world cruise

[cruisePRN]

has anyone done the world cruise? Do they serve the food as plentiful all 101 days and will I fit in my clothes to disembark? How much do you need to put aside for tipping and excursons or do they include that? Would a late 50's age feel out of place?

[RuthC]

There are a few posters here who have done the World Cruise; I am not one of them. Scroll through the recent pages and you should find a running account of this year's cruise; it was started by Ides of March. Last year Grumpy1 did a running account. IIRC, his thread is also within the first few pages; he did have a link in his signature. There's also another summary of this year's around here someplace.

I am a veteran of several long cruises. I'd like to reassure you that the weight gain is not as bad as you might expect. The rhythm of a longer cruise is different than that of a typical 7-10 day cruise. It's more like life. You don't try every delicious food presented because you know tomorrow's another day---and you will get another chance to sample a taste.

Unless the World Cruise is very, very different then you will be assessed the $10 per person, per day service charge, and the 15% charge in lounges. Shore excursions are an extra charge, as on any cruise.

There is a special deal for laundry, as well as for internet. You can also arrange to have your baggage shipped.

[cruisePRN]

thanks for that information. I will look for link you suggested.

[GMoney]

I could be totally wrong, but for some reason I thought the non-bar gratutities were included in your cruise fare.

 

The longest I've spent on a cruise at sea was 21 days, and while I loved it, I realized there is such a thing as too many days on a ship at sea. Guess I'll have to train and work my way up to a world cruise. :D

[bruceh4]

I agree with what RuthC said as I have been on several long cruise's. My last cruise being 62 days:) Unlike a 7 or 10 day cruise you realize that you dont have to eat 4 lobsters tonight because they will be back again on the menu. In fact Shrimp, Lobster and Crab legs were so plentiful on our 62 day cruise that it became a joke when they appeared either on the menu for dinner or at the Lido for lunch. You can only eat so many steaks, hmmm I can eat alot:eek:

But I dont eat as much chocolate as RuthC:D

[Grumpy1]

Hi, Karyn8

 

There will be lots of food available, how much of it you eat will probably have a lot to do with how well the clothes fit at the end of the cruise. I gained less than 10 lbs, my DW, Slinkie gained... NOT ONE POUND!... and really enjoyed the choices that were available. She avoided the desserts, but then she always does, and tried to pick the healthy choices most of the time.

 

HAL has offered some early booking incentives for the last two years that have included prepaid tips and a few other benifits. Of course, the deadline for 2007 early booking has passed. I believe the deadline was Jan 31. If you're looking at 2008, you will probably be able to lock in some nice benefits by booking in January next year. There were some benefits that applied only to those that have sailed on Grand World Voyages or segments of them in the past, and others that were available to anyone if you book early enough.

 

Depending on the category cabin booked, you can have unlimited baggage picked up at your home and delivered to your cabin and returned to your home at the end, or you might be limited to 100 lbs free. If you fly to the port, that can make a big difference in your packing decisions.

 

I'll be happy to answer any other questions you might have.

[cruisePRN]

Thanks grumpy for responding. I was actually thinking of a few years from now to celebrate my 60th BD. Would I be correct in assuming I'd be a younger cruiser compared to most? Hubby is two years older. When we sailed Princess to south america $ the amazon we enjoyed ourselves tremendously and were the younger cruiser onboard although we're 50's. I have three cruises booked right now, Celebrity, Marco Polo, and then RCL. I have sailed many times on princess, once on Carnival (didn't like carnival) and multiple times on RCL. To get any discounts would my sailings with princess count since they are owned by the same company? I will be able to book a year in advance, that's my usual way to book.

I'm interested in knowing what kind of allowence to budget for shore excursions. Does HAL have a laundromat? On the Royal princess we had a self serve laundromat which reducted the quantity of clothes I brought along. I read on the Princess site that at their highest level in their captains club they do your laundry comp. That's a great perk I wish RCL would consider.

Thanks for sharing.........Karyn

[kryos]

I could be totally wrong, but for some reason I thought the non-bar gratutities were included in your cruise fare.

