An example of luxury vs premium

[ak1004]

1 hour ago, Harters said:

Bearing in mind O's generally older customer base and pom juice's well publicised alleged health benefits, I'm surprised if it wouldnt be reasonably popular. 

 

And, of course, it's the main traditional ingredient in grenadine.

 

This was on SS (not that SS customer base is much younger than O). But yes, you are right about health benefits, maybe many people are just not aware? 

[bradpole]

18 hours ago, Psoque said:

There are two different things that makes this whole “premium” designation rather fluid and very elusive.

 

One is the actual usage of the terms such as “premium” and “luxury.” There appears to be a disagreement about which line is “premium” and which line isn’t.  Celebrity Cruises, for example calls itself a “premium” line.  On the other hand, some travel agencies, especially those who sell a lot of Oceania itineraries, love to say that Oceania is special because it is a “premium” line, with an onboard experience much better than the “mass market” lines, including Celebrity, etc.  I also read here some of the Oceania fans comparing Oceania to a german luxury car brand.  And on some of the brochures, Oceania likes to call itself a luxury brand.  And for an obvious reason, Celebrity/HAL/Princess will never call itself a “mass market” cruise line.  I personally consider anything that I can reasonably afford to be a mass market cruise, since I consider myself nothing more than a typical consumer of cruises.

The other is that, cruise experience, at least based on my personal experience, is somewhat unpredictable, because most cruise lines execute their “luxury,” “premium,” etc. service in a rather inconsistent manner.  There are major overlaps in what you experience on a “luxury” line and other lines.  And each line excels in one aspect or another.  For example, I consider cabin design of Riviera to be as good as on a Crystal ship.  However, the gym on Riviera is maintained in a much poorer condition than what I have seen on Celebrity/HAL/Princess ships.  The level of dining service inconsistencies we have experienced on Riviera is something I can’t even forgive on a Celebrity cruise.  So, the labels do not mean much, in my opinion.  Being on a “luxury” cruise does not mean all aspect of that cruise is better than a “premium” cruise.   The same can be said about an experience on a “premium” line… some aspect MAY be “premium,” some may be “luxury,” and some may be more consistent with “budget.”

 

So we can go on and on about labels.  But in my mind, they don’t really mean much.

 

 

I couldn't agree more, also one thing to note, just because something is "luxury" to one person doesn't mean it is luxury to another.  

 

On the surface Crystal, a luxury line, on paper should be better at all things than Oceania.  To us they weren't.  We enjoyed our one Crystal cruise, but find ourselves happier on Oceania.  We found the quality and presentation of the food in their main restaurant out of this world, however their casual options were severely lacking, in our opinions.  We prefer casual, and the dinners in the Terrace Cafe and lunches at Waves suit us better than the equivalents on Crystal.  

[ak1004]

44 minutes ago, bradpole said:

I couldn't agree more, also one thing to note, just because something is "luxury" to one person doesn't mean it is luxury to another.  

 

On the surface Crystal, a luxury line, on paper should be better at all things than Oceania.  To us they weren't.  We enjoyed our one Crystal cruise, but find ourselves happier on Oceania.  We found the quality and presentation of the food in their main restaurant out of this world, however their casual options were severely lacking, in our opinions.  We prefer casual, and the dinners in the Terrace Cafe and lunches at Waves suit us better than the equivalents on Crystal.  

 

This was exactly our experience.

 

One thing that we found much better on Crystal was entertainment and activities. Service was comparable to O, food slightly better on O.

 

If you remove all the hype from Crystal cheerleaders and look at some objective reviews, you are left with small cabins on a 25 years old ships that even after extensive refurbishment still have a lot of maintenance issues. But they charge 50-60% more than O for this. Some people are willing to pay those prices, but please don't tell us that they are more luxury than O, especially when comparing to the new ships like Vista.

[bradpole]

1 hour ago, ak1004 said:

 

This was exactly our experience.

 

One thing that we found much better on Crystal was entertainment and activities. Service was comparable to O, food slightly better on O.

 

If you remove all the hype from Crystal cheerleaders and look at some objective reviews, you are left with small cabins on a 25 years old ships that even after extensive refurbishment still have a lot of maintenance issues. But they charge 50-60% more than O for this. Some people are willing to pay those prices, but please don't tell us that they are more luxury than O, especially when comparing to the new ships like Vista.

