Planning for a world cruise!

Hmmm...we will be onboard for 120 days and plan 2 checked pieces and carry-on for each but we do NOT have any formal nights and will be mostly in warm climates.

Wow that is amazing.

I should have my wife speak with you.

For 120 days we fill up a bag of toiletries and medicines.

We do bring our own shampoo and conditioner and soap so that might be part of the reason. We do bring lots of medicine for a variety of items including colds. Also bring lot of hand sanitizer.

Kudos to you. The average world cruiser couple we have seen brings about six large bags. We bring a minimum of eight and sometimes more plus to carry ons. Yes, that does include about 20 formal nights.

Keith

Will definitely be on the look out for those squares. Thanks for letting me know they worked for you. Norway is on our bucket list for a future cruise after we do the WC.

 

So glad you're enjoying RoundTheWorldWriter. Thanks!

Aquadesiac,

It's just a roll of sticky plastic wrap. I then cut it into squares to fit the various bottles. You will love Norway! We have family there and look forward to each trip. The chocolate in Norway is to die for. :D

Wow that is amazing.

 

I should have my wife speak with you.

 

For 120 days we fill up a bag of toiletries and medicines.

 

We do bring our own shampoo and conditioner and soap so that might be part of the reason. We do bring lots of medicine for a variety of items including colds. Also bring lot of hand sanitizer.

 

Kudos to you. The average world cruiser couple we have seen brings about six large bags. We bring a minimum of eight and sometimes more plus to carry ons. Yes, that does include about 20 formal nights.

 

Keith

So you ship your toiletries and OTC Medicines?

So you ship your toiletries and OTC Medicines?

We do ship some luggage but companies that ship do not want you to ship these kind of items.

We take them on the flight with us. We also arrive a few days early and we pick up a few additional liquid items that we worry will either leak or are not allows on the plane and then add them to this suitcase.

Keith

Aquadesiac,

 

It's just a roll of sticky plastic wrap. I then cut it into squares to fit the various bottles. You will love Norway! We have family there and look forward to each trip. The chocolate in Norway is to die for. :D

I guess that means you could just wrap the entire bottle without having to break the seal ... ? I've just used regular plastic wrap aroud the whole thing, (usually) some masking tape to keep it in place, and then put them in those clear plastic zippered containers that various linens come in ... never had a leak.

The only times I've ever had a leak have been when I don't wrap things up!

Hmmm...we will be onboard for 120 days and plan 2 checked pieces and carry-on for each but we do NOT have any formal nights and will be mostly in warm climates.

Hi Deec, I am doing the World Cruise on the Queen Mary 2 for 124 days and am paying $100 each way for the second 50 pound checked bag (the first bag is free) As you may know the Queen Mary is a very formal ship with over 30 formal nights. I am trying to be calm & organized about packing and treating this as a science experiment. I have a food scale out and am weighing my shoes, jewelry, OTC meds, etc.

I am booked with the Road Scholar group which has booked my flight to London, transfers to the ship, etc. so probably no option to buy items when I land. Scrapnana gave me really good advice when I posted first on this thread a few months back, but as the time draws close, I'm wondering if I can really pull this off. All suggestions are welcome at this point.

sorry momscruzing....this is our first WC so hoping all will go as planned for packing! those formal nights would be the death of me! Do you know any of the others in your group? maybe you can share some of the formal stuff and accessories. Wouldn't it be nice to be a man and just take a tux...maybe you could adopt that idea : stunning black skirt and exquisite blouse and great jewelry (not good stuff though)! People would think you were chic&stunning but not really remember WHAT you were wearing by the time the next formal night came around!

sorry momscruzing....this is our first WC so hoping all will go as planned for packing! those formal nights would be the death of me! Do you know any of the others in your group? maybe you can share some of the formal stuff and accessories. Wouldn't it be nice to be a man and just take a tux...maybe you could adopt that idea : stunning black skirt and exquisite blouse and great jewelry (not good stuff though)! People would think you were chic&stunning but not really remember WHAT you were wearing by the time the next formal night came around!

