What makes a luxury cruise? Well the definition varies, from gourmet foods and vintage wines at dinner, to concierge services, or off the beaten track ports. But there does tend to be an agreement about some things: luxury exists where a passenger receives personal and personalised service in an enjoyable setting, and isn’t kept to a timetable.
The mass market cruise lines have got to grips with this idea too, and offer such previously ‘luxury’ experiences as dining at your leisure instead of to the ship’s timetable. In every way, travel has become more sophisticated as holidaymakers have upgraded their expectations of what luxury means to them. This means that the top of the range cruise lines must offer a real red carpet service to even stay in the game. Of course such holidays do not come cheap, but if you have the money you will probably never be as pampered, indulged and delighted in your life as you will be on a luxury cruise.
Crystal - is still quite a traditional member of the luxury cruise coterie, and its insistence on maintaining a set seating policy in the main dining room confirms this. It offers full room service menus its own wine label called ‘C Wines’ and its penthouse staterooms come with butler service and complimentary alcohol in your bar. You can even select pillows to suit your head from a pillow menu!
Cunard – The new Queen Mary 2 is the Queen of luxury too. Her Queens Grill's offers suites with a personal butler, private fitness room and Canyon Ranch Spa amenities The boutiques on board included Hermes and Chopard and there is a passenger to crew ratio of one to one.
Regent Seven Seas – perhaps you think luxury is defined by experience things that nobody else can. If so, RSS is the line for you, it has a ‘Travel Concierge’ system that allows you to define your own excursion in any port of call, ranging from hiring a sports car to toodle around Italy or to dine in a wine cellar in Turkey.
Seadream - For ultimate luxury, how about a pair of pyjamas, monogrammed with your name? That’s what you’re presented with on your first night on a Seadream luxury cruise and that’s not the end of the stateroom surprises, they also spread rose petals over your bed at turndown time. Sweet dreams!
Silversea - If luxury, for you, means not having to queue, then Silversea is the line for you: the Personalized Voyages programme allows you to embark and disembark to your own schedule, rather than to a fixed itinerary and also offers a ‘Personal Valet’ service, which will ship extra luggage from you home to your cabin or vice versa.
Windstar - could be the epitome of luxury because it offers the chance to sail under sail! There are also some luxurious and thoughtful features on board their luxury sail, or engine, powered super-yachts, such as hammocks for two and if there is a luxury measure when it comes to water sports, then the Windstar water-sports platforms are that measure.