What's a world cruise like?

[cathyawagner]

I will be taking world cruise in 2024. I am traveling alone and am an older female. Lots of questions:

1. Leaving LAX going west how rough do seas get on 2000 passenger ship (Island Princess)? And same question crossing Atlantic in the return? I am prone to sea sickness but maybe on big ship it won't bother me?? 

2. How prevalent is English in mid east and Asian countries? And is it generally safe to explore on my own?

3. Do world cruises tend to have other single travelers?

Thanks!

[JM0115]

24 minutes ago, cathyawagner said:

I will be taking world cruise in 2024. I am traveling alone and am an older female. Lots of questions:

1. Leaving LAX going west how rough do seas get on 2000 passenger ship (Island Princess)? And same question crossing Atlantic in the return? I am prone to sea sickness but maybe on big ship it won't bother me?? 

2. How prevalent is English in mid east and Asian countries? And is it generally safe to explore on my own?

3. Do world cruises tend to have other single travelers?

Thanks!

We were on the Viking World Cruise 21-22 from December through May. We were very fortunate (and somewhat less so) - fortunate because there were only 620 passengers and only two legs, one in Fort Lauderdale and one in Los Angeles. Therefore we were a tight knit community. It was wonderful.  Unfortunate because there were many covid restrictions which prevented us for most of the trip from exploring on our own or even going to restaurants or shops. We were tested daily (152 tests!) and those who tested positive were quarantined. This added stress to the trip.  

 

To your questions. We had very little in the way of rough seas. And our ship was small. We did not have much chance on our own but you can get by anywhere pretty much with English. We had a few solo passengers. They had a great time too!  

 

It is definitely an experience of a lifetime! Highly recommended!

 

[Tylerstreet]

Cathyawagner, you will have a wonderful time!  I did the world cruise on Queen Victoria in 2019 as a solo traveller and it was an incredible adventure.  I had no issues with crossing the Pacific or the Atlantic as we were very lucky with weather throughout the trip.  From my travels in the Middle East English is usually available with a bit of effort.  Personally I would not choose to wander alone in the Middle East--different cultures, different mores.  There were plenty of others travelling on their own, however I would not limit oneself to "just" the solo travellers as friendships abound!

[SargassoPirate]

I've done several transatlantic and transpacific crossings and have found that the captains do everything possible to find smooth seas.  When that doesn't go as well as it could, Mrs. Pirate uses ginger capsules for seasick prevention.

 

I mostly cruise solo now and have found it easy and enjoyable to meet and talk to people.  You are surrounded by an immediate affinity group with a common interest of travel.  

 

A ready smile and a raised glass for a greeting works wonders.  If I'm sitting alone and someone asks if an adjacent seat is taken, I always say "No, I was saving it for you".  

 

One can cruise alone without being lonely.

[sultan_sfo]

17 hours ago, cathyawagner said:

I will be taking world cruise in 2024. I am traveling alone and am an older female. Lots of questions:

...

3. Do world cruises tend to have other single travelers?

Thanks!

 

If you go to the Roll Call for 2023 Island Princess World Cruise (WC) and look at the Spreadsheet (scroll through and you will find the link to the Spreadsheet -- I do not wish to post the link here)  you will see that  Angela (ccname Fijigirl) created a special page for SOLO TRAVELLERS. You may request Angela to create a similar page for the WC 2024. Also you will find a lot of info in the 2023 and 2024 WC (Island P) Roll Calls. I encourage you to join the Roll Call for 2024 Island P WC.

[KKB]

On 12/17/2022 at 8:11 PM, cathyawagner said:

I will be taking world cruise in 2024. I am traveling alone and am an older female. Lots of questions:

1. Leaving LAX going west how rough do seas get on 2000 passenger ship (Island Princess)? And same question crossing Atlantic in the return? I am prone to sea sickness but maybe on big ship it won't bother me?? 

2. How prevalent is English in mid east and Asian countries? And is it generally safe to explore on my own?

3. Do world cruises tend to have other single travelers?

Thanks!

While I have not taken a World cruise (BUCKET LIST), we did sail from LA in January on the Carnival Miracle to Hawaii for 2 weeks & I can speak of the "motion of the ocean"

In 25 cruises sea sickness had only hit me once in the Caribbean (it hit many that day; not DH).

CA was having those big storms & we were getting big waves & winds (otherwise lovely). I tried ginger ale, then bonine, then finally caved & put on a patch. (THANK GOODNESS I had some). I was fine after that. DH has NEVER had seasickness--but publicly getting ill convinced him to put on a patch too.

We were both able to function normally then.

 

GET THE PATCH. 

You may not need it. But you will be thankful you have it if you do.

(PS I wore it our first couple cruises but didn't care for the metallic taste...I didn't notice it this time. Perhaps they have improved it in 20 yrs)

 

I have cruised solo on NCL, MSC & Princess. I suspect that a world cruise will even be easier to connect with people as you will become a little community with that much time together! I do recommend dining with others!

 

Have a wonderful time--I am jealous--not sure I will ever convince DH to do it even tho he knows its my bucket list!

Edited March 15, 2023 by KKB

[SargassoPirate]

16 hours ago, KKB said:

I am jealous--not sure I will ever convince DH to do it even tho he knows its my bucket list!