I would agree!  We remember saying, "you're serious?" when we saw the menu for the Trident Grill and the lack of cooked to order options in the Marketplace (buffet). 

One option we really did enjoy was the now discontinued "Silk" restaurant for lunch, however the very odd and late opening time of 1:30 (90 minutes after other options) was very perplexing.  

[clo]

7 hours ago, Woodrowst said:

We are currently on the Silversea Silver Endeavor and have a female butler.  Her name is Khai.

Hurray! Thanks.

[jazznruby]

20 hours ago, Kay S said:

Good point.  I haven't had nor do I want a butler.  I don't have servants at home and I get along just fine.  Not to sound too snarky about it (🙃) but am I likely to find a "snob" attitude on board when I confess I'm not in a butler-class cabin?  (My first O cruise coming up.)  

Our main criteria for choosing cabin category are location, location, and location...(with cabin size being secondary.) We've booked B3s, an A2 (when they made the change), and a PH1 and 2. Having a butler in the PHs has never been nor will it be a deciding factor. Which is why, for some time, I've suggested that O offer a PH category of the same size and in desirable locations without the services of a butler. I don't think I'd be alone in welcoming such a thing, but sadly, not likely to happen. And as someone said, regarding PHs, while we don't spend all day in the cabin, when we are there, we really appreciate more space and the larger balcony (especially those aft facing!) There will always be exceptions of course, but one of the things we and others have preferred about Oceania is the lack of a 'snob attitude' in all things, so go and enjoy your first without that concern. 😊

[Vallesan]

@jazznruby I agree we also appreciate the larger space.

 

So we travel PH on the smaller ships and Concierge on the larger ships, which we find adequate, but it might not be for everyone!

 

Have to be honest in that we have never seen, or felt, a snobish attitude on any of our Oceania cruises or even on Seabourn  and Silversea. Could be we’re ‘class’ blind ’ but I don’t think so!

[ak1004]

38 minutes ago, Vallesan said:

 

Have to be honest in that we have never seen, or felt, a snobish attitude on any of our Oceania cruises or even on Seabourn  and Silversea. Could be we’re ‘class’ blind ’ but I don’t think so!

 

Maybe one of the reasons is that unlike Celebrity, Cunard and other mass market lines, everyone is treated equally once outside your cabin. There are no dedicated areas or separate restaurants for suites on lines like Oceania, Seabourn and Silversea.

 

[Vallesan]

5 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

 

Maybe one of the reasons is that unlike Celebrity, Cunard and other mass market lines, everyone is treated equally once outside your cabin. There are no dedicated areas or separate restaurants for suites on lines like Oceania, Seabourn and Silversea.

 

Yes! Think you’re right.

[Techno123]

@ak1004 but there are specific areas on Oceania . The concierge and executive lounges and the Aquamar spa terrace only available to concierge up: Seabourn has the retreat only available to those willing to fork out extra, not seen anything on Regent and not sailing SS til next year 😁

[1985rz1]

53 minutes ago, Techno123 said:

The concierge and executive lounges and the Aquamar spa terrace only available to concierge up:

Isn't the Spa Terrace available to every one, but at a daily fee if it's not included in your stateroom?

 

On the R ships there are no Concierge or executive lounges, so for those ships, there are no restricted areas.

[AMHuntFerry]

2 hours ago, 1985rz1 said:

Isn't the Spa Terrace available to every one, but at a daily fee if it's not included in your stateroom?

Yes...last I looked it was $25/per day

[Woodrowst]

So with great trepidation I thought I would post another couple of examples of luxury vs premium cruising.  Today, our cruise on the Silversea Endeavour stopped in Iona, UK and provided a complementary tour of the Iona Abbey.  The above and beyond was that they arranged for a Gaelic choir to provide a concert for us.  Just beautiful.  Tomorrow we are stopping in Portrush, UK and the ship is providing a tour to the UNESCO heritage site of the Giant’s Causeway.  The above and beyond is that they arranged for us to have the site exclusively for the cruise ship; we won’t have to compete with the thousands of daily visitors at the Giant’s causeway.  Premium lines such as Oceania do not provide these kind of above and beyonds - at least not on any of the six O cruises I have taken.

