World cruise: length, prices and how to plan it

A round-the-world cruise lasts about 4 to 4.5 months: 137 days for Costa’s world cruise from Marseille, 121 nights for the one MSC has announced for 2027. Departures are in winter (late November or early January) and the ship returns in spring. At Costa, the full world cruise from Marseille was listed from €17,999 per person for the 2027-2028 edition, excluding service charges.

A world cruise takes you across several oceans without ever changing hotel, with around fifty ports of call. It is also a commitment of several months that takes special preparation: visas, health, budget and organising things at home. This guide brings together what to know before you book, based on the programmes published by the cruise lines. For the rules that apply to every cruise, see our guide to choosing a cruise.

How long does a world cruise last?

The major world cruises run by European cruise lines last 4 months or a little more. Here are the programmes as checked on 5 October 2026:

Cruise	Ship	Departure and return	Length	Ports of call
Costa, 2026-2027 world cruise	Costa Deliziosa	Marseille, 26 November 2026 → Marseille, 11 April 2027	137 days (136 nights)	Around fifty (North America, Pacific, Asia, Indian Ocean, southern Africa)
Costa World Cruise 80, 2027-2028	Costa Deliziosa	Marseille, 26 November 2027 → Marseille, 10 April 2028	137 days (136 nights); 139 days from Savona	51 ports in 30 countries according to Costa
MSC World Cruise 2027	Announced on a ship from the MSC fleet	Departure in early January 2027 from Civitavecchia, Genoa, Marseille or Barcelona	121 nights	45 destinations in 25 countries according to the cruise line

These voyages are also sold in segments: for example, Costa offered part of the 2027 world cruise from San Francisco to Marseille in 99 days, and other legs from Hong Kong, Sydney or Cape Town. It is a way to try this kind of trip without leaving for four months.

Which route does a world cruise take?

Through the Panama Canal and the Pacific

This is the route Costa has followed in recent years. The 2027-2028 edition from Marseille calls at Barcelona, Cádiz, Lisbon and the Azores, crosses the Atlantic to New York and Florida, goes through the Panama Canal, heads up the Pacific coast (Mexico, San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco), then reaches Hawaii, the Pacific islands (Samoa, Fiji, Tonga), New Zealand and Australia, followed by Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Mauritius, South Africa, Namibia, Cape Verde and the Canary Islands, before returning to Marseille.

Through South America and the South Pacific

MSC’s 2027 world cruise, as presented by the trade press, follows a more southerly route: an Atlantic crossing to Brazil (Rio de Janeiro), Argentina (Buenos Aires, Ushuaia) and Uruguay (Montevideo), then the South Pacific (Papeete, Aitutaki), Australia (Hobart, Sydney) and Hawaii, with further calls on five continents. The articles published in the press do not all give the same order of ports: check the exact itinerary in the official programme when you book. If the stop in Brazil makes you want to go back, the best time to go to Rio de Janeiro is covered month by month.

The main legs and the season

Cruise lines schedule their world cruises from the European winter to spring: the ship gets the southern summer in the South Pacific, Australia and southern Africa, and the dry winter in Southeast Asia. The table below sets out the legs of Costa’s 2027-2028 itinerary from Marseille.

Leg	Ports (examples)	Approximate period	Time in port
Atlantic	Barcelona, Cádiz, Lisbon, Ponta Delgada (Azores)	Late November – early December	Day call
North America and Caribbean	New York (2 days), Port Everglades/Miami, private island in the Bahamas	December	Day call or overnight stay
Central America and Pacific coast	Panama Canal, Puntarenas, Puerto Vallarta, Cabo San Lucas, Los Angeles, San Francisco	December – early January	Day call
Pacific	Hilo and Honolulu (Hawaii), Apia, Suva, Nuku’alofa	January	Day call, long crossings between the islands
Oceania	Auckland, Bay of Islands, Melbourne, Sydney, Cairns	January – February	Day call, Sydney over 2 days
East Asia	Tokyo, Kobe, Busan, Keelung (Taipei), Hong Kong	February	Day call, Tokyo over 2 days
Southeast Asia	Phu My (Ho Chi Minh City), Singapore, Port Klang, Penang, Langkawi, Phuket	Late February – early March	Day call
Indian Ocean and Africa	Colombo, Malé, Port Louis, Durban, Cape Town, Walvis Bay	March	Day call
Return	Mindelo (Cape Verde), Las Palmas, Barcelona, Marseille	Late March – April	Day call

