How do you handle very long cruises on Celebrity?

[phoenix_dream]

It's always amazed me when I meet fellow passengers onboard who have been on the ship for literally months doing B2B2B and on and on.  I think the longest I've encountered has been 3 months but I'm sure there are longer ones here and there.

 

My longest B2B was 21 days and for me that was pushing it.  Wondering just what people do on those longer cruises to continue the enjoyment?  The production shows stay the same.  The lounge entertainment often stays the same for several sailings at least.  The menus, while offering some variety, stay the same cruise to cruise.  Most activities repeat.  Television is a joke unless you are a news or soccer fanatic.  The libraries, if you are lucky enough to be on a ship that has one, usually don't have much variety of books (I know there are digital books - I just personally prefer book in hand).  I can only do so many crosswords or games of Qwix or Yahtzee.  I get free laundry and am not afraid to wear something two or three times a cruise, but I think I would get tired of wearing the same outfits for weeks or months at a time.  On many of these cruises of which I speak it has been the same or similar Caribbean ports over and over and over.  Maybe if I was a beach fan that would be nice but I'm kinda done with that now that the kids are grown.   And what about family and friends?  I know these days having internet can really help with that but it's not the same as being in person.

 

I'm not criticizing, just honestly curious.  DH would love to convince me to sail longer periods of time but I'm not sure how I would handle it.  Feedback?

[Shiba_Lover]

Reading - so many people have downloaded books on a tablet or ipad instead of depending on a library, I think those are going away - but if you want a book in hand, you would probably need to bring more with you or check stores in the ports.  Maybe post on your ships roll call here in cruise critic for a real "book swap" on a particular day in a certain lounge.  Or maybe a "book club" where you just talk about whatever book you are reading instead of a particular book - and then you could swap the books. 

 

  Same for a tv or movie - just download something to watch if you want to watch something instead of depending on ship tv.

 

 

People sit in lounges to listen to music and meet others.  We have gotten to be good friends with people who were on a B2B2B cruise and just kept booking the next cruise while onboard because they were having such a good time meeting people onboard.  When sitting in a lounge listening to the band - invite someone looking for a table to share with you and start a conversation.  

 

Walking on the outdoor walking path is also a good way to meet people - I walk around the same time each day, and notice the same people seem to do that too.  Easy to start a conversation.

 

In terms of ports - we tend to DIY things.  Once we have done any touristy thing - we do some other things.  I like to check out local grocery markets like spice markets, things like that.  Even though I often can't purchase (restrictions on bringing on board or back home)  - I like to look.  It's free, and gives you a look at local things.

 

[RichYak]

I feel you. I love cruising, but I go a little stir crazy near the end of some. 7-8 days seems to be my sweet spot.

 

In August, I'll be on the Bayonne to Iceland cruise. At 12 days, that's the longest one ever for me. And half of them are sea days. I don't gamble much and I'm not one for production shows either. I'm a little concerned for the welfare of my liver 😀. But it is Greenland and Iceland so I'm pretty excited as well.

 

At the same time, there are some on that cruise who are doing the B2B, hitting all the same ports of call and with all the same sea days on the way back from Reykjavik before disembarking in Boston. I couldn't do it. Like you, I don't mean to be critical of those that do this, I just know it's not for me.

[miched]

We have done 28 days,  four 7 day cruises because of the lift and shifts. 
 

I was ready during the middle of the 3rd week to go home.    I got tired of eating, drinking and laying around and like you commented the shows got very old.   Even now on many Celebrity cruises we don’t bother going to the lame production shows as they are still the same and didn’t enjoy the the first time. 
 

There are also some guest entertainers that we don’t want to see again.  
 

We sail 2 times a year and that is plenty.  Passengers will tell us about all of the cruises they have planned and how many they have recently been on and all in the Caribbean because they live near by and it is such a great bargain as they couldn’t eat that cheap at home. 

 

We go as a way to escape from the cold for a few days but 14 to 21 days  are enough.   
 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

 

 

 

[Shiba_Lover]

I get tired of all the eating on longer ones too.  I basically just get a yogurt at breakfast and a big salad at dinner.  Otherwise it is just all too much.  

[davekathy]

After 15 days we've had enough. We try to select intinaries with the least amount of sea days. But that isn't always easy to find. We aren't sea day fans. Cabin (pun intended) fever sets in.   

[MISTER 67]

7 or 8 days is all we do now, we liked 10 and 11 days at one time but the older we get we just prefer just one week. That being said, we cruised 5 times this year, all 5 were for one week and we will probably do 3 or 4 a year for the foreseeable future.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

I'm one of the fans of longer cruises--the longer the better.  What's not to like about having someone else do the cooking and cleaning and laundry?  And having your hotel move at night as opposed to your having to move.

