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MADANG, PAPUA NEW GUINEA — When our cruise ship arrives in Papua New Guinea, smiling kids paddle out in dugout canoes and entire families line the impossibly lush, palm-fringed shores waving and singing.
It's not just that the locals are friendly; our arrival is a rare occasion. It takes three days just to sail here from Australia, which means few tourists ever visit. But we've got the time. One hundred and sixteen days, to be exact. And we're not alone.
Extreme cruising – from six weeks to six months in duration – is one of the fastest-growing niches of the cruise market. According to the Cruise Lines International Association, which represents the 24 largest companies, the number of North Americans spending two weeks or more at sea rose 25 per cent in the past three years. There are more than a dozen world cruises in the offing next year. Several cruise lines are also adding multiple “grand itineraries” of up to 100 days that explore a continent or an ocean in detail.
“It's like an ongoing party,” says Cornelius van de Graaff, who has spent winters sailing since 2000. The 72-year-old from Toronto says he and his partner have tried condos, but they can't compare to a change of scenery every day. And long-term cruises foster a kind of floating community. “Not to have to sign for drinks makes the bars very sociable places.”
Whether a world tour or a cross-continent voyage, a long cruise fosters floating community and allows for remote ports of call such as Papua New Guinea. But the trips can also strain both guests' wallets and their patience.
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SUCH A LUXE JOURNEY
Of course, such holidays come at a price that might turn some travellers sea-green. The list rate for a suite on the Regent Seven Seas' Voyager is $114,000 for a 116-day trip. A two-storey penthouse on the Queen Mary 2 is $205,000 for a 90-day world circuit.
But passengers do get what they pay for. New ships such as the Voyager are built with all the comforts of a (very) nice home: Suites have walk-in closets, balconies and top-of-the-line bedding; meals include Kobe beef and champagne and caviar brunches; and there's a staff of hundreds to cater to your every need.
Extreme cruises also offer jaded passengers exotic itineraries. The Norwegian line Hurtigruten, for example, is running an unusual 67-day north-south route from the Arctic to the Antarctic this September through November. And cruise lines have dozens of ultra-long circuits of South America, the Pacific and the Mediterranean for sale this summer and fall.
All of which could explain the repeat business. Regent Seven Seas offered its first world cruise five years ago as an experiment. But the itinerary proved so popular that many of the 700 passengers on board this year are regulars, and the ship is already nearly booked for next year.
Canadian snowbirds are particularly loyal customers. World cruises, which most often start in early January and last through April, are an alternative to wintering in a tropical condo or resort, says Mary Jean Tully, chairman of The Cruise Professionals.
Of the 332 passengers who did this year's full world cruise on the Crystal Cruises ship Crystal Serenity, 18 per cent were booked through her Mississauga agency and many have put down deposits for 2009.
“I think cruising is a whole lot easier than the winter months we've spent in Bermuda or Barbados, “ says Mary Alice Gammon, of Oakville, Ont., who has become a repeater along with her husband, Ted. “We were never catered to in a hotel like we are on a cruise.”
SEGGIES VS. WORLDIES
Still, even well-off travellers may balk at spending $196 and more a day on cruises like the 131-day world tour offered on Holland America's flagship, the Rotterdam.
Enter the “Seggie.” Most ships allow travellers to hop on and off for segments of a long-haul itinerary. Regent, for instance, broke its voyage into seven parts, priced from about $7,500 for 12 days, and guests could sign up for one, two or more. Fifteen days of the Queen Mary's world cruise sells for $4,180.
Then again, relations between Seggies and full-term “Worldies” can be tense.
Take a recent world cruise on Regent's Seven Seas Voyager. While 250 passengers boarded in Athens for the final 17-day segment of the trip at a price of $7,500, 300 travellers paid upward of $100,000 apiece for the full four months at sea. And the bottom line wasn't the only difference between them: Worldies averaged 72 years old; Seggies, 56.
One of the younger guests was Kristine Lamore of Boca Raton, Fla. She says she noticed dirty looks from some of the world cruisers after she joined the ship.
“People gave me a hard time on deck and in the laundry room,” she says. “There seemed to be some resentment that we were taking their space.”
For his part, Peter Newton, a four-month cruiser from Vancouver, says it's natural for the Worldies to set themselves apart. “Many have had several world cruises together and great friendships have developed,” he says.
But he adds that he still enjoys having Seggies aboard. “It gave you some new faces and some younger ideas.”
Whatever their interpersonal relations, even Mark Conroy, the President of Regent, says that satisfying the needs of such distinct groups is like putting together a complex puzzle. And as shorter-term cruisers Don and Barb Banks of Phoenix explain, even the best ship staff can't please everyone all the time.
“It's clear that the Worldies run the ship,” they say. “There is little upbeat music. When we go to the lounge for a drink before dinner, the pianist is told not to play anything lively so the elderly guests aren't offended. I'm sure some of them come here directly from their assisted-living facilities.”
ASSISTED CRUISING
They could have a point. A 2004 study in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society compared assisted-living facilities with cruise ships in terms of costs and services and found the biggest difference was the scenery.
Conducted by geriatrician Lee Lindquist of Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, the study looked at room size, meal service, laundry and access to medical staff on cruises and at land-based care facilities. The costs were virtually identical.
And passengers do settle in for the long haul – perhaps the most extreme case being American widow Beatrice Muller.
The 88-year-old has become a legend for spending much of the past eight years aboard Cunard Line's Queen Elizabeth 2. She spends as much as $100,000 a year, and says her two sons are happy with her living arrangement.
“If I run out of money, they'll keep me here to keep me out of their hair,” she says.
But while applauding loyal customers, Cunard and other lines are adamant that they do not encourage permanent stays.
“The idea of one of our ships being suitable for retirement living is simply not something we promote – nor offer,” says Jackie Chase, spokesperson for Cunard in New York.
In fact, despite blue-rinse Worldies, cruise lines are far from retirement homes. The average age of long-cruise passengers is actually falling. And, according to the Cruise Lines International Association, many passengers are also still working.
Sometimes even on board. In the past couple of years, ships have been fitted with a new generation of satellite Internet receivers that make e-mail and Web surfing reliable around the clock. This means executives who once felt they couldn't be away from the office for weeks or months are now signing on for long voyages.
Mike Ferrari is a case in point. The San Diego resident spent many of his afternoons on the Seven Seas' Voyager selling handbags and watches through his personal shopping service unusualthreads.com.
Another plus for extreme cruisers is avoiding the growing stress of travel. “I can tell you that a long voyage is far more relaxing than air and land vacations,” Tully says. “After a 14-hour flight to Asia, getting unpacked and settled, it takes a full week to just finally relax and unwind.”
As for me, I opted to become a Seggie. Getting 116 days off remains a challenge. But my experience ended all too quickly. When I headed for the airport in Shanghai, I dreaded strapping myself in for the sleepless 14-hour flight ahead while all those Worldies were having fun.
With reports from John andSandra Nowlan.
