Which company for inexpensive worldwide trip?

[Tampa Girl]

On 1/29/2019 at 6:30 PM, roscoe39 said:

 

 

Roscoe, thanks for replying.  I spent yesterday afternoon reading your blog.  It was delightful.  Are you a writer by profession?  You write beautifully.  I must tell you, however, that I was exhausted by the time I finished your description of your 117 days  of travel!  We just finished the 89-day on HAL's Grand Asia, so I guess we can manage another 30 days.  BTW, your Indian jacket was gorgeous.  The next time we are in Singapore we will have to browse Little India.  

 

 

[Wendy The Wanderer]

On 6/11/2018 at 4:03 AM, roscoe39 said:

 

You are going to have such an amazing time, I did the world cruise on the Queen Victoria in 2016 and it was a very similar itinerary , it was the best 120 days Ive ever had at sea, and I can't wait to do it again, in case you are interested I blogged about it and the week pre and post and have included the address below.

 

Have a great trip, and see you on board

 

Roscoe

 

https://exitviathegiftshop.blogspot.co.nz

 

Roscoe, I'm also reading your blog, very entertaining.  I'm also wondering if you're going to make the 2019 cruise, given some health setbacks. Do hope all is well.

 

I wouldn't cruise Cunard because I don't want set dining, and won't tolerate formal nights. But it sounds like you had a real blast and that your fellow passengers were a very friendly bunch!

[roscoe39]

thanks guys, my more polished blog is actually at 

 

https://roscoesseafever.blogspot.com

 

and if you're not bored with my ranting, the WC  San Francisco to Sydney sector will be on here.,

https://butarewethereyet.blogspot.com

 

already packing for it  as final clearance given today so hope they have plenty of champagne on board.

 

 

Edited February 1, 2019 by roscoe39

[roscoe39]

On 2/1/2019 at 5:12 PM, roscoe39 said:

thanks guys, my more polished blog is actually at 

 

https://roscoesseafever.blogspot.com

 

and if you're not bored with my ranting, the WC  San Francisco to Sydney sector will be on here.,

https://butarewethereyet.blogspot.com

 

already packing for it  as final clearance given today so hope they have plenty of champagne on board.

 

 

Hi guys, got off the trip yesterday and finished writing the blog today - the trip unfortunately had a bit of a sting in the tail and an unexpected end. Looks like I will be cancelling my trip for July but hopefully back up and running again next year.

Edited March 1, 2019 by roscoe39

[Wendy The Wanderer]

16 hours ago, roscoe39 said:

Hi guys, got off the trip yesterday and finished writing the blog today - the trip unfortunately had a bit of a sting in the tail and an unexpected end. Looks like I will be cancelling my trip for July but hopefully back up and running again next year.

 

Sorry to hear that, hope everything works out.

[Porky55]

LynTTT - wondering if you have made a decision yet? We are in much the same boat, trying to make a decision about a WC too, in 2021 or 22.

Have you considered P&O UK or Princess, both fully English 😉 both have great reviews and starting prices that might meet your needs?

Good luck, Rose

 

[muggo11]

On 2/28/2019 at 11:04 PM, roscoe39 said:

Hi guys, got off the trip yesterday and finished writing the blog today - the trip unfortunately had a bit of a sting in the tail and an unexpected end. Looks like I will be cancelling my trip for July but hopefully back up and running again next year.

Just read your blog of our cruise and sorry to see you are back in the hospital. I got home to a bettery of pre-op tests before my cancer surgery. But wasn’t the Queen Victoria grand fun?  So glad we both went!  And sorry We never had that drink. 

[LynnTTT]

We have booked the World Cruise with Costa Deliziosa for January 2020.  I admit I  have some growing concerns: not great reviews, the itinerary has changed slightly and not for the better (dropped Corfu- Greece  and Haifa- Israel and added Messina and Bari in Italy). an option is to "buy" a sunbed for the cruise at 560 Euro (does that mean I may not ever get a chance to sit in the sun in the trips, etc.

I am concerned that by the time of the cruise the itinerary will be far different than what we booked.

However,  the price is very good, it includes wine at lunch and dinner, we do like the itinerary, we don't mind being an English speaking minority, etc.  

[Heidi13]

7 hours ago, LynnTTT said:

an option is to "buy" a sunbed for the cruise at 560 Euro (does that mean I may not ever get a chance to sit in the sun in the trips, etc.

