Wrong Way Round??

[shintaro]

:confused:

 

Does anybody out there know the reason all current Round the World Cruises go the Wrong Way

 

I want to go UK to Australia Via Suez Canal then across the Pacific and through the Panama Canal like I used to back to UK

 

Crossing the Date Line the correct way and Gaining another Day on my life

[kate59]

There is probably some nautical reason why they do this ie currents or something?? I would also like to hear the real reason.

[Keith1010]

My experience is that World Cruises go in different directions.

 

Some go East to West and others West to East.

 

Nowadays with various safety issues some do not do the types of itineraries they have done in the past.

 

Keith

[CaveDiving]

:confused:

 

Does anybody out there know the reason all current Round the World Cruises go the Wrong Way

 

I want to go UK to Australia Via Suez Canal then across the Pacific and through the Panama Canal like I used to back to UK

 

Crossing the Date Line the correct way and Gaining another Day on my life

 

Although I’m not certain exactly which direction is the “correct” way and which is the “wrong” way, I’d like to address this situation. Having been on several World Cruises and several other transpacific cruises, I have an opinion on the cruise direction for these voyages.

 

One of the most difficult times Karen and I have had on a ship was completing a World Cruise heading East. The path took us north, around the Russian Kamchatka Peninsula and through the Aleutians. Each day we lost either one or two hours and after a week, our internal clocks were so screwed up that we didn’t know whether we were eating breakfast or supper. It was really not enjoyable.

 

It seems that adding an hour a day simply means we sleep an extra hour but deleting an hour a day seems to really add up.

 

On a round trip transpacific tour that starts and ends on the USA west coast, gaining an hour each day heading West appears to offset the losing an hour each day heading back East. For the few weeks we’re around Australia and New Zealand, our bodies seem to remember the extra time gained and the lost time on the second half of the trip doesn’t seem so bad. But on a World Cruise, all of the lost hours seem to add up to an uncomfortable situation.

 

Another reason that World Cruises heading East are rare, is that the crew needs to do the same amount of daily work as with any other cruise but they get one hour less sleep each day. And since we all understand that they have so much spare time that they’re just anxious to have something to do to fill the time, it really is a significant hardship on them. This is why many ships make the lost hour happen at 2PM instead of 2AM, so on some days, at least, the crew can get a full night's sleep. But this still doesn't compensate completely for the lost time.

 

Scott & Karen

[jocap]

P&O used to have one ship sailing east- perhaps this year that's not happening because they'd planned on Azura going as well as the others, and now she's being sent to the Caribbean instead.

QM2 is going east, but doesn't seem to be going all the way round; people from the US can join her on the TA from New York the week before. The other Queen is starting her World cruise in NY this year, and going west.

Which way are Fred Olsen and Saga going this year?

Jo.

PS....Fred's going west in '13, but east in '14; Saga is going via South America and round the Horn.

[nybumpkin]

My son sailed West to East from Korea to Long Beach on a cargo ship and was exhausted by the end. They lost an hour a day, so all their work had to be completed in a compressed day. He disembarked in Long Beach, took a redeye from LAX to JFK to get back to the US Merchant Marine Academy on Long Island, and found a room to crash. I think we finally heard from him the following day....:p

[antique sailor]

Although I’m not certain exactly which direction is the “correct” way and which is the “wrong” way, I’d like to address this situation. Having been on several World Cruises and several other transpacific cruises, I have an opinion on the cruise direction for these voyages.

 

One of the most difficult times Karen and I have had on a ship was completing a World Cruise heading East. The path took us north, around the Russian Kamchatka Peninsula and through the Aleutians. Each day we lost either one or two hours and after a week, our internal clocks were so screwed up that we didn’t know whether we were eating breakfast or supper. It was really not enjoyable.

 

It seems that adding an hour a day simply means we sleep an extra hour but deleting an hour a day seems to really add up.

 

On a round trip transpacific tour that starts and ends on the USA west coast, gaining an hour each day heading West appears to offset the losing an hour each day heading back East. For the few weeks we’re around Australia and New Zealand, our bodies seem to remember the extra time gained and the lost time on the second half of the trip doesn’t seem so bad. But on a World Cruise, all of the lost hours seem to add up to an uncomfortable situation.

 

Another reason that World Cruises heading East are rare, is that the crew needs to do the same amount of daily work as with any other cruise but they get one hour less sleep each day. And since we all understand that they have so much spare time that they’re just anxious to have something to do to fill the time, it really is a significant hardship on them. This is why many ships make the lost hour happen at 2PM instead of 2AM, so on some days, at least, the crew can get a full night's sleep. But this still doesn't compensate completely for the lost time.

 

Scott & Karen

AHOY SHIPMATES

IT's a fact that the crews work very long hours and sleep is valued.

Most Lines try to go east to west most of the time . In 2000 Holland America went in the other direction and it was obvious that everyone was unhappy about losing an hour on 24 nights. Many passengers commented on the surveys at the end of the cruise that

they would Never do it again.....Personally it doesn't matter to me as long as they serve 4 or 5 meals a day.

Also most all world cruises begin the first week in January so weather in the ports etc. is much nicer if you go east to west.

GARY

[navybankerteacher]

Even on a trans-Atlantic, between Florida and the Mediterranean the cumulative effect of just the six one hour changes is noticeable. That might be why fares on westbound trans-Atlantic repositionings are higher than on eastbounds. Of course, the Atlantic is much warmer in the fall than in the spring, giving a more pleasant crossing, so that could be a factor as well.

[CruiserBruce]

Who, or what, is to say which direction is "correct"?

[sailinglisa]

Losing an hour a day (going east) or gaining an hour a day (going west) - to me that is a no-brainer! Go west young person!

[Keith1010]

I have been on five full World Cruises. Which way they go does vary year by year.

 

Keith

[navybankerteacher]

My experience is that World Cruises go in different directions.

 

Some go East to West and others West to East.

 

Nowadays with various safety issues some do not do the types of itineraries they have done in the past.

 

Keith

 

If you are talking about a "world cruise" which actually goes around the world, I think you will find that they all go from east to west - upcoming examples are HAL Amsterdam, Crystal Serenity, and P&O Aurora. Sure there are a lot of long cruises which may go halfway in either direction, but I do not believe any go literally around the world west to east.