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I've Been On 2 Ultra-luxury Cruise Ships — Endless Caviar And Free Flights Make The $685 Per Day Worth It
The Seven Seas Grandeur's lunch buffet is next to the mid-sized pool.
Brittany Chang/Business Insider
- The cruise industry's new ultra-luxury ships could be worth the expensive fares.
- Wealthy cruisers get high-end amenities like complimentary flights, caviar, and wine.
- Luxury small-ship cruising has becoming increasingly popular.
Say goodbye to questionable lunch buffets and tiny, windowless cabins. On ultra-luxury cruises, travelers get mountains of caviar, roundtrip business-class flights, and floating Rolex stores.
When you think of a cruise, you might picture the giant ships run by companies like Royal Caribbean and Norwegian. On these family-friendly floating resorts, activities like go-kart tracks, waterparks, and virtual reality arcades are commonplace.
On smaller, more expensive cruises, these large and loud amenities are replaced with peace, quiet, and foie gras.
Cruises are generally considered an affordable vacation option, with necessities like food and a cabin included in the base fare. ![]()
Ships with cruise lines like Royal Caribbean are filled with up-charged amenities.
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However, many mass-market cruise companies are increasingly following the budget airline model: Charge a cheap fare and pile up plenty of irresistible pay-to-play amenities.
Travelers could easily accidentally blow past their budget by the end of the vacation.
But guests luxuriate on high-end cruises, many of which are all-inclusive and don't have this problem.![]()
Access to the spa is complimentary on the Explora I and Seven Seas Grandeur.
Brittany Chang/Business Insider
Sure, luxury cruises have a higher base fare. But you'll never have to reach for your wallet once on board.
That's about as stress-free as you can get with a vacation.
"I'd rather have a few empty beds and get the right guests at the right price," Michael Ungerer, CEO of MSC Group's new luxury cruise line, Explora Journeys, told Business Insider in 2023. "Most of [the amenities] are already included, so we don't have to upsell."
After going on two luxury cruise ships, I now understand why so many wealthy travelers are splurging on these vacations at sea.![]()
Explora I has 64 private cabanas throughout the ship.
Brittany Chang/Business Insider
In 2023, I spent one night on Explora Journeys' Explora I while it was docked in New York and three nights on Regent Seven Seas Cruises' Grandeur while it sailed roundtrip from Miami. Both were complimentary non-revenue events for travel agents and media.
Seven Seas Grandeur's least expensive 2024 cruise is a seven-night roundtrip Miami voyage in December, starting at $4,800 per person — about $685 per day. (Travelers can book their own flights and pre-cruise hotels for a discounted fare.)
Meanwhile, Explora I's most affordable itinerary is a $3,030-per-person, 10-night November sailing from Barcelona to Bridgetown, Barbados.
Expensive? Yes. But on a cruise, money buys happiness.![]()
The Explora I has three outdoor pools and one indoor under a retractable glass roof.
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On both ships, the fare includes complimentary bottles of Champagne, WiFi, endless alcoholic beverages, and access to the spa.
With Regent Seven Seas, pre-cruise hotels, every on board restaurant, flights to and from the ship (business class if international), and most excursions are also included.
Ironically, a higher price means a smaller ship.![]()
Explora Journeys poured $560 million into building its first vessel.
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The 922-guest Explora I stands at 813 feet and 63,900 gross-tons. The 746-guest Seven Seas Grandeur is smaller at 735 feet-long and 55,000 gross-tons.
To compare, Royal Caribbean's most popular and the world's largest cruise ship, the 7,600-guest Icon of the Seas, is a casual 1,196 feet long and 248,663 gross tons.
We’ll likely never see Icon of the Seas’ waterslides and theme park amenities across Regent Seven Seas' or Explora’s fleet.![]()
The Icon of the Seas has wild amenities like a six-slide waterpark, an ice skating rink, and seven pools.
Brittany Chang/Business Insider
But small ships have two big benefits: exclusivity and the ability to fit in more desirable ports.
The Grandeur is scheduled to sail to destinations like Oranjestad, Aruba, and Castries, Saint Lucia, while Explora I is planned for Hawaii and Casablanca, Morocco.
Icon of the Seas is exclusively sailing in the Caribbean this year.
Luxury ships still have some traditional amenities like pools, restaurants, and bars — just with an upscale flair, of course.![]()
Explora I's spa had "crystal-infused water."
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Instead of arcades, Explora I and Seven Seas Grandeur have cigar lounges.
