For cruise passengers, 2019 is shoring up to be a particularly exciting year. Not only are ships returning to places that have been perceived as politically sensitive in recent years—such as Turkey and Egypt—they’re also heading on increasingly remote voyages, to places that feel like the ends of the Earth. Here, the seafaring trips to prioritize in 2019.
(Don’t love cruising? Try our list of the world’s most compelling destinations for 2019 instead.)
Cuba
Havana has been drawing hundreds of thousands of mass market cruisers since restrictions on U.S. travel were eased in 2016. This year luxury lines join the party, offering deeper experiences and spending more time in ports than the larger ships. SeaDream Yacht Club—known for its casual atmosphere and extreme pampering from the crew—heads to Cuba this month with the 112-passenger SeaDream II, sailing between Havana and the French-founded city of Cienfuegos. Among its port calls is Isla de la Juventud, Cuba’s second-largest island, where you can snorkel among sponges and corals in the Punta Frances Marine National Park before returning to your ship for a standout Thai massage.
SeaDream is hardly the only plush way to visit Cuba by ship. Silversea launches a series of five voyages in February, and Seabourn begins sailing to Cuba in the fall. Bonus: Havana celebrates its 500th anniversary in November, making for tons of festivals, concerts, art exhibitions, and other special events.
SeaDream II sailing, from $5,999 per person for seven days
Egypt
While the country is rebounding from a tourism slump that began with 2011’s Arab Spring, and this year luxury lines are returning to Egypt, meaning your World Cruise or Middle East itinerary will actually stop there rather than just pass through via the Suez Canal. Ocean lines such as Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Oceania Cruises, and Silversea will call on Safaga, with access to Luxor and the Valley of the Kings—albeit on a dusty 124-mile bus transfer from the Red Sea through the desert—in the spring and fall.
River lines are exploring farther afield, stopping not just in Cairo and Luxor, but in archaeologically spectacular Aswan as well. Book a top suite on the 42-passenger Oberoi Philae, a steamwheeler replica that’s chartered by companies such as Lindblad Expeditions, and you can lounge in your own open-air whirlpool while pretending you’re Cleopatra on the Nile.
Passage through Egypt sailing with Lindblad Expeditions/National Geographic on the Oberoi Philae, from $8,480 (top suites from $13,260) for 13 days
Greenland
One of the most remote places on Earth, Arctic Greenland will be a hot spot with cruisers in 2019. Until recently it’s only been possible to explore the area’s untouched fjords, glaciers, colorful towns, and Viking sites on basic expedition ships. Now, new ships are being purpose-built to serve as base camps in icy waters. Among them, Norway-based Hurtigruten’s hybrid electric, 500-passenger Roald Amundsen, has a nifty underwater drone delivering video from down below and an infinity pool up on top. From either of those vantages—or even closer-up on excursions—you’ll be able to spot humpbacks and other whales, or see the northern lights high above.
Viking Heritage Cruise, from $7,305 for 14 days