Pros and Cons of Long Cruises—70+ Days

[New Jersey Pat]

Hoping that some of you cruisers who have done long cruises would be willing to share the pros and cons. 

We are 4* on HAL and have sailed another 100 days on other lines. Our longest cruise so far has been 36 days and we are fans of transatlantics. 

Currently looking at cruise to South America 

Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated. 

[rkacruiser]

My "pro" thoughts in no particular order of importance:

 

Long cruises usually provide more opportunities for a few consecutive days at sea which I find restful and very enjoyable.

 

Long cruises provide the opportunity to get to know your fellow guests better (and they you).  That also applies to the crew.  Somewhat of a "family" feeling can then be experienced that one does not get on a short cruise.

 

More distant, maybe exotic, ports are likely to be visited.

 

Enrichment programs dealing with many diverse topics are likely to be available.  

 

Entertainers will change during the cruise.  In some ports, local entertainers may be brought aboard for an evening's entertainment.  

 

Some items on menus may reflect the cruising region in which one is sailing.  For example, sailing in Australian waters, Filet of Kangaroo appeared on my dinner menu one evening.  (And, it was very good.)  

 

On some long cruises, pillow gifts are provided with some being of more use than others.  

 

 

 

 

[rkacruiser]

"Cons"?  I haven't found any of any consequence.  Other than one, but this can be true in any kind of social situation.  There may be fellow guests that one meets that you will end the cruise with the hope you never meet them again.  (And, those same guests may feel the same about me.)  

[wandrr]

Pros:

• Unpack once.
• Longer cruises (with HAL) are sometimes Grand Voyages, with a list of benefits. Unfortunately, this list keeps getting shorter as HAL cuts back.
• Lifelong friendships can develop. On a world cruise, our fixed dining 8-top table was filled with very interesting and entertaining people. Dinner was a definite high point. On the other hand, this might be a con, but the maitre'd can switch you.
• More ports, more sea days.

Cons:

• Cost goes up, but maybe not as much as several short cruises adding up to the same duration. I have never done the arithmetic.

We are complete converts to longer cruises.

[janmcn]

No cons IMO! We love long cruises. 

[USN59-79]

We have taken a few 60-70 day cruises and have enjoyed every one.  As @rkacruiser said, getting to know the other cruisers and crew is pleasant.  Here is an example.  We once took a cruise around Japan and then back to Vancouver.  They offered us a great price to stay on for another 7 days for the first of the season Alaska cruise.  We did, and were really surprised at the different ambiance.  People who were just on for 7 days really didn't want to take the time to know you as they knew that they would soon be off the ship and never see you again.  Reading a current blog they often mention a dining room manager, Presty and how helpful he has been.  We have  been on at least 6 cruises where he has been helpful to us also.

Ray

[Fred321]

No cons. Our first cruise was a 2 month around South America on the Prinsendam and since then we have  taken 4 world cruises on the Amsterdam and a few more multi month Grands to Africa and the Med. Agree with everything RKCruiser has said. We find the best part is getting to know the staff as real people. As for the passengers, it's easy to avoid those that annoy you (sure they are doing the same thing with us) and really get to know kindred spirits.

 

The whole feeling is different. You are not so much as on a vacation but rather you have been lucky enough to move into a nice hotel that they keep moving around the world. Our few attempts at shorter cruises, 10 to 20 days, just don't hack it.

[dawei]

I'd have to agree with all the positive comments above. If they work with one's budget and time, longer cruises are the way to go in my book. We also like transatlantics. Our first as well as our first long one was 54 days in 2018. Hoping RT transatlantics will return to HAL. 

South America--- we did our first early 2020 right before the pandemic hit and enjoyed it so much we're signed for the same one next Jan. (74 nights S.A. and Antarctica; hope it happens--our guess is it's about a 50/50 chance due to the world health situation).