  

Never sailed Costa, but on other mainstream lines, when I walked the decks early in the morning, it was almost comical watching the pool chair hogs arriving. Some days they started about 06:30 - 07:00, bring towels and draping over them on loungers to reserve them. Even saw some groups reserving 2 sets of chairs - 1 in the sun and other in the shade.

[Michelle1234]

LynnTTT,

I am not familiar with the cruise line but the itinerary does look fabulous. I did a world cruise and Easter Island/ Rabaul/Oman etc. were some of my favorite ports because I liked the exotic. Some people liked the ones that were most similar to the US.

 

The cabins on the Costa Deliziosa look bigger than most. Is that what you found when you did your research?

 

My top bit of advice is to plan your own independent over lands where you get off the ship at one port and rejoin at another. I did that for Cambodia, China and Egypt. Not very expensive compared to planning a separate trip (or compared to the ship's overland excursions) and well worth the time away from the ship.

 

In terms of budget my cruise fare was around $16K (with all taxes, port fees, gratuities, vacation insurance included). All in with all the independent shore excursions, ship shore excursions, on board expenses, flights, gifts/souvenirs and additional trip insurance for the over lands I was at just about $25K for the whole 107 experience with Princess.

 

If I did it again I would see Machu Picchu in S.A. I thought at the time, I would get back. I haven't been back so doing either that or Galapagos while I was in the area would have been good. I would also consider an overland in Australia just because the flights are so long to get there from the US. So if you budget around $10K-$12K or so for extras you should have a great experience! My extras were $10K but if you add a couple of thousand for two more over lands that would bring it up a bit.

[Heidi13]

6 hours ago, Michelle1234 said:

LynnTTT,

I am not familiar with the cruise line but the itinerary does look fabulous. I did a world cruise and Easter Island/ Rabaul/Oman etc. were some of my favorite ports because I liked the exotic. Some people liked the ones that were most similar to the US.

 

The cabins on the Costa Deliziosa look bigger than most. Is that what you found when you did your research?

 

My top bit of advice is to plan your own independent over lands where you get off the ship at one port and rejoin at another. I did that for Cambodia, China and Egypt. Not very expensive compared to planning a separate trip (or compared to the ship's overland excursions) and well worth the time away from the ship.

 

In terms of budget my cruise fare was around $16K (with all taxes, port fees, gratuities, vacation insurance included). All in with all the independent shore excursions, ship shore excursions, on board expenses, flights, gifts/souvenirs and additional trip insurance for the over lands I was at just about $25K for the whole 107 experience with Princess.

 

If I did it again I would see Machu Picchu in S.A. I thought at the time, I would get back. I haven't been back so doing either that or Galapagos while I was in the area would have been good. I would also consider an overland in Australia just because the flights are so long to get there from the US. So if you budget around $10K-$12K or so for extras you should have a great experience! My extras were $10K but if you add a couple of thousand for two more over lands that would bring it up a bit.

Wow, you certainly managed to keep expenses down on your World Cruise. We also used Princess, but out of Australia. Tips were included in the base fare and being at the Elite level we had no internet or laundry expenses, but still our on-board bill was over $15K and that was without overland tours.

[Michelle1234]

1 minute ago, Heidi13 said:

Wow, you certainly managed to keep expenses down on your World Cruise. We also used Princess, but out of Australia. Tips were included in the base fare and being at the Elite level we had no internet or laundry expenses, but still our on-board bill was over $15K and that was without overland tours.

My $25K all in was for one person so the extra spending is for one. Is your $15K for 2?

 

My on board bill was a couple of bags of laundry because I mostly did my own until I got to Elite and some shore excursions. I didn't have to buy Internet minutes because they gave out new minutes each segment for Platinum and then Elite so plenty for the whole trip.  Mostly I did independent shore excursions which were alot cheaper and really fabulous. The independent over lands were less expensive than the Princess ones and truly fabulous!

 

I wanted to post my experience because I saw alot of posts valuing things at much higher values than they needed to so wasn't reflecting what a person would really spend. I also used miles for first class flights so no expense there. I didn't really go into the experience with a budget in mind so thought I'd share for those trying to budget.

[Go-Bucks!]

12 hours ago, Michelle1234 said:

My $25K all in was for one person so the extra spending is for one. Is your $15K for 2?

