Which World Cruise do you recommend?

[islandwoman]

"Aquadesiac 

Of course, in a perfect world, itinerary is important. However, it is not guaranteed. No cruise line can be certain they can deliver the ports they advertise....

.....The serene vibe on Viking is one of the reasons we chose it for 2025. "

 

As much as I would like to take your advice to consider a WC on Viking, their cancellation penalties are too punitive for us.  At our age, we don't even buy green bananas 😟

[BVILady]

16 hours ago, Janet&Carl said:

I have been reading the board and still undecided on which world cruise.  I am surprised that no one mentioned which ports the cruise goes to as a priority.  I have short listed cruises and in doing so have added up how many port days to sea days.  Some of the cheaper ( Princess, Cunard)  have really bad ratios.  Next criteria is how many are new ports.  Having flown half way round the world to most cruises (which has been one of the biggest expenses of each holiday) to book a holiday that just repeats what we have already done would be crazy. 

 

So food is not that important, most lines have something I can choose to eat and I can buy specialty restaurant access on cheaper lines that dont provide a good menu.  Entertainment is ok but not the be all and end all of my considerations.  Comfort and service with a smile is important I get that on most cruises.   We prefer serene, quiet environments to loud party scenes. We are easy going and dont complain about very much at all so most lines suit us.  We have tried 7 different lines and can find good and bad in all. 

 

So given the above considerations and the fact that this may be a one of experience the more ports the better and the more new ports going to places that are still on our list to see is the primary consideration.  

that is the reason why I will not be able to take any more World Cruises, which is a pity. I did love to unpack ad pack only once, but life is short and I want to see as much as possible of this beautiful planet.

[Tampa Girl]

On 7/18/2023 at 11:43 PM, sandiego1 said:

These are standard HAL perks, not TA specifics. You can see the inside cabin perks on the HAL website too.

Luggage direct and air credit are not standard HAL perks.

[Tampa Girl]

On 11/23/2023 at 6:07 PM, Heidi13 said:

 

May I suggest reading the HAL WC Roll Call for 2023 and finding the URL of some of the travel bloggers from last year's cruise. I kept a number of them, but unfortunately cleaned out the bookmarks a few months ago. A number of the regulars were not overly happy with the post COVID changes.

 

We have friends in Ontario that sailed in both 2020 and 2023 and were not overly complimentary with the changes. I read this also in a number of the blogs.

 

I find daily travel blogs of pax onboard to be a valuable aid to getting a feel for the cruise.

 

Neither the '23 nor the '20 WC are fair examples of any ships' WC.  The '20 was aborted mid-cruise, and the '23 was the first post-pandemic.I think if you read the blogs from HAL's '24 WC, you will see a considerable change - for the better!  2023 was the first WC since the aborted '20 WC, and it was on a larger ship.  It was immediately post-pandemic, and there were made cutbacks.  It appears that the '24 WC is back to the pre-pandemic wonderful WC cruises that HAL is known for.  The blogs are worth reading.  

[sandiego1]

55 minutes ago, Tampa Girl said:

Luggage direct and air credit are not standard HAL perks.

Yes they are if you purchase an OV (I think “C” or “D”) or higher cabin. That’s why I wrote see the HAL website for perks for an inside cabin.
 

Air credit for an inside cabin is an incl perk for the P2P. One must purchase the flight through FlightEase and the credit is $500pp. The Surf WiFi package is also a perk.

 

The air credit and WiFi perks are new for 2025. Luggage service was included as a perk for our 2019 WC on HAL as we purchased a “D” cabin.

[islandwoman]

Sandiego1 said:  Air credit for an inside cabin is an incl perk for the P2P. One must purchase the flight through FlightEase and the credit is $500pp. The Surf WiFi package is also a perk.

 

If we live in Florida and can drive to the port (Ft. Lauderdale), will HAL credit our account the $500 that we will have received toward air fare?

Also, what is P2P?

Edited March 16 by islandwoman

[Heidi13]

3 hours ago, islandwoman said:

Also, what is P2P?

 

I believe they are referencing the 2025 HAL Pole to Pole cruise, which is R/T Ft. Lauderdale.

[sandiego1]

23 hours ago, islandwoman said:

Sandiego1 said:  Air credit for an inside cabin is an incl perk for the P2P. One must purchase the flight through FlightEase and the credit is $500pp. The Surf WiFi package is also a perk.

 

If we live in Florida and can drive to the port (Ft. Lauderdale), will HAL credit our account the $500 that we will have received toward air fare?

Also, what is P2P?

No on the air credit converting to OBC. We have companion pass on Southwest as well as many frequent flyer miles on multiple airlines. We could definitely get to FLL for much less than $500pp and would gladly switch the FlightEase credit to OBC if allowed.
 

P2P is the 2025 Pole to Pole World Cruise.

 

The same perks are offered for the 2025 WC.

Edited March 17 by sandiego1

[lorilg12]

Hi Tampa Girl - Where do we find the HAL's '24 WC blog? Thank you!

[Land&Sea_Cruiser]

On 4/5/2024 at 2:25 PM, lorilg12 said:

Hi Tampa Girl - Where do we find the HAL's '24 WC blog? Thank you!

A little googling says

https://www.theinsidecabin.com/2024-world-cruise-blog/