What makes a five star world cruise ship different from a regular cruise ship? When you choose to take a world cruise to celebrate a major event in your life or take that vacation you’ve always wanted in a cruise of a lifetime, you will be surrounded by luxury at every turn.
There will be someone there to attend to your every need. You will have so many perks that you will easily see why these cruises are more expensive than the norm. A world cruise takes several months rather than a few days or weeks, so the ship will be your home for a longer period of time. Everything is designed for the comfort, relaxation and enjoyment of the passengers.
First of all, it is cheaper to see exotic parts of the world on a five star world cruise ship (http://www.amttravel.com/cruise-lines/5-star-world-cruises.html) than it is to book all the flights and accommodations in the various cities and countries. You only have to pack and unpack once, which makes it very convenient.
And, everything is planned for you, so you don’t have to spend time planning an itinerary. Five star world cruise ships tend to be smaller cruise ships giving you more of an opportunity to get to know your fellow passengers. This means they can berth in smaller ports that you otherwise would not get to visit.
The staterooms are world class being larger with a balcony where you can sit outside and enjoy the view and the ocean breezes. Every detail in the staterooms is designer from the bed linens to the amenities included in the bathroom.
They include such things as extra fluffy towels, bathrobes and slippers and 100% Egyptian cotton sheets. Even the scented bath oils and candles have designer labels. Plus, they are quite spacious giving you plenty of room to move about and for storage of your clothing and belongings.
The five star world cruise ships (http://www.amttravel.com/cruise-lines/world-cruises.html) also have world famous chefs that prepare the gourmet meals. Some of these ships often offer cooking courses so that you can learn how to prepare the traditional foods of each country that you visit.
Choose a completely flexible dining schedule in an open restaurant or the traditional two seatings in the main restaurant on the ship. Not only will you be able to sample foods from all over the world, but there are buffets and five course meals as well as 24-hour room service if you want to dine in your stateroom. If you have special dietary needs, they will be accommodated as well.
Spend your day lounging around the pool, engaging in a fitness routine in the gym, having a spa or massage treatment or taking in a lecture about the next port of call. Internet connections are available allowing you to keep in touch with home and of course, you can curl up with a good book from the library.
Nightly activity includes trying your luck in the casino, taking in a Broadway or Las Vegas style production, dancing or just listening to music as you enjoy a drink with your friends. There is something different every night on a luxury around the world cruise for you to enjoy.
Then there are the ports of call where you can choose to go ashore or stay on the ship. At each port, you have a choice of activities to take part in and there is always an opportunity to go shopping so that you have special souvenirs to take back home.
Never been on Princess, but have been on one Holland cruise – it was not "hoity-toity", but it was classy, in that people dressed appropriately for dinner [i.e. followed the suggested dress code], the service was excellent, and there weren't a bunch of rowdies seeing how much they could drink before they passed out.
To get a good overall idea of what the two lines are like, go to CruiseCritic.com, blick on "Boards", then browse the Princess and Holland boards.
Be aware that on an extended cruise like a world cruise, the passengers are likely to be older than the typical 7-10 day cruise. They're the ones who have the time to indulge in such a long trip.
I would love to go on one someday, but they are expensive. To give you an example, Princess has one world cruise for 107 days. A balcony room per person is $28,000. For a shorter cruise for 75 days, a balcony is $18,000 per person. With Cunard lines, like the queen Mary is a lot more then princess. Of course there is a lot to consider when you go away for this long of time, what to do with pets, or how do you get your prescriptions for that long. I hope this helped.
Your skipper is a legend in the jungle. Glad you were able to ride his boat and have it on video
holy crap that blonde old lady is my grandma
People on around the world cruises are generally retired, because in general only people who are retired can 100+ days off.
The data below is rough, but based on a survey we did at CruiseSavvy.com late last year, the age breakdown for people on an around-the-world cruise is…
Younger than 40: <1%
40s: 3%
50s: 4%
60s: 50%
70s: 33%
80s+: 10%
Caveat: sample size was small for around the world cruisers, just 130, and since it was an online survey we may have under-represented some older people, but I think the data is directionally right
That said, people who went on a world cruise LOVED it. Extremely high satisfaction rate. But you should consider the following:
- It's a great social experience, because you will be on the same ship with the same people for over three months. Some people love that, some don't.
- Be sure to pick a cruise line that suits your style and preferences. Some are better at service, some have prettier ships. You can get an understanding of the factors and different lines' strengths here:
http://www.cruisesavvy.com/savvyguide/choosing_your_cruise
- A cruise line that does a lot of around-the-world and exotic cruises will provide a much better experience because they know the ports and how to hire the best enrichment speakers
If you have other questions, you can contact me through my Yahoo profile.
There are plenty of world cruises on offer, but to be honest, none of them meet your criteria, the longest stay in port is around 12 hours from 8am to 8pm, only a couple of overnights.
Understandable I suppose, if you're off the ship, you're not spending money on the ship.
Here's a link to all the available luxury world cruises on one website
http://www.cruisingluxury.com/index.htm.
If you have unlimited time and money, have you thought about doing it on a cargo ship.
http://www.aws.co.uk/cruises/
It might be more like what you are looking for.