***How Would you make your Luxury Cruise more Luxurious?***

[Brockwest]

Luxury cruises are great fun, but I'm sure there are a lot of ideas out there on how to enhance them even more.

Some ideas I've found, to get the ball rolling:

In Cozumel, you can rent the entire Dolphin encounter pool for your own private Dolphin encounter, including the four dolphins, beach, and unlimited drinks and food. You have to ask, as it's not listed as an option, and even then the Excusion desk has to call and book it for you. My wife and I did it and had a total blast, with complete access to the Dolphins for an hour, even getting to be blasted out of the water on their noses like you see in SeaWorld.

On less Luxurious ships you can set up to dine in the Specialty dining rooms every night (about $360 for the week for a couple) and get 5-star personalized dining.

The Seven Seas Captain's Suite is truly awesome, the size of most people's homes, with a dining room for 12, a Veranda that goes all the way from the port side to the front to the starboard size, two bathrooms and even an entry hallway and Personal Butler.

Depending on your preference, I personally prefer a bed that looks onto the balcony rather than a side-bedroom that is enclosed.

A VERY important point is to call the cruise line directly and MAKE SURE that there are not higher-grade cabins that aren't listed on their main page. Sometimes they don't list the higher cabins so as to make their highest price points seem more competitive. Some times a very slight cabin upgrade for a few hundred can make a dramatic difference in the cabin.

A funny side point, that most on this board would already know....take it in stride the extras tacked on (bar tips, over-priced surcharges for excusions) and just figure it in as par of the anticipated price....then you enjoy it more. I stop by my bank and get a hundred in $1's and a hundred in $5's and figure, that's just part of the price of business. Tipping the same bartender on top of the added tip can be well-worth it, suddenly your drinks might become better. Tipping your room service can make your deliver more reliably quick.

 

Any other hidden ways to make Luxury cruising more Luxurious...especially on excusions?

[cb at sea]

Good ideas, except for bringing wads of small bills....bring some, and get larger bills broken down on the ship....larger denominations are much easier and less bulky to carry!

[wripro]

Most of these suggestions sound like they are more appropriate for a mainstream cruise line, not a luxury line. On a luxury line you never tip the bartender since all drinks and tips are included (except for Crystal.)

[Keith1010]

I agree with Wripo. When I started to read the post I thought the comments were about a mass market cruise line.

 

I want to note on all of the cruise lines I have sailed on there are no special rooms that we cannot book from the get go and this applies to the Luxury lines I have sailed on which include Crystal, Seabourn and Silversea.

 

What we do to enhance ourentire trip is mainly associated with the flights (we fly either first or business class) and the hotels we stay in prior to and after the cruise and some of the shore excursions we select.

 

The cruise itself is luxurius and that is the advantage of sailing on the luxury cruise lines.

 

Keith

[colomom]

I will make my luxury cruise more luxurious by taking a 10 passenger stretch limo to the airport, fly in a day early and stay at one of the best hotels in town.

 

It's like starting my vacation 2 days early!!

[kitty9]

What you're suggesting are things that are not germane to luxury lines. Luxury lines don't usually need to upgrade anything. What you've written really applies to mass market lines and not the luxury lines.

[Brockwest]

Actually I disagree...the Dolphin experience is not part of the cruise, it's an excursion.

The Navigator Suite was considered Luxury, at least if $17,000 for a cabin isn't chump change in your book.

I did try the Limo idea once, but I found it stressed me out too much as the particular company arrived with little time to spare and had no trunk, so all the bags were crammed in the area with us. I prefer to simply drive to a lot near the airport, valet park, and get taken to the airport.

I forgot a huge part of the luxury experience....flying in the day before and staying at a Luxury hotel near the port...it makes the day of Embarkation so much nicer. I stayed at the San Francisco Ritz Carlton and had a wonderful time.

First class flying is certainly an important part of making the entire experience more fun...you board first and have a nice glass in your hand as the sweaty crowd troops on. You get first crack at the overhead bins.

I've also found it quite nice to pre-arrange for nice baskets and treats to be in the room on arrival on-board. Even on Crystal, this was nice.

