BVILady

KKB what I am paying will not be what it is now, since I will get 2024 at the price of 2022 since it had been cancelled and I had booked 2023 as soon as it became available to book, so right now my interior price for 2023 is 24838.38 including the Government fees. I think now the price is maybe $ 2000 more. that is single-occupancey, Premium.

Cruise is 128 days includes a drink-package (beer or wine with dinner and lunch), 15 excursions included, insurance will be $ 2,999.00, Service Charge Euro 11,00 per day. Fuel Surcharge $ 9,00 per day (fixed rate, only due because fuel-prices have increased since I booked). Concerning the included excursion I had booked some for the 2022 cruise already and they were not just tender to the port for you to explore on your own but for example all day Petra, when in Jordan:

                                                             ===========

"COMFORT PETRA: THE PINK CITY, AMIDST MAGIC AND FLAVOURS (Excursion included in the World Cruise fare)

Day 112: Aqaba

Difficulty level: Moderate

Type:

IN A NUTSHELL

An excursion to discover the city carved out of pink rock, with a journey into the depths of a narrow canyon almost 100 metres high. The excursion takes us from the magic of the dazzling "Treasury" to the typical flavours of the area.

MAIN STOPS:

    The Siq

    The Treasury of Petra

    Roman temples and tombs

    Roman amphitheatre

THE PROGRAMME:

    We depart from Aqaba and head towards Petra, the "rose-red city half as old as time". Petra remained unknown for centuries, hidden between the mountains of southern Jordan. Founded by the Nabataeans, a Bedouin Arab tribe, which arrived from Arabia 2,000 years ago, the fortress-city of Petra became an important stronghold, protecting the many passing caravans.

    The city only became famous in 1812, when it was discovered by a young Swiss explorer and revealed to the world. Subsequently it became a film set for the film, "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" by Steven Spielberg.

    After leaving the coach, we walk towards the entrance to the "Siq", the bed of a narrow serpentine river which winds through the gorge for approximately two and a half kilometres.

    Imposing rock faces soar up to a hundred metres on both sides. Out of the darkness emerges the sparkle of the The Treasury hewn into the rock, forty metres high and thirty metres wide.

    In addition to the Treasury, we visit the magnificent temples, royal tombs, the amphitheatre and the burial chambers built by the Romans who took control of the city in 106 AD, and which represent an addition to the already existing Nabataean tombs and monuments, creating a city sculpted from rock.

    At the end of the visit, we take the same route back to the tourist centre and the car park where the coaches are waiting for us and where we also find the restaurant in which we will have lunch and sample some local specialities.

    Before heading back, we have some free time to buy souvenirs near to the site.

GOOD TO KNOW:

    The coach transfer from Aqaba to Petra takes approximately 2 hours.

    The excursion includes a walk which takes approximately 45 minutes from the coach park to the site. We return on foot to the car park, taking the same route.

    The site visit includes a walking tour which lasts approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes.

    Comfortable shoes and sportswear are recommended.

    This excursion is not recommended for guests with mobility problems.

    Places on this excursion are limited. We recommend booking early.

    No food or drinks are allowed on the site."

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At the moment only ship-excursions are permitted due to Covid. But excursions were reasonable priced last I saw.

They do have a laundry-package E 19.99 for 25 items (washed, dried folded or hang), so booked that for every 10 days to take care of most of my laundry-needs.

I do calculate to end up with probably $ 40,000 total, no sweat if it is a little more - some ships basic rate without anything starts with 38,000 and most are more then double that amount. Happy camper here.

And maybe Costa is not every bodies choice but I do love their food and the international atmosphere. I am from Germany and do spend a lot of vacation time in Europe.

Costa Deliziosa. Have been on the sister Costa Luminosa before and enjoyed it, not too large and not too small. You can check the deck plans on cruisemapper.com

Now available on the website to book. Replacement of the cancelled 2022.

When I priced the solo-trip with an Agent I had been told $ 112,000.00 - too steep for me. I have also been told that it has been 70 % booked, so don't think there will be many people on segments. Enjoy your trip, looks exciting.

COSTA PASSEPARTOUR

Working with above spread sheet. I am bored and disappointed not to be on my WC 2022 but will be 2023 and 2024. I am now even happier then before that I chose Costa Deliziosa for my trip, as mentioned before for single it is just a great deal. The quotes for Viking and Royal Caribbean single were around 100.000/ $ 112.000 - not something I am willing to spend. So I did a little snooping on the included excursions on some lines and to my disappointment most of them to me are just basic and excursions I would not even pick and the one's I would pick you still need to pay for. I had booked some excursions for the 2022 Costa WC already before it was cancelled and the included excursions were great, like for example full day Petra, so no complaints about the 15 excursions included in Costa's fare and I sure will get my money's worth. I am traveling to see the places we visit, not just to be on a ship. Air I will do on points and luggage forward even the BVI to Venice is only $ 300 per suitcase. I had planned to do a lot of laundry myself in the cabin, but Costa is offering a laundry package - 25 pieces for Euro 19.99 - so booked that for every 10 days I should be more then set just doing some small things myself. As mentioned before I don't drink much, so the wine and beer included in my package will be sufficient and I will have no problem paying for any extra drinks - and my cappuccino's 😊. Concerning meals, I have always loved Costa's food. So for me, traveling solo and considering my needs Costa is the perfect choice. So for others who are not frugal like me their choice will be perfect for them. You all enjoy your World Cruise - so much to see so little time in our life 😀

I have created the following spread sheet to compare prices.

