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Which company for inexpensive worldwide trip?


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My husband and I are considering a world cruise in 2020. We aren't rich and the luxury lines like Oceania, Viking are just way too expensive. But 100+ days, seeing 20+ ports that normally we'd never get to (Easter Island, Pitcairn Island, Bora Bora, possibly Antarctica!) is just so tempting.

 

There are two companies that seem the most affordable, but both also get many poor reviews. Some of the comments are not that important to us: too many "foreigners", announcements in four languages, too much ballroom dancing, too long to get a mixed drink, but some are important. We do like good food, maybe not gourmet, but must be edible. Clean is important.

 

So we are looking at the MSC Magnifica and the Costa Deliziosa. Both have cruises for less that $ 20,000 per person. Any opinions? Or suggestions?

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The base fares on World Cruises vary significantly and the primary reason is what is included. With the main stream cruise lines the base fare generally gets you onboard with basic meals, unless you have loyalty benefits. With Viking and Oceania, their World Cruises are fully inclusive. There are others, but these are the 2 we researched in detail.

 

Our 2015 WC with Princess, the base fare was a little more than 1/2 the base fare of our upcoming 2020 Viking WC. Once I consider all costs, I project the daily cost of the Viking Cruise will be identical to slightly less than the 2015 cruise. Only difference is we pay everything up front.

 

Yes, you can do it cheaper, but isn't a WC a once in a lifetime holiday. Will you be happy saying you have been round the world, or do you actually want to see some of the world.

 

If you go mainstream mega ship, some costs to consider:

- laundry: ship service costs a fortune and the self-service machines aren't cheap. On Viking the self-service machines are free.

- Wi-fi: in addition to being slow, it is very expensive. Can you survive without internet for 4 months. In port you can follow the crew to free internet providers, but that reduces time for exploring. Viking provides free, unlimited internet access.

- Gratuities: budget on $2.5K to $3.5K. On Viking tips are included

- Drinks: most mainline ships provide tap water, tea/coffee/juice in buffet. Specialty teas, coffee, bottled water and all bar drinks cost extra. Bar prices are not cheap. Our Viking cruise is virtually all-inclusive, with ultra-premium spirits probably the only extra. They provide free bottled water for going ashore.

- Excursions: with up to 50 ports of call, figure on many thousands of dollars, regardless of whether you use ships tours or private tours. With our Viking cruise we have a free tour in every port and almost $9K OBC for additional tours

- Visas: number of Visas vary by itinerary, as some WC's require many Visa's. Getting some Visas can be expensive, especially if you have to use a Visa procurement company. For our next WC, Viking is paying for all Visas, all we require is sufficient passport photos and post them with our passports to Viking's Visa procurement company.

- Airfares: these obviously vary significantly. In 2015, we required RT Vancouver to Sydney. In 2020 we require flight to LA and back from London. Long haul, we choose not to fly cattle class. With Viking, free business flights are included.

 

 

This is a brief summary of some of the major additional costs on a mega ship mainstream line, but also suggest you consider they are expert at removing pax from their money. Hopefully this will give you a few items to research when selecting a World Cruise.

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My husband and I are considering a world cruise in 2020. We aren't rich and the luxury lines like Oceania, Viking are just way too expensive. But 100+ days, seeing 20+ ports that normally we'd never get to (Easter Island, Pitcairn Island, Bora Bora, possibly Antarctica!) is just so tempting.

 

 

I don't want to rain on your parade, but Easter Island is a tender port that is often skipped due to inclement weather and ocean conditions. Pitcairn Island: The islanders come out to the ship. You are not going to step foot on the island.

Check out grand voyages and world cruises on Holland America for a price comparison.

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All good advise. I can't find out what a Viking or Holland America cruise in 2020 will cost. They seem to be booked up already for 2020? But for 2019 it looks like the minimum on Viking was $ 49,000 +....... each. Much more for a balcony I expect. We can do a Costa in 2020 on a balcony for $ 22,000 each. That's a lot of laundry! And we don't drink that much. I have heard people rave about Holland America and I'm going to contact them.

Still getting my mind around being on a ship for that many days.

