We want luxury but don't need "all inclusive."

[zltm089]

On 8/27/2019 at 3:58 PM, LHT28 said:

I guess  CC needs a forum for  cruises that do not fit  Luxury class but  are not in the main stream class either

There are several lines  that fit in the  class inbetween the 2 levels

Not everyone wants/needs all inclusive like the luxury lines  but they do not want the masses that are on the main stream lines either

Some people are looking for something  different & the Premium lines  work for  some but where can they post  where they are not berated  by  the "luxury "  line folks  or told  that  the Premium lines are too expensive  yada yada

JMO

 

 

 

 

SPOT ON!!! 

 

I posted a fairly similar thread a while ago. 

 

We definitely need a section for the Premium "light" category. 

 

Off topic - I will be trying my first "premium light" cruise with Celebrity and maybe HAL soon. 😁

[rattanchair]

On 9/23/2019 at 6:28 AM, Toryhere said:

The answer is that you pull your head in and act like an adult

Like a turtle?

[rattanchair]

13 minutes ago, zltm089 said:

I will be trying my first "premium light" cruise with Celebrity and maybe HAL soon.

Dear Z,  Love Celebrity Equinox CS. Butler is everything. Re-booked same cabin next summer.  MSC Royal Suite Seaside was fabulous with the right butler, booked 2 next summer. Cabin size is important to us, large enough with a veranda that has 2 lounges. Trying Regent Splendor with only 2 chairs for the first time, concierge suite, only because the Royal Suite is booked, on MSC. The Celebrity and MSC keep you separated and have only about 250 guests out of 5000. Bad reviews on Seabourn, Viking, Silverseas, Oceana, and Crystal. We do not take excursions, the ship is our destination. We check the CDC before we book any ship and web sites for norovirus. Everyone has different criteria for their type of cruise line. Thank goodness we both still have our mental faculties, to realize we already saw the same entertainment the last time on board, that is why we are searching these boards for new frontiers.

[zltm089]

On 9/7/2019 at 1:12 PM, travelwell said:

Perhaps not a Buick but we certainly compare Acura to BMW for useful information. We have driven and enjoyed both.

 

 

Acura/Honda vs BMW

 

You can compare both, but I'm sorry these two brands fall in two different categories. Even their "premium" halo models can't be included in the same segment (Type Rs vs M cars) yes you could "compare" them but eventually they fall in different segment categories. 

 

BMWs are in the league of Audis and Mercedes  i. e "Premium German brands". The only Japanese brand that could fall into this is Lexus. 

Another topic done to death on car forums where fan boys claim that their tuned Civics are faster than an M3! I'm a fan of both, but make no mistake, an M car (a real one, not the fake ones with badges on) is in a different league. I had a tuned 335i which was faster than an M3, but at no time did I claim that it was a superior car to the M3 (unlike others).

 

 

I do appreciate where the luxury cruise police are coming from. As they want to make sure that everyone understands what is "Luxury" and what is "Premium". Just like in the car industry, I think that since the level of service and quality is constantly changing/improving the "gap" between premium and luxury is closing. This is of course just my opinion (Never been on a premium nor luxury cruise, so I could be totally wrong). 

 

 

 

[wripro]

17 hours ago, rattanchair said:

Dear Z,  Love Celebrity Equinox CS. Butler is everything. Re-booked same cabin next summer.  MSC Royal Suite Seaside was fabulous with the right butler, booked 2 next summer. Cabin size is important to us, large enough with a veranda that has 2 lounges. Trying Regent Splendor with only 2 chairs for the first time, concierge suite, only because the Royal Suite is booked, on MSC. The Celebrity and MSC keep you separated and have only about 250 guests out of 5000. Bad reviews on Seabourn, Viking, Silverseas, Oceana, and Crystal. We do not take excursions, the ship is our destination. We check the CDC before we book any ship and web sites for norovirus. Everyone has different criteria for their type of cruise line. Thank goodness we both still have our mental faculties, to realize we already saw the same entertainment the last time on board, that is why we are searching these boards for new frontiers.

