Inside on a Luxury/Premium Cruise or Balcony on a Mainstream?

I'm curious about trying out a luxury or premium line.

I do believe however if I do so I'll only be able to get an inside cabin. Is it worth it to sacrifice having the balcony we would get on a mainstream line, to be able to take the step up to a luxury/premium line even if this means an inside cabin?

Keep in mind that my spouse and I do spend alot of time on our balcony when cruising on mainstream lines. We are not big into entertainment/shows/etc, we cruise mainly for the spa, balcony and we are also foodies (I'm a wino as well =D ) I will say a big reason we spend so much time on our balcony is to get away from the crowds you get on a lot of ships. Luxury for me is sitting on the balcony with a glass of red, so I worry about flipping to an inside cabin even if it is on a "better" ship.

With that said, the idea of true upscale dining is exciting to me and I've heard the dining experiences on premium and luxury ships is unbelievable. I also wonder if an inside wouldn't be so bad given that the passenger ratio is way less than a mainstream line (meaning it's much easier to find quiet nice places to chug my wine).

I'm curious about trying out a luxury or premium line.

 

I do believe however if I do so I'll only be able to get an inside cabin. Is it worth it to sacrifice having the balcony we would get on a mainstream line, to be able to take the step up to a luxury/premium line even if this means an inside cabin?

 

Keep in mind that my spouse and I do spend alot of time on our balcony when cruising on mainstream lines. We are not big into entertainment/shows/etc, we cruise mainly for the spa, balcony and we are also foodies (I'm a wino as well =D )

I don't know that any of the luxury lines have inside cabins. I've sailed often on Crystal and one of their ships (Symphony) has obstructed view outside cabins.

I have also sailed in a suite on Princess and would pick the obstructed view on Crystal every time over any cabin on a mainstream line. The food, the service, the ambience, the activities, everything is far superior on Crystal. If food is important, the quality, the variety, the presentation is so much better on Crystal. Also, don't forget that all drinks and gratuities are included! And, the included wine is varied and good.

I don't know that any of the luxury lines have inside cabins. I've sailed often on Crystal and one of their ships (Symphony) has obstructed view outside cabins.

 

I have also sailed in a suite on Princess and would pick the obstructed view on Crystal every time over any cabin on a mainstream line. The food, the service, the ambience, the activities, everything is far superior on Crystal. If food is important, the quality, the variety, the presentation is so much better on Crystal. Also, don't forget that all drinks and gratuities are included! And, the included wine is varied and good.

I consider a window view cabin to be "inside" (I know technically it's not).

My current cruise experiences are:

Explorer of the Seas (RCCI)

Star Princess (Princess)

Carnival Magic (Carnival)

Princess was the best of the three followed by RCCI. Carnival was terrible although the room itself was roomy.

Thinking back to the 3 cruises, what I liked about Star Princess was that the food quality was abit better, and the passenger ratio was lower than usual (it was an older ship with a disco up top that I've heard has since been taken out to add more passenger cabins).

Explorer of the Seas was a nice ship as well ... a bit crowded but there were some great venues on board and I liked the smaller more intimate entertainment options on Explorer.

Carnival Magic was just straight up terrible ... the buffets were super crowded, the entertainment was terrible, I hated the crowds on the ship and the staff/passenger ratio's were really bad.

If I had to go mainstream again I'd probably go with Princess but I'm thinking seriously about trying out a more upscale option (Oceania maybe).

I'm just worried I'll really miss not having a balcony lol.

Oceania does not include alcohol and tips (although I think many travel agents do include tips as a benefit), so depending on how much alcohol you consume, the truly inclusive might be the same price as Oceania. The amount of room in public areas per passenger is much larger on the luxury lines. Also, there are all kinds of space where you can get away from everyone else.

One way to assess the "space" on a ship is to divide the gross tonnage of the ship by the number of passengers in carries -

Carnival Magic 35.23

Explorer of the Seas 35.98

Star Princess 41.92

Crystal Symphony 55.36

Oceania does not include alcohol and tips (although I think many travel agents do include tips as a benefit), so depending on how much alcohol you consume, the truly inclusive might be the same price as Oceania. The amount of room in public areas per passenger is much larger on the luxury lines. Also, there are all kinds of space where you can get away from everyone else.

 

One way to assess the "space" on a ship is to divide the gross tonnage of the ship by the number of passengers in carries -

 

Carnival Magic 35.23

Explorer of the Seas 35.98

Star Princess 41.92

Crystal Symphony 55.36

I used to use this handy chart on Travelocity to compare space ratio:

http://travel.travelocity.com/ecruise/ShipFinder.do

Given that Star Princess was my fav of the ships I sailed on it came as no surprise that the Star Princess had a larger space ratio compared to Magic and Explorer.