 

My on board bill was a couple of bags of laundry because I mostly did my own until I got to Elite and some shore excursions. I didn't have to buy Internet minutes because they gave out new minutes each segment for Platinum and then Elite so plenty for the whole trip.  Mostly I did independent shore excursions which were alot cheaper and really fabulous. The independent over lands were less expensive than the Princess ones and truly fabulous!

 

I wanted to post my experience because I saw alot of posts valuing things at much higher values than they needed to so wasn't reflecting what a person would really spend. I also used miles for first class flights so no expense there. I didn't really go into the experience with a budget in mind so thought I'd share for those trying to budget.

 

Our expenditures were different from yours (we have 81 ports, so shore excursions can be quite expensive, even private ones) but we have kept very good track of all our costs so my estimates are accurate.  We didn't have any airline miles so would have had to buy our own flights if our cruisefare didn't include them.  I still suggest that anyone who is considering a world cruise should check what is included in all base cruiseline fares then try to realistically decide what you will need to spend for EVERYTHING during the entire cruise.  This will obviously be different for everyone, but many things will be similar to others.  After adding the extra costs to the basic cruisefare, you'll be comparing apples-to-apples.  This way to compare worked well for us and helped us choose the cruise with the most "bang for the buck."  Best wishes on your adventure....ours is amazing!

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I just wanted to say that if Costa was all I could afford, and I could budget carefully for the extras, I'd do it.  The fact that we can (barely) afford a luxury 4-month world cruise, with more and longer ports, including most excursions, booze, tips, internet, specialty dining, laundry, medical visits, visas, luggage delivery, gourmet dining, plus business-class air home at the end, makes me feel very fortunate indeed.  But if we couldn't, I'd probably go for something like Costa--my mom did it via freighter ship in the 70's and adored it, but that's not an option these days--I'd go for that if I could.  Just being at sea and coming and going to all those ports would be wonderful, however you do it.

[Michelle1234]

1 hour ago, Go-Bucks! said:

 

Our expenditures were different from yours (we have 81 ports, so shore excursions can be quite expensive, even private ones) but we have kept very good track of all our costs so my estimates are accurate.  We didn't have any airline miles so would have had to buy our own flights if our cruisefare didn't include them.  I still suggest that anyone who is considering a world cruise should check what is included in all base cruiseline fares then try to realistically decide what you will need to spend for EVERYTHING during the entire cruise.  This will obviously be different for everyone, but many things will be similar to others.  After adding the extra costs to the basic cruisefare, you'll be comparing apples-to-apples.  This way to compare worked well for us and helped us choose the cruise with the most "bang for the buck."  Best wishes on your adventure....ours is amazing!

Good point on the number of ports. Mine was 41 ports on 107 days whereas yours is quite a bit longer. I didn't even try to estimate my expenses in advance because I didn't really care. I just wanted the experience. I was very pleased when it came in at just under $25K.

 

My main point is to not overestimate the cost of things like mandatory gratuities because they are generally comped by the cruise line or your TA so assign $0 to them. Also on-board laundry is very cheap if there are machines. As you go you will likely get status for getting it done on the ship so assign only minimal cost. Maybe $5 per week. Internet is also one that is being over valued if you have status because it is free. As you go you earn status by segment so at some point that cost will fall away also unless you have never sailed that cruise line before.

 

There are lots of ways to do a fantastic world cruise without spending $50K per person. If one wants to then that is one thing but alot of people don't want to and are trying to figure out if they can go for less so I wanted to let them know that they could. There is another poster who did hers for about the same cost I did mine so there is more than one data point for around $25K per person.

[Heidi13]

18 hours ago, Michelle1234 said:

My $25K all in was for one person so the extra spending is for one. Is your $15K for 2?

 

My on board bill was a couple of bags of laundry because I mostly did my own until I got to Elite and some shore excursions. I didn't have to buy Internet minutes because they gave out new minutes each segment for Platinum and then Elite so plenty for the whole trip.  Mostly I did independent shore excursions which were alot cheaper and really fabulous. The independent over lands were less expensive than the Princess ones and truly fabulous!

 

I wanted to post my experience because I saw alot of posts valuing things at much higher values than they needed to so wasn't reflecting what a person would really spend. I also used miles for first class flights so no expense there. I didn't really go into the experience with a budget in mind so thought I'd share for those trying to budget.

