WHY DO you cruise? I intuitively know why I (we) do, but I have never really tried to put my answer into cohesive, written form. What I am quite sure of is that each of us has reasons why we do. They are likely to differ, as are our attitudes about how we cruise.
I thought about whether I would want to pay the extra cost to cruise in one of those premium areas. My answer was - ultimately - no. I think that word, "exclusive" is a big reason why
LATELY, I have been watching YouTube vlogs. For years, I have done my pre-cruise research using sites like CruiseCritic, TripAdvisor and Viator (still do). More recently, I have found a lot of information on Social Media (particularly Face Book). The more traditional resources mentioned previously continue to be very useful, especially for one-to-one contacts. My wife and I recently booked a cruise for 2025 and we will be cruising with some friends we met on a cruise a couple years back (one of the reasons we love cruising). One of them sent me a YouTube video reviewing a similar cruise. I watched it. I was hooked! 😆
IN THE past, I have only watched YouTube videos for limited purposes, like how to complete some DIY project, or fix something that has broken down around the house. Watching this "Cruising" YouTube channel, I quickly learned that most of them link and reference other videos (and sometimes back to the main channel). These links are not solely limited to that YouTuber's own videos, but often other similar content. Using that linking system, you can literally "chain-watch" videos all day (I know because I have been doing just that 😁). What I probably like even better is that, in addition to the "vlog"-type YouTubes where the presenter sits in a single "set," there are a lot of them that include filming on location. For the most part, all my prior research methods meant that I would have to rely solely on other people's description of places I thought I might want to see.
BY NOW, you are probably wondering what any of this has to do with the "Luxury Cruising" and (unless you know me or are a regular reader) how in the heck I got so far off topic. I will bring it back.😌 A video I recently watched stimulated a thought (amazingly enough) that begets this post. It made me realize that an awful lot of these cruise ship/line reviewers have a tendency to focus heavily on the exclusive "luxury" areas (I had taken to calling them "premium," but many writers consider lines like Celebrity to already be premium, and anything above that "luxury," so for the sake of consistency, I will call these areas "luxury") that have been designed and included in the past few years on the mainstream cruise ships These so-called "cruise-within-a-cruise," exclusive areas offered by Celebrity ("The Retreat"), Princess ("The Santuary" - which feels . . . well . . . a bit sanctimonious to me 😅), and NCL ("The Haven") have become popular among some cruisers, and as I have now learned, by influencers. Some of these YouTubers, as influencers, have had their cruises "comped" by cruise lines, or sponsored by some other third party who sells travel - related goods and services, and in those cases, it appears that those accommodations are in some of the luxury areas. That at least partially explains this. I also have learned (ironically from one of the most popular influencers - though in fairness, he has been doing this for years and I get the impression that he pays his own way - that the newer ship designs have increased the percentage of perk-associated staterooms and facilities because it allows them to charge more and therefore increase revenues). As I watch these videos, I have thought about whether I would want to pay the extra cost to cruise in one of those areas. My answer was - utimately - no. I think that word, "exclusive" is a big reason why.
I have often said here, the most heavily-weighted factor for our choosing cruises is the intinerary
OF COURSE, as always, what follows here is my own personal opinion. One of the things I love about living in our part of the world, where freedom of thought and choice are the norm (though these days people don't always get it), is that we can each have very divergent opinions and neither of us be wrong (or right 😇). What I say here relates to me, my own economic situation, and my own view on life. But if you are "like-minded," you may find some interest in reading on.
WE CRUISE for a number of different reasons, but as I have often said here, the most heavily-weighted factor in our choice of cruises is the intinerary. We like (most of the time) the food, the drinks and the entertainment. We appreciate the comfort and convenience of the staterooms. The primary thing, however, is that we get to see much of the world this way. I have also lamented (and it is definitely one of the negative factors of cruising) that we get only limited time in a particular port (I will have more to say on that topic in an upcoming post). However, we have learned that it is a way to determine certain places we would like to visit for more extended periods, and then have made longer-term, land-based visits. One of the most enjoyable and positive aspects of cruising for us has been the atmosphere. The ability to be a part of the larger venues (like Celebrity's great martini bar), and the pool areas are a definite plus for us - all part of the standard fare.
IN OUR experience, at least at the "level" of ship line we have cruised (Celebrity, Princess, Oceania, and HAL), we have been perfectly happy with the offerings that are part of the (if you will) "standard" passenger accomodations. This includes the food in the Main Dining Room(s) (MDR), the stateroom accommodations, and the bars, pool, and entertainment. It is generally very good and very enjoyable. We do splurge from time to time on one or more of the "specialty restaurants" which involves an additional charge. But more and more, we skip this in favor of the included fare (this is particularly true of the Celebrity Edge class, and its 4 separate MDR approach).
