Vacations of the 1%: Trends from luxury travel agents

Interesting article from USA Today July 7. I AM NOT bashing Regent, nor am I trying to debate "luxury".

Much of this is out of my price range, although I have previously mentioned I would like to try the Scenic Eclipse.

https://usat.ly/2uxNL2l

Excerpt regarding cruising:

Cruising for luxury

Cruise lines are making some of the biggest waves in the luxury arena.

One emerging trend, according to Carolyn Spencer Brown, editor in chief of Cruise Critic, is the "luxurification" of expedition cruising. "It used to be — and sometimes still is — that an expedition cruise was considered luxury because of the hard-to-get-to destinations it visited — places like the Galapagos and Antarctica," she says. Originally, the accommodations were basic. "Now, lines like Crystal, Ponant and Scenic have created ships that carry cruisers to adventure in a luxurious ambiance," offering personalized service by butlers, or private helicopters in port.

"The newest thing we're seeing in the luxury market is a big emphasis on toys — things that you wouldn't get in a hotel or on your own," Brown says. "Crystal Esprit has an underwater submersible, Scenic will have a private helicopter onboard."

Dining is also being revamped. Most notable: Silversea's Silver Muse, which debuted last month, has eight restaurants and no main dining room. Again, today's luxury travelers don't want to be told what to do — they want choice.

There's long been a yacht-style of cruising (Seabourn was a pioneer, and Windstar is top-of-the-line now) but Crystal's Esprit and Scenic's upcoming Eclipse are both courting the type of traveler who might otherwise charter his/her own vessel.

Cruise ships are also creating exclusive areas for their luxury clientele. Norwegian Cruise Line's The Haven features the "most luxurious" suites (a three-bedroom villa among them), private inner courtyard with pool, butlers, dedicated restaurants, and priority on-and off status in ports.

Crystal is arguably taking the deepest dive into luxury: Along with the ultra-luxury yacht Esprit, it launched Crystal Luxury Air, a private jet charter service, in April. Crystal AirCruises debuts in August, offering round-the-world journeys via private jet. Anticipating the need to stay put for a while after all that traveling, the company has a portfolio of Crystal Residences.

Crystal's Esprit definitely has great amenities (such as the wine pantry that is open 24 hours a day.) However, the cabins are on the small side with no balconies and it is only one ship. Once Crystal builds more yachts, they may impact the luxury market. I'm watching Crystal very carefully since, so far, the dates for their launches have fallen behind (especially for the two ocean going ships that now won't be ready until sometime around 2022/23.)

They just laid in keel in April for Scenic's Eclipse so I assume that she will be complete in another year or so. She will hold between 200-288 passengers (depending upon itinerary) but I have yet to see the dimensions of their "all-verandah suite accommodations" but it is likely to be better than Crystal's Esprit.

They do offer scuba diving, exploring in their submarine and flying by helicopter (all at an additional charge).

Whether or not these very small boats grow and become something that can sustain the interest of luxury cruisers is yet to be seen.

Since I have sailed on Scenic, I get their brochures (the good news is they only come once every couple of months!!). The first sailing on the Eclipse is scheduled for August 31, 2018. The 114 suites range from 345 sq ft (12 of those) to 2600 sq ft with the majority between 365-430 sq ft. It is not clear from the brochure whether the balcony is included in the stated sq ft, but I'm guessing it is. As a rough cost comparison the October 8, 2017 Voyager Venice to Athens, 7 nights starts at $4099 cruise only. The Eclipse for 8 nights in April, 2019 starts at $6195. Agree TC that it will be interesting whether this market takes off, but I find it interesting to see what others are doing.

Thank you so much for giving us the dimensions of the suites. Agree that knowing what is going on in the area of luxury cruising is very interesting!

Wonder why the three yachts that Ritz Carlton has in mind weren't mentioned?

Wonder why the three yachts that Ritz Carlton has in mind weren't mentioned?

The RC yachts probably weren't mentioned because the author of the article quoted in the original post appears to be rather inadequately informed regarding the subject of luxury cruising and the plans of the various luxury cruise lines.

It is preposterous to suggest that small ships such as Scenic Eclipse or Crystal Esprit will appeal to the ultra-well-heeled "traveler who might otherwise charter his/her own vessel". As has been discussed at great length on the Crystal board, that is a different demographic altogether in most instances.

