Could You Cruise for an Entire Year? Australians Set Sail on 371-Day World Cruise

Most of us consider a month-long cruise a pretty serious holiday.

But how about 371 days?

Hundreds of Australians have set sail aboard Regatta on an extraordinary journey that will keep them cruising for more than an entire year, visiting more than 220 ports across six continents.

The voyage departed Civitavecchia, the port for Rome, on 1 September and is being marketed as the world's longest cruise.

And perhaps surprisingly, the whole thing has a very strong Australian connection.

371 days, more than 220 ports and six continents

The inaugural voyage is operated by Explorations by Norwegian, a new cruise product created in collaboration with Norwegian Cruise Line and Australian travel company My Cruises.

Its first sailing aboard Regatta runs for 371 days, travelling through Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia and New Zealand, the Pacific and the Americas.

The itinerary has been deliberately designed to minimise repeat destinations, with more than 220 different ports along the way.

Some of the destinations include Santorini, Copenhagen and Helsinki in Europe; Cape Town, Zanzibar and Cape Verde in Africa; Hiroshima, Jeju Island and the Maldives in Asia; along with Australia, New Zealand, Alaska, the Caribbean, South America and the Amazon.

So when they say world cruise, they're not mucking around.

Hundreds of Australians are onboard

The concept has been developed specifically with Australian travellers in mind.

Explorations by Norwegian is exclusive to My Cruises in Australia and Cruise Club UK, with Regatta operating under the new brand after completing its final sailing for Oceania Cruises in August.

Cruise Passenger reports that hundreds of Australians joined the inaugural sailing in Rome.

The ship itself is considerably smaller than the mega-ships many Australians will be familiar with.

Regatta carries around 680 passengers and has just 348 suites and staterooms, creating a very different experience from ships carrying 4,000 or 5,000 guests.

And if you're spending more than a year onboard, presumably getting along with your fellow passengers becomes fairly important. 😂

How much does a 371-day cruise cost?

This is probably the next obvious question.

Prices for the full inaugural voyage reportedly started at around A$99,000 per person, with higher-category accommodation reaching approximately A$250,000.

That's obviously a substantial amount of money, but 371 days changes the perspective slightly.

A$99,000 works out at roughly A$267 per person, per day.

And this isn't simply accommodation.

Explorations by Norwegian includes a beverage package, essential Wi-Fi, onboard gratuities, port taxes and an onshore excursion credit at each port, while My Cruises packages also include specialty dining.

Of course, there's still the minor issue of finding an entire year to go on holiday.

You don't actually have to stay for 371 days

Thankfully for anyone who likes the idea but can't disappear until September 2027, passengers don't have to book the entire voyage.

Explorations by Norwegian sells shorter sections of the itinerary, with voyages available from around eight days through to multi-month journeys and the complete world cruise.

That creates an interesting alternative to a traditional world cruise.

Rather than completing the entire circumnavigation, passengers can choose a particular region or join Regatta for a longer section of its journey.

And they're doing it again

If you're reading this thinking 371 days actually sounds fantastic, you've already missed the beginning of the inaugural voyage.

But there's another one coming.

A 367-day World Exploration from Australia is scheduled to depart on 17 February 2027, with the current package starting from A$129,990 per person.

That voyage will visit more than 230 ports and is scheduled to operate for 366 nights, once again aboard Regatta.

So this doesn't appear to be intended as a one-off stunt.

Explorations by Norwegian is building its entire concept around longer, destination-heavy itineraries, ranging from relatively conventional cruises through to journeys lasting an entire year.

Could you actually live on a cruise ship for a year?

That's the part I find most interesting.

On one hand, you'd wake up somewhere different constantly, unpack your suitcase once and have your accommodation, meals and transport between hundreds of destinations largely taken care of.

On the other hand...

371 days.

That's birthdays, Christmas, Easter and every other event for an entire year aboard the same ship.

You'd need to think about everything from medications and mail to banking, insurance, visas, staying connected with family and, for anyone who hasn't completely retired, whether you could realistically work from the ship.

And you'd better really like your cabin.

Still, there are considerably worse places to call home for a year than a cruise ship travelling around the world.

The bigger question is:

Would you do it?

Because I'm fairly certain cruise passengers will fall into two camps on this one: “Where do I sign?” and “Get me off that ship after two weeks.” 😂