Is it wise to book a world voyage if you have never cruised before?

A world cruise is one of life’s ultimate travel luxuries. You pack your luggage, enough to cover three months and various weather conditions, and off you go on one of the most impressive journeys imaginable.

It’s something that many people spend their lives working towards, but most of those people have at least tried cruising BEFORE they decide to set sail for three months.

What a marvellous way to see the world. I had never done a cruise before, I hadn’t even stepped aboard anything that floats, other than the channel ferry, but I had found myself dreaming many times of foreign lands and new-found friends.

So, here I am, four weeks into what I had expected would be the most incredible journey of my life. Our ports of call thus far have been wonderful, San Francisco being my absolute favourite, but there are many days spent at sea and when you have an inside cabin without a window, your world starts to feel a little claustrophobic. Compared with a two weeks holiday world cruises have a disproportionate amount of sea days to port days. I didn’t see it when I booked, I was too engrossed in where I was going and what I could do, but now I am here I see and feel it.

Many of my new friends don’t have an issue with our sea days, they are used to being aboard ship and sailing the world’s oceans (and clearly much wiser than me), but for me it has come as a bit of a surprise.

The ship is absolutely superb, I couldn’t have picked a finer vessel and the crew are very attentive. The food has also been very good, I tried sushi for the very first time several evenings ago and that was, well, it was interesting, but in a good way.

If I could go back in time then I would probably do things a little differently. Taking a much shorter cruise to begin with would have been a sensible idea, to test the water (pardon the pun). I’d then have known to book a cabin with, at the very least, a window.

I am sure the rest of my adventure will be a pleasant one in all, but I do worry about cabin fever… not to mention the bar charges that I seem to be racking up on my account – it’s not quite as easy to have a nightcap every evening when it is charged at £4 a glass and I am on board for another 60-nights. At least when I disembark I can say that I am a real worldie.

World cruise sectors are also a popular option for those that want to experience the grandeur and atmosphere of a world cruise, but not necessarily do the entire voyage. World cruise sectors can range from 14 to 32 nights and more.

WHAT’S GOOD ABOUT BOOKING A WORLD CRUISE?

• A chance to meet a lot of new and interesting people
• Seeing the world in one incredible voyage
• Only having to unpack once
• Instant bragging rights on future cruises
• Huge choice of excursion options
• Highly attentive crew
• Instantly climb the ranks in the cruise line loyalty club
• Once in a life-time opportunity.

WHAT’S BAD ABOUT BOOKING A WORLD CRUISE?

• Lots of sea days
• The sense of “cabin fever” if you are not used to being on a ship
• Potentially high cabin bill
• Long time away from home