 

 

David

[tupper10]

A question how to you get enough medicine if you are taking prescription drugs?  I have wondered about this if we took a very long cruise, for more than

the 3 month supply that we can get now.  Thanks for any advice about this.  

Edited February 20, 2022 by tupper10
update

[wandrr]

10 minutes ago, tupper10 said:

A question how to you get enough medicine if you are taking prescription drugs?  I have wondered about this if we took a very long cruise, for more than

the 3 month supply that we can get now.  Thanks for any advice about this.  

We are in Canada, and our provincial health insurance plans will allow for extra medications with a prior request. Generally, it isn't a big problem, but is definitely a logistics hassle to add to the zillion other things before a long cruise. You probably are aware that the ship will hold in the Medical Center drugs that require refrigerated storage.

[dawei]

Tupper, what I have successfully done re: Rx  meds is to speak with my pharmacist and request a pre-cruise supply extension for the upcoming trip. This has worked easily. Just contact your pharmacist with advanced notice so he/she can get the needed authorization from insurance and make sure he/she has enough meds in stock for you.

 

David

[tupper10]

4 minutes ago, dawei said:

Tupper, what I have successfully done re: Rx  meds is to speak with my pharmacist and request a pre-cruise supply extension for the upcoming trip. This has worked easily. Just contact your pharmacist with advanced notice so he/she can get the needed authorization from insurance and make sure he/she has enough meds in stock for you.

 

David

Thank  you.

[tupper10]

Now we need to find one so we can go away for the Florida summer.

[Mary229]

13 minutes ago, tupper10 said:

Now we need to find one so we can go away for the Florida summer.

Our physician doubled our daily doses to account for supply chain issues during the pandemic (I had trouble getting meds twice ).  This method can also work

[USN59-79]

1 hour ago, tupper10 said:

A question how to you get enough medicine if you are taking prescription drugs?  I have wondered about this if we took a very long cruise, for more than

the 3 month supply that we can get now.  Thanks for any advice about this.  

Most countries don't have the same regulations about prescription drugs that the U.S. and Canada have.  I have bought drugs that would require a prescription in the U.S. without a prescription in Istanbul, China, and Taiwan.  

[ger_77]

1 hour ago, Mary229 said:

Our physician doubled our daily doses to account for supply chain issues during the pandemic (I had trouble getting meds twice ).  This method can also work

This may work, but it could also work against you, should you need to make an insurance claim if the change in medication was made less than 3 months prior to travel.  Something as minor as a change in dosage can affect the company’s view of the stability of a pre-existing condition. 

[Mary229]

7 minutes ago, ger_77 said:

This may work, but it could also work against you, should you need to make an insurance claim if the change in medication was made less than 3 months prior to travel.  Something as minor as a change in dosage can affect the company’s view of the stability of a pre-existing condition. 

Perhaps but our adjustment was made for valid reasons and is now long standing. I don’t know if a physician would want to do it for travel.  

[KirkNC]

We have done six cruises over eighty days, no negatives for us.

Edited February 21, 2022 by KirkNC

[cowmilker]

We've never done anything but long cruises.  Our very first involved four B2Bs, including a transatlantic. 

When we did the Med, we sailed on 4 B2Bs, but they involved three different cruise lines.   LOL

It's too much trouble for us to arrange to be gone for short periods.  If we're going to fly someplace, we're going to be gone for a while.

[daisy-mae]

As a somewhat reluctant cook, I've always said that if I were to spend more than about two weeks on a cruise ship I would never again darken the doorstep of my kitchen. 

 

I am not knocking those who enjoy longer cruises,  but after living in an artificial environment for that long, I would find it very difficult to re-adapt...

[Indianadaytripper]

We’ve been on several world cruises. All of the positive things I’ll agree with above. A couple of negatives if you have possibility of a bad tooth don’t take a chance get it fixed before you go. No dentist on world cruise since 2014 if I remember correctly. If you happen to get a bad cabin it’s quite possible you’ll be stuck with it whole trip. I’ve seen nightmares. Same thing when your traveling with someone be certain you can be comfortable with them for a long cruise. 

