World Cruise 2008 - 3 cruiselines comparison

First, let me say that my first posts (polls) were all deleted from Cruise Critic. I think it may be due to the fact that I posted it to many, many boards. Therefore, I will describe what I know from the 3 cruiselines we are interested in and if I'm wrong or if you have an answer to my questions, we would be glad to hear your opinion. I create the poll but I'm as much interested by the details you may had than just your pick.

About us: We both are in our thirties, we dress with good quality clothing but we don't dress up often in gowns or tux but are willing to do so on our cruise but we would also like to have some casual or informal options for nights when we just want a meal and then watch a movie or hang out by the pool (in other words, we understand that most of the ship will dress up and we won't go in the main lounges or shows but we may walk through the ship to get to the pool, promenade, sports bar).

Here are the 3 options we are looking at, all are ok for our budget, and all have a balcony:

Crystal Serenity - ''B'' Stateroom with Verandah (108 days - 57 970$)

1080 guests

269 sq. ft, including verandah (50 sq. ft ???)

Regular closet, not a walk-in (- ... will we have enough room for such a long cruise? Is there anywhere we could fit an extra foldable closet?)

Alcohol not included but softdrinks are included

Great choice of activities (+)

Dinning options:

2 seatings (- ... we don't think we would like this rigid form for a long cruise)

In-stateroom dinning, ordering from the main dinning room menu (+)

Casual pool side dinning, no reservation required (+ ... someone knows what the menu looks like: snack bar, bistro or gourmet cuisine?)

2 free speciality restaurants (+ ... is informal wear OK every night or is formal wear is expected here on formal nights?)

Sushi Bar (+ ... is informal wear OK every night or is formal wear is expected here on formal nights?)

Cunard Queen Victoria - Princess Suite with balcony - 54 704$

2000 + guests (-)

335 sq. ft, including balcony (+)

Closet, on QM2, do the Princess suites have walk-in closet, enough storage for World Cruise?

Most beverage not included (-)

Dinning options:

Single-seating Princess Grill (+)

1 speciality restaurant only, with a fee (-)

Lido (at night, I hope it is not a buffet, do they require formal attire on formal evenings)

Pub Lion: Do they serve dinner or just lunch?

Grills Terrace, do they offer dinner in casual or informal atmosphere?

In-Suite dinning (+)

Regent Seven Seas Voyager - ''H'' Suite with balcony (117 days-58 000$)

(the price is based on per-day price of 2007 World Cruise)

700 guests

356 sq ft (306 + balcony)

Shipboard gratuities included (+)

Complimentary liquor package

Walk-in Closet (+ ... from the room plan, it seems to me the closet could handle an additional small foldable closet, am I right?)

Wine included at dinner

Activities seem less diversified than other two ships (- ... am I right?)

Open seating main dinning room (+)

3 open-seating speciality restaurants (+)

I believe there is in room dining on Regent. You might also research what the additional ammenities are for world cruisers for each cruise line. I am aware that Regent does a number of things like special tours and gatherings on board ship etc. that the other lines may not do.

Do a google search for each cruise line and I think you will find a blog of two of the persons who have done the Regent world cruise.

Welcome! First let me say that I've only been on the Regent World Cruise so don't have a basis for comparison BUT I have many many friends who have been on both Regent WC as well as Crystal and HAL and they all say that Regent is far superior. Prior to booking Regent for our first WC (then it was called Radisson) the only other WC we looked into and priced was HAL and Regent won hands down.... (price, service, cabin size, and the all inclusive feature)

Personally, I would never consider Crystal because of the fixed seating. I could never live without the open seating where we eat when we want and with whom we want. I can't imagine eating with the same people for 108 days no matter how well we got along. We do find ourselves eating with the same wait staff many nights when we eat in Compass Rose (the main dining room) as we develop a strong relationship with the waitstaff. Also know that there are actually 5 dining venues each night (all without any additional fee)....La Veranda (always casual), Signatures (always informal and men need to wear a sports jacket), Latitudes which is Asian and is the same ship's dress code of the day, Compass Rose which is the main dining room. Also there is 24 hour room service and if you chose to eat dinner in your room you can have it served course by course if you chose with a bottle of wine or whatever you may desire. Also, if there is something special that you want you can order it the night before for the following night as we do this quite often. The food and service are outstanding.

