My husband is about to retire , and in order to take his mind off the fact that he is not working, I want to plan a trip around the world. Since we're not kids anymore,
a cruise seems like the best choice. Are there many options, and how soon can we sail?
N.J., Weston
You just missed the boat, literally,
on a world cruise as they
all tend to depart in early January,
but this is the perfect time to
start planning for next year.
Five of the big cruise lines offer
these exotic adventures,
which can cost between $13,000
and $260,000. The oldest world
cruiser, Cunard (cunard.com),
has been circumnavigating the
globe since 1922. Next year
marks the debut of Cunard’s
newest ship, the Queen Victoria,
which will travel for 106 consecutive
days, dropping anchor in
36 ports in 23 countries. Its sister
ship, the Queen Elizabeth 2,
also will continue the line’s long
tradition, sailing simultaneously
with the Victoria for 90 days.
Regent Seven Seas (rssc.com)
can claim the longest single voyage
for 2008 — by a day. Its Seven
Seas Voyager departs from
San Francisco and tours for 115
days, visiting destinations including
Auckland, New Zealand,
Shanghai, Bombay, and Tunis
before returning to Fort Lauderdale.
Holland America (holland
america.com) offers several of
what it dubs Grand Voyages, although
only the 114-day journey
aboard the Amsterdam is a true
world cruise. New for next year
are several first-time ports of call
including Tripoli, Libya, and Sevastopol,
Ukraine.
The Crystal Serenity (crystal
cruises.com) kicks off its 108-day
excursion by sailing to Hawaii
from Los Angeles before making
its way across the seas with a fi-
nal destination in London. The
most intimate of the cruises, the
Silver Shadow from Silversea
(silversea.com) takes a maximum
of 382 passengers to 50
ports in 110 days.
If you’re not ready to commit
a third of next year to hopping
from port to port, country to
country, you can always test the
waters on any of these ships by
signing up for individual segments,
which range from nine to
58 days.
