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World Cruising versus Back to Back cruises?


Barefootwoman
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I'm retiring next year. It'll take me a couple of months to wrap up loose ends and put stuff in storage (house is sold, in a rental now). I literally will be living out of the proverbial suitcase after that.

 

I am debating whether to take a world cruise or do several back to back cruises.

 

I don't have much experience cruising, so I have no idea where to begin, but have started my research.

 

If anyone would like to share any disadvantages or advantages of either cruise style, I would love to hear them!

 

THANKS

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It's really going to depend on the cruise line, and sometimes even the specific cruise(s) in question. Cruise lines generally offer some additional perks to "full cruisers" for a world cruise or grand voyage. For instance, I have one coming up that includes luggage shipping to and from the cruise, laundry and dry cleaning, a night at a nice hotel (and party there) the night before embarkation, and "a special, exclusive, shoreside event." They also often provide a shirt and jacket, and other assorted gifts as you go along. I know of one world cruise where all full cruisers got an ipad to keep. Alas, I was not on that one.

 

Generally, the package price for a world cruise or grand voyage is lower that what you'd get on individual cruises, though probably not much less than the discount for a B2B. However, some lines offer more generous on-board credits for individual cruises booked separately than they do for a world cruise, and this may more than make up for the perks.

 

Probably the biggest advantage of B2Bs is that you can string together the cruises of your choice, rather than what the cruise line has packaged together. You do, however, stand a somewhat better chance of having to change cabins partway through, but the cruise lines do seem to make this as painless as possible.

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In my opinion, I think you ought to decide where in the world you want to go the most. Unless you are able to combine a trans-Atlantic or trans-Pacific re-positioning voyage with other b2b itineraries before or following the re-positioning cruise, most b2b cruises will pretty much confine you to one geographic area. A world cruise, obviously, will be a more geographically diverse experience.

 

Holland America's Prinsendam is one ship that sails a variety of individual itineraries in Europe that can be combined to make a varied cruise itinerary experience. And, could also possibly be combined with a trans-Atlantic voyage. The ship also sails on very long (close to 3 months) cruises to South American and Antarctica. Sometimes, such long voyages are also offered to the Mediterranean. (I am sure there are other ships/companies that provide this type of experience, but the Prinsendam's itineraries are the ones with which I am most acquainted.)

 

As the previous poster mentioned, often there are very nice and sometimes valuable perks offered to full world cruise guests.

 

For me, something that I enjoy being on a ship for longer than just a few days is the relationships that one develops with other guests and crew. I learn so much from such contacts and they add to my travel experience.

 

Since you state you have little cruise experience, I strongly recommend that you work with a travel agent who has much experience working with clients who book long cruises. It's going to cost you nothing. And, the agent's experience and advice will help augment your own research.

 

Happy Planning!

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I am too looking forward to your plan. So before you get all choked up on wonders of world cruising, if you have not had much experience, dive into cruise style before you plan big and put down $60k up for cruise. If you have cruised before, I suggest try out a TA (TransAtlantic), Cunard has one going back and forth frequently, RCL (Royal Caribbean), NCL (Norwegian), MSC, Viking, Wind Star and some others have regular repositioning TA. US -> Europe in Mar-Apr timeline. Europe -> US in Oct-Nov. If you never cruised before do couple, Caribbean and some, with retirement you should be able to snag some good price cruises in Feb -Apr timeline. If you like cruising, then do a TA in Mar or Apr as I have explained. Oceania O'life would be good choice too since it will have airfare include so you have way home once you get to Europe. This will give you a good taste of your ability to stay in closed ship for a length of time dealing with sea travel and ship life. Then you can decide to go on more entensive B2B or worldcruise. Depending on company Worldcruise schedule is usually out 2 years to 18 months. Cheapest rooms (inside, Oceanview) and limited Suites (very high end but limited numbers) sell out very fast, so you will need to plan at least 18 month out. some ships repositioning cruises have very decent B2B cruises you can also look at. I believe HAL (Holland America), Pricess, Celebrity, WindStar has repositioning cruises starting Vancouver to Sydney with various Asian stops (around 60 - 80 days).

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Before jumping into a world cruise I would take a cruise of say 18 days to see if you like it.

