It’s so easy to settle into a cruise that you might wonder: what would it be like to live at sea?
Forget days, or even weeks. Cruise lines are planning voyages that last for two and three seasons. One is selling a year of sailing and there are even companies turning ships into globe-circuiting floating residences.
It seems almost quaint now that world cruises were once just a winter thing. Early worlds were a classic 80 –or as many as 100 days long in an era when ocean liners sailed to warmer climes for the winter months as an alternative to the frigid North Atlantic. As dedicated cruise ships became a thing in the 1980s, adventurous itineraries extended to include South America and Australia on circuits that lasted up to 120 days.
Now though, three months is only a minimum as cruise lines compete to see how many ports and days they can add to a world circuit.
Silversea Cruises just revealed details of an Epic World Cruise 2028, which lasts more than four months and spans five continents. The 132-day journey called An Ode to the Moment aboard Silver Shadow, will depart Miami on Jan. 5, 2028 and arrive in Nice on May 16 after calling in 58 destinations in 29 countries, including 17 overnights.
Silversea is also charting a Three Oceans 149-day cruise on Silver Dawn starting January 2027 from Los Angeles. Sailing west across the Pacific to Australia and then southeast Asia, it crosses the Indian Ocean to reach South Africa. Heading up West Africa to Europe, it will explore the majestic Norwegian Fjords before ending in Copenhagen.
But even more ambitious cruises are in the works.
Oceania Cruises has opened bookings for a 180-day world jaunt on one of its newest ships, Vista, that will stop in more than 100 ports across 46 countries and six continents. The 1,200-guest ship sets sail from Miami on Jan. 6, 2027 for a journey that transits the Panama Canal, island-hops through the Pacific from Hawaii to Fiji and sails around Australia. A two-month sojourn through Asia then extends to the Arabian Peninsula. The planned itinerary counts on the situation in the Middle East to calm down and Vista would take the Suez Canal to the Mediterranean. Starting at $76,199 per person, Oceania’s 2027 Around the World sailing features the Exclusive Prestige Package, an array of additional complimentary amenities in addition to the line’s Your World Included amenities.
If that’s not enough for you, Oceania is also offering a 244-day stay on Vista. The Epic Global Adventure picks up from the end of the 180-day circuit with more weeks of sailing in the Mediterranean, Greenland and Canada and finally ending in New York. With fares starting at about $108,000 a person, it’s Oceania’s longest-ever option for a world cruise.
But that’s already been eclipsed by Royal Caribbean’s Ultimate World Cruise on Serenade of the Seas which totaled 275 days from December 2023 to its return to Miami in September 2024. It turned into a social media sensation for a while, and ultimately, some of those who did the whole trip say they’re ready to do it again. However, Royal Caribbean hasn’t announced plans for another one like it.
The range of newly extended options for 2027 keeps growing:
Azamara Cruises is planning its longest world cruise yet, 188 nights in 2027. Azamara Quest departs from San Francisco in January and concentrates on the Pacific, visiting 37 countries with 65 late-night or overnight departures. There’s a segment that ends in Vancouver in May and the full cruise eventually ends in Copenhagen in mid-July.
Viking Cruises starts its 2027 world cruise on Viking Sky in Fort Lauderdale in December 2026 and it ends 142 days later after calls in 63 ports, including 15 overnights. The fares from $89,000 include business class air, shipboard and shore excursion credits and beverage package and wi-fi. .
Regent Seven Seas Cruises is charting a 141-night World of Splendor on Seven Seas Splendor that departs Miami in January 2027 and ends in New York. The route circuits South America, Australia and Africa and there are up to 506 shore excursion options included. If you prefer, you can get off after 126 nights in Civitavecchia, for Rome. At prices that start at over $120,000 a person, their website shows many categories already on wait lists.
Crystal Cruises is plotting a 139-day course around the Pacific Ocean from San Diego on Crystal Serenity starting in January 2027 with 83 destinations in 29 countries and ending in Vancouver. It focuses on the South Pacific and Australia with the Asian Archipelago and intensive panoramas of Japan and spring in Alaska.
Meanwhile, Cunard Line, a pioneer of world cruising, is sticking to a more traditional length cruise with its 111-day World Voyage from Southampton in January 2027, arriving in May in Hamburg. After heading across the Atlantic to New York, Queen Victoria sails south and transits the Panama Canal to Los Angeles and then Hawaii and Australia. Ports in Asia will include overnight calls and late-evening departures.
Holland America Line hasn’t announced its 2027 world voyage yet, but its 2026 on Volendam will last 133 days round trip from Fort Lauderdale. It heads south down the east coast of South America and includes the Falkland Islands and a planned four days exploring Antarctica (ice and weather permitting). From there, up the west coast of South America including the Chilean fjords before heading to the South Pacific and Australia.
Princess Cruises also hasn’t revealed its 2027 plans, but Crown Princess is doing a 114-day round trip from Sydney in 2026 that starts in May to coincide with winter in the Southern Hemisphere. The cruise includes several overnight stays in ports and visits 50 UNESCO World Heritage sites.
Seabourn Cruise Line is another that hasn’t yet announced a 2027 world cruise and what ship it might be on. In 2026, Seabourn Sojourn is doing its farewell from Seabourn Cruise Line’s fleet in 2026 with a 129-day world cruise. The Sojourn is being transferred to an Asian company after that. And while not advertised as a grand voyage, Seabourn Encore is doing an ambitious Pacific route 47 days starting from Miami on Dec. 2, 2025 to Hong Kong and then a further 14 days from Hong Kong to Singapore.
Can’t afford the cost or commitment of months at sea? No worries. In reality, you can join the adventure on any of these cruises by booking segments of as short as a week or two.
But if you’re really committed to shipping out for the long haul, there are other options.
Virgin Voyages is promoting an Annual Pass that lets someone with $120,000 U.S. to spend book 365 days’ worth of balcony cabins on any of the line’s three ships and share them with a friend. The pass gets you a lot of added perks, although the bar credit is limited to $100 per cruise segment.
Beyond that, there are ships offering the equivalent of residential ownership on a ship that can cruise the world for years. Promoters of one of them, Villa Vie Cruises, hit a snag when the 32-year-old ship (the former MS Braemar) it converted was delayed because it had to be re-certified. But now it’s sailing what they claim will be at least 15-years of life at sea for the owners of the suites on board.
Another option is the new life planned for Seven Seas Navigator, which is slated to be converted to residences at sea in 2026 by a new company called Crescent Seas. Run by the former chairman of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, Russell W. Galbut, Crescent plans to sell suites on the Navigator as world-touring homes for prices from $750,000 to $8-million. At 26-years old, Navigator of the Seas is the senior ship of Regent Seven Seas Cruises which has two new ships on order. Crescent Seas reports its grand goal is to announce four more luxury residence ships over the next five years.
A dash of reality is that all of these almost endless options are only for those who have the time and tons of spare cash. A pioneering 23-year-old residential ship, The World, currently has suites available for resale from $2.5-million and up, which could tend to limit the potential buyer pool. And owners of any size ship discover that like a condo on land, you have to figure in maintenance fees that you don’t face when you book a regular cruise.
The advantage is that they’re going to exotic locales not always offered on standard cruise itineraries. No matter how long you ship out, it’s sure to expand your perspectives on the world.
Story by Wallace Immen, The Cruisington Times
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