There always seems to be some discussion within the cruise industry regarding what exactly constitutes a luxury cruise. Almost every cruise line claims to be luxurious or at least have different levels of luxury as demarcated by their category pricing structure. The industry attempts to segment cruise lines into several broad categories such as: budget, main stream, contemporary, premium, ultra premium, luxury, six star luxury and the like.
However, even the most budget minded cruise lines often have certain classes of staterooms segregated from the general ship population marketed as luxury. For examples think of the Yacht Club category aboard MSC Cruises and the Spa Suites and Aqua Class on Norwegian Cruise Line and Celebrity Cruises respectively. And of course you could find luxury in the grand/owners/premier penthouse/suite/villa on the oldest/smallest rust-bucket of a cruise line/ship.
So what is luxury besides the obvious physical quality aspects, service levels, amenities and other perks? Perhaps “luxury lies in the eye of the beholder” to paraphrase a common saying. Some cruisers find luxury in something small as a name brand soaps and shampoo in the stateroom bathroom. Others find luxury in butler service or ultra fine dining. Many find luxury in just being away from their typical everyday to day world.
On the other hand, luxury may mean the kind of experience had during the cruise, or even the general type of passengers on board the ship. A blue blooded banking billionaire may not fully enjoy even the best of the best penthouse suite and white glove service on a budget oriented cruise line if surrounded by belly flop and buffet crowd. Conversely, a real red blooded redneck who just won the instant scratch off lottery jackpot will likely not enjoy the the snobbery and stuffiness of a highly rated luxury cruise line.
A few years ago I clipped and saved an interesting “charticle” in Conde Nast Traveler magazine. It attempts to match celebrity personalities to the different cruise lines. Although it is a bit dated and obviously a complete generalization, it at least a good start in finding the perfect cruise line that fits your definition of luxury. Additionally it is a fun read! I have included a scanned image of the article below. Sorry that the quality isn’t the best, but it was all my poor scanner could handle.
However you slice luxury, it come down to two things: “to each his own,” and to one of the most overstated yet underrated sayings in cruising: “there really is something for everyone.”
Posted on July 22, 2011
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