Anyone interested in planning from the ground up for 2021?

[Go-Bucks!]

2 hours 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.  

 

That's how we compared 10 world cruises....we first decided which amenities and perks we needed/wanted then got the base cruise fares for them all. We added the cost of any amenities not included in the base fares to get an apples-to-apples comparison.  We estimated that the amenities that Oceania includes is valued at about $22,000-27,000.

 

Oceania won hands down...even considering we're platinum on Princess. I suggest comparing cruises this way before assuming the cheapest fare is best.  Also, be sure you're pricing the same type of cabins.

Edited January 11, 2019 by Go-Bucks!

[muggo11]

On 1/9/2019 at 1:30 PM, Aquadesiac said:

 

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

SLOWLY filling in and updating as new WC get announced. Not quite ready to share yet but will do when we sort it out!  

[roadtripper]

Cunard just announced two world voyage itineraries for 2021 On QM2 and Queen Victoria. World Club members can begin booking on March 12th! Looks like we are postponing until 2022 or 2023, but wanted to let others know.

[Floridiana]

Still planning? We are for 2021.

 

With several cruise lines going around the world, we looked at the itinerary first. It had to include regions of the world that we don't know yet. Also would there be many ports or would the ship only stop at a few large ports? 

 

The next factor: Are those amenities included that are important to us?  Price comparison became important. 

 

Another factor is the ship as such. Does the line maintain their ships well? (not happy with our last Princess ship) Some ships were built for warm weather cruises and their public interior space becomes very crowded in cold weather. 

 

Will they invite lecturers with in depth knowledge? Is their excursion team experienced or is it reading a standard description? (very happy with HAL's MS Amsterdam cruise on a Grand Voyage). 

 

Cunard ships dropped out right from the beginning because the line is too formal for us. We don't even own the elegant wardrobe necessary for their ships. We can deal with the occasional formal night, but a jacket for daily dinner is just too much.

 

 

 

 

Edited June 13, 2019 by Floridiana

[Aquadesiac]

Isn't it wonderful to have so many choices? Some like it casual, some don't mind playing dress up a bit.

 

We enjoyed our 2018 WC on Princess, but the onboard music wasn't to my taste. (Though you can't go by me. I'm a self-confessed musical snob. Still it would have been nice if one of the lounge acts wasn't a glorified karaoke exercise. I seriously dislike canned accompaniment.) The Belinda King dancers who were with us for 12 weeks were outstanding! Their shows were often standing room only because people who attended the first show wanted to see it again. 

 

We did most of our excursions through Princess and had excellent adventures in each port. The Pacific Princess had been refreshed before our trip, so the old girl was in pretty good shape. The crew was attentive and eager to please.

 

The DH usually wore a jacket to dinner even though it wasn't required, so I"m sure he'll be comfortable on Cunard. We're taking a 21 day voyage on the QM2 this summer just to be sure. As far as the dress code goes, it's really only in the evenings. A man can get by with a dark suit for formal nights and a sports coat and trousers the rest of the time. I'm sure we'll see a few ball gowns, but from  what I understand, most women wear formal separates. I certainly will be.

 

I'll be blogging from the QM2 this summer on RoundTheWorldWriter if you'd like to join me!

[Floridiana]

3 hours ago, Aquadesiac said:

I'll be blogging from the QM2 this summer on RoundTheWorldWriter if you'd like to join me!

 

Where will you go?

[Aquadesiac]

QM2 in NYC and sail across the Atlantic during Fashion Week. After a stop in Southampton, we'll cruise to Norway with stops in Bergen, Alesund, Flaam & Stavanger. Then it's back to Southampton and then back across the Pond to NYC. We're counting down the days.

 

[lovegod01]

Wish I could afford a world cruise 🚢 in the next 2 years 

[Aquadesiac]

Never say never, lovegod1. Back in 2017, we thought we'd have to wait until 2021 for our first world cruise, if at all. But I watched cruise prices every day and almost miraculously on our anniversary no less, Princess had a steep drop in their prices. It didn't seem real. We got a balcony for less than they had been advertising an inside cabin. I've not seen a sale like that since, but I check all the time. You never know. 

