Fancy swapping your commute for a circumnavigation? MSC Cruises has opened sales for its 2029 world cruise, and it's a big one: 119 nights aboard the MSC Magnifica, calling at 45 destinations across 21 countries, with nine overnight stays built in so you can actually explore rather than dash ashore.
Departure options start on 4 January 2029 from Civitavecchia (Rome), with additional embarkation points the following days in Genoa, Marseille and Barcelona — handy if you'd rather start your voyage closer to home or catch a cheaper flight.
The standout of this itinerary is a rare full loop of Australia. MSC is adding fresh calls at Kangaroo Island, Broome and Darwin, plus a new overnight in Fremantle (the port for Perth). That means travellers get the whole sweep of the country — from the beaches of South Australia to the rugged Kimberley coast near Broome — without a single domestic flight.
From there the ship heads into Indonesia for extended stops in Bali, Lombok and Java, including a first-time call at Celukan Bawang on Bali's quieter north coast. Other new ports on the route include Lautoka in Fiji and Timaru on New Zealand's South Island, while the dramatic scenery of Milford Sound makes a welcome return. Overnight stops are also pencilled in at Rio de Janeiro, Ushuaia (the gateway to Antarctica's doorstep), Sydney and Singapore.
What's included matters on a voyage this long. The fare covers 15 shore excursions — a decent buffer against the cost of booking tours port by port — plus a Dine & Drink beverage package and 30 percent off laundry services, which you'll genuinely appreciate by week ten. MSC Voyagers Club members at Classic level and above get 5 percent off the booking price, and members can earn triple points on world cruise bookings made before 19 November as an opening offer.
World cruises are niche, but they're a genuinely different way to travel: unpack once, watch the seasons flip from Mediterranean winter to austral summer in Patagonia, and see half the planet's highlights without a single airport security queue. This one suits retirees with time on their hands, remote workers who can live aboard, and anyone who's done plenty of fly-and-flop trips and wants the slow-travel version instead. Given the triple-points window closes on 19 November, anyone tempted should get moving soon — cabins for 119-day sailings tend to sell through in tiers rather than all at once.