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The base fares on World Cruises vary significantly and the primary reason is what is included. With the main stream cruise lines the base fare generally gets you onboard with basic meals, unless you have loyalty benefits. With Viking and Oceania, their World Cruises are fully inclusive. There are others, but these are the 2 we researched in detail.

 

Our 2015 WC with Princess, the base fare was a little more than 1/2 the base fare of our upcoming 2020 Viking WC. Once I consider all costs, I project the daily cost of the Viking Cruise will be identical to slightly less than the 2015 cruise. Only difference is we pay everything up front.

 

Yes, you can do it cheaper, but isn't a WC a once in a lifetime holiday. Will you be happy saying you have been round the world, or do you actually want to see some of the world.

 

If you go mainstream mega ship, some costs to consider:

- laundry: ship service costs a fortune and the self-service machines aren't cheap. On Viking the self-service machines are free.

- Wi-fi: in addition to being slow, it is very expensive. Can you survive without internet for 4 months. In port you can follow the crew to free internet providers, but that reduces time for exploring. Viking provides free, unlimited internet access.

- Gratuities: budget on $2.5K to $3.5K. On Viking tips are included

- Drinks: most mainline ships provide tap water, tea/coffee/juice in buffet. Specialty teas, coffee, bottled water and all bar drinks cost extra. Bar prices are not cheap. Our Viking cruise is virtually all-inclusive, with ultra-premium spirits probably the only extra. They provide free bottled water for going ashore.

- Excursions: with up to 50 ports of call, figure on many thousands of dollars, regardless of whether you use ships tours or private tours. With our Viking cruise we have a free tour in every port and almost $9K OBC for additional tours

- Visas: number of Visas vary by itinerary, as some WC's require many Visa's. Getting some Visas can be expensive, especially if you have to use a Visa procurement company. For our next WC, Viking is paying for all Visas, all we require is sufficient passport photos and post them with our passports to Viking's Visa procurement company.

- Airfares: these obviously vary significantly. In 2015, we required RT Vancouver to Sydney. In 2020 we require flight to LA and back from London. Long haul, we choose not to fly cattle class. With Viking, free business flights are included.

 

 

This is a brief summary of some of the major additional costs on a mega ship mainstream line, but also suggest you consider they are expert at removing pax from their money. Hopefully this will give you a few items to research when selecting a World Cruise.

This is excellent advice! My friend and I will be on the 2019 Oceania world cruise....we spent a couple months researching 10 different cruiseline world cruises and found out that they differed greatly in price, amenities offered, type of ship and itinerary. We decided what was most important to us and eventually chose Oceania.

 

Now, we're also not rich....just registered nurses. But we wanted to get the best value for our hard earned money. We found that the cheaper cruises offered fewer amenities that are necessary for many months on a ship, fewer port stops and more sea days, and poorer reviews of food quality and service. Oceania (and others) cost more, but included so many things that would have to be purchased separately on a cheaper line.

 

Currently I'm not at home, but when I get back home, I'll post the list of what Oceania includes in basic cruisefare. We calculated the value of these things to be about $22,000. We had to add this cost to cheaper cruisefare to get a fair comparison.

 

Also, smaller ships can get into more exotic ports, we wanted a westerly sailing direction and Oceania is known for great food. This will be a once-in-a-lifetime trip for us so we wanted it to be the best value we could find. I feel very blessed to be able to do it. :halo:

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This is excellent advice! My friend and I will be on the 2019 Oceania world cruise....we spent a couple months researching 10 different cruiseline world cruises and found out that they differed greatly in price, amenities offered, type of ship and itinerary. We decided what was most important to us and eventually chose Oceania.

 

Now, we're also not rich....just registered nurses. But we wanted to get the best value for our hard earned money. We found that the cheaper cruises offered fewer amenities that are necessary for many months on a ship, fewer port stops and more sea days, and poorer reviews of food quality and service. Oceania (and others) cost more, but included so many things that would have to be purchased separately on a cheaper line.

 

Currently I'm not at home, but when I get back home, I'll post the list of what Oceania includes in basic cruisefare. We calculated the value of these things to be about $22,000. We had to add this cost to cheaper cruisefare to get a fair comparison.

