World Cruises?

[Barefootwoman]

Have any of you taken a world cruise or known someone who has? I noticed some lines are taking bookings into 2018, the year I hope to stop working and kick up the extended travels.

I could really enjoy visiting some spots that are challenging to reach by land or less touristed or just on my list to see.

First hand accounts not easy to come by....might have to find a blog or two.

thanks

 

[Matt]

Never done the world, we decided to move to Asia instead.. my longest one was 30+ days, really fantastic experience. We left from Boston, went up in a loop around the UK, stopping off in Canada, Greenland, Shetland, Scandinavia, France, maybe spain, England.. etc.. it was nice because we brought food back on board, shopping at the local groceries each day so we had some cracking wine and cheese from France, and nibbles from all over..

We've got 2 more cruises booked right now, and probably will hit Asia for a third in spring. When I looked into that I noticed that there were a lot of sea days - be mindful of long stretches and if you might go stir crazy when doing the World.

 

[smittytabb]

I've done a couple that were about three weeks. I will probably book one that is 40 days from Cape Town to Singapore, and that every port between those (both of which I have been to before) is new for me. If you are sure you really like cruising I could see it. I have a constitution that is fortunate for seafaring. I don't need to take meds in even the most rough seas and absolutely love to be at sea. Even so, I am not sure if I would attempt a world cruise. Part of the reason is that there are not that many routes where I haven't done a good number of the ports.

I do know someone who has done more than a few world cruises. I met her when I was traveling in Cuba. Not sure if I can track her down. (She is probably on a cruise ship.) Her name is Frannie and she grew up in the former Belgian Congo. She had taken so many cruises with whatever line it was that she got her laundry done for free when she was on the ship, among other things.

 

[smittytabb]

This post got me thinking about cruise loyalty programs. I didn't know much about them, except that they exist and that there were some perks for those who travel a lot. Here is a good run down for those interested:

http://cruises.reviewed.com/features/all-about-those-frequent-cruiser-programs-2

 

[Barefootwoman]

Thank you the link.

I've got a friend who's living the proof. He started cruising about 10 years ago and liked it so much that he got on their preferred customer lists and since has cruised some very exotic ports very inexpensively and often free. Cruise lines are said to be very generous to their loyal customers. One of them (forget which) offered him a job as a buyer, so then he cruised for free...retired early in his late 40s and now living the dream - as he bought a condo in South Beach to be near the Port of Miami for last minute deals. He's gone now so much of the time that he rents his place to vacationers in the winter.
I think you'd have to love that mode of travel to live the life as he does He's been trying to get me to come work some cruises (free cruise to me) as a wine educator....so there are lots of way to cruise inexpensively, apparently.

One issue I have is that I often prefer theme cruises and those are usually run by organizations, so no discounts, typically...but it's a wide open world, so you never know....

 

[Matt]

To be frank, cruise reward programs are all pretty lame. They generally offer things like a discount on photos, then progress to priority tender tickets, and at the top level, a free speciality dining.

Working on the ships can be fun, but it really is case by case. You need a line that likes their staff, the shift has clearly been to reduce standard of living for the employees, but there is a sweetspot where they make 99.9% of staff low cost, shamefully low paid people from poor countries, and then a smattering of USCs to mingle in Pax areas. The latter get treated nicely, a decent (for crew) cabin, or maybe even Pax quarters.

(source - I worked on ships for several years, met my wife who fit into the USC veneer category, and now I cruise for free...)

 

[Barefootwoman]

I'm not familiar with the term priority tender - is that the same as cruising frequently enough at full freight or slightly discounted pricing such that the cruise line starts sending you emails with deeply discounted cabin offers?

Do you have a line(s) to recommend that treats their employees fairly?

As a former airline employee, I can vouch for some shabby employee treatment on the part of some air carriers as well.

 

[Matt]

I'm not familiar with the term priority tender - is that the same as cruising frequently enough at full freight or slightly discounted pricing such that the cruise line starts sending you emails with deeply discounted cabin offers?

Do you have a line(s) to recommend that treats their employees fairly?

Sadly, it just means you get a VIP line to the tender boats.. for ports where they do not dock. There's really nothing special like the deep discount cabins that I'm aware of outside of the consolidators like Vacations To Go.

In terms of lines that treat their employees fairly.. basically very few.. I heard Crystal was OK. But it's really a class thing - if you are an American, you're treated better than if you are from the crew.

 

[swazzie]

If you haven't already, check out the Cruise Critic forum--they have a 'World Cruising' subforum under the Special Interest Cruising section:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=833

There should be plenty of experiences mentioned there.

 

[smittytabb]

Yeah, if you read the article about the cruise loyalty programs, they are not very lucrative at all. I would never to be loyal to a cruise line because I only book cruises through deals with discounts and low or no single supplements. Been on ten cruises and have only repeated cruise line once because I got a free cruise because of major irrops on that line during a cruise. Just booked my eleventh cruise yesterday on a line I have never been on before. I follow the deal first. And yes, I too have considered working on a cruise ship. I have a credential as a Certified International Tour Manager (CITM) and they are often looking for people to do what Matt describes as veneer jobs with those credentials. I almost applied for a job teaching language on a Semester at Sea cruise a few years ago, but the dates didn't align with something else I had going. Maybe eventually I will do it. My travel I already have booked often gets in the way of these jobs when they come up, ironically.

