World's Longest Cruise

Interesting. Might be temping. Probably cheaper than an assisted living facility at about $400/day. It is probably worth it but you would have to follow a completely different life style for that year. We generally cruise for about $200 a day but Viking throws in a shore excursion at each port. Our longest was 22 days and have considered some 30 day cruises in the future. Starting next week will be on a Viking river cruise for 16 days.

At one time there was a floating, time-share ship, that had a year around, around the world sailing schedule. You could buy as many weeks as you liked and just caught up with the ship at any port stop. Don't know if it is still sailing or not.

@Frank, have you ever done a RS tour? We have did a Viking cruise. Enjoyed it. Wonder how you'd compare value on a RS tour vs. Viking. I know they are two different things and are useful for different situations. just curious.

I don't think you can really compare a Viking cruise with a Steves bus tour. We have tried to get on a couple of RS tours especially his big one but are always a little late signing up and get wait listed so have not. As we slow down (77 and 75) all inclusive tour packages become more attractive. We are still back packing our carry-ons but a knee is starting to cause problems so who knows how much long we can continue on our own. The next trip is fairly typical for us. Into Amsterdam a week early and then Viking cruise for 16 days ending in Budapest. Sometime the following week or so we will return home. It all depending on the flight schedule. We will come home from either Budapest, Vienna, or perhaps Munich. Currently waiting for the ff business class tickets to open up on those leg.

PS. Doug, that just shows what you know or don't know. Airplanes crash, trains derail, taxi accidents -- all part of the joy of traveling.

245 days at sea isn't a cruise ... it's sentence.

I imagine that most of the passengers will have signed on for just a segment of the 245 day itinerary and my guess is that airfare for the segment will be extra. I love cruises but I shudder at the thought of 245 days at the same table, in the same dining room surrounded by many of the same faces. Luckily, I couldn’t possibly afford it.

@Frank - here’s the ship you mentioned, previously called the ResidenSea. https://aboardtheworld.com/

I saw "The World" about 10 years ago, berthed in Sydney, Australia. I'm not sure it's my sort of thing - even If I had that sort of money.

As an aside, the Union Castle line used to act as mail ships between UK and South Africa up until the late 1970s. They would spend 2 weeks getting from Southampton to Cape Town, then go up the coast to Durban, before heading back to the UK. The journey took 5 weeks overall, and there were six ships on rotation.

Many passengers would embark in late October, go to South Africa, and when their boat arrived back in Southampton on the Thursday, they'd simply have their luggage transferred to the boat leaving the next day - spending all the UK Winter travelling.
I remember an older couple from "up North" telling us that once they'd factored in winter heating, and their food, they actually saved money as semi permanent passengers.

We have lived overseas for several year ( me, 9 years in Germany and Saudi Arabia) and traveled all of the options:
1) Bus Tours
2) Rail Tours and trip using European rail.
3) Driving my own car or renting a car and planning all the hotels/B&Bs and sites.
4) 20 Ocean Cruises on Celebrity, Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean.
5) 5 river cruises that included land tours.
6) Driving without planning (before the internet, just taking a guidebook)

Ocean cruises are nice to combine with a land trip. Cruises are great at visiting ports that would otherwise involve travel that would eat up time. Cruising the Greek Islands is a great choice, or the Caribbean. Since the cruise includes meals, entertainment and lodging, it lends itself to a less complicated trip. We just did a great cruise to six ports in Norway the went all the way to the Arctic Circle and North Cape. Great way to go.

The link about describes a very long cruise on one of the most expensive cruise lines. We are able to find great cruises far cheaper.
For example, we did a 23 day TransPacific cruise in 2018 from Sydney to Seattle, stopping in Noumea, Fiji and two Hawaiian Islands.
Cost was about $120 per day per person. Our last two cruises, one on Celebrity (rated the best dining) and Royal Caribbean (excellent in entertainment) cost us $90 and $180 per day per person. We did a transatlantic in 2017 that cost us about $80 per day per person.

If you want to visit large European capitol cities like Rome, Paris, London, Berlin, etc. then a land trip is best. You can largely do it on your own and purchase tours that you find online (in advance).

River Cruises are great, but more expensive (usually all inclusive) and great for in depth touring in scenic places along a river.

Bus tours can be great and are usually cheaper than other tours.

We did China (3 weeks) and Russia (including Ukraine and the Baltics) for 3.5 weeks on guided tours that include a river cruise. Going to those countries and places like Egypt are best done on guided tours.

One needs to tailor their travel to the type of trip and their individual needs. For example, an Alaska cruise is fantastic for viewing glaciers or seeing wildlife, still it is best to combine with an Alaska land tour that includes places like Denali.

@Tim, we do nearly the same thing every winter for the month of January and part of Feb. In the first week of January, we book any cruise leaving Ft Lauderdale into the Caribbean. Since we have been to nearly every port and island in the Caribbean several times it makes no difference where it is going. Sometimes we will stay on the same ship and other things we have to change. This coming winter, for example, we will be on one ship for 12 days into the far southern Caribbean and then circle back to Ft. Lauderdale. Get off that morning, take an Uber to a laundry, do our laundry and maybe a little snack shopping and take an Uber back to the port and board another ship for two more weeks. Will be home in Denver in early Feb in time for spring skiing. When I finally give up skiing we probably will extend our stay in Florida for a couple of more weeks or look for longer cruises. The Caribbean cruises are strictly sun and beaches with little sightseeing. Just relaxing in great, warm, no-snow weather. For us, it is just a very relaxing way to spend the month of Jan and do nothing. We learned a long time ago it is cheaper to cruise in the Caribbean than rent a condo anywhere near the beach in southern Florida or the Keys.

And we are not the only ones doing it. If we stay on the same ship when it comes back to Ft. Lauderdale, they herd us into the theater area for a couple of hours and will actual have US immigration officers set up a table to check us back into the US and out again. And there will be a couple hundred people in the theater. And a significant percentage are Canadians. We have encountered people who will stay on the same ship for two and three months in the winter. Same argument --- it is cheaper.

A world cruise is my dream when the DH retires, and I love oceans and boats, but even this would be a tad too long. Most WC are around 100 odd days and thats what we will be doing. I follow a few WCruise blogs and will probably follow along on this one.

Before tackling a 90 day cruise I would encourage you to try a 20-25 day cruise. The longest we have been on is 22 days. From our experience I think you would need a different attitude about a number of issues on a 90 day cruise from a shorter cruise. For example, I don't think you would want to do a formal or semi-formal dinner sitting every night. You would need to establish patterns similar to if you were living by the beach for 90 days.

Frank, we did that Viking cruise in the opposite direction two years ago. Enjoy!