 

If not a world cruise, you still might be able to do a more extended voyage. We took a 30 day in 2016 and loved it. There's something very special about a longer cruise, a sense of timelessness, of a true escape. A longer repositioning cruise is often a very good value as well.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Holland America came out for 2021 

[Go-Bucks!]

On 6/13/2019 at 5:15 AM, Floridiana said:

Still planning? We are for 2021.

 

With several cruise lines going around the world, we looked at the itinerary first. It had to include regions of the world that we don't know yet. Also would there be many ports or would the ship only stop at a few large ports? 

 

The next factor: Are those amenities included that are important to us?  Price comparison became important. 

 

We did the same thing. In early 2017, there were 10 cruiselines doing world cruises in 2019 and we did an apples-to-apples comparison using itinerary, amenities, port-to-sea days percentage, ship culture and cost as a few of our criteria. This helped us choose the one that best suited us. 

[muggo11]

Well we looked and analyzed and budgeted and now we have decided.  Booked Sea Princess WC rt Sydney for june of 2021. 

[BermudaBound2014]

13 hours ago, muggo11 said:

Well we looked and analyzed and budgeted and now we have decided.  Booked Sea Princess WC rt Sydney for june of 2021. 

 

How exciting! 

[Floridiana]

On 6/30/2019 at 9:03 AM, Gail & Marty sailing away said:

Holland America came out for 2021 

 

Great itinerary, but not for us, too many ports we have been to or will be going to on our next cruise. The Amsterdam is a comfortable ship with a great Indonesian and Philippino crew.  We also really liked their experienced excursion staff. A blogger is on her right now and the same staff names from our 82 day cruise pop up again. They are all wonderful people that made our long cruise enjoyable. 

[Aquadesiac]

Unfortunately, I can't take a yellow fever vaccine because I have a suppressed immune system due to the meds I take for a lung condition. So any WC itinerary that hits Brazil is off my list. At first I thought I'd get a letter from my doc and take my chances, but my TA says there's been quite an outbreak lately even in the cities. A few non-vaccinated tourists have died. 

 

Wish they'd come up with a non-live virus alternative...

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Thinking about planning "from the ground up", we are now just over 13 months out from our January 2021 WC.

 

Because of the intricacies of all the planning and decisions to be made, I've decided to take two new steps; plus I'll share what I'm already doing:

 

1. I'm already keeping a spreadsheet for the cruise with several sheets amassing lists of things to take, excursion suggestions, preparation details, packing list, to-dos, etc.

 

2. I'm going to make a timeline of all important events/milestones along the way (I already have final payment, excursion selection in my calendar, but need more than that since there are domestic issues involved, visas, innoculations, etc.)  This will probably be a spreadsheet too, not sure

 

3. My spouse and I will have a monthly meeting to go through issues that are looming.  We have decisions to make about where we'll leave from, how we'll fly home and to where, which overland trips to take, whether to do a post-cruise trip, etc. This will help to prevent assumptions creeping in on both sides.  (In our case, should we leave from Toronto or Florida?, which means flying or driving, the consequences of that decision; should we rent our Florida condo out for the winter, and what are the tax and hassle consequences of that. These all have cascading effects on packing since we spend half the year in Florida and want to make sure the stuff we want to take is where we're leaving from, ha ha.)

 

Anybody else think of other planning issues along these lines?

[muggo11]

39 minutes ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

 

 

Anybody else think of other planning issues along these lines?

Since I am retiring and my house comes with my job, we have an entire notebook devoted to things along this line! Like who, if anyone, wants my family silver and other heirlooms?  

 

Our retirement budget is $5K a month. We will not own a house or a car when we board. We are divesting ourselves of a lot of stuff and establishing residence in a tax-free state where we will rent a storage unit. My moving costs will be covered which saves a bundle.  And I am planning to accumulate some vacation time before I leave. I got the trip insurance and have Med-Jet but still need to figure out which Medicare Advantage plan to get in our new state. We both have cancer which means making sure we can get our respective meds.  

We plan to stay in Sydney for 6 weeks when our WC returns so scoping out rentals we can afford in order to book as soon as they are available. Then a 5-week rental in Como, Italy before another cruise from Rome to FT Lauderdale. Then a few weeks in FL before a South American cruise. That’s as far as I have gotten with plans thru early 2022. 
 

