Jump to content

Today on The World


TheWorldTraveler

Recommended Posts

We sailed into Falmouth, England this morning to a bright blue sky. We were greeted by a ship with a large banner "SAS Welcomes a Green World". On the point coming into harbor were about 100 people waving and cheering. The tug boats turned on their water cannons as they guided us into dock. We had three tour boats circling and many private boats as escort.

 

The World is the "Greenest" boat afloat, which means we burn the most expensive, least damaging fuel. We are also super efficient at controlling waste, recycling, treating effluent, and all of us make an effort to conserve water and fuel.

 

We will dock here for three days, we are touring the almost fairy tale countryside of Cornwall and visiting such places as Eden, a biosphere project, St. Michaels Mont, an island castle, and some small quaint towns along the way.

 

We can either rent a car and go in pairs or with our friends, or - as we have done for Eden, get a group of 12 to have a special tour by the biologist. There are also tours by from the ship that we can choose to join. Each day we come home to the superior service of The World, enjoy sharing our discoveries with our friends, and making the tough choice of where to have drinks and dinner. The apartment is spotless and the staff is heavenly.

 

Life is good aboard The World.

 

Changes in L'Attitude

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, World Traveler, thanks for the detail of life aboard The World. I'm so looking forward to our trip on The World this summer. We embark in Amsterdam ... is the dock very far from central Amsterdam?

 

<IMG SRC="http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=191970&cdt=2004;7;8;15;0;00&timezone=GMT+0100"><BR>The World Ship - Europe July 2004<BR>

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Hi World Traveler,

Hope you're having fun. I'm getting down to the final trip planning details and am wondering about transportation from Rouen to Paris. ResidenSea gave me a quote of $575 for a private car. Any suggestions other than that or the train? The train would be fairly simple but with a nine year-old, I'm trying to avoid too much schlepping and the car price seems exorbitant.

 

We're relishing the anticipation of this trip and we have just one month to go!

 

countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=191970&cdt=2004;7;8;15;0;00&timezone=GMT+0100

The World Ship - Europe July 2004

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Also wondering, if anyone can tell me, are there washers and dryers in the 2 bedroom apartments? Are there other self service laundry facilities available? We're hoping to "travel light"!

 

countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=191970&cdt=2004;7;8;15;0;00&timezone=GMT+0100

The World Ship - Europe July 2004

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We were not in a two bedroom, but some friends were and as best I recall they had a washer and dryer. We were in a regular verandah suite and there was a free set of washers and dryers down the hall from our cabin. They are about over the gym area and a little to starboard.

 

Gary

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi, There is a great washer and dryer in the two bedroom apartment.

 

I don't know about getting to Paris, but there are fabulous trains and a 9 year old would probably love them. You can go to Google, look for train schedules in Europe and find all you need to know. That's what I will do! See you in Amsterdam.

 

Changes in L'Attitude

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi World Traveler,

 

Thanks for your quick responses. We've decided to take the train to Paris on July 15. You're right about my son loving mass transit. He'll have done it all by the end of this trip ... trams in Amsterdam, water taxis, light rail in Greenwich, subways, trains, planes and a big beautiful ship!

 

I can't wait to see the '05 itinerary. We could have up to 4 weeks on the World through our vacation club so we're very interested in how this first trip turns out.

 

Hope to meet you in Amsterdam ... until then, Happy Sailing!

 

countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=191970&cdt=2004;7;8;15;0;00&timezone=GMT+0100

The World Ship - Europe July 2004

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Train Travel in Europe is fairly easy. Go to the Eurail website to familarize your self with the schedules and stations. A little research now will make you a lot more comfortable with the process when you arrive. Grab some snacks from the station this has always kept my son happy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Janet Marie,

I'll try to post what few photos I have of the World Ship once I figure out how! There is actually no photography allowed in the public areas of the ship so I can only send photos of the 2-bedroom apartment we were in. This policy was established to protect the privacy of the residents. The website seems a little limited in information and detailed photos although the floorplans are very good. We were just on The World and it has the feel of a nice, very quiet hotel. I would only sail her again if the itinerary were excellent and if there were very few sea days as the ship itself seems like a bit of a ghost ship. The staff are very friendly and accomodating and most of the residents we met are very nice. The food was very good not excellent but the waitstaff were outstanding. I'll try later to post a few photos.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 9 months later...
  • 8 months later...

You guys are living my dream! One day in the not so distant future, we may join you. I can't figure any better way to spend my kid's inheritance. Heck, they would just fight over it anyway! Have a wonderful time and keep reporting back so I will know what joys await!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 weeks later...

And to anyone else interested. Exclusive Resorts owns several units on The World and if you go to their website www.exlusiveresorts.com , click on Destinations, then Leisure, then The World, you'll see photos of a couple of the units. ER is a destination club and The World is one of their offerings to members. We stayed in #822 and thought it was quite nice, especially the kitchen - what an engineering marvel!

