Why Regent and other luxury lines are a good value

[Iamboatman]

I think the circumstances may be relevant, but usually the non-refund is what happens. That does not affect Regent's "value".

 

What does, however, is yet another post about the unresponsiveness of Gair O'Neil. This seems to be a consistent problem; one that I also had. That does significantly affect "value" and, in my opinion, is inexcusable...especially on a seemingly consistent basis.

 

BTW, I totally disagree about the Greek Islands. They are some of the most wonderful places I have been...but you need to know how to see them! Ironically, Mykonos is one of my least favorites in part because much of it is so "not Greek" and is so "tourist"! As for Santorini, I will not bore everyone with the stories, but some of my best family and romantic tales come from my visits there.

[Minn.cruisers]

Here's a new article in the Smarter Travel newsletter that addresses this very subject.

 

http://www.smartertravel.com/travel-advice/top-10-reasons-to-upgrade-to-luxury.html?id=2536673&source=nltype_senior&value=2008-04-15&u=3D99DAF200

 

Going back a little and changing the subject.....

VERY informative article, thanks for including it in your post.

It's kinda the way I have been thinking after a few cruises now. The loudspeaker....very irritating sometimes, when relaxing and reading a book on the balcony the last thing I want to hear is what's going on everywhere else...lol.

On refunds...we have never bought the travel insurance, thought about it always and wondered...'what if.....:eek: ', then our TA says 'don't worry, I'll take care of you, just call...' So far so good, but there is always that chance something could happen on the cruise, even right before a cruise. On a cruise that is more expensive (hey, it is an investment...)than the ones we've been on so far, we would definitely get travel ins.

Thanks for all these world-wise tips....

 

I still want to go to Santorini.........it must be all those great photos everyone sees, my calendar shows me a new view every month!!! And all the culture there and architecture...I can't wait to go someday.....

[caviargal]

 

BTW, I totally disagree about the Greek Islands. They are some of the most wonderful places I have been...but you need to know how to see them! Ironically, Mykonos is one of my least favorites in part because much of it is so "not Greek" and is so "tourist"! As for Santorini, I will not bore everyone with the stories, but some of my best family and romantic tales come from my visits there.

 

Eric, I stated that I did not care for the Greek Islands, not that anyone else should share my opinion.;) It is nice that you enjoyed them so much but

I found them to be surprisingly touristy, even 17 years ago, and have no desire to return.

 

I also dislike Venice and Paris no matter how many times I visit, which areas I stay in, and who I am traveling with. I know others feel that way about some of my favorite places (Jamaica and Rome come to mind) but one man's trash is another's treasure.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Well, I always said that the worst way to see Greece and the islands particularly is on a conventional cruise ship.

 

Greece is absolutely amazing, but it is really meant to be enjoyed by going places and hanging around for a few days. The food, the people, the ambience, the scenery, wow.

 

As for the death of your father, I commiserate but agree--that's what insurance is for.

[hvsteve1]

If you think you don't need travel insurance, ask someone who has the bill from a medical evacuation at sea and return to the states on a medical flight. We always buy travel insurance because, in addition to covering the "smaller' things such as cruise and airline tickets, it also covers the rare, but possible, huge expense.

[Prada Cowboy]

Santorini is like every other island in the Med., especially in the summer over run by tourists! No exception! For sure it is nice to see them, but not "MY" choice, been there and done it and want to never return. Everybody has different feelings about a place!

[Prada Cowboy]

I wouldn't do Europe anyhow on a ship! So much better to see it the real way and stay in the wonderful stylish Hotels and get the real scoop!

[Iamboatman]

These comments make why taking a cruise is such a good thing. You get to "taste" a place to see if you want to go back for more. If you do, then a land-based vacation may well be the way to see it.

 

Not everyone has experienced Europe and to dismiss a cruise because staying in stylish hotels is "better" misses the point. Being in a stylish hotel in a place you do not really enjoy isn't stylish at all; it is a bummer. Do you first experience Italy by pulling luggage around the country? Or is price no object (not true for most) so your driver handles it?

 

Not knowing which hotel or where in a city or town makes a huge difference. You want to see the French Riviera? Where do you stay. If you spent a day on a couple of cruises traveling around St. Paul de Vence, Mougins, Eze, etc. you might find that they work a whole lot better for your specific desires than a supposed stylish hotel in Nice or Cannes.

