Our first Much longer cruise

[rucrazy]

We have sailed two 30 + day cruises...

We recently booked our first 60+ day cruise..

So this post is aimed toward those members who have sailed the longer cruises...

What advice would you have for the first timer?

[Riversedge]

Our longest has been 49 days but I could've stayed on longer.  I think it's all in the mindset.  Just get on looking forward to 60+ days of enjoyment.  We have lots of friends that ask how we could ever do it but it goes so fast.  Of course as you know with the 30+ day cruises you can't eat like it's a 7 day cruise!  That was the hardest thing for us but after awhile food just doesn't even look so good anymore.  Relax, take it the shows, find things onboard to do and get off at every opportunity.  You will love it!

[Shmoo here]

1 minute ago, Riversedge said:

Of course as you know with the 30+ day cruises you can't eat like it's a 7 day cruise!  That was the hardest thing for us but after awhile food just doesn't even look so good anymore.

That's the biggest issue I have with the long cruises.  After about 20 days, I'm just so tired of having to pick something to eat from the menu.  I just want a McDonald's burger, or some other quick meal.

 

 

[ger_77]

30 minutes ago, Shmoo here said:

After about 20 days, I'm just so tired of having to pick something to eat from the menu.  I just want a McDonald's burger, or some other quick meal.

 

 

You last longer than my DH; after 2 weeks, when we get to the dining room, he just turns to the waiter and says "Bring me something good; I trust you."  Of course the HAL waiters are the best, and he's never turned away any of their suggestions.

 

I would suggest:  pace yourselves.  You don't have to do everything in every port - sometimes it's nice just having a ship day while everyone scurries off to various shore excursions or explorations on their own.  You can check out the spa, lounge about over breakfast, take naps, catch up on reading, whatever you like, while others are off the ship.

 

Smooth Sailing! 🙂🙂🙂

[Bookited]

52 minutes ago, Shmoo here said:

That's the biggest issue I have with the long cruises.  After about 20 days, I'm just so tired of having to pick something to eat from the menu.  I just want a McDonald's burger, or some other quick meal.

 

 

Go to the Drive in..it worked for me

[Shmoo here]

2 minutes ago, Bookited said:

Go to the Drive in..it worked for me

But it's not McDonald's......

 

Yes, it's a quick meal, but not what I'm looking for.  

[Krazy Kruizers]

We are not hamburger / hot dog people.  And it is rare when we eat pizza like maybe twice a year.  So after a while salads start to look really great for lunch and dinner.

 

Do agree about not trying to do everything in a port.

 

60 days -- sounds wonderful.

[Cruising-along]

1 hour ago, ger_77 said:

I would suggest:  pace yourselves.

Excellent advice.  So far our longest cruise was 39 days but this fall we'll have 3 back-to-backs, totaling  66 days.  I'm planning on just having a "chill" day every few days so I don't wear myself out!

[rafinmd]

Probably the biggest issue is to think about what goes on at home while you are away--bills, mail, utilities, etc.

 

Take care of those things in advance and have a stress free cruise.

 

Roy

[AncientWanderer]

30 minutes ago, rafinmd said:

Probably the biggest issue is to think about what goes on at home while you are away--bills, mail, utilities, etc.

 

Take care of those things in advance and have a stress free cruise.

 

Roy

This really is the hard part, isn't it?  We used to go away for the summer to a vacation home, and mail was always a problem -- that we never really worked out to our full satisfaction.  It's a huge help if there is a trusted and energetic friend, neighbor or family member back home.

[Sir PMP]

3 hours ago, rucrazy said:

We have sailed two 30 + day cruises...

We recently booked our first 60+ day cruise..

So this post is aimed toward those members who have sailed the longer cruises...

What advice would you have for the first timer?

Having done many 80 dayers and a worldcruise, I know that a 60 plusser would be no problem for you after having done 2 30 plussers, you will find that after 2 weeks you have your own rythm and it will be fun, don't do to many tours because these buses will tire you out. The hardest part for us was, that it took a week to say goodbye to all our new friends..

[SetAnOpenCourse]

I’d imagine that menu verbiage would get tiresome.  Most of the typical description is not substantive.  On a long cruise I’d glance and pick out the main food part without reading the whole silly thing.

[janmcn]

Hardest problem will be to do a 2-week Cruise again!  We worked up to a World Cruise so now that’s our standard😀.  You’ll find your own rhythm and won’t feel like you have to do everything...nor eat everything! Have a great time!

[cowmilker]

Our very first cruise was four back-to-backs, totally something like 37 days and including a transatlantic, all on the same ship.  We did fine even though we were slightly anxious that perhaps we'd bitten off more than we could chew.

Last fall we did three back to backs, but on three different ships, three different cruise lines, two in the Med ending with a TA back to Miami.  Total around 50 days.

