ToxM

After a frank conversation with my husband about doing a world cruise while we still can, we will probably be in a position to do this sometime after 2023. Having narrowed the choices down from embarkation points, duration and a few other bits and pieces, we are left with P&O in a suite. 

I have a few questions for the experts on the board 🙂

Is it normally Aurora that is used for the WC? 2020 I see it is Arcadia... do they switch them around? I like Aurora, but have not cruised on Arcadia at all. 

Suites - I am aware of The Piano and Library suites on Aurora and they look ridiculously lovely, what are the other suites like compared to those? I am aware that there is a small number on Aurora... 6 I think? What about Arcadia? 

There is I believe a full bar setup in suites, and a soft drink minibar, are either of these refilled free of charge?  

I know in suite dining is available from MDR for all meals as well as free room service if booked through the Butler, and that there is a separate area for Breakfast, but if we say booked a suite on a saver basis and asked for freedom dining, would it be likely that as we were in a suite we would be given preference to our request?

I’d love to know people’s experiences of a suite on a WC, would you book it again, do you feel you got your money’s worth? 

Any suggestions for a good possible suite to book would also be welcome. 

I’ve spent the last few days going through the whole board looking at threads so I have gained a lot of info but I feel like I need first hand info in order to be able to present my findings to the husband in order to play my best hand for this 🙂

As an addendum, we aren’t interested in a mini suite as the MDR in suite dining and sep breakfast venue would not be included. Husband is not a good mixer at mealtimes, and sometimes after a long day on a tour we just want to eat our dinner with our jimjams on, and also we don’t really like formal nights so we’d likely eat in our suite on those days as well. 

Any experiences/info anyone can share would be great - thank you 🙂 

17 hours ago, Clipper Chick said:

I have never done a blog in my life but do intend to do a journal of the World Cruise.  I do not sign up to the internet on board as it is so expensive but will try to post when I can get free wifi.  At the moment have sorted house insurance for 99 nights I live in a retirement apartment so only need worry about contents and have been charged £3.92😀 My sister will check on the apartment and deal with post weekly and our lodge manager will take over when she is away.  Bonus to this is I will not have 3 months junk mail to sort.  All visas applied for I already had the ESTA for USA as I have been there twice this year.  

 

The packing is a challenge I had to buy a new suitcase as Cunard broke the wheel off one in November.  As I have a cover to make it easily identifiable in the luggage hall (came off Arcadia Jan 19 from a 4 week trip to Caribbean over Christmas and took 45 minutes to find one of my black cases) I did not notice until I got home.  My bad but that was the end of my worse cruise ever.  At least with a self service laundry onboard I do not need more clothes than a 28 day trip so 2 suitcases and a large roller holdall should suffice.  Am take laundry soap pods as they ran out in the shop on Ventura.  Kindle loaded with books and IPad with music, knitting needles and wool to make scarfs, Watercolour supplies if room is available.

 

Have booked excursions I really want in case they sell out but unfortunately on waitlist for Pearl Harbour.

 

Washing and ironing done now just check off the list and pack.

 

Hope I have not forgotten anything.

I am really looking forward to reading about your adventures!

If you are lucky enough to be going on the 2020 WC - and are by chance blogging, please do post the url here so we can share your lovely travels with you 🙂

Or maybe start a thread on here 🙂

Last weekend hubby surprised me by agreeing to a world cruise in the future so I am of course now in full planning mode 🙂

Thank goodness there are different cruise lines for different tastes!

The no brainer for me with Oceania is the dress code, I don’t want to do formal nights. Entertainment isn’t a big issue for me as I am happy to keep myself occupied. 

I am not a big drinker, so wouldn’t want to subsidise alcohol drinkers, but I enjoy soft drinks and good coffee. 

It’s great that people are loyal to different lines, and we all have reasons why they like one line over another. 

Maybe the one thing we all have in common is that we are lucky enough to be in a position to be able to cruise at all!

10 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

We depart on Jan 4th aboard Viking Sun

 

https://andyandjudi.com/

 

Enjoy reading our adventure

 

 

Thank you 🙂

Thank you Lana:) 

As we approach the start of 2020 another lucky and plucky few will be embarking on their world cruises. 