 

A luxury cruise gives great value...especially when you start to add up those stylish hotels and the dinners that go along with them.

 

On another point, I love the way people dismiss particular places as if their opinions as to the quality of the place is "it". So many times that opinion is based upon a single experience that was poor. If, by chance, that same person had a different type of experience that bad "it" might well be a good "it". Santorini as touristy? Only if you don't know where to go or how to see it. (ex. We ate in a restaurant overlooking the caldera which was truly local - no English - with great food, smiles and views. In our 3 hours there not a single tourist...save us!) Jamaica over Paris? Interesting...and probably worth exploring that in another thread!

[Pam]

A cruise can be a great thing to help convince a reluctant land-traveler. I had always wanted to see Scotland, Mark thought it would be completely boring, so we did British Isles on Voyager. We got off in Edinburgh and were picked up by the most incredible Scottish tour guide, and off we went to the Highlands. I got to walk through Culloden in a misty fog, I took an incredible picture of the Wallace Monument, we toured a couple of castles and a few churches, and Mark fell in love. We got back on the ship in Invergordon, and he said "I'm planning what we will do when we come back".

 

As to trip insurance, we had that very trip back to Scotland planned for last May. My 6'3" paramedic son was felled in early March by a killer pneumonia; he was the only survivor out of a total of seven cases of that in his area, non of them related. I was on the road for months, seeing to his well-being. Thank goodness for trip insurance, and we leave next month, finally, for Scotland.

[Leejnd4]

OK, then can they adopt me? (Don't tell my DW.):D ;)

 

Hey, Boat, I asked first! :P

 

Getting back to the original topic...well I'm soon going to give this whole theory a look-see.

 

As of today, I switched my booking from Silversea's Middle East cruise to a cruise on Celebrity's new (currently being built) Equinox ship in '09. This was a REALLY tough decision for me - as some of you know, I pretty much swore off the mass-market lines (except when taking the kids), and I pretty vigorously disagreed with Eric (Iamboatman) that you can "luxe up" a mass-market cruise enough to negate the less-than-luxury aspects of it.

 

But Mom asked me to look into this Celebrity itinerary, for various reasons. I did a LOT of homework and internal debating, and finally decided to go for it.

 

Here's my thoughts on this: First, it’s a 13-day cruise in Oct/Nov, so that right there rules out most families with kids. Second, the itinerary is in the Med/Middle East and is called “Ancient Empires”, which I imagine would appeal to folks with an interest in history/archaeology as opposed to an interest in all-day sun-tanning and sexy-legs contests.

 

We booked an "Aqua Class" cabin, which is unique in that it's on a deck with ONLY double-occupancy rooms (presumably no kids), with exclusive access to the "Aquaspa Relaxation room" and unrestricted, complimentary access to the Solarium and Persian Gardens (normally extra-cost spa amentities). These cabins get some other extra benefits: they have their own 130-person specialty restaurant for your "assigned seating" dinners; they also are "Concierge Class," described as follows: "Offering daily fruit and hors d' oeuvres, double-thick Frette bathrobes, Hansgrohe® showerhead, VIP invitations to events, early embarkation and debarkation and more, Celebrity's Concierge Class introduces a new dimension of indulgence."

 

Further, the ship has three additional "specialty restaurants" which are supposed to be at least as good as the cuisine on luxury cruises. These are an additional cost - probably in the $30-35 pp range. We will plan on eating about half our meals there. So we probably won't eat a single dinner in the main dining room.

 

So, is this "luxing up" going to negate the less-desirable aspects of this cruise? Don't know yet! I expect there will be some annoyances - the simple math can't be disregarded, with 2800 pax and a lower staff-to-pax ratio than the luxury lines. And I doubt the other meals of the day will be as good as breakfast/lunch on Regent...which probably won't affect us much on port days, but will on the four sea days.

 

But here's the thing: even with the added costs of "luxing up" this cruise, it's costing less than half the Silversea cruise! And that's factoring in having to buy our bottled water at 400% markup, paying for alcohol and soft drinks (I don't drink soda, but Mom does so she'll get a soda card), paying tips, and other added expenses.