 

Also, I don't know the price of the 2 bedroom units, maybe around 2 million but I know the annual mainentence is well into 6 figures.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Thanks a lot. Looked into Exclusive Resorts. Their European Membership Director Adam Taugwalder is a very nice guy. He showed me all pros and also a few cons of the Exclusive Resorts vacation club.

 

Actually due to the 200K annual fee Excl. Res. has to pay for each apartment annually, they have a surcharge of 300$ per night on the world.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Gee, I've been a member for 3 years and can't think of any cons to the membership so far. The World Ship $300 per night fee is a small price to pay and completely understandable given the company business model. There's only one other location with a small daily fee but it covers all food and a daily spa service!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Tucson, Arizona is the other location which requires a small additional fee.

 

Los Cabos and Acapulco, Lake Tahoe, the Villas in the Colorado Rockies, etc. looked fantastic to us.

 

However there are in our opinion, being based in Europe, too few locations in Europe, Middle East, South Africa and Asia (none in the latter three parts of the world which are really nice).

 

Also we are afraid they will raise the annual fees significantly for the Exclusive Resorts Club, if their administration costs increase.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, I knew about the Miraval charge - I don't think it's a negative. I do see your point if you're located in Europe that the choices are slim although there are quite a few U.S. East Coast locations that are probably easier for you to get to then for me being here on the West Coast. But that's why having The World Ship as part of the offerings is so nice - you really could go anywhere in the world. As for the Membership fees, you'd have a contract that locks in your annual fee with only a small annual adjustment. There is a resetting every 10 years of your annual membership fee - you'd just have to make a decision at that point about continuing with the membership. Are there any destination clubs like ER in Europe? We are so pleased with the club so far.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

There is nothing comparable in Europe. In fact we decided in favour of purchasing two weeks at the Four Seasons Aviara Residence Club. We own timeshare with Hapimag, which is less luxurious but has very good destinations in Europe.

 

http://www.hapimag.ch/wps/portal?

 

We also like to stay at regular hotels from time to time and one can still go on a luxurious cruise with Seabourn or Silversea anyway, though the accomodation does not at all compare to the very nice apartments on The World.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You'll have to tell me how you like the Four Seasons Aviara club. I personally know three families who are very unhappy with the reservation policy and one family has been unable to sell their fraction without taking a loss. The ER homes tend to be much larger than those of Four Seasons and Ritz Carlton and some are actually located with within FS (Costa Rica) and RC (Grand Cayman) properties but are still larger than the fractionals.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Seabreezer, Please drop me a mail to Fourne @ gmail . com (without the spaces of course!), to discuss this fractional ownership issue personally by e-mail. We have not yet purchased, but would simply like to buy two weeks at the Four Seasons Aviara or Scottsdale Residence Club resale. Maybe one of your friends is willing to sell at a fair price.

We have stayed once for two weeks at Aviara and enjoyed it there. I know the villas do not compare to ER, but are sufficient for our needs since we spend a lot of time outside anyway.

 

 

Here is what the ER European Membership director wrote me:

 

I do regret to hear that you have opted for the Four Seasons Residence Club over Exclusive Resorts. Here are some of the reasons:

 

- FSRC offers considerably less choice and, more importantly, less flexibility than ER

- FSRC offers far smaller and less luxurious (usually 2 bedroom) residences than ER

- It will be impossible for FSRC to scale at the rate ER can scale (i.e. purchase and

develop homes in amazing new destinations) as they are bound to existing FS hotel locations.

- It can be difficult to re-sell the FSRC product on the open market when you want to extract your equity. One of our members mentioned that it took him nearly 12 months to sell his fraction and that he had to sell it for 10% less than what he bought it for.

 

Please don't get me wrong, the Four Seasons is a fantastic company and a valuable partner of Exclusive Resorts, but on the residence club side it is ultimately a question of having access to an ever growing portfolio of (currently) 36 different destinations throughout Europe, the Caribbean and the US vs. visiting the same 4+ ones time and time again.

 

 

And my reply:

I agree with the points above, but it is exactly the two bedrooms and the comparably low

annual fee that make the difference. We do not really need more than

160 square metres on vacations for just 3 or sometimes 4 people. And the portfolio of residences is not

as spectacular with FS, yet Aviara and Scottsdale are two destinations my

parents love returning to for golfing.

Also it is just for two weeks and not for a longer time. Once my

parents and there best friends retire they might consider the 45 days

at Exclusives Resorts.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

hi flamboyant and sea breezer

 

I am also a ER member and i agree 100% with seabreezer comments,i have been a member for almost 3 years and i cant say enough good things about ER if you decide to join at one point you wont be dissapointed.

 

Before i joined ER i looked in to FS and RC and i am glad i did not buy into their programs.

 

ER has bigger residences and more destinations that any of them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...