Further, the reference to the Crystal Air service is already obsolete, as Crystal and its parent company have announced that the planes will become part of a charter service and that the proposed "round-the-world journeys via private jet" have been abandoned. Similarly, the goofy reference to the "Crystal Residences" as a means "to stay put for a while after all that traveling" is simply wrong, as the term refers to the possibility of a group of owned apartments on the new Crystal ships (which, one may assume, will not stay put), not to land-based residences.

This misstatements in the article are sadly typical of the lack of understanding of what is going in the small luxury segment of the cruising industry. Too many silly superlatives and exaggerations, often fueled by the hyperbole of the cruiselines' own statements.

Very interesting info. Thanks.

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Forums mobile app

It is preposterous to suggest that small ships such as Scenic Eclipse or Crystal Esprit will appeal to the ultra-well-heeled "traveler who might otherwise charter his/her own vessel". As has been discussed at great length on the Crystal board, that is a different demographic altogether in most instances.

I agree if your going to charter your own vessel, your not going to me happy on a cruise with a couple hundred people on it.

For what it might be worth, we have been on Scenic's European river cruises twice, and we have found the experience to be great. If shore excursions on Secnic's ocean-going are as good as those on their river cruises, they might just be worth the extra cost -- expecially if they are included in the fare as on the river cruises. We found the interiors of Scenic's river ships to be a bit too "utilitarian", but I undrstand the Ocean-going ship will be a bit more fancy. Also, we have had food we liked better than on Scenic. BUT it must be remembered that Scenic is an Australian company and their river cruise guests are over 90% Aussies. And those fellow guests said the food was excellent. And I understand that the menues on the ocean-going ship will have a less "Aussie-oriented" fare. We may just give Scenic Ocean a try.

Dolebludger, thank you for the very interesting input. The food issue is of particular interest. Having spent too much time in Australia (both due to illness and twos previous visits to Australia), we do not care for the food (sorry to our Aussie friends and relatives). We had fish and chips at Doyle's (one of their very popular seafood restaurants) and learned that they didn't have malt vinegar - only white vinegar. As a person who considers themselves British by marriage, malt vinegar is as important to fish and chips as ketchup is to a hamburger. Okay - so food is subjective and we are used to what we are used to. We love food in the U.K. while many people in the U.S. do not ....... not surprising that there are varying opinions. Most people outside of the U.S. can't stand our coffee (and I agree with that).

We are not at the point where we would consider a smaller ship/boat*(unless it had large suites, multiple dining venues with open seating, entertainment equal to or better than Regent and multiple lounges to relax with other guests.). Even then, we would want at least 400 passengers.

*As many of us tend to use the terms "ship" and "boat" interchangeably, I looked up a few definitions:

A British website says that ships carry boats but boats don't carry ships (this is the definition that I've used for years.) I'm finding more sites that use this same general definition. I've been typing on one computer while while searching on another and the "ships carrying boats......." definition is overwhelming accepted. So, for us, we don't want to sail on any boat at the present time.

Way off the subject.........but:

".....On a boat the centre of gravity is below the freeboard, on a ship it is above. In practice this means a boat, such as a submarine, will lean into a curve when turning while a ship will lean out." "The difference between a ship and a boat is which way they heel or skid, when turning. A ship will heel outward during a turn, a boat will turn inward during a turn. In other terms, a motorcycle will lean inward during a turn, a car, truck, etc. will lean outward. Same concept for ship vs. boat."

:cool:

J

We recently booked an Antarctica expedition cruise (February, 2018) on Silversea. Silversea is converting the Cloud to an expedition ship and the ship will be completely revamped. It will hold 200 passengers maximum in Antarctica. All suites have butlers. So this is an example of a "luxury" expedition cruise to Antarctica. We had looked into the new Scenic Eclipse that also is doing the Antarctica itinerary and the ship looks amazing! The cost for the helicopter and submarine as someone else pointed out is "extra". What really surprised me is that most of the lowest priced cabins on the Scenic Eclipse (Antarctica itineraries) are already SOLD OUT for 2018 AND 2019, and the prices are outrageous!

Video on the Eclipse: https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=scenic+eclipse+video&view=detail&mid=DDCAD335B33B2F78EEF7DDCAD335B33B2F78EEF7&FORM=VIRE

Video on the Silversea Cloud Expedition ship: https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=silversea+cloud+expedition+video&view=detail&mid=3EECC9DD29F1DC8DE74B3EECC9DD29F1DC8DE74B&FORM=VIRE