Around the world in many ways

When EuroMillions lottery winners Adrian and Gillian Bayford have finished giving away money to friends and family, they’ll want to start thinking about getting away from it all for a while.
They have already talked about a rail trip through the Canadian Rockies, and I’m sure they will thoroughly enjoy their scenic ride on the Rocky Mountaineer. But that will be over in a matter of days, even allowing for an overnight stop on the bizarre surroundings of remote Kamloops, self-styled “tournament capital of the world.”
Time to plan a rather longer break – and what better than a world cruise?
The £132,799 fare for a berth in a Grand Duplex Suite on board Queen Mary 2 for the 119-night world voyage will hardly make a dent in their £148 million jackpot, and they will have plenty of time to make plans and buy a new wardrobe because the cruise does not depart until January 2014.
Its itinerary is announced this week – along with those for the world voyages of sister ships Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth, and for three ships in the P&O fleet – Arcadia, Aurora and Adonia.
You don’t have to be a lottery winner to think about taking a world cruise; fares start at £7,899. But you do have to have time on your hands – the full trips take anything from 92 days to 119, and although the ships visit up to 44 ports on each cruise there are, inevitably, long periods at sea.
The 2014 world voyages, all departing in January from Southampton, are:
QUEEN MARY 2: Cunard’s flagship will set out on her 119-night World Voyage in her 10th anniversary year. Following the success of the ship’s inaugural circumnavigation of Australia in 2012, QM2 will undertake an almost repeat performance in 2014, with calls at eight different Australian destinations during the 33-day circumnavigation.
Fremantle, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane will all feature twice, making it possible to circle the continent from and back to any of these ports of call. The voyage will also feature overnight calls in Dubai, Hong Kong and Cape Town.
Fares start from £11,999 for an inside cabin and up to £132,799 for the Grand Duplex Suite on the full World Voyage.
QUEEN ELIZABETH: The 118-night World Voyage will feature 40 ports in 23 countries with overnight calls in San Francisco, Sydney, Hong Kong, Singapore and Dubai. The sailing will see the ship make her debut in Japan, with maiden calls at Kochi, Yokohama, Kobe and Nagasaki, as well as Pusan, Shanghai Xiamen, Abu Dhabi and Aqaba for Petra. Fares from £11,899 to £109,999.
QUEEN VICTORIA: The 116-night voyage takes in 33 ports in 17 countries and features an overnight call in San Francisco and once-in-a-lifetime moments such as rounding Cape Horn and taking in the scenic views of Chile’s Amalia Glacier, PIO X Glacier, Easter Island, Pitcairn Island and New Zealand’s Milford Sound.
Maiden calls include Fortaleza (Brazil), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Montevideo (Uruguay), Buenos Aires (Argentina), Puerto Madryn (Argentina), Ushuaia (Argentine), Punta Arenas (Chile), Puerto Montt (Chile), Moorea (French Polynesia) and Suva (Fiji).
Fares from £10,999 to £99,999.
With all three Cunard ships travelling the globe it will be possible to combine itineraries to create a two-ship voyage incorporating an extended stay on land in Australia. Board any ship for the sailing down to Sydney, followed by a period of nine, 12 or 14-days before the chosen return voyage departs.
The homeward voyage can be either with Queen Mary 2 via the Orient, Arabia and the Mediterranean, or aboard Queen Victoria, travelling in the opposite direction, port-hopping along the east coast of New Zealand before crossing the Pacific, passing through the Panama Canal and sailing Transatlantic back to Southampton.
ARCADIA: The shortest world voyage on offer, at 92 nights, this westbound cruise visits 28 ports in 20 countries, including an overnight stay in Sydney and featuring calls at San Diego, Los Angeles, Melbourne, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Dubai. Fares from £7,899.
AURORA: Over 109 nights, the ship will visit 33 destinations in the Caribbean, California, Honolulu, , New Zealand, Australia, China, India and South Africa. There are overnight stays in San Francisco, Sydney, Xiamen, Hong Kong and Cape Town, and a maiden visit to Hoi An in Vietnam. Fares from £8,899.
ADONIA: P&O’s “pathfinder ship” sets out on an Asian Grand Adventure, and many of its 44 ports of call are not on the schedules of larger liners. Destinations include Petra (from Aqaba) Malacca, Manila, Hiroshima, Hong Kong, Sihanoukville, Langkawi and Mumbai, and maiden calls at Fujairah, Yangon (Myanmar), Port Blair in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Kuching in Borneo, and Puerto Princesa in the Philippines. There will be extended calls in Port Said, for visits to Cairo, Safaga (for Luxor) and Dubai. Fares from £9,999.
Both companies are offering various perks and price guarantees to encourage early booking. Cunard passengers travelling a complete world voyage will have gratuities included – saving up to £2,000 – and P&O are offering on-board credit of up to £560.
Each voyage will also be available in shorter sectors. P&O bookings open on September 4; Cunard one day later.