Pros and Cons of Long Cruises—70+ Days

[REOVA]

sometimes on longer cruises, the food gets redundant. great if you like it. But there are so many restaurant options that you can switch up venues (plus you don't need to cook). On shorter cruises you want to get to ports with limited sea days. On longer cruises you need sea days to rest from the ports 🙂 On longer cruises (not B2Bs) its a special experience with more activities/events/lectures relating to the ports and usually the top crew to make it special. On shorter cruises your 4 and 5 stars have priority privileges. On longer cruises most everyone is 4 or 5 stars so less priority privileges. We did a few 12-28 days but when we did over 100, you don't want to leave the "family" onboard. 

 

[Hlitner]

I still remember when we were on our first HAL Grand Med cruise which was a 62 day voyage from Port Everglades.  The first day we went to breakfast on the outside deck area behind the Lido and were sitting near another couple also enjoying breakfast on a gorgeous morning.  One lady was very upset and said to me that she just did not know how she could deal with so many days at sea (there were 23 on that cruise).  The poor woman was hyper and very unhappy as her husband was just enjoying his breakfast and not paying much attention to her rant.  I asked her if she had any idea what she had booked (it was a 2 month cruise with lots of sea days) and she did not have a good answer other than to tell me she was already going crazy (we had not even been aboard for 24 hours).  That couple did ultimately cancel most of their booking and disembarked as soon as we reached Europe.

 

So my message is simple.  Long cruises are not for everyone!  But for those of us who truly love to cruise and spend time on ships at sea they are a real treat.  That being said I would urge anyone thinking about a really long cruise to gradually work themselves up to the long cruises.  DW and I could easily spend 6 months on a ship and be happy as clams (especially if our Grandchildren could join us for a few days).   But some folks are just not comfortable with sea days and being away from home for any length of time.

 

Hank

[rkacruiser]

On 2/24/2022 at 12:11 AM, Hlitner said:

  I asked her if she had any idea what she had booked (it was a 2 month cruise with lots of sea days) and she did not have a good answer other than to tell me she was already going crazy (we had not even been aboard for 24 hours).  That couple did ultimately cancel most of their booking and disembarked as soon as we reached Europe.

 

Sounds to me that theirs is a somewhat dysfunctional marriage.  Poor communication skills as what one in the marriage wants/likes with not much consideration for their spouse's requirements.  

 

 

[Mary229]

29 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

 

Sounds to me that theirs is a somewhat dysfunctional marriage.  Poor communication skills as what one in the marriage wants/likes with not much consideration for their spouse's requirements.  

 

 

It sounds sad whatever the issue.  I am sure there was a lot of anticipation and planning.  Likely she was sold something by an agent not considerate of her true needs but seeking a quick commission.  So sad