 

All ships and cruise lines are not the same and therefore the World Cruises are not the same so research is key. With that said even with all the research I would not book a world cruise on a specific ship or line until I experienced it on a shorter cruise. I have met people on past world cruises who didn't try out the line and ship in advance and for most of them they were happy on the world cruise but I just think it is wise to check it out.

 

As to several back to back voyages versus a world cruise I would select the world cruise.

 

It can be life changing.

 

On a world cruise a portion of those on board will be on for the entire World Cruise versus say the typical back to back cruises so there is the opportunity to develop life long friendships, to see a lot of areas over the course of a few months and to enjoy the many special events that cruise lines offer during the world cruise on and off the ship.

 

Keith

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Hi thank you for the replies thus far. I've done 2 cruises previously. One was a Carnival Caribbean cruise and the other, an NCL themed cruise (music). I really enjoyed the themed cruise because I automatically had at least one thing in common with everyone on that cruise and was able to make friends easily. I have another one of those planned for this coming winter. These cruises are a week in length.

One of my main objectives now that my life is changing and I'll have more free time, is to be able to go farther, stay longer, see more....I want to experience ports that are unique for me. The typical cruise port experiences on these Mexican/Caribbean cruises are snorkeling or shopping ....bored by that to be honest.

I would like to visit more interesting ports in other parts of the world without such a time crunch, if possible.

Thank you again. I like the idea of a cruise that is longer than a week but shorter than 90 days for example, to get my feet wet. (oops bad fun! LOL). Maybe one of those HAL repositioning cruises is a good interim suggestion.

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Barefootwoman, I saw your posting on another sub-forum under the Special Interest heading. Looks like you and I might have a good bit in common. I retired in similar circumstances a couple of years ago, and moved from the DC area, where I'd lived for almost 30 years, because my financial plan required a lower cost of living.

 

Thinking more about your ideas, and your experiences so far in cruising, I would suggest that you take some cruises longer than a week, and try out some different lines to see which ones' cultures mesh best with what you enjoy. Each of us has our own likes and dislikes, so the very things that would drive a person away from one ship may draw another person in. But I do think you need some range of experience with the different ship cultures and approaches to decide for yourself.

 

Cruise lines are divided into categories like mainstream (e.g., Carnival, NCL), premium (e.g., Celebrity, Oceania), or luxury (e.g., Crystal, Regent). I'd suggest that you not dismiss any because of what the categorization may imply. It may not be the reality.

 

I have found my niche in the luxury category. I've found that it really isn't as expensive as one might think at the outset, because so much is included in the upfront fare. It really depends on whether the things that are included are things that you will use, and would wind up paying for on other lines. It also depends on what atmosphere you want. The designation "luxury" is no so much for the pampering--all cruises do that to one extent or another--but for the lower-key atmosphere. No one is trying to sell you things because so much is already paid for. On sea days, you'll get more lectures on topics of interest than pool-side contests. It's really all in what you prefer. And, if you are going solo, some (primarily Crystal) often offer very reasonable single supplements.

 

All the best with your decisions. If nothing else, I expect you'll have a good time exploring your options!

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  • 1 month later...

Further to other responses, I suggest finding a cruise line that meets your needs. If cruising alone compare the single supplements, as they can be significant. Once settled on a cruise line you may want to try them on a 15 to 20 day cruise, especially a re-positioning with numerous sea days.

 

Regarding mainstream v's luxury, we also have moved into the up-market segment, choosing Viking Ocean for our next WC. While their base fare is almost double our 2015 Princess WC, I estimate the actual daily cost per day could be slightly less than Princess. The current Viking benefits on the 2020 WC are extensive, including $9K OBC.

 

To compare B2B v's WC, I would consider itinerary and on-board convenience. Some B2B's may have significant repeat visits to certain ports. Also on B2B's you need a new card every cruise, including settling your account and signing off and signing in again at every turnaround port. On a WC you get 1 card, sign in at embarkation and sign out at disembarkation. However, on a WC can you handle up to 8 to 10 sea days in a row.

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You have been given excellent advice by everybody. I would like to point out one thing again: the single supplement. It may change the price considerably from one line to another depending on how high it is or if it is waived. We can't recommend travel agents on cruise critic, but a really experienced ta is of valuable help to find out the fine details.

