Luxury Worth the Cost??

[misskimt]

Princess, Celebrity or Crystal for a Mediterranean cruise? We have cruised Royal and Norwegian before. Is spending more money worth it? We are in our mid 40's and like a more conservative upsale feel. Quality is much better than quantity. Which line should we choose. We want to cruise in Sept or Oct of this year.

[Essiesmom]

Depends on how much upscale you want to go. Princess, Celebrity, HAL, Cunard will be a step up from NCL/RCCL. Regent and Oceania a step above that, and Crystal, Silversea, Seabourn...a leap above them all. Just depends on what you want to spend. EM

[ab0si]

there is really no "right" answer to this question.

 

We have switched 100% to Crystal after trying other lines. we cruise less frequently because of the higher cost, but think, for us, it is worth the trade off. That said, we would not use Crystal for a port intensive Med. cruse .. we would take an air/land vacation instead.

[Keith1010]

In the end, all of this is a personal decision. There is no right or wrong.

 

I have sailed all three cruise lines you are asking about.

 

Crystal will provide the most luxurious cruise of the ones that you mentioned. The emphasis will be on quality versus quantity. If you think of a land based hotel think of the Ritz Carlton or Four Seasons when you think Crystal.

 

Celebrity is a very nice Cruise Line and is considered a Premium Cruise Line. You'll find it more luxurious compared to RCI and NCL but less so than Crystal. Think of Hyatt if you are thinking of Celebrity of a land based hotel.

 

While we use to sail Princess it falls into the category of a Mass Market Line as does RCI and NCL. It is a very nice cruise line and to me more upscale than some of the other mass market lines but not in the same category as either Celebrity or very far from Crystal. Think of Princess as being a Hilton if it was a land based hotel.

 

We have sailed Crystal for many years now. You will find it to be of high quality. For us, we prefer this line but and are willing to spend more money for the cruise.

 

But like anything else in ife it is a personal decision.

 

There is a lot of good information on the Crystal Cruises Cruise Critic board about Crystal.

 

Keith

[paul929207]

You are the only one who can answer that question for you. For us, the ansewr is yes. We sailed once on Carnival and twice on NCL. We have booked our 19th cruise on Princess.

[Grannycb]

We sail on different lines in the Caribbean, Bermuda, NE/Canada and Mexico but take Princess in Europe and Alaska. The total package Princess offers is very nice and comfortable for once-in-a-lifetime ports.

[MCC retired]

Crystal would be in the luxury category , Princess, HAL, Celebrity are premium lines at best.

 

If you have the $$$ , go for Crystal .:D

 

A luxury for me , is to do 3 - 4 cruises a year in a nice cabin category , on other lines, rather than 1 cruise on Crystal .:rolleyes:

[PennyAgain]

At your ages, you will be on the young side for the upscale cruise lines. People who can afford luxury tend to be older.

 

Have you considered Club Med 2 which is a smaller cruise ship with sails and a very much younger crowd. Also everything is included in the price including wine and WiFi.

[Happy ks]

To me, Med cruises are about the ports moreso than the ship. Take a close look at your itinerary and make your choice from there, making sure you look at the port duration times.

 

You might even look into other lines like Azamara or Oceania, smaller ships that will be more upscale than Princess or Celebrity yet less costly than Crystal. I'd love to cruise on a smaller ship in the Med, less pax means shorter lines.

[AF-1]

If you don't mind being the youngest on the ship then book Crystal. My friend went last year and there were only a handful who were under 65.

[klfrodo]

Crystal is one of those lines where if you have to ask how much it is or is it worth it? You would probably not be a good fit financially or demographicly

[colomom]

When I decided to book a cruise to celebrate our 50th birthdays I did a ton of research.

 

I booked far in advance (10 months) and the Regent cruise was more than any vacation I had ever taken. But, once I started to calculate the cost of a Princess (for instance) cruise with airfare, tips, excursions, speciality restaurants, alcohol, good coffee, etc. and then compared it to the cost of the Regent cruise where all of those extras are included, I realized that the price difference was going to give me the trip of a lifetime with no slips to sign all the time, fantastic food and drink, a huge cabin with a marble bath, luxury at it's finest well...to answer your question...

 

YES!!! It definitely will be worth it!

 

I always tell people to "do the math", you might be surprised.

