How far in advance are world cruises released ? List of all lines that offer World cruises ?

[angela12345]

We are planning a world cruise in 2028.  Most likely in the January - June timeframe.

I am wondering, how far in advance do each of the cruiselines release information about their offerings ?
i.e. Any detailed info you know about when the info/itinerary is available & when bookings are allowed.

Please list all the cruiselines you know of that offer either world cruises or very extended cruise lengths ? 
(more than 21 days at bare bones minimum)

What is the longest world cruise you have ever seen ?  The longest I've found online so far is 220 days.
 

[Mich3554]

Viking’s world cruises released in early Dec 2020 for the 2022-23 world cruise.  It sold out earlier this month.  The longest cruise I have seen was the 245 day cruise from this line in 2019-20.  We reserved exactly 2 years before we set sail, and cabin pickings were slim at that time.  I have seen ads for Regents releasing their WC schedule recently, and I think Oceania.  

 

You can play around with cruise schedules and do 2 back to back cruises to get over 21 days.  We have one planned from Athens to Buenos Aires that is 36 days at the end of 2021.  I briefly considered (and still may) tack on another 18 day cruise onto that, and leave from Santiago instead. 

[Heidi13]

Wow, lots of questions, great start to your research.

 

Longerst WC on record -

Viking Ocean 2019/20 WC R/T Greenwich (London), which was scheduled for 245 days. Unfortunately, it was somewhat curtailed by COVID, with the last pax disembarking in Gibraltar.

 

Cruise Lines Offering WC's

These are the ones I am aware of, with some notes:

• Viking Ocean - generally 2 options, departing Ft Lauderdale to London (dep late December) and L/A to London (dep early January) Length is 120 to 145 days. Viking WC's often sell out without segments. Ships are all identical 930 pax, with 2023 WC being the Viking Neptune's maiden voyage.
• Oceania - can be 180 to over 200 days depending on options. Start in January, usually from a US port. Generally have multiple segments. Smaller and older "R" class ship, about 680 pax
• Crystal - this cruise line is now owned by Genting Hong Kong, which is in financial difficulty (since August 2020). Can be R/T or may start in US port and end in Europe. Probably 130 to 150 days. Normally have segments. Older tonnage, with about 1,000 pax
• Seabourn - about 140 days, usually US port to Europe.
• Regent - smaller ships
• Silversea - really small ships
• Cunard - WC may change each year and in addition to a WC, they may have Grand Voyages. R/T New York or Southampton. Generally start early January, probably about 100 days. All have segments. 2,000+ pax
• Princess - Offer 2 W/C's, R/T L/A departing early January and R/T Sydney departing May. Ships have recently changed. All have segments. Probably 2,000+ pax
• P&O UK - R/T Southampton, about 100 days. Has segments. About 2,000+ pax
• HAL - R/T Ft Lauderdale for about 140 days. Has segments. Probably about 1,500 pax. Note - when HAL cancelled the 2020 WC in Freemantle they only arrange flights for those using HAL Air. Others were effectively abandoned to make own arrangements.
• Costa - R/T Eusope
• MSC - R/T Europe

Advance Booking

Best you plan for about 2 yrs before departure. These are our examples:

• 1st WC - 2015 Princess, R/T Sydney, saw it and booked it about 18 months in advance
• 2nd WC - 2020 Viking L/A to London, saw it and booked it about 20 months in advance
• 3rd WC - 2023 Viking L/A to London, posted Dec 9th 2020, booked the same day. Cruise departs Jan 8th 2023. Cruise sold out in 6 weeks, without segments, about 2 yrs before departure.

Longest Cuise Taken

120 days as a pax, but I have spent 9 months working on a ship.

 

Good luck with research and feel free to ask many questions. You can also check out our travel blog www.AndyandJudi.com please note it is only a record of our travels and is not moniterised, so we get no benefit. I also have links to other cruise blogs.

 

 

 

[Traveling_Family]

Great info! I would also add to that, residential ships if those are of interest: The World, Blue World Voyages and Storylines. 

