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Anyone interested in planning from the ground up for 2021?


BermudaBound2014
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Hi I am interested in joining this thread as I am planning a world cruise for my 60th in 2021 too. I am from Australia but we are prepared to start and finish anywhere. My husband hates too much fuss but I am a planner and organiser.

1) Does anyone know if there are any benefits from beginning in a certain place?

2) would it be better to travel half way with one cruise line and do the other side with another to get all the ports you want?

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2) would it be better to travel half way with one cruise line and do the other side with another to get all the ports you want?

Are you saying take a segment(s) of a world cruise on one line and then do another segment(s) on another line? Back to back? If so, that might be difficult to arrange from a logistics standpoint. Do you have an example of what you're talking about?

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Hi I am interested in joining this thread as I am planning a world cruise for my 60th in 2021 too. I am from Australia but we are prepared to start and finish anywhere. My husband hates too much fuss but I am a planner and organiser.

1) Does anyone know if there are any benefits from beginning in a certain place?

2) would it be better to travel half way with one cruise line and do the other side with another to get all the ports you want?

 

If you want to do what is equivalent to an entire World Cruise I would do this on one full world cruise rather then two as pricing would likely be better and there will be a lot more perks.

 

As to segments of a world cruise people do this often and some will take one or a few segments or even do it on two different ships as you mentioned.

 

Keith

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Oste, we did our 2011 WC on the three queens, Queen Victoria to New York, Queen Elizabeth to Sydney and then back to Southhampton on the Queen Mary , it was fantastic and the transfers were painless.

On our WC in 2013 we were on Pand O and a lot of people changed ships in Sydney and Singapore.

We would love to do cunard again perhaps 2020.

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  • 2 weeks later...

For some reason, I'm not getting notified when this thread has new postings :(. Anyone have an idea how to fix that?

 

I've been spreadsheeting prices like a mad woman. I'm tracking 2019 and 2020 right now so that I can attempt to identify the sweet spot for booking in 2021. So far, not much changing in prices at all. Even the last minute pries for 2018 weren't skewed that much.

 

I've also been reading some world cruise blogs. Gets me so excited!! Does anyone have favorite blogs they would care to share?

 

Thanks again for all those along the ride :)

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Discussions I participate in are under the Participated tab. But I don’t get a notice.

I am VERY intrigued by your spreadsheet. We are looking at 2021 as well and know we can only afford an interior. Princess, Cunard and MSC are on our short list and I have been watching their 2019 and 2020 listings and prices. And we also want to be on top of the timing windows for booking and best prices. Share what you can when you can, please!

 

 

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We are looking at 2021 as well and know we can only afford an interior. Princess, Cunard and MSC are on our short list and I have been watching their 2019 and 2020 listings and prices. And we also want to be on top of the timing windows for booking and best prices. Share what you can when you can

Although some cruiseline base cruise fares looks much cheaper than others, think of the "extras" that you might want/need for a 100+ day cruise.....internet, laundry, medical care, drinks (alcoholic & non-alcoholic), airfare, precruise hotel, gratuities, etc. Some lines include those things and more. There are at least 10 lines that do world cruises....compare them.

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Even though I’m only considering Oceania again for our next RTW, I did a quick check across some of the other cruise lines for number of days at sea / percentage of those against the total number of days / number of new ports vs those I’ve been to and a percentage of those against total number of days, etc. May not be information that everyone is interested in, but I like to add this to my comparatives.

 

Sea days ... I’m just going to come out and say it. They are necessary. Seems obvious that they are, but I’ve heard so many complaints from fellow-cruisers about why there have to be so many on a RTW. If you are crossing a world made up mostly by water, they are unavoidable. Some cruise lines, however, do a better job of juggling the itinerary to minimize them where possible. So, if this is important to you, make sure you consider that in your comparisons. Personally, I love days at sea and don’t consider them wasted money as some do ... other than being necessary, they are an opportunity to rest, think about and digest what I’ve seen and experienced, and prepare for the next series of experiences. But I want a happy balance between them and ports these days ... especially when spending the amounts necessary to go around the world. Just some food for thought.

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Even though I’m only considering Oceania again for our next RTW, I did a quick check across some of the other cruise lines for number of days at sea / percentage of those against the total number of days / number of new ports vs those I’ve been to and a percentage of those against total number of days, etc. May not be information that everyone is interested in, but I like to add this to my comparatives.

 

Sea days ... I’m just going to come out and say it. They are necessary. Seems obvious that they are, but I’ve heard so many complaints from fellow-cruisers about why there have to be so many on a RTW. If you are crossing a world made up mostly by water, they are unavoidable. Some cruise lines, however, do a better job of juggling the itinerary to minimize them where possible. So, if this is important to you, make sure you consider that in your comparisons. Personally, I love days at sea and don’t consider them wasted money as some do ... other than being necessary, they are an opportunity to rest, think about and digest what I’ve seen and experienced, and prepare for the next series of experiences. But I want a happy balance between them and ports these days ... especially when spending the amounts necessary to go around the world. Just some food for thought.

We made this a consideration too. We LOVE sea days! But we didn't want them to be the majority of days. In addition to other factors, we liked Oceania's 60% port days to 40% sea days on the RTW 2019 cruise.

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For some reason, I'm not getting notified when this thread has new postings :(. Anyone have an idea how to fix that?

 

I've been spreadsheeting prices like a mad woman. I'm tracking 2019 and 2020 right now so that I can attempt to identify the sweet spot for booking in 2021. So far, not much changing in prices at all. Even the last minute pries for 2018 weren't skewed that much.

 

I've also been reading some world cruise blogs. Gets me so excited!! Does anyone have favorite blogs they would care to share?

 

Thanks again for all those along the ride :)

 

Towards the top right hand side click on thread tools to be sure you are subscribed.

 

Also check spam folder on your e mail box.

 

Keith

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It's not just the number of sea versus port days it is what is offered on those sea days in the way of activities and entertainment.

 

Also it's not just the number of ports and not only which ports but how much time you have and if there are any overnights in places you desire.

 

Keith

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It's not just the number of sea versus port days it is what is offered on those sea days in the way of activities and entertainment.

 

Also it's not just the number of ports and not only which ports but how much time you have and if there are any overnights in places you desire.

 

Keith

 

Agreed on both counts. The overnights we really enjoyed, and are looking forward to having 15 of them again on the 2020 RTW on Oceania, which we just deposited on.

 

The sea day activities, for me at least, are not very important. I enjoy the lectures and do socialize with fellow guests to some degree, but hubby and are both self-sufficient in that we don’t look for a whole lot of activities. Being an introvert, the sea days are my time to chill and recharge my batteries. On the other hand, for those who like to participate in activities, that would be an important consideration. I’ve seen activities ranging from chorus to crafts to book clubs to bridge lessons to art classes ... at least on Oceania ... they were all well-attended.

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It's not just the number of sea versus port days it is what is offered on those sea days in the way of activities and entertainment.

 

Also it's not just the number of ports and not only which ports but how much time you have and if there are any overnights in places you desire.

I agree. I think my upcoming cruise will fill the bill in all those respects. Can't wait to get on the ship! :hearteyes:

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Agreed on both counts. The overnights we really enjoyed, and are looking forward to having 15 of them again on the 2020 RTW on Oceania, which we just deposited on.

 

The sea day activities, for me at least, are not very important. I enjoy the lectures and do socialize with fellow guests to some degree, but hubby and are both self-sufficient in that we don’t look for a whole lot of activities. Being an introvert, the sea days are my time to chill and recharge my batteries. On the other hand, for those who like to participate in activities, that would be an important consideration. I’ve seen activities ranging from chorus to crafts to book clubs to bridge lessons to art classes ... at least on Oceania ... they were all well-attended.

Agree with you too! :D

 

I love to knit, so will join the crafters group and Artist's Loft. And I want to learn Bridge, so will be taking lessons. Plan to exercise every sea day morning too. But mostly I love sea days to relax and recharge....need that as much as touring.

