Australian cruise specialist My Cruises has secured a second full-ship charter of Oceania Cruises’ boutique vessel Regatta, confirming a new extended global voyage that will sail across 2027 and further intensify competition at the ultra-long, ultra-luxury end of the market. Marketed under the Explorations by Norwegian banner, the program positions Regatta as a floating private club for nearly a year, with My Cruises effectively transforming the 684-guest ship into a dedicated world-voyage product tailored largely to Australian and New Zealand travelers but with growing international appeal.

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A Second “World’s Longest Cruise” Secured

My Cruises, part of Ignite Travel within Flight Centre Travel Group, has confirmed it has again locked in Oceania’s Regatta for an extended global itinerary in 2027 after strong demand for its inaugural year-long sailing departing in September 2026. Industry outlets report that the 2027 charter will follow a similar concept to the first, with Regatta committed almost exclusively to the Explorations by Norwegian program over the course of roughly a year, allowing My Cruises to package and market the voyage as a series of epic segments as well as a continuous “world’s longest cruise” option.

The move underscores the rapid emergence of ultra-long itineraries as a prestige category in cruising. While several lines now offer 180-day and even longer world voyages, My Cruises’ partnership with Oceania pushes the concept further by knitting together a 300- to 370-day schedule that circles the globe multiple times, touching all major continents. The company has signaled that demand for the 2026 departure has significantly outpaced expectations, prompting the early decision to secure Regatta again for 2027 in what industry observers describe as a high-stakes bet on sustained appetite for time-rich, experience-driven travel.

For Oceania Cruises, which built its reputation on destination immersion, cuisine and mid-sized ships, the repeat charter provides a guaranteed base of high-yield deployment for one of its most storied vessels. It also broadens the brand’s presence in the Australian market without diluting its core programs in North America and Europe, as capacity and itineraries are effectively pre-purchased and curated by My Cruises for its own clientele.

Inside the 2027 Explorations by Norwegian Itinerary

Full details of the 2027 schedule have yet to be officially released, but the framework closely mirrors the 371-day inaugural Explorations by Norwegian voyage set to depart Civitavecchia, near Rome, in September 2026. That first itinerary stitches together multiple loops around the globe, built specifically around Australian tastes and flight routes, with embarkation and disembarkation options that make joining for one, several, or all segments relatively seamless.

Industry sources indicate that the 2027 program will again prioritize extended stays and repeat returns to traveler favorites rather than a simple port tally. Expect a heavy focus on the Mediterranean shoulder seasons, island-rich routes across the South Pacific, and carefully timed visits to marquee cities in Asia, including likely overnight calls in hubs such as Tokyo, Singapore and Hong Kong. The design philosophy is to deliver a rolling “greatest hits” of world cruising, with enough variation from the 2026 pattern to entice repeat guests while maintaining the comfort of a familiar, proven arc.

My Cruises typically packages these sailings with extensive pre- and post-cruise elements, from European city stays and rail journeys to curated land tours in regions like India or the Canadian Rockies on other products. For 2027, travel trade insiders expect the company to weave similarly upscale experiences into the Regatta program, positioning the cruise itself as the backbone of a much larger, year-long odyssey that travelers can dip in and out of according to time and budget.

Regatta: A Boutique Ship Turned Private Yacht

At the heart of the 2027 charter is Regatta herself, a 30,277-gross-ton vessel that, along with sister ships Insignia and Nautica, has long been central to Oceania’s identity. Built in the late 1990s for Renaissance Cruises and later transformed by Oceania, Regatta offers a markedly different atmosphere from today’s megaships. With capacity for just 684 guests at double occupancy, she combines the intimacy of a small ship with the amenities of a larger premium vessel, making her particularly suited to months-long travel.

Regatta’s recent refurbishments have refreshed cabins and suites with contemporary neutrals, plush bedding and updated technology, while public spaces retain the line’s classic, club-style design. Signature restaurants such as the Grand Dining Room, Toscana and Polo Grill, along with casual options like the Terrace Café, remain key selling points in a market where food quality is a major differentiator. Oceania’s acclaimed culinary program, emphasizing fresh ingredients and regional flavors, aligns neatly with My Cruises’ promise of elevated, “best of the best” experiences.

For guests embarking on multi-month segments in 2027, the ship’s human scale is critical. Regulars often liken Regatta to a floating boutique hotel, where staff quickly learn preferences and social circles form with ease. Long voyages can strain even the most generous public spaces, but Regatta’s mix of lounges, library, spa and open deck areas has been tested over numerous long-haul world itineraries. In charter mode, the vessel effectively becomes a private yacht for My Cruises’ guests, with programming, enrichment and even entertainment tuned to the profile of an overwhelmingly Australian-led audience, albeit one that is expected to become more global as word spreads.

How My Cruises Is Rewriting the World Cruise Playbook

World cruises have existed for decades, but My Cruises’ approach to the Regatta charter is notable in several respects. First is the company’s emphasis on modularity. Rather than marketing a single, dauntingly expensive circumnavigation, the Explorations by Norwegian program breaks the voyage into as many as two dozen legs. Guests can piece together multi-month journeys that suit their schedules while still feeling part of a single, grand narrative unfolding over the year.

Second is the blending of cruise, land and air into fully packaged itineraries. My Cruises, which has built its brand on bundled “fly, stay and cruise” holidays, applies that philosophy to the world-voyage market, promising to smooth out logistics that can become daunting on lengthy overseas trips. For many travelers, particularly those new to extended cruising, the assurance of coordinated flights, hotel stays, transfers and tours forms a crucial part of the value proposition.