I think you have to be booked into a certain level of accommodations, though, for that bennie to kick in. There are several bennies, as I recall, for full world cruisers booked into a certain cabin category or higher ... included gratuities, luggage shipment to the ship, coach airfare to and from the port city, etc.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[Grumpy1]

Thanks grumpy for responding. I was actually thinking of a few years from now to celebrate my 60th BD. Would I be correct in assuming I'd be a younger cruiser compared to most? Hubby is two years older. When we sailed Princess to south america $ the amazon we enjoyed ourselves tremendously and were the younger cruiser onboard although we're 50's. I have three cruises booked right now, Celebrity, Marco Polo, and then RCL. I have sailed many times on princess, once on Carnival (didn't like carnival) and multiple times on RCL. To get any discounts would my sailings with princess count since they are owned by the same company? I will be able to book a year in advance, that's my usual way to book.

I'm interested in knowing what kind of allowence to budget for shore excursions. Does HAL have a laundromat? On the Royal princess we had a self serve laundromat which reducted the quantity of clothes I brought along. I read on the Princess site that at their highest level in their captains club they do your laundry comp. That's a great perk I wish RCL would consider.

Thanks for sharing.........Karyn

 

Hi, again, Karyn. At 60, you would fit right in on a world cruise. there will be some that are younger, quite a few that are older, and quite a few in your age range. At mid-60's, when we did our cruise, we felt like we were in a group that was well represented. your sailing with Princess and Carnival qualify you for past cruiser discount.

 

The ships that HAL uses for world cruises do have laundromats. Only their Vista Class ships do not. You can also prepurchase unlimited laundry, if it isn't included in the class of cabin you book, or you can stuff as much as possible into their laundry bag for $12 per bag.

 

The cost for shore excursions varies widely. On the world cruise, HAL usually provides a free shuttle into town, and you can wander on your own from there. At the other end of the scale, they might offer a "signature" private tour for the two of you at almost $2000 for the day. There are lots of offerings in between, or you can book online with a private tour operator. You can also bargain with a taxi driver at the port for a private tour that will often be better and cheaper than the ship sponsored tours. You'll have lots of time to research and plan before you go, and of course the people here will be happy to help with answers to your questions and offer suggestions for tours in various ports, once the itinerary is established.

 

As to how much to budget for shore excursions and incidentals, that's a real toughie. What I might consider something that I absolutely must spend money to do in one port, you may consider to be a waste of time and money. I would think that if you can budget $100 per person per day to cover everything above the basic cost of the cruise, you would be able to do lots of things on excursions and buy a pretty fair amount of souvenirs. Some people spend a lot more than that, some a lot less, but I would start with that number in trying to see if the budget works. That number could be cut in half and you would still have an enjoyable cruise, but you would have to plan carefully if you want to maximize the experience on a minimum budget.

 

There are some travel agencies that do group bookings on the world cruises. They usually have a rep on board with you, and some of them offer discounted pricing on the cruise, onboard coctail parties, gifts to their passengers and some free shore excursions. We can't name TA's on the board, but we can get the information to you one way or another. Booking through the best of them can really reduce the total cost of the cruise. The one that we are using for the South America/Antartica cruise next year was a few thousand cheaper than the best price HAL offered direct and we still get all of the early booking bennies & the Grand Mariner bennies. The cocktail parties and shore excursions should reduce our shipboard account a little bit too.

 

I hope this helps you with your planning.

[cruisePRN]

The information you gave is very helpful grumpy. You say you're doing the antartic, I'm booked on Marco Polo Jan 17 to do the antartic out of ushuaia. I picked this cruise because they have the zodiac excursions into the heart of things. The ball park figure you stated of $100 PP per day was the kind of info I needed to plan. It doesn't make sense to me to spend a ton of money on a once in a lifetime trip and then scrimp on shore excursions, I want to see these places. This is not a relaxtion cruise, it's picked for the ports. Thanks again for useful information. I couldn't find the reviews for this cruise and i went back 8 pages.

[kryos]

The information you gave is very helpful grumpy. You say you're doing the antartic, I'm booked on Marco Polo Jan 17 to do the antartic out of ushuaia. I picked this cruise because they have the zodiac excursions into the heart of things. The ball park figure you stated of $100 PP per day was the kind of info I needed to plan. It doesn't make sense to me to spend a ton of money on a once in a lifetime trip and then scrimp on shore excursions, I want to see these places. This is not a relaxtion cruise, it's picked for the ports. Thanks again for useful information. I couldn't find the reviews for this cruise and i went back 8 pages.

