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Crystal Cruises ship to go around the world
October 16, 2012

Add Crystal Cruises to the list of lines offering complete circumnavigations of the globe.

The two-ship luxury operator says the 1,070-passenger Crystal Serenity will sail its first complete circumnavigation in early 2015.

The 108-day voyage will kick off in Miami on Jan. 15, 2015 and include stops in the Caribbean, South America, the South Pacific, New Zealand, Australia and Africa. It ends in Miami on May 4, 2015.

Crystal has offered an annual, months-long World Cruise for years, often with an itinerary that nearly circled the globe.

But this will be the first time the line has sent a ship completely around the world in a voyage that begins and ends in the same port.

The Crystal Serenity's route on the voyage will take it westward through the Panama Canal to South America's west coast before heading across the Pacific to New Zealand and Australia. From there, the ship will continue westward to the southern tip of Africa before heading to the east coast of South America and back to Miami.

The sailing will include a stop at Easter Island and Pitcairn Island in the Pacific as well as Tahiti, Bora Bora and Rarotonga. Stops in Madagascar and Mozambique also are on the schedule.

Crystal also has unveiled its final line-up of sailings for 2014, and opened them for bookings. Ranging from seven to 89 days in length, there are 61 voyages in all, featuring 16 maiden calls for the line, 194 total ports and 68 countries.

The 2014 schedule includes twice as many Asia sailings as in 2013, including Crystal's first cruises to and from Bangkok.

In addition, nearly every 2014 itinerary features at least one overnight stay in a port — a growing trend at upscale lines. Some itineraries feature two-night stays in ports such as Yangon, Myanmar; Shanghai; Hong Kong; St. Petersburg, Russia; and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Source :- http://www.usatoday.com/story/cruiselog/