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Cruise Line or Itinerary? Which is more important?


Aquadesiac
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The one thing I would never do again is taking a world cruise cruise that travels to the east, rather than west. The loss of time so often was not good. Making up a day was not worth it.

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I agree. That is why westbound Atlantic crossings are usually priced higher than eastbound crossings on the QM2, as most would rather enjoy several 25 hour rather than 23 hour days... :)

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I'd never considered the difference going east to west vs west to east would make. Thanks for bringing this idea up.

 

Oceania does tempt me, but I understand that even if you choose the excursions as part of the OLife deal, you don't really get excursions. More like shuttles to the middle of town. Is this right? Can anyone who's chosen the excursions included speak to the quality and availability of those excursions?

 

Thanks!

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The main complaint about Oceania tours is the price. Your roll call may give you opportunities to join private tours, at a fraction of the cost. I'm taking my O life perk in OBC.

Are they significantly higher than excursions by mainstream lines?

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My friend and I are booked to take the Oceania WC in 2019. She is already retired but this will be my retirement celebration. I'm planning to retire 2 weeks before the trip! (y)

 

We chose Oceania because of the fantastic itinerary, but also because of the many included items/perks. We will first be sailing on the ship Insignia in Dec, 2017 in the same category room so we'll have a feel for the ship ahead of time.

 

Oceania does cost more than some other lines, but, as BarbaraM said, it includes visa service, unlimited laundry, medical services, all non alcoholic drinks, door-to-door luggage delivery, first class airfare, unlimited internet, transfers to hotel/airports, hotel at embarkation, shuttles into many city centers, prepaid gratuities, 5 shoreside events and your new loyalty status at the start of your cruise. The OLife perks are 72 shore excursions, or a beverage pkg, or $7,200 OBC. If you choose a cheaper base price on another cruiseline, you'll still need to factor in the costs of these things. We feel that the Oceania price is fair for all you get.

 

We chose the OLife perk of the shore excursions because they're worth more than the OBC. Since neither of us drinks alcohol, we weren't interested in the beverage pkg. We will have 90 ports so we'll do alot of DIY touring or HOHO buses in many ports. Then we'll use our significant OBC from our TA to purchase more ship excursions.

 

As far as which way to travel, we've always gone east-to-west. You feel so much more rested.

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You do get a lot but when you consider they charge double for solo travelers it is not such a great deal for me. I don't have to pay 200% on Cunard or HAL so there is no Oceania in my future.

 

Congratulations on your planned retirement!

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You do get a lot but when you consider they charge double for solo travelers it is not such a great deal for me. I don't have to pay 200% on Cunard or HAL so there is no Oceania in my future.

 

Yes, most cruiselines charge large, usually 200%, single supplements (not just for world cruises, but all of them). But for the majority of people who are traveling in double occupancy, Oceania provides a great all-inclusive plan. I sail mostly on Princess, but their cheaper WC price doesn't include very much so there would be alot more financial outlay needed, as well as getting visas on your own.

 

Congratulations on your planned retirement!

 

Thank you! I'm quite excited but a little nervous to not receive a paycheck anymore. ;)

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  • 4 weeks later...
I think I do some of each. Since there are relatively few lines that do world cruises that definitely narrows down the choices. I know I cannot afford Crystal, Regent, etc. with a single supplement, so that narrows it down more. When I chose my first world cruise I only had about three contenders after eliminating others for a variety of reasons.

 

I wouldn't write off Crystal entirely. They are expensive, but their single supplement is often quite low: 20-30%. There were quite a few solos on last year's WC because of that. And while they are pricey, remember that tips and beverages--soft and alcoholic--are included, as are all but one alternative restaurant. They do charge for second visits to alternative restaurants on the shorter cruises, but the number of visits is unlimited for world cruisers.

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Scrapnana - or anyone else who might know - what is the difference size or configuration between the veranda cabins on the QE and QV compared with HAL's Vista and Signature verandas? If we can't make the 2018 or 2019 Grand Asia cruise, the QV's 2019 WC is appealing. I am having a hard time envisioning a Vista or Signature veranda for a long cruise.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Cost was most important since that X'd out most WC ships/lines. Then, an itinerary that hit many of our bucket list places is what made us pull the plug for the '18 HAL WC. It was because it was NOT doing the Med that convinced us to do it. Some "WC" are not fully around from the US to the US, so those never entered the list of potentials...added cost/inconvenience of getting to or from the destinations...no go!