Instead of a kid's playground, the latter has a quiet library.
Even the drinking water is better: No need to travel to Erewhon to sip on crystal-infused water. Just head to Explora I's spa instead.
The devil (quiet references to quiet luxury) is in the ships’ details.![]()
Regent Seven Seas says this is the first Fabergé egg to live on a ship.
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Explora I has the first Rolex store at sea. The Cartier boutique is right next door.
Up a few decks, travelers can workout at the Technogym Artis Line-supplied gym, where a treadmill costs $20,250 and an elliptical $15,500.
Meanwhile, Seven Seas Grandeur is decorated with 503 chandeliers and a $6 million art collection that includes several original Pablo Picasso pieces and a custom Fabergé egg.
As expected, the food on these luxury ships are comparable to Michelin-starred restaurants. ![]()
The poolside buffet had an afternoon "Italian Buffet" with several seafood options.
Brittany Chang/Business Insider
Both floating five-star resorts have lunch buffets of raw seafood, lobster tails, and crab legs.
For dinner on the Explora I, travelers can dine on the six restaurants' wagyu tataki, grilled octopus, and aged prime rib with potatoes and caviar.
The Seven Seas Grandeur's five restaurants all serve some form of black truffle, sturgeon caviar, or foie gras.![]()
Tables at Seven Seas Grandeur's largest dining room, Compass Rose, were lined with Versace plates.
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For a 10-night cruise, Regent Seven Seas says its new ship carries 1,200 pounds of lobster, 20 pounds of caviar, and 5,000 bottles of wine — the most pricey at $2,500.
Expensive food means expensive service: Like many high-end on-land restaurants, the hostess always offered me a black napkin when I wore dark pants.
Dinners of steak tartare, lobster, and wine were as commonplace as the scrambled eggs at the breakfast buffet. ![]()
Chartreuse served dishes like beef tartare with sturgeon caviar.
Brittany Chang/Business Insider
And, they're free, according to the laws of "girl math."
By the end of my second night on the Regent Seven Seas ship, "I'm tired of eating caviar" went from being a joke to a serious statement.
If we're stereotyping, cruise ship bars can be less-than-luxe. ![]()
The Lobby Bar is between a row of stores.
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But don't call Explora I's Lobby Bar, which looks like it came out of an actual hotel bar, "trashy." After all, its background music comes from the overhead Steinway piano.
Starbucks outposts are becoming increasingly popular on mass-market ships.![]()
Seven Seas Grandeur's Coffee Connection serves various espresso-based brinks and light bites.
Brittany Chang/Business Insider
But wealthy cruisers don't get to wake up with green siren-decorated cups of caffeine.
Instead, Explora I and Seven Seas Grandeur have their own coffee shops serving delectable espresso-based drinks and a separate afternoon tea service.
Like the lack of mediocre coffee, travelers on these fine ships will never be stuck in a tiny windowless interior cabin.![]()
My Ocean Terrace suite was the smallest guest cabin on the ship.
Brittany Chang/Business Insider
The smallest stateroom on the 461-cabin Explora I starts at 377 square-feet and flexes high-end amenities like a Dyson hairdryer.
The 373 cabins on the Seven Seas Grandeur start a bit smaller at 307 square-feet. At least it comes with L'Occitane en Provence products.
Both options have walk-in closets, floor-to-ceiling windows, and balconies. That's unheard of in the cheapest cabin on most mega-ships.
But one of the most pleasant differences between ultra-luxury and mid-tier cruises isn't in the amenities or dining.![]()
Instead of loud kid-friendly activities, the Seven Seas Grandeur has a Sports Deck with a putting green.
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It's the general ambiance.
Ultra-luxury ships aren't designed for cruising families with young children. The two ships didn't have cartoonish decor, loud lounges, or an unbearable number of children that could've kicked my fight-or-flight response.
Instead, the high-end vessels' common spaces were modern, mature, and relaxing.
If it seems like everyone you know has recently booked a cruise, you’d be correct. ![]()
The Seven Seas Grandeur's lunch buffet is next to the mid-sized pool.
Brittany Chang/Business Insider
Popular cruise lines like Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, and Carnival have recently seen off-the-charts bookings.
The same applies to the industry's more niche and expensive peers — especially as travelers have increasingly splurged on luxurious vacations like small-ship cruising.
In February, Harry Sommer, president and CEO of Regent's parent company, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, said demand for its luxury brands has been "very high."
After eating caviar and black truffles for every dinner on the Grandeur, I now understand why.
Read the original article on Business Insider