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Have been on over 60 cruises, some as a single lady. I would suggest doing 3 backtobacks maybe in Dec. in off season out of Florida. Try 3 that offer WC that most interest you.. You will quickly see the differences. Most of WCs offer segments too. I did 71 days on Oceania, 3 segments after being on her twice before. Loved every moment but I knew 71 days was enough for me. I also found that was perfect ship for me. Cunard too British including food. Princess ship a little ragged with so so food, activities, not enough ports. HALpassengers too old and conservative for me .Been on all of them.You have to try before you buy!! Oceanias 2019 is an excellent itin.

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Many excellent suggestions have been made, but having just returned from a HAL WC, one thing that was very noticeable vs a B2B cruise (which we've done before) was the number of enrichment classes that are put on the WC...everything from painting, drawing, bridge, crafts (and NOT junky crafts!) etc. to dancing...and then some. These were extensive classes that were in addition to the various lecture series on a variety of topics. I was amazed at the quality of art work the folks exhibited after weeks of these classes. Next time I plan to join in several of these classes. The continuity of so many other cruisers and staff were wonderful. However, we made sure we cruised a short time (14 days) on the ship we were planning to do the WC on (Amsterdam.)

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Janmcn is correct about additional activities on sea days. I have 19 needlepoint kits, nice ones left from sessions. They also had art classes given by by a pro artist, Sadly, at same time as needlepoint. Another plus to WC or segments of is not spending days going to/ from originating port.

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You might like to follow the blogs of passengers on world cruises to get a feel for particular ships. Most leave the Northern Hemisphere early January, however there is one WC, Sea Princess, which starts in Auckland/Sydney in June, with six passengers currently blogging.

 

My first cruise from Australia to London return, set the benchmark for all my future cruising. I am destination driven. I know I wouldn't enjoy any WC with too many sea days, nor short days in port.

 

Viking Sun World Cruise ongoing review/comments has some very helpful comments on the most recent WC - all good things to consider.

 

These WC blogs will help you make a WC vs long cruise decision which best meets your needs. After all, it would be a trip of a lifetime, which many enjoy so much, they repeat year after year.

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You might like to follow the blogs of passengers on world cruises to get a feel for particular ships. Most leave the Northern Hemisphere early January, however there is one WC, Sea Princess, which starts in Auckland/Sydney in June, with six passengers currently blogging.

 

My first cruise from Australia to London return, set the benchmark for all my future cruising. I am destination driven. I know I wouldn't enjoy any WC with too many sea days, nor short days in port.

 

Viking Sun World Cruise ongoing review/comments has some very helpful comments on the most recent WC - all good things to consider.

 

These WC blogs will help you make a WC vs long cruise decision which best meets your needs. After all, it would be a trip of a lifetime, which many enjoy so much, they repeat year after year.

Could you provide links to any of the Sea Princess blogs?

 

 

Sent from my SM-J700T using Forums mobile app

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Could you provide links to any of the Sea Princess blogs?

Sent from my SM-J700T using Forums mobile app

 

This is how you can find the list of 6 bloggers on Sea Princess WC -

  • Australia and New Zealand Cruisers
  • Bon Voyage Sea Princess World Cruise 2018
  • Packetau (No.10 - 1/6/18)
  • 6 links to blogs

Sorry I don't know how to attach links.

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This is how you can find the list of 6 bloggers on Sea Princess WC -

  • Australia and New Zealand Cruisers
  • Bon Voyage Sea Princess World Cruise 2018
  • Packetau (No.10 - 1/6/18)
  • 6 links to blogs

Sorry I don't know how to attach links.

Thanks much, that should help.

 

Sent from my SM-J700T using Forums mobile app

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  • 3 weeks later...

I came across a book written by a woman who had gone solo on a

World cruise, kept a journal, wrote a book. I read excerpts, really liked them, but failed to write down the author/title. One excerpt covered a two or three day bout of rough seas, how she muddled thru. Anybody know the author/book I sampled???

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  • 2 weeks later...

When .we did our first w/c in 2016 there were about a dozen single ladies. Some were sharing cabins and others were solo.

 

A good option to get a feel for a longer cruise with new ports would be a cruise around South America - not offered too often but they would take around 50 days.

 

If at the end you have had enough then you know a w/c is not for you but if at the end you thinking "do I really have to leave" then the jump to a 100 day plus will be easy.

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My suggestion is to start looking at itineraries. While you are looking at itineraries make notes of places you want to see. With the internet you can look up anywhere you dream of and read about it, see pictures, etc.

 

It is pretty easy once you get into reading itineraries to string together b2b2b2b etc. (back to back cruises, same ship).