Wow though at Crystal. I hadn't gotten to the point yet that I'd actually looked at the space ratio's on luxury ships. I guess it makes sense though ... that's a part of what you are paying for ... more space, better service.

On the mainstream lines I've found anything under 40 starts to feel really cramped. That 55.36 on the Crystal Symphony ! Wow I'd feel like I had the whole ship to myself =P

On Seabourn's Odyssey, Sojourn and Quest, the passenger space ratio is 70. They never feel crowded, and there are no inside rooms! (There are some with a window only, and no balcony)

http://floridakeysgirl.com

(I have a bunch of blog posts about Seabourn Quest and Sojourn!)

It's like the real estate market -- the best value is to get the smallest home in the best neighbourhood you can afford. The reason is that the neighbourhood (in this case, the ship) has more amenities and services that are available to you.

As has been pointed out, luxury lines are very much less crowded, and so you are likely not to miss your balcony.......there are more likely to be nice public outdoor spaces that aren't taken up with games and noisy crowds. And the less crowding means that there's rarely a line up for anything and there are more than enough staff to serve quickly and efficiently. That's another good stat about luxury lines - their crew:passenger ratios are much better, and often the service quality is better too.

My only luxury ship experience is with Crystal, and I can say that the luxurious feel goes far beyond the space - even amenities such as the quality of the furniture and the food is better. My last Crystal cruise I had a balcony cabin, but after seeing the layout of the ship and the ability for me to find nice quiet outdoor spaces to sit and read (or ponder, or listen to my audiobook), I decided not to get a balcony on my upcoming cruise......I decided to save that money for the land portion of my trip.

Thank you for all of your replies. FKGirl your blog articles were great!

What do you guys and gals think of luxury ship in a ship options like MSC's Yacht Club or Norwegians Haven? I think Cunard has something similar too.

I looked at those options but for the price I kind of think I might as well just go with a true luxury line.

Crystal is very nice however the down side for me is the dinner logistics, they only have restaurants that have first or second sitting or require reversations. Food and service is great. Oceania is very nice, food is great and the ship is resort casual with open sitting. HL Europa2 has a space ratio of 80 and all rooms are at least 300 sf with a large veranda, resort casual with open dinning. There are many choices, I have to say if you really enjoy a veranda get one. I like them also and really missed it when I took a OV room.

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Crystal is very nice however the down side for me is the dinner logistics, they only have restaurants that have first or second sitting or require reservations. Food and service is great. Oceania is very nice, food is great and the ship is resort casual with open sitting. HL Europa2 has a space ratio of 80 and all rooms are at least 300 sf with a large veranda, resort casual with open dinning. There are many choices, I have to say if you really enjoy a veranda get one. I like them also and really missed it when I took a OV room.

 

 

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I checked out Europa 2 ... the prices are the highest I've ever seen :eek:. The ship does look amazing though!

I checked out Europa 2 ... the prices are the highest I've ever seen :eek:. The ship does look amazing though!

Yes, it is VERY expensive. They do have specials on some trips. We are going in December NY to Miami for 14 days. We started with a guarantee cabin and wound up in a cat1 for what I thought was a good deal. I really am looking forward to sailing on the ship.

Thank you for all of your replies. FKGirl your blog articles were great!

 

What do you guys and gals think of luxury ship in a ship options like MSC's Yacht Club or Norwegians Haven? I think Cunard has something similar too.

 

I looked at those options but for the price I kind of think I might as well just go with a true luxury line.

Yup, that's my thought too......why have luxury on only part of the ship, when I can actually be on a luxury ship. Of course, if there was an itinerary that I particularly wanted that I couldn't get on a luxury ship, then I can see the appeal. Crystal (my preferred luxury line, in particular because of their very generous pricing for solo travelers) has only two ships, for instance, and so doesn't give as many itinerary options.

I checked out Europa 2 ... the prices are the highest I've ever seen :eek:. The ship does look amazing though!

The Europa 2 is an amazing experience.

The décor throughout the ship is extremely elegant.

The atmosphere on board is very relaxed.

The quality of the food and service is superb.