 

(One saving grace: I did learn that this cruise line DOES allow you to bring your own wine onboard, which was a deal-breaker for me since the cruise starts in Rome, and we will begin our trip with a few days in Tuscany and will surely pick up a number of bottles of my favorite Tuscan wine to drink onboard.)

 

Am I leery about this? YES! But I will go with an open mind. I'm confident I'll have a great vacation - how can you not in these places? But I doubt it will be quite as enjoyable as the SS cruise would have been. Still, there will be benefits...and with the thousands I'm saving, we can do an awful lot of great stuff on land!

 

editing to add: THANKS to Eric for a great email exchange, helping me to make this decision!

[Prada Cowboy]

Hey, Boat, I asked first! :P

 

Getting back to the original topic...well I'm soon going to give this whole theory a look-see.

 

As of today, I switched my booking from Silversea's Middle East cruise to a cruise on Celebrity's new (currently being built) Equinox ship in '09. This was a REALLY tough decision for me - as some of you know, I pretty much swore off the mass-market lines (except when taking the kids), and I pretty vigorously disagreed with Eric (Iamboatman) that you can "luxe up" a mass-market cruise enough to negate the less-than-luxury aspects of it.

 

But Mom asked me to look into this Celebrity itinerary, for various reasons. I did a LOT of homework and internal debating, and finally decided to go for it.

 

Here's my thoughts on this: First, it’s a 13-day cruise in Oct/Nov, so that right there rules out most families with kids. Second, the itinerary is in the Med/Middle East and is called “Ancient Empires”, which I imagine would appeal to folks with an interest in history/archaeology as opposed to an interest in all-day sun-tanning and sexy-legs contests.

 

We booked an "Aqua Class" cabin, which is unique in that it's on a deck with ONLY double-occupancy rooms (presumably no kids), with exclusive access to the "Aquaspa Relaxation room" and unrestricted, complimentary access to the Solarium and Persian Gardens (normally extra-cost spa amentities). These cabins get some other extra benefits: they have their own 130-person specialty restaurant for your "assigned seating" dinners; they also are "Concierge Class," described as follows: "Offering daily fruit and hors d' oeuvres, double-thick Frette bathrobes, Hansgrohe® showerhead, VIP invitations to events, early embarkation and debarkation and more, Celebrity's Concierge Class introduces a new dimension of indulgence."

 

Further, the ship has three additional "specialty restaurants" which are supposed to be at least as good as the cuisine on luxury cruises. These are an additional cost - probably in the $30-35 pp range. We will plan on eating about half our meals there. So we probably won't eat a single dinner in the main dining room.

 

So, is this "luxing up" going to negate the less-desirable aspects of this cruise? Don't know yet! I expect there will be some annoyances - the simple math can't be disregarded, with 2800 pax and a lower staff-to-pax ratio than the luxury lines. And I doubt the other meals of the day will be as good as breakfast/lunch on Regent...which probably won't affect us much on port days, but will on the four sea days.

 

But here's the thing: even with the added costs of "luxing up" this cruise, it's costing less than half the Silversea cruise! And that's factoring in having to buy our bottled water at 400% markup, paying for alcohol and soft drinks (I don't drink soda, but Mom does so she'll get a soda card), paying tips, and other added expenses.

 

(One saving grace: I did learn that this cruise line DOES allow you to bring your own wine onboard, which was a deal-breaker for me since the cruise starts in Rome, and we will begin our trip with a few days in Tuscany and will surely pick up a number of bottles of my favorite Tuscan wine to drink onboard.)

 

Am I leery about this? YES! But I will go with an open mind. I'm confident I'll have a great vacation - how can you not in these places? But I doubt it will be quite as enjoyable as the SS cruise would have been. Still, there will be benefits...and with the thousands I'm saving, we can do an awful lot of great stuff on land!

 

editing to add: THANKS to Eric for a great email exchange, helping me to make this decision!

 

I believe the Equinox as her sister Solstice will be wonderful ships. Aqua Class room have some nice perks compared to the rest of the ship, which are almost Suite like. But then again...you are just in a Balcony sized room and not in a Suite. If you would have priced your vacation in a Suite on the Equinox and then put all the extras in count, you would have maybe seen it is cheaper to go back to the Luxury cruise.