Cruise Calculator
Flight
Hotel pre-cruise
Transfers
Luggage Shipping
Pre-Cruise Total			$                           -
Number of Sea Days	66
Numer of Port Days
18 weeks
Base Fare
Port Fee's
Insurance
Fuel Surcharge $ 9.00	128	9
Service Charge	128
Shore Excursions	Port-days:	avg.
less 15 included
?		150	$                           -
estimated Internet:
3 GB x 4?
		weeks
Laundry weekly
Hairdresser			$                           -
Pedicure/Manicure			$                           -
spa-Treatments			$                           -
		x day
Coffee's			$                           -
Cocktails/Wine/Drinks			$                           -
Shops/Misc.
Bingo/Casino
Souvenirs
Port Food/Drinks
Cruise Total:			$                           -
Post Cruise Transfers
Hotels Post Cruise
Airfare Post Cruise
Post Cruise total			$                           -
Estimated total   So far I am still doing okay with my calculations considering that I am traveling solo.

10 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

 

Affirmative, the 21/22 Viking WC is still sailing. They are still tweaking the itinerary, but shore-ex are being booked and Visas are being acquired.

I am so envious. 😊Can't wait to hear about it all. My cruise for 2022 has been cancelled but will be in Europe next summer on 2 cruises with my Adult-kids and Germany, Spain and Portugal on-land, so at least going to be traveling again.

On the Journey each of my Cruises is 128 days. My Adult-kids and me do a lot of land-trips individually like 1 week in one spot then moving on the the next spot for 1 week, usually 4-6 weeks. The world is to large to spend time in each place. After my son and me lucked out to be in Kenya on Safari in January 2020 right before everything closed up I was looking for a cruise including Africa and the cruise I found also included around South America which I had done on Princess already. But since you only spend one or 2 days in any port I was happy to do around South America again. We had been in Asia before like cruising and spending time in Hong Kong and Singapore and I have been around Australia and New Zealand but again haven't seen everything yet, so the other cruise I am doing is also doing various Pacific Islands usually not so easy to get to and since I am not looking for Beach vacations not for me for an extended stay and places like South Korea, Petra and the Suez Canal. I am booked on Costa which is not so popular on Cruise Critic but me being European a good fit for me and the price for single cabins can't be beat. After going 30 days around South America previously I know I can handle the 4 month on the ship. I travel for the excursions and the possibility to see so many different places is very exciting for me.

On 10/29/2021 at 2:14 PM, OnTheJourney said:

FWIW, another thread reports that the full cruise is nearly 70% sold out already and that they will release segments for sale if there are any cabins left. No idea how the person who is reporting this would know for sure. Maybe info from a TA. 

I do think the itinerary will be interesting for quite a lot of people and for the 274 days the price is not bad especially for couples. Have not seen the single-rate.  I had been tempted first but since I have cruised quite a lot previously the itinerary isn't so exciting for me any longer. Sure there are some stops on their itinerary I have not visited yet but not enough to consider it. Right now I am booked on 2 World cruises which itineraries compliment each other, one more Asia/Australia/Pacific the other one Around Africa and around South America, again lot's of ports I did see already but not too many sea-days in between. Just saw a question on Facebook somebody asking for fellow-cruisers for the Viking World Cruise in December 2021, told them to check here. Is the Viking WC still happening?

Maybe you can call them on skype and they can e-mail the itinerary for you 866-562-7625. It seems it will only be on their website by December 1st, then you might be able to see it changing your country on the top of the page to USA. They don't have any single-price listed yet, but the non-refundable makes it a non-issue for me anyhow.