"Stunning black skirt and exquisite blouse and great jewelry" - you just described a formal night dress for women. So . . . I don't see a problem in packing for formal nights. Take one pair of dressy black pants, a pair of dressy pants of another color, a dressy black skirt, and a few dressy tops (sweaters, blouses, whatever). Light weight, easily packed, and interchangeable. My formal night clothes are easier packed and take up less room than do my daytime clothes. Can even throw in a simple, long, polyester dress to be glittered up with faux jewelry, and you are set to go.

Hi Deec, I am doing the World Cruise on the Queen Mary 2 for 124 days and am paying $100 each way for the second 50 pound checked bag (the first bag is free) As you may know the Queen Mary is a very formal ship with over 30 formal nights. I am trying to be calm & organized about packing and treating this as a science experiment. I have a food scale out and am weighing my shoes, jewelry, OTC meds, etc.

 

I am booked with the Road Scholar group which has booked my flight to London, transfers to the ship, etc. so probably no option to buy items when I land. Scrapnana gave me really good advice when I posted first on this thread a few months back, but as the time draws close, I'm wondering if I can really pull this off. All suggestions are welcome at this point.

If it makes you feel any less stressed, we sailing on the QM2 a year ago, and I did not find that the women were particularly very formally dressed. The men, yes. I would say 90% wore tuxes. The women's dress, however, surprised me. I have seen more formal women's attire on HAL's gala night TA's. So, take your dressy pants and skirts, and feel comfortable!

I usually take as many evening outfits as day ones. I change for dinner every night unless I eat in the Lido. I know I take too much but can’t make myself leave much of my cruise closet at home.:o

Finally a place to collect the wisdom of all the former and future world cruisers through out Cruise Critic land. Please feel free to tell you your top tips on planning for a world cruise. It is a daunting task. Why reinvent the wheel. Share your wisdom in planning for adventures lasting on board for months.

 

 

 

Thanks,

 

Ilene

All I can say is “Make sure your cruise line handles the visas that are needed.” They are expensive and very time consuming. Most Good cruise will do this service and make the process move along . Extra time is needed for India , Vietnam . We used Gem Visa and had no problems with them .

Also plan on a lot of extra costs from all the excursions that interests you !

Most WC’s will have side trips from overnights to up to 6 days and they are pricey! So save your bucks and have a trip of a lifetime !

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Great ideas everyone! Yes, the "tux" look for a woman is a great idea that I hadn't considered. In weighing everything I am finding some "blingy" jewelry weighs more than another dress. As a nurse, sadly my "bling" collection is lacking.... sob.

It has been fun shopping the sales for some gowns! (No beads, they are heavy) One pair of silver heels only! But it will be a challenge to pack everything that has ended up in my World Cruise closet into 2 suitcases, I guess I'll have to toss out any gifts for World Cruise participants, no room to bring them home!

Last night I actually counted, and we will have 37 formal nights. Like Scrapnana, I enjoy dressing for dinner, however I can see a room service burger & movie being relaxing after many days ashore.

With all the posts about formal nights,I thought I'd share that I recently posted pics of the formal outfits I'll be taking on our Princess WC next month. Granted,I'm not an experienced world cruiser and Princess is not Cunard, but this may give some of you a few ideas. Check out Goin' Glam!

Thanks for sharing this.

Keith

Sounds like a great trip. Have you read the TwoToTravel blog? It's about a couple who made the 2017 Oceania WC. Wonderful insights. Fantastic photography.

Thank you so much for posting that!! It is a great blog. I am having a wonderful time reading it.

I am booked with the Road Scholar group which has booked my flight to London, transfers to the ship, etc. so probably no option to buy items when I land. ....... All suggestions are welcome at this point.

If you have a night in London or any other British town, then you will likely have a chance to visit a Boots Chemists near to your hotel.

Like drug stores in the U.S. they have a wide variety of products and you should be able to buy anything which you might need there. The brand names will likely be different, but just make a note of the active ingredients for any over the counter products.

Here is a link to their store locator. You will just need the postal code for your hotel.

It still boggles my mind as to where all the luggage in these 8/10/12 cases fit when unpacked!?

It still boggles my mind as to where all the luggage in these 8/10/12 cases fit when unpacked!?

