Opinions on long Back to Back cruise

[cruisestitch]

At some point, the ship becomes the destination, and the fact that ports are repeated is of lesser importance (not that some new Caribbean ports for Eclipse wouldn't be nice!)

[2910car]

It is really a personal thing as to whether or not a longer cruise is good for you.

 

At the end of 14 days were you:

 

"I can't wait to get home" or

 

"Why do I have to get off".

 

That probably answers your question.

 

Yes, as many say, you will get repeating menus, but how many different menus do you follow at home?

 

I am the OP.

 

We have been on two 14 night cruises - one TA and one Panama Canal. Also a 12 night Sydney to Auckland on Solstice that didn't seem long enough (even though we had a 2 week land tour of Australia before boarding). Since we live in Florida we have done alot of week Caribbean cruises. I would never want to spend more than 7 nights on one of those. We go mainly for relaxation.

 

But I feel the ports on this holy land and TA trip are so much more interesting and I don't think I would be bored. My DH is not so sure.

 

I am really most afraid of gaining too much weight. Do you guys eat like cruisers every day? If so I will have to be carried off in a wheel barrel!

 

Thanks for your insightful answers. Please keep them coming!

[cruisestitch]

There is absolutely no need to gain a lot of weight. Just because the food is all arrayed before you at the buffet doesn't mean you have to overload your plate. As a matter of fact, long-time cruisers often say that they lose weight. The ship is long -- walking to and from your room can be more exercise than some people get at home. Some walk the stairs (at least a flight or two) instead of taking the elevator. Choose your foods wisely and up your exercise, and you don't need to leave the ship feeling more like cargo than a passenger. :)

[Going Coastal]

As everyone else has said, it depends on you. DH and I did five b to bs last year on Solstice, from Auckland to Seattle. That was 63 days plus the week we were in NZ pre cruise. Over that length of time we met many wonderful people, both staff and passengers. The repeat menus did not bother us because it gave us a chance to try different things and the combinations are endless.

On the downside, I will report that we each had one meltdown day! However not the same day or even on the same segment!

Since then we have done 31 days back to back on Azamara Journey, three back to backs on Infinity this summer, 42 days, and have 71 days on Oceania planned next fall.

If I am going to fly a long way, I want to cruise as long as possible.

Hope your trip is wonderful!

[phoenix_dream]

It's really a very personal decision. My longest cruise was 10 days, and I enjoyed it so much I would have liked a few more. But 29 days? No way in the world for me. I start to get a bit claustrophobic in that (relatively) small cabin, where there is really no way to avoid tripping over each other periodically each day. I would get tired of wearing the same clothes. Even on a 7 day cruise, by the last couple of days I get tired of dressing for dinner and being tempted continually to eat more than I should (yes, you can eat healthy on a cruise, but it takes a special kind of self-control I do not possess:)). I know you can do casual or room service, which I have done on 10 day cruises, but too much of that gets old too. I enjoy the shows and the live entertainment (more limited these days tho it may be), but that would also get old after awhile. I love to read, but you can only do that for so many hours a day. I enjoy relaxing to television, but that also has very limited options on cruise ships (especially the M class movie selection - next to nothing). A dip in the pool is nice, but I am not one of the sit out and sun yourself all day kind of folks.

 

So to each their own. I personally would never take a cruise longer than 14 days at most.

[zoncom]

Do it! Been on a bunch of them, including Sillie. The S class ones are preferable to older ones for a month long cruise in my opinion.Got a little bored on Century 47N years ago.

[sandancer]

We did 39 days from Sydney to Seattle. If possible I would have stayed on for the next cruise to Alaska.

 

 

We did stay on for Alaska and still did not want to get off!

 

 

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[ghstudio]

Our personal observation is that a ship's cabin gets 3 sq ft smaller each day :)

 

Different folks have different views, of course. Some love transatlantics...5 days at sea...others find them dreadfully boring. (we've done four...I guess we're in the former group).

 

We've grown to hate flying (who likes it these days), even if we fly business class which we try to do if it's over 10 hours in the air....so once we are far away...we try to take advantage of it (and avoid thinking about the flight back home). B2B's work very well. We find that there are many who are also B2B so we don't have to make new friends on the second cruise, if we don't want to. The food gets repetitive, but we usually are in aqua so we do the occasional MDR or specialty restaurant.

 

I think you really have to try a B2B to know if YOU like it....it really doesn't matter what I or anyone else thinks. There are many of us that try to do B2B's, especially if we have to endure a long flight (florida to Singapore). Personally, we only book 10 - 28 day cruises. We think 28 is our limit...see my first sentence. There is togetherness and there is togetherness. After 41 years of marriage, we openly admit that we enjoy some space to ourselves and the cabin does get smaller.

 

If the ports are interesting, you certainly aren't going to hate doing a B2B. If you have the time and money, as I said, give it a try...it's the only way you'll know.

[debshomespun]

To the OP, you mentioned you were afraid you would gain too much weight being on a ship for so long. While on our 30 day cruise, I only gained 3 lbs.! The key, is to pace yourself. Eat like you do at home. Just because there are many selections, doesn't mean you have to eat it all every day. I had oatmeal and fruit every morning for breakfast. Mostly salads for lunch, and even had dessert every night after dinner (which I don't do at home). With so many days on the ship, there will be plenty of days to try all the foods.

 

We spent 21 nights this past January/February doing a B2B on RC Legend, and I loved it. The longer we are on a ship, the better!!

[GUT2407]

At some point, the ship becomes the destination, and the fact that ports are repeated is of lesser importance (not that some new Caribbean ports for Eclipse wouldn't be nice!)

 

 

The ship became the destination for me after cruise #1. I can honestly say that the ports mean very little, they are merely a nice aside. To me the joy of cruising is eing at sea, watching the ocean go by.