THE LUXURY "ship within a ship" concept is usually accompanied by a substantially increased charge for its limited group of passengers. For that charge, they have separate dining facilities, pools and deck areas, lounges, and of course suites. O.k. . . . I guess.
The ability to be a part of the larger venues like Celebrity's great martini bar, and the pool areas are a definite plus for us
ARE SO-CALLED "luxury packages" worth the extra expense? We don't personally think so (obviously, many think they are). We don't really want to have a separate, exclusive area. We want to mingle with the "great unwashed," (a demographic that we consider ourselve a part of) 😁. We love people watching, and meeting new friends in all areas of the ship. Ironically - to me - we are purposely on a ship which includes a certain level of ammenities within our essentially "standard" (though there are still some variables within that level) package. In our view, if we wanted a more exclusive experience, we would book our cruises on one of the smaller, more exclusive cruise lines. Interestingly, after drafting this post, I came across mega-cruise blogger and vlogger, Gary Bembridge's take on the NCL "Haven" experience:
"If, like me you, are assessing the best suite experience for your budget, I came away convinced that I would have had a more special, personalised, and pampered experience and with better dining had I used my budget to go on a smaller luxury all-suite ship, like Seabourn, Silversea or Regent, instead."
NICE TO know the most popular cruise influencer on the web agrees with my thinking. 😇The closest we came to so-called "small ship luxury," was NCL's own "luxury line:" Oceania in January of 2023. Our Nautica, was the smallest ship we had ever been on (less than 700 and on our cruise less than 500 passengers). Although we definitely enjoyed the cruise (and a large part of that was probably due to the group of passengers we traveled with), we didn't like the overall ship and cruise experience as much as we do our "sweetspot" ship size (right around 2,500). Not as much to do. Everything (including staterooms - especially the bathroom) was much smaller. We were fortunate to be part of a group.
I KNOW that is only our own view. Other people cruise for different reasons, and enjoy the more "exclusive" atmosphere. Still, I wonder why, if they are willing to pay more, they don't book their cruises on more exclusive ships that offer that degree of exclusivity and premium as their standard? I don't mean that to be a "passive-aggressive criticism. I truly do wonder.
WE HAVE dined at most of the "specialty restaurants" on the Celebrity and Princess ships, and on the single Oceania and HAL ships we sailed on. We were hard-pressed in most instances to say the food was that much better than the food served in the main dining rooms. Since we have never been in one of the exclusive areas on board, we can only extrapolate from the specialty restaurant experiences. I have to wonder if the "special" restaurants in the exclusive areas are that much better. Ironically, we ate in both of the specialty restaurants on both the Oceania Nautica and HAL's Westerdam. In our view, the food in the MDR on Nautica was notably better than in their specialty restaurants (and the food on that cruise was probably among the best we have had on any cruise). On the Westerdam, if anything, the food was worse than some of the good nights we experienced in their MDR (there were a couple not-the-best experiences in the Westerdam MDR).
Is it worth the extra expense? We don't personally think so
ABOARD CELEBRITY ships, we have had mixed experience with the specialty restaurants. To be sure, we have had good steaks at the steakhouse, and on the Edge Class ships, the food in Eden has been pretty impressive. We will probably continue to try these venues once or twice per cruise. But at the end of the day, I am not sure the extra cost associated with them is justified based on the food and/or experience. The one exception to that are the venues that provide a little something different. The MDR usually has a steak. Some of them are surprisingly good. They also have a good variety of other meats, seafood and pastas. We have been generally satisfied on all of the ships and pretty much completely so on Celebrity ships (again, there is likely bias here, but we believe the food on Celebrity to be a touch better than on most of its competitors like Princess and HAL). Celebrity's "Raw On Five," in my view, is a great example though, of the exception. I am not aware of anyplace else you can get the type of food they serve - especially sushi. And it is quite good.
WITH THE exception of a suite, exclusive restaurants and areas on the ship, most of the other amenities in the premium areas can be purchased if you want them. In the case of Celebrity's first (lowest) level of "premium" (its "Concierge" class), having compared it to the standard "balcony" room, I am hard put to see any real advantage for paying the substantially higher price for the Concierge class. It appears to me that you can get, or accomplish virtually everything the Concierge level offers with just a tiny bit more "legwork" on your part, without any additional expense. In that case, it seems more like the "appearance" of a premium than any real benefit.
