Best world cruise 2017

We are planning another world cruise in 2017. We did the Princess World cruise in 2012 and loved it. We would happily use Princess again but the itinerary is just too similar. We are looking at Cunard's Queen Elizabeth cruise or the Holland America Prinsendam cruise, but we are open to suggestions. I like smaller ships, not a big fan of formal nights, we love lectures but don't require much entertainment otherwise as we both spend most of our time writing, editing pictures or just reading on the the balcony. Good food and good service are appreciated. Anyone have some better ideas for world cruises in 2017 or guesses which of the two lines mentioned above we might like best? Thanks.

You might also want to take a look at the Oceania Insignia's world cruise leaving in January of 2017. Smaller ship, no formal nights, not a lot of entertainment - sounds like it could be a good fit.

I just found that one a few minutes ago and you are right, it does look pretty good. Thanks.

Study the ship carefully. It is one of their older ones. I am not saying that is a problem but you know from your experience on Princess that you will be on that ship for quite a long time so be sure you are comfortable with the ships amenities and public space.

I've taken several world cruises and to me the itinerary is important but so is the specific ship given the length of time of a world cruise.

Just my 2 cents.

Keith

Study the ship carefully. It is one of their older ones. I am not saying that is a problem but you know from your experience on Princess that you will be on that ship for quite a long time so be sure you are comfortable with the ships amenities and public space.

 

I've taken several world cruises and to me the itinerary is important but so is the specific ship given the length of time of a world cruise.

 

Just my 2 cents.

 

Keith

The smaller Oceania ships all underwent an upgrade in 2014

We have been on the Regatta since then and the ship is superb

The smaller Oceania ships all underwent an upgrade in 2014

We have been on the Regatta since then and the ship is superb

I am not talking about its look inside. I am talking about its size.

When one spends 100 or more days on board a single world cruise they need to carefully think through the size of the ship because size can impact what programs can be offered and what one can do during sea days. Also look carefully at the room sizes.

As I mentioned I am not putting down this ship, but I am saying that for some people it might be too small which limits the number of programs that can be offered and the number of venues available for use by the guests.

Keith

Balconey/Keith. I returned several mos. ago from 71N on Oceania Insignia. I had been on O prior and was concerned about size and rough weather. No problem. Didnt want formal dress of Queens or mediocre food I experienced on Princess. So booked O a year in advance. Could only get a guaranty at time of booking but ended up with acceptable cabin. Since early booking, received full benefits package When you include all the perks, it was a really good value..Food wonderful, many events, lecturers. I would describe it as casual elegance at its best But you need an experienced O agent. Also contact line directly.

I am not talking about its look inside. I am talking about its size.

 

When one spends 100 or more days on board a single world cruise they need to carefully think through the size of the ship because size can impact what programs can be offered and what one can do during sea days. Also look carefully at the room sizes.

 

As I mentioned I am not putting down this ship, but I am saying that for some people it might be too small which limits the number of programs that can be offered and the number of venues available for use by the guests.

 

Keith

Yep, I misunderstood your comments:)

Something that I highly recommend is a test drive.

In other worlds while some people do this, I would not recommend taking a full world cruise on a ship you have never sailed on.

Keith

I am curious, have you taken the Insignia and not liked her? If so what didn't you like. Food is important to us on a trip that long but we seldom even attend any the the entertainment offered.

I am also looking at Oceania's 90 day "Ultimate Quest". We actually like at sea days and once you get to Europe it is almost a port a day. I am not sure about that. Has anyone taken that cruise?

No, the issue is that when you spend a lot of time on a ship doing a trial run is a good idea. Some ships work for some people and not for others and a World Cruise is a lot different than say a 14 day voyage.

Keith

Okay, we did do 16 nights on a Princess ship before our World Cruise on Princess. We have never spent any time on any of Oceania's ships so that is food for thought. Thanks

I do think it's good to do a test drive, although on the line we have sailed each year there would be some world cruisers who never sailed that line. For me, I just wouldn't do that.

Keith

Balcony, Consider a trial 10 night Caribbean Oceania out of Miami this Winter. easy and you will have a good feel. Comparing Princess to O is like K Mart to NM .Been on Princess 7 times, used to be a better experience. Last on Ruby; ships getting too big for my taste .Princess Italian kitchens long gone. Oceania won best buffets. Forgot where I saw it recently. Keith does Crystal.

