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There are deals to be had for sure. I got a good deal on a Princess So. American cruise for 2018, tips will be paid and I get a shipboard credit of $300, which would cover my one glass of wine a day! I've been wanting to do this cruise for a long time so hopefully my health holds out and I can go! I've booked and cancelled it twice. Buenos Aires to LA, one month!
I just got back from Seabourn's second Alaska cruise. Everything about it was outstanding; the food, the service, the port calls, the tours, etc..
Seabourn is an all-inclusive ... well, not quite. The tours, the casino, laundry service, the on-board store and the Spa cost extra. So do some very high end drinks. But the complimentary wine selection is decent and there are several single malt scotches and cognacs on it too. So are the cocktails.
There is no tipping expected or required, there is no charge for 'speciality restaurants', and you are not signing all the time. So although the sticker price is high, the final bill is generally pretty reasonable. Also, the smallest cabin is a junior suite with 300 sq. ft. and 90% have an outside veranda in addition.
We prepaid a number of tours and we had a chunk of on-board credit. So my bill on disembarking was $47. I like to know what I am paying up-front and not get a nasty surprise on disembarking.
How do you get on-board credit ("OBC")? 100 shares in CCL (Carnival Corp) gets you $250 on a 14 day Seabourn cruise. Many travel agents will kick back a little of their commission in OBC; we generally get $300. If it is your first cruise, get on the Seabourn cruise critic board and find someone to refer you. That is worth $400. And watch the cabin prices. If they go down from what you paid, get your Travel Agent to negotiate some OBC in compensation.
Check out some of my photos from the cruise in the City-Data Photography section. They are not of the ship but of places we visited and tours we went on.
Our next cruise is 11 days and includes alcohol package, daily tips and $300 onboard board credit. Southern caribean. We were required to get an ocean view or higher cabin, and only certain cabins qualified (obviously the least popular cabin positions). But since we usually travel unassigned inside cabin, we are looking forward to having a window. BTW, the OV cabin with all the incentives was less than $100 more expensive than our usual inside. The Downside? We had to book online within 24 hours, one year before departure (not our usual style).
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And I am sure that is a good deal you are getting. But one of the MAIN differences between mainline and luxury cruises are the crowds. On your cruise, will you have to wait in a line to board, get a meal, wait for a pool chair, embark at the end of a port call?
On a true luxury cruise, you won't have to wait on line for ANYTHING. You may not even realize more than 50 other people are on the ship with you.
When I sailed with SilverSea, I didn't see another passenger until about 3 hours after I boarded.
And I am sure that is a good deal you are getting. But one of the MAIN differences between mainline and luxury cruises are the crowds. On your cruise, will you have to wait in a line to board, get a meal, wait for a pool chair, embark at the end of a port call?
On a true luxury cruise, you won't have to wait on line for ANYTHING. You may not even realize more than 50 other people are on the ship with you.
When I sailed with SilverSea, I didn't see another passenger until about 3 hours after I boarded.
I totally, one thousand percent agree. But this entire thread went away from the topic of recommending only luxury lines on page one.
The reason for my post was to point out that the free wine with meals offered by the true luxury lines isn't really a benefit for US because we will rarely cruise without the free incentive of the all inclusive alcohol package. (I will easily agree that the wine selections will be much better on those luxury lines).
I totally, one thousand percent agree. But this entire thread went away from the topic of recommending only luxury lines on page one.
The reason for my post was to point out that the free wine with meals offered by the true luxury lines isn't really a benefit for US because we will rarely cruise without the free incentive of the all inclusive alcohol package. (I will easily agree that the wine selections will be much better on those luxury lines).
The luxury lines - Seabourn, Silversea, Regent - all offer an outstanding product. That product is subtly different on each line. I have sailed on Regent and Seabourn. The difference was essentially in the service both in terms of quality and style.
We found Seabourn to offer outstanding service which was not 'subservient'. In addition, we found that there was less of a language barrier on Seabourn which meant that waiters and bar staff usually got the order right first time. Most of the staff were European or South African.
On Regent, we found that there were more third world staff, that their English was not as good, that there were several times our order was wrong or simply forgotten and that they were more 'subservient' in style. There was more 'sir' or 'ma'am' whereas on Seabourn it is 'Mr' and 'Mrs'.
Having sailed with Seabourn several times now, we quite often remember staff members and it is like meeting old friends in terms of the relationship. This does not detract from the service it is a question of style.
Other than that, we found the rooms (suites) to be almost identical and the food on both lines to be excellent. In addition, we met nice people on both lines.
We decided to go with a luxury product after cruising with Royal Caribbean. Not that RC was bad, it was fine. But we didn't like the lines for everything, we didn't like the crowds and it being very hard to find a sun bed by the pool, we didn't like signing for everything, we didn't like the begging for tips towards the end of the cruise and we didn't like the interminable announcements in 6 languages. All that went away with both Seabourn and Regent.
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I've been wanting to do this cruise for a long time so hopefully my health holds out and I can go! I've booked and cancelled it twice. Buenos Aires to LA, one month!
