Cruise addicts can't wait to get back to the sea, and most are hungry to explore places they've never been before. Many have done the classic 7-day Caribbean, Alaska's Inside Passage, and the Mediterranean, and are eager for something new and different.
Cruise addicts are particularly excited about remote and undiscovered ports, and those with the time and money may favor longer sailings that visit more than one region or continent.
The most coveted of all grand voyages are the World Cruises.
Most depart in January, and in 2020, there will be dozens of World Cruises offered by a number of cruise lines: Cunard, Crystal, Holland America, Oceania, Princess, Regent Seven Seas, Seabourn, and Silversea.
All cruise lines have released information about their 2020 World Cruises. Your travel agent can not only create a flawless trip for your enjoyment, but can add amenities that the cruise lines do not offer to the general public.
Upcoming World Cruises range in length from 31 to 180 days, and prices can start as little as $8,000 per person for a 90-day cruise. For those who are still reading, it's better to look at the per day price and take into account all that is included. (Ports-of-call, accommodations, all meals, entertainment, etc.)
If you're like us, and not in a position to spend 3+ months circumnavigating the globe (no matter how much we might want to), you may want to consider some do-able options. Keep in mind that World Cruises are made up of segments of cruises. In other words, you may start your world cruise at port A and do a 10-day cruise, via ports B,C, and D, to port E. There, some guests might end their 10-day cruise and new guests arrive to start what might be their 14-day cruise from port E, to F, G, H....and so on. The ship continues around the world on its 60+ day cruise, while the world cruiser stays right along with it, start to finish.
For example, several ships in the Mediterranean offer enticing back-to-back (or back-to-back-to-back) itineraries that make it possible to sail for 12 to 54 nights with little or no port overlap. Some cruises combine Eastern and Western Mediterranean itineraries, while others combine the Mediterranean with the Greek Isles. A few ships offer the possibility to combine back-to-back Mediterranean and Northern Europe sailings.
You can book back-to-back sailings as a ship repositions from one region to another, as repositioning cruises are usually cheaper (per day) than cruises sailing within a region.
For example, you could combine a 7-night Bermuda cruise with a 10-night sailing to Canada and New England that ultimately ends in Iceland. In a single sailing, you would see very different regions, climates and cultures.
During the spring, a number of cruise ships sail from the Caribbean to where they will spend the summer, and late in the fall, they return to the Caribbean. Some of the possibilities include Alaska and the Panama Canal, the Panama Canal and the Caribbean, a Transatlantic and the Caribbean, a Transatlantic and the Mediterranean, or a Transatlantic and Northern Europe.
Or try Australia/New Zealand and Hawaii, Australia/New Zealand and Tahiti, Australia/New Zealand and Asia/Far East, a Transatlantic and South America, the Panama Canal and South America, or the Caribbean and South America. The possibilities of combinations are almost endless.
The list of places you can visit on a World Cruise may seem hard to believe, and on most voyages the cost can work out to well under $100 per person, per day. Those who have the time and money to book these longer cruises will discover that the per-day rates are often much lower than they are for shorter cruises in the same regions.
While we normally recommend booking cruises 60 to 90 days in advance to lock in the best rates, cruises comprised of multiple segments should generally be booked at least 6 to 12 months in advance, for two reasons.
First, any delay in booking could result in one segment of your desired itinerary selling out, making it impossible to book the entire itinerary. And second, as the departure date approaches, it becomes more difficult to find a particular cabin that is available on all the segments, which means it's more likely that you would have to change cabins at some point during your cruise.The best deals for World Cruises are always available well in advance and come in the form of early-booking discounts, past-passenger discounts, and additional discounts which apply only to the customers of the largest sellers of cruises, like Cruise Planners.
Beyond what we've listed here, if you ever run across any other back-to-back cruises you would like to combine, we will be happy to check for additional itineraries and help you plan your own unforgettable World Cruise!
Martha
