Anyone interested in planning from the ground up for 2021?

[lovegod01]

At what age would be best to take a world cruise I really wanna go now but in my 30s and have a young family so it out the question As I don’t have the fiances so I suppose I’ll just have to wait for life to progress but I don’t wanna leave it to late in life and be to old to enjoy it

[Wendy The Wanderer]

At what age would be best to take a world �� cruise I really wanna go ��now but in my 30s and have a young family so it out the question As I don’t have the fiances so I suppose I’ll just have to wait for life to progress but I don’t wanna leave it to late in life and be to old to enjoy it ��

 

Well I'm 70, and I'm not going for two years, so... My mom went on a WC when she was about my age, although she went on a freighter. She was gone for 5 months, and in those days there was only the occasional letter.

 

My advice is if you really want to travel, make that concept a priority. I've known a number of families who upped stakes and took off to travel the world for a year or more, taking their children with them. This is somewhat easier if the kids are small, but not too small--they should be old enough to build memories of the trip. Think about a strategy for taking a year off work, or working online, or if a year is out of the question, do it for several months. Then start saving!

 

For a real World Cruise, without kids, you'll have to wait at least until they're in college, if not out of college and settled into lives of their own. Again, start saving!

[Wendy The Wanderer]

To the OP, I'm not sure it's useful to plan a cruise from the ground up here, since we'd all be taking different ones. I suspect the roll-calls might be the place to do that.

 

I'm booked on Regent Seven Seas Mariner in January, 2021, and we already have a roll-call.

 

Glad to talk in general about preparations, of course. Thinking about things like storage, music, bill payment, car care, etc.

[lovegod01]

Well I'm 70, and I'm not going for two years, so... My mom went on a WC when she was about my age, although she went on a freighter. She was gone for 5 months, and in those days there was only the occasional letter.

 

My advice is if you really want to travel, make that concept a priority. I've known a number of families who upped stakes and took off to travel the world for a year or more, taking their children with them. This is somewhat easier if the kids are small, but not too small--they should be old enough to build memories of the trip. Think about a strategy for taking a year off work, or working online, or if a year is out of the question, do it for several months. Then start saving!

 

For a real World Cruise, without kids, you'll have to wait at least until they're in college, if not out of college and settled into lives of their own. Again, start saving!

are most people wealthy on world cruises or do you all way get working class people to :confused:

[Go-Bucks!]

are most people wealthy on world cruises or do you all way get working class people to :confused:

I'm not sure what the last part of your question means, but I think you have already asked this question before (maybe on a different thread). World cruises probably have some of both....the wealthy and the middle class. Does it really matter?? I'm going on a world cruise in 4 months and I'm just a middle class person who has saved well and love to travel. But I don't care if there are alot of wealthy people....good for them that they've worked hard and earned well. I'm sure we'll all have fun together. :cool:

[Wendy The Wanderer]

are most people wealthy on world cruises or do you all way get working class people to :confused:

 

Since I have tended to cruise on luxury lines, yes, there is a fair amount of wealth. But most are middle class people who, as Go-Bucks said, have worked hard and saved well. And perhaps been lucky, as I believe we are, very lucky.

 

When I think of the people booking the largest suites on these cruises, the mind boggles, so yes, they would be wealthy! I can see that the top three suites for our cruise in 2021 are already waitlisted. Top price for the Masters Suite is over $200K per person.

 

My mother doing her freighter trip in about 1972 was definitely not wealthy. Her trip was a retirement present to herself, after she'd been through a lot, and had sold the family home.

[muggo11]

2020 WC now available for Elites on Princess and looks to be selling! I drooled over all the options. But now looks like 2021 may be a pipe-dream, too, due to work. So setting my sights on 2022. But watching this thread! With all you other WC dreamers.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Aquadesiac]

You all are singing my song! I"m always dreaming of a world cruise. We were blessed to be on the Princess 2018 earlier this year and had one amazing adventure after another. Can't wait to go again, but doubt we'll ever see a sale price like we got on that trip. All told, we spent less than the tricked out new pick-up my DH had his eye on. (Bless the man, he was willing to pass on the truck for our WC.)