The biggies are getting used to eating properly  (translation: reasonable quantities so I don't weigh 50 extra pounds by the time it's over) and realizing that if you miss a port, it's not the end of the world (except if the port is Cuba in which case you'll have a freaking fit, which is what I am doing right now, but that's beside the point).  Seriously, leave a few ports as strictly DIY, get off and walk around a little and get back on board for lunch and then chill the rest of the afternoon. 

We're going to South America in January on the Volendam. That's 77 days and will be our longest ever. We're looking forward to it with great anticipation.

[mamma0233]

We did the 89 night Grand Asia last fall...it was magical and I cried the last 3 days saying good-bye to all the wonderful "kids" who became like family.  Mail was forwarded to our daughter, voted before we left, and had our master bath redone while we were gone so had, trusted, people in and out of our house the whole time.

Just be sure you have all your daily "stuff"...meds, eye-drops, moisturizer, etc. with you.

I packed 25 thin felted hangers and had our stewards remove the big wooden ones, made a huge difference in closet space.

We took full advantage of all the dining options, loved lunch at the Pinnacle and Sunday Brunch at sea in the MDR.  Never got bored with the food, did lots of room service.  We both actually lost a little weight because of all the walking we did.

Enjoy..it's addicting. 

[rucrazy]

9 hours ago, cowmilker said:

We're going to South America in January on the Volendam. That's 77 days and will be our longest ever. We're looking forward to it with great anticipation.

How funny that is the exactly the cruise we are talking about but only in 2021.. we are doing the holiday 14 day cruise and staying on board for the 74 day South America Cruise..

My bucket list includes Antarctica

[rucrazy]

One of my biggest concerns is combating the nervousness over leaving our home for such a long period of time.. silly I know .. but it is what it is!

[ger_77]

3 minutes ago, rucrazy said:

One of my biggest concerns is combating the nervousness over leaving our home for such a long period of time.. silly I know .. but it is what it is!

You can only do so much - if you've got a service (or someone) to take care of the yard, your house insurance is up to date and a family member (or trusted neighbour) has that information, your mail is forwarded, you've unplugged any appliances that aren't needed, etc., then turn off the lights, lock the door, and leave.  While you're away, you can't do anything about what goes on at home, so just relax and make memories.

 

Smooth Sailing!  🙂🙂🙂

 

 

[sevenseasnomad]

19 hours ago, Shmoo here said:

That's the biggest issue I have with the long cruises.  After about 20 days, I'm just so tired of having to pick something to eat from the menu.  I just want a McDonald's burger, or some other quick meal.

 

 

I wish I could experience that dilemma.  Longest cruise we've done is a 24-day, but after I retire I'm hoping the money holds out long enough to book one of the 35 day+ cruises. 

 

 

Edited June 6, 2019 by sevenseasnomad

[rucrazy]

7 minutes ago, sevenseasnomad said:

Longest cruise we've done is a 24-day, but after I retire I'm hoping the money holds out long enough to book one of the 35 day+ cruises. 

 

Did you consider Dive-In and the pizza shop offering quick meals as does New York Deli (on the Pinnacle Class ships)?  

When you start to look at longer cruises I would recommenced Tahiti and the south pacific..the sunsets there are amazing!!

 

And to your other point... we try and look at food as what it is nourishment.. so yes of course.. we opt for light meals/early meals like we do at home...

Edited June 6, 2019 by rucrazy

[DeeniEncinitas]

Will be doing a 50 day cruise in 2020. For us we get into a routine! Walking is important for us which we do in the morning, especially on sea days. Port days we still walk early am, and than set out on our own in ports. We learned the hard way with food LOL!

5 plus pounds when we came home! We could not say no 😳 Now we watch our intake !

So enjoy your wonderful cruise! I do not get tired of cruising and love sea days.

Denise😊

 

 

 

[rucrazy]

2 minutes ago, DeeniEncinitas said:

I do not get tired of cruising and love sea days.

Denise😊

 

 

 

Denise so do we that means the casino is open...lol

[DeeniEncinitas]

1 minute ago, rucrazy said:

Denise so do we that means the casino is open...lol

Yup! AND THE SPA👍🌺

Denise😊

[Mary229]

6 hours ago, rucrazy said:

One of my biggest concerns is combating the nervousness over leaving our home for such a long period of time.. silly I know .. but it is what it is!

Truth is that whatever happens could happen on the day you leave. Usually after the first 48 hours the anxiety subsides.  Our community has a police watch vacation house program.  See if your police department doesn't do the same.

[Wayfairers]

Our longest cruise has been 90 days but we regularly travel 4-6 months at a time.  Neighbors (with a key) keep an eye on the house, hire someone to mow, if it is hurricane season we close the shutters before we leave (also good security), use a mail service who holds our mail or mails it if we request to anywhere in the world (or even one piece if needed), all bills and races are done online.  

 

We live on the road like we live at home...eat similar amount of foods and drinks, walk/exercise about the same...just a different setting and we are seeing new places.  

 

My advice is don’t pack too much.  Remember you can do laundry and you have to be able to manage all the suitcases getting on and off the ship and airplane if you fly. 

Edited June 8, 2019 by Wayfairers