By Cailey Rizzo | FoodAndWine.Com

Troy Warren for CNT

“This outstanding response has surpassed all expectations and is without a doubt our strongest world cruise launch day ever,” Regent Seven Seas Cruises’ CEO said.

A cruise with fares starting at just over $73,000 per person completely sold out in less than three hours last week, proving that passengers are desperate to get back to the high seas after the COVID-19 pandemic halted cruising.

Regent Seven Seas Cruises’ 2024 World Cruise voyage sold out at around 11 a.m. ET on July 14, after having been made available only at 8:30 a.m. that day, according to a press release.

“With a waitlist longer than we have ever experienced, we knew that the 2024 World Cruise was going to be popular, but this outstanding response has surpassed all expectations and is without a doubt our strongest world cruise launch day ever,” Jason Montague, president and chief executive officer of Regent Seven Seas Cruises, said in a statement.

The World Cruise will welcome passengers aboard for 132 nights — or nearly five months — as they travel around the globe, trekking more than 34,500 nautical miles. The cruise will stop at 66 ports of call across 31 countries and four continents, including Central America, Hawaii, the South Pacific, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and the Mediterranean.

Surprisingly, it wasn’t just Regent Seven Seas Cruises alums who gobbled up the tickets, but those who were new to cruising.

“Remarkably, we’ve found that interest hasn’t just come from our past guests, and we have seen a strong increase in first-time travelers with Regent, many of whom were keen to book the higher end of our suites,” Montague said.

Cruise prices went up to $199,999 per guest for a master suite aboard the ship.

All tickets include free first-class air travel, a pre-cruise gala event, and hotel in Miami, exclusive shoreside experiences, door-to-door luggage service, all visas, laundry aboard the ship, and more.

Passengers aboard the World Cruise will be able to participate in 442 free shore excursions, with access to 61 different UNESCO World Heritage sites, the most that any Regents Seven Seas Cruise has ever included. Passengers will also be aboard for crossings of both the Panama and Suez canals.

This is the third year in a row that spots aboard the World Cruise have quickly sold out. In September, spots for the 2023 World Cruise sold out within a matter of a few hours.

Cailey Rizzo is a contributing writer for Travel + Leisure, currently based in Brooklyn. You can find her on Twitter, Instagram, or at caileyrizzo.com.