NEW YORK • After a year of isolation and lockdowns, four months on a ship is looking pretty good to super fans of cruises.

The Covid-19 pandemic was raging last July when Viking Ocean Cruises opened reservation books for a 136-day world cruise itinerary. The Christmas 2021 departure sold out in weeks.

In December, amid a second wave of Covid-19, the firm opened a second cruise for the same period. It, too, quickly sold out.

The company had no trouble filling two of its nearly identical 930-passenger ships, Viking Star and Viking Neptune, even though the borders of many of the two dozen countries on the planned itinerary remain largely closed to international visitors. The only cabins that went unsold, in fact, were those blocked off for potential quarantine needs.

Now the line is scrambling to put together an additional around-the-world itinerary starting in 2023.

"We are looking to open the next opportunity as quickly as we can," says Mr Richard Marnell, executive vice-president of marketing for Viking. "Watch this space!"

In spite of the dire straits of the cruise industry over the past year - or possibly, because of it - the hottest tickets on many cruise lines are pricey, multi-month world tours planned to take place a year or more out.

These bookings, which can cost from about US$50,000 (S$66,600) per couple in standard rooms to hundreds of thousands of dollars in top-tier suites, represent a rare glimmer of hope for an industry that has taken more than US$30 billion in losses and continues to be saddled with uncertainty.

The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention currently considers cruises a "very high level" of Covid-19 risk and recommends that travellers avoid them worldwide; to date, most lines have cancelled sailings until June, and even that timeline seems optimistic.

Viking is not the only line with big plans for the fairly distant future. On Jan 27, Oceania Cruises opened sales to the public for its 2023 "Around the World in 180 Days" cruise, which will hit five continents, including Antarctica. The upscale line sold out a 684-passenger ship in one day.

Ultraluxury line Seabourn, for its part, has sold out all top-level suites on two world sailings on the 450-passenger Seabourn Sojourn, with couples paying up to a half-million dollars for five-month cruises starting in 2022 and 2023. There is so much demand that the company recently opened waiting lists.

WHY NOW?

Many factors are driving this trend - from cabin fever to favourable deals and the promise of vaccinations for cruising's famously older core demographic. World cruises do not necessarily circle the globe, their name notwithstanding.

But cruisers who have been stuck at home since March last year are apparently bullish on seeing as much of the world as possible in one fell swoop - including such hard-to-reach destinations as Easter Island, Bora Bora in French Polynesia or the Seychelles. Take Silversea's latest itinerary: When it sets sail in 2022, the first-ever "expedition world cruise" will spend 167 days journeying from Ushuaia in Argentina to Tromso in Norway - nearly pole to pole.

Pent-up demand and "reprioritisation of life goals" are at play here, said Mr Matthew Upchurch, chairman and chief executive officer of Virtuoso, a luxury travel adviser network.

In addition to world cruises, which typically take place over the winter into the spring, longer sailings of several weeks or months are attracting more interest than before the pandemic, he said.

"There's a longing for the missed opportunities over the past year, and a strong desire to take advantage of seeing the world while they can," Mr Upchurch added.

"By taking something away, you highlight the true value and appreciation for it."

Other value propositions may also be at play. For cruisers who had to cancel one or several voyages last year, these once-in-a-lifetime itineraries are emerging as a good way to cash in on the credits they have.

Through the past 12 months, cruise lines have encouraged travellers not to seek refunds by offering 10 per cent to 25 per cent added value in the form of "bonus credits", which on some lines need to be redeemed by April 2022.

Cruise lines are also ramping up the VIP freebies they offer long-term guests, such as free dry cleaning, Wi-Fi, and visa services. To help lock in ship occupancies for an extended period and guarantee income on their bright-red balance sheets, they are adding lavish pre-departure parties, business class airfare, and thousands of dollars in onboard spending credits.

AN ARGUMENT FOR SAFETY

Among those raring to get back to sea are Ms Linda Weissman and her husband Marty, a retired orthopaedic surgeon. They have escaped the cold temperatures in Michigan and "wintered" on Cunard world cruises 14 times - always staying in a top Queen's Grill suite and spending millions of dollars in the process. They are planning a four-month world outing on Queen Mary 2 next year.

"I miss the people, the service, being waited on and taken care of like royalty 24/7," she said. "It's like, 'Do you want escargot tonight?'"

After the pandemic, passengers will have to grapple with some serious concerns, including the frequency of outbreaks on ships that had promised buttoned-up Covid protocols last year.

Despite those headlines, Viking's Mr Marnell said world cruisers will benefit from a safe, "constant environment" in which travellers can feel comfortable hanging out for a long period of time. Like other lines, his company's ships have been outfitted with labs for frequent PCR testing and new air purification systems, among other Covid-19 measures.

The safety of shore visits, however, remains a looming question mark - particularly in countries where vaccinations have yet to be rolled out in any substantial way.

While cruise companies are generally working on plans to ensure safety at these ports of call, the fast-changing nature of travel recommendations and long lead times before itineraries can resume mean that those details have not yet been broadly released.

FAR FROM GUARANTEED

For cruise companies to carry off these plans, many things will need to break their way. The Viking cruise this December is set to sail to 56 ports in 27 countries, including spots in Central America, Hawaii, Australia and New Zealand, Asia, the Middle East, and the Mediterranean-with fares ranging from US$53,000 to US$166,000 per person.

The company, like others offering world cruises, will have to navigate the complexity of constantly changing entry requirements and quarantine rules in a world that may not reach herd immunity for years.

The unknowns surrounding government regulations will make it difficult for cruise lines to plan itineraries, according to Virtuoso's Mr Upchurch. "Having to change course once a voyage is underway is not practical. It's costly, and it does nothing for restoring consumer confidence," he added.

The companies are hoping that by the time these distant cruises set sail, the coronavirus would not be an issue; should border closures persist for longer than expected, these itineraries may need to be postponed, just like the rest of the cruise calendar.

What nobody wants is a repeat of last winter.

As Covid-19 spread, world cruises had to be scrapped midway through, with passengers sent home on hastily arranged flights or stranded on ships. One result, though, is that travellers have come to understand that "nothing is guaranteed", Mr Upchurch said.

That goes for the Weissmans of Michigan. They had to pack their 10 bags (eight for Linda) and fly home from Perth when their world cruise on the Queen Mary 2 was cut short last March. They are hoping for the best in 2022.

"Every day on Facebook it pops up where we were on this day (last year)," Linda said. "Today, it popped up we were in Bali, drinking Bloody Marys. I mean, come on."

BLOOMBERG