Why is there no intermediate mid-market cruise line?

[calliopecruiser]

53 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

O is not a good value proposition for solo cruisers.

Very few cruise lines are, in my opinion, unless you're fortunate enough to find a sale going at a time and place that suits you.   I think only Crystal gives solo cruisers good value, as they offer a great product for an extra 30% (window cabins) -- or, at least, that used to be true.  Whether it will be true post-Covid is a different question. 

 

Remember not to confuse value with cost or quantity. 

[Aquahound]

It would be nice if the OP returned to provide some feedback and to say whether or not their question was answered. 

[George C]

This tread has some great info on the more upscale lines , I think we will continue our music charters on celebrity upscale suites and msc yacht club but really would like to try some of the others mentioned. 

[Heidi13]

On 5/24/2020 at 2:48 PM, Aquahound said:

 

I've been looking at Viking but haven't pulled the trigger yet.  Those I know who cruised them speak very highly.  I think most reasonably people would put Viking, Azamara, and Oceania in the same category. 

 

But seriously, you didn't expect a legit answer, did you?

Having just completed our first 4-month Viking Cruise, they are most definitely one of the Premium Brands. While they are the new Line, most reviewers rate them as # 1.

 

While we haven't sailed on Oceania or Azamara, we can't comment on comparisons from experience, but many publications rate Viking as # 1 in many categories.

Edited May 25, 2020 by Heidi13

[Heidi13]

5 hours ago, SteveH2508 said:

We keep a spreadsheet where we track every cost on each of the cruises we have taken. It quickly  became clear that our onboard spend on a mainstream line was at least as much as the base fare. We then started to check out other premium lines and worked out the cost per day for us. The difference in cost was small but the better experience more than made up for it. If you can find some deals (they are out there though this is an unusual time), you might find that the premium lines actually work out cheaper than the mainstream nickle-and-dime lines when you reckon in everything.

This was also our experience when comparing a Princess WC and a Viking WC.

 

I also developed a spreadsheet to review costs and when all costs were included the per diem on Princess was virtually identical to our recent Viking Cruise. The Viking base fare was at least 60% higher than Princess, but when all costs were considered, the vastly superior Viking cruise cost the same per day.

 

On Princess we disembarked with a significant bill, on Viking we disembarked with a considerable OBC refund.

[cruisemom42]

4 hours ago, LHT28 said:

I have mentioned this to you before   O does offer  some cruises  with lower SS   but  they may not be where you want to go at the  time

You are well travelled  so you probably have been to most places

 No need  to take the O Life perk  or the included air

We often just do cruise only rate

Take your own wine & pay the corkage  or just have  a glass of wine  from the menu ..buy a bottle on the ship

you have options

We  went on a luxury line  ..the wine included  was  not that good 

I would rather purchase some thing I like than put up with mediocre  wine because it is included

 

Enjoy whatever cruise you choose  ..there are many options out there

 

 

I remember that heads' up from you and I now regularly look at those specials. You're right that I am at the stage where I am interested in very specific places/itineraries -- and often times those are the ones that are relatively rare or one-offs, so they tend to sell well (no discounts).

 

I do like the idea of Oceania and I do hope to find myself on one of their (preferably R-class) ships one of these days -- the stars will align, I'm sure.

 

[SteveH2508]

14 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

<snip>

 

I do like the idea of Oceania and I do hope to find myself on one of their (preferably R-class) ships one of these days -- the stars will align, I'm sure.

 

You may already know this but all three of Azamara's ships are R-class.

[cruisemom42]

13 minutes ago, SteveH2508 said:

You may already know this but all three of Azamara's ships are R-class.

 

Yes, I've sailed with Azamara and do like their product. For me, I find they have the most interesting itineraries. 

 

I've also sailed on one of the R-class ships that used to b part of Princess's fleet but is now part of Oceania.

[clo]

1 hour ago, cruisemom42 said:

Yes, I've sailed with Azamara and do like their product. For me, I find they have the most interesting itineraries. 

 

I read not so long ago that when in/at Turkey, they had an after dinner musical program at Ephesus. That blew my mind. I can't even imagine.

[All That Jazz]

Other cruise lines offer the evening concert at Ephesus.  The noisy crowds are gone, the evening breeze and bird song are delightful. The attendants serve hors d'oeuvres and wine dressed in ancient Greek costume. The string quartet performed in front of the facade of the library and the full moon was visible through the library "window". It is one of our top five shore excursions ever.

 

[clo]

18 minutes ago, All That Jazz said:

Other cruise lines offer the evening concert at Ephesus.  The noisy crowds are gone, the evening breeze and bird song are delightful. The attendants serve hors d'oeuvres and wine dressed in ancient Greek costume. The string quartet performed in front of the facade of the library and the full moon was visible through the library "window". It is one of our top five shore excursions ever.

 

Thanks a million for this! We were there a few years ago; yes, during the day. Incredible. I can only imaging what it's like at night.

[LHT28]

41 minutes ago, All That Jazz said:

Other cruise lines offer the evening concert at Ephesus.  The noisy crowds are gone, the evening breeze and bird song are delightful.

 

What other lines do this besides Azamara ?

 The would be magical

[Joebucks]

7 hours ago, SteveH2508 said:

We keep a spreadsheet where we track every cost on each of the cruises we have taken. It quickly  became clear that our onboard spend on a mainstream line was at least as much as the base fare. We then started to check out other premium lines and worked out the cost per day for us. The difference in cost was small but the better experience more than made up for it. If you can find some deals (they are out there though this is an unusual time), you might find that the premium lines actually work out cheaper than the mainstream nickle-and-dime lines when you reckon in everything.