Never scrimp on shore excursions when you're visiting someplace special ... someplace you may never get back to. When I did my Hawaii/South Pacific cruise earlier this year, I spent a good $1,500 to $2,000 on various excursions ... some HAL, some independent. I NEVER spend that kind of money on shore excursions normally ... nowhere even close. But this was a special trip ... a dream trip of a lifetime ... and one that's not likely to be repeated anytime in the near future ... if ever. So, I bit the bullet, so to speak, and did absolutely anything that caught my fancy ... including tandem skydiving on the North Shore of Oahu (trust me, NOT a HAL excursion) ... :)

 

I also must have spent about $500 on photo processing ... I know I should go digital, but I LIKE prints of my pictures ... and now I have about six photo albums full of them. On a normal cruise, I'm lucky to get through one or two rolls of film, if that.

 

So ... enjoy your trip ... and savor it for all it's worth.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[Mary Ellen]

Karyn -

 

For shore excursions it would be helpful to check HALs web site. To get an idea look at one of the Grand World Voyages and their excursions, prices are listed.

 

This will only give you an idea as to the type of tours available, as your potential ports are unknown.

 

Adding the link to Ides of March's Prinsendam 2006 Circle of the Sun, About to begin...

[SDHALFAN]

I realise that this is an aside and off topic and I apologise beforehand, but it's directed to Rita (Kryos): Do yourself a favor and go Digital. I did, just last year, and along with my camera I bought a Printer Dock. Now I can print out my own photographs to my heart's content - I can make one copy or 20 copies if I choose. Another great feature about a Digital camera is that you can review all the shots you have taken and delete those that are just awful (believe me, I delete a lot:D ).

 

I still continue to amaze my daughter in that I am slowly, but surely, being enticed into the 21st Century and I am no longer complaining too loudly.

 

Okay, just to keep it ever so slightly on topic - I will be taking my Digital camera with me on two segments of the Amsterdam's GWV next January. I will be taking a lot of photographs, and more than likely deleting a lot of them also, then those I like I will print out and put in albums or send to friends.

 

Valerie:D

[cruisePRN]

That was a fabulous journal, thanks for the link mary ellen.

 

Question to grumpy and ides.........since it was a long cruise with so many ports did the places start to run together. I'm wondering If i would be able to absorb more in three one month cruises VS doing all three months at once. I'd appreciate a little feedback.

Thanks Karyn

[Grumpy1]

That was a fabulous journal, thanks for the link mary ellen.

 

Question to grumpy and ides.........since it was a long cruise with so many ports did the places start to run together. I'm wondering If i would be able to absorb more in three one month cruises VS doing all three months at once. I'd appreciate a little feedback.

Thanks Karyn

That would be difficult for me to answer. My longest cruise prior to the World Cruise was a 10 night Mediterannean cruise. I have distinct memories of almost every port, but sometimes have to think a bit to tie a particular experience to the proper port, but that's true on shorter cruises, too.

 

Have you read my journal? The link is in my signature.

[Slinkiecat]

I can't add more than Grumpy has, but please click on our photos link too, as I have to from time to time to jog my memory about which island we saw what on. Most ports were wonderful in their own way, some would stand out as something we had to experience again and see more in depth, and a few were not something I would pay to see again. I think Australia would be one continent one could spend months on without feeling he had seen it all. With the big cities on the East Coast and smaller ones we visited on the West Coast, there is much between them unseen.

 

We had planned to connect with friends in Sydney and that had to be canceled due to a family emergency for them, but we did meet one in Melbourne and had a fantastic tour of the city. Thanks again to Jennie (Aussiegal) for that personal view of Melbourne.

 

 

Some of the islands we visited I get confused as to which ones we loved and which were less impressive. A lot had to do on what day we visited, as some were on holiday when we arrived and virtually everything was shut down, and others went all out to show us a great time when we hadn't even been scheduled to stop there but agreed to take us on a Sunday when the previous day's port had been canceled for political reasons. A few people objected because they really wanted to stop at this island instead of that, but for someone who has never seen any of them, it didn't matter. All was new and different, and each port had its own identity at the time.

