World Cruise questions

[PaulaJK]

We are looking at the 2006 World cruise segments from

Hong Kong to Singapore & Singapore to Dubai.

 

-The web site says 'liquor pkg'. Is this different from the

usual wine w. dinner + bottles in room pkg?

 

-'free economy air'...Has anyone been able to learn

the carrier in advance and are these tix applicable for

personal mileage upgrades....or for up[grades for $ thru

rssc?

 

-Do I recall someone saying that laundry was included on

the WC? If yes, does this apply to segments also?

 

-Since there are many days at sea, does rssc have anything

like Crystal....lecturers, lessons/classes, etc.?

Thanks for your help.

[Ngaire]

Fully inclusive, liquor is included all over the ship - except premium brands.

 

You cannot use FF to upgrade RSSC air. The air is done about 90 - 60 days before sailing unless you pay $100 custom air fee then you can have a say in your air arrangements and get them confirmed as soon as air is able to be booked with the airlines.. You can still only use air carriers that RSSC has contracts with.

 

Laundry is not included but there are self laundries on board for no charge.

 

Yes, they have a wonderful line up of lecturers, speakers, lessons and entertainment.

[PaulaJK]

Thanks for your response Ngaire.

 

Would you have any idea which airlines rssc contracts with

[at least in the past] for HongKong and Dubai. We belong to

a few FF programs, but certainly not all. For such long trips

I would hate to have to fly coach.

 

I know that you were on Crystal not so long ago but I

don't recall the itinerary[ it somewhat effects the variety

of lecturers]. Would you say that the rssc WC has the

# and quality of Crystal lecturers and classes? We love

sea days and enjoy this aspect of them. We were on a

Voyager Baltic cruise last summer and I can't recall

attending any lectures. Of course, that might reflect

my pool time and not Voyager's program!

[Ngaire]

Dubai the airline is Emirates which by the way is very highly ranked.

 

United most of the time for Hong Kong, in fact they use the Star Alliance whenever possible. They also use British Air. The contracts are always changing. Someone this year got Cathay Pacific which is an American Partner.

 

Since you know who I am try reading the posts by the person on the ship right now she is a regular poster to CC. She is reporting from the ship almost every second day and the reports are all posted to my web site. It really makes great reading and gives you an insight into what the world cruise will be like. There is a picture of her with Ted Koppel he was lecturing and she said he was good. The link is on the front page of the web.

 

My cruise with Crystal was not a judge of a Crystal world cruise. It was a short Caribbean week so I am not in a position to compare the two.

 

I was on a segment of the world cruise last year and everything was top notch.

[PaulaJK]

Ngaire. will link to web site.

 

We were on 2 legs of Crystal's WC this year and loved

it....but we also love Voyager and are very attracted

to aspects of the 2006 itineray. My husband participated

in a LOT of Crystal's classes/lectures and this remains

important to him....so I'll read.

[mmhmmh]

We just got back from the 2005 WC on the same segments you are considering although the 2006 itinerary will be slightly different. We had a fabulous time and have already booked the 2006 Sydney-Hong Kong segment. We're not big on the evening shows but the ones we saw were good. The ship, lecturers, staff, food were all top notch and who wouldn't like to have a captain who reads you a line or two of seaworthy poetry during his daily briefing? If you have any questions please feel free to inquire although I only check in here from time to time.

[PaulaJK]

Thanks for your update. I am most interested in learning

more abou the daily activities, specifically lectures.Were they

frequent, well versed, topical?

 

In response to your [rhetorical] question, someone who had sailed

w. Glenn Edvardsen [Crystal] and every morning hear his 'thought for

the day'!

 

Glad you had a good trip.

[Teresa Price]

Hi Paula,

just back from the Dubai - Rome segment on Voyager. All normal drinks were included - also cocktails etc. Daytime lectures included a political historian and a 'classical' historian. Entertainment generally very good. Sights amazing - including a never to be forgotten 3 hour, 29 coach convoy from Safaga to Luxor complete with police guards and road blocks [for our benefit]. All very well organised by RSSC.