Live your life. Live your life. 
 

[Wendy The Wanderer]

2 hours ago, muggo11 said:

Live your life. Live your life. 

 

Isn't that the truth?  We've been retired for about ten years.  So I feel for you.  We downsized before we retired, to a condo, then bought a place in Florida, where we spend six months a year.  So we're later into the program than you, I like your style.

 

Even before we retired we travelled whenever we could, but since we have, we've upped it.  Mostly, but not all, have been cruises of some sort or other.  The WC didn't seem to be on our radar, until suddenly, it was, and seemed feasible, after all, carpe diem.

 

We're tired of long plane flights, as you get older this gets harder and harder.  The WC fits this bill perfectly, although ours ends in Barcelona, so a flight back over the pond.  But it also gives us a chance to stay for a few days.

 

We've thought about dumping our condo up north at some point, to get that equity out, but we still need somewhere to live in Canada so that's tough.  But we feel really lucky.

[cruiselvr04]

I’ve been reading the world cruise threads for a few months now.  We’re looking at 2024 which is long ways off but I’m interested in learning as much as I can now so we can be ready to book.  I think in the meantime we need to try Viking and Oceania to test the waters.  Our usual cruise line is Royal but we have done a Viking River.  Since we can’t afford suites I’ve ruled out Princess.  ( We’ve cruised Princess also. )No chair or place to relax except the bed in the cabin just isn’t going to cut it.  On a world cruise you’re going to use your cabin more and need space to get away on your own.  We need comfortable chairs or a sofa.  A balcony is not a must but a window is. And I want more ports for this once in a lifetime trip.

 

 I’m a bit concerned about storage space on Vikings lower end cabins.  We had an aquarium room on their river cruise.  For 2 weeks the storage was inadequate and the ocean ships don’t appear to have much more.  I get the clean lines look but there was room for another narrow stack of drawers under the desk area and side tables with drawers would have been helpful.  Even more shelves in the closet area would keep things neater. Their bathrooms however are awesome. I’m already use packing cubes, hanging storage, folding boxes and magnetic hooks as was discussed in someone’s blog recently. I’m getting way ahead of myself here but has anyone ever taken those 3 drawer plastic things?  You could stack 2 in a pretty small space. ( Our kids used them in the dorms).

 

This is a dream but the DH shares it so we will see.  We may have to look at our next home differently ( we will be moving to a different state after we retire to be closer to family).... how much are we willing to down size to make our travel dreams a reality.  We have briefly discussed doing a world cruise between houses thus not having a home to leave or maintain while we are gone.  We’ve also discussed just doing the South Pacific and Australia for a few months combining cruising and short term rental instead.  

 

We feel blessed to even be considering this.  So I will continue to read up while the rest of you go.  Have a great time!

[Floridiana]

1 hour ago, cruiselvr04 said:

I think in the meantime we need to try Viking and Oceania to test the waters

 

Don't forget Holland America. 

[Heidi13]

2 hours ago, cruiselvr04 said:

I’ve been reading the world cruise threads for a few months now.  We’re looking at 2024 which is long ways off but I’m interested in learning as much as I can now so we can be ready to book.  I think in the meantime we need to try Viking and Oceania to test the waters.  Our usual cruise line is Royal but we have done a Viking River.  Since we can’t afford suites I’ve ruled out Princess.  ( We’ve cruised Princess also. )No chair or place to relax except the bed in the cabin just isn’t going to cut it.  On a world cruise you’re going to use your cabin more and need space to get away on your own.  We need comfortable chairs or a sofa.  A balcony is not a must but a window is. And I want more ports for this once in a lifetime trip.

 

 I’m a bit concerned about storage space on Vikings lower end cabins.  We had an aquarium room on their river cruise.  For 2 weeks the storage was inadequate and the ocean ships don’t appear to have much more.  I get the clean lines look but there was room for another narrow stack of drawers under the desk area and side tables with drawers would have been helpful.  Even more shelves in the closet area would keep things neater. Their bathrooms however are awesome. I’m already use packing cubes, hanging storage, folding boxes and magnetic hooks as was discussed in someone’s blog recently. I’m getting way ahead of myself here but has anyone ever taken those 3 drawer plastic things?  You could stack 2 in a pretty small space. ( Our kids used them in the dorms).