Not sure what you're meaning by lack of activities?? There are more activities going on then you can imagine all day long or if you're more into the educational aspects there are world reknown speakers that rotate constantly that are experts in their fields whether it be histroy, politics, geography, sociology, oceanography, you name it and they'll be onboard sometime throughout the WC. There is always night time activities as well from guitar players, piano bars, a full show in the Theater, dancing in the disco or maybe you prefer the casino.

If you're considering the full WC, Regent really pulls out all the stops. There are numerous complimentary events included (some are for all passengers and some are only for the full World Cruisers). Several of these include overnight stays such as flying to Bangkok and staying at a top notch hotel for the night or the side trip to Cairo. These are included in your cruise fare.

I don't know what the other cruise lines you're considering offer for perks and perhaps they're similar. Regent gives the full WCers round trip first class air (or a $1,500 pp credit), the luggage pick up from your home and delivery back again after the cruise is complete (THIS IS A GREAT PERK!!) so the next time we see our luggage after today when it is picked up is in our cabin. Also they pay for all your visas when you're visiting foreign countries that require it such as Brazil or China. There is a huge gala party the night before you board the ship.....they pick you up at the airport and we go straight to the Four Seasons for the party and an overnight. The following day we are chauffered to the ship. For those who live within 50 miles they are picked up from their homes and chauffered to the hotel for the party.

Of course while on board the liquor is complimentary 24/7 (not just wine as you stated). Also the gratuities are included (This is HUGE on such a long trip). The ship has wifi through out if you want to bring a laptop. You also receive numerous gifts, one big one before you sail (this year we received a beautiful brass nautical clock that looks like a port hole) and what they call pillow gifts along the way (things like jackets, clothing that may fit the part of the world you're visiting, or many other gifts).

Every cabin is a suite with a walk in closet. I do not think there is room within the closet for another closet but I don't think you would need it. The bathrooms are very spacious with both a tub and a separate shower. Every cabin has a balcony. There is no reason to upgrade to a larger suite, we take the standard and are more than happy there for 4 months.

I'm happy to answer any specific questions you may have and can recommend the best top notch TA for booking the WC. Feel free to email me if you have any specific questions: marciematassa@roadrunner.com. If you decide on Regent I'd strongly suggest you take a short mini Regent cruise first so you can become a past passenger and receive the Seven Seas Society savings which is big when you're looking at the full WC.

This will be our 2nd WC, we leave on Monday.

I will try to help some, but I have not cruised on the other 2 lines at all much less a WC on either of them. Only done RSSC's Voyager. First, the price for 2008 is about $6-10K more than the figure you have there for 2007 assuming that you are a new RSSC cruiser. Second, if you want to book this cruise you need to be in touch with a TA right now! Third, you do not want a H cabin on Voyager, that low and aft you will have some wicked vibrartion and 4 months is LONG time on a ship in any event. Also, very unlikely that you will be able to get a Cat. G even booking right now. We booked our 2006 WC in January 2005 on day one of open booking and couldn't get a Cat. G. You are probably looking at a Cat. F as your lowest category option. We were in F, cabin #748 last year and it was fine, minimal vibrations in the center of the ship with no lifeboats directly below. Fourth, the walk-in closet is adequate and one person can actually dress in there, but there is no room to install anything else in there. (Except a door-hanging shoe bag which is pretty much essential with the 2 levels of clothing rods, there is nowhere on the floor for shoes.) Fifth, I don't know what you what from shipboard activities but we found there was plenty going on, much more than you could possibly do in a day. Sixth, restaurants and dress. RSSC is probably the most casual of the 3 lines. You can always order room service from the Compass Rose restaurant menu during dinner in addition to the room service menu. LaVeranda is casual every night at dinner. The salad, and appetizers and desserts are served from the buffet and the rest of the meal is ordered and served at the table. It is a good choice regardless of how you choose to dress. We had some excellent meals up there and enjoyed them just as much as many at Compass Rose. We never ate in Signatures, but it is always Informal dress required. Latitudes is the evening's posted dress code as is Compass Rose. You can certainly avoid dressing up for Informal and Formal nights for dinner, I believe though, that the dress code for the evening does apply to all the bars onboard though. On the subject of formal dress, you will find that many wear tuxes and evening gowns, but you would not be out of place or uncomfortable on Voyager in a dark suit with tie and long skirt/dressy top or dressy pantsuit. Last year during our 4-month WC, we had 22 formal nights, so that is only one night per week or so that you would face the decision of REALLY dressing up or not. Seventh, is that RSSC will include all beverages like bottled water, soft drinks, alcohol, wine, etc. excluding 'premium brands' which is a category in constant flux, but you should not ever find yourself signing for any drink during your WC. We did post an online journal while we were on Voyager from Dec. 27, 2005 to April 28, 2006. You can find it at