[Travelcat2]

Actually I disagree...the Dolphin experience is not part of the cruise, it's an excursion.

The Navigator Suite was considered Luxury, at least if $17,000 for a cabin isn't chump change in your book.

I did try the Limo idea once, but I found it stressed me out too much as the particular company arrived with little time to spare and had no trunk, so all the bags were crammed in the area with us. I prefer to simply drive to a lot near the airport, valet park, and get taken to the airport.

I forgot a huge part of the luxury experience....flying in the day before and staying at a Luxury hotel near the port...it makes the day of Embarkation so much nicer. I stayed at the San Francisco Ritz Carlton and had a wonderful time.

First class flying is certainly an important part of making the entire experience more fun...you board first and have a nice glass in your hand as the sweaty crowd troops on. You get first crack at the overhead bins.

I've also found it quite nice to pre-arrange for nice baskets and treats to be in the room on arrival on-board. Even on Crystal, this was nice.

 

We did the Dolphin Encounter in Tahiti many years ago. It was a lovely experience. However, including this on Regent would not change the "Regent Experience" that much IMO. Regent also offers free or reasonable upgrades to Business Class. This has enabled us to fly on flat-bed seats to many destinations.

 

In terms of nice baskets and treats, our TA choses to give clients a rebate on cruises rather than baskets or treats. This works well for us.

 

We have stayed in a Navigator suite, Voyager Suite, a Penthouse suite and two Master Suites. This definitely increases the level of enjoyment onboard. Still, this is something that you pay for. . . . . I still cannot come up with something that would add to the experience that is not already available:confused:

[martinsfo]

I cannot think of anything to add to the Crystal Experience as far as Luxury goes. I've told this story a number of times on the Crystal thread to show what luxury service should be. My son, who was 8 on our first Crystal cruise, asked the lido staff for marshmellows with his breakfast hot chocolate. After the first request was made, everytime they saw him at breakfast, hot chocolate with marshmellows would appear out of thin air. 16 months later we took our second Crystal cruise on the Symphony. Stephan, now 10 and considerably taller, goes into the Lido for breakfast and hot chocolate with marshmellows appears in front of him. He did not even have to ask for it, the Lido staffers remembered him from his last cruise. I was astounded, and totally sold on Crystal's service.

[kitty9]

The Dolphin Encounter is not a luxury upgrade, it's just a shore excursion that anyone on any ship can book. All it takes is money and not a luxury cruise ship. In the same light, my cousins, who were sailing on Costa, had a Presidential Stretch Limo to take them to the ship. So, it doesn't take a luxury ship to get this kind of thing.

 

You want a real upgrade for a shore excursion? I'll tell you one from Seabourn, that you won't get on any mass market line and cannot be booked for any price by an individual. Five passengers, plus myself, had lunch at the home of the woman who cooks for the Pope for State Dinners. Her apartment overlooked the Coliseum. We then went over to the Sistine Chapel, when it was closed to everyone else. Got to stay there for more than 30 minutes. Now, that's a luxury excursion that you get on the luxury lines. So a dolphin encounter that anyone can book isn't really luxury because anyone with the cash, even if they're on EasyCruise, can do this. It's not limited to luxury lines.

 

As for the flowers and fruit baskets, you get that automatically on the luxury lines and it's not really an upgrade to luxury, just part of the whole experience. And, on the luxury lines, the hotels they have for pre and post stays are all five star, such as Peninsula in Hong Kong, Burj al Arab in Dubai, Four Seasons in many cities, Ritz Carlton again in many cities. So that luxury thing is already there. Sure you can luxe up your mass market vacation by using these hotels, but they certainly are not part of those cruise line's pre and post hotel programs.

 

A person with a ton of money can book the cheapest cruise ship, and with a lot of money can luxe up anything, be it their booze, transportation to and from the ship or shore excursions. But luxury lines are already as luxed up as they can be, with their food, service, shore excursions and all the other little things that are just part of the experience. But I really cannot consider a dolphin trip to be luxury----it's just a shore excursion that someone pays more for. Heck, you can be on a land trip to Cozumel, stay at a flea bag hotel, and book the private dolphin tour and arrive at the hotel in a limo. Would that make the whole vacation luxury? No, it just makes it a little different in terms of extras that you paid for.

