World Cruise vs Lots of Cruises!!

[Scrapnana]

The #1 item on my bucket list was to take a World Voyage. I started planning even before I retired. Went last year and loved every minute of it. I did not get bored with the food, entertainment, or anything else. My future cruising plans include at least a couple more.

 

Taking long haul flights of more than seven hours no longer appeals to me so segments are not something I want to do.

[notentirelynormal]

Yes, we took one this year.

 

You can write to me at kesworld AT aol DOT com and I can give you the link.

 

Keith

 

Done. thanks

[GUT2407]

Personally want to do a world cruise, where I sail from location to location, have some time in and around that region, maybe even some local cruises, then cruise on to the next region.

[cruisemom42]

Always remember that a World Cruise is not a cruise it is a journey/adventure.

 

We have made life long friends as a result of taking a World Cruise. It is an amazing experience.

 

It's not for everyone for many reasons but if one can do it I highly recommend it.

 

Keith

 

I agree. I'd like to do a world cruise one day.

 

Cruising isn't usually the best way to see a region in depth (although occasionally it makes sense, e.g., the South Pacific, Greek Islands, Norwegian Fjords, etc.). That said, I've been fortunate enough to do a lot of land travel. I'd want to take a world cruise more for the adventure and the experience.

[Waynetor]

We combined 4 cruises over a 3 year period to do a full circumnavigation - 144days. We loved it so much that our next cruise will be full w/c cruise.

 

I did find on our previous cruises that at times the ports can blend into each other a bit and it is easy to loose track of what you did each day.

 

World cruises have lots of sea days so there is down time to rest between ports.

 

As you get into cruise that are multiple segments which world cruise are, the entertainment can be an issue. Production type shows repeat and even if you like, for example, sitting around a lounge with a pianist, listening to the same type of music every night for a few months may not be ideal. On longer cruises you need to be able to do your own entertainment more than would be usual on shorter cruises.

[navybankerteacher]

Personally want to do a world cruise, where I sail from location to location, have some time in and around that region, maybe even some local cruises, then cruise on to the next region.

 

A series of sequential cruises - giving several days ashore at several different ports/areas, while perhaps circling the globe, is quite different from a "world cruise" as that term is generally understood. That sort of itinerary would likely require extensive planning to tie the individual links together, and would probably involve something closer to a year than the usual three months; and would most likely require flights between several debarkation and embarkation ports.

[sail7seas]

I would not take the World Cruise. As much as I love cruising and the ships (and I do) I have no wish to be aboard that long uninterrupted. I'd rather multiple cruises of 20 or so days.

 

JMO.

[SPacificbound]

We have looked at world cruises, but have not seen one that really caused us to go beyond looking.

 

I do find myself stringing cruises together though.

[dorisis]

This was a decision I had to make and I chose to do it in segments. No regrets. We got to see all the places we wanted and go back to those we enjoyed most. No more "Bucket list" for us.

[RuthC]

Given your premise that a World Cruise is on the "to do" list, if I had a windfall of money to do it, I would think myself a fool to pass on the opportunity.

We never know if the chance will ever appear again. Go and enjoy while you can.

 

But personally, it is something I would not want to do at all, as a World Cruise does not appeal to me. Although there are some interesting places to visit, there are too many days spent in hot, humid areas. Those other great places in the world with a variety of weather are missing.

[SuiteTraveler]

I would probably take some time to think over my options and put the money into something that would enable it to increase in value for at least 4 - 6 months while I was thinking and researching. Part of the problem with world cruise itineraries is that if you are already a frequent cruiser, it is likely you have been to at least half the ports or more. For example, here is a Regent world cruise:

 

Itinerary

Date Port Arrive Depart

Jan 5 Thu Miami, Florida 6:00 PM

Jan 6 Fri Cruising the Florida Strait

Jan 7 Sat George Town, Cayman Islands 10:00 AM 6:00 PM

Jan 8 Sun Cruising the Caribbean Sea

Jan 9 Mon Cartagena, Colombia 7:00 AM 2:00 PM

Jan 10 Tue Transit the Panama Canal

Jan 11 Wed Golfito, Costa Rica 1:00 PM 8:00 PM

Jan 12 Thu Puntarenas, Costa Rica 7:00 AM 4:00 PM

Jan 13 Fri Corinto, Nicaragua 10:00 AM 6:00 PM

Jan 14 Sat Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala 9:00 AM 7:00 PM

