The Perfect WC Itinerary

[Diveloonie]

Hello WC cruiser's,

As a future world cruiser (probably 2025 or 2026), we have mostly narrowed our cruise line choice to three.  I know that itinerary is very important in deciding which line to go with, so I was wondering from experienced WC's or travelers, what their perfect itinerary as far as ports would be?  I know that I would love to visit in no particular order, Easter Island, Singapore, Hong Kong, Egypt, anywhere in Japan.  What ports on your WC would you absolutely like to visit again and again?

[Heidi13]

13 hours ago, Diveloonie said:

Hello WC cruiser's,

As a future world cruiser (probably 2025 or 2026), we have mostly narrowed our cruise line choice to three.  I know that itinerary is very important in deciding which line to go with, so I was wondering from experienced WC's or travelers, what their perfect itinerary as far as ports would be?  I know that I would love to visit in no particular order, Easter Island, Singapore, Hong Kong, Egypt, anywhere in Japan.  What ports on your WC would you absolutely like to visit again and again?

 

When booking a World Cruise, in addition to cruising around the World, we also prefer an opportunity to experience many ports, so the amount of time in port is a key factor:

• The number of port days v's sea days is a key consideration. Many cruise lines will take you around the world in 100 + days, while others take 180 days for the entire world, or 120 to 140 days for most of it.
• Our 2015 Princess WC was 104 days Sydney to Sydney, but only 42 of 104 days were spent in port. Our 2023 Viking WC L/A to London has 68 of 121 days in port.
• We also review the amount of time spent in port, with Viking averaging more than 1 hr extra per port.
• Number of ports where we spend 3 days - provides an opportunity to really explore. Our 23 WC has 5 ports that we visit for 3-days
• Number of ports where we spend 2 days
• Average hours per port

 

You should be aware that due to the time of year, many World Cruises planning to visit Easter Island, do not actually get ashore. We were very lucky in 2015, as we were the first Princess WC to anchor off Easter Island in about 6 years.

 

Hong Kong is an excellent port, but if going, look for cruises that have 3 days in HK. Big ships dock at the old airport, but smaller ships can dock at the downtown Ocean Terminal.

[beach bunnie]

Like you we thought  we wouldn't go on a world cruise until 2025 or later.  But when we saw the HAL 2019 itinerary we knew it was perfect for us.  It hit lots of our bucket list places -- Machu Picchu, Easter Island, Taj Mahal, Petra.  It didn't spend much time in the Med but instead went up to Norway and it went completely around the world - starting and ending in Florida.  We are still looking for our next world cruise but haven't found one that peeks our interest yet.  So my advice is watch all cruise lines for the itinerary that speaks to you.  Don't eliminate any cruise line until you've take a test cruise on them.  We're currently hoping to "test" Regent and Viking soon.

[Heidi13]

4 hours ago, beach bunnie said:

Like you we thought  we wouldn't go on a world cruise until 2025 or later.  But when we saw the HAL 2019 itinerary we knew it was perfect for us.  It hit lots of our bucket list places -- Machu Picchu, Easter Island, Taj Mahal, Petra.  It didn't spend much time in the Med but instead went up to Norway and it went completely around the world - starting and ending in Florida.  We are still looking for our next world cruise but haven't found one that peeks our interest yet.  So my advice is watch all cruise lines for the itinerary that speaks to you.  Don't eliminate any cruise line until you've take a test cruise on them.  We're currently hoping to "test" Regent and Viking soon.

 

Check out the Viking 2023 WC, only published 3 weeks ago and already almost sold out. Another bonus, since it is selling well, similar to the 22 WC, it most likely will not have segments.

[rkacruiser]

One of the reasons that I selected my 2008 Grand World Voyage on the Amsterdam was because of port calls at unusual ports for such a cruise.  Tonga, two ports in Vietnam,  Sochi, Sevastapol, Venice, another port in the Adriatic (whose name escapes me at the moment), Santorini, overnight stay at Istanbul, Malta, Gibralter, Bermuda, New York, ending a return to Fort Lauderdale.  That along with some other ports that were both new for me as well as ones that I was pleased to visit once more.  For my cruise, all of the "needed" and desired factors came into alignment.  It was a great experience!  

[Diveloonie]

My husband has not yet retired and we still have a high schooler at home, therefore we need to wait till he retires ( 2 more years) and our daughter graduates and we send her off to university before we can go.  But, you bet I look every year at the itineraries offered by our three preferred cruise lines!

[SargassoPirate]

On 1/4/2021 at 7:21 PM, Diveloonie said:

Hello WC cruiser's,

As a future world cruiser (probably 2025 or 2026), we have mostly narrowed our cruise line choice to three.  I know that itinerary is very important in deciding which line to go with, so I was wondering from experienced WC's or travelers, what their perfect itinerary as far as ports would be?  I know that I would love to visit in no particular order, Easter Island, Singapore, Hong Kong, Egypt, anywhere in Japan.  What ports on your WC would you absolutely like to visit again and again?

Diveloonie, I posted the comments below on another thread, but I think some of my comments are applicable here as well.  Good luck with your planning and anticipation.

 

"A world cruise has been on my bucket list for several years.  She Who Must Be Obeyed has no interest in being on a ship that long, so I'm going it alone.  That being said, a cruise line's single supplement figured into my matrix, as well as ports that I have not been to before.  As part of my research, I read a book written by a world cruiser "Chasing The Dawn - Traveling The World With P&O".

 

Having cruised on RCI, Celebrity, HAL, Princess, NCL, and Viking, I figured I would subscribe to conventional wisdom that says never do a world cruise on a line with which you have never cruised on.  However, being a tight-fisted Scotch-Irish hillbilly, the prices on those lines put me off - even with the loyalty program perks.

 

I finally settled on P&O - the price was within my budget, a good mix of ports, lots of sea days between ports,  tips included, a real promenade deck, self-serve laundries, low deposit, and a reasonable single supplement.

 

I guess my one piece of advice would be to make a chart of your wants and needs for an extended voyage  with all the factors that will help you narrow it down."

[beach bunnie]

22 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

 

Check out the Viking 2023 WC, only published 3 weeks ago and already almost sold out. Another bonus, since it is selling well, similar to the 22 WC, it most likely will not have segments.

Thank you.  It does look interesting and I'm following your roll call to learn more about Viking Ocean.  I read your blog during last year's cruise.  Thank you for doing that.

We booked our "test" cruise on Viking today - In Search of Northern Lights for Jan 2023.  We've been on one Viking River and have another one booked for late this year. So we have some Viking experience but want to experience VO.

[Heidi13]

2 hours ago, beach bunnie said:

Thank you.  It does look interesting and I'm following your roll call to learn more about Viking Ocean.  I read your blog during last year's cruise.  Thank you for doing that.

We booked our "test" cruise on Viking today - In Search of Northern Lights for Jan 2023.  We've been on one Viking River and have another one booked for late this year. So we have some Viking experience but want to experience VO.

 

Enjoy the Northern Lights, hope you get reasonably smooth sailing.