Michelle1234 - didn't realise your onboard spend was pp, our onboard bill was for both of us, but adding the spend for tours ashore brought it up to $20K, then about another $15K for flights.

 

While our next WC on Viking has a base fare almost double the Princess fare in 2015 for a similar cabin, by the end of the cruise the costs will be almost identical.

[Michelle1234]

13 minutes ago, Heidi13 said:

Michelle1234 - didn't realise your onboard spend was pp, our onboard bill was for both of us, but adding the spend for tours ashore brought it up to $20K, then about another $15K for flights.

 

While our next WC on Viking has a base fare almost double the Princess fare in 2015 for a similar cabin, by the end of the cruise the costs will be almost identical.

Sounds like we spent about the same then. About an extra $10Kish per person for extra expenses like tours and on board spending. This is probably a very valuable data point for those in the planning stages. I think there was another cruiser, Aquadesiac who was in the same neighborhood for extra expenses over the cruise fare.

[Go-Bucks!]

On 3/10/2019 at 7:40 AM, Michelle1234 said:

My main point is to not overestimate

 

My main point was to not underestimate....that could be financially disasterous if you think things will be really cheap but find out that you'll have many other unplanned costs. Remember that old cruising cliche "bring half the amount of clothes and twice the amount of money."  😂   

 

Just be realistic...currency exchange rates can be great some places and bad in others, count on unexpected expenses and what could happen if you get sick onboard or in a foreign country?  I'd rather plan higher than lower...but that comes from many years of life and travel experience. It's understandable that a world cruise isn't financially feasible for most people but if you are trying to decide if you can do it then at least plan for all scenarios and compare all cruiselines according to their base fares and what perks are included. Then you'll be able to compare apples-to-apples.  Happy travels...I'm loving this world cruise! We have one more Australian port then on to Indonesia. 

[Wendy The Wanderer]

9 hours ago, Go-Bucks! said:

 

My main point was to not underestimate....that could be financially disasterous if you think things will be really cheap but find out that you'll have many other unplanned costs. Remember that old cruising cliche "bring half the amount of clothes and twice the amount of money."  😂   

 

Just be realistic...currency exchange rates can be great some places and bad in others, count on unexpected expenses and what could happen if you get sick onboard or in a foreign country?  I'd rather plan higher than lower...but that comes from many years of life and travel experience. It's understandable that a world cruise isn't financially feasible for most people but if you are trying to decide if you can do it then at least plan for all scenarios and compare all cruiselines according to their base fares and what perks are included. Then you'll be able to compare apples-to-apples.  Happy travels...I'm loving this world cruise! We have one more Australian port then on to Indonesia. 

 

Good advice.  In our case it's fairly easy to plan extra expenses since there will be so few (most excursions included, etc.)

 

Interested to hear how the weather is in Bali at this time of year, since two years from today we'll be arriving there!

[LynnTTT]

On 3/9/2019 at 12:54 PM, Michelle1234 said:

LynnTTT,

I am not familiar with the cruise line but the itinerary does look fabulous. I did a world cruise and Easter Island/ Rabaul/Oman etc. were some of my favorite ports because I liked the exotic. Some people liked the ones that were most similar to the US.

 

The cabins on the Costa Deliziosa look bigger than most. Is that what you found when you did your research?

 

My top bit of advice is to plan your own independent over lands where you get off the ship at one port and rejoin at another. I did that for Cambodia, China and Egypt. Not very expensive compared to planning a separate trip (or compared to the ship's overland excursions) and well worth the time away from the ship.

 

In terms of budget my cruise fare was around $16K (with all taxes, port fees, gratuities, vacation insurance included). All in with all the independent shore excursions, ship shore excursions, on board expenses, flights, gifts/souvenirs and additional trip insurance for the over lands I was at just about $25K for the whole 107 experience with Princess.

 

If I did it again I would see Machu Picchu in S.A. I thought at the time, I would get back. I haven't been back so doing either that or Galapagos while I was in the area would have been good. I would also consider an overland in Australia just because the flights are so long to get there from the US. So if you budget around $10K-$12K or so for extras you should have a great experience! My extras were $10K but if you add a couple of thousand for two more over lands that would bring it up a bit.

