Marilyn Green's Report about World Cruises Posted On 01.10.07 Marilyn Green, Travel Writer   ........................................................................................................................................ Introduction For those who love travel, the world cruise is the ultimate experience. It's a leap of faith- a willingness to detach from normal life for a quarter of a year, to be transformed, enlarged - not to mention the bragging rights. It's a mixture of the extremely exotic and a comforting base that moves with you, where you only unpack once and where familiar people are available to deal with problems if they arise. A traditional world cruise visits five or six continents, staying in key ports overnight so passengers can explore inland. You may see the Great Pyramid, Easter Island, Angkor Wat, the Great Wall, Machu Picchu, the Taj Mahal. Even with as many as 50 ports of call, travelers find breathing time to read books, enjoy movies and listen to music. And the world cruise, like all cruising, is changing: circumnavigating South America, traveling the globe by various routes, emphasizing different regions, even sailing vertical world cruises from the North Pole to the South Pole. And you can remain “connected.” Although three-plus months away from home still appeals most to people who are retired and have free time, technology onboard - wi-fi and cell phone access, the ability to send and receive images - has made it possible for the world cruiser to keep up with life at home and at the office. Lately there has even been a sprinkling of world cruisers who traveled with school age children - and their tutors. To keep the experience on board fresh, the cruise lines go to all lengths, transforming dining rooms and their cuisines and bringing new entertainment on board. The lecturers who sail different segments represent a Who's Who of the arts, film and theater, world exploration, politics, ecology, photography, culinary arts, astronomy, biology and cultural history. With prestigious instructors, passengers can learn to act, acquire languages, set up Web sites, scuba, understand wine pairings and dance the samba. The active life continues with fitness rooms and spas easily comparable with their counterparts on land. Passengers find themselves with enough leisure to enjoy massage, wraps, acupuncture, Pilates, yoga, spinning, meditation and more, and to return home with new habits for well-being as well as a world of travel. Marilyn Green has traveled the world for 25 years, writing articles for travel magazines, newspapers, airline inflights and cruise magazines. “A world cruise is a unique experience,' she says, “with very different people brought together by a desire to see the world and sharing their experience in an intimacy and intensity that produces lifelong friendships and memories.” ........................................................................................................................................ Best Avoided Although cruise ships are like floating resorts, they really are ships and it really is the ocean. The cruise lines and their captains are extremely skilled at avoiding rough weather, but on a three month trip there may be times when the waves are high. ........................................................................................................................................ Need to Know Costs The typical full world cruise costs a minimum of about $20,000, and it's very important to comparison shop. Those who book the full cruise and do it well ahead receive all sorts of perks from free roundtrip airfare and up to $2,000 per stateroom in onboard credit to private car transfers and complimentary shore excursions. Clothes Ships vary from many formal nights to none; choose the style that matches your own taste. Keeping in Touch Check roaming charges from your own cell phone provider from the various parts of the world before you leave; they are the ones who set your rates. Cruise lines and cruise Web sites set up pre-cruise meetings with chat rooms for passengers to communicate before and after sailing. Electricity Most cruise lines have outlets for both North American and European plugs. Irons are generally forbidden because of the danger of fire, but there is laundry and dry cleaning service on board and most ships have hair dryers installed in the staterooms. Health There is medical care on board, even a dentist on some world cruises. Bring a full supply of prescription medicine along and be sure that you have travel insurance that covers your health, including medical evacuation, just in case.