 

So I'm prowling the websites, looking at itineraries and prices, thinking that 2021 is probably when we can manage another expedition. But  I was thinking 2020 when I stumbled across the Princess sale, so we'll keep our options open.

 

Several people have talked about how all inclusive fares are a better deal than they may initially seem. Our problem with that is that we are not drinkers. Because of that I'm not sure it would be a savings for us. That said, the Regent itineraries are calling to me.

 

We're taking the 21 day QM2 to Norway out of NYC next summer partly to get a feel for the ship to see if we'd enjoy a longer voyage on such a formal ship. The Pacific Princess had 3 or 4 formal nights per segment, but men weren't required to wear jackets every evening.   

[Scrapnana]

Be sure to check prices on Cunard the summer before a WV.  There have been a couple of years when they reduce prices in some categories.

[BermudaBound2014]

Aquadesiac: We sound very similar (only I haven't done a WC yet, as you have on Princess, I"m envious). I think you are brilliant to take a 21 day on Cunard to test the waters. Like you, the all inclusive alcohol is not a huge draw for us. I can easily do without drinking and rarely drink at home. Problem is, when it's included on a cruise I DO tend to throw back a couple (or half dozen), and I'm not sure unlimited alcohol is a good recipe for me on a WC ;-). DH is strictly a beer drinker so again, the AI package isn't necessary. We are more interested in unlimited internet (or cost effective internet) over unlimited alcohol. The Cunard prices look appealing. I am VERY interested to know how you like the Cunard experience. We are also hesitant with Cunard due to the formality.

[Heidi13]

5 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

Aquadesiac: We sound very similar (only I haven't done a WC yet, as you have on Princess, I"m envious). I think you are brilliant to take a 21 day on Cunard to test the waters. Like you, the all inclusive alcohol is not a huge draw for us. I can easily do without drinking and rarely drink at home. Problem is, when it's included on a cruise I DO tend to throw back a couple (or half dozen), and I'm not sure unlimited alcohol is a good recipe for me on a WC ;-). DH is strictly a beer drinker so again, the AI package isn't necessary. We are more interested in unlimited internet (or cost effective internet) over unlimited alcohol. The Cunard prices look appealing. I am VERY interested to know how you like the Cunard experience. We are also hesitant with Cunard due to the formality.

If looking for unlimited and free internet check out Viking Ocean. They are also very informal - elegant casual every evening with no formal nights.

 

I also recall reading that Oceania is introducing free internet. 

[Aquadesiac]

Thanks for the tip, Scrapnana. I wonder if we're already booked if we can take advantage of a reduction in fare... Probably have to give up any perks we'd get for booking early. 

 

BermudaBound20, my trepidation about Cunard is the sense that I may not be cut from fine enough cloth for the line. It seems to be the only line that is serious as a heart attack about their dress code and judging from some of the roll call threads I've lurked on, it's ruthlessly enforced. It's easy enough for men to follow  the code--wear a jacket & tie, pack a tux--but what constitutes formal wear for women seems to be open to interpretation and contains a lot of gray area. I want to respect the vessel's rules, but fret that my fashion sense will be woefully wanting. I guess we'll see next summer... 

 

Heidi13, I think you're right. Oceania does offer free wifi, but as with any floating system, it's spotty. Since I blog on our trips, a reliable wifi connection is important to me. Since we're early risers, I found pre-6AM to be the quickest on the Pacific Princess.  

[roadtripper]

We did the QM2 this summer as a "trial" for a possible world cruise and had a ball. We DO like to dress up, and there were tuxes and gowns, etc. but it never felt stuffy or judgey to us--though we followed to rules. By contrast, we just got off the Disney cruise and on "dressy" night the guy at the next table had on a baseball cap and a Patriot's T shirt. I like to think I don't care what other people wear, but I guess I did in that case.