Third is the deliberate positioning of the voyages as immersive lifestyle experiences rather than bucket-list blitzes. Extended stays in port, repeat visits to certain regions and on-board enrichment tailored to specific cultures and cuisines all support the idea of slow, purposeful travel. In a post-pandemic world in which many retirees and remote workers are reevaluating how they spend their time, the option to “move aboard” a small luxury ship for a major slice of the year is increasingly compelling.

The Competitive Landscape for 2027 World Voyages

The 2027 Regatta charter enters a crowded but rapidly evolving field. Oceania itself has already unveiled a record-setting 180-day world voyage aboard its newbuild Vista for 2027, stretching from Los Angeles and visiting more than 100 ports across 46 countries. Other premium and luxury lines are similarly extending and segmenting their offerings, responding to demand for deeper, more varied global exploration among affluent travelers who are willing to spend months at sea.

In this environment, My Cruises’ year-long charter serves as a differentiator both for the agency and for Oceania. While Vista’s 2027 itinerary will appeal strongly to North American and European guests booking directly with the line, the Regatta program operated by My Cruises focuses more heavily on the Australian source market and on travelers seeking a semi-private, charter-style experience with a consistent community on board. The two strands of Oceania’s deployment are more complementary than competitive, allowing the brand to capture distinct segments of the long-voyage audience.

Rival lines in the luxury and upper-premium sectors are unlikely to ignore the signals sent by the strength of bookings on My Cruises’ inaugural year-long voyage. Several have experimented with extended “grand voyages” and region-spanning programs of 60 to 120 days, and industry analysts expect more full-ship charters and agency-led world programs to follow if the Regatta charters produce sustained returns. For now, however, My Cruises’ lock on a dedicated Oceania ship for a second full year remains a standout commitment.

Economic Ripples for Ports and Destinations

Extended global itineraries such as the 2027 Regatta voyage carry significant implications for ports and destinations, particularly in regions where traditional cruise traffic has softened. In Australia, for example, concerns over a sharp drop in scheduled cruise calls in Western Australia over the 2024 to 2025 seasons have prompted fresh debate about how to attract and retain itineraries that deliver high per-guest spending and encourage repeat land-based tourism.

Although final routing for the 2027 Regatta charter has not been made public, the 2026 blueprint includes multiple Australian and South Pacific segments, with emphasis on marquee cities and gateway ports. Local tourism bodies will be watching closely to see how My Cruises balances the appeal of familiar drawcards such as Sydney, Brisbane and Auckland with calls to more remote or developing cruise destinations that stand to benefit from longer stays and smaller-ship visitation.

For ports along less-trafficked coasts in Asia, the Middle East and parts of Europe, the arrival of a ship like Regatta on a charter itinerary can bring both economic opportunity and operational challenges. Small-ship visits tend to be easier to accommodate than mega-liners, but guests on extended voyages are often more demanding in terms of cultural authenticity, tour quality and access to local experiences. My Cruises and its shore partners will be under pressure to deliver excursions and independent exploration options that match the high-end positioning of the program.

Target Guests and Pricing Signals

My Cruises has not yet released pricing for the 2027 world charter, but early packages for the 2026 inaugural voyage have provided clear signals about the target demographic. Fares for multi-month segments bundled with business-class or premium economy flights, five-star hotels and extensive touring place the product squarely in the upper-premium to luxury bracket. The extended nature of the voyages tends to attract retired couples, seasoned cruisers and a growing cohort of affluent professionals able to work remotely for part of the journey.

The company’s marketing emphasizes value through inclusions rather than headline fare discounts. Talking points typically highlight bundled flights, hotel nights, drinks packages, specialty dining, shore excursions and bonus experiences as part of the package price, aligning with a broader industry trend toward more inclusive pricing at the top end. For prospective guests, the ability to calculate near-total trip costs in advance, particularly for a journey lasting several months, can be a decisive factor.

Notably, My Cruises has cultivated a reputation within Australia for aggressive packaging and “bonus value” offers. Applying that model to a vessel of Regatta’s calibre and a voyage of such duration signals confidence that there is a deep enough pool of travelers willing to pay for convenience, curation and continuity at sea. With the 2027 charter, the company is effectively betting that this audience is not a one-off phenomenon but a structural shift in how a segment of the market wants to travel.

What the Regatta Charter Means for the Future of Luxury Cruising

The decision to charter Regatta again for 2027 reinforces a broader narrative playing out across the cruise industry: ultra-long, high-comfort voyages are moving from niche experiments to a defined pillar of the luxury travel landscape. As cruise lines debut larger, more feature-laden ships, there is increasing recognition that a subset of guests values time, space and familiarity over glitz and constant novelty.

By turning a mid-sized, culinary-focused ship into the platform for what it bills as the world’s longest cruise, My Cruises is effectively offering an alternative way to inhabit the world, one where the comforts of home are carried across oceans and borders. For Oceania Cruises, the partnership provides both revenue stability and a showcase for its brand attributes on a global stage, amplified by an agency that has built its business around storytelling and bundled experiences.

With the 2027 voyage still more than a year away from booking launch, many operational details, including exact port lists, segment lengths and onboard programming, remain under wraps. Yet the confirmation of the charter itself sends a clear message: demand for extended, meticulously curated world journeys at sea remains strong, and the race to capture that demand is intensifying. For travelers with the time and means to join Regatta on her next circumnavigation, 2027 is shaping up as an invitation to explore the world in a level of sustained luxury that only a handful of ships, and an even smaller number of programs, can match.