How a luxury cruise line decides where to go on a 145-day, 34,000-mile journey around the world

If you think planning a weeklong family vacation is hard, try organizing a five-month, around-the-world trip for 458 people.

For the everyday traveler, it may seem logistically impossible.

For Crystal Morgan, Seabourn’s senior director of deployment and itinerary planning, it’s just another day at work.

Morgan and her team are the driving force behind the luxury cruise line’s annual around-the-world voyages. And as you might expect, ideating them is no easy feat.

Seabourn’s recently announced 2027 world cruise is one of its most ambitious yet, spanning 145 days and almost 34,000 nautical miles. It plans to stop at 67 ports in 19 countries, with bucketlist destinations like Honolulu, Machu Picchu, and Bora Bora.

These voyages offer a convenient and comfortable way for travelers to see the world. But behind the scenes, designing them can be anything but smooth sailing.

“I think of itinerary planning as baking a cake,” Morgan told Business Insider. “It’s one part science, one part finesse. There have to be the right ingredients to go in, but how you decorate the cake is the kind of finesse when it comes to itinerary planning.”

The framework

World cruises ideally commence in early January, when the industry is in a post-holiday lull and retired snowbirds become heat-seeking missiles. They’re generally more than 100 days long — but they can’t be too lengthy, or risk cutting into the peak summer season.

As for the ship, Seabourn plans to deploy its smallest ocean vessel, Seabourn Quest. Its 458-guest capacity is “just the right amount for a world cruise,” Morgan said.

The floating resort is scheduled for several Caribbean cruises from Miami during the preceding holiday season. The world voyage will therefore sail round-trip from the popular Florida port, with fares currently ranging from $81,000 to $380,070 per person.

After setting the timing and ship framework, designing the rest of the itinerary becomes, to a certain extent, a plug-and-play game — with more limitations than you might expect.

The destinations

Deciding which destinations to visit isn’t as simple as throwing darts at a map or checking #TravelTok for trending cities. Instead, Morgan’s team considers factors such as weather patterns, Seabourn’s global deployments, competing itineraries, and consumer surveys.

Ideally, the extended itinerary has a sensible geographic flow that balances sea days and ports that don’t feel too repetitive or are only accessible to smaller ships like Seabourn’s.

As such, the global voyage is scheduled to sail south and westward to South America, Australia, and New Zealand before returning through Hawaii, Los Angeles, and Mexico. Throughout its transoceanic crossings, Quest is also scheduled to visit several South Pacific islands.

None of Seabourn’s ships are set to be stationed in Australia and New Zealand in early 2027 — two “extremely popular” destinations, according to Morgan. To fill this demand, the global voyage plans to spend 35 days circumnavigating Australia.

Other ports, especially those in larger cities, are as desirable as necessary. Take Papeete, French Polynesia, for example. It’s a hot destination, but more than that, it’s also where the ship can restock its fuel and food supply, according to Morgan.

If an attractive town doesn’t make geographic sense or cuts into the time needed to reach a restocking port, it’ll be nixed. As such, to ensure safety and feasibility, internal teams that oversee marine operations and supply chains also have a say in the long-haul itinerary.

“Everything’s like a big puzzle,” Morgan said. “The hardest part is crossing all the T’s when it comes to the full operation and getting everyone to agree that operationally, what we’re pushing through is the best experience.”

External factors, such as predicted weather conditions and port availability, also impact the route. Small variables, like current trends, can even dictate the ship’s speed and when it arrives and departs a particular port.

So too do geopolitical tensions — Seaboun’s reason for skipping the Suez Canal.

“It’s measuring that risk versus reward,” Morgan said. “We’ve seen our competitors publish itineraries that do transit the Suez Canal, but as a company, right now, we’re choosing not to.”

With all these layers, it should be no surprise that creating and approving the itinerary took 1½ years, with several months spent on itinerary ideation and review alone, according to Morgan.

Yet, believe it or not, she does think planning a family vacation is more difficult.

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