http://journals.aol.com/dfriia/WestwardWorldCircumnavigation200/

This link brings up the last entry. To start at the beginning of the journal, click View Archives, then click First Entry in this Journal, after that you can page through by clicking for the next entry on the upper or lower right hand side.

There is a guy named Larry posting on this board that has a link to his 2007 WC posted. You might find that interesting reading as he goes along also.

You don't say if you have ever cruised before, but I would advise that you take a short cruise first on any line that you are planning to take a WC on just to get a feel for whether you are comfortable with it or not. Also, a short cruise will more than pay for itself in past passenger and onboard booking discounts on the WC later. If you have any other questions, I will be happy to try to answer them. Good luck with your decision and have a great WC next year!

Debbie

Sorry, duplicate post!

Thank you very much for your help!

I also found a Daily Program from the Seven Seas Voyager. It's not one from a WC but I see that there is many activities (more than I expected from the website. I love the fact that they have so many fitness classes in one day. I always like to attend 1 or 2 fitness class + do my own workout on sea days, since I don't go to the gym on Port Days). There is only 1 lecture that is listed and I didn't like the topic but I guess one lecture a day is enough, when interesting. The Program says that one needs reservation for the 2 speciality restaurant but the website states they are all open-seating, do you know which one is true for on a WC? At least La Verandah seems to be open seating and casual all the time, and that will suffice for us when we don't feel like to dress up.

I which I could be on the 2007 WC, it's coming ***very soon***. To all of 2007 WC guests, I wish you the time of your life!

Don't know about Cunard and Crystal, because we've not cruised them. We wouldn't simply because of the fixed seating dining, as Marcie said. There's one other major thing to consider. We don't do the entire WC, but only do one or two segments for @ 25-30 days. As an example, we're on the first leg of the upcoming WC aboard Voyager(25 days). We booked when it first opened in Oct 2005. By doing so we saved a total of over $19,000 off the listed price for Cat E. Don't believe Crystal or Cunard do that. I have many times compared comparable cruises and staterooms between Regent and Cunard(QM2), as well as Regent and Crystal. When all is said and done, Regent wins hands down!

2nd try! Am I the only one having a problem posting here?

Signatures and Latitudes are always reservations only. That being said, many nights we did not like the menus at Compass Rose or LaVeranda and stopped by Latitudes as it was opening to see if they could seat us without a reservation and frequently they could. On the 2006 WC, Signatures always served Cordon Bleu French, but Latitudes served everything from their normal Asian Fusion to TGIFridays and many local cuisines as we traveled. Also, there were a lot nights of dinners served up on the pool deck as we sailed in warmer climes. Sometimes these were ship wide events, but there were many nights that they just served the first 30 people to show up with some kind of barbeque cooked on deck. We never dined at one of these but they all seemed to be casual. You will be surprised how quickly a year will go and suddenly you will find yourselves packing and boarding your own World Cruise.

Debbie