In our view, if we wanted a more exclusive experience, we would book our cruises on one of the smaller, more exclusive cruise lines
FOR SURE, there are real differences in the other "premium" packages. The next step on Celebrity, for example, the Acqua Class, gets its own restaurant and spa perks (though really they are pretty limited - a "spa concierge" who can assist with booking the spa related items). The real premium experience comes with the programs like their Retreat, and the similar ones on the other lines. Retreat passengers get some complimentary liquor, "upgraded bedding," an exclusive area with pool, deck and lounge on the ship,and their own dedicated restaurant (as well as unlimited use of all of the other restaurants - including the specialty restaurants). NCL's Haven offers similar perks, including their premium drink package, exclusive pool, deck and lounge areas, the dedicated "Haven Restaurant," a concierge and/or butler, and nicer suites. It also includes priority boarding, tenders, restaurant reservations, and theater seating, among other things. The Princess experience is a little bit different as it varies by ship. The bigger, newer classes have what they call "The Sanctuary Collection," which is - like the others - a premium, exclusive class. Historically, though, Princess ships have included the Santuary, a reservation-only, exclusive deck and pool on the front and top of the ship, for many years. The space has always been very limited, but any passenger could reserve space. The catch is/was that it always booked up (especially during at-sea days) immediately. I decided to try to reserve space for 4 of us back in 2012 on the Ruby Princess in the Caribbean. Thinking I was an early-riser and would beat everyone at their game, a rousted at 6:00 a.m., grabbed a quick coffee and headed for the entrance, where I planned to "camp out," until it opened and perhaps be one of the first to reserve a space. I was stunned to see a long line in front of me. After waiting around 90 minutes, many of us at the end of the line were told it was full. Try again tomorrow. That is the sum-total of our Sanctuary/Retreat/Haven experience. 😐 On the newer ships now offering the new (beginning in 2024) "Sanctuary Collection," the Sanctuary is off limits to all except the collection passengers. No reservations or lines any more. It has become Princess' version of the "cruise-within-a-cruise." I am not sure what has happened on older, smaller ships, but I suspect they will move toward this being the approach on all their ships as time goes on. That is really o.k. If you want special amenities and treatment, it certainly doesn't seem unreasonable to pay extra for it. For me, the question is whether it is worth it or not.
YOUTUBER, GARY Bembridge mentions in one or two of his videos some "real world" facts that you might consider when determining if this is really a value to you. He attended a dinner aboard a ship not long ago and was seated next to a ship architect, who shared with him that while ownership wanted them to increase the "premium" space on board, at the same time they would only allow it to be placed in some of the worst "real estate" on the ship. The architech noted that they would prefer to put the premium space mid-ship. Something we have know for some years is that this is preferred location for comfort on board. We always try to book a stateroom in the middle of the ship and toward the vertical middle, or above. The front of the ship is where you will feel the most wave motion if the waters are rough. It is also one of the noisiest areas during docking and embarking operations due to the winches for the anchors and hausers. The back of the ship also feels motion, as well as vibration from the ship screws. In some instances, depending on the power methods aboard, fumes and even ashes can be an issue. The midship portion is quieter (generally), smoother, and has very convenient access to most of the ships amenities (the theatres are generally in the front and the main dining rooms in the rear, but this means half the walk to either, depending on where you are.
AS WE approach the season, (generally around Sept-Oct-Nov and Apr-May-June) when the ships move from their summer locations (Alaska, Europe and the Mediterranean) to their winter locations (mainly Mexico and the Caribbean), there is one time I might consider a "luxury accomodation:" on a re-positioning cruise. For those who don't already know this, these one-way cruises are offered on ships that are being moved for the season. Generally either a trip down from Alaska to southern ports on the west coast and Mexico; or a transatlantic voyage from Europe to the Caribbean, these cruises usually involve a few more "sea days," and many fewer port stops. The draw for these cruises is usually twofold. First, because the have to move the ships, the cruise lines will often offer steeply discounted fares in order to fill up the ship and recoup at least some of the expenses of the voyage. Second, they attract a type of cruiser who cruises more for the onboard experience and doesn't mind the increased number of (usually back to back) sea days. I haven't been tempted by a repositioning cruise. Yet.😁 If I were, and knowing I would be spending the majority of my time at sea and aboard, I might spring for the luxury accomodations - especially if a deep discount applied (essentially making it no more expensive than my usual standard fare.
. . . seated next to a ship architect, who shared with him that while ownership wanted them to increase the "premium" space on board, at the same time they would only allow it to be placed in some of the worst "real estate" on the ship
I KNOW this is all completely subjective opinion. What do you think? Is premium cruising, as an exclusive part of the main cruising experience worth it? Would you be better served by just booking a cruise on a smaller, premium cruise line? I would love to hear comments and opinions.
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