 

I am fully prepared for the first response to be: This does not apply to me because I don’t like Gaelic choir music or hexagonal basalt columns ☺️

[ak1004]

14 minutes ago, Woodrowst said:

So with great trepidation I thought I would post another couple of examples of luxury vs premium cruising.  Today, our cruise on the Silversea Endeavour stopped in Iona, UK and provided a complementary tour of the Iona Abbey.  The above and beyond was that they arranged for a Gaelic choir to provide a concert for us.  Just beautiful.  Tomorrow we are stopping in Portrush, UK and the ship is providing a tour to the UNESCO heritage site of the Giant’s Causeway.  The above and beyond is that they arranged for us to have the site exclusively for the cruise ship; we won’t have to compete with the thousands of daily visitors at the Giant’s causeway.  Premium lines such as Oceania do not provide these kind of above and beyonds - at least not on any of the six O cruises I have taken.

 

I am fully prepared for the first response to be: This does not apply to me because I don’t like Gaelic choir music or hexagonal basalt columns ☺️

 

This is fantastic!

 

Did the tour description indicate that the activities will be exclusive to SS guests? We will be on Silver Spirit next month, and I didn't see any excursions that indicated some exclusive activities.

 

Maybe one of the reasons is that Silversea Endeavour has only 200 guests? Endeavour sailings are also much more expensive even compared to other SS ships, so might be not so fair comparison.. I'm not sure if this "above and beyond" happens on Dawn or Spirit.

[Kay S]

2 hours ago, Woodrowst said:

 

 

I am fully prepared for the first response to be: This does not apply to me because I don’t like Gaelic choir music or hexagonal basalt columns ☺️

You took the words right out of my mouth! 🤣  (Truth be told, I really love a Gaelic choir.)

[Woodrowst]

8 hours ago, ak1004 said:

 

This is fantastic!

 

Did the tour description indicate that the activities will be exclusive to SS guests? We will be on Silver Spirit next month, and I didn't see any excursions that indicated some exclusive activities.

 

Maybe one of the reasons is that Silversea Endeavour has only 200 guests? Endeavour sailings are also much more expensive even compared to other SS ships, so might be not so fair comparison.. I'm not sure if this "above and beyond" happens on Dawn or Spirit.

Neither the choir nor exclusive use of the Giant’s Causeway was listed in the tour descriptions.  They have been trying to delight us and exceed our expectations on a regular basis and usually announce any “above and beyond” a day or two in advance.

 

i have not been on the Dawn or Spirit so do not know if this occurs on both the Silversea expedition and traditional cruises.  I am sure there are cruisers on this thread who have and can provide an informed comment.

[ak1004]

7 hours ago, Woodrowst said:

Neither the choir nor exclusive use of the Giant’s Causeway was listed in the tour descriptions.  They have been trying to delight us and exceed our expectations on a regular basis and usually announce any “above and beyond” a day or two in advance.

 

i have not been on the Dawn or Spirit so do not know if this occurs on both the Silversea expedition and traditional cruises.  I am sure there are cruisers on this thread who have and can provide an informed comment.

 

Well, this is exactly my point.

 

Your example is definitely very nice and if it was done on a regular basis, this is something I would definitely be willing to pay for. But I'm not sure how often does it happen on SS traditional cruises on ships that are 3 times larger.

 

Also don't forget that when you are talking about service in general,  Endeavour also has much almost 1:1 guest/crew ratio, much higher than other SS ships, and I'm sure it is reflected in the service (but also in the price). So Endeavour experience is probably more luxury, but does not necessarily representative to luxury/premium lines discussion.

[ronrick1943]

1 hour ago, ak1004 said:

 

Well, this is exactly my point.

 

Your example is definitely very nice and if it was done on a regular basis, this is something I would definitely be willing to pay for. But I'm not sure how often does it happen on SS traditional cruises on ships that are 3 times larger.

 

Also don't forget that when you are talking about service in general,  Endeavour also has much almost 1:1 guest/crew ratio, much higher than other SS ships, and I'm sure it is reflected in the service (but also in the price). So Endeavour experience is probably more luxury, but does not necessarily representative to luxury/premium lines discussion.

We were on (recently) Spirit and Nova, didn't happen on those ships.  Really my experience is "O" is higher than just premium, not sure how much-but as good or better than Silversea (just my opinion).

[mnocket]

19 hours ago, Woodrowst said:

I am fully prepared for the first response to be: This does not apply to me because I don’t like Gaelic choir music or hexagonal basalt columns ☺️

lol   This is one of the best lines I've read on CC in quite a while.👍