Which World Cruise do you recommend?

[islandwoman]

DH and I are looking for a World Cruise that is preferably port intensive and also with an onboard casual atmosphere. We are retired, so the length doesn't matter.  We are Elite on Princess and have considered her World Cruises, but it seems that the port calls are few and far between. We've already been to many of them.  Oceania's world cruise has, to me, a very interesting itinerary, but having been on one Oceania cruise previously, I find that DH and I don't fit into her "Country Club" atmosphere.  

[rkacruiser]

I notice in your Signature List that you have not sailed on Holland America.  Have you considered them?  If you have enjoyed your cruise experience on Princess, I think HAL would be a good "fit" for you.  Whether their itineraries would be "port intensive" as you desire, I don't know.  I was pleased regarding the ports that we visited during my world cruise.  

[islandwoman]

Thank you for mentioning my signature, rkacruiser.  It seems that I left out one of my cruises: MS Rotterdam November 19-November 26, 2017. 

[sandiego1]

HAL WC seem to be split 50/50 port vs sea days. There’s a lot of ocean to cover. The multiple day crossing back from Europe to Florida adds a lot to the ratio. It was 8 days in 2019 and will be 6 in 2023. Also crossing the Pacific takes many days too, even with a few stops in Hawaii or French Polynesia. 

There are a few stretches with 4-5 port days in a row. It does get pretty tiring.

[Heidi13]

22 hours ago, islandwoman said:

DH and I are looking for a World Cruise that is preferably port intensive and also with an onboard casual atmosphere. We are retired, so the length doesn't matter.  We are Elite on Princess and have considered her World Cruises, but it seems that the port calls are few and far between. We've already been to many of them.  Oceania's world cruise has, to me, a very interesting itinerary, but having been on one Oceania cruise previously, I find that DH and I don't fit into her "Country Club" atmosphere.  

 

After 40 years both working for and cruising with Princess, their 2015 World Cruise was our last with them. We have since completed another WC with Viking and have another booked for next year.

 

Prior to booking our first Viking cruise, I researched numerous cruise lines, starting with our "Statement of Requirements" of what we want from a cruise line. Since no cruise line will meet all our requirements, our list included "Must haves" and "Nice to haves"

 

With respect to port intensive, may I suggest that you check more than just the ratio of ports/sea days, as the total number of hours in port is also a key indicator. Another consideration is how many overnights and how many double overnights in a port. Having 1 or 2 overnights is when you really get a chance to tour a port. Also, when they have overnights, are they ports of real interest, or did the cruise line include them for overland tours and/or end of segments.

 

Segments are also a key factor on World Cruises. Most cruise lines are unable to fill a ship for the entire cruise, so sell segments to fill the ship. Segments can create a completely different atmosphere on a World Cruise, which can be either positive or negative. As the cruise approaches, they may even sell new shorter segments to fill the last cabins. On our 2015 Princess WC, to fill the last cabins on departure Sydney, they sold fares for:

• Sydney - Melbourne
• Sydney - Freemantle
• Melbourne - Freemantle

Our current preferred cruise line does not require segments on their World Cruise, with our 2022/23 WC being entirely sold out for a year already, and it doesn't sail until Jan 2023.

 

After our last Princess cruise, the "Rig of the Day" was a key factor for us. We have always enjoyed dressing up for formal nights and when I worked the ships, every evening was formal. However, the standards have seriously eroded, to where shorts, tank top and flip flops were acceptable dinner attire in the restaurant. For this reason, our preference is now no formal nights, but with dinner being smart casual.

 

To summarise, rather than suggesting the cruise line that meets our needs, I suggest doing the research to find one that meets the most of your expectations. I note in other similar threads, I have included a summary of some of the criteria we used.

[rkacruiser]

15 hours ago, sandiego1 said:

There are a few stretches with 4-5 port days in a row. It does get pretty tiring.

 

Not for me!

 

1 hour ago, Heidi13 said:

Another consideration is how many overnights and how many double overnights in a port. Having 1 or 2 overnights is when you really get a chance to tour a port

 

This is a very important consideration.  To really experience and make a worthwhile visit to many ports, the more overnights, the better.  Particularly if one thinks that will be the only time one will visit that port.  Istanbul, Mumbai, Hong Kong, Sydney, Auckland, Tokyo, et al are examples of such ports.  

[sandiego1]

@rkacruisers and @Heidi13 have given good advice. Before our 1st WC on 2019 made a list of criteria. For me, the following things were important:

 

-East to West cruise - gaining an hour every day or so is easier on us than losing an hour. Also the crew still has to get their work done in a 23 hour day vs the normal 24. Typically an hour of sleep is lost by them.

- Full circumnavigation- I wanted to start and need in the same place. For me, starting in LA and ending in England isn’t a full “around-the-world” cruise. I would, however, drop this requirement for future WC but it was important for the 1st one.

