Long cruising hints

[I Luv Crusin]

We are cruising the Rotterdam on Saturday for 29 days.  AND in March 2026 we booked the Noordam from Auckland to Sydney and then we were going to jump on Princess from Sydney to Fiji and back.  Well, I just noticed that we can board the Noordam in Auckland and sail it to Seattle, hitting Fiji, Tahiti, AND Hawaii!  We would cancel our Fiji and Hawaiian cruises. 

 

Is 50 days on a ship crazy and how do you prepare for a long cruise like that?

TIA! 

[ECCruise]

We are booked on the 50 day you are considering.

 

We've done many long (25+ days) sailings. As far as preparation, we don't do a whole lot different than we would do for a 14 day sailing.  Laundry will have to be done on the ship (either by the cruise line (HAL, eg.) or by ourselves (Azamara, eg.), so we have ~14 days of clothing,  Reading material is all on Kindles, so the length doesn't matter as it would for physical reading material. 

 

You do understand that many things will likely repeat during a long sailing like that if it is a combination of 2 different itineraries (as this one is).  Menus will rotate, entertainment will likely repeat (except for fly-on entertainment).  The activities will be pretty much the same.

 

We've found that when we do long sailings we rely very little on what the ship has to offer.  To some degree, we live our lives as we do at home.  Exercise fairly consistently with lots of walking either onboard or outside.  Eat and drink no more than we do at home. Lots of reading.  Download lots of movies, TV shows to watch.

 

Hope this gives you some idea.  We leave in about an hour for a 70 day trip, including 27 days on 1 sailing (HAL) and 20 days on another (Swan Hellenic) plus Thailand, Kyoto and South Africa in between.  Will admit that packing was a challenge cause temps will vary between 20F or so (Antarctica) and 90F or so (Thailand). 

[I Luv Crusin]

45 minutes ago, ECCruise said:

We are booked on the 50 day you are considering.

 

We've done many long (25+ days) sailings. As far as preparation, we don't do a whole lot different than we would do for a 14 day sailing.  Laundry will have to be done on the ship (either by the cruise line (HAL, eg.) or by ourselves (Azamara, eg.), so we have ~14 days of clothing,  Reading material is all on Kindles, so the length doesn't matter as it would for physical reading material. 

 

You do understand that many things will likely repeat during a long sailing like that if it is a combination of 2 different itineraries (as this one is).  Menus will rotate, entertainment will likely repeat (except for fly-on entertainment).  The activities will be pretty much the same.

 

We've found that when we do long sailings we rely very little on what the ship has to offer.  To some degree, we live our lives as we do at home.  Exercise fairly consistently with lots of walking either onboard or outside.  Eat and drink no more than we do at home. Lots of reading.  Download lots of movies, TV shows to watch.

 

Hope this gives you some idea.  We leave in about an hour for a 70 day trip, including 27 days on 1 sailing (HAL) and 20 days on another (Swan Hellenic) plus Thailand, Kyoto and South Africa in between.  Will admit that packing was a challenge cause temps will vary between 20F or so (Antarctica) and 90F or so (Thailand). 

Have a great trip!  We sound similar!  Except my DH will be on promenade deck with his camera!

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Bring some comfort's from home 

Coffee mugs 

Favorite tea 

Favorite candy 

You don't have to invent the answers to your question's

You can find the answers here on Cruise Critic .

You are not alone in doing long Cruises.

 

[CruiserBruce]

Is it crazy? No. people do much longer cruises all the time. For example the World Cruises. Almost all cruise lines have them, and they are rarely less than 100 days.

[Birdhunter67]

We are booked on this cruise as well.  We have previously done both a 14 and 15 day cruise. In both cases we were “disappointed” when the cruise was over. We both look forward to the sea days as much as new ports. I think the biggest challenge will be convincing my wife that she won’t need as many clothes as she thinks she will. Book the cruise - we will have a great time!

[SilvertoGold]

Great plan! A plus: HAL ships now have Libraries with a really broad collection of fiction and non-fiction. The days go by so smoothly, no rush, no fuss. Every day is as different or similiar as you want it to be.

We have done the Auckland to Vancouver twice and loved every minute. Your plan sounds perfect!

[Shmoo here]

4 hours ago, I Luv Crusin said:

We are cruising the Rotterdam on Saturday for 29 days.  AND in March 2026 we booked the Noordam from Auckland to Sydney and then we were going to jump on Princess from Sydney to Fiji and back.  Well, I just noticed that we can board the Noordam in Auckland and sail it to Seattle, hitting Fiji, Tahiti, AND Hawaii!  We would cancel our Fiji and Hawaiian cruises. 

 

Is 50 days on a ship crazy and how do you prepare for a long cruise like that?

TIA! 

We've been working up to that long a cruise.  We just completed a 35 day cruise.  i like them more than shorter cruises because, you don't have to keep packing/unpacking all the time like on a long land trip.

