Despite the cost-of-living crisis, the ultra-luxury end of the market is expected to keep on growing. Jane Archer reports
Is it possible to have too much of a good thing? Not, apparently, if the good thing you are having is an ultra-luxury cruise on a small ship with sumptuous suites, a butler to draw your bath or pour your fizz, a lavish spa and other passengers counted in the low hundreds. No wonder luxury cruisers can’t let go and others are dipping their toes into the ultra-luxury sector at sea.
Peter Shanks, Silversea UK managing director, says 50% of the line’s business this year is new-to-brand cruisers. “People are trading up to the ultra-luxury experience. It’s a growth story for the whole sector. Agents tell us that since summer 2021, luxury and ultra-luxury cruise has been the strongest performer,” he says.
A growing sector
Connie Georgiou, Silversea’s sales director for the UK, Ireland and Middle East and Africa, adds: “Don’t think ultra-luxury cruising is a niche product. The luxury travel market is expected to have annual growth of 8% up to 2026.”
Paul Beale, Regent Seven Seas Cruises senior director of sales UK, points to three record sales days in the past year. “People are booking further forward and higher up the ships. The Master Suite on our 2026 world cruise costs £430,000 per couple and I know demand will outstrip supply,” he says.
But isn’t there a cost-of-living crisis? Not in the ultra-luxury market, it seems. “We appeal to high-level individuals who will pay for luxury,” says Scenic director of trade sales Andrea Stafford. Prices vary by destination, but as an example, a 12-day Japan cruise on Scenic Eclipse next month leads in at just over £12,000 – a hefty price tag but it does include everything you could possibly want during the holiday.
There is every opportunity for growth in the ultra-luxury sector
Wendy Lahmich, Seabourn director of sales UK and Europe, says sales in 2023 are better than 2019, which was the line’s best-ever year. “People are taking more or longer cruises, and sometimes both,” she notes. Jack Anderson, president of Crystal Cruises, which under new owner A&K Travel Group is about to rise from the ashes of the eponymous brand owned by Genting that collapsed during the pandemic, says loyal guests were eager to book as soon as sales opened in February.
“No one is completely safe in a crisis, but I believe this market will continue to grow as consumers want to travel more than ever after not being able to for two years.” There is every opportunity for growth in the ultra-luxury sector, with almost 3,000 extra berths being added this year and next on new ships from Regent (Seven Seas Grandeur), Seabourn (Seabourn Pursuit), Scenic (Scenic Eclipse II) and Silversea (Silver Nova and Silver Ray).
Additionally, Crystal’s Serenity and Symphony are re-entering the market, admittedly with reduced capacity after a refit, but between them adding 1,346 more berths, down from 1,828. It is a lot more space to sell but suggestions of overcapacity are shrugged off. “We wouldn’t be building if we weren’t confident about demand,” says Stafford.
Things have changed in the ultra-luxury sector since the pandemic, not least spurring non-luxury clients to take a second look. “There is greater interest in small-ship cruising and yachting,” says SeaDream’s Andreas Brynestad. “People yearn for open deck space [and] personalised service.”
More than just tips and drinks included
Anderson agrees. “Guests want more space after living with ‘six feet apart’ for two years. We have listened to feedback and [in the refit] are combining room categories to create larger suites and living spaces.” Fares are also more inclusive post pandemic, covering more than the drinks and tips that have been standard for some years as clients – both those travellers in the luxury arena and those now drawn to it – want to know costs upfront.
Silversea launched its all-inclusive “door-to-door” pricing last year, covering everything from the moment passengers step outside their front door, including airport transfers. Seabourn added complimentary Wi-Fi in late 2021 and this year is packaging flights into the fare. “Even high spenders want good value and it makes for an easier sell for agents,” explains Lahmich.
Regent, the world’s first truly all-inclusive cruise line, lately added laundry to the long list of what’s covered. Beale says they have to keep evolving to stay ahead, but welcomes competitors’ changes. “The more noise [in the sector] the better. It makes more people think about ultra-luxury and once tried, they won’t go back.”
Where the luxury traveller cruises
Luxury cruisers are not impervious to the delights of hero ports such as Barcelona or Civitavecchia (for Rome) but they want to visit smaller places that big ships can’t reach. SeaDream’s Andreas Brynestad says his customers love the Greek islands, British Virgin Islands and French and Italian Rivieras.
He singles out the islands of Bequia and Jost Van Dyke in the Caribbean and Amalfi, Capri, Bonafacio and Seville as favourite ports. Wendy Lahmich, Seabourn director of sales for the UK and Europe, says: “Small ports offering exclusive experiences are important for our clients; places such as Elbe, Ponza and the US Virgin Islands.” At Regent, Paul Beale says Kusadasi in Turkey and the Caribbean island of St Vincent are popular, as is the line’s Harvest Caye private island.
PICTURES: Luca Locatelli
Read more
Yoga, spin classes and line dancing on an AmaWaterways cruise
The best cruise-and-stay packages for all customer types
From Budapest to Vienna on board Scenic’s Taste of Imperial Europe cruise