The Passenger Space ratio is 76.5

I have not tried a luxury line but do love Oceania

Oceania is not all inclusive but they do include air if you want it if not just book cruise only (we usually take the air & pay the deviation fee to arrive early or stay longer ...just works for us)

You can take wine & spirits onboard for use in your cabin or they do have beverage packages

I would try for an outside cabin there is always someplace on the ship to relax

dress is casual but smart ...open dining

Some TA's will include the gratuities shop around

there are promotions for some cruises that include PPG & OBC check Oceania website for details

I would go for the better cruise line cheaper cabin but that is just me ;)

Enjoy whatever cruise you choose

Lyn

It is certainly interesting looking at all the options. I did see that Oceania is currently offering free air which is a big plus.

I'm not exactly sure though how Oceania is different from the mainstream lines. I do know it's not all inclusive in terms of alcohol (not a big deal to me). Would the service level and cuisine on Oceania be similar to what you would see on the lux lines?

It is certainly interesting looking at all the options. I did see that Oceania is currently offering free air which is a big plus.

 

I'm not exactly sure though how Oceania is different from the mainstream lines. I do know it's not all inclusive in terms of alcohol (not a big deal to me). Would the service level and cuisine on Oceania be similar to what you would see on the lux lines?

Usually the free air is always there as are the 2 for 1 deals ....marketing ;)

I cannot comment on the food of Lux lines but O does use quality ingredients, most people go for the food on Oceania

I would check their website or have a read through the Oceania forum here

Lyn

Air is not free on Oceania, it's included, a big difference since you can get a discount off your cruise if you don't use their air.

Oceania's food is excellent. The four specialty restaurants on the two larger ships equals lux lines, the main dining room not so much imo. Still food is great.

Air is not free on Oceania, it's included, a big difference since you can get a discount off your cruise if you don't use their air.

 

Oceania's food is excellent. The four specialty restaurants on the two larger ships equals lux lines, the main dining room not so much imo. Still food is great.

Thanks for clarifying (included versus free). I didn't realize you could get a discount if you book your own air.

Thanks for clarifying (included versus free). I didn't realize you could get a discount if you book your own air.

It is not a big discount ;)

If you have FF Miles it can work out better to take the air credit or driving to the port take the credit ;)

For our transatlantic we can get $700 credit pp .....the fare from YYZ to YUL & LHR toYYZ is $2400 pp for economy

so we are taking the included air & paying the deviation fee for extra days

You have to weigh the options & do what works better for you

If you like control over your flights either book your own or work with the deviation flights via your TA

Lyn

You might also look at Regent, they are All Inclusive... Air, gratuities, excursions, ALL Alcohol in any and all venues all day). The regular cabin is 300 - 350 sq feet balcony with walkin closet and marble/granite baths.

They have some decent pricing on 7 day Med cruises.

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If you want a great cruise without the price of a 'luxury' line I'd suggest Azamara.

If you want a great cruise without the price of a 'luxury' line I'd suggest Azamara.

Great option and they have both Window & Inside cabins :)

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Suggest AZAMARA, Celebrity, RCCL or Princess all offer better value (imho) than Oceania, service, cabins, public areas, food quality, entertainment venues & cleanliness/maintenance are outstanding on all five.

Suggest AZAMARA, Celebrity, RCCL or Princess all offer better value (imho) than Oceania, service, cabins, public areas, food quality, entertainment venues & cleanliness/maintenance are outstanding on all five.

I did look at Azamara. I love wine and really like that they serve a good selection of wine with meals -- that's a big plus. A lot of their itineraries though sail from international ports ... I really need a North American port (Florida) mainly because flying from Toronto gets super expensive for anything outside of Canada and the States.

I'm curious, you rank RCCL, Princess and Celebrity along side Oceania. I was under the impression that Princess and Celebrity are "premium" lines (as opposed to Oceania's "Premium Plus") and RCCL was considered mass market (same level as Carnival and Norwegian).

You found RCCL to be as good as Oceania or is the value more a "what you get for your money"? Certainly the cost of an Oceania cruise is more than double Princess and RCCL. Speaking for myself I sailed on Carnival, Princess and RCCL. I found Princess to be the best of the 3 from a food quality and service level.

I'm curious, you rank RCCL, Princess and Celebrity along side Oceania. I was under the impression that Princess and Celebrity are "premium" lines (as opposed to Oceania's "Premium Plus") and RCCL was considered mass market (same level as Carnival and Norwegian).

 

You found RCCL to be as good as Oceania or is the value more a "what you get for your money"? Certainly the cost of an Oceania cruise is more than double Princess and RCCL. Speaking for myself I sailed on Carnival, Princess and RCCL. I found Princess to be the best of the 3 from a food quality and service level.

As you've noted, a lot of the practical items are subjective -- especially surrounding food, entertainment, and decor.