Thanks Stefan, how silly of me. Our last cruise had been on P&O and I tried to book my daughter and me on the trip to the Blue Lagoon and the only availability they had was 2 different excursions 15 minutes apart so we had to do it private. As it looks that scarred me forever 🤣😂🤣

We have 3 cabins and therefore 3 reservation numbers. Looking at the excursions it says that there will be no guarantee for family to be together in a tuk tuk or in a gondola. Is there any way I can make the reservation for all 3 cabins at the same time and increase our chances to be booked together. Thank you very much in advance 🙂

Thanks SargassoPirate. I did see the itinerary, really liked it and priced the cruise. Costa had been kind of the same itinerary as 2022 and I did like that one also, for example going to South Korea, I haven't been yet and some of the Pacific Islands which I don't know. Will not make it to Tokyo or the Amazon, but as you said not everything is perfect. Have previously considered to do a land-trip to China, which includes the Yantzee River, so will look into that again for summer/fall 2023 or 2024. Switching my 2022 reservation to 2024 you sure can not beat the price and I went ahead. The cruise not being listed on their website yet I also did get the cabin I wanted, so pretty happy. Have been pricing and listing the extra's I need to book and the total will work out great for me. In comparison to other cruise-lines I priced I can do 2 (even 3) World cruises for my money - REALLY HAPPY 🙂

Enjoy Tokio and the Amazon for both of us. Can't wait to get on the plane and hear the magic words "This is your captain speaking"

Some mechanic might disagree but in the 35 years managing a Hotel I learned fast not to turn off refrigerators and freezers. We used to close the restaurant in the off-season for 2 month and turned the refrigerator's and freezers off. When we were ready to re-open and turn them back on we used to have costly problems with these appliances. So learned from experience.

 

Also thanking you for sharing. Looking forward to my next three Costa cruises. In my eyes the food on Costa has always been excellent and great to hear you confirm it still is so. Will be on Luminosa in July, can't wait. Hoping our check-in process will also be smooth.

On 9/26/2021 at 8:37 AM, Hflors said:

Are there any cruise lines that do not charge a 100% single supplement on a world cruise?  I have not been able to find one.  Maybe a sale even.   Thanks for any info.

I have done quite some searching for single-rates for World cruises now. 4 month is just to long to share a cabin with somebody. I am now booked on Costa for 2023 and 2024, two different itineraries and the price is right. In my past experience Costa excursions are also reasonable priced so estimating all the additional costs as not breaking the bank. And I do like Costa food, has always been my favorite of all the cruise lines. Costa 2024 is not online yet, got to book it due to changing from 2022. Have not seen Princess yet either but was not willing to pay 100 % single-supplement.

That is very unfortunate. I do like Princess but not to pay 100 %. How do they reach these supplements, we don't eat and drink for 2? Had checked Princess earlier, didn't see it listed but also had not signed in.

I know it is farfetched but does anyone have an e-mail address for reservations for HAL. I have a list of questions I would prefer to ask by e-mail then phone, usually forget things when I am on the phone even with list. I would like to book a cruise but am confused what is included and what promotions are for the cabin-category I want to book. Thank you.

8 minutes ago, NCCruzQueen said:

I’m booked on Regent’s 2024 WC.  It sold out in less than 3 hours.

That is why I am so anxious to see what is available to book. My problem is being single-occupancy the price will be a large issue for me.

Which WC itinerary for 2024 are published already and available to book? Had to re-book 2022 to 2023 and will like to have a back-up for 2024 just in case. Thanks in advance.

On 9/23/2021 at 3:29 AM, kremerlorraine said:

On the Luminosa now and have been told that they will do a free antigen test on Saturday (the day before arrival) and provide a paper certificate. We're happy as it will be valid for our arrival back to the UK.

Is it possible to get the certificate in digital form? Does anybody know? I will need the test-result to upload to several portals to get back home. In case it is not can anyone recommend a hotel in Venice for 1 night with a business-center where I can get the paper-form scanned? Thanks in advance.

So is Costa doing tests before disembarkation and which test, antigen or PCR test. Not sure now with the constantly changing requirements whether I will need the PCR test to cross all these borders on my way home and need to know for how long to book accommodations, just overnight for the early next day morning flight or days. I am disembarking on a Saturday so if Costa is not doing the test will need to find out when and where and when to expect results. Not so sure any longer about dritans comment

On 9/17/2021 at 3:19 PM, dritan said:

Nothing here is insurmountable, just a bit of hassle but worth it in the end

😁😀😁

That really hurts your head. Reading it my understanding is that World Cruises may not be cancelled. My friend who was booked on 2022 World Cruise threw in the towel because of the rule concerning persons not allowed to board being within the last 14 days in certain countries. No idea why that has never been removed especially when you can enter Italy from these countries. Her TA told her she can cancel and have the deposit applied to the 2023 World Cruise. Waiting to see the outcome of that.

Stefan, she had booked later then me, so when she booked her TA asked for my reservation # and they asked for us to be seated together - so we will see what happens, IF it happens. Maryann2 Caribbean people are a strange lot, so many of them do not want to be vaccinated even the vaccine is available, so Covid rates go up and down in the different islands like a yoho. Some facebook friends of mine and me try really hard to make people see sense here in the BVI, but these "YouTube experts" are hard to beat. I hope that your cruise will happen. Guadeloupe is a wonderful place.