I know I am crazy! World cruise question.

[Old As Dirt Mom]

Hello,

 

I am new to this board, and to cruising as well. The last cruise I took was in 1960, when I travelled as an infant with my parents from New York to Rotterdam on Statendam. My parents have the pictures to prove this, but I myself have no recollection of the crossing:) .

 

I am seriously attracted to the idea of the Amsterdam Grand World Voyage 2007. My husband and I are in our mid-forties. We have two daughters, who will be ages 17 1/2 and 8 1/2 in early 2007. The older daughter is home-schooled; the younger attends a parochial school. Our younger daughter was born in India, and my husband flew to Calcutta (now renamed Kolkata) to finalize the adoption proceedings.

 

We can't afford the entire world cruise, unless we liquidate some retirement assets (not a good move), but we might be able to afford a segment. In my youth, I travelled the globe as a flight attendant for Pan Am. Any information about around-the-world itineraries would be extremely welcome.

 

I feel like I am somewhat crazy for even thinking about this. We would probably invite a friend of my older daughter along as well, in order to provide her with some same-age companionship, which would mean booking two cabins. We would make sure both our daughters kept up with their schoolwork on the cruise. I am open to your suggestions and criticisms. My conscience tells me to wait until a more appropriate time in our lives; my impatient nature wants to do it all now, now, now:) ! I feel I am extremely fortunate to even be contemplating this decision in the first place.

 

Thanks for in advance for your replies. Sorry for such a long question!

[jhannah]

While a segment of a world cruise has merit, have you thought about taking, say, a 10-day cruise through Canada/New England or Sea of Cortez ... or something like that? Since you don't have any real experience with cruising, a shorter, closer-to-home, less expensive trip might be in order to test the waters (pun duly noted) before you really stick your financial neck out for something more grandiose. You can see what your children think of the whole deal. You may love it, they may not. That will make a decision easier for future cruises.

 

Just a thought. Whichever you choose, good luck in making your selection and planning ... which can be just about as much fun as the cruise itself.

[DFD1]

Since you brought it up, I'd say Go For It. I've learned, sometimes the hard way, that waiting for the perfect time for anything in life is often a mistake.

 

The HAL Grand Cruise (or World Cruise) is always divided into segments. Any good travel agent or the HAL sales department will be happy to give you details.

 

I hope you will go, take as many of those you love as you can, and have a wonderful time.

[Old As Dirt Mom]

Thank you, Mr. JHannah; I agree with your suggestion. I am looking at booking a weeklong cruise to Alaska from our homeport of Seattle next summer, or to Mexico during our spring break. I have also discussed the world voyage idea with our daughters, and they are both intrigued. But it would be good idea to "dip a toe" in order to "test the waters" first:) . Thanks for your prompt response.

 

DFD1: That is how I feel myself. The 2007 Amsterdam Grand World Voyage comprises a phenomenal itinerary, which may never be duplicated. I should make sure, however, that it's the right decision for everybody involved. (Now I just need to convince them that my decision IS the right decision....:) )

 

Thanks from Middle-aged Mom.

[bobpatj]

I too, have found this an interesting itinerary and though we could never afford the entire cruise, I've been checking out the segments. I'm not sure when booking and prices will be available.

[babyher]

I have to agree with Jim on this. Start off small. Try a 7 or 10 dayer and see how that goes. You essentially have never been on a cruise and I assume (correct me if I am wrong) that your husband and children have never cruised.

 

Even a segment of a world cruise is a long period of time and a lot of money to "test the waters" as Jim says :)

 

You could get aboard and hate it after a few days and then you are stuck there for what like 30 more days ( I am guessing that is what a segmnet runs) That is a long time to listen to three kids constantly ask "When are we going home?"

 

I do not think you are crazy at all to want to do this trip, It sounds wonderful and we all have our dreams. And by all means you should go for it one day.

 

But first I think that you should take a shorter less expensive cruise just to get your feet wet (Yes another pun *LOL*) and see if cruiseing is really for you. Thats just my 2 cents :)

 

Best of luck and have a ball whatever trip you choose

[sail7seas]

I add my opinion to those ahead of me that it would be a good idea to be sure the family enjoys cruising prior to arranging to do segment(s) of the World Cruise.

 

Have you considered that it is highly likely your children will be about the only on the ship? It's possible there might be a few but if that matters to you or to them, I think you should consider that.

 

Let us know what you decide. Sounds great to me.

[Old As Dirt Mom]

Thanks, everyone; good advice. Will try a short cruise first. Because we live in Puget Sound, we all have some sailing experience, but I realize that ocean-liner cruising is something quite different. Would still love to hear anything you might know about the 2007 Amsterdam Grand World Voyage. That way I can dream vicariously. Thanks.

[Iggipolka]

Of course, you could just take me along and I'd take care of any cruising concerns that you may have. ;)

 

Seriously, I say go for it. What an amazing gift to your daughters.

