World cruise ?

[OpusX1]

Anyone's ever take a world cruise? Not a segment but a world cruise of 100 days or more? Just starting to do a little research on long cruises. HAL offers a world cruise every year that sounds very nice. Looking for advice from experienced world cruisers. We have been on 35 cruises but none longer than 12 days. This trip is a minimum of 5 years away so I have plenty of time for research.

[asianthree]

have friends that did half for 45 days...they had their own chef who went with then to every port the the market to get food for their dinners...said it was worth the $$$$

[Xavier]

100 days on a Cruise Ship - I don't think they make pants with that much elastic in them.

Xavier

[MelZ]

Just got back from the World Cruise on the Amsterdam, 115 days from Jan 5 till May 1. And No we didn't gain any weight. Just had the experience of a lifetime.

It was a fabulous experience and I recommend it. there were at least 8 people from TV on board. Still unpacking and just finished going through our mail.

[duffysmom]

Welcome Home Mel... what is the secret to maintaining your weight? Please give us a review of this once in a lifetime cruise.

[asianthree]

might be a good way to rent out the house and have a place to go

[OpusX1]

Very nice. Would be great if you could do a review or blog. Just what I was hoping for, first Hand experience.

[MelZ]

Welcome Home Mel... what is the secret to maintaining your weight? Please give us a review of this once in a lifetime cruise.

Couple of small steps to maintain you weight:

Take the stairs instead of the elevator

Exercise (I played paddle tennis for 2 hours on sea days)

self control at meals

[MelZ]

Very nice. Would be great if you could do a review or blog. Just what I was hoping for, first Hand experience.

I would be happy to answer any questions

[LittleDog]

I am interested in a longer cruise. My concerns would be paying my bills while I am gone. How is this handled? Right now I have some bills (credit cards mostly) that are automatically deducted from my checking account.

John

[MelZ]

I am interested in a longer cruise. My concerns would be paying my bills while I am gone. How is this handled? Right now I have some bills (credit cards mostly) that are automatically deducted from my checking account.

John

We used direct billing or credit cards to pay our bills. the credit cards were set to auto payment. Cell phones, TV, Internet and phone were put on vacation hold. An extension was filed for our taxes. House watch company picked up the mail. I prepaid TD for maintenance of our hot tub.

[OpusX1]

Was Internet access available and reasonable on the ship or did you wait until port days?
How about cell service? For a week or two I don't worry about communication with the family but for four months it has to be a consideration.
What type cabin do you recommend? Over the years we have had everything and were comfortable in all. I would think that you may spend a a bit more time in the cabin on such a long cruise but maybe not.
How did the line handle tips? Weekly, monthly?
How about pricing? Are you able to get the usual 30 to 40 percent discount off brochure prices?
We're the menus tailored to the local cuisine?
Did you do the ship shore excursions or go on your own?
What did you think of the port lectures?
And finally how long did you plan for your trip?
Thanks.
Sorry for so many questions?

[MelZ]

Was Internet access available and reasonable on the ship or did you wait until port days? We did both, internet on ship is slow and expensive, on port days it's free or 30 min. free with a purchase. Caution off ship internet is not secured.
How about cell service? For a week or two I don't worry about communication with the family but for four months it has to be a consideration. We didn't use our phone but many on ship did use skype.
What type cabin do you recommend? Over the years we have had everything and were comfortable in all. I would think that you may spend a a bit more time in the cabin on such a long cruise but maybe not. We didn't spend much time in the cabin so we got the least expensive we could live with.
How did the line handle tips? Weekly, monthly? Tips are billed to you shipboard account and sre charged to you card at the end of the cruise. We gave extra to staff who were helpful ie. Sundries not used, snacks, and we gace excess clothing to the staff. You can buy unlimited laundry and pressing from the ship you you actually need less clothes that you think.
How about pricing? Are you able to get the usual 30 to 40 percent discount off brochure prices? We didn't pay book rates, shop wisely.
We're the menus tailored to the local cuisine? menus were a mix of local cuisine and cruise ship cuisine.
Did you do the ship shore excursions or go on your own? we used ship excursions, private excursions and went off on our own
What did you think of the port lectures? most were excellent small percentage didn't interest us. This is a personal preference.
And finally how long did you plan for your trip? about 15 months

hope this helps

[OpusX1]

Thanks.