World Cruises Popularity Grows
November 30, 2005
They keep going, and going, and going?world cruises, that is. It?s a growing trend that the duration of many cruises is getting longer and longer, and so is the list of people who want to travel on a world cruises that last from two weeks to three months. Destinations like Alaska, Asia, Australia, and many other places that don?t begin with the letter A are on the list. Of course, finding a cruise line that offers a world cruise is as easy as A-B-C.
Holland America is increasing the number of cruises that last 12 days or longer 20% from last year; the following year, HAL will switch from the 814-passenger ms Prinsendam to a larger 1,380-passenger vessel. Ultra-luxury Crystal Cruises is also seeing record numbers of people booking cabins on their 106-day World Cruise.
Like many other cruise lines that offer world cruises, Holland America and Crystal Cruises allow passengers to select portions of the cruise, some as few as 14 days. It?s akin to choosing the most agreeable items from a buffet menu. ?I?ll have a little Alaska, some Hawaii, and?oh, follow it up with some?Tahiti!? Delicious Destinations.
But what?s the attraction to these longer world cruises? It?s obvious that more and more people are doing it, but why? Well, for those people who have the time (and the money), there?s a great deal to experience from these world cruises. For one, there?s really no other way than a world cruise to see so many far-off destinations in such a short amount of time and with as little preparation.
Don?t get me wrong?taking a three month world cruise isn?t exactly like spending the weekend at the cabin; there?s a lot of preparation to be made before sailing away for that long of a time. But picture trying to see Borneo, Australia; Sydney, Australia; Phuket, Thailand; Bejing, China; and Bali, Indonesia, all in three weeks any other way than via cruise ship. And even if you could do it, imagine the price of flights, hotels, in-land transportation, meals, etc.
But what about the people who have to work? Well, there?s an answer for that, too. ?People can fairly successfully run a business from being on a ship,? said Jan Swartz, a senior VP with Cunard, a cruise line that is planning two simultaneous world cruises in 2007 because of such high demand.
After all, it?s not like you have to put a message in a bottle to communicate to your coworker counterparts on dry land; onboard internet access, cell phones, and those nifty little BlackBerries are all too common on cruise ships. So you can talk with the office about the quarterly figures for the southeast Atlantic region while you?re sailing in the middle of the Pacific.
Of course, for most people, work is the furthest thing from their minds on a world cruise. A World Cruise gives people the opportunity to experience an amazing variety of landscapes, climates, histories, and people. It?s really not like any other type of vacation around.
That being said, I?d be lying if I didn?t mention that World Cruises can be kind of pricey. Most likely, anyone who books even the least expensive world cruise around the globe will see $10,000 way far back in the rearview mirror. (However, that doesn?t include world cruise segments, where prices can be much lower than that.) Still, for the top of the line world cruise, you could easily shell out $200,000.
Whether or not that?s worth it for you is a decision you?ll have to make. But if you have the means and the inclination, I can certainly think of less pleasant ways to spend three months.