Why are you posting this here?

[orchestrapal]

On 10/3/2019 at 12:12 PM, wripro said:

Why are you posting this here?

 

Good question !!

[Travelcat2]

On 10/2/2019 at 2:43 PM, zltm089 said:

 

SPOT ON!!! 

 

I posted a fairly similar thread a while ago. 

 

We definitely need a section for the Premium "light" category. 

 

Off topic - I will be trying my first "premium light" cruise with Celebrity and maybe HAL soon. 😁

 

Don't want to have to say this but Celebrity is a "premium" cruise line (this is how they advertise themselves).  "Luxury lite" or "premium plus" are usually considered to be Azamara, Oceania and Viking Ocean.  We have sailed on Oceania and two of their ships are quite luxurious, however, when comparing to a luxury cruise line, it misses the grade (IMHO).

[ruready]

Some of these comments reminds me of a time when my mother and I were looking at a house.  It had a laundry room on the back side of a master bedroom, connected to the closet.  My mom thought the laundry room was in an odd place.  I told my mom to get her middle class mind out of that house, lol.  I told her the clientele for this house would have a maid and that is why there was a separate entrance at the back of the master closet for the laundry room.  That way the maid can wash and put away items in the master closet without disturbing anyone that might be in the master bedroom.  

 

When I hear people, who are non or nominal drinkers, say they do not want to subsidize others alcohol intake with an all inclusive “luxury” cruise line,  then I think the so called luxury cruise line is not for you at all.  My husband and I are not big drinkers at all, but it never crossed my mind that that I would be subsidizing fellow passengers drinks in our upcoming cruise (Crystal). We just booked on reputation of high level of customer service, no nickel and dime, less passengers (ie less crowded) and thoughtful enrichment classes.  

 

We we have a 12 year old son who still likes the water slides and stuff, so we will always fluctuate between all cruise lines as well as hotels for land vacations, but going forward as a couple we will probably just stick with luxury cruise lines and hotels.  My son is actually loving luxury accommodations too.  One of his favorites that we have been to over the years is the Four Seasons in Scottsdale.  If you can swing in the winter or early spring, it is a fun time :)

 

 

[Travelcat2]

Agree 100% that people that do not drink at all (or only a little) are not subsidizing passengers that drink any more than people that do not eat a lot subsidize passengers that are big eaters.  We sailed on luxury cruise lines before alcohol became all-inclusive and the atmosphere in the lounges are so much better now that alcohol is included.  Whether you are having a cup of coffee or a martini, people in the lounges go to chat with others, watch the sea and relax.  When alcohol is not included, for whatever reason, there were few people in the lounges.  

[Gourmet Gal]

On 10/8/2019 at 8:40 AM, Travelcat2 said:

Agree 100% that people that do not drink at all (or only a little) are not subsidizing passengers that drink any more than people that do not eat a lot subsidize passengers that are big eaters.  We sailed on luxury cruise lines before alcohol became all-inclusive and the atmosphere in the lounges are so much better now that alcohol is included.  Whether you are having a cup of coffee or a martini, people in the lounges go to chat with others, watch the sea and relax.  When alcohol is not included, for whatever reason, there were few people in the lounges.  

My husband and I drink occasionally but don’t think we’re subsidizing...it’s all a package to us.  Though, I must say, it is a little galling to see people take one sip of a drink, one bite of a dish and leave the rest and just be wasteful.  It happens far more in the all-inclusive environments whether it’s a formal event, ship, hotel, plane.  Now, if the food or drink are just plain bad then that’s another issue!

[wripro]

33 minutes ago, Gourmet Gal said:

My husband and I drink occasionally but don’t think we’re subsidizing...it’s all a package to us.  Though, I must say, it is a little galling to see people take one sip of a drink, one bite of a dish and leave the rest and just be wasteful.  It happens far more in the all-inclusive environments whether it’s a formal event, ship, hotel, plane.  Now, if the food or drink are just plain bad then that’s another issue!

