What is a Grand Voyage?

There are a lot of terms tossed about in the world of cruises and cruising – strange words and vocabulary that we’re not accustomed to hearing every day.

Prow’s Edge Cruise Magazine explains some of those terms you might be likely to hear while on board your cruise ship in Cruise Ship Vocabulary and Glossary.

But what about some of those terms like “Grand Voyage” mentioned in the latest press release about Holland America Line and their Grand Voyages in 2011 and 2012?

Also referred to as “grand world voyages” or simply “world cruises”,
grand voyages are cruises that are longer than most cruises (often over 120 days) typically offered by the luxury and premium cruise lines like Crystal Cruises, Cunard Line, Holland America Line, Fred.Olsen, P&O, Princess Cruises, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Silversea and the Yachts of Seabourn.

Many of the grand voyages, perhaps because many of them are on British cruise lines, begin and end their cruises in Southampton.

The majority of cruisers take advantage of the entire cruise itineraries offered in the “grand voyage” sector of the market, but shorter segments of the cruise are also very popular with passengers who do not have three months or more to spare, or who would rather split their cruise dollars over a number of different cruises each year, rather than just one. Such segments can be of any length from 9 to 47 days.

One of the advantages of booking an entire world cruise rather than a small segment of it is in the savings on special deals on shore excursions and even in some cases, onboard credit.

For more about such world cruises visit the recently updated page about WORLD CRUISES at Prow’s Edge Cruise Magazine