The Crystal Serenity was the first ship to come to mind when we decided to plan a 2026 world cruise, sailing from Port Everglades three days before Christmas and 10 days before New Year’s.
We had taken several cruises on Serenity over the last decade, and beyond viewing it as pretty much the perfect size for a cruise ship, we always found it consistently had the best staff and the best food at sea.
What was even more amazing is that after its bankruptcy, shutdown and sale in 2022-23, Crystal miraculously came back better than ever.
But since all four of the cruise ships we were considering – Crystal Serenity, Silversea’s Silver Dawn, Regent’s Seven Seas Mariner and Ocean’s Vista – provide an onboard home that leaves little to complain about, the primary consideration for us in choosing among them was clearly going to be itinerary.
There, the Crystal Serenity 2026 World Cruise got off to what we viewed as a shaky start.
The first three weeks would entail sailing down through the Panama Canal, and up the Pacific Coast of Mexico to Los Angeles. Apart from an overnight in the vibrant Colombian city of Cartagena, nothing there was new – or of very much interest – to us.
After California, there was going to be a LOT of time at sea – interrupted only by a two-day visit to Hawaii – before Serenity finally would make it to the islands of French Polynesia.
We liked the South Pacific part of the cruise, however; with 15 different islands scheduled, only two of which we have previously visited, we were totally up for some leisurely island hopping.
But Serenity then was scheduled to move on to New Zealand for a week (been there) and sail up the Gold Coast of Australia past the Great Barrier Reef (done that) before cruising on to Indonesia.
At this point, given our apparent lack of enthusiasm for this itinerary, you may be wondering: Why were we even considering the 2026 Crystal World Voyage.
The answer: The second half of Serenity’s 2026 World Voyage was better. In terms of our “Bucket List,” MUCH better!
The good news began with an overnight March 16-17 in Bali, and improved from there. The weeks ahead included overnights in Hong Kong, Saigon, Bangkok, Singapore and Mumbai – all exciting cities – before stopovers in Dubai and two other Emirates.
The former Trucial States – which we have never visited – were the big PLUS for this itinerary. And the itinerary also called for a stop in Saudi Arabia before “Bucket List” visits to Luxor, Petra, and a passage through the Suez Canal.
Best of all, when Crystal Serenity exits into the Mediterranean, it planned to turn to port rather than starboard – and visit Cairo and Alexandria. Think Pyramids and Sphinx. The final 10 days of Serenity’s “World Cruise” took it west across the Mediterranean to Rome, where everyone would disembark and be sent on their way home.
So how did one net this out?
Well, the second half of the Crystal Serenity’s World Cruise was sensational – IF the Houthis finally stop shooting, and the route up through the Suez Canal opens again. That was a BIG uncertainty when we began planning this voyage.
The other big problem is what do we do after Rome?
That was what we were thinking as we looked at the other options.