What about shows? What if you want to leave  after five minutes? Does that mean you're subsidizing someone else's entertainment? This is a false premise. If you think you're paying for someone else's drinks book another line and don't come to the luxury line board to complain. This is what the luxury lines offer and no one is forcing you to sail with them. That's why God invented premium lines.

[calliopecruiser]

1 hour ago, Gourmet Gal said:

Though, I must say, it is a little galling to see people take one sip of a drink, one bite of a dish and leave the rest and just be wasteful.  

 

I'm sorry it upsets you to see someone decline to consume something they don't like and so don't want.   I think that's absolutely fine, and ordering something new is one of the luxurious experiences - being able to try new things without worry, hopefully finding something new to enjoy.  But sometimes you end up with something you don't like and don't want; there's no way I'd let someone else's expectations make me feel badly about not finishing it. 

 

Why do you find it "galling"?  Are you someone who thinks we should finish everything on our plates so it doesn't go to waste, or someone who thinks we shouldn't try new things and stick to things we know we like?  Or both?

[Gourmet Gal]

Perhaps galling is too strong a word and it certainly is not upsetting but my observation is there is a lot of waste.  I don’t really feel I am personally being ripped off....just hate to see such waste.  Calliope and Wripro can calm down now.

[Travelcat2]

I agree that there is a lot of food waste.  It would behoove people that are trying something new to get a small portion since you can always order more.  Many times we will ask for an appetizer portion of an entree.  

[calliopecruiser]

15 hours ago, Gourmet Gal said:

my observation is there is a lot of waste.

There's a ton of waste on cruise ships.  Full stop.  Whether it's all inclusive or not, wastage is big, and my choosing not to finish the martini I ordered isn't going to change that. 

[Texas Tillie]

10 minutes ago, calliopecruiser said:

There's a ton of waste on cruise ships.  Full stop.  Whether it's all inclusive or not, wastage is big, and my choosing not to finish the martini I ordered isn't going to change that. 

 

Very true, if you want to see massive quantities of waste, go no father than the buffet on any mass market cruise ship.

[Keith1010]

I agree that food waste has nothing to do with being on a luxury line versus a premium lines versus a mass market line.

 

Just my two cents but I see more food waste than drink waste.  Maybe that says something about priorities  when it comes to drinks over food.   😁

 

I rarely look at what others eat or don't eat as I mainly focus on what I eat and my wife eats unless we are dining with others or the same people frequently.  

 

I do have to admit one time I did see someone at lunch who sat near us at lunch at a venue which is set up with food stations where you mainly serve yourself. The person would come back to the  table with a plate full of food and would eat about half of it, then bring back a different plate of food and repeat the same thing, and finally a third plate of food.  I would not be honest if I said it didn't bother me.  It did.  Yes, and please don't shoot me, I did think what a waste it was and I did think about people around the world who don't eat as much in a week as that person wasted for lunch that day.  And yes I did grow up in the era where my parents expected me to eat what was on the plate.  No dessert if we didn't eat it up.  😁

 

We do waste a lot of food in my home country.  It's too bad.  

 

I do have to say that over the years when it is inclusive that I have tried some drinks that I would not have had if it wasn't inclusive. Some of them I have enjoyed but on occasion have tried something and disliked it too much I couldn't drink it.  In this case, I did waste it.  If it wasn't inclusive I might not have tried it.  If it wasn't inclusive and I did try it the ones I didn't drink I would not have drank either way as to me they were disgusting.  😁

 

In short, you will find people who waste food across all cruise lines as you will find a mix of people across all cruise lines with a wide range of characteristics.  (eg., you will find people who like to party or are loud, or who brag, or who are thoughtful, or who like to read a book, or go for a swim, or drink a lot or not drink a lot, or whatever) across all cruise lines.  This is what makes the world go round.

 

Keith

[wripro]

On 10/14/2019 at 5:58 PM, Gourmet Gal said:

Perhaps galling is too strong a word and it certainly is not upsetting but my observation is there is a lot of waste.  I don’t really feel I am personally being ripped off....just hate to see such waste.  Calliope and Wripro can calm down now.

