A WORLD CRUISE IS BOTH A JOURNEY AND AN ADVENTURE

Often we are asked, how can you be away on one cruise for such along time? This certainly a very good question.   We never thought we would take such a long journey.  In fact, during our early days of cruising we usually cruised for seven days until we took our first twelve-day cruise almost fifteen years ago.  A few years later, we took one cruise of 18 days in length and loved it.  Still, we could not comprehend the thought of a World Cruise nor even a cruise of half that length.  

In 2005, we took a back-to-back cruise on the Crystal Serenity totaling 24 days.    A back-to-back cruise consists of two or more consecutive cruises.  It was during that very cruise we met another couple who had sailed on the 2005 Crystal Cruises World Cruise earlier that year.  We got together with them a few times and one night over dinner they walked us through their experiences from that World Cruise. After thinking it through for a couple of days, we said to ourselves where do we sign up and that is exactly what we did.  We also realized that the Crystal Serenity would be a prefect ship for such a voyage.  For us, it is not too large and not too small and its overall size is what we prefer.

We booked the 2007 World Cruise with the on-board booking consultant and as they say the rest was history.  

We quickly learned on that very first World Cruise that a World Cruise is unlike any other cruise we had ever taken.  It isn't just a long cruise.  Rather, it is an adventure and a journey.  We had the opportunity to not only visit a diverse set of countries and to also enjoy so many events on and off the ship, but we also had the opportunity to share this adventure with many of our fellow passengers and crew members.  Although we had traveled a great deal for pleasure, and Keith traveled extensively for business, we really grew a great deal from that adventure in so many different ways.  The journey gave us a great appreciation for our world, with all of its diverse cultures and diverse geography.  All of this became clearer to us because we experienced so much diversity in a relatively short amount of time having sailed several continents of the world.

We also learned a great deal about the areas of the world we were sailing from the extensive on-board enrichment program and we built strong bonds, and friendships with so many people traveling on the ship, including fellow guests as well as officers, staff and crew.  Since that time we have experienced other world cruises and other voyages with several people we sailed with on that very first World Cruise.

Taking such a journey is not only a major financial commitment, but a major commitment of time, both before and during the journey.  We prefer to take such a journey in one large chunk over the course of the year rather than in small chunks.

We are thankful for technology which allows us to stay connected with family and friends.  This includes keeping in-touch via e-mail, telephone and more recently with applications such as FaceTime.  Without these capabilities, it truly would make taking such a journey much more challenging.  

While we were away last year, we were able to use FaceTime from time to time to keep up with our family.

From time to time we would visit with our daughter, Jennifer,  and grandson, Andre,  and one time our son, Eric, was even able to give us a tour of the new home that he and our Daughter-In-Law, Kara, moved into while we were away.

These are photos of Anne Marie sharing a moment with Grandson Andre via FaceTime.

As to our adventure, we loved that first World Cruise so much that this journey represents our sixth full World Cruise and seventh sailing on a World Cruise, all with Crystal Cruises.   We have so much to be thankful for and we enjoy each journey as if is our first. 

We also wanted to mention that another key for us is the ship.  For us the ship is the perfect size for a World Cruise.  While the ship can carry 1,000+ guests, on most sailings the overall count is lower than that since not all rooms are sold and several passengers travel solo. A passenger count at these levels provides us with a nice opportunity to get to know quite a few passengers during our journey.  At the same time, the amount of space that is devoted to public space and various venues is considerable, providing us with a nice opportunity to enjoy a diverse set of areas on the ship.  The outdoor wrap-around deck which you rarely find available on most cruise ships provides yet another nice area to enjoy when the ship is either at sea or in port.  

We hope that through this Blog that each of you will get an idea of what a World Cruise is like and that you will feel that you are experiencing this journey first hand with us.

Coming next: "Planning & Even More Planning".   We will highlight not only the specific items that we take care of prior to the start of the adventure, but also many of the time frames for completing them.  We hope this will be especially beneficial for those of you who are booked on a long voyage for the very first time or for those of you who are considering taking a long trip in the future.

TODAY'S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY............


"The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step." - Lau Tzu

Keith and Anne Marie