Regent Seven Seas Cruises’ Seven Seas Voyager will offer a world cruise in 2009 that will actually circumnavigate the globe, starting in Los Angeles on January 12 and ending in Fort Lauderdale on May 8. In between the ship will sail through Polynesia, stop in New Zealand and Australia, visit Shanghai, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand, India and Dubai, and then continue through Oman, Egypt, Greece, Turkey and Italy to Corsica, Spain and Madeira, before crossing the Atlantic to Florida. The 700-passenger ship has all ocean-view suites (all with balconies), free 24-hour room service, and a choice of four restaurants, plus a casual pool grill. Rates for the entire cruise range from $108,265 to $386,365 per person, based on double occupancy, with the top rate for accommodations in the 1,335-square-foot master stateroom; all are discounted if booked early.

For more information: Regent Seven Seas Cruises

Around-the-world in cooperation with the World Wildlife Fund: TCS Expeditions has teamed up with the WWF to offer a 24-day itinerary that will tour some of the world's natural wonders. In the Amazon rain forest in Brazil, participants can take a jungle walk or a chartered riverboat, while in Borneo, they can visit a WWF rehabilitation center for orphaned orangutans. At Tiger Tops Jungle Lodge in Nepal, they can ride guided elephants to search for rhinos, crocodiles and other animals. And in Namibia, they can cruise Walvis Bay to find the haunts of Cape Fur seals and prolific birdlife. Rates begin at $65,000 per person, double occupancy.

For more information: TCS Expeditions

This 24-day TCS Expeditions itinerary visits some of the world's most legendary and remote islands. The itinerary includes the Galapagos; Easter Island; Tonga; the South Island of New Zealand; Tasmania; Brunei; Madagascar; Seychelles and Malta. Activities include a whale-watching expedition in New Zealand; bird-watching in the Seychelles; and exploration of UNESCO World Heritage sites on Malta. Prices start at $65,000 per person, double occupancy.

For more information: TCS Expeditions

During this 24-day itinerary, travelers will visit some of the most remote and exotic spots at the ends of the earth, starting at Tikal, Guatemala, home of the Pyramid of the Giant Jaguar and Great Acropolis. Other stops include Ayers Rock in Australia; Xian, China, with its tombs of life-size terra cotta soldiers; Jaipur in India, with its many palaces; Petra and Wadi Rum in Jordan; Cairo and the Great Pyramids in Egypt; and Istanbul, with its Ottoman palaces and mosques. Prices start at $65,000 per person, double occupany.

For more information: TCS Expeditions

Offered jointly by American Express and Abercrombie & Kent exclusively for American Express card members, this 24-day 2009 itinerary is offered only to American Express card-holders. Using a 50-passenger 757 with a 13-member crew, the trip will stop on Easter Island; Samoa; Sydney, Australia; Jaipur, India, where participants will watch an elephant polo match; Dubai, U.A.E., where they will have high tea at the Burj Al Arab hotel; and Cairo, where they will ride a camel caravan into the desert, in sight of the pyramids, for a romantic dinner, Arabian style. The trip is $98,000 per person, double occupancy.

For more information: Abercrombie & Kent

This itinerary will be offered twice in 2009, from Feb. 2-25 and again from Feb. 26-March 21. Stops in South America include Lima, Cusco, Machu Picchu and Easter Island, followed by Samoa, then the Great Barrier Reef; Angkor, Cambodia; Chengdu, China; Lhasa, Tibet; the Taj Mahal in Agra; a safari in Tanzania, where travelers will visit Serengeti National Park; a choice of Luxor and Giza in Egypt or Petra in Jordan; and the last destination, Fez, Morocco. The price is $57,000 per person, double occupancy.

For more information: Starquest Expeditions

This 25-day, 2009 trip, arranged by Starquest Expeditions and sold by National Geographic Expeditions, is accompanied by Wade Davis, who is an explorer-in-residence at the National Geographic Society, author of numerous books, anthropologist and photographer. Adventures will include a float down the Amazon River and guided rain forest walk; visit to Iguazu Falls in Argentina and the Antarctic Peninsula; tour of either Daintree Rain Forest or Lizard Island in Australia; stops in Cambodia, Kochi, India, the Serengeti in Tanzania, Petra, and a final stop in Burgundy, France. The price is $60,000 per person, double occupancy.

For more information: National Geographic Expeditions

Offered by Smithsonian Journeys, the travel arm of the Smithsonian Institution, and planned by Starquest Expeditions, this 26-day itinerary covers some of the world's most exotic cultures, such as the Incas in Peru, Moai and Birdman cult of Easter Island, Ta Moku tattoo art of the Maori in New Zealand, Australian aboriginal artwork and body-painting, dancers, archers and Buddhists in Bhutan, Mehndi henna arts in India, Dogon cliff-dwellers and Tuareg nomads in Mali, and the souks of Marrakech, Morocco. The price is $60,000 per person, double occupancy.

For more information: Smithsonian Journeys

The Stanford University Alumni Association is offering this 27-day trip in January 2009, arranged by Starquest Expeditions. Celebrating the birth of Charles Darwin and the 150th anniversary of publication of "Origin of Species," the trip will include a special Darwin seminar at Stanford; visits to the Galapagos Islands; the gaucho culture of Montevideo, Uruguay; penguin colonies of the Falkland Islands; tours of the islets of New Zealand, natural wonders of Tasmania, harbor towns of Western Australia, Mauritius, Cape Town and the Cape Verde Islands, and conclude with a cruise along the Thames to London's National Maritime Museum. Stanford faculty will accompany the tour. The price is $60,000 per person, double occupancy; travelers who are not Stanford alumni must also pay an additional $100 fee.

For more information: Stanford University Alumni Association

Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts offers a $100,000 gift card that can be redeemed for $100,000 worth of accommodations anywhere in the world. Why not turn this into a round-the-world journey, with stays at some of the world's most luxurious hotels? The company suggests starting off with three nights in the penthouse of the Beverly Wilshire, followed by two nights at the Four Seasons Resort Provence at Terre Blanche. Next it recommends 11 nights in Thailand, with two at the Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok, three in a one-bedroom residence at the Four Seasons Chiang Mai, three in a luxury tent at the Four Seasons Golden Triangle, and three in a two-bedroom estate at the Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui. End your trip with three nights in the chairman's suite of the Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Marunouchi. Airfare is not included. The itinerary is not a formal package, but all items quoted are based on double occupancy.

For more information: Four Seasons Hotels