First World Cruise booked ...

[ArtsyCraftsy]

So glad I found this board!

 

I'm a solo traveler, which can both complicate and simplify cruise travel sometimes.

 

I'm also a "newbie" when it comes to cruise travel -- I've done only three cruises so far, two on Holland America: 14-days to Alaska, just to see if I would actually like cruise travel, 38-days to test my coping capabilities with a "longer" cruise; and one on Regent Seven Seas: a 28-day cruising combining Alaska with the Panama Canal to try a different cruise line.

 

On the basis of that third cruise and while onboard (around day 11), I booked the Regent Seven Seas 2020 "Navigate the World" cruise: 131 days, starting and ending in San Francisco.  The world cruise is on the same ship (the Mariner) and I was able to book the same cabin I was occupying at the time -- it was perfect for me: perfect size, perfect location, and great amenities

 

I love the itinerary, and surprisingly, the basic RSSC fare is 20% less than the HAL 2020 128-day WC for a comparable cabin in terms of amenities despite RSSC's "all-inclusive" pricing.  There's a difference in the itineraries: HAL's route goes around the coast of Africa; RSSC's goes through the Middle East and the Mediterranean, but I'm not sure that's enough to justify the cost difference.  Add in the cost on HAL of drinks, excursions, gratuities, etc., and the difference is even greater.  The primary factor in the price difference is the single supplement: RSSC's was about 45%; HAL's was 100%.

 

By the time the World Cruise arrives in January 2020, I will have done three more cruises in 2019 (another HAL 28-day - Hawaii/Tahiti/Marquesas, an Oceania 7-day - Alaska, and a HAL 35-day - Incan Empires), and with each cruise, I learn more about packing, organizing, scheduling, etc.  I read several of the boards here on CC daily and I'm always learning something.

 

I've read through several of the threads so far and have started making a "to do" list -- many of the entries I had thought about (but had no idea what to do about them -- now I have some ideas!), and some I hadn't even considered.  I have some health challenges and had a chat with one of my docs just this past week about reasonable preparations.  Coincidentally, he and his wife cruise at least once a year, and he's totally on board (no pun intended) with my future cruise plans given my situation.  We have over a year to prepare for this.

 

I'm likely to have a LOT of questions over the next year, and I'm grateful to those "regulars" here who generously share their experiences.  

 

Thanks ...

 

Lana in Bellingham, WA

[Heidi13]

Congratulations, looks like an excellent itinerary.

[Go-Bucks!]

Hope you have a wonderful adventure! I'm looking forward to my first world cruise on Oceania in January, 2019.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Hey congrats!  We're booked on the 2021 Regent Mariner WC.  Have fun planning and dreaming!  We would have done the 2020, but ours is a titch shorter than yours (117 days), plus there were some itinerary details that suited us better..  It doesn't actually go all the way around, ending in Barcelona, which suits us fine. 

[rkacruiser]

Good for you!  There is no question that there are many pre-world cruise details that one must attend to, not the least of which is filing one's taxes or getting an extension to file.  But, I found taking the planning and preparation one step at a time, I was able to get everything accomplished and left home for Fort Lauderdale with confidence that "I had covered my bases".  Having an experienced travel agent also greatly helped!

 

Enjoy the anticipation of a tremendous cruise experience!

[Keith1010]

Congratulations on booking this World Cruise.

 

A world cruise is like no other cruise we have ever been on.

 

Part of the fun is the planning so you have lots to look forward to.

 

Keith

[Scrapnana]

Congratulations!  Be warned, however, that world cruises are highly addictive!😁

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

It looks like a great Cruise. 

[The Other Tom]

Congratulations!!

[Wendy The Wanderer]

13 hours ago, Scrapnana said:

Congratulations!  Be warned, however, that world cruises are highly addictive!😁

 

Don't say that!  I found out the hard way that cruising itself is addictive, as is travel.  Plus we're addicted to French Polynesia particularly.  But can't afford to be addicted to world cruising! 