That is what I did with my Equinox Transatlantic! Now sailing on the Navigator for a fraction of the requested price by Celebrity!

[Leejnd4]

Prada, I see your point, but allow me to point out that this Aquaclass stateroom is the same size as the Cat C balcony stateroom on Regent's Paul Gauguin...with a larger balcony!

 

I realize we're not going to have the same size cabin as we had on Voyager, but we were perfectly happy with our PG cabin. And I just can't justify all those thousands of dollars for 100 sq ft more cabin space.

[caviargal]

(One saving grace: I did learn that this cruise line DOES allow you to bring your own wine onboard, which was a deal-breaker for me since the cruise starts in Rome, and we will begin our trip with a few days in Tuscany and will surely pick up a number of bottles of my favorite Tuscan wine to drink onboard.)

 

You are allowed to bring exactly two bottles per stateroom, and only at the port of embarkation. Celebrity has been quite good about enforcing this policy and was confiscating on my last cruise with them, with many others reporting the same. I am not sure why you believe otherwise but this has been their policy for some time now.

 

The corkage is 25 per bottle when consumed in the dining room.

 

HAL is the only mass market line that allows one to bring aboard as much wine as they please and charges a minimal corkage.

 

Otherwise, IMO you are approaching your Equinox cruise quite logically. I, too, would only book Aqua Class on this class of ship, though it would have made more sense to have only this class of cabin on this deck and not large suites which will appeal to families. And BLU sounds quite nice compared to the large and sure to be noisy main dining room and the heavy cuisine normally served by X.

 

Sounds like a terrific itinerary!

[Iamboatman]

LeeAnne, thanks for the nod!:)

 

You have to be very careful comparing TAs versus port intensive cruises; especially a ship which can be considered a destination versus a smaller ship with no real facilities to match. (ex. Four days in the Equinox spa would keep you quite busy with variety alone. Navigator just doesn't have anything close.) Lying in the sun on a TA can be dodgy at best.

 

You also need to consider what you are getting with the suite vs. in this case an upgraded category which is near suite. As LeeAnne notes, there isn't much difference other than the real estate..and there are amenities you don't get with the suite.

 

As the premium lines blur the line between them and luxury, I believe it is the software that better be pretty spectacular and ports be even more unique. Yes, for some the smaller ships and intimacy are necessary, but for those stretching to cruise on a lux line...or those just wanting to do it more often...the soon to be "premium" is sounding a lot more like the current luxury.

[Leejnd4]

Caviargal, believe me the wine policy is one thing that is worrying me. I'm definitely getting conflicting info - some people are telling me that they were able to bring multiple bottles of wine into their cabins without being bothered, as long as they were "discreet"...but I'm also reading that others have seen them confiscating. This is the one issue that is keeping me up nights over this decision. It will SERIOUSLY P*SS ME OFF if anyone goes rifling through my luggage and removes my personal, LEGAL belongings!

 

I'm okay with the corkage fee. I mean, I would expect the same in a fine dining restaurant. What I'm NOT okay with is not being ALLOWED to drink my own wine at all - even in the privacy of my own cabin!

 

As far as the rest of it, I'm sure I can deal with it. The fact that the ship is going to be brand spanking new means that it won't be in some bedraggled state (as I've read about on other mass-market ships)...and I would hope that in the early stages of the ship's life, they would be making a great effort to do an exemplary job. There are some specific benefits to this cruise...one being that, since I'm traveling with my Mom and we prefer to meet people and socialize, I expect we'll find many more opportunities for connecting with others on this ship vs. Silversea's tiny Silver Wind...as well as LOTS more to do in terms of entertainment and sea day activities. One of the reasons we've gone back to cruising vs. land-based trips is that we've discovered that we just can't handle so MUCH togetherness - we really need to meet other people, and do some things apart, which isn't nearly as easy in a hotel.

 

So I'm going with this decision on the premise that the benefits will outweigh the annoyances...and I'll save a bucket of money to boot.

 

But if they start taking my wine away from me.... :( :( :(

[Iamboatman]

The wine is a non-issue as there are ways to address it properly, but not discussable in a public forum...sorry.

