I magine that you’re stretchedout on a sumptuous sun-lounger on the deck of a lux-ury mega-yacht, sipping anexotic champagne cocktail,perfectly shaken and stirred

to your taste. A handsome young crew memberapproaches and asks to polish your sunglasses. A fewminutes later another emerges with a tray of mouth-watering frozen fruit kebabs, followed by a third whooffers to spray you with suntan lotion.

Could this be a dream or is it just fanciful thinking?It’s neither.

This is the world of luxury cruising where attention todetail and top-notch service rule the waves, leaving you– the pampered guest – to sit back, relax and revel inopulent surroundings where nothing is too much trouble.

Forget everything you’ve ever seen or heard aboutmass market cruises, dominated by massive mega-shipsthat carry thousands of passengers.

Luxury cruising is a completely different propositionwith smaller, more intimate ships that generally carryhundreds of passengers rather than thousands.

One of the biggest advantages is that such ships canoffer more varied itineraries featuring different ports thatbigger vessels cannot squeeze into, thus enabling themto sail more off the beaten track.

Another is that crew members get to know you byname and bar tenders can have your favourite drinkready without even being asked.

On my first luxury cruise with Seabourn, when oneof the passengers – an Italian contessa, no less – com-plained that her bathrobe was too long, staff had itshortened and her initials stitched on, too.

When another passenger needed a tuxedo for a for-mal night, the ship’s tailor appeared with a spare dinnersuit, measured him up and swiftly altered it to fit.

I was struck at how the army of waiters and deckstaff, along with everyone else I encountered, hit theperfect balance of being intuitive and attentive withoutbeing irritating; of being friendly without being over-familiar; and efficient without being impersonal.

what to expect on a luxury cruiseFor many passengers – or guests as they are calledby the exclusive “six-star” lines – first-rate service is

42 tlm ! the travel & leisure magazine www.tlm-magazine.co.uk Winter 2010/11

a touch of class ! luxury cruises

Lap of LuxuryLie back and be pampered by crew members who know your name and your favourite drink, andwho will even monogram and alter your bathrobe. It’s all part of the luxury cruise experience, asSara Macefield reports in the first of our luxury-themed feature series

Oce

ania

Cru

ises

! Oceania Cruises’ Polo Grill

the key to luxury cruising.But there are also the lavish surroundings; the high

quality décor and haute cuisine dining. The fact is that all staterooms are suites – often with

en-suite luxury marble bathrooms and spacious veran-das – and there is no such thing as an inside cabin.

Far more is included in the price, too, such as gratu-ities, fine wines and soft drinks, and even some excur-sions or special events which are hosted ashore.

There are no supplementary charges for eating in thespeciality restaurants and you can dine when and whereyou want to and with whom you please.

For such a quality experience, cruise customers canexpect to have to dig alittle deeper in

Winter 2010/11 tlm ! the travel & leisure magazine www.tlm-magazine.co.uk 43

a touch of class ! luxury cruises

their pockets – but not as deep as you might think.Rising competition and an influx of new ships means

there has never been a better time to take a luxury cruise.Over the last year or so, this sector of the cruise

industry has seen the biggest growth in years with asprinkling of new ships offering the latest sumptuous,state-of-the-art facilities.

With more cabins to fill – against an increasinglytough economic climate – the six-star lines have becomeever more competitive.

Prices have been cut – though most companies haveopted to add value rather than devalue their brand bypricing too cheaply.

Instead there have been some tremendous specialoffers that have included onboard credits of $1,000 perperson; spa credits, free excursions; and free flights.