[jelayne]

If you pick itineraries with a lot of ports that you haven’t seen before, not the same old same old Caribbean, then there is something different every few days.  Itineraries with a few overnights thrown in are also a opportunity to do something new and different.
 

Our longest so far was 35 nights on board with 3 night in the port cities before and after.  While the production shows don’t change the other entertainers do change. The 35 night sailing we were in Blu and there were a number of B2B folks so the Chef had his own special most nights on the 2nd leg.  We have had the Chef special offerings on other long itineraries with a lot of B2B cruisers.

 

The Roll Call activities have complemented the ships activities.  We had a Roll Call wine tasting, 3 sessions of  LCR,  one lady did a couple of dot painting lesions, a book review group, as well as bridge, a group that played mahjong, a group that were knitters.  
 

We had a 45 N aB2B2B  in Asia booked that Covid cancelled.  Unfortunately those particular itineraries are not currently offered.

 

[the penguins]

1 hour ago, phoenix_dream said:

It's always amazed me when I meet fellow passengers onboard who have been on the ship for literally months doing B2B2B and on and on.  I think the longest I've encountered has been 3 months but I'm sure there are longer ones here and there.

 

My longest B2B was 21 days and for me that was pushing it.  Wondering just what people do on those longer cruises to continue the enjoyment?  The production shows stay the same.  The lounge entertainment often stays the same for several sailings at least.  The menus, while offering some variety, stay the same cruise to cruise.  Most activities repeat.  Television is a joke unless you are a news or soccer fanatic.  The libraries, if you are lucky enough to be on a ship that has one, usually don't have much variety of books (I know there are digital books - I just personally prefer book in hand).  I can only do so many crosswords or games of Qwix or Yahtzee.  I get free laundry and am not afraid to wear something two or three times a cruise, but I think I would get tired of wearing the same outfits for weeks or months at a time.  On many of these cruises of which I speak it has been the same or similar Caribbean ports over and over and over.  Maybe if I was a beach fan that would be nice but I'm kinda done with that now that the kids are grown.   And what about family and friends?  I know these days having internet can really help with that but it's not the same as being in person.

 

I'm not criticizing, just honestly curious.  DH would love to convince me to sail longer periods of time but I'm not sure how I would handle it.  Feedback?

The longest we have done is 5 B to B boarding in Auckland and disembarking in Seattle so not many repeat stops until Hawaii.

Our tips to keep it fresh:

1) change dining - we did fixed for first 2 sectors then Any Time.

2) in Any Time always share a table

3) save Speciality Dining until the last sector.

4) book private guides at special ports and share with one other couple from the Roll Calls.

5) remember every 7 to 14 days most of the passengers will change.

6) Live shows will never be the same you can even have fun spotting the changes.

7) get to know the crew more you can build up a good relationship on longer voyages. An example we were talking to one of the girls in Al Bacio about the ports and she said the sad thing was she never got a chance to take pics to send back to her family. From then on, after every port, we gave her a copy of some of our photos on a stick which she transferred to her computer. She was thrilled to bits.

We enjoyed every minute of our 60 days.

 

 

[mom says]

We try to avoid short cruises as much as possible, but have done 7 day B2Bs in the Caribbean as long as they are different itineraries. Our favorite cruises are NOT Caribbean, 14 day B2Bs that aren't closed loop, or even longer single cruises. Our sweet spot is about 28 days, with up to a week of pre and/or post cruise stays. Itinerary is of most importance to us; seeking new places, doing things we haven't done before. Our experience on longer cruises is that the MDR menu goes 2 weeks before repeating, and the guest entertainers only repeat if there is a long stretch of sea days. But even then they change up their routines. 

 

We download both books and movies to our tablets, and often make use of board games or cards on sea days. Boredom has never been an issue for us. Its amazing how time can fly just chatting with other cruisers. We stay in touch with family and friends online, sometimes multiple times a day. As for clothing- we pack enough for a different outfit each day for a week. Then repeat (and launder) as necessary. That is something we do whether we are on a cruise or land vacation.

[Shiba_Lover]

18 minutes ago, jelayne said:

We had a 45 N aB2B2B  in Asia booked that Covid cancelled.  Unfortunately those particular itineraries are not currently offered.

 

If you didn't have a chance to watch the last "power up points" webinar - they did mention one you can string together in Asia to make 3 B2Bs with little overlap.    On the website - put in the dates for all of 2025, then look at the Millenium.  Feb 19, March 03, March 15 of 2025 on Millenium are all on Millenium in Asia and I think only one overlap port????  Check this one out if interested in a longer Asia B2B2B.

