World Cruise

[boatruptcy]

Thinking of 6 month cruise. Timing makes sense for us, we are in our 40s with a six year old and looking for cruise that will be not too demanding on our child. Anyone done this? Started research tonight but it's overwhelming.

 

[READY]

I don't think there is a world cruise that would not be too demanding on a child (or the parents). Unless you do it on a cruise ship. But the Great Loop might be an option worth reviewing.

 

[psneeld]

I would think there are blogs and you tube of similar goals. I have met dozens of cruising families through the years with the same idea.

And yes if you know little of the cruising life and boats in general...it will be overwhelming. The less you know the more hazardous it is...even keeping the family together let alone safe.

 

[boatruptcy]

Yes, most definitely on a cruise ship.

 

[ofer]

Yes, most definitely on a cruise ship.

a very big trawler

 

[Comodave]

Do you mean an around the world cruise in 6 months? That would seem very fast to me if that is what you mean.

 

[Chuck34]

I did a quick search on a cruise website and in the next 10 months, there is only a very short list of 3 month cruises and I only saw 1 that was more like 4-5 months and 1 that was in the 200 day range….so not a lot to choose from. When are you planning on going?

 

[markpierce]

Why do many recreational trawlers have a similar exterior profile as cruise ships?

 

[johnrupp]

In addition to regularly scheduled transatlantic crossings Cunard Line’s Queen Mary 2 does an around the world cruise every year or so.

https://www.cunard.com/en-us/cruise-destinations/world-voyage

John

 

[boatruptcy]

Yeah I've seen what's available, there are a lot that are 1 to 3 months. More interested in what they're like. Doesn't look like any are in port for more than a day no matter how long they are.

 

[johnrupp]

Yeah I've seen what's available, there are a lot that are 1 to 3 months. More interested in what they're like. Doesn't look like any are in port for more than a day no matter how long they are.

That’s the problem I’ve always had with cruises.

John

 

[Chuck34]

Wife and I have been on 7-8 cruises. The only one we ever spent the night on in port was Bermuda. Every other port, we were gone usually by 6, 7 pm latest. And when they say departure time is 7, you can pretty much set your watch to it.

 

[koliver]

We signed up for a world cruise, before Covid threw a wrench into our pans. We would have been away now. 120 days, LA to London. 40 ish ports, mostly arrival in the early morning, breakfast aboard, tours during the day, dinner aboard, gone at dusk.
For a 6yr old kid, you wouldn't get this kind of cruise, as the cruise line is set up for an older demographic. 2 per room, nobody under 18 aboard, those 18 to 55 all still working, so mostly older, retired folks (like us).Entertainment consists of music, lectures, hobby stuff, reading, etc, so nothing for kids. No casinos, no waterslides, none of those things that are designed for that demographic and won't work on a smaller passenger base.

At the other end of the spectrum, if you have your own boat, can do home schooling, I know of families that have spent 4 to 10 years cruising around the world and have given their kids a very special upbringing. It can be done, but you need to look for the advice of a very different group.

 

[Chuck34]

I was thinking exactly like koliver. I’ve found, the longer the cruise, the fewer kids are on board. A cruise of 2-6 months will have few, if any young kids, meaning no activities. Even if you are allowed to bring your little one, you will have to provide all entertainment and activities as none will be provided.

 

[kthoennes]

We've done four transatlantics on the Queen Mary -- no port stops of course. Like some others, we find port stops kind of hectic and distracting. The seven straight days at sea flew by every time. Our boys are 11 and 13 now and normally I would not recommend long cruises or the Queen Mary for kids, but our boys are boat kids. They certainly wouldn't turn down a water slide on a hideous mega-ship, but they're just as happy crawling up to the radar arch aft-deck roof and hanging out with friends on a summer night under the stars. (We adopted the boys three years ago so the QM2 trips were all pre-kids.) A six year old though -- depends on the personality of each kid of course but personally I wouldn't do a long cruise with a six year old, on a cruise ship I mean. The mega ships have kids clubs and activities and all that, but at the very least I'd do a repositioning or longer cruise as a test, see how it goes first.

 

[2savage]

never mind

 

[alormaria]

How about the little loop? We did it in 2 months but 3 would have been much nicer.