[SeattleBarbershop]

Thanks for the info.  I finally determined my retirement date - New Years Day 2025.  I'm a financial exec for a large architecture firm, so I'll be getting my replacement ready for the new year.  Then I'M DONE!  The plan is to de-compress for a week, then head to Los Angeles for a week with family, then hop on the cruise,  Probably the Princess ship - but I understand there are still two years of announcements of itineraries to come out before we can book.  Our travel agent is all ready to nab a balcony, as soon as it's ready.

 

Feel free to add any planning tips.  I know we are early, but that's part of the fun.

 

PS  Saw one tip on a video - get travel agent involved with Visas - and get my passport renewed.  It expires in late 2025 - I could probably squeeze it in, but I'd like to get the stamps in a new passport.

 

[Heidi13]

4 hours ago, SeattleBarbershop said:

Thanks for the info.  I finally determined my retirement date - New Years Day 2025.  I'm a financial exec for a large architecture firm, so I'll be getting my replacement ready for the new year.  Then I'M DONE!  The plan is to de-compress for a week, then head to Los Angeles for a week with family, then hop on the cruise,  Probably the Princess ship - but I understand there are still two years of announcements of itineraries to come out before we can book.  Our travel agent is all ready to nab a balcony, as soon as it's ready.

 

Feel free to add any planning tips.  I know we are early, but that's part of the fun.

 

PS  Saw one tip on a video - get travel agent involved with Visas - and get my passport renewed.  It expires in late 2025 - I could probably squeeze it in, but I'd like to get the stamps in a new passport.

 

 

Since you have a couple of years before booking opens, I suggest researching a number of World Cruise options to find the one that best meets your expectations and budget.

 

With long cruises, when considering budget, please consider the entire cost of the cruise and break it down to a per diem cost. Princess and other mass market base fares are lower than other options, but by the end of the cruise, you may be surprised at the total per diem costs.

 

Lots of threads on the World Cruise Board giving real examples.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

World cruises are coming out early. 

you could do 1/2 on one company and half on a other ..

[zoncom]

Oceania ATW 23 came out about a week ago. Sold out in a day.

[Heidi13]

1 hour ago, zoncom said:

Oceania ATW 23 came out about a week ago. Sold out in a day.

 

They sold an entire WC with no segments in a day. Wow, that's impressive

[Waynetor]

The 2023 w/c have sold very well.  The 2020 voyages were cut short, the 2021 never started and many that have booked 2022 have also booked 2023 just in case 2022 is a no go.

 

Lots of bent up demand.

[muggo11]

Some of these bookings may fall away. We have two WCs booked in 2022 and 2023. But booked 2023 as a back-up in case 2022 either doesn’t sail or requires ship’s excursions (a deal breaker for us).  Also, if ships start to require vaccinations to sail, there will be some cancellations.  But, given the relative generosity of timing of refunds and FCC, you can’t go wrong by booking early. 
We did a ton of research and cost comparisons. For us, an interior on Princess fit the bill. Good luck!  

[Roger88]

3 minutes ago, muggo11 said:

Some of these bookings may fall away. We have two WCs booked in 2022 and 2023. But booked 2023 as a back-up in case 2022 either doesn’t sail or requires ship’s excursions (a deal breaker for us).  Also, if ships start to require vaccinations to sail, there will be some cancellations.  But, given the relative generosity of timing of refunds and FCC, you can’t go wrong by booking early. 
We did a ton of research and cost comparisons. For us, an interior on Princess fit the bill. Good luck!  

I also have no trust in those bookings and the current system. I mean everything is no unclear these days and its really hard to forecast anything. I would rather go for some ordinary way of booking avoiding any third party involvement in the process 

[SargassoPirate]

On 3/1/2021 at 8:06 AM, SeattleBarbershop said:

Thanks for the info.  I finally determined my retirement date - New Years Day 2025.  I'm a financial exec for a large architecture firm, so I'll be getting my replacement ready for the new year.  Then I'M DONE!  The plan is to de-compress for a week, then head to Los Angeles for a week with family, then hop on the cruise,  Probably the Princess ship - but I understand there are still two years of announcements of itineraries to come out before we can book.  Our travel agent is all ready to nab a balcony, as soon as it's ready.