 

There's always the King's Court for nights when you just don't feel like dressing up--we liked that very much.

[Aquadesiac]

Thanks, Roadtripper. I suspect we'll do fine. I just need to bring the bling, I guess! 

[Heidi13]

9 hours ago, Aquadesiac said:

Heidi13, I think you're right. Oceania does offer free wifi, but as with any floating system, it's spotty. Since I blog on our trips, a reliable wifi connection is important to me. Since we're early risers, I found pre-6AM to be the quickest on the Pacific Princess.  

I also blogged daily from a Sun Princess WC with minimal issues. Our Elite status provided sufficient free wifi time.

 

Our next WC is on Viking, who provide unlimited wifi. I followed 3 or 4 blogs from their first WC and no issues were reported with wifi.

[Scrapnana]

11 hours ago, Aquadesiac said:

Thanks for the tip, Scrapnana. I wonder if we're already booked if we can take advantage of a reduction in fare... Probably have to give up any perks we'd get for booking early. 

 

BermudaBound20, my trepidation about Cunard is the sense that I may not be cut from fine enough cloth for the line. It seems to be the only line that is serious as a heart attack about their dress code and judging from some of the roll call threads I've lurked on, it's ruthlessly enforced. It's easy enough for men to follow  the code--wear a jacket & tie, pack a tux--but what constitutes formal wear for women seems to be open to interpretation and contains a lot of gray area. I want to respect the vessel's rules, but fret that my fashion sense will be woefully wanting. I guess we'll see next summer... 

 

Heidi13, I think you're right. Oceania does offer free wifi, but as with any floating system, it's spotty. Since I blog on our trips, a reliable wifi connection is important to me. Since we're early risers, I found pre-6AM to be the quickest on the Pacific Princess.  

Usually, the fine print on those sales say "new bookings only" but I suppose you could cancel and rebook.

 

Actually, it is not real hard for women either.  Get a "little black dress" - change it around with jewelry, scarves, jackets, etc.  Another one of my "go tos" is black dress pants.  Add a couple of blingy tops and you can change the look - get a plain top and you can add the same accessories as the LBD.  Formal on Cunard does not mean you have to wear a long gown although you will see many do so.

[Go-Bucks!]

On 11/13/2018 at 8:06 AM, BermudaBound2014 said:

Aquadesiac: We sound very similar (only I haven't done a WC yet, as you have on Princess, I"m envious). I think you are brilliant to take a 21 day on Cunard to test the waters. Like you, the all inclusive alcohol is not a huge draw for us. I can easily do without drinking and rarely drink at home. Problem is, when it's included on a cruise I DO tend to throw back a couple (or half dozen), and I'm not sure unlimited alcohol is a good recipe for me on a WC ;-). DH is strictly a beer drinker so again, the AI package isn't necessary. We are more interested in unlimited internet (or cost effective internet) over unlimited alcohol. The Cunard prices look appealing. I am VERY interested to know how you like the Cunard experience. We are also hesitant with Cunard due to the formality.

 

I'll be on the Oceania world cruise in January 2019...it's nearly all-inclusive but does not include alcohol, which is one reason I liked it. I don't drink alcohol so don't want to pay extra to subsidize others' drinking. But I wanted perks that other cruiselines don't offer,  such as:

-First class r/t airfare

-Prepaid gratuities 

-Onboard medical care 

-Unlimited internet 

-Unlimited laundry

-5 shoreside events 

-Complete visa package 

-Luggage delivery service round trip

-1 night pre cruise luxury hotel stay

-Roundtrip transfers

-Choice of 36 excursions, $3,600 OBC or alcohol package per person

-Automatic jump up to the Gold loyalty level which gives you the benefits BEFORE the cruise...and include $250pp OBC, $230pp spa credit, custom fee waivers for air flights, $1,000pp OBC for gratuities since they're already included and discounts on other things

-All amenities are included, no matter what category of room you have

 

If you compare the Oceania cruise fare to other world cruise fares then you need to include the value of the included amenities to get an apples-to-apples comparison. I found that cheaper fares didn't include most of these amenities so you'd still have to pay for them later anyway.