[Heidi13]

5 hours ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

 

Don't say that!  I found out the hard way that cruising itself is addictive, as is travel.  Plus we're addicted to French Polynesia particularly.  But can't afford to be addicted to world cruising! 

HaHa - We said our first WC was a once in a lifetime. Only lasted 3 years before booking a 2nd WC. So in our experience they are addictive. 

[Go-Bucks!]

20 hours ago, Scrapnana said:

Congratulations!  Be warned, however, that world cruises are highly addictive!😁

 

The desire to do another world cruise might be addicting, but not being able to pay for another one will end that addiction.  I'll have to be satisfied with one world cruise and shorter, cheaper cruises after that.  But I feel very blessed to even be able to do one!  😇

[Scrapnana]

3 hours ago, Go-Bucks! said:

 

The desire to do another world cruise might be addicting, but not being able to pay for another one will end that addiction.  I'll have to be satisfied with one world cruise and shorter, cheaper cruises after that.  But I feel very blessed to even be able to do one!  😇

That's what I thought before my first WC.  Now I prefer to save my money and take longer cruises less frequently.  I also go for an ocean view cabin rather than a balcony to save money.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

11 hours ago, Go-Bucks! said:

 

The desire to do another world cruise might be addicting, but not being able to pay for another one will end that addiction.  I'll have to be satisfied with one world cruise and shorter, cheaper cruises after that.  But I feel very blessed to even be able to do one!  😇

 

Exactly! And yes, I do feel very, very lucky.

Edited October 25, 2018 by Wendy The Wanderer

[Go-Bucks!]

15 hours ago, Scrapnana said:

That's what I thought before my first WC.  Now I prefer to save my money and take longer cruises less frequently.  I also go for an ocean view cabin rather than a balcony to save money.

 

Unfortunately, I'm retiring right before my world cruise so there won't be anymore money to save (no longer working)....I'll have to spend whatever I've already saved.  Living on a much smaller fixed income won't be much fun, but at least I will have already gotten to do one world cruise.  👍

[lovegod01]

Is a world cruise a one off event for some or do people do more than 1 

[Waynetor]

I was on the first full world cruise offered by Oceania.  They had a meet and greet for those doing the full voyage early in the cruise and asked how many had done a w/c before - the result was about 50-50.  As a cruise line builds a history of doing w/c, it is more likely the lines loyal passengers will be returning resulting in a greater percent that are returning.  

[Heidi13]

3 hours ago, lovegod01 said:

Is a world cruise a one off event for some or do people do more than 1 

We figured our 2015 WC was a once in a lifetime cruise, but 6 months ago booked our 2nd WC for Jan 2020.

 

On our first WC probably about 1/2 the full WC'ers were repeats, with I believe 1 couple being on number 9.

[rkacruiser]

It's interesting to me that some sail a World Cruise annually or every other year or some other frequency.

 

For those that sail each year, my opinion is that it has become a very social experience coupled with destinations that they repeatedly enjoy sprinkled with new ports as the cruise line can provide.

 

 

[Scrapnana]

9 hours ago, lovegod01 said:

Is a world cruise a one off event for some or do people do more than 1 

Before my first WC I really believed that one would do it.  So wrong!!!!  I am now planning on my third and to be honest, if I were wealthy I would do one each year!  I was amazed on this year's WC how many were repeaters.  

[BarbaraM]

11 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

It's interesting to me that some sail a World Cruise annually or every other year or some other frequency.

 

For those that sail each year, my opinion is that it has become a very social experience coupled with destinations that they repeatedly enjoy sprinkled with new ports as the cruise line can provide.

 

 

We also are in the group that thought our world cruise three years ago would be a once in a lifetime event-- wrong!  We are taking our second in January.  We found we liked the social aspect much more than we expected.  In fact, part of the reason we are taking this second ATW is due to the number of repeat cruisers from 3 years ago.   While we may not be able to afford taking a world cruise every year --  I'm not going to say this is the last one either.   As others have posted, we don't take PH cabins, put up with small bathrooms and small space in order to extend our travel budget.  We also prefer taking long trips.

[Go-Bucks!]

