Going on a world cruise was a very interesting life experience. I am writing this post in mid-June of 2024, seven weeks after we got off of the ship on April 25. In no particular order, these are the things that stand out to me after giving the experience a bit of time to sink in:
The constantly changing itinerary
Our primary motivation in doing this cruise was to circumnavigate the globe, which we did. That the itinerary drastically changed from the originally scheduled itinerary, because of the issues in the Suez Canal, was not a detriment to the cruise at all for me; in fact, it was part of the experience! Had we sailed our own boat around the world, clearly, due to weather, politics, natural disasters, safety concerns, or any other number of reasons, we would have changed itineraries as we went, although at a much slower pace. When we sailed our boat down the west coast of the US and Mexico from 2004-2006, we changed itineraries many times for various reasons. Most cruises we have been on also have changed itineraries prior to and during the cruise, for various reasons. So, for us this was not surprising and was actually expected.
Positive itinerary change #1: Seeing more of Africa
While it is possible, given our preference for not flying long distance it is very unlikely that we ever would have gotten to Mauritius, South Africa, or Namibia if the cruise itinerary did not change to skip the Suez Canal.
Positive itinerary change #2: Cartagena, Spain
We got to visit with friends from our sailing days that we had not seen in approximately 18 years when this port replaced Cádiz due to a weather issue.
Positive itinerary change #3: Málaga, Spain
Some of our ports of call were changed when the timing of our visit to the Mediterranean was modified to skip the Suez Canal. This port was not part of the original itinerary and is our favorite place that we have been (so far) on mainland Spain.
The planet is mostly water
Intellectually, I was already aware of this. The Earth is really not very “earthy” given that 71% of the Earth’s surface is covered by water. The oceans hold about 96.5% of the Earth’s water. However, it is much more obvious when traveling by cruise ship around the globe. Our 111 day cruise had 60 days at sea. There were 51 ports, so we spent more time at sea than on land. We sailed more than 33,000 nautical miles! This is almost 38,000 statute miles, or more than 61,000 kilometers, for those who are not boaters. Fortunately, I love sea days, so this not only wasn’t a problem for me, it was one of the great joys of this cruise to spend so much time communing with our beautiful oceans, in all kinds of weather.
Many “favorites”
It is impossible for me to say what my “favorite” port was, “favorite” food I ate, or really to list a “favorite” anything about the cruise because it was such a varied experience, and for me everything was mostly positive. So, the following are better termed “highlights” – the ports, food, and other experiences that stand out to me almost two months after leaving the ship.
Polynesians are awe inspiring
We spent a lot of time in Polynesia – Hawaii, Fiji and New Zealand, and crossing the ocean between. It is amazing to me that Polynesians were able to navigate these waters regularly and accurately starting more than 3000 years ago, between approximately 1300 and 900 BC, long before the invention of the compass or development of nautical charts.
I loved New Zealand
I am not sure what my expectations before the cruise were about visiting New Zealand, but I distinctly remember being much more intrigued by some of the more “exotic” stops on our itinerary. We were in four ports in New Zealand – Auckland, New Plymouth, Picton, and Port Chalmers, ranging in population from 1.5 million to 1500 people, and I loved them all. The country is a true foodie paradise, is incredibly beautiful, the people are very friendly, and is inexpensive by US standards. I hope to return some day, and to spend more time than one day in four ports.
The place I didn’t want to leave
It generally doesn’t bother me to spend only one day in each port, however long that day happens to be. I take it for what it is, enjoy my time, and note places I would like to return to if I get a chance. The only exception to this that I recall on the cruise was Santa Cruz de Tenerife, in the Canary Islands. I literally did not want to get back on the ship and wanted to stay there. We usually get back to the ship in plenty of time before we sail (as in usually at least a few hours); this time we arrived back less than 1 hour before the time we were due back on the ship. The food was fabulous. The people seemed to be enjoying life enormously. It felt like somewhere I would love to spend a lot of time (as in months). Maybe someday ….
Roman ruins highlight
We saw Roman ruins in many cities in Europe and have seen them previously. The only shore excursion we ended up doing on the cruise was Pompeii, out of Naples. We had a fabulous tour guide, and the site is extremely impressive, primarily for me because of its size (we only saw about 10% on a half-day tour) and for the ability to see full streets of buildings that made it easy to try to imagine what the city was like before being buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. I highly recommend seeing this site if you ever get a chance.
Food highlight #1 – the pizza really is better in its birthplace
The best pizza I have ever had, with nothing else even close, was in Naples. And it was at an inexpensive local place near where our ship was docked.
Food highlight #2 – Greece
Overall, if I had to choose a country with the best food, or at least the most to my taste, it was definitely Greece. While there were one or two things we ate that were just okay, the great majority was outstanding and extremely inexpensive everywhere except Mykonos, where it still was outstanding, just at US prices due to the location.
Food highlight #2, part 2 – Greek yogurt
Greek yogurt is one of the best things I have ever eaten! It is different in Greece than anywhere else, and I don’t believe it is possible to replicate outside of Greece. I have had Greek-style yogurt many places and have even made my own very successfully (actually quite easy). We had it as a condiment many times in Greece. The most standout dish was a free (!) desert we were given where it was topped with sour cherries. That dish in particular is probably my strongest food memory of the entire cruise.
