Not everyone can carve out 180 days for a full circumnavigation, and Oceania Cruises knows it. The line has opened bookings for 12 standalone segments of the Oceania Aurelia's debut Around the World voyage in 2028, ranging from 10 to 19 days each. The full sailing departs Miami in January 2028 and reaches six continents, but each segment works as a proper holiday in its own right.

The standouts cover a lot of water. Two Oceans Odyssey is a 17-day run from Miami to Los Angeles on 19 January 2028, transiting the Panama Canal and hugging the coasts of Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Mexico. South Pacific Serenade, 19 days from Papeete to Sydney from 23 February, strings together the islands people actually dream about: Bora Bora, Pago Pago, Vava'u, Lautoka, Port Vila and Noumea.

Asia gets strong representation too. Isles of the Orient is a 14-day Bali-to-Taipei sailing from 27 March, calling at Jakarta, Singapore, Puerto Princesa, Coron, Manila and Hualien, while Pearls of East Asia (12 days, Taipei to Tokyo, from 10 April) takes in Busan plus Kagoshima, Nagasaki, Kochi and Osaka in Japan. Later, Treasures of Southeast Asia runs 12 days from Hong Kong to Bangkok from 2 May, with stops at Ha Long Bay, Ho Chi Minh City, Sihanoukville and the Thai island of Ko Kood. A 14-day Timeless Mediterranean leg from Istanbul to Barcelona kicks off 20 June, hitting Athens, Rome, Florence and Nice among others.

Across the whole voyage, Oceania is promising thousands of small-group shore excursions, including visits to close to 100 UNESCO World Heritage sites — a good sign the port-heavy itinerary is built around seeing places, not just ticking flags.

Why it matters: segmentation like this lets travellers sample a brand-new ship on a bucket-list routing without committing to six months aboard. The longer segments, like the 18-day Los Angeles to Papeete sailing, effectively bundle a cruise and a remote-region holiday into one booking — especially valuable in the South Pacific and Southeast Asia, where independent island-hopping is slow and logistics-heavy. If you've been eyeing an iconic route like the Panama Canal or French Polynesia, a 2028 segment could be the most comfortable way to do it. Bookings are open now, and the most scenic legs (Bora Bora, Ha Long Bay, Kyoto-adjacent Osaka) will likely fill first.

First reported by Cruise Industry News.