 

If you want to visit the Mediterranean in Europe but you aren't too fond of flying, in the fall you can take a repositioning cruise, on many ships, from Florida to Europe and stay on the same ship while going to different ports. Here is where you need to read itineraries so you don't repeat the same cruise over and over.

 

Same thing in the Baltic area, you can string together several cruises. If you are cruising Europe in the Fall you can take a repositioning cruise from Southampton UK back to the US.

 

There is also Cunard's Queen Mary 2 who goes back and forth between NYC (Brooklyn actually) many, many times a year. It is 7 days and so much more pleasant than flying.

 

OK now, you were actually asking about world cruises, so I'll give my input on WC. Every world cruise itinerary that I have ever read, I have already been to 80% of the places it is going and the other 20% don't interest me.

 

Have you ever thought about Australia and New Zealand? That was our first cruise. Flight US to Auckland, traveled around by car, then car ferry to the south island and traveled around there by car. Then flight from Queenstown to Sydney and spent 8 weeks traveling around Australia. At the end of our travels we boarded RC Rhapsody Of The Seas and headed to Hawaii. Australia to North America in the Spring, North America to Australia in the Fall, are repositioning cruises every year.

 

The world is out there just waiting for you to explore.

 

Incidentally we have never taken a Caribbean cruise. We did all of our Caribbean fly/land. Have no interest in going back.

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  • 1 month later...
My suggestion is to start looking at itineraries. While you are looking at itineraries make notes of places you want to see. With the internet you can look up anywhere you dream of and read about it, see pictures, etc.

 

It is pretty easy once you get into reading itineraries to string together b2b2b2b etc. (back to back cruises, same ship).

 

 

We're currently tossing around the idea of a WC or a string of B2Bs for 2021. Definitely leaning towards B2Bs and maybe some land trips in the middle if we need to switch ships to get what we want. I think there are just too many areas on a lot of WCs that I have no interest in going. We'll be looking at either Europe or the South Pacific. Would be nice to start our journey with a Transpacific out of Vancouver. I think it will also keep the age group down on shorter cruises.

 

We're definitely interested in a Crystal 46 day cruise in late 2020 but their new $500 cancellation admin fee PP for 2020 as well as no currency protection for Canadians (can only book in US) is a bit of a turnoff. We'll wait to see what other lines put out.

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We're currently tossing around the idea of a WC or a string of B2Bs for 2021. Definitely leaning towards B2Bs and maybe some land trips in the middle if we need to switch ships to get what we want. I think there are just too many areas on a lot of WCs that I have no interest in going. We'll be looking at either Europe or the South Pacific. Would be nice to start our journey with a Transpacific out of Vancouver. I think it will also keep the age group down on shorter cruises.

 

We're definitely interested in a Crystal 46 day cruise in late 2020 but their new $500 cancellation admin fee PP for 2020 as well as no currency protection for Canadians (can only book in US) is a bit of a turnoff. We'll wait to see what other lines put out.

 

As an Australian, I only book overseas cruises after final payment for those very reasons. Our deposits are non refundable and Aussie$/US$ currency exchange rates are too risky to make bookings far ahead. In addition, there is the risk of the cruise itinerary being changed or, at worst, cancelled.

 

$1000 per couple cancellation fee by Crystal is a bit rich for a late 2020 cruise!

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We're currently tossing around the idea of a WC or a string of B2Bs for 2021. Definitely leaning towards B2Bs and maybe some land trips in the middle if we need to switch ships to get what we want. I think there are just too many areas on a lot of WCs that I have no interest in going. We'll be looking at either Europe or the South Pacific. Would be nice to start our journey with a Transpacific out of Vancouver. I think it will also keep the age group down on shorter cruises.

 

We're definitely interested in a Crystal 46 day cruise in late 2020 but their new $500 cancellation admin fee PP for 2020 as well as no currency protection for Canadians (can only book in US) is a bit of a turnoff. We'll wait to see what other lines put out.

 

Viking have just released a segment on the 2020 WC. They have a 38 day LA to Sydney cruise, departing LA on Jan 4th. All Viking pricing is in CAN $. We don't even see the US pricing. We are already signed up for the entire LA to London.

 

https://www.vikingcruisescanada.com/oceans/cruise-destinations/world-grand/south-pacific-the-land-down-under/pricing.html

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