The leaked itinerary for the '19 HAL WC made us also put in a reservation for a reservation for that one...again, it was a unique itinerary.

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Thank you! I'm quite excited but a little nervous to not receive a paycheck anymore. ;)

 

I know how you feel, Go-Bucks! We pulled the plug when my DH turned 60 and I was 59. It's a bit tricky since we aren't collecting a pension and have elected to wait on SS for a while, but after two and half years of retirement on rental income and our savings, we only wish we'd been able to do it sooner!

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We pulled the plug when my DH turned 60 and I was 59. It's a bit tricky since we aren't collecting a pension and have elected to wait on SS for a while, but after two and half years of retirement on rental income and our savings, we only wish we'd been able to do it sooner!

 

I had planned to retire at 66 but the world cruise leaves when I'm 65.5, so I decided to retire two weeks prior to sailing. That leaves me with 6 months of expenses to pay while receiving no income, so I'm saving up now for those expenses. Then I'll file for Social Security when I get back from the cruise and turn 66.

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  • 3 months later...

I think that both are important.

 

Since most world cruises are 100+ days one needs to be happy with the cruise line/ship they have selected. My recommendation is to take a spin on the ship to be sure you will be happy with it and on some lines you might be able to get a discount for the world cruise having sailed the line before.

 

The itinerary is certainly important. Often not all the ports will be appealing but you certainly want to be happy with the vast majority of the ports.

 

Keith

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I'm tickled to pieces to report that the DH and I have booked the 94 day 2018 WC on Princess! We'll embark in LA on Jan. 22nd and disembark in Ft. Lauderdale on April 27th after having gone all the way around! (I'm counting our home in the Midwest as our starting point, so counting planes, automobiles and ships, we will circumnavigate the globe!!!!)

 

The itinerary ticks off so many of our boxes, and we've done 4 previous cruises with Princess so we have an idea of what to expect. It'll be a wonderful trip and, of course, I've already started to blog about it at RoundTheWorldWriter! I'll benefit from advice from you experienced cruisers and for lurkers (like me!) who are dreaming about making a grand voyage, I hope to share my excitement and all the discoveries of our travels.

 

Bon Voyage!

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For my sole full world cruise experience, the alignment with an unusual world cruise itinerary on a ship of my preferred cruise line helped me to make the decision to book the cruise. The cruise was also a celebration of the line's anniversary in sailing world cruises which was an added attraction. But, that turned out to almost being a footnote to the actual experience.

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For my sole full world cruise experience, the alignment with an unusual world cruise itinerary on a ship of my preferred cruise line helped me to make the decision to book the cruise. The cruise was also a celebration of the line's anniversary in sailing world cruises which was an added attraction. But, that turned out to almost being a footnote to the actual experience.

 

 

I'll be honest. An amazing sale by Princess tipped the balance in our decision. All together with the cruise fare, airfare, pre-cruise hotel, all the excursions we're planning, tips and incidentals, we'll be spending half of what I initially expected. All I can say is it pays to lurk and watch prices.

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With many sea days and long crossing I really wanted a ship that I knew would be well maintained and comfortable!

Certainly would not even consider booking if itinerary was not fantastic!

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With many sea days and long crossing I really wanted a ship that I knew would be well maintained and comfortable!

Certainly would not even consider booking if itinerary was not fantastic!

 

The Pacific Princess is just coming out of a drydock refresh in May 2017, so hopefully everything will be operating well for our trip.

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Also you might what to test the line before you sail.

 

Looks like you too have been on a number of different cruise lines. We've been with (hold on!) Costa, Carnival, Norwegian, Princess, Holland America, and the now defunct American Hawaiian and Dolphin cruise lines. We give them all a thrill!

 

We've been on 4 Princess cruises so we know what to expect. It's not a Yugo. It's not a Mercedes. It's something in the comfortable upper middle of the pack.

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