 

Now, a year after we ended the world cruise, I still can look at photos taken in different ports and they bring back memories, and each time I wear a piece of jewelry bought in a port I recall the whole day when we bought it. A piece of clothing bought in a port in South Africa is a favorite of mine, and when I wear it I remember how we saw it in a display in a huge crafts center and searched for a long time to find the booth to buy it.

 

The little souvenirs don't bring back quite the same memories, even the dodo in a case to remind us of Mauritius, the bobble-head critters from the Amazon port, a few elephants, giraffes and other carved souvenirs that we chose carefully to commemorate one port or another. I think the best reminders of any port are the photos of yourselves in interesting sites, along with detailed notes of where you went and what you bought at each port.

 

Slinkie

[kryos]

I realise that this is an aside and off topic and I apologise beforehand, but it's directed to Rita (Kryos): Do yourself a favor and go Digital.

Oh, I plan to ... despite the fact that I really don't want to. The day is going to come ... and not too far in the future ... where you simply can't get film for standard cameras anymore. Plus the developing fluids used in standard photo developing are not very environment friendly ... so I would imagine eventually you won't be able to get photos developed that way anymore. And, I guess, there just won't be much of a demand for film and film processing anymore ... just about everyone, including your grandma, is using digital these days. :)

 

So, I broke down and bought a small digital camera and plan to use it on my European cruise next year. I'll practice with it on my cruise this coming October ... maybe take some photos as we go through the Panama Canal. Guess I'll wind up getting a photo printer as well.

 

You're right ... a lot of the photos don't come out very well and I guess for that reason digital just makes more sense.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[kryos]

I can't add more than Grumpy has, but please click on our photos link too, as I have to from time to time to jog my memory about which island we saw what on.

Just as an aside, Slinkie ... do you and Grumpy anticipate doing the World Cruise again sometime? I so enjoyed your journal and it certainly seems like you two had a great time. So, I was just wondering if you were planning (or hoping) to do it again sometime?

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[Ides of March]

Kyros:

 

I found the World Voyage to be a bit of information overload.You do so much in such a compressed time frame that my feeble mind couldnt retain it all and keep it in order but thats not to say it wasn't wonderful or worthwhile. Near the end of the Circle HAL ran an event where the pax had to name all the ports in order and only one or two could do it.

 

The best way to record it for posterity and get to enjoy it time after time is with digital photos and a blog. Photos are great but as I look at the 2000 or so pics I took on a Med cruise on X that Grux and I did in september to warm up for the big one, I wonder sometimes what Im looking at because there is no narrative to explain. I took 10,000 or so on the Circle and am now involved in the tedious task of whittling them down to a viewable number for friends. Even so when I come to a port like Cormoros I can't remember it at all until I view the pix and then I know why.

 

Get the biggest chip possible but even then you will have to dump the camera to a computer or a CD frequently. On X I didn't bring my computer but they had a service where you could download to the ships's server and when you had enuf to fill a CD they would burn it for you. Expensive but worth it as they kept your photos on file for a year so if the CD was lost or damaged you could recover your memories. I don't know if HAL has a similar service but I presume they do. On HAL I would transfer daily to my computer from my 512 meg chip that I would frequently fill as I took a lot of videos. I wish it had been a gig or more as I cut many videos short because of space and missed the best parts often. Grux would then select the ones she wanted for her blog and decompress them so they could be posted in a reasonable time. We also had a 1 gig memory stick and if we had great pix of friends, we would put them on the stick so they could transfer to their computers and vice versa. Worked great.

 

I worked hard on my blog as did Grux on hers and it was primarily to keep my Mom and family current with our doings. I decided to share it publicly as I had so enjoyed Grumpy and Slinkie's the year before and decided to reciprocate. Now I realize how valuable it is as I can reboard the Good Ship Lollipop at will. I have been asked to write a short piece for a community newspaper and used the printout as a reference source particularly for spellings. Invaluable and worth every second of effort.

 

Our ultimate work product will be a power point presentation with captions, videos with sound and pictures. We will be able to relive the violent tangos of BA, the sleigh ride in Madeira and the croaking elephant seals of South Georgia pushing only one button to start. Too bad they don't have smells in powerpoint.

 

You will be expending serious coin on a World Cruise so my advice is to maximize the return even though it can be arduous.

 

Ides

[RuthC]

Too bad they don't have smells in powerpoint.

Maybe it's better that they don't. I well remember the scent some sea lions, seals, and penguins gave off. :eek: