Considering O for world cruise...but

[PeteBull64]

Hello all,

 

My wife and I are planning a world cruise for Jan 2017.

Unfortunately my budget does have a limit. O seems so attractive and we could afford a long segment (12x days ) or so but that would stretch the budget very thin.

 

Considering almost everything is included ( we dont drink but a glass of wine when dining ) its feasable but of course I cant think of all possible 'fees'.

 

So my question 1 is for the experienced cruisers : what would you suggest between O and a strech budget that would limit our capacity to spend on shorex or other expenses or instead go cheaper like Princess or Amsterdam and have more money in our pockets to spend.

 

question 2 : we are a little worried about day time entertainment on O. Whats your point of view on that ?

 

Thank you so much

 

P

[LAexNY]

1. Liquor is not included. For those of us who are addicted to

O, there's nothing better.

 

2. There is virtually no daytime entertainment. And the evening entertainment is not very good either, IMO. We sail on O for the first-rate food, wonderful staff and the itineraries. The ships are very tastefully decorated and are not mega-ship size.

[hypercafe]

Having sailed on O I find the thing's that are not included to be very pricey. I would op to have more money in my pocket especially for a world cruise where I would be going to lots of different ports. I have only sailed on the large ships, that said there was some things going on during the day and evening but it is very laid back compared to the mass market lines.

Edited April 8, 2014 by hypercafe

[JimandStan]

Hello all,

 

My wife and I are planning a world cruise for Jan 2017.

Unfortunately my budget does have a limit. O seems so attractive and we could afford a long segment (12x days ) or so but that would stretch the budget very thin.

 

Considering almost everything is included ( we dont drink but a glass of wine when dining ) its feasable but of course I cant think of all possible 'fees'.

 

So my question 1 is for the experienced cruisers : what would you suggest between O and a strech budget that would limit our capacity to spend on shorex or other expenses or instead go cheaper like Princess or Amsterdam and have more money in our pockets to spend.

 

question 2 : we are a little worried about day time entertainment on O. Whats your point of view on that ?

 

Thank you so much

 

P

 

I must begin my answer by pointing out that Oceania is fairly new to the World Cruise game, and their first such voyage has not sailed yet, so there are not yet any "experienced" Oceania World Cruisers.

 

That said, the Line seems to have given a great deal of thought to the planning of their World Voyages, and they have stepped up the planned activities and entertainments significantly. Of course, the same would probably be true on the Amsterdam, as most companies "put on the dog" for these long, luxurious cruises.

 

In short, I would say that where Oceania beats Holland America is not necessarily in the features which are included, but in the overall quality of their product. The food, for example, is light years better on Oceania.

 

Keep in mind, that there will certainly be some things which others consider a mark of quality, which will make absolutely no difference to you and your wife. It may rankle you to pay extra for them; only you know you.

 

On the other hand, if you enjoy the convenience of travelling on a six hundred passenger ship (the Amsterdam is literally twice the size and THREE TIMES THE CAPACITY of the Oceania vessel), Oceania may turn out to be a bargain for you.

[pacheco18]

I cannot imagine going on a world cruise and not having any money to experience the ports. In this case, the ship is not the destination. Shore excursions, even private ones that are shared, will cost a bundle for 180 days -- even assuming many ports do not require a guide. I also assume you will want to experience the food in some of the ports and do a little shopping from time to time. That will also add to the expenses.

 

As much as I love Oceania and think it is a better product than your other choices, what you suggest is equivalent to being "house poor." Great house but no money to enjoy yourself. Your once in a lifetime trip would be less like a dream and more like a nightmare IMO.

[TERRIER1]

For a world cruise you might want to consider the cabin size you get for the amount you can afford. Also, excursions on Oceania are astronomical high and many cruisers go private for this reason as well asfor the smaller more personal tour size. You might also have to compare what is in the offering for a world cruise from the cruise line that makes a financial difference to you (ie free gratuities, free internet, included drinks, etc.). These add up fast.

[LHT28]

I would agree with some of the others

If you are not going to able to afford excursions either private or ships tours ...then I would consider another option

 

Having said that compare what other lines offer ...

do you pay extra for the specialty restaurants, sodas, bottled water, gratuities, laundry, specialty coffees just small things but do add up on a longer cruise

 

The do have some daytime offerings whether it is too your taste or not is another thing

On the shorter cruises they have lecturers, bingo, bridge games, exercise classes, wine tasting, County Fair (on a sea day) sometimes movies, mini putt, shuffleboard, ping pong etc...

I cannot imagine they would not add more activities for the world cruisers

 

It is a lot to consider

[pinotlover]

I have never done any of the long extended cruises, or long back to backs. Having talked with our cruisers that have, a common theme is that one of the chief highlights of O, its great food, starts to become boring after about week three. O does a poor job of rotating the menu very much on its cruises, and there are only so many speciality reservations one can get. So unless O opts to change its menus very very frequently on the 180 day cruise, I think this issue would become a huge problem.

 

I have other long route cruisers tell me they start eating their main meal of the day, onshore, at lunch to get around this problem. If you're going into the cruise short funded, this doesn't become an option.

[cathi]

The question seems to be what makes sense for you. We've booked and are really looking forward to the 1st of O's world cruises. Yes it stretches the budget but we will only do it once and see a lot of what's on our bucket list!!

 

We did our 1st "long" cruise on O 6 years ago and it convinced us that longer cruise was the way to go. In 35 days on that cruise the MDR never repeated a dinner menu and that was before the fabulous grill in the buffet. I was never bored with the meal offerings.

 

IMHO, you have to judge equals so to compare HAL or Princess world cruise with O's is very hard. O's world cruise is longer and includes tons of extras that are not offered on the others. Also, again IMHO, there is absolutely no comparison on the food end but HAL and Princess may win out in the daytime entertainment side but that is not important to me. I love to chill out at the pool during the day and read a good book rather than play trivia or play bridge.

 

You really have to do what feels right for you.

[LHT28]

I have never done any of the long extended cruises, or long back to backs. Having talked with our cruisers that have, a common theme is that one of the chief highlights of O, its great food, starts to become boring after about week three..

 

We have done a few B2B's up to 32 days total we were never bored with the food offerings

 

We had to start cutting back on the quantity of what we ordered ;)

 

 

YMMD

Lyn

[hondorner]

Cathi is correct; only you can make that determination. We're also booked on Oceania's first World Cruise in 2015; we're hooking up with others to do private tours, looking to see which ports can be done on our own, but will likely sign up for some ship's tours, also.

 

The amounts do seem scary at first, especially for someone like us who have limited income. The fare is only the beginning; there is trip insurance, the cost of excursion, spending ashore, even the cost of capital gains on the security sales we have to complete in order to afford it. One simple number begins to represent the scope -- one glass of wine each, at every evening meal (making the bottle last two days) is 90 bottles of wine, at a minimum of $40 to $50 per bottle purchased on board, is $3,600 to $4,500! We rarely have cocktails, but those who purchase the premium beverage package will spend about $10,000 - each! (we haven't spent 10% of that number on cocktails in our lives).

 

On the other hand, breaking down the fare per day, the cost is lower than taking individual cruises, and the benefits (included gratuities, laundry, on board medical care and more) are great. There will also be some exclusive private excursions included, probably some cocktail parties and special dinners, and the greatest benefit of all -- no flying if you live reasonably close to Miami, as we do! We'd never see Asia, Australia or the South Pacific otherwise, as I don't care to fly long haul.

 

Couple that with our 50th anniversary falling that same year (although technically after we return home), and both of us having milestone birthdays (divisible by 25 ;)), the cruise became a no-brainer.

 

Sure, Oceania is pricier than the mass-market lines. We've been known to sail even NCL when the price becomes irresistible (we base our expectations on price, and our expectations have been exceeded on NCL :rolleyes:. Of course, they're always exceeded on Oceania). There are many ways to beat repetitive menus; I gaurantee you they will be more repetitive on mass market lines. The difference is you may come to appreciate the opportunity to repeat a meal on Oceania -- the food is that good.

 

Lastly, but perhaps near the top if importance when considering 6 months in the same bed, Oceania's beds are doubtless among the best, if not absolutely the best, at sea. It took me two months to get rid of the back ache from 24 days on NCL, and that was in a suite! I don't even want to think about how bad the bed was on a Celebrity ship for 15 days, also in a suite! Worse than the cheapest motel in which I've stayed...

 

That's my story; perhaps you'll find some nugget that will help shape your expectations, one way or the other!

[Hawaiidan]

You mentioned Holland America... And I will tell you what I found out,.

1. HAL will be very structured with theme dinners and lots of dress up.

2. Their ships have very limited dining venues and all are extra charge.

3. Food is average and no where near the variety

4 They do not offer included air, gratuities, and internet as Oceania frequently given to Oceania passengers

5. Their longer cruises on Amsterdam and Princendam are more expensive than Oceania ... for equal cabins as much at $200 a day more !!!

 

I pondered the same thing and decided that there can be too much of a good thing... after 60 days you might be itching to get off. 180 is a LOT od days.

 

I would spread it around with several long 50 -60 day cruises, over several years. For example in 2015 I was looking Tokyo to Lisbon 63 days... add 14 days and start in Beijing... included internet, laundry gratuities, and all Visas ( don't forget visas than can cost hundreds per visa like China and India.

 

You could then do a an Australia to London via the south pacific... on Marina. Austraila-New Zealand, Around Tahiti, take a 14 day land break in Tahiti and continue on to Lima, The canal, NY, England.. and maybe even the Baltic.

 

In the end you could make your 180 days in 3 segments over 3 years and savor each I would think.

 

Or Miami to Singapore, or around So America.

 

Segments that would give you a break, allow you to see much more of the world in 2 month chunks... and allow your finances to recover

[Big Easy]

Couple that with our 50th anniversary falling that same year (although technically after we return home), and both of us having milestone birthdays (divisible by 25 ;))

 

Congratulations Don and Betsy on two awesome achievements come 2015.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Why not just take some segments and make it shorter, so that your budget can include excursions and a glass of wine? Not sure what you meant by "12x" anyways--did you mean 12 weeks, 120 days?

 

What's the longest cruise you've taken? I myself would "work up" to a long cruise--I can't imagine more than three or four weeks, but that's me--I have no willpower and you'd have to roll me off at the end after all that great food, although I do agree you get tired of all the food.

 

I did a 14-day TA on one of the large Oceania ships, Riviera, and I found the daily activities quite lacking--but a world cruise would be special, I'm sure.

[no fuss travel]

Longest cruise we have done so far is 34 days and I was not really ready to get off the ship. On sea days, there was enough activities during the day to keep you busy if you wanted to participate. Last cruise we crossed the equator and they had a special ceremony which entertained the passengers. They do have talks, Trivia, golf putting challenges, bean bag tosses and so on with other activities to keep you entertained. There is also the library and most people brought their kindles loaded with books to read. I am sure they will put a strong CD on the ship to keep the passengers happy. Food wise, after the first 5 days, I was eating what I normally would at home and found that I quite often skipped dessert which did help the calorie intake.