 

Also, smaller ships can get into more exotic ports, we wanted a westerly sailing direction and Oceania is known for great food. This will be a once-in-a-lifetime trip for us so we wanted it to be the best value we could find. I feel very blessed to be able to do it. :halo:

 

Our shortlist was Viking and Oceania, which if I recall correctly were virtually comparable in perks offered on their WC's. What tipped us in favour of Viking was the direction of travel. The Oceania WC in 2020 sails East, while the Viking one sails mostly West.

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The Oceania WC in 2020 sails East, while the Viking one sails mostly West.

For our 2019 WC, it travels westerly....which is what we also wanted. And we love our itinerary.....it goes to many, many of our bucket list places....not so much for the 2020 one.

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Currently I'm not at home, but when I get back home, I'll post the list of what Oceania includes in basic cruisefare.

We chose Oceania for their 2019 world cruise and it goes westward, which we also wanted. It's pretty much all-inclusive....here are the benefits included in the cruise fare, no matter what category cabin you book:

 

~First class roundtrip airfare

~Can start the world cruise in one of 3 cities

~Choice of: 36 shore excursions per person or $3,600 obc per person or their Beverage Package for 2 people

~Prepaid gratuities

~Unlimited onboard medical care

~Unlimited Internet

~Unlimited laundry services

~5 special shore events

~Visa package (we'll need 5 visas)

~Luggage delivery service for 2 pieces per person both going to the ship and returning

~1 night pre-cruise in a luxury hotel

~Round trip transfers at beginning and end of trip

~$230pp spa credit

~$250pp obc

 

We also got to choose from alot of obc or an equally large discount on the cruisefare from our travel agent. Since we don't drink alcohol, we chose the shore excursion perk. We just booked the shore excursions and they equaled over $11,000 per person. Another thing we liked about Oceania is that they do 60% of the trip in ports and 40% sea days. We love sea days, but wanted a majority of our time in ports. When we researched 10 different cruiselines doing world cruises, the cheaper ones had many more sea days than port days. I've read previous world cruisers posting that they got gifts from Oceania, but that hasn't been mentioned to us by the cruiseline. Also, the specialty restaurants on the ship have no charge, just have to make a reservation.

 

Another nice perk on Oceania is that you get the loyalty perks for the category of loyalty status that you will become at the beginning of the cruise. For example, it takes 15 cruise credits to reach the Gold level....and you get 15 credits for taking a cruise of 158 or more days. So, even though technically you earn the 15 credits after taking the cruise, they give you the Gold level perks BEFORE the cruise so you'll get the benefits while on this trip. Gold level gets: $500 obc per cabin, $230 of spa credit per person, and 2 complimentary Custom Air Fee Waivers ($350 value).

 

If you're thinking about booking a world cruise on a cheaper cruiseline, be sure to see the above amenities and add in the cost of them to your basic fare....you usually have to fly, buy shore excursions (quite costly in 90 ports!), buy non-alcoholic drinks and maybe some alcoholic ones, pay gratuities, possibly need some expensive ship's medical care, stay in touch with family/friends on the Internet, wash and dry clothes each week, buy visas, pay luggage fees, precruise hotel, and transfers.

Edited by Go-Bucks!
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Itinerary, Itinerary, Itinerary...first and foremost for a WC. Compare costs, read reviews, and think about how you'll "live" on board for 4 months (Holland)...we took our first WC last year (our "only one" we thought) and are now signed up for another. The camaraderie among the cruisers and staff couldn't be beat. Sea days were filled with exciting things to see and do. Ports were interesting with varied excursions. Look at the total costs of the various cruises and what hidden costs perhaps are not in one line's package or another. Don't worry about "sold out" cruises...'18 on HAL was sold out, but plenty of cabins opened up over the year. Same will happen with 2020.

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All good advise. I can't find out what a Viking or Holland America cruise in 2020 will cost. They seem to be booked up already for 2020? But for 2019 it looks like the minimum on Viking was $ 49,000 +....... each. Much more for a balcony I expect. We can do a Costa in 2020 on a balcony for $ 22,000 each. That's a lot of laundry! And we don't drink that much. I have heard people rave about Holland America and I'm going to contact them.