 

I think far too many people get caught up in marketing headlines or preconceived notions, and don't look into stuff like this. I always say the most important things are the final price, and the experience you want. Far too many people on here are easily distracted with all of the other noise. To each their own, but it's good to compare options. Your method obviously helped prove why this is important.

 

For us, currently, I don't think we have broken $2,000 total for a week of cruising. Not including hotels at ports. I don't think it is bare bones, because we still literally do everything we want to. If I want a fancy meal, excursion, or drink, I do it. I stay far away from the notion of "I'm on vacation, so I need to have everything, in unlimited form".

[Cruzaholic41]

Whoever refers to the major cruise lines as “bare bones” cruising is extremely ignorant. There’s a lot to be said about premium and luxury cruising, but the level of talent I’ve seen on the largest mass market ships blows away the talent on smaller lines. Even some of the accommodations were leaps and bounds better. 
 

I’m fortunate that I can cruise any line I want, but I keep getting drawn back to larger lines because I leave the ship feeling like I got my money’s worth. 

[BruceMuzz]

2 hours ago, LHT28 said:

What other lines do this besides Azamara ?

 The would be magical

Windstar Motor Yachts

[All That Jazz]

12 hours ago, LHT28 said:

What other lines do this besides Azamara ?

 The would be magical

We were on Crystal, I believe Regent does as well. The concert was arranged just for our group. Glad to hear about Windstar, they are one of our favorites.

 

[cruisemom42]

20 hours ago, All That Jazz said:

Other cruise lines offer the evening concert at Ephesus.  The noisy crowds are gone, the evening breeze and bird song are delightful. The attendants serve hors d'oeuvres and wine dressed in ancient Greek costume. The string quartet performed in front of the facade of the library and the full moon was visible through the library "window". It is one of our top five shore excursions ever.

 

 

As long as they aren't having a rock concert in the theater there. Believe it or not, Turkey used to allow it, and hosted the likes of Sting and Elton John, then realized that it was causing a great deal of damage to the structure, between the crowds and the noise...  Supposedly they have stopped doing this now.

 

 

 

[navybankerteacher]

18 hours ago, Cruzaholic41 said:

Whoever refers to the major cruise lines as “bare bones” cruising is extremely ignorant. There’s a lot to be said about premium and luxury cruising, but the level of talent I’ve seen on the largest mass market ships blows away the talent on smaller lines. Even some of the accommodations were leaps and bounds better. 
 

I’m fortunate that I can cruise any line I want, but I keep getting drawn back to larger lines because I leave the ship feeling like I got my money’s worth. 

...”extremely ignorant...?  

 

I suppose it depends upon a person’s definition of talent.  If big, brassy production shows are all that matter, I will concede that NCL wins. However,  I have left NCL ships feeling that I had been robbed.  The live music and interesting enrichment provided on the likes of Oceania, Azamara and the like represent real “talent”.

[getting older slowly]

 

I think the OP thoughts are the Mass market cruise line and small ship cruise lines.....

 

the idea of Mid tier is basically one perception, also A lot of lines have a different feel to them....

 

which may not fit the person idea of what is good or great...

 

Like Cunard, if you don't like getting dressed up for dinner... maybe not a good choice

 

But the question is what is "'Mid Tier"   . 

Is it like dinning at the Buffet compared tp the MDR to one of Restaurants.

Other way of putting is if like buying the best model car of a local maker or buying a base car from a high end maker..

 

So what defines Mid Tier ????

 

 

Cheers Don

 

Edited May 26, 2020 by getting older slowly

[Aquahound]

35 minutes ago, getting older slowly said:

 

But the question is what is "'Mid Tier"   . 

Is it like dinning at the Buffet compared tp the MDR to one of Restaurants.

Other way of putting is if like buying the best model car of a local maker or buying a base car from a high end maker..

 

So what defines Mid Tier ????

 

 

I think that's a good point.  Some people would rather spend their money on a high end Mustang over a base model Mercedes.  The industry considers the Mercedes the higher end car but due to preference, some will pay the higher price tag for the Mustang Shelby Cobra. 

 

Same with cruising.  Some would rather book a nice suite on a mass market line over any accommodations on what the industry considers a "premium" line.  Like I said earlier, I'm looking close at Viking Ocean, but I've had some really awesome experiences on my past cruises. 

[getting older slowly]

1 minute ago, Aquahound said:

 

I think that's a good point.  Some people would rather spend their money on a high end Mustang over a base model Mercedes.  The industry considers the Mercedes the higher end car but due to preference, some will pay the higher price tag for the Mustang Shelby Cobra. 

 

 

 

Me  would I take the  Mustang..... but some of those bi-turbo AMG's  are good,,, but the price

 

Cheers Don

[clo]

22 hours ago, Joebucks said:

 

For us, currently, I don't think we have broken $2,000 total for a week of cruising.

Do you go all over the world or kinda stick to, say, the Caribbean?

[Heidi13]

21 hours ago, Aquahound said:

 

I'm looking close at Viking Ocean, but I've had some really awesome experiences on my past cruises. 

 

If you have any questions regarding Viking, feel free to ask or check out our travel blog, as I completed daily posts during our recent 4 months on Viking Sun. Didn't get to many ports, so lots of content on the ship, crew, etc.

[Aquahound]

12 minutes ago, Heidi13 said:

 

If you have any questions regarding Viking, feel free to ask or check out our travel blog, as I completed daily posts during our recent 4 months on Viking Sun. Didn't get to many ports, so lots of content on the ship, crew, etc.

 

I certainly will. Thank you very much. 

[Heidi13]

5 hours ago, Aquahound said:

 

I certainly will. Thank you very much. 

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