More than 100 passengers booked Cruise & Maritime Voyages’ first world cruise within four days of it going on sale on May 21, with another 36 signing up for the full circumnavigation by mid-June.

The cruise, on the 1,250-passenger Magellan, the former Carnival ship that joined CMV in March, will visit 43 ports in 120 nights.

Departing Tilbury on January 5 2017, Magellan heads west through the Panama Canal and South Pacific to New Zealand and Australia, returning home via Asia, India and Suez Canal.

Head of marketing Mike Hall said: “A world cruise is obviously on many bucket lists. It’s as though people were waiting for this to react so quickly.”

The voyage was launched in CMV’s new 2016/17 programme, which also features cruises from seven regional ports on Marco Polo and a selection of itineraries from Avonmouth on Astoria, the new name for the Azores.

Prices start from £939 for two people for a seven-night Scottish Isles and Faroes cruise from Hull departing June 16 2016. World cruise prices start from £8,999 per person.