 

I also like the no-formal-night policy, casual dress, great food and service (lobster in all venues day and night, freshly made), and a small ship that can go to more ports. I had no problem with internet speed on my last Oceania cruise.

 

Whichever line you choose, have a great adventure! I'm so excited to start mine in just 11 weeks.  🌞

Edited November 14, 2018 by Go-Bucks!

[Aquadesiac]

Thanks, Go Bucks! I will re-check Oceania with your thoughts in mind. Before our WC on Princess, I binge-read Erin Erkun's TwoToTravel blog. They were in an aft-facing balcony cabin for their WC on Oceania and her photos are drool-worthy. She has an artist's eye and a poet's soul. Great reading for anyone considering a grand adventure! 

 

[Go-Bucks!]

4 minutes ago, Aquadesiac said:

Thanks, Go Bucks! I will re-check Oceania with your thoughts in mind. Before our WC on Princess, I binge-read Erin Erkun's TwoToTravel blog. They were in an aft-facing balcony cabin for their WC on Oceania and her photos are drool-worthy. She has an artist's eye and a poet's soul. Great reading for anyone considering a grand adventure! 

 

 

Yes, I agree...I read it too and learned alot. We'll be in a Penthouse suite because we wanted a larger room and the added amenities it provides. This world cruise will be a "one-and-done" so we decided to do it well. Hope you find the right one for you.

 

Info on the 2021 Oceania world cruise should be available in January or February with booking in late February or early March....it sells out VERY quickly!

[muggo11]

Man. World cruise planning is fun!  We are testing out Cunard this Feb for a 21-day trip from SF to Sydney on Queen Victoria. Then trying out Oceania on the Regatta in 2020, Papeete to SF for 16 days. DH has a spreadhseet we are slowly developing and filling in for apples to apples comparisons. With 18 cruises on Princess, we know and love that experience. We are going in a second MSC cruise this fall. We liked our first one (in the Yacht Club) immensely. 

 

We DO drink wine but alcohol is not a centerpiece of our cruise experience. Food and flexibility matter a lot. And we like good music.  We like dressing up but could easily enjoy all casual. We generally organize our own shore excursions.  And ship activities can be fun but my perfect cruise day is generally spent on a comfortable lounge with a view of the sea and a book. 

 

Again, so mich fun to dream and research. Thanks, all, for your astute insights!

[gkbiiii]

If your budget is $100K why not do this trip right and not be "nickeled & dimed" for $10K++?

 

For example, how about a 139 day World Cruise on the Crystal Serenity?

Oceanview for $43,255 which is 60% off.

This includes the follow basic benefits and some bonus.

Prices include gratuities, all alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, specialty restaurant dining and unlimited internet. 

Bonus for World Cruisers:

 

Book now and receive the following FREE amenities on select categories. Restrictions may apply.

-$5,000 per cabin onboard credit
-Complimentary chauffeured private car transfers between the airport to ship and ship to airport
-Excess Luggage Reimbursement of up to $500 per person
-Guests sailing on a FULL World Cruise enjoy an exclusive Welcome Celebration in Miami, January 4, 2021
-One extravaganza event
-One exclusive shoreside event
-Special onboard events
-Specially selected gifts
-Complimentary select fine wines, champagne, premium spirits, non-alcoholic drinks, specialty coffees and more
-Complimentary gratuities for all dining, bar, housekeeping and Penthouse butler staff
-Complimentary evening specialty restaurant dining in Silk Road or the Sushi Bar celebrating the cuisine of Nobu Matsuhisa, and in Prego. Additional Specialty Restaurant reservations or visits available on a space available basis, but are all complimentary for Full World Cruise guests
-Complimentary enrichment via the innovative Creative Learning Institute and the Computer University@Sea with classes in diverse topics such as world affairs, art, wine appreciation, digital photography and iPad filmmaking
-Complimentary fitness programs with classes in yoga, Pilates, Spinning.

