World Voyage

[Rainbowdayz]

My husband and I are considering booking the World Cruise on the Amsterdam in January of 2008. Our longest cruise to date has been 18 days. The idea of a 114 day cruise raises all kinds of questions in our minds on how to prepare. Has anyone taken this cruise or any world cruise? I suppose one would pack for a 30 day cruise and use the laundry and dry cleaning facilites? What about medication? We can only get 90 supplies. We pay our bills on the internet but we've always stayed away from the internet cafes due to the high fees. However, I would see no way around it on such a long cruise. I did send an email on one cruise and the one time fee was ridiculous because the service was so slow. What would an unlimited usage fee cost? If I remember, such a fee on a 7 day cruise exceeds $100. I would appreciate any and all comments and info.

[SDHALFAN]

If you go to the Roll Call board you will find a ton of information under "Amsterdam" for the 2007 GWV. There is also a thread already started for the 2008 GWV.

 

Lots of information on everything from packing to filing taxes, to shore excursions, etc.

 

Valerie:)

[arzz]

We have not done and are not planning a world cruise but we are going to be 24 days on the Prinsendam next month, all in all away from home for about 35 days. There are several regular posters on line that will hopefully address some of these issues for you. But we are having to address some of your issues already for our upcoming cruise.

 

We have set up most of our bills to automatically debit our checking account (utilities, mortgage, etc), others debit a credit card. Before we leave we intend to prepay our credit cards an amount of money that we do not feel that we will exceed while away so that we will have no credit card fees when we return. Credit cards, however, would probably need to be dealt with differently on a 114 day cruise. It is my understanding that HAL will debit your credit card at the end of each segment. And, of course, there will be all those other credit card debits that you may incur while touring, feeding and shopping in port. We also intend to carry some of those antiquated forms on currency called traveler's checks. Though we have an ATM card that should work in port we still remember with horror that trip to Europe that we took a few years back when inexplicably our ATM card would not work anywhere! Luckily we had plastic and travelers checks as a backup or it could have been a pretty lean and hungry few weeks.

 

It is my understanding that those who do the full world cruise (at least this year) get to take complimentary advantage of a luggage service that will deliver suitcases directly from your home to the ship and vice-versa so that you would not have trouble with the airlines if you were to take a bit more with you than you would on an ordinary cruise. In our case we are meeting the ship in Peru and leaving in Argentina and thus must transport our own bags. We will depend upon the laundry and dry cleaning services on board -- we will commit repetition of clothing. Our biggest challenge is to be prepared for the temperature variances that we will experience as we go from the tropics to Antarctica and back -- and still fit what we bring into two suitcases per person that each weigh less than 50 lb. and meet airline size requirements.

 

On the Grand Cruises like the world cruise another perk is that HAL sells packages for things like the internet, laundry and dry cleaning at a lower cost proportionately than you might expereince on a 7 day cruise. We purchased in advance -- I believe something like 500 or 550 minutes of internet for $125. We travel with our own laptop so that e-mails can be composed off line so that even with the very slow internet services available on board we can minimize our use of minutes.

 

I might be reluctant to do banking and bill paying over wi-fi on public computers in an internet cafe -- too many ways for the dishonest to invade the wi-fi or install soft ware to record every key press that you make to capture your passwords, account #'s etc.

 

We are using a house/cat sitter who will mail certain bills for us (that we will have prepared in advance) while we are gone on designated dates. I suspect that you could always pre-write some checks to, say, your credit cards and have them mailed in on certain dates while you were gone. If you keep track of what you charge, you could e-mail someone at home to drop a particular envelope into the mail when you request to stay ahead of the bills without having to withdraw the money way in advance.

 

I am sure that there are probably many better suggestions out there.

[kryos]

My husband and I are considering booking the World Cruise on the Amsterdam in January of 2008. Our longest cruise to date has been 18 days.

You are so lucky to even be in a position to consider something like this. I say all of the minor preparation details can easily be handled and are nothing to worry about.

 

I can't see any insurmountable problems with a cruise of 114 days in length. It would just be more glorious days at sea, and many more wonderful ports, than I am used to.

 

I say go for it. You'll be glad you did. For me, unfortunately, 30 to 35 days is about my max since I still work. I actually looked at the 2008 Grand World Voyage brochure and would have loved to book the first segment of that voyage ... Pearls of the Pacific ... 37 days. But the flight home from Australia would kill me, so I booked the 2008 30-day Hawaii/South Pacific Explorer instead.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[Rainbowdayz]

Thanks for all the wonderful responses and info. And yes Kyros, I consider us very lucky. This is a once in a lifetime experience for us. I have been able to travel the world with friends and family because my DH, who is terrified of flying, insisted I go without him. This cruise would enable us to see so many of places I've been before him. He's been so generous over the years in encouraging me to see as much as possible, it would be wonderful to share those experiences with him for the first time!