Still getting my mind around being on a ship for that many days.

 

The Holland America 2020 World Cruise JUST released the itinerary and opened for booking so that’s why you couldn’t find info on it before. We were on the wait list and got our cabin booked today. The 2020 cruise is a long one at 128 days. It includes both Africa AND Antarctica! This one hits every continent except Europe.

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All good advise. I can't find out what a Viking or Holland America cruise in 2020 will cost. They seem to be booked up already for 2020? But for 2019 it looks like the minimum on Viking was $ 49,000 +....... each. Much more for a balcony I expect. We can do a Costa in 2020 on a balcony for $ 22,000 each. That's a lot of laundry! And we don't drink that much. I have heard people rave about Holland America and I'm going to contact them.

Still getting my mind around being on a ship for that many days.

 

The Holland America 2020 World Cruise JUST released the itinerary and opened for booking so that’s why you couldn’t find info on it before. We were on the wait list and got our cabin booked today. The 2020 cruise is a long one at 128 days. It includes both Africa AND Antarctica! This one hits every continent except Europe.

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Last year we spent a great deal of time researching the different cruise lines for a world cruise in 2019. We settled on two; Oceania or Cunard. We got a great deal on Oceania, but we were put on a wait list; during that time the price of the cruise increased significantly, and we surmised that after two months on the list that Oceania was not going to release a cabin to us if they could get more from newbie bookings.

 

We ended up cancelling the Oceania cruise and booked the Queen Victoria. The price came in below $159 per night p/p in an inside cabin, along with free gratuities + $750 in OBC.

It fits our budget and we will make the whole formal thing fun. Many folks are paying north of $50,000 per person and that's way out of our league.

 

Enjoy!

Kel:D

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we were put on a wait list; during that time the price of the cruise increased significantly, and we surmised that after two months on the list that Oceania was not going to release a cabin to us if they could get more from newbie bookings.

Actually, that wouldn't have happened because if you were on the waitlist and then a cabin opened up, you'd have to pay the current price of that cabin (not what the price had been when you got on the waitlist)....just the same as a newly booked person would have to do. And cabins do become available during the 2 years between the time the bookings open up and the time of the cruise....3 cabins became available this week for the 2019 world cruise. But there are 2 waitlists....one is for those who make a deposit for that cabin category and the other is for those who don't put down a deposit. I'm sure you can guess which list has priority. ;)

 

We booked on the day the reservations opened up (March 1, 2017) and the price has only gone up by $1,000/pp since then. I wouldn't call that a significant increase considering the total cost of a world cruise.

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So excited to follow this thread. We are planning WC for 2021 and putting together our spreadsheet AND trying some new cruise lines to get a feel for the fit to our cruise vibe. Of the WC lines, we have 16 Princess cruises and 1 MSC under our belts. Headed to Cunard next Feb. and another MSC in the fall.

Holland America, Viking and Oceania all look interesting but we have never sailed them. I have also imagined creating a DIY WC by combining low, last minute fares on different lines with some plane hopping and land visits in between.

So, lots to learn before bookings for 2021 open up (another column for the spreadsheet!).

We are definitely interior cabin sailors who generally book off-the-ship tours or figure out local public transportation on our own. Moderate drinkers. We just need the perfect price, experience, what’s included, itinerary algorithm!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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Last year we spent a great deal of time researching the different cruise lines for a world cruise in 2019. We settled on two; Oceania or Cunard. We got a great deal on Oceania, but we were put on a wait list; during that time the price of the cruise increased significantly, and we surmised that after two months on the list that Oceania was not going to release a cabin to us if they could get more from newbie bookings.

 

We ended up cancelling the Oceania cruise and booked the Queen Victoria. The price came in below $159 per night p/p in an inside cabin, along with free gratuities + $750 in OBC.

It fits our budget and we will make the whole formal thing fun. Many folks are paying north of $50,000 per person and that's way out of our league.

 

Enjoy!

