including two visits to Melbourne and Sydney, and two in Tasmania before sailing to China, Japan and back to the UK via Asia, the Middle East and Suez Canal. From £12,899 cruise-only.