 

In any event, the wine is not confiscated, but rather returned at the end of the cruise. So if one is collecting wine the issue is less of a concern.

 

But with all the upside, dare I ask: Why the whining? :confused: (sorry:o )

[caviargal]

Caviargal, believe me the wine policy is one thing that is worrying me. I'm definitely getting conflicting info - some people are telling me that they were able to bring multiple bottles of wine into their cabins without being bothered, as long as they were "discreet"...but I'm also reading that others have seen them confiscating. This is the one issue that is keeping me up nights over this decision. It will SERIOUSLY P*SS ME OFF if anyone goes rifling through my luggage and removes my personal, LEGAL belongings!

 

I'm okay with the corkage fee. I mean, I would expect the same in a fine dining restaurant. What I'm NOT okay with is not being ALLOWED to drink my own wine at all - even in the privacy of my own cabin!

 

As far as the rest of it, I'm sure I can deal with it. The fact that the ship is going to be brand spanking new means that it won't be in some bedraggled state (as I've read about on other mass-market ships)...and I would hope that in the early stages of the ship's life, they would be making a great effort to do an exemplary job. There are some specific benefits to this cruise...one being that, since I'm traveling with my Mom and we prefer to meet people and socialize, I expect we'll find many more opportunities for connecting with others on this ship vs. Silversea's tiny Silver Wind...as well as LOTS more to do in terms of entertainment and sea day activities. One of the reasons we've gone back to cruising vs. land-based trips is that we've discovered that we just can't handle so MUCH togetherness - we really need to meet other people, and do some things apart, which isn't nearly as easy in a hotel.

 

So I'm going with this decision on the premise that the benefits will outweigh the annoyances...and I'll save a bucket of money to boot.

 

But if they start taking my wine away from me.... :( :( :(

 

I just did not want you blindsighted by this since this is a biggie for us personally and one of the reasons we no longer cruise with Celebrity. I find their wine policy unacceptable and I am not into smuggling to enjoy wine of my choosing so we go elsewhere.

 

On Century, they scanned every bag at embarkation, did random checked bag searches and when we returned to the ship from port they took away wine and liquor. There was a quite a heap when they were done:p. I refuse to participate in this personally as it is juvenile.

 

I actually tried to negotiate a good sized group to book on X (about $250,000 good) and one of the stipulations was that a handful of VIPs be allowed to bring on wine for personal consumption. It was denied at a senior level and we went elsewhere as it was a true deal breaker.

 

Their policy is clear and I personally think the enforcement will be even stricter on the Solstice class ships as they are designed for a different audience than X's traditional base.

 

Best of luck.:)

[RachelG]

I agree with you about the wine thing, LeeAnne. I love to buy local wines and try them out. If they started confiscating my wine, I would be really mad.

We have done plenty of cruising and plenty of land based vacations. There is a place for both. It really depends on what you are wanting. I love port intensive cruises for checking out places that I would like to revisit later. On our Nice-Dover cruise last year, I had no idea I would LOVE Nice as much as I did. Will definitely be going there again. Also will definitely do a land based hiking tour in Normandy at some point. But I didn't really care for southern Spain along the coast that much.

The Greek isles are fine, but as far as I am concerned, a cruise is the ideal visit for me. That way, you can conveniently explore several. (And yes, Santorini is touristy, but I loved it.)

The article mentioned above really listed all the reasons that I won't do mass market (thank heavens, my kids are old enough to either stay home or be happy on and appreciate the luxury lines). We are doing Celebrity Xpedition to the Galapagos because it seems the best available there. I got my documents yesterday and was pleasantly surprised. The folder was very nice, real leather as opposed to the last ones I got from Regent, and two good quality leather luggage tags. So we are off to a positive start.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Rachel, congrats on getting your documents. We'll want to hear all about it!

 

We did Nice-Dover in 2006 and also really enjoyed Nice. I knew I would not like the Costa del Sol, since I'd spent considerable time there in the 70's and knew it would be now ruined (and I was right.) Loved northern Spain and Portugal, however.

 

LeeAnne, the cruise you've chosen sounds great--one of these days we'll probably try a larger ship; saving money is a good thing!

[Iamboatman]

It is amazing the difference in experiences.