 

Feel free to add any planning tips.  I know we are early, but that's part of the fun.

 

PS  Saw one tip on a video - get travel agent involved with Visas - and get my passport renewed.  It expires in late 2025 - I could probably squeeze it in, but I'd like to get the stamps in a new passport.

 

 

Congratulations on picking a date to retire.  When I was starting a new government job many, many years ago I received one of the best pieces of advice ever.  The personnel officer said "On the day you are eligible to retire, from then on you are working for the difference"  That stuck with me and when I had an opportunity for a buyout with immediate pension almost 20 years ago, I figured the difference and it was $500 a month.  I wasn't working anywhere for $500 a month.  I was gone in two weeks.  Never regretted it for one minute.

 

Regarding a world cruise, conventional wisdom is to only book a world cruise on a line you are familiar with.  I looked beyond that and considered the itinerary, the size of the ship, adults only or not, and of course pricing. But then, my on-board needs are simple. A full promenade deck for walking and sitting, the MDR for breakfast and lunch (I avoid the zombie apocalypse in the buffets) and a snack with a wee dram or two while listening to a strings group, the piano man, or a guitarist in the evening.  I also enjoy an itinerary with a nice mix of port and sea days.

 

The main thing is to create your bucket list as you approach retirement, work on it, and keep adding to it.  With any luck, you'll be late for your own funeral and that last check will bounce.

 

Remember, you never see a U-Haul truck following a hearse.

[zoncom]

SEATTLE, Please note Princess long lines  I wrote  of recently here. Very unpleasant in my opinion. 

[BCHappyGal]

 have been watching the WC scenarios as I have always wanted to do a WC - I love a long voyage - my longest to date was 60 days - absolutely marvelous...

However having said that check out the actual price you would pay for a cabin you would be happy with... check what that cabin gives you i.e. tips, laundry, drinks etc...

Check out the age and size of the ship

Check out the Itinerary

 

I found when I did this I could be on one of the luxury lines with the better itinerary for the same bottom line $$ value

 

Now to reach full retirement

[wishIweretravelling]

Just saw that Regent plans to release its 2024 WC itinerary in July.  

[Hflors]

15 hours ago, wishIweretravelling said:

Just saw that Regent plans to release its 2024 WC itinerary in July.  

Maybe the other cruise lines will follow their lead.

[MoreAK]

Something that we did as it was important to me was: count the number of sea days, count the number of port days, count the number of different ports.  Viking has many ports with 2-3 days overnight and not so many different ports.  Princess was cheaper but had a LOT more sea days and less ports.  HAL was the right mix and length for us.  Of course, itinerary rules everything.  Another thing that I highly recommend since you are planning so far in advance - take a two week cruise on that line, preferably the same ship used for World, and make sure that you really could stand to be on that ship for 100+ days.  It is easy to use any of the multi-line, online travel sites, such as *****, to compare various itineraries.

[Heidi13]

56 minutes ago, cletamoreau said:

Something that we did as it was important to me was: count the number of sea days, count the number of port days, count the number of different ports.  Viking has many ports with 2-3 days overnight and not so many different ports.  Princess was cheaper but had a LOT more sea days and less ports.  HAL was the right mix and length for us.  Of course, itinerary rules everything.  Another thing that I highly recommend since you are planning so far in advance - take a two week cruise on that line, preferably the same ship used for World, and make sure that you really could stand to be on that ship for 100+ days.  It is easy to use any of the multi-line, online travel sites, such as *****, to compare various itineraries.

 

This isn't consistent with our experience, so I just compared the number of Viking ports to HAL. In 119 days from L/A to London, Viking has 51 different ports docked/tendered, many of which have 2 or 3 days. For the 138 day Ft Lauderdale to London, they visit 58 different ports. 