 

On board there was a little bit of a social difference between whole world cruisers and segment takers such as ourselves. However, we met some great people and it would not put us off doing a segment again. Very relaxed atmospere under captain Dag. We also had the CEO on board for several days and a chance to ask questions in an open meeting in the theatre which was interesting.

 

Excellent organisation to and through Rome airport on way back which could have been difficult given the timing! At least it meant we had our share of priests, nuns and cameramen on the flight back to London!

 

Email me if you want to ask anything directly - teresa.price@dsl.pipex.com

cheers Teresa

[blue whale]

I was enjoying a little browse through items on cruise critic and saw your post. Your point about the social differences between segment people and world cruisers was nicely made. I hope we were the nice people you mentioned that you met. We are finally getting adjusted to living a reality life rather than the fantasy life on Voyager. D

[petlover]

Add me to the list of those trying to resume my "previous" life! It is a huge adjustment after living on the Voyager for almost 4 months. I whole heartly recommend taking at least a couple of the segments of the World Cruise! We were fortunate to be able to take the entire trip but even just doing segments would be wonderful !!

 

As others mentioned, the excursions, the food, the entertainment, the staff, the lecturers, the EVERYTHING was first rate! Besides, Capt. Dag will be your Captain (or as he refers to himself "your driver") and he really is the BEST! I became good friends with 2 different couples not traveling together who were previously on 5 week Crystal cruises that they loved. Both are signed up for the full Radisson World Cruise next year....said it was better, more fun people and less "stuffy" than Crystal. (I've never been on Crystal so I can only offer their comparisons). One thing they said was better on Crystal was the casino is larger. (I spent a lot of time in the Voyager casino and it worked fine for us so not sure how important that is to you??). We owe a HUGE thanks to Ngaire for counseling us in all the good selections we made in planning such a trip....and believe me there are lots of choices to make! She always steered us right.

 

Paula, I hope so much you can from Hong Kong to Dubai! You will be so happy you did!

 

I too am happy to answer any questions you might have.

[PaulaJK]

Marcie,

 

I've so enjoyed reading your posts, live from the WC! Certainly

they contributed to the inspiration & enthusiasm for segments

of the 2006 WC! We love both Voyager [our only rssc experience to date]

and the Crystal product, so it was a tough call. But we do love the

itinerary for the Voyager segments I mentioned. Our concerns were not cabin,

service or cuisine but evening entertainment and daytime lectures.

Any comments on these would be helpful. I do think that Crystal

is strong on these and on our 2004 Baltic cruise on Voyager these

were not strong suits.

Thanks Paula

[petlover]

Paula, I'm glad you enjoyed my rambling "travelogue".

 

On the Voyager World Cruise....they bring out the best of the best for both the lecturers as well as the entertainers. I have been on quite a few shorter RSSC cruises where the lecturers and entertainment were good, but not neccesarily GREAT. Trust me, in both of these categories on the WC....they are VERY VERY GOOD...if not GREAT! It's not just my opinion, I heard this from others as well. Did you see the photo of me and Ted Koppel? It was nice getting to know him outside of the Constellation Theater. He became just another passenger, with his wife and 3 daughters, around the pool and jogging...very easy to talk to and get to know, not to mention his excellent 3 lectures (I went to all). I don't think you'll be disappointed in the daily "at sea" activities. The Peter Grey singers and dancers on the WC were the BEST I've ever seen on any of my RSSC cruises! (Even better IMO than Luci Arnez who entertained us on the last segment ....). Being on a WC, even if just for 2 segments, is so different than shorter 1-2 week cruises....you really need to experience it yourself to understand the differences. Maybe they have a higher budget for WC segmemts??? I don't know but they really were excellent.

 

You already like the itinerary...I say GO FOR IT! If you email me privately, I'm happy to share email addresses of those I became friends with who said that RSSC WC was heads and shoulders above the longer Crystal cruises. They could offer comparisons that I'm not able to. You can decide for yourself what is better for you.