-Limited or no excursions included - My DH and I are DIY-ers. We disdain large bus tours. Too much time is wasted herding every one, long lunches, etc. We are a bit younger than the typical WC people and we like adventurous excursions. 
-Limited formal dress- we like dressing up periodically, but don’t want to have to wear more than jeans or khakis for dinner on a regular basis. I believe there is one cruise line that requires, or strongly suggests, jackets for men and dresses for ladies for dinner.

-Alcohol not included- I don’t drink so it’s a waste of $ for us to have this. My husband does but can’t drink enough for the 2 of this to make it worthwhile. I only drink water, not even coffee, tea, or soft drinks. I might sneak a glass of fruit juice once or twice during the 4 month cruise.

-Ports - the most important thing for us was ports that we haven’t previously visited. A few are ok, but we wanted to go places that were new to us.

-Port to sea day ratio - less than 50% was undesirable. While we enjoy sea days, we wanted to visit as many cities as possible.

-Price - everyone has their own comfort level for spending. Be sure to get prices from multiple TAs and include all OBC, laundry, internet, drinks, excursions, etc. to compare a full trip price, not just the cruise price.

-Duration - how many days are you ok being away from home? For us, it was around 4 months. 6 seemed too long - especially for our 1st WC.

 

Anyway, that was my list of requirements. Yours may be completely different 😀That’s why there are different cruise lines that fulfill each of our needs.

[Heidi13]

Just stumbled onto my most recent list, so thought I would cut and paste. This is just a summary, the actual document was more comprehensive.

 

I developed an extensive "Statement of Requirements" listing everything that was a must have and others that were optional/preferences. Some of our requirements that we included:

• # pax - looking for 750 - 1250. Too small restricts entertainment options
• Pax space ratio (GT/pax) - prefer > 50, but no less than 40
• Pax/crew ratio - prefer 2:1, or better
• Meals (MDR) - quality meals, with options for destination menus
• Alternative restaurants - couple of options, with preference to no additional fees
• Cabin service - must be available 24/7, with preference to costs being included in fare
• Entertainment - not interested in wacky pool games, marriage games, etc. Prefer small group of singers/dancers supplemented with guest entertainers.
• Lectures - focus on destination
• Spa suite - preference if included
• Laundry - since we do longer cruises, must have pax laundry. Preference if included
• Wifi - preference if included
• Kids - preference if none
• Casino - never use, so preference if none
• Art Auctions, Photogs, Shops expanding into public spaces - not interested
• Port/sea day ratio - I did develop a minimum ratio, but don't recall the numbers
• Hours in port - again, I developed a minimum number of average hours in port, but don't recall the numbers

[The-Inside-Cabin]

If you want a lot of port days - take a look at Serenade of the Seas  https://www.royalcaribbean.com/ultimate-world-cruise/

 

Its 274 days with only about 100 sea days by my rough count

[CruiserFromMaine]

I’ve read before the good advice to try a cruise line, and even better, their world cruise ship, before signing on for such a long cruise. I know not everyone has done that; I believe @Heidi13 did not and had a great time (I followed their WC blog on Viking). 
 

That would be my plan, though. We don’t have a WC in the near future for several reasons but would like one I think. And @Heidi13 has a great list of considerations that I’ve copied for future use, even for longer non WC cruises. 

[Aquadesiac]

Our 2022 Viking WC was our first cruise on that line, but we'd read so much about it, we felt confident in our decision. We were NOT disappointed! Loved the uncluttered Scandinavian design  throughout.. The food was amazing, the thermal suite like heaven, and the smart casual ambience perfect for us. We love smaller ships.

 

That said, even though we got lucky with Viking, we probably shouldn't have invested in a WC without a trial run. There are intangibles that don't show up on YouTube & Cruise Critic because some requirements are specific to us. We had booked a Cunard WC before taking a 21 day to Norway and back on the QM2. It's a beautiful ship and the entertainment was definitely world class (The National Ballet traveled with us for the last week! ) but we discovered some quirks unique to Cunard. I knew it's a more formal line so we were quite prepared to enjoy dressing up. (Love seeing the DH in his tux!) But I have a lung condition that makes me hyper-sensitive to chemical smells and I had not considered that when people dress to the 9's, they use more personal grooming products like perfume, aftershave, hair spray, etc. When I opened the closet in our stateroom for the first time, I was slammed with the remnants of fragrances past. Getting into an elevator often led to a coughing fit for me.

 

So consider what is unique to YOU and plan your WC accordingly. A trial run is highly recommended.  