  We have actually done some extensive land travel in some of the ports: we've done a three week trip to India, three weeks in Southeast Asia (Cambodia/Thailand and Vietnam) and also three weeks in China!  Just did 11 days in Egypt. 

We did a trip to Peru and spent two days in Machu Pichu.  A definite "bucket list" destination.

We will enjoy Australia and New Zealand without the long flight. our son lives in Thailand so we'll see him, and we will like seeing just a bit of Polynesia.  And hopefully we'll get to Petra.  Otherwise I see a combined Israel/Jordan trip in the future.

WE just like the diverse itinerary.  And hopefully the days at sea won't be a problem.

 

[Michelle1234]

1 hour ago, LynnTTT said:

  We have actually done some extensive land travel in some of the ports: we've done a three week trip to India, three weeks in Southeast Asia (Cambodia/Thailand and Vietnam) and also three weeks in China!  Just did 11 days in Egypt. 

We did a trip to Peru and spent two days in Machu Pichu.  A definite "bucket list" destination.

We will enjoy Australia and New Zealand without the long flight. our son lives in Thailand so we'll see him, and we will like seeing just a bit of Polynesia.  And hopefully we'll get to Petra.  Otherwise I see a combined Israel/Jordan trip in the future.

WE just like the diverse itinerary.  And hopefully the days at sea won't be a problem.

 

I like the itinerary also. In fact I Iiked it enough that I read the reviews of the ship. I think the international clientele would be a plus for me. Make it seem more of an adventure. I'm curious if the passengers will be younger on the Costa world cruise than the US lines. The only negative was some of the reviews of the smoking policy. If you had an upwind balcony smoker it appeared you were very unhappy with your cruise. Complaints about the food can be found on all lines so I wasn't sure how to weigh that.

 

It sounds like you are very adventurous in your travel so picking the right itinerary is key to hold your interest for the whole time. I chose my world cruise based on itinerary. It seemed there were two groups of travelers on board. One group, like myself, loved the exotic ports. The other group ran them down and loved nothing more than an English speaking country with good shopping malls. Very different travel philosophies and styles.

 

I found that while there were ports to look forward to I didn't mind the sea days. But when we hit the Mediterranean, where I'd been to all the ports 3 or 4 times, I was ready to get off. I think I'm good for 60ish days on a cruise ship but 107 was too many for me. My husband wants to do a round the world trip so I've been looking at itineraries to see what looks good. 

[rtdiva]

I too am exploring options for a World Cruise, leaning towards Oceana, until I realized how small the ship is. We’ve done HALs 72 day Pacific Rim cruise and loved it, but severe ocean storms are an issue, I’d rather be on a larger ship.

 

Lately having  a sense of humor and much patience during these controversial times is a must....or having the sense to change dinner tables .😀

 

thanks for all the info.

ann

[Go-Bucks!]

4 hours ago, rtdiva said:

Lately having  a sense of humor and much patience during these controversial times is a must....or having the sense to change dinner tables .

 

That's why I like Anytime dining for the MDR or eating in the buffet.  Haven't had traditional dining since 2003.

[Go-Bucks!]

19 hours ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

Interested to hear how the weather is in Bali at this time of year, since two years from today we'll be arriving there!

 

Keep following our "Live From" thread and hopefully the weather in Bali will be mentioned.  We've had (knock on wood!) fantastic weather so far...warm to hot in Polynesia, warm to cool in NZ and AU.  Should be hot from now until we reach Japan, then probably cool there and China.  From then until we get to Italy, I think it's going to be hot.  Probably mild after that. 

[Gwendy]

Last year we did the half world cruise, from Singapore to London, didn’t want to do the whole cruiseas too long and we had been to most of those places before.

We went with English/German company CMV Cruise and Maritime Voyages.  Price was excellent for the many ports we visited,  The ship was small, 1200 passengers, everything in English.  The ship was Columbus which was formerly P&O Aust Pacific Pearl.  Not flash, but all you needed, food OK.  entertainment every night .  I think from memory twin was around $6000 Au and I was solo and paid $4000 AU approx for 38 nights.

if you are looking for a budget cruise it would be worth investigating.  London (Tilbury)to London.

I have previously done a half world cruise with Princess, 54 nights Sydney to London so have something to compare the two cruise lines.  Happy with both, obviously Princess has better facilities and food but price is about double.

I am joining Princess in Dover in July and travelling back to Brisbane as the back half of the world cruise.