 

Like others, we take about 10-14 days worth of clothes (things that mix & match) and do laundry onboard.  We also keep to a "normal" eating schedule.  In fact, while we eat better on a cruise than at home, we tend to lose a little weight when cruising.  Could be the combination of better balanced meals and more walking.  

 

 

[Dutchman48]

4 hours ago, I Luv Crusin said:

We are cruising the Rotterdam on Saturday for 29 days.  AND in March 2026 we booked the Noordam from Auckland to Sydney and then we were going to jump on Princess from Sydney to Fiji and back.  Well, I just noticed that we can board the Noordam in Auckland and sail it to Seattle, hitting Fiji, Tahiti, AND Hawaii!  We would cancel our Fiji and Hawaiian cruises. 

 

Is 50 days on a ship crazy and how do you prepare for a long cruise like that?

TIA! 

Did repositing cruises last year and this year, enjoyed them enough that we have a 45-day and 93-day cruise on the books.

When we booked the first 42-day cruise we were not sure if we could handle the many sea days from Sydney to Seattle, however that was not an issue. We found the sea days relaxing and enjoyable. There was plenty to do if you wanted to keep busy or just relax if that what you wanted.

For us the hardest thing was our medications. Ensuring we had enough and that they were legal where we flew into and had to go through customs with our luggage. Once I had meds on the ship, I was not concerned with different countries customs rules.

[albingirl]

There is a totally different vibe on the long ones.  The staff treats you better, I think, since you are on the ship together for a long time.  In reverse, you respect the staff immensely, since they are in it for the long haul. You will meet many serious travelers with great stories, and it's fun to meet up.  It's not the party hardy set and you can pick up some pretty good tips about ports that they may have previously visited.  I love every last thing about the long cruises and that's about all I book these days.

[albingirl]

I forgot to add, bring your kindle, get the laundry package, and do some research on the ports ahead of time. 

[Host Kat]

6 hours ago, I Luv Crusin said:

We are cruising the Rotterdam on Saturday for 29 days.  AND in March 2026 we booked the Noordam from Auckland to Sydney and then we were going to jump on Princess from Sydney to Fiji and back.  Well, I just noticed that we can board the Noordam in Auckland and sail it to Seattle, hitting Fiji, Tahiti, AND Hawaii!  We would cancel our Fiji and Hawaiian cruises. 

 

Is 50 days on a ship crazy and how do you prepare for a long cruise like that?

TIA! 

 

Hello @I Luv Crusin

 

To help you out, your new thread has been moved to the Special Interest Cruising - Transatlantic, Transpacific, Repositioning & Trans-Ocean Cruises forum. Browse through the thread titles in this forum looking for threads of interest. You will find your fellow Cruise Critic members have already posted questions and received answers that may be of interest to you regarding preparations.

 

Also, click here Special Interest Cruising - World Cruising for more information from extended length cruisers that share advice and experiences.

 

Hope this will be helpful and glad to have you aboard Cruise Critic!

 

Happy sails,

 

Host Kat

[I Luv Crusin]

6 hours ago, Gail & Marty sailing away said:

Bring some comfort's from home 

Coffee mugs 

Favorite tea 

Favorite candy 

You don't have to invent the answers to your question's

You can find the answers here on Cruise Critic .

You are not alone in doing long Cruises.

 

Gail and Mary are you on the Rotterdam from 9/28 and on the TA to FLL?  IF so, I'd LOVE to meet you, since I've been following your posts for years!  

[I Luv Crusin]

5 hours ago, Birdhunter67 said:

We are booked on this cruise as well.  We have previously done both a 14 and 15 day cruise. In both cases we were “disappointed” when the cruise was over. We both look forward to the sea days as much as new ports. I think the biggest challenge will be convincing my wife that she won’t need as many clothes as she thinks she will. Book the cruise - we will have a great time!

Are you on the Rotterdam this week?

[Birdhunter67]

2 hours ago, I Luv Crusin said:

Are you on the Rotterdam this week?

No, not this week but in November for a Caribbean cruise. 

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

9 hours ago, I Luv Crusin said:

Gail and Mary are you on the Rotterdam from 9/28 and on the TA to FLL?  IF so, I'd LOVE to meet you, since I've been following your posts for years!  

Yes we are cabin #1111

[WisRiver]

We have done several long cruises, 50+ days.  My only complaint is the receptive nature of the menu. When we are in port, we try to make enough time to shop a local grocery store or market for snacks.  You would be amazed at the different flavor of chips (aka crisps) in New Zealand, Sweden or Thailand.  We have no problem bringing food back on the ship, only if you try to take it off.  Also local grocery stores can be a great place to shop for souvenirs.  Many Icelandic grocery stores have knitting and yarn sections in addition to excellent dried lamb sausages.

We may purchase local cheeses, and keep them cool in the cabin refrigerator.

 

Also Post It notes for putting reminders on the mirror.