 

[Barefootwoman]

Interesting....somehow they're making it worthwhile enough for my friend to relocate to be near the departure port...I'll ask him, but now suspect maybe these super deep discounts come from last minute vacancies they have....he is self employed now and mostly retired, so his schedule is very open. Now I need to find out his secrets.

 

[Mountain Trader]

I have never been on a cruise but I corresponded with a very sharp friend expertise. A few thoughts I got from that:

1. There is a big difference between cruise lines and ships within cruise lines. Use Cruise Critic and other resources to do a lot of homework.

2. Rick Steves started writing about cruises a couple of years ago, I think his focus is on how to visit certain ports of call, rather than which ship to book.

3. It seems you gain some things by cruising-all-in food, stay at same place each night, etc., but you give up others, like many or most evenings in visited cities. We loved walking the streets of Venice late (for us) at night and we would not have wanted to have to go back to a ship out where they dock.

4. Prices are highly variable and, from what I know, can drop a lot as sailing date approaches. If your schedule is flexible, you can get really good rates by booking after the date when reservations go hard, since that's when the cruise line knows what its unsold inventory is.

 

[smittytabb]

An observation I would make is that cruising makes sense for certain itineraries. For example, the Panama Canal is a terrific trip. I also did a very small ship cruise in the Galapagos, the best way to do it. Going to Antarctica and South Georgia is an epic cruise. Some companies are starting to do some fly/ship packages to this area, but to really get a feel for that part of the world, you need to travel the waters. Cruising the Volga River in Russia makes sense. And I just booked a second cruise on the west coast of Africa. Sailing among the French Polynesian Society Islands was pretty special.

So, a lot of people turn their noses up at cruising. And Rick Steves did it for years. I knew someone who used to work for him and said he claimed it wasn't "authentic". Then he went on a cruise and realized that it was about how you spend the time in port that makes a difference and he set out to write guides to how to do excursions on your own and how to find local providers that give you a fair price and interesting outings. It's a nice addition to his collection and a good reminder to be selective and do your research.

And look at the size of the ship. I personally prefer small ships and most of my trips have been on those. I like that they can get into the smaller ports, that it takes less time to do almost everything and that it is just more intimate. I would just like to add that some itineraries do allow for evenings in cities. You just have to look carefully to see exactly the timing.

 

[Barefootwoman]

I used to be one of those people. The thought of cruising to nowhere special, only getting off the boat to shop or be herded by cruise employees, pressured to buy photos and trinkets, having to get dressed up to eat too much unhealthy food...ugh,- once was enough....but I guess my biases were formed by the cruise ads and reports from co-workers. All that changed when I started to take educational and theme cruises. One very special cruise I shared with a couple thousand fans of certain music bands who came with us and performed for us - by the end of that trip, I'd made lots of new friends - people who remain friends to this day - and we have so much in common. IMO, cruising is a great concept when it brings together people with particular common interests. I recognize there are people who just want to shop and eat at buffets, and lie by the pool - and that's good for them....

 

[Barefootwoman]

Prices are highly variable and, from what I know, can drop a lot as sailing date approaches. If your schedule is flexible, you can get really good rates by booking after the date when reservations go hard, since that's when the cruise line knows what its unsold inventory is...


For the serious cruise fan, I think this could justify (economically speaking) living near a particular port, when combined with a flexible schedule.

 

[Matt]

Prices are highly variable and, from what I know, can drop a lot as sailing date approaches. If your schedule is flexible, you can get really good rates by booking after the date when reservations go hard, since that's when the cruise line knows what its unsold inventory is...


For the serious cruise fan, I think this could justify (economically speaking) living near a particular port, when combined with a flexible schedule.

Or just keeping a stash of Avios ready to hop to MIA..

In the past I toyed with the idea of building up the infrastructure for this lifestyle:

1. Buy a property in MIA, list it on AirBnb, employing a property management solution to ensure it was cleaned etc between 'guests'
2. Hop from cruise to cruise.
3. When you find that one cruise has an overlap, eg arrives on Sat, the next departs on Sun:
   1. Stay at property if not rented out
   2. Use points for cheap hotel night if rented out

Overall - it would work out pretty well if you could handle the bouncing about on Embark/Debark day, the built in shelter of the cruise (food, utilities etc) vastly offset the cost of the ticket when the prices are discounted. If you took 4 x 7nights per month, and had a good property that was keenly priced, you'd make a nice income, and I would think you'd come out ahead.

Cruise rates might be $50 - $100 per day, for $1500-3,000 per month. Which if you deduct out groceries and dining isn't a lot. The big issue with the idea is the single supplement rules.. they make it a lot harder to be viable. Newer ships have on NCL have a Studio which alleviates that.

 

[BuddyFunJet]

While cruising, I've met a few couples/individuals who spend the majority of their time on ship with the Regent, SilverSeas and Oceania lines. They have a individualized deal with the cruise line since they spend so much time aboard that reduces the daily cost. They also make their residence in a no income/estate tax state with a mail forwarding service or family office.

Rather than bouncing between ships/lines, they tend to stay on the same ship for extended periods.

Not a choice I'd make for myself but very do-able.

 

[plane2port]

When just my husband and I travel we like to do land trips but cruising can be a more relaxing experience if you are traveling with other family members. It's a great vacation when you have different age groups and grown ups who like to do different things. Grandma can go play trivia while the teenagers make new friends at the pool. Meanwhile you can have a few hours to yourself with a book and a drink while everyone else is being entertained.