Record breaker: Luxury ship’s epic world cruise features sky-high price

Even Oceania’s Around the World in 180 Days cruise, currently sailing, doesn’t quite live up to its name, since it starts in Los Angeles and finishes in New York. But let’s not quibble. Oceania says a fifth of its world cruise guests opted to add further sections on either side, bumping their journey up to 218 days.

You could argue that world cruises are really just individual shorter cruises packaged together, and you’d be right. All are also sold as individual sections and only a minority of passengers last the entire lap.

Boasting rights apart, the enticement is that world cruises typically have many more inclusions compared with shorter segments, such as business-class airfares, on-board credit, shore excursions, gratuities and laundry service.

World cruises are increasingly popular, thanks to cashed-up retirees, revenge travel following the COVID years and the growing number of digital nomads taking advantage of much-improved ship connectivity.

Oceania’s 2023 around-the-world journey sold out in a single day. Azamara’s world cruise this year also sold out, prompting additional world cruises in 2025 and 2026. And in 2026, Cunard is sending two of its ships on world cruises.

Tempted? Book well ahead as cruise enthusiasts set their sights on ever-grander journeys.

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What’s the difference in river cruising in America, Europe and Asia?

Distances between river ports are short in Europe and you’ll have every opportunity to spend most days, and sometimes evenings, off the ship. The equivalent of an ocean cruise’s day at sea is rare except on the Lower Danube. European riverbanks are crammed with old towns and great cities, cathedrals and castles. Don’t expect dramatic landscapes except in spurts, such as the Rhine Gorges in Germany, or Djerdap Gorge (Iron Gate) in Serbia-Romania. You will however be enveloped in loveliness much of the time.

In America and Asia, distances are greater, so you’ll do more night sailing and spend more time on board. River ships aren’t constrained by Europe’s narrow locks and low medieval bridges, so are often larger with roomier cabins.

As most American river cruises operate in the Midwest, often low-lying landscapes aren’t dramatic, but the Snake-Columbia River in the north-west has epic semi-desert and gorge scenery.

Asia has some grand scenery, too, such as the Yangtze Three Gorges in China and stretches of rivers in India near the Himalayas. But Asia particularly stands out for the spectacle of passing local life: ferries, sampans, devotees at prayer, school children waving from bridges, and farmers busy in fields.