A large part of the trip is spent at sea: the Atlantic and Pacific crossings take several consecutive days without a port. Keep that in mind if you worry about monotony or seasickness.

How much does a world cruise cost?

Only prices read on the cruise lines’ official websites are shown here. They change with the booking date, the cabin and promotions.

Programme	Headline fare per person	Notes
Costa, full 2027-2028 world cruise from Marseille (137 days)	From €17,999	Inside cabin, cruise only
Costa, full 2026-2027 world cruise from Marseille (137 days)	From €18,399	Inside cabin, cruise only
Costa, San Francisco → Marseille segment 2027 (99 days)	From €13,309	Inside cabin, cruise only

On top of these amounts come significant extra costs over such a long period:

• Service charges: at Costa, €11 per adult per night, i.e. €1,496 per adult for 136 nights
• Excursions: around fifty ports of call make for a large spending item, even if you book only some of them
• Visas and electronic authorisations for the countries you pass through
• Insurance: check that your policy covers a trip of more than 90 days, cancellation and repatriation from every area
• Flights, if you do not start from a port close to home or if you take a segment

Some editions include extras (drinks package, excursions, onboard services): compare what is actually included before you compare prices.

How to organise a world cruise

Choosing your cabin

Over four months, the cabin becomes a real home. A cabin with a window or balcony brings natural light and an outdoor space; an inside cabin cuts the budget sharply. Book near the middle of the ship and on a middle deck if you are sensitive to the ship’s movement.

Entry requirements and visas

A passport is required (Costa states it is the only document accepted on its world cruises) and must stay valid for several months after you return. Several countries on the route require an electronic authorisation or a visa, to be obtained before departure, and the rules differ by nationality. The cruise line sends the list of formalities for each port; also check the official pages for every country you will visit: the U.S. Department of State (travel.state.gov) country pages for US citizens, and the FCDO’s foreign travel advice (GOV.UK) for UK citizens, because the rules change.

Health on board and ashore

Have a medical and dental check-up before you leave, take a prescription and enough medication for the whole trip, and see a travel health clinic: some tropical ports of call call for precautions (vaccinations, mosquito protection). Care at the ship’s medical centre is generally charged.

Getting ready at home

• Mail and paperwork: power of attorney, direct debits and tax filings to arrange for four months away
• Luggage: clothes for very different climates (winter in New York, southern summer, tropical heat), plus evening wear
• Communication: onboard internet is charged and sometimes slow in open sea; an eSIM or an international plan can help in port
• Money: a bank card with no foreign transaction fees, and some local currency for the ports

Who is it for?

World cruises appeal mainly to retirees and travellers with several months to spare. They suit people who enjoy life on board and days at sea. If you would rather see countries in depth, a trip overland or a series of shorter cruises, such as a Mediterranean cruise or a fjords cruise, may suit you better.

Also worth reading: our guide to Costa Cruises and the Caribbean cruise guide.

Frequently asked questions

Our sources

• Costa Cruises, official website: programmes, itineraries, required documents, fares and service charges for the 2026-2027 and 2027-2028 world cruises (checked on 5 October 2026)
• TourMaG, « MSC Croisières dévoile sa World Cruise 2027 » (December 2025) and Cruise Hive (December 2024): MSC 2027 world cruise programme
• Our methodology

Updated November 2026.