Cruise West will chart a course that circumnavigates the earth when the 120-passenger Spirit of Oceanus makes her 2011/12  “Voyages of the Great Explorers” World Cruise. Commencing February 22, 2011 in Singapore, the ship will visit six continents, 254 ports of call in 61 countries while crossing 14 seas and oceans before arriving in the last port, Hong Kong, January 24, 2012.

For those who can’t spend a year traveling,  Cruise West offers segments ranging from nine- to 18-nights.   Included in the fares are shore excursions, on board lectures by prominent experts in the fields of anthropology and history and exploration by Zodiac to private islands and snorkeling safaris.

One of the big advantages of traveling by small ship is the chance to visit ports inaccessible to larger vessels.  Among the stops  Spirit of Oceanus will make are Ille Rousse, Corsica, the birthplace of Christopher Columbus; small beaches of Belle-Ile-en-Mer, France; Corn Island, a pristine coral reef near Nicaragua; Kurmai, Kalimantan, Borneo and Santa Ana in the Solomon Islands.

For additional information, visit Cruise West’s website.