 

We'll have 14 overnights to make touring less stressful. I'm happy with our itinerary.

 

H2so4, glad you got booked on RTW 2020!!

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  • 3 weeks later...

I’ll be following along, BermudaBound2014! I appreciate your planning so far. I hadn’t thought about adding drink packages into my “added expenses” list.

 

Like BassettMom and R_Judy, I’m looking farther out for our cruise. We’ll probably book in 2025, sail in 2027, but hoping for sooner. I’ve started notes on things we need to take care of, additional costs, etc… I’m off to start looking at over the (20+!) websites that were mentioned in other ATW posts, including Scrapnana’s (http://kathisworldvoyage.blogspot.com, https://2018halgwv.blogspot.com) and h2so4’s (http://2totravelrtw180.blogspot.com) ATW blogs.

Also, these short Cruise Critic articles were a good place for me to start my research:

 

 

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Hello fellow cruisers ,

We have booked the 2020 Queen Mary 2 round the world 99 days ,

I am beyond excited , we have done two other world 2011 and 2013 , on Cunard aNd P and O .

I'm already packing in my mind.

Lots and lots of time to prepare.

QM2 is my favourite ship and I love the lectures and activities on board.

We are traveling east to west so lots of new places to visit.

We booked early as we really wanted an inside cabin and they sell out first , pleased with where we are.

We will be diamond on this cruise so I'll have lots of Internet time.

Drinks are expensive on board but there are lots of party nights so we I'll not miss anything.

Sooooooooo Excitedddddddd

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We have done two world cruises , both booked well in advance , there is a lot of planning , if you are visiting India visa s are a nightmare China as well......

 

Good News for US Passport Holders and these two countries. Some good changes have happen. China now offers a ten year multi entry visa t the same price s the single entry so the pain is only one time. And India now has opened the port to the e visa program, which must it much easier to get a visa.

 

Still a World cruise is lots of planning time and effort but two visas become less painful.

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Hello fellow cruisers ,

We have booked the 2020 Queen Mary 2 round the world 99 days ,

I am beyond excited , we have done two other world 2011 and 2013 , on Cunard aNd P and O .

I'm already packing in my mind.

Lots and lots of time to prepare.

QM2 is my favourite ship and I love the lectures and activities on board.

We are traveling east to west so lots of new places to visit.

We booked early as we really wanted an inside cabin and they sell out first , pleased with where we are.

We will be diamond on this cruise so I'll have lots of Internet time.

Drinks are expensive on board but there are lots of party nights so we I'll not miss anything.

Sooooooooo Excitedddddddd

 

Congratulations on booking a World Cruise.

 

It is very exciting.

 

Keith

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Good News for US Passport Holders and these two countries. Some good changes have happen. China now offers a ten year multi entry visa t the same price s the single entry so the pain is only one time. And India now has opened the port to the e visa program, which must it much easier to get a visa.

 

Still a World cruise is lots of planning time and effort but two visas become less painful.

 

Thanks for letting us know.

 

Keith

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  • 3 weeks later...

I’m subscribing. Im interested in this planning journey. I’m looking for post retirement but unfortunately am needing to delay till age 70 so earliest is 1/1/21. Although I think 2022 might give me the time I need to prepare.

I think I’d prefer an eastbound from the US east coast, but those seem to be rare. I’d like to do the Cape and the Suez. I’d rather see a few ports in Japan, China and Korea vs French Polynesia. I want Aus and NZ. Don’t mind skipping the Caribbean but would love to do some of SA and the Horn. Mustn’t overlook those penguins in Antarctica. I know I won’t get it all but I can dream.

As a solo traveler I think Im leaning towards Cunard with their single stateroom option.

The thought of paying a 100% supplement gives me anxiety.

If I could find a like minded solo traveler I’d be willing to share accommodations. Well I would think about it, anyway.

 

Looking forward to “talking “ with y’all during this journey. I’m busy reading all the WC blogs I can find right now.

 

 

 

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