paul1439

Mistinguett - Yes, that is the kind of 'sweetened' offer I have heard about and would expect from a cruise line that is trying to portray itself as the height of luxury (as Scenic has been doing with Eclipse). OTOH in the example you describe the cruise line was getting lots of revenue from the charter – here, Scenic is cancelling cruises. But shouldn't they have insurance to cover these losses? [Many of us on Cruise Critic always advise cruisers to get Travel Insurance – the same surely applies to a cruise line!]

Travel insurance doesn't cover you when your travel supplier cancels the cruise. They cover only sickness or death and if you paid for extra coverage for any reason you receive 75% of total expenses.

Booked Scenic Eclipse for Nov 16, 2018. Great deal for 7 days.

Everything about life is subjective. I don't believe this is the point. I don't want to get into 6 stars or ultra luxury cruises because they are subjective which I don't believe. This is the reason for some type of criteria for these cruise lines but another time for this major discussion. Would you book a cruise if most of the reviews where negative?

Perhaps all the "big time posters" who heavily promote and apparently highly value their own opinions could go away en masse.

 

I am still attempting to discern if certain posters are truly sincere or pulling off a long con to whatever end.

 

In the meanwhile those of us not invited to the important opinion party will I suppose have to amuse ourselves reading and posting on occasion.

So you don't post? You consider yourself a "little time poster"?

Travelcat2 I agree with you 100%. I wish there was some kind of venue where all the big time posters on CC could meet in person to have a discussion about the cruise industry. I feel more at ease in person than posting on CC. Just a thought.

A suite is defined as ' a group of rooms occupied as a unit' as per Webster. Size doesn't come into it at all. But then, precise language and marketing have never gone together.

We are not talking about hotel rooms otherwise you are correct. We are talking about suits on a cruise liner. Many of these so called cruisers on CC think the same way. It's hard for me to understand this theory for suits on a cruise liner. If these cruisers have been on many cruises they would know this. Suits are all about size and could be one room.

Square footage has nothing to do with the designation as a suite. For instance Oceania penthouses on the R class ships measure 322 sq, fit but are not designated as suites since the cabin is one large space. On a luxury cruise ship a suite is usually defined as two spaces separated by a drape which may or may not be able to be closed. There is a sleeping area and a sitting area.

I said before size matters when it comes to suites. It doesn't matter if it's one room or two. Oceania Insignia was the first R Class in 1998. Today Insignia penthouse is 322 sq ft and it's called penthouse suite (one room).

In theory, a suite is two rooms but a lot of cruise lines call rooms 'suites' as soon as they are a bit larger than the standard rooms.

You are correct but not on ships.

I'm curious. What does a stateroom/cabin need to become a suite? For me, there has to be a delineation (wall?) between bed and sitting areas. But the new Scenic Eclipse fails here. Thoughts?

That's not true. Suites are normally 275 sq ft without a balcony. Normal cabins sizes are from 165 - 195 sq ft depending on the cruise lines.

I have been on Regent Navigator about 3 years ago. I believe the Navigator was originally built to be Russian spy ship and the Russians canceled their order and Regent purchased the ship. The only problem with the ship every so often the whole ship would shake. I believe the ship has been in dry dock for an overhaul. I personally don't travel on Regent because of their excursions and air fare is included. I find I do better on my own and Regent will give you credit back if you don't use their air fare.

I have been on many luxury cruise lines (6 star). Crews attitude is important but its the quality of service they provide. You may like your sever but somebody else thinks their service was terrible. Some passengers will say their cruise was terrible because one or several crew members. IMO there is a need to distinguish luxury from mainstream cruise lines. Most cruisers who have been on luxury cruises know which cruise lines are the top tier. What I like to see is two tiers of luxury cruise lines and they will be a debate on that. For this reason IMO there must be basic standards. These standards can't come from the cruise lines but from cruise reviewers and the cruisers them selfs.

As the old saying goes, "hold your horses". I did not question whether or not Crystal was a luxury cruise line but others did (on another thread).

 

I don't mind being blasted for something that I post but do mind being reamed for something that I did not say. Although different than other luxury cruise lines (Europa is as well), there is no doubt in my mind that Crystal is a luxury cruise line!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:mad: :mad: :mad:

Travelcat2 I am not blasting you. I am sorry you feel that I blast you. I am not blasting anyone on CC. I agree with you that Crystal is luxury but not compared with Regent, Seabourn, and Silversea. Europa 2 is included but not the other ships in it's fleet. Crystal would then follow with Viking, Oceania and Azamara.

Play nice, kids.

 

Paul, your posts do often sound like you're referring to an existing industry-wide rating system, which currently doesn't exist and probably never will for the reasons several of us have pointed out on several threads.

 

You say you've been cruising since 1973. That's good, but it doesn't mean squat if they've all been on mainstream cruise lines. Based on the discussions on many of the boards, your proposed standards could be considered arbitrary and don't accurately reflect the entire experience of a luxury cruise. There's nothing in there about crew attitude. Nothing about being called by name. Nothing about the crew knowing your likes and dislikes. Nothing about the pre- and post-cruise experience. There are a ton of intangibles you can't hang stars on. Luxury is like *********** - I can't tell you what it is but I know it when I see it.

 

Frankly, between Paul with < 60 posts in 8 years and Wripro with over 13,000 in 13 years, I know whose posts I give more weight to...