 

[USN59-79]

If a World Cruise is too long for you it is usually possible to take half of one.  We have done that twice.  In 2017 we had to change cabins as we had a leak within the bulkhead.  The one we changed to eventually was worse, with no heat when we were in Korea and China.  We got off at Hong Kong both with a bad cold.  

Sometimes you can take care of your medical issues even if you are far from home.  I had a tooth infection when we were visiting Turkey.  I went to a drug store, told the clerk my problem, and she prescribed an antibiotic which I purchased.  I looked it up in the ship's library when I went back onboard (this was when ships actually had libraries) and it was what my dentist would have prescribed.  It stopped the infection.

[rkacruiser]

20 hours ago, cowmilker said:

It's too much trouble for us to arrange to be gone for short periods. 

 

It takes the same amount of effort for me to leave home for a short duration vacation as it does for a longer vacation.  

 

On 2/20/2022 at 6:42 PM, tupper10 said:

A question how to you get enough medicine if you are taking prescription drugs?  I have wondered about this if we took a very long cruise, for more than

the 3 month supply that we can get now.  Thanks for any advice about this.

 

Rx plans differ so much.  I was able, when I needed to do so, to get an override for the limits on the amount of medicines that I would need.  If speaking with an agent of your Rx plan, one needs to request someone(s)--maybe--further up the "food chain" for that company.  And, don't expect an immediate approval of your request.  That's why one must begin planning for a long cruise cannot be done as one might do for a cruise soon to begin.  

 

On 2/20/2022 at 4:32 PM, USN59-79 said:

Reading a current blog they often mention a dining room manager, Presty and how helpful he has been.  We have  been on at least 6 cruises where he has been helpful to us also.

 

Presty is a GEM.  I have experienced his excellent service on a few cruises.  On my most recent when he was the Assistant Maitre d', the first morning at Breakfast, after I had "checked-in" and a Steward was about to escort me to my table, Presty saw me, rushed over to greet me, grabbed the Breakfast menu from the Steward's hand, and escorted me to my table.  He checked on me a couple of times during that initial Breakfast.  

[Roz]

I looked at the recently released 94 day round trip from SD to Australia and NZ.  There's no discount for solo cruisers in any category (200% single supplement), and I'm not paying double to sail on the Volendam for 90+ days.  Too few dining and entertainment options.  There are a lot of sea days in a row crossing the Pacific both ways, and please don't tell me I can read a book. 😒

[cowmilker]

On 2/21/2022 at 6:34 PM, rkacruiser said:

It takes the same amount of effort for me to leave home for a short duration vacation as it does for a longer vacation. 

 

Well, that's my point exactly.  It's a bunch of trouble for us, arranging for pet care (both dog and two cats), somebody to get the mail, making sure the lawn is mowed if necessary, and on and on.

We did a short Mississippi River cruise in December (gone a total of 12 days) and it was just a PITA. 

The only real difference I could see was that I didn't have to totally clean the refrigerator out before we left.

BTW, DH had to have an emergency root canal in Naples one time. We were on the Koningsdam and the guy at the front desk was just wonderful.  He made a ship-to-shore call ahead to Naples, got him an appt on a SATURDAY, wrote out the address and time so he could give it to the taxi driver, everything.

Being a very dutiful spouse (!!!!) , I opted to go to Pompeii (took a ship's tour so he wouldn't worry about me) and he went and had a root canal.

Our dentist checked it all out when we got home and it was fine.  

Furthermore, we saved enough money that it basically paid for his fare for the transatlantic cruise we took home.

But what really got me was our room steward.  Before Dave even got back, the guy knew what had happened.  He checked on Dave about every two hours all afternoon and well into the evening.  You'd have thought he had had major surgery.

It was our first cruise on HAL, and we've never stopped sailing with them.

But yeah, we always make sure we have a dental checkup just before we leave home.