I understand that one way to handle this is to number the cases and then just ask for that case to be brought out of storage when you need the clothes that are in it, and to pack the clothes you no longer need into a case and have that removed to storage.

It still boggles my mind as to where all the luggage in these 8/10/12 cases fit when unpacked!?

I've read some posts that said that the cabin steward will take our empty suitcases and store them somewhere on the ship until we need to repack at the end.

I'm planning to ship 2, 50# suitcases directly (a benefit provided by the cruiseline) with most of my clothing and larger items. I can check 2 suitcases on the plane, in which I'll have toiletries, organizational items and odds/ends. I'll probably pack them lighter so that I'll have room to bring home anything I might purchase along the way.

I'll be keeping one suitcase under my bed where I'll have cool-weather clothing and unused toiletries. The other 3 suitcases can go to storage. Since cabins aren't that big, there's no way I'll keep any of the unneeded luggage in the room.

I understand that one way to handle this is to number the cases and then just ask for that case to be brought out of storage when you need the clothes that are in it, and to pack the clothes you no longer need into a case and have that removed to storage.

I would not rely on being able to get quick access to stored bags on demand. I don’t know about other cruiselines, but on Oceania, the bags were stored in a shipping container on one of the outer decks not accessible to passengers. I imagine the bags would have been stacked inside in no particular order and asking for one to be brought to you when you needed what was in it would not have been possible.

Keep items in bags that will fit under the bed and store the empty bags would be my suggestion.

Also, using duffels instead of bags would be helpful as they could be collapsed when emptied of their contents. We had some fairly big ones that we ended up not needing when we disembarked and the added advantage was that we could fold them and put them in the bags we shipped home through the cruiseline instead of having empty suitcases to ship back home.

Will be boarding the Pacific Princess in a few hours for our trip around the world. I'm blogging about our trip at RoundTheWorldWriter if you'd like to come along!

H2SO4 - Like the handle! I'm thinking about an ATW cruise and I was planning on bringing duffel bags too. Seems like a good way to transport a lot of clothes while still being able to conserve room in the cabin.

Aquadesiac - I've been following your blog for about a week now. First, I'm so sorry for your loss. You and your husband will be in my thoughts. I also hope you have a wonderful cruise! I'm considering taking Princess when we go on our trip and will be following with a lot of interest. I'm particularly curious about the entertainment activities (both during the day and at night) and if the food menu gets repetitive as time goes one. Please post pics of your cabin too! My wife and I won't be going until she retires in 4-5 years, but I'm trying to narrow down which line we would like to go on now. The main question I'm struggling with is this: should we book a nicer suite on one of the more expensive lines and go once... or get a more modest cabin on one of the more cost-effective lines and have the ability to take several long cruises? That's something only we can answer, and I'm sure I'll be mulling it over for the next couple of years.

Great group. I hope to do a small world cruise (30 to 40 days) closer to the end of 2020 for my 50th. I want to go closer to the end of 2020 or the early part of 2021 because I want to go to Dubai during the World’s Expo. I’ve been to Dubai before and would like to go back again - prefer to do it on a cruise so I can visit more places. I’ve been looking at the Southampton to Singapore (or vice versa) type of itinerary. There are a lot of countries on the list that I’d like to visit. I hope to book sometime in 2019. I plan to do more research. I’m looking at Princess or Holland America.

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I'm trying to narrow down which line we would like to go on now. The main question I'm struggling with is this: should we book a nicer suite on one of the more expensive lines and go once... or get a more modest cabin on one of the more cost-effective lines and have the ability to take several long cruises? That's something only we can answer, and I'm sure I'll be mulling it over for the next couple of years.

Very good perspectives to be considering! I am drawn to Oceania because of their longer RTW cruise (180 days) and also because of their "country club casual" dress code. The ships look lovely and they have some interesting ports. I have also enjoyed Princess cruises in the past, and of course cost will be a factor!

My biggest single piece of advice is to sail the ship one time before you make a firm decision.

On some of our World Cruises some people never sailed the cruise line prior to that but I really don't recommend it. If you are going to spend 100+ days on the world cruise ideally you really want to try it out ahead of time and on some lines you get a discount anyway by having sailed with the line before.

Keith