Jan 15 Sun Cruising the Coast of Central America

Jan 16 Mon Acapulco, Mexico 8:00 AM 4:00 PM

Jan 17 Tue Cruising the Coast of Mexico

Jan 18 Wed Cabo San Lucas, Mexico 8:00 AM 4:00 PM

Jan 19 Thu Cruising the Coast of Baja California

Jan 20 Fri San Diego, California 12:00 PM 10:00 PM

Jan 21 Sat Los Angeles, California 7:00 AM 6:00 PM

Jan 22 Sun Cruising the Pacific Ocean

Jan 23 Mon Cruising the Pacific Ocean

Jan 24 Tue Cruising the Pacific Ocean

Jan 25 Wed Cruising the Pacific Ocean

Jan 26 Thu Cruising the Pacific Ocean

Jan 27 Fri Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii 8:00 AM 7:00 PM

Jan 28 Sat Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii 8:00 AM 6:00 PM

Jan 29 Sun Nawiliwili, United States 7:00 AM 4:00 PM

Jan 30 Mon Hilo, Hawaii, Hawaii 10:00 AM 6:00 PM

Jan 31 Tue Cruising the Pacific Ocean

Feb 1 Wed Cruising the Pacific Ocean

Feb 2 Thu Cruising the Pacific Ocean

Feb 3 Fri Cruising the Pacific Ocean

Feb 4 Sat Nuku Hiva, French Polynesia 9:00 AM 6:00 PM

Feb 5 Sun Cruising the Pacific Ocean

Feb 6 Mon Rangiroa, French Polynesia 8:00 AM 5:00 PM

Feb 7 Tue Papeete, Tahiti 8:00 AM 8:00 PM

Feb 8 Wed Bora Bora, French Polynesia 8:00 AM 6:00 PM

Feb 9 Thu Cruising the Pacific Ocean

Feb 10 Fri Cruising the Pacific Ocean

Feb 11 Sat Pago Pago, Samoa 9:00 AM 5:00 PM

Feb 12 Sun Crossing the International Dateline

Feb 13 Mon Cruising the Pacific Ocean

Feb 14 Tue Suva, Fiji 10:00 AM 7:00 PM

Feb 15 Wed Lautoka, Fiji 8:00 AM 5:00 PM

Feb 16 Thu Cruising the Pacific Ocean

Feb 17 Fri Cruising the Pacific Ocean

Feb 18 Sat Bay of Islands, New Zealand 8:00 AM 6:00 PM

Feb 19 Sun Auckland, New Zealand 7:00 AM 7:00 PM

Feb 20 Mon Rotorua (Tauranga), New Zealand 8:00 AM 4:00 PM

Feb 21 Tue Napier, New Zealand 10:00 AM 6:00 PM

Feb 22 Wed Wellington, New Zealand 9:00 AM 5:00 PM

Feb 23 Thu Akaroa, New Zealand 8:00 AM 6:00 PM

Feb 24 Fri Dunedin, New Zealand 7:00 AM 4:00 PM

Feb 25 Sat Cruising Milford Sound

Feb 26 Sun Cruising the Tasman Sea

Feb 27 Mon Cruisiing the Coast of Australia

Feb 28 Tue Sydney, Australia 8:00 AM 6:00 PM

Mar 1 Wed Cruising the Coast of Australia

Mar 2 Thu Brisbane, Australia 8:00 AM 7:00 PM

Mar 3 Fri Cruising the Coast of Australia

Mar 4 Sat Cruising the Coast of Australia

Mar 5 Sun Cairns, Australia 8:00 AM 8:00 PM

Mar 6 Mon Cooktown, Australia 7:00 AM 3:00 PM

Mar 7 Tue Cruising the Arafura Sea

Mar 8 Wed Cruising the Arafura Sea

Mar 9 Thu Darwin, Australia 8:00 AM 6:00 PM

Mar 10 Fri Cruising the Timor Sea

Mar 11 Sat Komodo, Indonesia 12:00 PM 6:00 PM

Mar 12 Sun Bali (Benoa), Indonesia 12:00 PM

Mar 13 Mon Bali (Benoa), Indonesia 5:00 PM

Mar 14 Tue Cruising the Java Sea

Mar 15 Wed Cruisiing the Indian Ocean

Mar 16 Thu Singapore, Singapore 7:00 AM 6:00 PM

Mar 17 Fri Cruising the Strait of Malacca

Mar 18 Sat Phuket, Thailand 8:00 AM 5:00 PM

Mar 19 Sun Cruising the Andaman Sea

Mar 20 Mon Yangon (Burma), Myanmar

Mar 21 Tue Yangon (Burma), Myanmar

Mar 22 Wed Yangon (Burma), Myanmar

Mar 23 Thu Cruising the Indian Ocean

Mar 24 Fri Cruising the Indian Ocean

Mar 25 Sat Cruising the Indian Ocean

Mar 26 Sun Cochin (Kochi), India 9:00 AM 6:00 PM

Mar 27 Mon Mangalore, India 8:00 AM 6:00 PM