[bepsf]

I would encourage you to look up Grumpy & Slinkie's thread regarding their 2005 World Cruise aboard Prinsendam. They were also somewhat "novices" in the realm of extended cruising prior to their departure and he went into great detail regarding the pre-cruise preparations and planning necessary to make it a wonderful trip.

I hope you go and have the times of your lives!

:)

[Paul123]

Thanks for all the wonderful responses and info. And yes Kyros, I consider us very lucky. This is a once in a lifetime experience for us. I have been able to travel the world with friends and family because my DH, who is terrified of flying, insisted I go without him. This cruise would enable us to see so many of places I've been before him. He's been so generous over the years in encouraging me to see as much as possible, it would be wonderful to share those experiences with him for the first time!

 

I am booked for the GWV on the Amsterdam leaving in less than a month. Most of what has been posted here is quite correct. If you do decide to go book early for two reasons (1) it sells out very quickly and (2) cabin choice becomes more and more limited. Make sure you get a good TA and as a matter of interested nearly 400 of us have all individually booked through the same cruise specialist for this one. This must say something about them. They are fantastic and I urge you to ask them for details of their remarkable package before you go any further. If you need to know how to get hold of them them I can e-mail you details as not allowed to post this information on CC threads. Good luck and as someone else said....GO FOR IT.

[Grumpy1]

Brian, thank's for the plug for my thread.:D The link is in my signature. Our longest cruise, prior to the 2005 World Cruise, was a 10 day Western Mediterannean, so it was quite a leap to 113 days.

 

The main thing for handling finances is to plan ahead and ask yourself all sorts of "what if" questions and figure out the answers. Like "what if my credit card gets declined halh way around the world?" Answer: before you leave, call that number on the back of the card and talk to someone in the security dept. Tell them where you will be going and get an address or a fax number where you can send the itinerary. They are a lot less likely to put a hold on your card if they expect you to possibly be using the card in Bora Bora on a specific date. I carried two Visa cards, a Discover cqrd, and two bank debit cards. They stayed in the safe except for the two Visa cards and one debit card. I like to carry two Visa cards just in case one is denied. The debit card gets me local currency in each port. I do almost all of my banking online and check my accounts via the internet every few days. I use my laptop with a wireless connection so I don't worry about leaving tracks on public computers.

 

Pay particular attention to the few bills that you don't pay every month and that you normally pay by check. Insurance bills, condo fees, etc are ones that might apply. If you can, prepay. If not, work out something. A little creatiity will solve any problem, but you first have to identify the items that will be a problem.

 

OK, you've got over a year to get ready. We had about six months. You CAN do it. And you won't regret it, I'm certain.

[kryos]

It is my understanding that those who do the full world cruise (at least this year) get to take complimentary advantage of a luggage service that will deliver suitcases directly from your home to the ship and vice-versa so that you would not have trouble with the airlines if you were to take a bit more with you than you would on an ordinary cruise.

Sadly, though, that perk is only for people staying in, I believe, a category C cabin or above. If you're in a luxury suite or the penthouse, your baggage allowance is unlimited. If you are in other accommodations, it is limited to 100 pounds.

 

Anything below a category C (inside cabin, etc.), the shipping service is not free. I have no idea what the cost would run, though.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[Misery (Missouri) Man]

My husband and I are considering booking the World Cruise on the Amsterdam in January of 2008. Our longest cruise to date has been 18 days. The idea of a 114 day cruise raises all kinds of questions in our minds on how to prepare. Has anyone taken this cruise or any world cruise? I suppose one would pack for a 30 day cruise and use the laundry and dry cleaning facilites? What about medication? We can only get 90 supplies. We pay our bills on the internet but we've always stayed away from the internet cafes due to the high fees. However, I would see no way around it on such a long cruise. I did send an email on one cruise and the one time fee was ridiculous because the service was so slow. What would an unlimited usage fee cost? If I remember, such a fee on a 7 day cruise exceeds $100. I would appreciate any and all comments and info.

Don't spending too much more time "considering"! For example, it's my understanding that suites and balconies for the 2008 RTW cruise have been sold out for some time. On the other hand, because it is in fact over a year away, cancellations often do occur for a multitude of reasons. I'd suggest getting a deposit down ASAP while you finish considering.

 

There are at least two cruisers booked on both the 2007 and 2008 Round-the-World cruises (Blue Whale and Itravel2much). I'm looking forward to getting info, tips, and comments from them upon their return from their 2007 cruise in order to help me finish planning for 2008.

 

Finally, if you read the 30 pages of the 2007 RTW Cruise thread, as well as other threads, you'll notice frequent oblique references to the "Seattle people" or the "Seattle firm". Cruise Critic rules prohibit mentioning a travel agent by name, so if you want the background for all the references, feel free to email me directly at rlswatek@sbcglobal.net.

 

Hope to see you in January '08!