Hudson River, Erie Canal, Oswego Canal, Lake Ontario, Rideau Canal, Ottawa River, Richelieu/Chambly Canal, Lake Champlain, Champlain Canal down to the Hudson River again.



You don't have to turn your life upside down.


Have your mail forwarded, the neighbors cut your lawn and return all your lease cars. You'll be back before anyone misses you.



The trip is 1500 miles long and 100 feet wide and 6 feet deep most of the way. You can walk to shore, call a taxi or rent a car anywhere along the trip. Go home if needed for the weekend or forever.



Your cell phone and internet will work most of the way.



It's dangerous enough to be interesting yet not enough to get you killed. Expensive enough to take seriously but won't bankrupt you for life.



The loopers I met said this was the best part of their trip. Some were on their third little loop and didn't want to stop.



I want to go back.

 

[bowball]

This family cruised east and west coasts for 7 years starting when their daughter was 12. They stopped when she was admitted to Yale. She home schooled the entire time.

Here’s her post when she left the boat the last time to go to college.

https://youtu.be/1Kielbqn1I0

 

[alormaria]

Here is my pitiful website from 2000. Many of the links don't work anymore but you'll get the gist.



welcome2

 

[boatruptcy]

I'm rocking a bay boat and 13' twin vee right now. Neither have the legs for a loop! Cruise ship for now , buying big boat in the coming year or two. Happy to have someone else drive, but want to spend more than a day in port.

 

[alormaria]

Cruise ship cruising eh?


When my daughter went to college (one she visited on our trip 7 years earlier) she was talking with her well-to-do roommate about "cruises" their families had taken.


The roomie was gassing on and on about the food, the dancing, the on-board games, the nightclub, the drinking, the off-boat excursions.



Finally my daughter asks, "Where's the boating in all that?". The roomie just stared.


Either of your boats would be fine for the little loop. You can camp at any of the locks in Canada and many places on the Erie. There are also hotels and bed and breakfasts. You can also rent boats to do the Canadian canals. This is boating.

 

[Benthic2]

Cruise ships don't like to spend time in ports. The port charges are very high for the ship, and they want you spending money on board, not ashore. They want you at the bars, in the casino and in the gift shop.

 

[darkside]

Our kids were 5 and 7 when we set off on a four year circumnavigation.
We met children as young as 6 months through to teenagers on board other yachts.
Home schooling can be stressful at first but confidence grows quickly.
Education standards are easy to maintain, there were some serious over achievers amongst the boat kids. Team sports abilities do suffer. Some kids had never played soccer so we fixed that on a beach in the Canaries.
2 years is about as fast as you can circumnavigate, 4 to 5 years was more common.
Much harder now with Covid and security issues than when we went 20 years ago.

I've done one cruise on the PO Orsova leaving Auckland for Hong Kong in 1971. It wasn't flash and I think they converted it to a cattle carrier a few years later. I have no desire to go on one again.

 

[Deckape]

Wife and I took a World Cruise in 2018 , 115 days, Ft Lauderdale ,back to Ft Lauderdale , 30 country's and 50+ ports aboard Holland American Cruise Line . Will be doing another in 2024,125 days . Each year they move to different ports and country's . As with any cruise you have a day in port ,then move on . A few times we overnighted . No kids aboard and that will be your biggest problem as most are geared for us older folks .

 

[tomdove]

It used to be possible to cruise on cargo ships. With planning, you could link together several voyages and go great distances, even around the world. You had to be flexible in your schedule and willing to spend a lot more time at sea than a standard cruise ship, but the notion always fascinated me. Your time in your final port was unlimited until you caught the next ship, but intermediate ports were pretty quick as a rule.

There was a limit to the number of passengers such a cargo vessel would carry, perhaps 12, and you had a nice cabin and dined with the ship's officers. Lots of time for reading.

I whiled away some hours of dream time planning that in the years I was working but never actually did it. Anybody know if this is still possible?

-- Tom

 

[Forever Friday]

Look at the “Three@Sea” family blog from a few years back:
Three@Sea
Family went all over with their young daughter, Alya, on a Nordhavn 43. Daughter posted many videos under way…wonderful story. Good luck!
Mike
Feisty Lady
N47
Bellingham, WA