Balcony, if you do decide to take a test run with Oceania, it might help to know that they have 2 different classes of ship. The Insignia, along with the Regatta, Nautica, and Sirena are smaller and referred to as Regatta Class. Passenger capacity is 684. At approx. twice the gross tonnage, the Oceania Class includes the Marina and the Riviera with passenger capacity of 1,258.

I guess my concern is what a low rating Insignia had on the Cruise Critic reviews. I will say that most liked the food which is important on a cruise that long. Most of the things they didn't like, such as the shows, isn't of much interest to us .... but still to only have a 53% approval rating is a little scary. I thought maybe Oceania passengers were just picky but all the other Oceania ships, large and small, had about an 80% approval rating.. What' that about?? They did mention small rooms. I am going to look and see if they are much smaller than the Princess.

Something that I highly recommend is a test drive.

 

In other worlds while some people do this, I would not recommend taking a full world cruise on a ship you have never sailed on.

 

Keith

Good point.

I have not thought about a world cruise(yet:)) but agree we would only do it after a "test drive" on the selected ship.

Some cruise lines offer a discount for booking a cruise while onboard another cruise. You can sometimes save enough on the world cruise to more than pay for the shorter cruise. We did that last year on Crystal, and we not only got a taste of the ship we'll be on for a few months, but had a lovely cruise and and found that the concerns we'd had about the line were either unfounded or could be dealt with readily.

. I am going to look and see if they are much smaller than the Princess.

I see you were on the Ocean Princess which is the same size & layout of Insignia

In fact the Ocean Princess will soon be Oceania's Sirena

Study the ship carefully. It is one of their older ones.

Keith

Keith you keep bringing up the age of O ships

The Crystal Symphony is older & the Serenity is only a few yrs younger than the R class ships

Maybe you should give O a try then you can speak from experience

That is helpful, thanks.

We are planning another world cruise in 2017. We did the Princess World cruise in 2012 and loved it. We would happily use Princess again but the itinerary is just too similar. We are looking at Cunard's Queen Elizabeth cruise or the Holland America Prinsendam cruise, but we are open to suggestions. I like smaller ships, not a big fan of formal nights, we love lectures but don't require much entertainment otherwise as we both spend most of our time writing, editing pictures or just reading on the the balcony. Good food and good service are appreciated. Anyone have some better ideas for world cruises in 2017 or guesses which of the two lines mentioned above we might like best? Thanks.

I am sure you already know this but thought I would mention it anyway. Princess has 2 different ships doing world cruises in 2017. One is on the Sea Princess, the other is the Pacific Princess. The Pacific is one of the smaller ships that carries 680 passengers. We sailed her to the Amazon and back several years ago and love her. We were looking for Dubai, Petra and the Suez Canal. Both ships do these but otherwise the itineraries are quite different from each other.

Keith you keep bringing up the age of O ships

The Crystal Symphony is older & the Serenity is only a few yrs younger than the R class ships

Maybe you should give O a try then you can speak from experience

We love Oceania. We were on one of the smaller ships for 52 days and had no complaints. Staff very accommodating. Food in the main dining room and buffet great. Good wine list. And no formal nights! I highly recommend.

Keg1

Keith you keep bringing up the age of O ships

The Crystal Symphony is older & the Serenity is only a few yrs younger than the R class ships

Maybe you should give O a try then you can speak from experience

My World Cruise experience is quite vast and that is all I am talking about in these posts.

Having sailed on eight World Cruises my recommendation is to test drive the ship before you book a full world cruise. Why? Because if you are not happy you will be spending a lot of money and 100+ days (or in this case six months) on the ship.

I never knock any cruise lines nor any ships. Why? Because in the end the only option that matter is our very own. I have sailed on only one cruise that I didn't care for but still will never knock that line because for some people it works.

What I am saying is that it is important to do ones homework to be sure they will be happy with their choice. I did note that they are doing World Cruises on their older rather than their newer ships.

Every person is different. Some will be happy with its size and some will not.

But to me it is very wise to take a test drive before booking a world cruise.

Keith