Cruise West to circumnavigate the world

mercedes · May 20, 2009

If you have about a year, and almost a quarter-million dollars, Cruise West is offering what might be the longest cruise since Ferdinand Magellan set off in 1519 to circle the globe.

That’s because this cruise actually attempts to follow in Magellan’s footsteps, as well as Marco Polo’s, Leif Erickson’s, and Christopher Columbus’, among others.

Cruise West revealed today a 335-day circumnavigation of the world, departing Singapore March 6, 2010, that will attempt to follow some the routes taken by famous ocean explorers.

Called the Voyage of the Great Explorers, the cruise sets out on the 120-passenger Spirit of Oceanus, the largest vessel in the small-ship cruise line's fleet.

The Spirit of Oceanus will sail westward, Cruise West said, and will return Singapore on February 3, 2011, after visiting 242 ports in 59 countries, crossing 14 seas and oceans, and transiting three canals.

Passengers won’t need a year of vacation time, or $233,995, to enjoy a taste of the trip. Twenty-four individual segments are for sale, ranging from 9-18 days each.

How does this cruise compare to the many world cruises on the market?

“This is indeed the only circumnavigation of the globe by any cruise line, large or small,” said Richard Genovese, Cruise West’s chief marketing officer. “Most world cruises are 120 days at best and take you only halfway around. Cruise West will be unique with this groundbreaking idea in the fact that we take you from Singapore to Singapore in 335 days and to ports that the big ships simply cannot reach.”

So what will passengers do while onboard the small ship for almost one year? Cruise West said that it would have guest lecturers and would bring on local experts to talk about and understand the routes of Marco Polo in the Far East, Leif Erickson in Northern Europe, Odysseus in Greece, James Cook in the South Pacific.