I don't put much into your thought process saying somebody has more post then some one else. This has absolutely nothing to do with experience. Standards has nothing to do with crew attitude. How did you ever come to the brilliant conclusion that I only did mainstream cruise lines? Obviously you haven't read any of the post.

I do not post what qualities a cruise line should offer in order to get a certain amount of stars. You do. I admit my posts are my opinion. You do not. You are certainy entitled to think what you want, just not to imply that what you think is somehow the end all and be all or the standard for qualifying how good a cruise line is.

You are wrong. My standards are the end all. There is no authority who set the standards. If anybody has a say it's the cruise reviewers. What I am trying to establish some standards for Luxury Cruise lines by talking to different cruise reviewers. We can debate this forever. My standards are right on and most cruisers who have been 6 or 5 star cruise lines mostly agree with my standards. Just because you don't agree with me doesn't make me wrong. I have been cruising since 1973 this is not my 3rd cruise. I have the same experience if not more than you.

So basically all your posts are based on your own opinion. And we all know what people say about opinions.

Please stop making your posts seem like they come from some authority. I understand that you consider yourself an authority but I certainly do not,

What makes you an authority when you comment on cruise critic? If you have a better idea on what makes a cruise line luxury by all means tell us? What makes your opinions different? Like you said we all know what people say about opinions.

I am trying to set standards for the cruise industry. It's not up to the cruise lines to set the standards. It's up to the cruise line reviewers who should set the standards. I did talk to the CEO of CLIA ( cruise line international association) who agree with me who should set the standards. Ultra luxury standards must have least what I stated above. Generally speaking most seasoned cruisers who have been on 6 and 5 star cruises would know the difference and agree with me. I do know what are the 6 star cruise lines: Europa 2, Regent, Seabourn, Silversea. In relation to the new type of ships coming out they are called super mega yachts. I am booked on the first new super mega yacht called Scenic Eclipse in 2018. I have been reading the brochure from Scenic and by 6 star standards this would be 6 stars.

The cruise industry has to set the standards for 6 stars (ultra luxury), 5 1/2 stars Luxury, 5 stars (premium).

6 Stars standard

Passengers 1000 max with a 1 to 2 ratio.

Must be all suites with min 275 sq ft not including veranda.

All inclusive (beverages and gratuities).

Food (gourmet cuisine).

Service (impeccable school trained).

The bottom line there must be a standard set for the top level of cruising for this to work.

Viking is a luxury cruise line. Ultra cruise lines are Silversea, Seabourn, Regent better known as 6 star cruise lines. Viking is 5 1/2 star. When all the cruise line reviewers learn to use the star system there will be no mix up. We can use the terms ultra luxury, luxury, premium but what do call cruise lines that are less than premium?

Luxury cruise ships do not include river barges. They are a separate animal.

QM2 has 2 pairs of stabilizers.

Travelcat2 there is correlation between hotels and cruise line ratings. Hotels have a star or circle ratings when ever you do research on line for hotels. Example 5 star or circles for Ritz Carlton and 2 star or circles for Motel 6. Cruise lines have the same ratings example Silversea vs Carnival lines. Room size does matter especially on cruise ships because every sq ft matters in a limited cabin space. Hotel rooms may be quite different but the larger rooms are usually 5 star or circles and have more amenities. Bottom line size matters and some travelers will pay the higher amount to have these luxuries. These travelers don't care if they are in the room one hour or 20 hours. That's the reason they make smaller rooms or cabins to give the travelers a choice.

i am afraid you are mistaken : the smallest suite on ms EUROPA 2 is 376.7 sq ft - 34 M2 ( square meter ) balcony included ( cfr page 401 of berlitz guide 2017 )

I was not talking about Europa 2 suites, I was talking about the starting point for suites on all cruise lines start about 275 sq ft without a balcony.

No, there really doesn't. No more than in most of the hotel industry, for example.

 

 

By the way......why only 6 stars? Why not more? What makes a 7 star cruise line, or a 10 star cruise line? It's all arbitrary, and the fact that you've decided there are 6 stars is a perfect example of that.

Hotel industry does use star system. Cruise industry is no different.

Exactly. There is no such thing as a six star cruise line except when the cruise line gives itself those six stars.

Thats absolute false.. Professional reviewers give 6 stars.

They can call it whatever they want, but that doesn't make it true. Common is not the same as accurate.

 

As for passenger size, it doesn't mean everything -- as you said, passenger:crew ratio is what's important. A 600 passenger ship might not be a luxury experience with a low passenger:crew ratio, whereas a 900 passenger ship might have a lower cruise ratio and be a luxury ship.........For instance, the Pacific Princess has standard capacity of 688 but is not a luxury 6-star ship; even at it's max capacity of 826, it's still got a low number of passengers, a passenger:crew ratio of 1.78-2.2 and still isn't luxury. Ditto for the Prinsendam (HAL) that has a capacity of 835 and a passenger:crew ratio of 1.88. Still not 6-star luxury.

 

 

On the other hand, Crystal's Serenity has a capacity of over 1,000 passengers but a passenger:crew ratio of 1.63 and is consistently rated a luxury "6 star" ship and experience.

This thread is what makes a six star cruise line. This is only one qualification for a six star cruise line there is three more qualifications that has to be meet. There has to be standards in the cruise industry to determine what is a 6, 51/2, 5 and so on. This system will also help families to make a decision on what cruise line to travel on. When choosing a cruise line it comes down to price, professional reviewers opinions and fellow travelers opinions. I believe there must be some type of standards when people use stars or luxury cruise terminology.