[Grumpy1]

We did the Prinsendam 2005 GWV. I have the brochure and pricing for the 2007 Amsterdam GWV and also the two approx 2 month Prinsendam Grand Voyages for 2007. Some of the Prinsendam segments look interesting, too. Are there any questions that I can help you with?

[Old As Dirt Mom]

Iggipolka: Not a bad idea of yours:) . I'd welcome your expertise! Judging by the number of your posts, I'd say you have a little more experience than I do! Enjoy your trip on Oosterdam to Mexico. I also forgot to mention that we have travelled frequently on the Washington state ferry system. Does that count as "cruising" experience;) ?

 

Grumpy: I didn't realize the actual brochures for the 2007 Amsterdam cruise were out already. I've only seen the info available online from HAL's promotional site, which is a resource site for travel agents. The travel agent with whom I'm working doesn't have any "real, live" brochures yet. BTW, I've very much enjoyed reading your posts from your around-the-world cruise. In fact, it was reading about your own trip on the Prinsendam that inspired me to consider the Grand World Voyage for my family. I first heard about HAL's 2007 world cruises from you. It's all your fault:).

 

In re-reading my original post, I see that's it's not so much a specific question as a debate with myself and a general plea for information. The most important questions can't really be answered in a forum such as this. I'll go back and review your posts to refresh my memory. Thanks.

[blackbird71]

MAM :)

 

If you are interested, I have all Grumpy's posts for his and Slinkies World Cruise in Word or PDF format. email me at bsterner@techsafari.com and ask for which version you would like :)

 

 

Question all I checked the HAL site and can not find a listing for the 2007 WC. Is there a link to it. TIA.

[Grumpy1]

You are correct that the hard copy brochures are not out yet... at least that I know of. The 2 page brochure that is in pdf format on the HAL promotions site is the one I was referring to. Using Adobe Reader ver 7, you can download the .pdf file and print it out. The Prinsendam information is in the same area under South America and Europe. It shouldn't be too much longer before the full brochures, with all of the pricing is available. The pricing listed on the 2 page version does give you a pretty good idea of the pricing for the various categories and the segments.

 

As others have mentioned, the grand voyages are not very kid friendly for the days at sea. I'm sure they would really enjoy visiting all of those strange new places, but you will need to do some very good planning to keep them from being really bored at times. Being a home school mom gives you an advantage there, I would think. A lot of the sea day time could be spent keeping up with regular school work, with some emphasis on world geography and history. The older one will most likely get acquainted with some of the musicians and dancers, so will have some people around that are not a lot older. She will be an attractive target for some of the young stud crew members, especially since there will be few, if any, other young single girls on board. There's not supposed to be any passenger/crew relationships, but it does happen, so the level of trust that you have in your daughter is a consideration. There may or may not be other passengers of your younger daughter's age on board.

 

Contrary to most of the thoughts here, I have to say that if you can see your way clear to do this... GO FOR IT! We are certainly glad that we didn't listen to the people that told us we needed to work our way up to a long cruise in stages... hey, we did a ten day and then a three day... that's enough practice. Time for the big game!

 

Grumpy and Slinkie are really glad you enjoyed their escapades enough to consider doing your own grand voyage... but since everyone's experiences are different, they offer no warranties. They'll take the credit if you have a great time, but will be nowhere to be found if it doesn't work out.:D

[Old As Dirt Mom]

Thank you, Blackbird 71, I have contacted you via email. I really appreciate your kindness. There is info about the 2007 world cruises at HAL's promotional site for travel agents that Grumpy refers to.

 

Grumpy: Thank you. Your information, insight, and advice are invaluable. Yours is precisely the kind of information a parent needs to know. My husband will be around to chase off any wanna-be Romeos. That's why I would encourage my daughter to invite a friend to join us, to provide companionship and some degree of mutual protection. Of course, we could end up with double trouble. As you so rightly point out, this is the kind of trip which requires a LOT of advance planning:o . Hope I'm up to it.

[babyher]

Middle aged Mom

 

Just my 2 cents worth but if you seriously are considering the World Cruise, definately read Grumpys posts. They were terrific :)

 

It was very enjoyable, informative, and humorous. A very personal account of a wonderful trip. Something that would be a big help in your decision making.

 

After reading all about their trip I would have booked one in a second if it wasn't for two things.....I can't afford it and I don't have that much vacation time *LOL*

 

Seriously though you will learn things from Grumpy you won't find in any brouchure

 

Enjoy :)

[blue whale]

A travel agent has just sent us pricing for the 07 HAL world cruise as well as an illustrated four page brochure and it is possible to reserve space now. We have space being held so that we have a little time to make a final decision.

 

We did half the world cruise with Radisson this past spring; we flew to Hong Kong and boarded there. As others suggest, there were only two or three younger people aboard the ship; most were retired senior citizens. The youngest people were those who came on for short segments.

 

Yes, the itinerary is great for the 07 HAL voyage. But if you decide to go, book early to get the accommodation you want and that meets your budget. A shorter possibility is the Prinsendam's voyage (21 nights) in the fall of 06 down the west coast of Africa—fantastic ports.