[Mich3554]

When I booked our first cruise, I had a mental list not dissimilar from Andy’s.  We had never been on a cruise.  There were a few non negotiable by DH.  No formal wear, and a small ship, so that eliminated a lot.  No kids, casinos or auctions was a plus as far as we were concerned.  I found Viking, we got a cabin about 2 months before sailing (it was a trans Atlantic) so we really got a chance to check out the amenities.  
6 cruises later and untold thousands of $$$ (I really don’t wanna know how much we have spent on Viking cruises so far), we have no interest in looking further.   

[islandwoman]

13 hours ago, Mich3554 said:

  I found Viking, we got a cabin about 2 months before sailing (it was a trans Atlantic) so we really got a chance to check out the amenities.  
6 cruises later and untold thousands of $$$ (I really don’t wanna know how much we have spent on Viking cruises so far), we have no interest in looking further.   

Have you sailed Viking river cruises?  If so, would you think that they are a good indication of whether a passenger would like a Viking Ocean cruise?  We have a Viking river cruise booked for this fall, but so far no Viking ocean cruises. 

[Mich3554]

26 minutes ago, islandwoman said:

Have you sailed Viking river cruises?  If so, would you think that they are a good indication of whether a passenger would like a Viking Ocean cruise?  We have a Viking river cruise booked for this fall, but so far no Viking ocean cruises. 

We just got off the Grand European in May.  Service is the same phenomenal service you’d expect from Viking.  I have my eye on one to book for fall of 2023 right now, after we get off the WC.  
They are different beasts.  River cruises seem much easier as you don’t have the same security.  There is a bit more freedom in that a lot of the included excursions are ‘here are the highlights of this town, go and enjoy.  The bus leaves at xxx or if you want to walk back, on board time is yyy.’  I missed sea days, you are in a different port (or sometimes 2) each day.  I think the house wines are better on the river cruises.  We don’t buy the drink packages, and our last trip our bar tab was $88.  Usually our bar tab on a 15 day cruise is about $250.  Dining is different in that it is much more structured.  
I don’t think I’d use a river cruise to decide to choose Viking for a WC.  There are enough differences that I think you should experience an ocean cruise before you plunk down that much $$.  For instance, if you hate sea days (and many do) then a string of sea days which you’ll find on a WC will make you miserable.

[Nidec]

On 7/5/2022 at 3:59 PM, islandwoman said:

Have you sailed Viking river cruises?  If so, would you think that they are a good indication of whether a passenger would like a Viking Ocean cruise?  We have a Viking river cruise booked for this fall, but so far no Viking ocean cruises. 

We've done 2 Viking river cruises and are taking our 1st Viking ocean cruise in 3 weeks, so I'll drop a post here to give you my thoughts. I have looked at a lot of YouTube videos on it and it looks amazing. We're using Viking Sky but all their ocean ships are identical 

[LHT28]

On 5/1/2022 at 2:04 PM, islandwoman said:

  Oceania's world cruise has, to me, a very interesting itinerary, but having been on one Oceania cruise previously, I find that DH and I don't fit into her "Country Club" atmosphere.  

Just noticed this  post

Can you clarify?

  Do you want more formal nights??

[islandwoman]

8 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

  Do you want more formal nights??

No. 

[SargassoPirate]

On 5/1/2022 at 2:04 PM, islandwoman said:

DH and I are looking for a World Cruise that is preferably port intensive and also with an onboard casual atmosphere. We are retired, so the length doesn't matter.  We are Elite on Princess and have considered her World Cruises, but it seems that the port calls are few and far between. We've already been to many of them.  Oceania's world cruise has, to me, a very interesting itinerary, but having been on one Oceania cruise previously, I find that DH and I don't fit into her "Country Club" atmosphere.  

A WC has been on my bucket list for years and after two cancellations during the pandemic I finally have a deposit on the 2024 Princess WC.  The most important item to me was to book a full circumnavigation.  Second, a nice mix of port and sea days and a nice mix of places I've already been to and new ones.  

 

After these needs are met, I lead a fairly simple and easy-going life on board.  Give me a real promenade (although on the Island Princess one has to cut through the aft lobby to do walking laps), an inside cabin for sleep and showers, someplace to get something to eat when I'm hungry, a shady place to read, someplace to get a wee dram or three in the evening with some light entertainment and I'm good.

 

Nice pluses for me on the Princess WC are guest laundromats, and the Princess Plus package that includes wifi, prepaid tips, drink package, a specialty dining, and $1,000 OBC.

 

It all depends on what your expectations are.

 

 

 

[Janet&Carl]

On 5/3/2022 at 7:46 AM, Heidi13 said:

Just stumbled onto my most recent list, so thought I would cut and paste. This is just a summary, the actual document was more comprehensive.

