This Insane 4-Month Cruise Goes to 32 Countries on 6 Continents

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Unless you're Anthony Bourdain or travel constantly for work, visiting more than two dozen countries and six continents can take a lifetime of trips -- and that's if you're lucky. But if your crippling wanderlust is so intense that you need to travel all across the world on one big trip, a new 119-day cruise might just have you covered.

The nearly four months-long voyage from MSC Cruises, fittingly dubbed the "World Cruise," boasts an itinerary of 49 destinations across 32 countries spanning six continents. The cruise departs on January 5, 2019 from Genoa, Italy, and returns there after 119 days (118 nights) of crisscrossing the globe. MSC said its ship, the MSC Magnifica, is the largest and most modern ship to make such an extended trip in the industry, featuring 11 bars, four restaurants, a casino, a panoramic discotheque, a cigar lounge, and a 4D cinema, among other amenities and attractions, according to a press release.

According to the cruise itinerary, the global journey begins with stops at ports in four European cities: Marseille in France, followed by Barcelona and Málaga in Spain, then Funchal in Portugal. After that, the ship will cross the Atlantic to make stops at Caribbean destinations like St. Maarten, the US Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Aruba, and a few others before making its way to the Pacific via the Panama Canal. From there, the ship will make extended stops in Los Angeles (two days), San Francisco (three days), Honolulu (two days). Additional stops include Bora Bora in French Polynesia, Auckland in New Zealand, and Sydney in Australia, along with several others. 

4 month cruise
Courtesy of MSC Cruises

The cruise also includes 15 complimentary excursions, such as riding elephants in Pinnawela, taking a dip in the lagoons of Moorea, or touring national parks, according to the press release. 

As you may have assumed by now, tickets for the insanely long cruise come with a price tag to match: $16,999 or more, according to a report by Travel & Leisure. Of course, the cost of the cruise is one thing, but taking four months of your life to go on vacation is another, seeing as you've probably taken fewer than 119 vacation days across your entire career. Perhaps that's why MSC recommends the voyage for people planning to take "a traditional gap year, career break or a post-retirement adventure," per the press release. 

So far, tickets for the trip are only available for MSC Voyagers Club members, but the company said sales will open to the general public on December 14th. Basically, you have at least until then to sell all your valuables and non-vital organs to finance the opulent odyssey. Or you can always just take a week-long cruise from a US city like a normal person. 

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Tony Merevick is Cities News Editor at Thrillist and wishes he could take most of 2019 off to go on a world cruise... Sigh. Send news tips to news@thrillist.com and follow him on Twitter @tonymerevick.