Mar 28 Tue Goa (Mormugao), India 8:00 AM 5:00 PM

Mar 29 Wed Mumbai (Bombay), India 10:00 AM

Mar 30 Thu Mumbai (Bombay), India 5:00 PM

Mar 31 Fri Cruising the Arabian Sea

Apr 1 Sat Cruising the Arabian Sea

Apr 2 Sun Dubai, United Arab Emirates 10:00 AM 11:59 PM

Apr 3 Mon Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates 7:00 AM 4:00 PM

Apr 4 Tue Cruising the Gulf of Oman

Apr 5 Wed Cruising the Arabian Sea

Apr 6 Thu Salalah, Oman 8:00 AM 5:00 PM

Apr 7 Fri Cruising the Arabian Sea

Apr 8 Sat Cruising the Gulf of Aden

Apr 9 Sun Cruising the Red Sea

Apr 10 Mon Cruising the Red Sea

Apr 11 Tue Aqaba, Jordan 6:00 AM 9:00 PM

Apr 12 Wed Luxor (Safaga), Egypt 9:00 AM

Apr 13 Thu Luxor (Safaga), Egypt 8:00 PM

Apr 14 Fri Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt 8:00 AM 4:00 PM

Apr 15 Sat At Sea

Apr 16 Sun Jerusalem (Haifa), Israel 7:00 AM

Apr 17 Mon Jerusalem (Haifa), Israel 6:00 PM

Apr 18 Tue Limassol, Cyprus 8:00 AM 4:00 PM

Apr 19 Wed Rhodes, Greece 10:00 AM 8:00 PM

Apr 20 Thu Cruising the Scenic Dardanelles

Apr 21 Fri Istanbul, Turkey 7:00 AM 6:00 PM

Apr 22 Sat At Sea

Apr 23 Sun Zakynthos, Greece 8:00 AM 5:00 PM

Apr 24 Mon At Sea

Apr 25 Tue Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy 8:00 AM 8:00 PM

Apr 26 Wed Monte Carlo, Monaco 12:00 PM 10:00 PM

Apr 27 Thu Provence (Marseille), France 8:00 AM 6:00 PM

Apr 28 Fri Barcelona, Spain 8:00 AM 7:00 PM

Apr 29 Sat At Sea

Apr 30 Sun Gibraltar, United Kingdom 8:00 AM 11:00 PM

May 1 Mon Seville (Cádiz), Spain 7:00 AM 5:00 PM

May 2 Tue Lisbon, Portugal 10:00 AM 10:00 PM

May 3 Wed At Sea

May 4 Thu Funchal - Madeira Island, Portugal 8:00 AM 5:00 PM

May 5 Fri Cruising the Atlantic Ocean

May 6 Sat Cruising the Atlantic Ocean

May 7 Sun Cruising the Atlantic Ocean

May 8 Mon Cruising the Atlantic Ocean

May 9 Tue Cruising the Atlantic Ocean

May 10 Wed Hamilton, Bermuda 8:00 AM 4:00 PM

May 11 Thu At Sea

May 12 Fri At Sea

May 13 Sat Miami, Florida 7:00 AM

 

 

I highlighted all the places I've already been. Looks like there is only about half the places I would actually like to cruise to since I have not been there and these could be done on separate cruises.

 

Next I would figure out what it would cost to do those areas I have not yet cruised as a separate cruise, after all this world cruise starts at $53,000 per person. I would decide from there whether or not it was a good idea.

Edited July 18, 2015 by SuiteTraveler

[donaldsc]

I would not do a World Cruise even if I won Powerball - they all have way too many sea days and none of them go to any of the more interesting off beat places in the world. I would take lots of cruises but no world cruise. Also, going to 50 ports and spending one day at each port is not my style. I would rather go to 10 ports and spend 5 to 10 days at each port and that type of cruise does not exist.

Edited July 19, 2015 by donaldsc

[JABrown104]

I would much rather do many shorter cruises than a long world cruise.

[EGG]

We cruise for the ports and for the entertainment so would much rather do many shorter cruises. We don't even consider back to backs because of the repeat of entertainment. While I like sea days, they get pretty old after awhile.

