Cruise Specialists Voyage Hosts Steve and Wendy Bodenheimer often provide us with stories from the voyages they host, but today we asked them what are some of the key reasons that people find world cruising so exciting.

 

Thinking back, we can happily say that in our 70+ voyages, including over 1000 days on 7 different cruise lines, we’ve never had a bad cruise!

We’ve made journeys from 7 to 68 days in length and everything in between. Of course, they’re all memorable, but perhaps not always for the reasons you would expect.

Here are the top eight reasons to embark on a world cruise or grand voyage:

1. There are the fascinating countries that not many people get to visit – We love Iceland, Greenland, Norway, and Chile.  To that add the unforgettable experience of spending days cruising through the continent of Antarctica.
2. There are the quirky little ports that seem to be in the middle of nowhere, but leave a big impression: Nuka Hiva, Fanning Island, Isla de Robinson Crusoe, the Faroe Islands, Red Bay and Bonne Bay, and Heimaey Island to name a few.
3. There are very special crew and staff we’ve become attached to – our dining room stewards, the Cellar Master, the piano virtuoso.
4. Most memorable are the great people we’ve met who are now our good friends in real life. We’ve had the privilege of visiting all these people in their homes and can truly call them special friends.

   

5. There are the distinctive passenger types:  there are the many people who are friendly, outgoing, interesting to talk to and fun to be with;  there is the very British feel of the Queen Mary crossing the Atlantic or the sophisticated international atmosphere on a Crystal ship or the generally mature, mostly American and Canadian passengers that usually sail on Holland America.   Of course, on every ship is the very small, but often memorable minority who are the rude, the crude, the always complaining, the inconsiderate, the loud and the pushy.
6. There are the “experiences” on board: the great food, excellent entertainment, and wonderful dance music in the lounges; the exhilaration of standing on deck out at sea, leaning on a railing, and just watching the ocean.
7. There is always the weather: You have the beautiful, balmy breezes, and calm sea days. Couple those with a hurricane that had 80-foot waves and 85mph winds in the North Sea outside a Norwegian fjord; an unavoidable trip through the remnants of an Atlantic hurricane, where a rogue wave sent 100+ injured passengers to the infirmary; the incredible winds and sea near Cape Horn and the Drake Passage; the searing heat of many parts of South and Central America.
8. And of course, there is geocaching:  Our new found hobby (obsession?) has taken us to hundreds of out-of-the-way places that we would never have known existed.

We are incredibly fortunate to be able to take these fascinating trips and immensely grateful to Cruise Specialists for making it possible. They have entrusted us with the care of their valued guests and we will do everything we can to make it a fun and memorable trip for each one of them.

Check out upcoming world cruises here >>