I'm very calm now. I just had half a martini and am about to toss the other half. I do hope no one loses any sleep over that.

[LHT28]

I am sure if you go to any restaurant  in your area or supermarket  you will see lots of waste

just go look in the dumpster 🙄

[Keith1010]

12 hours ago, LHT28 said:

I am sure if you go to any restaurant  in your area or supermarket  you will see lots of waste

just go look in the dumpster 🙄

Absolutely.  Happens in people's homes, restaurants, etc.

 

Keith

[honumaui]

Back to the question of "luxury" experiences without included alcoholic drinks. We know it is a step down from luxury but we love Windstar. Whatever is lacking in the definition of luxury is made up for with the experience of  the sails. They also now own the three Seaborne "hand me downs" and are stretching and improving them. We have cruised Regent and Oceania and enjoyed them too. We found service and food just as good even if the yachts are a bit dated. We love the small size  and lack of crowds. No lines. But for me nothing measures up to the thrill of the sails opening as we leave ports.  

[alc13]

On 8/21/2019 at 3:22 PM, Travelcat2 said:

 

You are correct but there are two major things that luxury cruisers should know about Hapag-Lloyd:  1). According to reports on CC, there are typically 30 or less English speaking passengers onboard;  2). They advertise for families and seem to get quite a lot of them.  Either of these things make Hapag-Lloyd a no-go for us.

 

As an aside, none of the major luxury lines that sail to/from the U.S. are going to Cuba (it was banned fairly recently) so it is a non-issue.  

We took a Europa 2 cruise several years ago, the first year it sailed, actually; and I would say there were no more than 2 dozen Americans/British on board.  However, most of the German passengers spoke English and we had several good conversations with them.  The staff was fully bilingual as well.  We enjoyed it immensely; the service, food, and facilities were all superb.  Perhaps the passengers are skewing less bilingual these days?

[Travelcat2]

11 hours ago, alc13 said:

We took a Europa 2 cruise several years ago, the first year it sailed, actually; and I would say there were no more than 2 dozen Americans/British on board.  However, most of the German passengers spoke English and we had several good conversations with them.  The staff was fully bilingual as well.  We enjoyed it immensely; the service, food, and facilities were all superb.  Perhaps the passengers are skewing less bilingual these days?

 

I understand what you are saying but some of us prefer to sail on cruise lines where English is the first language.  Europa 2 also caters to families which includes children which some of us avoid at all costs.  Lastly, Europa 2 is not all-inclusive.  Perhaps if Crystal, Regent, Seabourn and Silversea did not exist, more people in North America would sail on Europa 2.  As for me, I have zero interest but appreciate you taking the time to post.

[Travelcat2]

On 10/2/2019 at 2:43 PM, zltm089 said:

 

SPOT ON!!! 

 

I posted a fairly similar thread a while ago. 

 

We definitely need a section for the Premium "light" category. 

 

Off topic - I will be trying my first "premium light" cruise with Celebrity and maybe HAL soon. 😁

 

Celebrity and HAL are not “premium light”.  They are “premium”.  I don’t know much about HAL but have sailed on Celebrity and thy advertise that they are “premium”.  Perhaps you are thinking of Oceania, Azamara and Viking Ocean that are “luxury light”.

[zltm089]

5 hours ago, Travelcat2 said:

 

Celebrity and HAL are not “premium light”.  They are “premium”.  I don’t know much about HAL but have sailed on Celebrity and thy advertise that they are “premium”.  Perhaps you are thinking of Oceania, Azamara and Viking Ocean that are “luxury light”.

My understanding so far, 4 categories 

 

Luxury - seabourn, silversea, regent and crystal. 

 

Premium - Viking, Oceania and Azamara

 

Premium light/ mainstream premium - Celebrity, Cunard, Princess and HAL.

 

Mainstream/ Mass market- RC, NCL, Carnival and P&O.