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Luxury Cruise Ship vs. Luxury Suite on a Mega-Ship


LauraS
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Great article. It makes it clear why most luxury cruisers prefer the small ship experience - one where the entire ship is "luxury".

 

+1 can’ even imagine being on a ship with 3000 of my closest friends. There reason in tha article why luxury or luxury lite lines are what we look for. Good comparison CC.

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I did the vast majority of my cruises on luxury ships .

To be away for one week i did Canaries + Madeira on Mein Schiff 2 this year and next year a Yacht Club on MSC Splendida one week from Dubai.

So we will see .

On the other side we must be honest - passengers in the top cabins or suites are treated with some more care on nearly all the luxury lines ( and i do not face Crystal in particular :evilsmile: ) in the restaurants and public areas.

I can give quite some examples.

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I did the vast majority of my cruises on luxury ships .

On the other side we must be honest - passengers in the top cabins or suites are treated with some more care on nearly all the luxury lines ( and i do not face Crystal in particular :evilsmile: ) in the restaurants and public areas.

I can give quite some examples.

 

Of course they are and they pay for the extra privileges and service.

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Ugh. I don't think I'd like the whole "priority boarding, tendering, and disembarking" thing. I go on cruises to relax, enjoy time with the other passengers, and experience new ports and sights, not to be paraded around like some prize chicken, cutting lines and whatnot. Sorry, not for me.

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  • 4 weeks later...

If you are traveling with a lot of family, ie kids, and I use that term loosely, it’s a good option. Especially if you are paying.

The real problem is the MDR. Staying on the suite deck of HAL was nice. The lounge actually had a large and revolving series of “bites” that worked for me. The concierge was terrific.

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We are going to see and tour our first big ship (4,000 passengers) in May when the NCL Bliss debuts. She will be in Seattle for a few days. I look forward to touring this monstrous ship but have no interest whatsoever to sail on a large ship - even if we were in a 15,000 sq. ft. suite!!! My DH already has been asked to race someone with the cars on the ship. It should be fun. Hopefully kids will still be in school so the ship will not be overrun with them.

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I would say if you have children or you require a lot of distraction, then the luxury ship within a ship concept is the way to go.

 

I would say of you have children stay in the main part of the ship. People who prefer a luxury experience usually want it without kids. jmo.

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I would say of you have children stay in the main part of the ship. People who prefer a luxury experience usually want it without kids. jmo.

 

So it comes down to wanting to be distracted a lot? If you like the sorts of shows they have on cruise ships, the water slides and all the other activties, but you don't like the crowds with all their noisy offspring, then try the SWS areas.

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IMO, for many (not all) younger folks, luxury cruise lines (specifically Crystal, Regent, Seabourn and Silversea) would be boring. We prefer quiet music while we lounge next to the small pool, having cocktails piano or guitar music playing in the lounges, good lecturers, Trivia, some classes, etc. We want excellent food in all dining venues and not have to pay an extra penny for specialty restaurants (except for Silversea that does have some restaurants on some ships that have a price tag). We like an "elegant casual"/"country club casual" dress code (again, except for Silversea that is quite formal). And, most importantly, if school is in session, we prefer not seeing babies/children (during the summer and school. breaks, this is fine).

 

Many luxury cruisers have "been there - done that" in terms of doing things with their families - catering to the children, etc. It is now "our time". There are so few luxury cruise lines and those that exist are on the smaller side. On Regent, for instance, their four ships carry a total of 2,640 passengers - less than many mainstream and premium cruise lines.

 

Toryhere - I think that you meant that people/children that need distractions should be in a luxury section of a mainstream cruise line rather than a luxury cruise ship where there are few distractions (not even a place for children to hang out of play).

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IMO, for many (not all) younger folks, luxury cruise lines (specifically Crystal, Regent, Seabourn and Silversea) would be boring. We prefer quiet music while we lounge next to the small pool, having cocktails piano or guitar music playing in the lounges, good lecturers, Trivia, some classes, etc. We want excellent food in all dining venues and not have to pay an extra penny for specialty restaurants (except for Silversea that does have some restaurants on some ships that have a price tag). We like an "elegant casual"/"country club casual" dress code (again, except for Silversea that is quite formal). And, most importantly, if school is in session, we prefer not seeing babies/children (during the summer and school. breaks, this is fine).

 

Many luxury cruisers have "been there - done that" in terms of doing things with their families - catering to the children, etc. It is now "our time". There are so few luxury cruise lines and those that exist are on the smaller side. On Regent, for instance, their four ships carry a total of 2,640 passengers - less than many mainstream and premium cruise lines.

 

Toryhere - I think that you meant that people/children that need distractions should be in a luxury section of a mainstream cruise line rather than a luxury cruise ship where there are few distractions (not even a place for children to hang out of play).

 

Yes, your last paragraph is exactly correct.

 

Also if you want to go to more interesting ports and not be one of 5000 passengers hitting town at once, the small luxury lines are far better.

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i am just back from a one week Dubai Dubai on MSC Splendida in Yacht Club.

is that luxury ? for sure not , i want to describe it as an acceptable manner to travel on a mega ship...

While the service in the Top Sail Lounge was very good, as was the vast choice of the complimentary drinks , the restaurant for Yacht Club passengers was far from good - despite friendly service.

Mein Schiff is a better concept as MSC

I will not go back to MSC for sure.

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catlover,

i am afraid it is the quality of the food on MSC even in the restaurant for Yacht Club pax - that was the biggest problem . And i was very aware i had to lower my expectations - used to Hapag Lloyd.

in general rather salty and also the use of far too much garlic in the pasta sauces

The lamb was clearly sheep , poor fish dishes extremely sweet desserts , canned fruits

on the other side if you do cruise in Yacht Club you do have a vast choice of premium drinks , including Chivas 12 J Walker Black ; Grey Goose ,Belvedere , Hendricks gin and several malts

some upper premium at very decent prices : a cognac Martell Bleu at 9 € is even very cheap

a very stupid item : YC pax can drink the French Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte by the glass ( 8.9 € for non YC pax) however it is not served in the Top Lounge - the private bar for YC pax ??

the prices for wines by the bottle are very fair - 5 - 10% more expensive as on Hapag , in general a lot cheaper as on the other "big companies" -

honestly said : in general service was very friendly - lots of people working on the ship were from India , Mauritius and even Madagascar - the last 2 able to speak French ( there are a lot of French speaking guests )

conclusion : for me the food was the problem :D

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