 

I developed an extensive "Statement of Requirements" listing everything that was a must have and others that were optional/preferences. Some of our requirements that we included:

• # pax - looking for 750 - 1250. Too small restricts entertainment options
• Pax space ratio (GT/pax) - prefer > 50, but no less than 40
• Pax/crew ratio - prefer 2:1, or better
• Meals (MDR) - quality meals, with options for destination menus
• Alternative restaurants - couple of options, with preference to no additional fees
• Cabin service - must be available 24/7, with preference to costs being included in fare
• Entertainment - not interested in wacky pool games, marriage games, etc. Prefer small group of singers/dancers supplemented with guest entertainers.
• Lectures - focus on destination
• Spa suite - preference if included
• Laundry - since we do longer cruises, must have pax laundry. Preference if included
• Wifi - preference if included
• Kids - preference if none
• Casino - never use, so preference if none
• Art Auctions, Photogs, Shops expanding into public spaces - not interested
• Port/sea day ratio - I did develop a minimum ratio, but don't recall the numbers
• Hours in port - again, I developed a minimum number of average hours in port, but don't recall the numbers

 

 

List similar to mine and I came out with Azamara - we havent tried them yet or booked a WC but we are trying a 12 night on them in November to see what they are like first.

[LHT28]

6 hours ago, Janet&Carl said:

 

 

List similar to mine and I came out with Azamara - we havent tried them yet or booked a WC but we are trying a 12 night on them in November to see what they are like first.

Be sure to check the cabin cat   that are available for the World cruise   

Smaller cabins & showers may not work for everyone

[islandwoman]

Which World Cruises include laundry or have passenger laundromats on board?

Which include wine (at least with lunch and dinner) or at least don't price gauge for drinks?

Which charge little or no corkage fees to bring your own wine onboard?

Which include some excursions in the cruise fare?

Are there any that still require a ship's excursion to go ashore at port calls?

Edited August 7, 2022 by islandwoman

[LHT28]

27 minutes ago, islandwoman said:

Which World Cruises include laundry or have passenger laundromats on board?

Which include wine (at least with lunch and dinner) or at least don't price gauge for drinks?

Which charge little or no corkage fees to bring your own wine onboard?

Which include some excursions in the cruise fare?

Are there any that still require a ship's excursion to go ashore at port calls?

I know  you said you do not fit the "Country Club Casual " (whatever that means) of Oceania  but they do have a lot of what is on your list

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/special-offers/2024-around-the-world-cruise/

 

 The Corkage fee  is $25  per bottle if taken to  a dining venue

 

 I think the ships excursion requirement is  to do with the Country you are visiting  if Covid measures are still in place

 JMO

[Heidi13]

31 minutes ago, islandwoman said:

Which World Cruises include laundry or have passenger laundromats on board?

Which include wine (at least with lunch and dinner) or at least don't price gauge for drinks?

Which charge little or no corkage fees to bring your own wine onboard?

Which include some excursions in the cruise fare?

Are there any that still require a ship's excursion to go ashore at port calls?

 

Here are the Viking Ocean standards for each of your questions.

 

1). Laundry - the suites and mini-suites receive complimentary laundry. Leave it in the bag for the cabin steward in the morning, and it is returned about 16:00 the next day. Other cabins have access to the self-service pax laundry, with each deck having one. Most have 4 washers and 4 driers. The self-service laundry is free, including the soap. In 4 months, never found much of a delay waiting for a machine.

 

2). As Viking World Cruises always include their drinks package, glasses of wine are included 24/7. Available at all meals, from any bar, or the included 24/7 room service. If you wish to purchase a bottle of wine, you receive a 10-15% discount. With the discount, bottles of wine were about 50% above our liquor store prices, which was considerably less than shore restaurants. They had an extensive selection of included wines, by the glass, probably at least a couple of dozen. Even if you did have to pay for drinks, their bar prices are reasonable and they do not add 18% tips, as do most cruise lines.

 

3). Viking treats all pax like adults, especially as the minimum age is 18. You can bring any alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverages aboard, in any quantity. Viking does NOT charge any corkage fees and the crew in any restaurant or bar will willingly open any bottle you brought onboard - wine, beer or spirits. They provide the glasses, pour and since the beverage package is included, even provide the mixers.

 

4). Viking guarantee each pax can attend 1 included shore-ex per port. Most ports only have a single included shore-ex, but some ports do have a couple available. While most are walking tours, or bus tours, some ports have the best tour included. In Komodo Island, Viking includes the walking tour with the dragons. In Safaga (Egypt) the included tour is a 10 - 12 hr trip to Luxor.

 

5). Negative, Viking does not maintain a shore bubble, unless it was required by the local authorities.

 

 

[islandwoman]

35 minutes ago, Heidi13 said:

Here are the Viking Ocean standards for each of your questions.

Sounds really great!

[Heidi13]

1 minute ago, islandwoman said:

Sounds really great!

 

You can check out the 2020 WC at our blog - www.AndyandJudi.com

 

and the 2021/22 WC at Rose and Ted's blog - https://roseandtedsexcellentadventure.com/