 

This is a dream but the DH shares it so we will see.  We may have to look at our next home differently ( we will be moving to a different state after we retire to be closer to family).... how much are we willing to down size to make our travel dreams a reality.  We have briefly discussed doing a world cruise between houses thus not having a home to leave or maintain while we are gone.  We’ve also discussed just doing the South Pacific and Australia for a few months combining cruising and short term rental instead.  

 

We feel blessed to even be considering this.  So I will continue to read up while the rest of you go.  Have a great time!

Little off the topic, but starting with Viking Sun, the ship assigned to World Cruises, they added an extra 3 drawers. Since we don't drink coffee, we will also request the cabin steward/stewardess to remove the coffee tray for additional storage space. Coffee drinkers could also remove it, as comp cabin service is available 24/7.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

On 12/12/2019 at 5:12 PM, cruiselvr04 said:

 I think in the meantime we need to try Viking and Oceania to test the waters.

 

The standard cabins on the ship currently being used by Oceania for their world cruises (they call them "Around the World cruises" I believe), are small.  It's an old 'R' ship, and all those ships have small standard cabins.  ust FYI.  They're also very long, 180 days.  Now you could take part of it, of course, but then I believe you don't get the perks that you get with the full ATW trip, plus you'll be paying segment pricing.  Half a year is way too long for me at least.

[Kwaj girl]

On 11/28/2019 at 10:30 AM, Wendy The Wanderer said:

Thinking about planning "from the ground up", we are now just over 13 months out from our January 2021 WC.

 

Because of the intricacies of all the planning and decisions to be made, I've decided to take two new steps; plus I'll share what I'm already doing:

 

1. I'm already keeping a spreadsheet for the cruise with several sheets amassing lists of things to take, excursion suggestions, preparation details, packing list, to-dos, etc.

 

2. I'm going to make a timeline of all important events/milestones along the way (I already have final payment, excursion selection in my calendar, but need more than that since there are domestic issues involved, visas, innoculations, etc.)  This will probably be a spreadsheet too, not sure

 

3. My spouse and I will have a monthly meeting to go through issues that are looming.  We have decisions to make about where we'll leave from, how we'll fly home and to where, which overland trips to take, whether to do a post-cruise trip, etc. This will help to prevent assumptions creeping in on both sides.  (In our case, should we leave from Toronto or Florida?, which means flying or driving, the consequences of that decision; should we rent our Florida condo out for the winter, and what are the tax and hassle consequences of that. These all have cascading effects on packing since we spend half the year in Florida and want to make sure the stuff we want to take is where we're leaving from, ha ha.)

 

Anybody else think of other planning issues along these lines?

 

We will be with you in '21. Before we did our '18 WC we made some notes to see how long certain items last (such as hair conditioner because the product on the ship doesn't "condition" at all).  That way we knew how many of this or that we would need to bring along to last the duration. 

 

If you take prescriptions you'll need to check with your pharmacist about a "vacation waiver" since insurance companies are fairly strict about early refills, and most only do 90 days at a time.  Don't wait until the last minute on this. 

 

Have your accountant arrange for a tax filing extension with the IRS and your state tax division.  Also consider if your car registration is due for renewal while you're away.

 

I'm  sure I'll remember more....

[Aquadesiac]

 A year out from our 2018 WC, I started tracking those "once a year" bills, like insurance. We called the company and arranged to have our CC billed automatically. We also put our utilities on an auto-draft, and set up all other recurring charges through our online banking. 

 

Be sure to check vaccination requirements for the ports of call. Some require more than one injection over a period of time. 

[BermudaBound2014]

Happy New Year to all the World Cruisers! While I keep adding data to my world cruise spread sheets, as I'm hopeful to take the journey one day,  we have committed to sailing South America and Antarctica in 2021. DH simply won't be fully committed to retirement by 2021, so going for 30 days is the plan. Please keep the discussion going because I'm learning from so many of you.