 

I would prefer to go on a longish cruise starting from a port I am interested in and spending a week on shore vacation both before and after the cruise.

 

Thanks to SuiteTraveler for posting a sample itinerary I see that there are about 20 ports that I have not gone to and that I am interested in and they are mostly in the South Pacific, NZ, Australia area.

[cardbucfan]

This is a very interesting question and I've enjoyed reading the different responses.

 

If you had asked me before I read this thread I would have said world cruise hands down. I always tell DH if we win the lottery to pack his bags that's what we are doing as soon as he quits his job!

 

However, after reading this, I think I've changed my mind! There is a big attraction to hopping on a ship in Miami (a short drive for us) and seeing so many interesting places especially since DH hates flying. But there ARE a lot of sea days which would get really old, I'd miss my kids and my puppy and my golf handicap would skyrocket! Plus there are a lot of places I'd like to visit that aren't covered by that itinerary (and yes I know there are more. I love the HAL one and the Princess one).

 

I think I like the idea of shorter destination specific cruises (including river cruises) with land trips added on. It would be more time efficient and get me the experiences I'd want without being away from home that long. I do get tired of eating "out" all the time on vacation.

[EGG]

Cardbucfan - If I lived near the Florida cruise ports and had your set of facts I would consider a transatlantic to get to Europe. If you are not married to a cruise line you have a lot more options as to the ports it will visit in Europe and the debarkation city. Then if you can pack light you can make your way to a river cruise while touring. Only one flight home necessary and you can add some extra land touring. Of course an unlimited budget helps because it buys taxis and porters and takes some of the schlepping out of travel. Hey, with an unlimited budget you can afford first class.

[zoncom]

On the finance side, experts recommend investing 90% and using the 10% for fun.Think about all those broke lottery winners. Think SEGMENTS on the WC side. A really long cruise can become stale.There will be some areas previously done, at least for me. like Caribbean and Europe to exclude.

[sullaRaffaello]

Just got off my first world cruise in May and didn't want to leave the ship. Going on one next year. To those who say they'd rather take several shorter cruises than one world cruise, I say that the whole is much greater than the sum of the parts.

[anothercruise4mepls]

My DH and I have given this some thought and research. DH dislikes flying so that influences the decision we will make.

 

We are currently putting together our own type of world cruise along with some train and self driving between cruise segments. This way we sample different areas, ships, and lines of our own choosing.

[cardbucfan]

My DH and I have given this some thought and research. DH dislikes flying so that influences the decision we will make.

 

We are currently putting together our own type of world cruise along with some train and self driving between cruise segments. This way we sample different areas, ships, and lines of our own choosing.

 

Ok, now I've got a new hobby! I'm going to put my own around the world trip together lol!

[Viv0828]

I would rather take a world land trip with several shorter cruise segments thrown in. There are so many fabulous places to see that are too far from a cruise port to be practical.

Edited August 29, 2015 by Viv0828

[anothercruise4mepls]

Ok, now I've got a new hobby! I'm going to put my own around the world trip together lol!

 

Why not? You only live once. We have wanted to do this since 2004 and our goal has been to do this in 2018. In our excitement we have already started doing a bit of our planning. We will be doing our best to eliminate as much flying as possible. This will also give us an opportunity to meet more people then we would have just doing a WC on just 1 ship. We will also be able to take a few extra days in areas we have always really wanted to explore.

Also in our preparations I am brushing up on my Spanish ( learned in high school and college) and German ( father taught me.) I am also going to do my best to learn Russian, (help by a close personal friend) Italian, and Japanese ( help from another good friend.)

[Cruise Junky]

I would rather take a world land trip with several shorter cruise segments thrown in. There are so many fabulous places to see that are too far from a cruise port to be practical.

 

Now we're talkin ;) much more our style

[dorisis]

Many years ago, I decided that I wanted to see the World.

 

So, I made up a Bucket List.

 

I looked at a WC and saw that I would spend one/two days here/there.

 

So, decided to travel by Sea/Land/River.

 

Where I travelled to that a WC would not take me:

 

Zodiac landings in Antarctica.

Zodiac landings on the Galapagos Islands.

River Cruise on the Nile.

Touring Israel for a week.

A week in the Amazon Forest.

A week in Paris.

Renting a car and driving around Germany.

 

My out-of-pocket expenses were a little more than a WC;

however, I saw much more than a WC had to offer.

 

Excellent planning, A world cruise is only a sample. One needs more than a day to see the cities.

[Viv0828]

We have a terrible problem with our bucket list. Every time we knock off one item, we seem to add two more!