 

One things I would guess is that the Century cruise was a 4 or 5 day out of Florida. Those are notorious for not being the same sort of cruise one would expect....as was discussed earlier.

 

Keep this X wine thing going and I am going to think I am back over at the CC Celebrity board - which I no longer post on because of the same stuff...also discussed earlier.

[caviargal]

It is amazing the difference in experiences.

 

One things I would guess is that the Century cruise was a 4 or 5 day out of Florida. Those are notorious for not being the same sort of cruise one would expect....as was discussed earlier.

 

Keep this X wine thing going and I am going to think I am back over at the CC Celebrity board - which I no longer post on because of the same stuff...also discussed earlier.

 

 

My last cruise was on Century, yes. But the group they turned down based on their non negotiable position on wine was Solstice.

 

And now I will leave this subject for the mass market boards.

[Leejnd4]

Eric, hey you asked...so here goes! There are a couple reasons I'm wine wining. :o One is simply the anti-authority rebellious teen that still resides somewhere within me - who are THEY to tell me what I can and cannot drink my own bedroom?!!! And who are they to INSIST that I only buy my alcoholic beverages from THEM?? *I* get to choose where I want to spend my money, thankyewverymuch! Can you imagine a hotel telling you that you can't drink your own beverages in your room, and have to buy it from them?

 

Further, the whole concept of them confiscating my bottles seems insulting and...yes...juvenile. It makes me feel as if they are lumping me in with the buffoons on the party-boats who try to get passed the ship's booze policies by packing cases of beer and boxed wine in their luggage and smugging rum by pouring it into plastic underwear (I am NOT making this up! :eek:) so they can get completely blitzed at the pool and win the beer-belly contests. All I want to do is to stately and serenely sip some fine wine on my balcony (in a crystal goblet, of course, wearing my designer duds and with my pinky well-extended...are we getting the picture yet?) ;) ;) I'm being sorta facetious...but then, to be honest...not completely!

 

But moving away from the whole "it's the principle" part of it...there's the simple fact that I truly do enjoy wine, and one of the best parts (to me) of visiting Italy is getting to drink the wines there. Due to luggage limits I won't be able to carry home nearly as many bottles as I'd like to...so I'd like to be able to buy them there, then drink a bunch of them on the ship. If they start confiscating them, I may not be able to carry them home at the end! You may end up finding me at Fiumicino sitting in the boarding lounge sucking down bottle after bottle of Brunello di Montalcino...

 

But I hear you that there are "ways" to get around it - and I will be asking you about this. I'm not particulary comfortable with the concept that I HAVE to find "ways" to get around a rule...but I'll do what's necessary. Hey, I'm making the leap...let's see if I can make this work. I'm a pretty flexible gal. :)

[ORV]

LeeAnne, the bottom line is that by paying your fare to Celebrity you are agreeing to their terms. Whether we like it or not it's their court, their rules.

 

As sensible and well thought out as they are, none of your reasons trump that.

 

Enjoy your trip, with the right expectations I"m sure it will be fabulous, but there is a reason you are saving half. You are giving up freedoms.

[Iamboatman]

If faced with a designated supposed VIP (not sure what makes him/her that) bringing cases of wine aboard a 4 day cruise I would probably strongly question the private reserve argument and, probably better understand why there is a more absolute position being asserted by the line. You can only burn that bridge one time.

 

Regardless of the wine...I will not let one relatively minor thing (not bringing as much of the wine as I might want) make me not cruise on a particular line. With all the money you are saving, I bet you can find quite a few unique wines that even if a bit more expensive, will bring a smile to your face. It ain't perfect, but sitting in the Persian Gardens (which I love) and looking forward to a nice dinner in Blu after spending a day in one of the exotic ports with a purchased on board bottle of wine doesn't sound so shabby.

[Leejnd4]

LeeAnne, the bottom line is that by paying your fare to Celebrity you are agreeing to their terms. Whether we like it or not it's their court, their rules.

 

As sensible and well thought out as they are, none of your reasons trump that.

 

Yes, you are right...but knowing that doesn't make it any easier to swallow. If anything, it makes that rebellious teenager inside me want to find ways to thwart it! But then the sensible-mom part of me wants to smack that rebellious teen and say "Oh grow up..."

 

As you can see, I'm seriously tormented over this! :D