[Keith1010]

To me there are two related items on this.

 

Yes, as I mentioned, as part of the luxury experieince we stay at nice hotels pre/post cruise and travel first/business class.

 

However, once on the ship, on all of the luxury cruise lines I have sailed on the luxury experience began from the moment we were on the ship. There was nothing that needed to be changed to make it more luxurious.

 

As to the shore excursions, the selection of the excursion doesn't make the cruise more luxurious for us and we don't view the excursions about being about luxury but rather for us it is to expand our knowledge/appreciation of the area of the world we are visiting.

 

On a mass market or premium line many times one will add items to make the cruise more luxurius. This could be a variety of amenity packages that are sold by the cruise line.

 

On the luxury cruise lines we have sailed on this is not neccessary as they are luxurious to begin with.

 

Keith

[hoosier74]

I cannot think of anything to add to the Crystal Experience as far as Luxury goes. I've told this story a number of times on the Crystal thread to show what luxury service should be. My son, who was 8 on our first Crystal cruise, asked the lido staff for marshmellows with his breakfast hot chocolate. After the first request was made, everytime they saw him at breakfast, hot chocolate with marshmellows would appear out of thin air. 16 months later we took our second Crystal cruise on the Symphony. Stephan, now 10 and considerably taller, goes into the Lido for breakfast and hot chocolate with marshmellows appears in front of him. He did not even have to ask for it, the Lido staffers remembered him from his last cruise. I was astounded, and totally sold on Crystal's service.

 

It's nice that you think the staff 'remembered' him and perhaps there are a few who did. And the actual facts really don't take away from this as being part of the luxury experience. The luxury lines have data bases and pictures (those lovely ID card shots!) for the staff to review of the guests who will be arriving on the next cruise so that they can make you feel incredibly at home and 'remembered.' The care taken to capture and log this data shows real customer service. I can't imagine how difficult this must be and I'm sure that semi unique requests are easier to actually remember than what type of scotch someone drinks. With a very high percentage of returning passengers, I assume this gets easier.

 

Having your vacation start the minute you leave your house (with first class flights, hotel stays and transportation to the ship and even shipping your luggage ahead) definately improves the experience but this is already offered by the cruise lines and they really can't do anything to improve this directly as there are other companies involved. So all in all, I can't think of a thing!

[martinsfo]

As I work in the hospitality industry, of course I know that luxury establishments maintain files on guests, and consult them on each trip. But, that is the message about Crystal, they did this down to this little detail for a 8, and then 10 year old traveler. That is the point of the story. As for me and my wife, each table we sat at got better, and the last DR table on our thanksgiving 08 trip, was the best. Another point, on that Thanksgiving trip, one of the CC members arranged a get together in the Palm Court. All the major officers of the ship attended and Crystal picked up the tab for an truly outstanding event. It is remembering the little details, however they do it, that means luxury.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Apart from spending gobs of money on first class air or the owner's suite, since my cruise line includes all drinks and tips and most excursions, my way to luxe up the experience would be to order expensive premium wines for dinner and book private excursions. Private excursions are wonderful if you can afford them, just a different experience.

[Keith1010]

Maybe it is me, but on each of the luxury cruise lines we have sailed on I don't ever think of something while we are on the ship that will make the experience more luxurious. After all, this is why we choose to sail on a luxury cruise line. Yes, there are things that one can do to add add to the experience but as to one thing making the on board experieince more luxurious I don't see it. Different story on other categories of cruise lines.

 

Keith

[martinsfo]

Keith,

 

You've said it all, as usual! Happy New Year to you.

[wripro]

Wendy,

 

It's interesting that you say private excursions are more expensive. I have always found them to be no more expensive than ships' tours, especially when shared with others.

Ships' tours are charged per person and private ones per car. In some places it may, in fact cost a but more but is worth every penny to be in control and not have to deal with 40 people on a bus. In others like St. Petersburg or Viet Nam it is actually cheaper to hire your own car and guide of you want to see the same amount of sites. jmo.