 

To me, for the money, this seems like a fantastic deal!

Edited January 1, 2019 by gkbiiii

[Aquadesiac]

On 11/14/2018 at 10:51 AM, muggo11 said:

Man. World cruise planning is fun!  We are testing out Cunard this Feb for a 21-day trip from SF to Sydney on Queen Victoria. Then trying out Oceania on the Regatta in 2020, Papeete to SF for 16 days. DH has a spreadhseet we are slowly developing and filling in for apples to apples comparisons. With 18 cruises on Princess, we know and love that experience. We are going in a second MSC cruise this fall. We liked our first one (in the Yacht Club) immensely. 

 

We DO drink wine but alcohol is not a centerpiece of our cruise experience. Food and flexibility matter a lot. And we like good music.  We like dressing up but could easily enjoy all casual. We generally organize our own shore excursions.  And ship activities can be fun but my perfect cruise day is generally spent on a comfortable lounge with a view of the sea and a book. 

 

Again, so mich fun to dream and research. Thanks, all, for your astute insights!

 

I'd love to have a sneak peek at your spreadsheet! 

[Wendy The Wanderer]

On 1/1/2019 at 1:37 AM, gkbiiii said:

If your budget is $100K why not do this trip right and not be "nickeled & dimed" for $10K++?

 

For example, how about a 139 day World Cruise on the Crystal Serenity?

Oceanview for $43,255 which is 60% off.

This includes the follow basic benefits and some bonus.

...

 

Or 117 nights on Regent Mariner in 2021, starting at $61999, more expensive, granted, and over budget, but includes most excursions.  OBC is unknown at this time and would vary between TAs probably.  (BTW, fitness classes are generally always free, with perhaps some exceptions.) Cruise fare includes these benefits:

 

FREE First Class Air to Miami with FREE Transfers Between Airport and Ship, 

FREE Business Class Air back from Barcelona, 

FREE Exclusive Pre-Cruise Gala Event and 1-Night Hotel Stay in Miami,

FREE Three  Exclusive Shoreside Experiences

FREE Unlimited Beverages Including Fine Wines and Premium Spirits

FREE Pre-Paid Gratuities, FREE Specialty Restaurants, 

FREE Unlimited WiFi, 

FREE Door to Door Luggage Service, 

FREE Comprehensive Visa Package,

FREE Unlimited Laundry Including Dry Cleaning and Pressing, FREECommemorative Gift, 

FREE Onboard Medical Service

[gkbiiii]

Your right that's a good deal too: I looked at a Princess, 111 day World Cruise, which was over $127,000 for Club Class JR Suite, which included nothing. If you add drinks, gratuities, shore excursions, etc., could easily cost another $30,000+ for a total of at least $157,000+ for a mainstream line, vs. Luxury which is less, for a better suite, all inclusive.  

[Heidi13]

23 minutes ago, gkbiiii said:

Your right that's a good deal too: I looked at a Princess, 111 day World Cruise, which was over $127,000 for Club Class JR Suite, which included nothing. If you add drinks, gratuities, shore excursions, etc., could easily cost another $30,000+ for a total of at least $157,000+ for a mainstream line, vs. Luxury which is less, for a better suite, all inclusive.  

I compared our total spend on our 2015 World cruise with Princess to our upcoming 2020 World Cruise with Viking. While the Viking base fare is substantially higher, the bill on departing the ship after 118 days will be negligible. Therefore, the per diem spend for a larger Viking cabin will be almost identical.

 

In addition to getting most of what Wendy mentioned above with Regent, Viking include a comp excursion in each port. We also have over US $8,000 in OBC.