A retired couple from Queensland's Sunshine Coast is a month into what's being billed as the longest commercial cruise ever sold: a 371-day, 53-week voyage aboard Norwegian's Regatta. Ann, 67, and Grant Swann, 68, are celebrating Ann's birthday with an ambitious shore plan that includes a visit to Freddie Mercury's former home in Zanzibar.
The full itinerary, run by Explorations by Norwegian, calls at more than 220 ports across 62 countries, starting in Rome and ending in Southampton via Europe, Africa, India, Asia, Australasia and the Americas. Cabins for the whole trip start at $106,000. But hardly anyone is doing it all — just two couples have booked the full 53 weeks. The remaining 680-odd passengers are stitching together shorter segments, from an eight-night Singapore round trip to Thailand and Cambodia to a 19-night crossing from New York to Reykjavik. Ann and Grant are among five couples signed up for a 169-night, 24-week chunk.
For the Swanns, who have cruised together since 1997 and logged 69 voyages including a 2024 Princess world cruise, the maths makes sense. They describe the fare as genuinely good value once you subtract the grocery bills, utility costs and car expenses they're not paying at home — plus the built-in chef, cleaning service and tour planning. Their last world cruise covered southern Africa, the Baltic, Iceland, New York and South America; this one is about filling the gaps. Touching a pyramid in Egypt was a lifelong dream ticked off, and the Northern Lights are still on the list.
Life on board is a routine of destination talks, carefully planned port days (they aim for at least 10,000 steps ashore, often exploring independently or with guides booked through Viator) and a deliberate effort to avoid the post-round-the-world weight gain they experienced first time around. They're in a roomy interior cabin — the ship's accommodation runs from 19-square-metre interiors to a 92-square-metre Owner's Suite with teak balcony — reasoning that they're rarely in the room anyway.
The social side has moved online ahead of embarkation, too. Passengers joining later legs, such as the 24-night Southampton to Cape Town sailing in October, set up Facebook groups to swap questions about kettle availability and beverage packages before they've even met. Grant skips all of it and gets his news from the launderette, which he calls an essential hub on a long voyage. A couple of weeks after his birthday in March, the pair head off again — this time to Hawaii.
Why it matters: ultra-long, segment-based cruising is a growing option for travellers with time and flexible budgets. You don't need six figures or a year of leave to join in — the same ship sells individual legs, so you could sample a two-week slice of a world voyage and hop off with your laundry done and a Facebook friend group already formed. Regatta is part of Flight Centre Travel Group's Ignite Travel portfolio.