Every year for the past few years I have searched around CC to collect a good few blogs from those lucky enough to be doing a world cruise and vicariously enjoy their trips with them for a few months. 

It’s so lovely to share their journey with them. 

If you are off on a World Cruise next year and care to share your blog, please share below so we can all travel with you 🙂

Thank you so much 🙂

it looked to me like it was a company bought in to put the decorations up as I saw a few of them eating in the buffet and they had t-shirts on designating some company or other. It was very interesting to watch the decorations go up over the last week, it does look very nice!

Time in the casino for me is a form of entertainment, and anything I get back is a bonus. One could say that it’s better to get a return on 20 quid spent in the casino than 20 quid spent in the bar 😉

Has it got easier now you don’t have to take life jackets with you? 

Worst muster I ever had to do was on Britannia, so I am guessing it is something to do with the size of the ship. 

33 minutes ago, Windsurfboy said:

Which century are you cruising in was a Brexit happening joke

Ahh gotcha. 

29 minutes ago, Windsurfboy said:

As far as I can see there are no roll on roll off ferries to the continent from Southampton. It is all container ship, last year only a quarter of which went to the EU.

 

so can't see why you it should be like Dover.

Apparently Portsmouth council disagree with you

https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/politics/government-accused-of-lying-to-portsmouth-over-no-deal-brexit-chaos-at-port-after-document-leak-reveals-vehicles-will-be-turned-away-1-9074997

This was mentioned in a piece by Ch4 news the other night. 

As for which century decade etc I am cruising in, as my original post was made yesterday I am sure you can work it out, the clue is in my original post.

This is not a political post!

Watching Channel 4 news last night and saw a report from the emergency preparedness services in Hampshite who are expressing extreme concern about where they are going to place the 2000 lorries a day that come to the port, when the port has only 200 parking spaces. 

Seeing as how they are going to use motorways around Kent to park up backlogs and knowing the mess Southampton traffic is anyway, and expecting there to be some issue in Southampton no matter what type of deal happens (if it happens on 31st October...). 

We’ve reserved a hotel room in Southampton for our 15th November cruise. We can cancel the day before with no penalty if everything looks smooth, but just a heads up that if you are embarking while there is the possibility of there being disruption on roads then it might well be worth booking a hotel so you can get to Southampton and then no chance of being held up. 

I’m not trying to scaremonger, just trying to make sure I get on the ship.

I’m going to have to find the sweet spot for finding tables for two on our two upcoming cruises as Marital Unit really won’t like sitting with others, and gets antsy if he has to wait.

So I am guessing 8.30ish or maybe 7.45? Or does anyone have specific findings of ties that seem unpopular. Both out upcoming cruises are November time to colder climes on Aurora so guessing the average age will be a bit higher and maybe people will eat earlier. 

It will be an interesting experiment anyway. As for tables being close together - I will talk, hubby much less likely to, he’s not the most social animal out there. 

Interested in people’s experiences of good times to try for the magical 2 top with least waiting time 🙂

We did eastern med in late October/early November.

No crowds - on and off the funicular easily in Santorini - we were the first of two ships there - lovely!

It rained a little in Venice, but it was over quickly and there were less crowds. 

Naples/Pompeii was busy, but not manic. 

Weather was generally lovely, not too hot, not cool. 

I would trade heat for less crowds any day. 

2 hours ago, BenMurphy said:

4th July is starting to be "celebrated" in the (dis)united Kingdom, we see red , white and blue in the shops. most people don't have a clue what it it means! How it can be "morally repugnant" is beyond me.

We we're on Sirena for Thanks Giving last year ..................all it meant was more turkey!

Jxx

You did read the part where I said it was tongue in cheek didn’t you? 

2 hours ago, lj77346 said:

We just returned from a 14-day cruise on the Insignia and the shower with glass doors is an improvement.  While the shower is the same size, now there is no problem with a friendly shower curtain clinging to you when you are showering.  In addition, the glass door keeps the water in the shower rather than letting it escape to the bathroom floor.