Food highlight #3 – some favorite dishes on the ship
As noted previously, we spent more time on the ship than off of it. Princess Cruises is known for its cuisine, and while everything isn’t spectacular, a lot of the food is very good, and some of it is outstanding.
We always eat breakfast at the buffet. We feel we get more fruits and vegetables that way. There is a rotation of similar foods available every day, and some things available every day. My favorite hot breakfast was chicken congee (a Chinese rice porridge) topped with steamed vegetables. My favorite cold breakfast was a smoked salmon sandwich made with one of the fabulous bread rolls, smoked salmon, and some vegetables such as cucumber slices and shredded carrots.
We normally also ate lunch at the buffet, but on days with formal dress nights (which we do not do), we eat lunch in the formal dining room for variety and because we enjoy fine dining and being waited on. In the dining room for lunch, my favorite appetizer is the roasted cauliflower, my favorite entrée is the salmon poke bowl, and my favorite desert is whatever flavor of frozen yogurt they have (unless it is chocolate, which I am allergic to). These are all staples on the menu most days (but not all). I tried other things, several of them good, but kept going back to these selections.
For lunch on the buffet, one of the only things that stands out strongly to me is the baked salmon. It was not there often, but if it was available I had it.
We usually eat dinner in the formal dining room. There are some regular dishes that are always on the menu that I like and are a fall back if I don’t want one of the choices on the days rotating menu. For the first course, I like the Caesar salad gluten free style (with garbanzo beans instead of croutons); I am not gluten free, but I am not a big fan of croutons. For the main course, I like the salmon (are you sensing a theme here – I love salmon!). And for dessert, once a week on Sundays I had the crème brulée; it was on the menu every night with a different flavor, but my health couldn’t take 111 nights of dessert, so this was a once a week treat.
Another favorite dish at dinner in the dining room in general was any dish with shrimp in it – appetizer or entrée. The shrimp were always perfectly cooked, quite a feat given the number of meals being served!
Part way through the cruise we qualified for the “Elite” lounge. There was a small buffet of appetizers included. If we were only having a drink there on a normal day, we didn’t eat because we were saving room for dinner. But, sometimes on shore days we already had eaten plenty, and also didn’t feel like dressing up for dinner, so a light meal was perfect. The chicken tikka masala on that buffet was fabulous, and by far the best chicken dish I had on the entire cruise. I also enjoyed what I referred to as the “pizza bread” – pizza-like bread topped with olives and olive oil; this was available on the buffet also, but usually I only had it from the Elite lounge buffet.
Other favorites on board
This was our second time on the Island Princess, one of the smaller ships in the Princess fleet. While there are some advantages of the bigger ships, such as more variety of restaurants and lounges, in general we prefer smaller ships. Being our home for more than three months, a few things stand out. I hope to sail on her again someday.
We have a habit when cruising to go out for a happy hour drink (or sometimes two) before dinner. Our favorite lounge on the ship was the Wheelhouse. We enjoyed the music (usually live bands playing ballroom dance music), watching people dancing, the mellow vibe, the décor (nautical), and the drinks. We went to other lounges for variety, but this was our favorite and the one we spent the most time in.
We rarely make cocktails at home, so the cruise was a chance to try some. My favorite on board was a Rosemary Sour, similar to a Whisky Sour but with rosemary syrup, a red wine float, and sometimes a fresh rosemary garnish.
On sea days, the literal highlight of my days is walking the promenade deck. I did this in all weather (unless the deck was closed due to weather, which only happened a few times) and loved every minute of it! In part to balance all of the good food and drink on board, I built up from 45-minute walks at the beginning of the cruise to 90 minutes as my “normal” walk. I was at my most joyful during these walks, and it showed! I met many people on the cruise who commented on how much I smiled when walking. Why not? What a fabulous and privileged experience to be sailing the ocean and enjoying the beautiful scenery.
The people on board were quite a highlight – for 111 days this truly was a floating small town. Approximately ½ of the passengers were on for the full world cruise, and many of the staff were on for all or a significant part of our journey. We met people that we are still in touch with and hope to see again someday on another cruise, or elsewhere.
We rarely go to shows, but the one show we went to was to see the Trawlermen, a band that plays modern versions of traditional Irish/British songs. They regularly play cruise ships, so if you get a chance to see them, I recommend their show.
We enjoy lectures given by the staff that talk about ships operations – we consider ourselves “boat geeks.” I went to two of them and found the information enjoyable and fascinating.
Because of the length of the cruise, we had two different Captains with two very different personalities. The first one walked the ship regularly and chatted with people; we talked to him at least three times. The second one didn’t do that, but provided a lot of detailed nautical information over the PA system about the places we were going, weather-related itinerary change explanations, etc. – things we are very interested in and enjoyed learning about. I would gladly sail with either Captain again.
Final thoughts
I probably would not do another world cruise, not because there was anything bad about it, but because it was a unique experience to do the circumnavigation, and I wouldn’t want it to be “routine.” We did learn that we prefer staying in places a bit longer and using cruise ships for transportation, particularly across oceans because we do not like long flights, we love cruising, and we have the time because we are retired.
I genuinely felt sad to leave the ship; the cruise could have been longer from my perspective. I am looking forward to our next cruise (we have scheduled a transatlantic cruise to Europe for next year), and to returning to some of the places we visited for a longer stay.
