How will you be handling Australia's drab winter this year? Some Australians have opted to skip the entire season, departing on a 104-night world cruise voyage from Sydney last weekend.
While the rest of us lament early sunsets, frosty mornings and cold winds, the some 3,200 guests aboard Princess Cruises' Sea Princess will spend their days in the warm and sunny Northern Hemisphere.
The world-wide, roundtrip journey features stops at 39 destinations in 27 countries including Dubai, St Petersburg, New York, Lima, the Suez and Panama canals, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Chile.
Unlike other travellers fleeing to Europe or America for the winter, passengers on Sea Princess will also avoid Australia's debilitating exchange rate with onboard costs and shore tours all charged in AUD.
Princess Cruises is the only cruise line to offer roundtrip world cruises from the Southern Hemisphere. The popularity of its 11th world cruise coincides with Australia's burgeoning love for international cruise holidays.
Australian cruising has grown by an average of 20 per cent a year for the past decade according to Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) Australasia. In fact, 12,000-plus Australians embarked on a world cruise in 2014.
The base cost is low (about $200 a day) and cruising lets travellers avoid international flights, hotel bookings and other difficulties of typical overseas travel.
There are also the comforts of home on board, thanks to Princess Cruises loading about 200 tonnes of food and drink onto the ship in Sydney.
Of the some 3,200 guests taking part in the world voyage, about 1,100 Australians will stay on board for the entire cruise.
Did you know?
Passengers on a world cruise consume a lot of food. Guests on Sea Princess are expected to ingest to following per day:
- 400kg of beef
- 240 dozen eggs
- 150kg of shell fish
- 1,700kg of fresh vegetables
- 50kg-plus of chocolate
Missed out on a world cruise this year?
Make sure you're booked in for 2017. Fortunately, you'll have more options with Princess Cruises offering three world journeys:
- 104-night round world cruise on Sea Princes
- 75-night Circle Pacific cruise on Golden Princess
- 84-night Circle South America cruise on Sea Princess
