After being in and out of lockdowns for a year and a half (and storing up vacation days at work), people are craving some epic trips and around-the-world itineraries are one of them. If you haven’t yet considered something like this, I encourage you to do it! While it may seem like an impossibly long time to be gone, it’s not as insurmountable as you think and I can guarantee that you won’t regret it.
About World Cruises
Several cruise lines have recently announced their own around-the-world voyages to meet this new trend and some, like Royal Caribbean for example, offer segments so that you can explore specific regions. (In my experience though, travelers who initially plan to stay for only a portion of a voyage will change their minds during the sailing.) Not only are you fully satisfying your wanderlust and checking incredible experiences off your bucket list left and right, but you’ll find that a great sense of community can develop on board as you travel together with like-minded explorers. The friendships formed and memories shared on my four-month around-the-world world voyage was one of the best things about it. To this day, we continue to keep in touch and plan reunions, large or small.
A Few Tips to Get You Started
There are a lot of things to keep in mind before embarking on a world cruise. Here are just a few tips from my own experience to get you started:
- Use a good visa service. Trust me, it’s worth it to pay a visa specialist. They’ll make sure you’re getting the right documentation and handle all the submissions and timelines to have you ready to travel. All you’ll need to do is fill in the paperwork. With everything else you have to prepare before your voyage, you’ll be glad to have this off your plate (and I have a few I can recommend).
- Do the big trips! – At least one or two of them. Just before my world cruise, I had spent three months in Australia and it drained a surprising amount of my funds (Sydney was especially expensive and I just didn’t budget well). Thus, when it came time for my voyage, I passed on all the big trips and I regret it in two instances. Specifically a safari in South Africa and a trip to the Taj Mahal; I heard they were both very impactful. Decide in advance what your top two trips would be and give yourself that gift – this is part of the epic voyage you’ve taken. Then you can fill in the other ports with smaller, low-key excursions.
- Exchange a bit of money before you board. Given a little lead time, your local bank can provide foreign currencies. I took about $25 USD in each country’s currency so that I could hit the ground running when I arrived in port. While many cruise lines often have an exchange and/or ATM on board, the fees can be hefty. It’s usually best to use the ATMs on land, but if they are limited, you’re going to spend your first hours in country (potentially after several days at sea) standing in a long line with your shipmates or hunting down an ATM when you could be off exploring.
- Pack light. I’m a big advocate of this no matter how long you travel and on this journey you’re certainly going to acquire more along the way, including additional clothes. I suggest packing an extra duffle bag for the return home.
- Bring a little bit of home to make your cabin more cozy. Whether mementos like a framed picture or practical pieces to help you settle in and stay organized. (One of the great conveniences of world cruises is that you don’t have to pack and unpack very few days, so make yourself at home!)
A Few of the Itineraries
Curious what’s out there? Here are just a few cruise lines offering around-the-world voyages (with shorter segments available). Check out these amazing itineraries!
Royal Caribbean’s Ultimate World Cruise: 275 days
Oceania World Cruises: 214 days
Azamara in 2024: 156 days
Princess World Cruises: 111 days
If ocean cruising isn’t for you (I was one of those rare people who never quite found her sea legs), there are also river-based and land-based options (in varying lengths). Let’s chat and find the right option for you. This is going to be a big investment, but it will be worth it – a once-in-a-lifetime trip and you will never experience the world in the same way. Be sure to plan this in advance! Not only will you want to book before space (or cabins) sell out, which can happen quickly, but you’ll have quite a bit to arrange and budget for prior to your journey.
Want to learn more? You can contact me here.