[Shiba_Lover]

17 minutes ago, the penguins said:

 

7) get to know the crew more you can build up a good relationship on longer voyages.

 

 

Yes to this!!!  Especially if revisiting a port.  The crew can give you tips on a good out of the way restaurant or particular place to visit that you may not find on your own.  We really enjoy just getting off the ship and having a DIY look around.  If re-visiting - the "normal day to day stuff" is good to see instead of the highlights.

[jelayne]

33 minutes ago, ehall said:

If you didn't have a chance to watch the last "power up points" webinar - they did mention one you can string together in Asia to make 3 B2Bs with little overlap.    On the website - put in the dates for all of 2025, then look at the Millenium.  Feb 19, March 03, March 15 of 2025 on Millenium are all on Millenium in Asia and I think only one overlap port????  Check this one out if interested in a longer Asia B2B2B.

I saw the webinar and those itineraries had a number of ports where we have been.  The beauty of the cancelled one was the overnights that allowed us to venture farther out of ports we have already visited.  For example we have been to Phuket, one of the cruises Phuket was an overnight allowing us to be able to go to Bangkok and stay overnight. 

[wisteria1019]

After 28 days, I am still dragging my feet, clutching the handrails as I am forced to disembark.

[Cruising89143]

The longest X cruise for us was a thirteen night Med cruise. Luckily the itinerary was port heavy. We just returned from eight nights on the Solstice and while we really enjoyed our cruise, we were happy to be going home when it was over. For us cruise food gets old quickly and the entertainment on the Solstice wasn’t that great to begin with so I could not imagine seeing it again the following week. For us it’s about seven to eight night max unless it’s an itinerary that has a lot of port days to places new to us. 

[upwarduk]

14 nights for us, it’s  not worth packing for less, or travelling to the port.

[Texed]

We keeping booking longer cruises.  15 nights is our longest so far.  We have never been bored or thought it was too long. I think 21 days would be just about right.  😎

[Alakegirl]

Ask yourself, what do you like to do at home? For us, we like to watch movies (So we download some and cross our fingers that there might be something showing on the ship that we’d like to see), I knit while listening to audio books (so we bring along several projects and books to listen to) we go to the gym (reluctantly but at least on the ship there’s an interesting view) we both write (poetry and short stories now but i’m thinking about a novel) talk on line to friends and family.  So we do all of those things on the ship.

 

There are things we do on the ship that we would never do at home, like take dancing lessons.

 

What we don’t like to do is shop for food and cook for ourselves.  So the ship is a perfect fit.  We don’t go to the shows but I enjoyed listening to the singers around the ship and the various bars. Sometimes we even dance
 

 

[RTShaker]

14 days has been my longest so far. That will change in April for a 21 night (15+6) B2B. I think that will be near the upper limit for me.

[JLMcruise]

1 hour ago, wisteria1019 said:

After 28 days, I am still dragging my feet, clutching the handrails as I am forced to disembark.

That's how I feel!

[Mittens101]

After day six I’m ready to go home 

[Longhorn-ED]

We have done a 13 day Med cruise and a 11 day ABC cruise. This Sept/Oct we are doing a 22 day B2B Alaska/TP cruise. After many cancelations, we are very eager to sail again.

[cruisestitch]

I did six weeks once, three back to backs, each was 14 days.  I exercised more than I do at home, and actually felt better at the end of the cruises than I did at the start.  I swam every day and walked the walking track most days.  
 

Just as I don’t eat in a restaurant every night at home, I didn’t eat in the main dining room every night.   I watched for dinner specials and themes in the ocean view and had very good Greek food there. I never ate desserts

 

i looked forward to the guitarists, duos and small ensembles that played in the lounges in the evening and enjoyed them more than stage shows which were generally too loud for my taste.

 

it’s interesting that this question came up, because I was just explaining to a friends that there’s a difference between the kind of cruising I enjoy and the “vacation mode” cruising most passengers do.  I like to feel that I am living on the ship and it, rather than the ports, is my destination.

[Northern Aurora]

While I am typing this I must say that our cruising philosophy agrees with @cruisestitch (Hi K.).   We also like to feel like we are living on the ship.

 

Without  checking our cruise history which my husband keeps I think the longest consecutive number of days we were on a ship was 50 or 51 days; the entire trip included a short land trip before boarding followed by several days on land after disembarking.  While we will do B2B cruises we generally do longer with B2B2B and now more frequently B2B2B2B series.  Our next cruise will be a B2B2B2B series.

 

We are able to entertain ourselves quite well.  I am a quilter and I do find that it is best to finish a quilting project before leaving home for an extended period of time.  Otherwise I find myself thinking about that almost completed project.