[Travelcat2]

Depends on how much upscale you want to go. Princess, Celebrity, HAL, Cunard will be a step up from NCL/RCCL. Regent and Oceania a step above that, and Crystal, Silversea, Seabourn...a leap above them all. Just depends on what you want to spend. EM

 

Just a tiny correction. Oceania is a premium cruise line while Regent (as Colomon described above) is definitely luxury. Another luxury line is Seadream Yacht Club.

 

Back to the subject. . . . are they worth the money? It's really a personal choice. The smaller luxury ships do not have the bells and whistles of the larger ships (rock climbing walls, water slides, a choice of a dozen restaurants, midnight buffets and large entertainment groups). Luxury lines are typically carry 200-700 passengers, have small swimming pools, jacuzzi's, children activities only during the summer and school breaks. Their daytime entertainment consists of Trivia, lectures, wine and food tasting, etc. This is perfect for some of us -- but -- could be quite boring for others.

[Taxguy77]

We used a travel co. a couple of times that packages a few land days, air, and cruise together. Sometimes they have special, deluxe cruises. We went on one where they chartered the Royal Clipper, a 5 masted sailing ship. A fantastic trip which I will not ever forget.I can see a picture of the ship from here.

I consider the cost as money well spent, even though we cruised less the next 2 years.

[chipmaster]

Welcome to CC.

 

IMHO Europe / Med is all about the port lineup and details like schedule in port. Cyrstal is no doubt a cut above, but Europe is so port intensive I ? you can get much value out of the boat. It all depends on how you travel and your budget. If sailing crystal on the same lineup as say Princess and you need to compromise on shore excursion then I think you put the money in the wrong basket. If you can sale crystal and still do the best excursions, then good for you, but may not be the best value, but that is me and how I travel. In general Four Season is nice but not a value to me.

 

Happy planning!

 

Princess, Celebrity or Crystal for a Mediterranean cruise? We have cruised Royal and Norwegian before. Is spending more money worth it? We are in our mid 40's and like a more conservative upsale feel. Quality is much better than quantity. Which line should we choose. We want to cruise in Sept or Oct of this year.

[dadroy]

In the end, all of this is a personal decision. There is no right or wrong.

 

I have sailed all three cruise lines you are asking about.

 

Crystal will provide the most luxurious cruise of the ones that you mentioned. The emphasis will be on quality versus quantity. If you think of a land based hotel think of the Ritz Carlton or Four Seasons when you think Crystal.

 

Celebrity is a very nice Cruise Line and is considered a Premium Cruise Line. You'll find it more luxurious compared to RCI and NCL but less so than Crystal. Think of Hyatt if you are thinking of Celebrity of a land based hotel.

 

While we use to sail Princess it falls into the category of a Mass Market Line as does RCI and NCL. It is a very nice cruise line and to me more upscale than some of the other mass market lines but not in the same category as either Celebrity or very far from Crystal. Think of Princess as being a Hilton if it was a land based hotel.

 

We have sailed Crystal for many years now. You will find it to be of high quality. For us, we prefer this line but and are willing to spend more money for the cruise.

 

But like anything else in ife it is a personal decision.

 

There is a lot of good information on the Crystal Cruises Cruise Critic board about Crystal.

 

Keith

 

Agree 100%. Very thoughtful and correct posting. Hooray to you!!!

[misskimt]

Thanks for everyone's thoughts!! I have deleted the mass market cruise line from my options. I guess that leaves premium or luxury. I am leaning toward Crystal, though I may have to look at other (smaller) lines that I didn't consider before. While I don't mind being the youngest on a ship, being in our 40's we proabably want a little more activity than those who are in their 60's. Sometimes it is just too many options. (Thanks Keith - your hotel comparision helped, as Hilton just won't cut it)

 

Maybe 2 premium cruises in the next 12 months instead of 1 luxury is the answer. Make the move to luxury in our next decade?

[mutzy]

we sailed regent last yr to alaska- the ship was beautiful and we had a great suite- but the food was awful- one night my ceaser salad came with out dressing or cheese- just lettuce and crutons. Maybe there is a reason that the wine and beer is free.

 

I also thought that the hallways to the cabins were cluttered- always having to dodge carts and rollaway beds.

 

I felt there was very little entertainment on board.

 

the excursions were wonderful- VIP treatment - and small number of particiapants.