 

She Who Must Be Obeyed and I made a pact many years ago that we did not want to end up in the old folks home with regrets about things we didn't do when we had the opportunity.

 

Mark Twain said something like twenty years from now you'll regret more the things you didn't do than the things you did.

 

GO FOR IT!

Edited March 16, 2023 by SargassoPirate

[Aquadesiac]

I've always experienced a bumpy ride from the west coast to Hawaii. We were on the Pacific Princess (670 pax) for the world cruise in 2018 which is a small ship, and on the HAL Westerdam (about 2000 pax) for a 30 day south Pacific cruise. I was thankful for my scopolamine patches on both. The only caution is that it's not good to drink while you wear the patch. Not a problem for me since I'm not a drinker, but it can be a consideration if you want to imbibe.

 

Exploring alone...I did a lot of it when I was younger and my DH was on business trips in fascinating cities. I've wandered all over Tokyo, Amsterdam, London & Hanover using public transportation, walking everywhere and seeing everything I wanted to see. Even though I didn't speak the language in some places, I studied my map ahead of time and plowed ahead like I knew where I was going. 

 

Did I mention I was younger?  

 

Now I think the world has changed, and I have changed, and there is value and safety in numbers. I'd encourage you to strike up friendships with your shipmates and sally forth together on independent excursions if you don't want to use the ship's offerings. 

 

We always got to know solo travelers on our world cruises. When you sail that long with others, you become a little village and you take care of your own. You'll be fine.

 

I wish you so well! Hope you have a wonderful time with whatever cruise you decide on. 

 

 

[JanR]

I write this on day 83 of our MSC World Cruise as we approach Da Nang, Vietnam.

 

Here's my answers to your questions based upon our journey(s) so far.  Bottom-line, it is a great experience and even with your concerns, it is worth it.

 

1.  We have had changing sea-states throughout our journey.  Approaching Hawaii from San Francisco had rolling seas--nothing that is drastic, but whenever you see the crew start to post sickness bags at all the elevators, you can take that as an indication that Kinetosis is setting in.  However, we've seen things can change.  The Atlantic crossing we did with Oceania in December was very rocky but rather calm on our WC.  The good news is that there are lots of ways to deal with sea sickness (ginger, patch, bands, medicine).

 

2.  We've spent time in the Middle East, but that was during our careers and under different circumstances and we didn't visit the tourist sites, so I cannot speak to the English situation in those areas.  However, Asia--so far--has been great.  We've been to Taiwan, Japan, Korea, and Hong Kong.  With the exception of Taiwan we did our own thing walking off the ship and actually felt the safest and most secure in these places than any other ports we've been into.  English is more difficult in Japan, but Google Translate is a great tool and with using it, we got around no problem.  We've visited Thailand before and walked through Bangkok and don't remember it being too difficult, although we were a bit more on guard.

 

With that said, I would recommend always venturing into a port with another person.  That isn't a refection on any port, but is just a wise practice to always have another person with you.  Which brings your third question. . . .

 

3.  There are several single travelers on board.  Although just a handful who are truly traveling solo.  Many have convinced friends or siblings to travel with them.  That being said, you form friend groups on a cruise like this and it tends to be fairly easy to find someone on board who also wants to venture into the port.  We are married and have joined up with other passengers on several ports to join up with.  If you have scheduled dining, remember you will have a group of other travelers who you get to know pretty well as you have dinner with them each evening.  Take part in the ship activities on the many sea days (of course, be prepared as we talked about in question #1) and you'll soon have created your own "ship family" on board.  We are 2 of 20 Americans on a ship with 2200+ (mostly European) passengers and it is nearly impossible to walk from one side of the ship to another without stopping momentarily to speak to someone we've met along the way.

 

A world cruise is a great experience.  It's funny that on day 83, our feeling is one of almost disappointment as we only have 35 days left.  That's NOT what we thought would be the case.  Good luck and let us know what you decide!

[Wayfairers]

On 3/30/2023 at 5:27 PM, JanR said:

 

A world cruise is a great experience.  It's funny that on day 83, our feeling is one of almost disappointment as we only have 35 days left.  That's NOT what we thought would be the case.  Good luck and let us know what you decide!

Looking forward to our first world cruise next year as the last cruise B2B2B being on board 7 months continuously.  Longest we have been on is 90 days and I have felt how you are feeling now on every cruise and I expect to feel that at the end of the 7 months too.  Enjoy the rest of your cruise!

[JanR]

On 4/26/2023 at 9:57 AM, Wayfairers said:

Looking forward to our first world cruise next year as the last cruise B2B2B being on board 7 months continuously.  Longest we have been on is 90 days and I have felt how you are feeling now on every cruise and I expect to feel that at the end of the 7 months too.  Enjoy the rest of your cruise!

Thanks.

 

We are now on Day 115.  Today is the first of the four disembarkation dates in Rome (MSC starts and ends their world cruise in four cities--we will be getting off in the fourth of these stops in Barcelona).  Last night was surreal as there seemed to be atmosphere of melancholy as everyone started to say their goodbyes to the scores of great people and new friends that we have made over the last four months.  A very interesting and new experience for us on a cruise.

 

Have a great World cruise next year!