One-week cruises in the Mediterranean could besnapped up for as little as £1,500 for a week, which,when you think of what this includes, is barely muchmore than you would pay for a similar cruise with oneof the midmarket lines.

who are the main players?The first thing to remember is that the “ultra-luxu-ry” market consists of a handful of “six-star” cruiselines, including Seabourn, Regent Seven SeasCruises, Silversea Cruises, SeaDream Yacht Club,

Windstar Cruises and Crystal Cruises.But if you can’t stretch to this, why not opt for the

“Attention todetail andtop-notchservice rulethe waves”

what makes a luxury cruise?" Smaller ships and fewer passengers" More exotic and off-the-beaten track itineraries" Gourmet food and no fixed dining times" More “fun” events such as champagne and caviar beach parties, dance parties

on deck and barbecue dinners " Spacious suites and more deck space per guest" Higher numbers of staff per guest and more personalised service" Free treats such as on-deck mini massages and special baths drawn by your

suite stewardess" Complimentary concierge service for personalised shore excursions

Seab

ourn

SeaD

ream

Yach

t Clu

b

Seabourn

! Caviar and champagne on thebeach with Seabourn

! SeaDreamin Monte

Carlo

! Bubblywith your spabath bubbles

premium lines which tend to fall between luxury andmidmarket? These include companies such as CelebrityCruises, Holland America Line (HAL), OceaniaCruises, Cunard and Azamara Club Cruises.

Their ships are still elegant and classy. However, theytend to be larger than the ultra-luxury lines with moredining venues, bigger theatres and more lavish spas –but less personal service.

And one of the biggest differences to remember isthat while prices are lower, items such as gratuities,drinks and speciality dining are not necessarily included.

Most luxury cruise customers tend to be moremature couples or single travellers and few of the trulyexclusive lines cater for families.

The exception is Crystal Cruises, which has its owndedicated children’s club. However, premium lines suchas Celebrity, HAL and Cunard cater admirably foryoungsters with kids clubs and family-friendly facilities.

Even some of the larger ships are getting in on theluxury act. Italian line MSC Cruises has introduced aspecial VIP area on its newest ships, called the YachtClub, where passengers have their own bar, solarium, hottubs and pool. They also have access to an ObservationLounge where they can enjoy light meals, while onexcursions they have their own private transport.

On Norwegian Cruise Line’s newer ships, passengersstaying in Garden Villas and Courtyard Villas on theirown private decks can enjoy a host of other benefitssuch as in-suite dining and preferential treatment at theship’s restaurants.

Most ships have butlers and personal concierges forpassengers who book suites and higher-grade cabins andsome, such as Princess Cruises, even have private deckareas which, for an extra fee, cater for passengers want-ing to relax in comfort.

With so much choice, taking a luxury cruise could beeasier than you think.

44 tlm ! the travel & leisure magazine www.tlm-magazine.co.uk Winter 2010/11

a touch of class ! luxury cruises

sample cruisesSeabourn (0845 070 0500;www.seabourn.com) offers a one-week Gems of the Adriatic round-trip sailing from Venice on July 8. Itcosts from £1,949, excluding flights andcalls at ports in Italy, Croatia andMontenegro.

SeaDream Yacht Club (0800 783 1373;www.seadreamyachtclub.com) offers aone-week Caribbean cruise from Antiguato Barbados, departing on November 13from £2,198. The price does not include

flights, but it does include drinks andgratuities. Ports of call include Montserrat,

St Lucia and Bequia in the Grenadines.

Holland America Line (0856 351 0557; www.hollandamerica.co.uk)offers a 12-night round trip sailing from Venice through theMediterranean with ports including Athens, Istanbul and Mykonos. Itdeparts on October 15 and costs from £1,789 excluding flights.

more information" The Passenger Shipping Association

represents the main cruise lines and itswebsite www.discovercruises.co.ukgives details of cruise lines offering deluxeand ultra luxury cruises.

luxury crusing facts

Seab

ourn

SeaD

ream

Yach

t Clu

b

Win

dsta

r Cr

uise

s

Silve

sea

Crui

ses

Crys

tal C

ruise

s

! Room service withSilversea Cruises ! Crystal Serenity off Sicily