 

Relative to your concern about booking an inside room - if you are on a port intensive European itinerary, we find that an inside room is fine as we are usually ashore during the day and are only using the room for sleeping and showering.  Even on sea days there is always space to sit in Horizons or around the pool. 

Thank you that puts my mind at rest, and also arms me with ammunition for questions form Marital Unit. 

40 minutes ago, Hawaiidan said:

I prefer the insides on ALL R ships... deck 8... Have sailed  in all the other cabins from PH on down.  Bathroom even with curtain was  not bad... it is what it is .   Easy to work around    My choice is, to me, there is really very little value in getting anything better on an R.     Your perfectly positioned on the ship for the best access,  On the same deck as the PH,  Get the same meals and service for way less.    Spent up to 28 days in one.   Want to look outside...flick on the TV for a view.  On many cruises  a balcony was un-usable  80% of the time due to season or weather.   Sailing 10 miles off shore  there was no view of anything.. except when you anchored or tied up.    Sounded great... reality for  us was not so..    Go for it.... and do not look back.............................Make your choice built around the cruise experience of places  you will see and cuisine you will experience...   Not about the cabin

Good points, thank you 🙂

Thanks for your reply. I know the bathroom size has not changed, I just wondered if the addition of the glass door has made it any better size wise than having the curtain which seems to have been universally disliked. I do remember the pics on the w/c thread, but as it wasn’t something relevant to me I didn’t pay as much attention as maybe I should have. 

Remind me never to go on a cruise when the Super Bowl is on ... or 4th of July, or Thanksgiving. 

I am English and do not observe these traditions. I do not think I could bear to be on a ship where a Thanksgiving meal was observed. Also 4th of July is morally repugnant of course because you colonials celebrate the parting of ways from our glorious British Empire. 

The above is OF COURSE tongue in cheek and if anyone is offended, well, please calm down. 

Seriously, as someone whose family did not observe Christmas during my childhood, we just avoided and did something else. A few Christmas trees and some carols being sung is not really that awful is it? Imagine if we were in a world where people couldn’t celebrate their faith for fear of offending someone else....

I am just perusing the newly released 2021 NA and European intineraries. 

Found a very tempting one but know that our budget will likely only stretch to an inside (boo!). I am curious if the refit of Nautica has been done and someone can comment on the bathroom and if the enclosed shower makes a difference to the overall size/comfort level of using it? I have noted that there have been comments in the past regarding the size of the stall. 

I believe Insignia is identical, so if some kind would who has travelled on insignia can help that would be great!

We have a cruise coming up on a different line in November of this year in an inside, and if the inside cabin passes muster (as it were) we will be looking at this Nautica cruise very seriously. 

Opinions/experiences please 😉

Thanks in advance!

Just now, Paulchili said:

It's not the quantity but the quality that counts for me. They don't have to have ostrich feathers, boas and scant costumes with 20+ performers on stage for it to be a good show ☺️

True...the only entertainment we take part in on any ship is a bit of bingo a few quizzes and any poker tourneys, so I can’t comment on X or O musical talent/shows really.

The difference in service, the difference in food and the general ambience of a smaller ship all mean I don’t think we will be going back to X. 

We never really bothered with shows and the like on X, but if entertainment is a show stopper (scuse the pun) for you then you may want to get some opinions on that. There is entertainment but not on the scale of a large X ship. 

If I had the choice between a suite on X and an inside on O - I’d still go for O!

Thanks to everyone who allowed us to share their journey since January!

It’s been a lovely ritual of mine to check each day and enjoy all your posts. 

If anyone has time (or inclination) would you please give us final thoughts about the itinerary, life onboard, packing(!), habits you fell into onboard or anything of the like that could be useful to anyone else embarking on a journey like this in the future? 

Thank you 🙂

8 hours ago, Go-Bucks! said:

 

I'll post it at home or when I find fast wifi...BTW, I'm staying for the next 2 cruises, until 7/28!

With the deep discounts, I absolutely don’t blame you .. how fabulous!

Congratulations Betsy and Bob!