 

On the 128-day 2022 HAL W/C. I only counted 49 ports docked/tendered.

[LHT28]

On 3/1/2021 at 8:06 AM, SeattleBarbershop said:

PS  Saw one tip on a video - get travel agent involved with Visas - and get my passport renewed.  It expires in late 2025 - I could probably squeeze it in, but I'd like to get the stamps in a new passport.

 

Oceania  may be more $$  but they include the VISAs & many extras

 

Do the math  for the whole trip

[BVILady]

On 6/6/2021 at 1:24 PM, LHT28 said:

Oceania  may be more $$  but they include the VISAs & many extras

 

Do the math  for the whole trip

I had checked on Oceania since it includes so many extra's but then noticed how small the ship is and how many passengers. Had been one time in the Med on a smaller ship and promised myself to never do that again. There was an area by the pool with only a few tables in the shade where you could have lunch and these tables were occupied by a group all day. They made sure to have one person sitting there at all times to hold the tables. Good thing it was only 1 week drove me crazy already, 120 days would have just sent my Blood pressure off the chart.

[LHT28]

1 hour ago, BVILady said:

I had checked on Oceania since it includes so many extra's but then noticed how small the ship is and how many passengers. Had been one time in the Med on a smaller ship and promised myself to never do that again. There was an area by the pool with only a few tables in the shade where you could have lunch and these tables were occupied by a group all day. They made sure to have one person sitting there at all times to hold the tables. Good thing it was only 1 week drove me crazy already, 120 days would have just sent my Blood pressure off the chart.

Too bad

I think week long cruises are a lot different than  longer cruises

We have done a 32 trip on Oceania   did not see that  but  there are always exceptions

I can only dream of  a RTW cruise

Enjoy

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

On 6/4/2021 at 6:27 AM, Hflors said:

Maybe the other cruise lines will follow their lead.

I think they will ..

[Tampa Girl]

On 3/24/2021 at 5:18 AM, Roger88 said:

I also have no trust in those bookings and the current system. I mean everything is no unclear these days and its really hard to forecast anything. I would rather go for some ordinary way of booking avoiding any third party involvement in the process 

 

If "third party" you mean a TA, I could not disagree more.  First, we always go through a TA, not always the same one, and we have always gotten at least a 10% discounted price.  At least with HAL, one is not going to get that through the line's PCC.  Secondly, when one is looking at a WC or Grand Voyage, having a TA who is experienced in long voyages is of real benefit.  Further, the TA probably has additional benefits that one doesn't get through a PCC.  Again, I am speaking from HAL and Cunard experience, so this may not be true of other lines.

[Tampa Girl]

On 6/5/2021 at 10:19 PM, Heidi13 said:

 

This isn't consistent with our experience, so I just compared the number of Viking ports to HAL. In 119 days from L/A to London, Viking has 51 different ports docked/tendered, many of which have 2 or 3 days. For the 138 day Ft Lauderdale to London, they visit 58 different ports. 

 

On the 128-day 2022 HAL W/C. I only counted 49 ports docked/tendered.

 

First, you were referring to a poster's personal preference, so your experience doesn't really factor into it.  Having taken the 2018 89-day Grand Asia with HAL, I highly recommend them for a WC.  Excellent service, large cabins, less passengers, etc.  and much cheaper than Viking.  Two ports on a 128-day cruise is meaningless.  By  the 89th day, I was ready to skip a port or two. 

 

Your comments equating Princess were not what I encountered with HAL.  And apple to apples?  Not when you consider HAL's perks on a GV or WC and not if one considers:  FF miles for business class, a preference to private or no shore excursion, reduced alcohol drinking on a long voyage, unlimited shipping for suite passengers, paid gratuities, 4 complimentary bottles of alcohol of your choice, free luggage, etc.  Bottom line, Viking's prices can't compete in many cases because, particularly considering that a large percentage of a WC's passengers are seasoned cruisers.  In other words, I think that the "apples to apples" argument is not practical.  HAL has an excellent product in it GV's, and I would urge posters here to consider their cruises.