Kel:D

 

You are going to have such an amazing time, I did the world cruise on the Queen Victoria in 2016 and it was a very similar itinerary , it was the best 120 days Ive ever had at sea, and I can't wait to do it again, in case you are interested I blogged about it and the week pre and post and have included the address below.

 

Have a great trip, and see you on board

 

Roscoe

 

https://exitviathegiftshop.blogspot.co.nz

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You are going to have such an amazing time, I did the world cruise on the Queen Victoria in 2016 and it was a very similar itinerary , it was the best 120 days Ive ever had at sea, and I can't wait to do it again, in case you are interested I blogged about it and the week pre and post and have included the address below.

 

Have a great trip, and see you on board

 

Roscoe

 

https://exitviathegiftshop.blogspot.co.nz

 

Hey thanks Roscoe!

 

We both are very excited for this World adventure 2019! :D Looking forward to meeting you onboard the Victoria in February. We have a bunch of cruises Oct--Dec just to keep us occupied before the "Big One".

 

Great blog -- will talk to you soon,

Kel

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Holland America, Viking and Oceania

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

I like Oceania a lot for their food, fresh berries for breakfast! Their around the world ships are small and old, however, even though elegant and in very good shape. Same old age ships for HAL.Their food was boring. We've booked with them again after a 5 year hiatus. It's a grand voyage not a world cruise and we'll see how that goes.

Viking has new ships that look very inviting. We might consider them in the future, but we are also considering other lines for specific itineraries.

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Hey thanks Roscoe!

.

 

Great blog -- will talk to you soon,

Kel

 

 

thanks, it will give you an idea what to expect as long as you keep a sense of humour....you need one on Cunard..

see you in the commodore club...

 

roscoe

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We just booked the Costa world cruise for 2020. We like the itinerary and it's very inexpensive. We are getting an outside obstructed view cabin, includes beer and wine at lunch and dinner and 15 excursions. The price is about $16, 000 each for this 112 night cruise

I realize we have to get to and from Venice, there won't be much English language entertainment, food may not be fabulous, we have to pay for the Internet and laundry, and this isn't a deluxe line. But the price is right Time to read those Dickens novels, brush up on solitaire and just relax And we will not break the bank to do it

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We just booked the Costa world cruise for 2020. We like the itinerary and it's very inexpensive. We are getting an outside obstructed view cabin, includes beer and wine at lunch and dinner and 15 excursions. The price is about $16, 000 each for this 112 night cruise

I realize we have to get to and from Venice, there won't be much English language entertainment, food may not be fabulous, we have to pay for the Internet and laundry, and this isn't a deluxe line. But the price is right Time to read those Dickens novels, brush up on solitaire and just relax And we will not break the bank to do it

 

What a memorable start to a WC - Venice! Does sound like a good deal for 112 nights. Enjoy!

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  • 7 months later...
On 6/15/2018 at 1:46 AM, roscoe39 said:

 

 

thanks, it will give you an idea what to expect as long as you keep a sense of humour....you need one on Cunard..

see you in the commodore club...

 

roscoe

 

I know that this is an old thread, but I couldn't resist asking what you meant by "... huour ... you need one on Cunard?"  Are you saying that the passengers/crew do not have a sense of humour or that they do?  We are looking at Cunard for a WC and have sailed on the QM2's TA, but would like a smaller ship for the WC, like the QV.  

 

 

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1 hour ago, Tampa Girl said:

 

I know that this is an old thread, but I couldn't resist asking what you meant by "... huour ... you need one on Cunard?"  Are you saying that the passengers/crew do not have a sense of humour or that they do?  We are looking at Cunard for a WC and have sailed on the QM2's TA, but would like a smaller ship for the WC, like the QV.  

 

1 hour ago, Tampa Girl said:

 

hi., you couldn't pick a better ship to do a world cruise on , the Queen Victoria has a great crew and she is a beautiful ship.

I only meant that travelling with a sense of humour is a necessity when travelling,  If you read my blog you will see what fun can be had onboard if you are willing to open up to the experience, I see some grumpy people on the ship sometimes and think "what a waste of money when they can't even enjoy the experience"!

I expect that won't be the case for your trip.....lol

 

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