On 10/28/2018 at 2:47 PM, lovegod01 said:

Is a world cruise a one off event for some or do people do more than 1 

 

I can't speak for others, but I would assume that if someone takes a world cruise and enjoys it, then finances would likely dictate whether they could do it again. 

 

If I chose to go on a second world cruise, it would not leave me with enough money to live throughout retirement. I don't think that would be a wise decision, no matter how much I'd want to go. But others might not have financial issues, so they can go as frequently as they'd like. 

[rkacruiser]

2 hours ago, Go-Bucks! said:

 

I can't speak for others, but I would assume that if someone takes a world cruise and enjoys it, then finances would likely dictate whether they could do it aga

 

Surely cannot speak for others and surely one's finances, health, and family/local responsibilities come into play as to whether one would book another world cruise, one's overall experience on the cruise has an influence, at least for me.

 

I enjoyed visiting all of the ports we visited, some more than others naturally.  The entertainment program, the MDR menus reflecting the cuisine of the area where we were sailing in some respects, and simply the opportunity to finally experience this "Voyage of a Lifetime" were significant to me.

 

Negatives:  The advertising slogan of a very experienced world cruise staff:  Most of the staff delivered my expected HAL service.  Was that service superior to past HAL cruises?  No.  My Stateroom Steward left much to be desired.  My stateroom was not ready for my arrival and he eventually tried to "jump ship" in Singapore because of employment/family issues.

 

I experienced too many cruise guests that seemed to feel that they were "entitled" because of their world cruise patronage on the ship.  While I met many others of us "newbies" who were pleasant and interesting and also were enjoying our cruise, those " entitled ones" along with a very difficult MDR table provided negative memories.

 

Thus, for me, it is difficult to open my wallet, as much as I would like, to book another world cruise.  A segment or two?  Maybe.  I have found shorter duration "long cruises" to be more enjoyable than the world cruise.  An example:  re-positioning cruises or the Asia Pacific or similar itinerary.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Interesting.  I have read in the past on the Regent board here, that full world cruisers did some snubbing of "seggies" (those on a segment or two.)  But I think that's been solved, at least I hope so.  I'm hoping and assuming we will make friends on this cruise, among both groups, the way we have on previous cruises. Having been a seggie on several "grand voyages", I haven't really notice it, and if I had, I would have ignored it.

 

As for doing a second WC, I'm with Go-Bucks.  I'm raiding my retirement fund as it is; there's no way we could do another one.  In fact booking this first one involved lengthy discussions with our financial advisor. He's still pulling his hair out!  If I was rich, I could imagine doing it every year, although let's get one under our belts first!

 

I dreamed of this years ago, and now I can't believe we're doing it.  But we have to wait more than two years.  

[Go-Bucks!]

5 hours ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

Interesting.  I have read in the past on the Regent board here, that full world cruisers did some snubbing of "seggies" (those on a segment or two.)  But I think that's been solved, at least I hope so.  I'm hoping and assuming we will make friends on this cruise, among both groups, the way we have on previous cruises. Having been a seggie on several "grand voyages", I haven't really notice it, and if I had, I would have ignored it.

 

I've read this too....how sad!  I can't imagine anyone looking down on fellow cruisers because they're not doing the whole cruise...WHATEVER!  Hope I don't meet anyone with that attitude.  I'm so excited to have the unbelievable blessing of going on a world cruise at all.

 

5 hours ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

As for doing a second WC, I'm with Go-Bucks.  I'm raiding my retirement fund as it is; there's no way we could do another one.  In fact booking this first one involved lengthy discussions with our financial advisor. He's still pulling his hair out!  If I was rich, I could imagine doing it every year, although let's get one under our belts first!

 

I dreamed of this years ago, and now I can't believe we're doing it.  But we have to wait more than two years.  

 

Yes, my friend and I are also both raiding our IRA's to pay for this.  Lots of people have told us we're crazy to spend our retirement savings, but it's the only way it's possible. I've worked and saved for 30 years to be able to do this....I'm sure the wonderful memories will be worth it.  😇  👍