From the suite experience to Michelin-level dining, Jane Archer explores the key selling points for an ultra-luxury cruise
If anything is an easy sell it surely has to be an ultra-luxury cruise. Who, after all, can resist the thought of being served by staff whose mission is to ensure they have the best holiday possible without forever dipping into their pockets.
Of course, there is the small matter of the upfront cost, but agents who can highlight everything their clients will get on board and ashore are more than halfway there. What else can help get clients over the line? We we look at the key aspects of a high-end cruise that agents can use to increase their sales.
Luxury suites facing the ocean
One of the first things to know when selling a luxury cruise is that all rooms are suites, all face the ocean and most have a balcony. Wendy Lahmich, director of sales for the UK and Europe at Seabourn, says: “We call our suites oceanfront as we want to edge away from shipping terminology to appeal to a wider audience.”
The Regent Suite – there’s one each on Regent Seven Seas Cruises’ Seven Seas Explorer, Splendor and Grandeur, which launches in November – tops them all in terms of price (around £9,500 a night). But for that you get an apartment-like suite that sleeps four, has a large balcony with a mini pool, separate living, sitting and sleeping areas, and a spa with a sauna, steam room and hot tub.
Business-class flights are standard and perks include a private car and guide at each port, transfers and laundry. But of course ultra-luxury ships have suites at various price points. Whether they’re called standard, deluxe, penthouse or owner’s, clients can expect generous-sized rooms, walk-in wardrobes and bathrooms with double sinks and separate baths and showers.
There are a few exceptions. While most suites on luxury lines do have balconies, not all of them do, while some oceanview suites have fixed windows, or are similar to more standard oceanfront staterooms. “Agents should always try to upgrade clients. The price differential isn’t that great and luxury clients want balconies,” says Lahmich.
Personal service from bartenders and butlers
Good service is all about making people feel special – being greeted by name after a day ashore, having a bartender offer to pour your favourite tipple before you’ve asked or hailing your butler to uncork your champagne. That is all par for the course on luxury ships, which have almost as many staff as passengers.
SeaDream Yacht Club boasts a 1:1 passenger-to-crew ratio and Crystal will be close to that following its ships’ refit. At Regent, it’s around 1:1.4. while Seabourn simply points to the “intuitive and thoughtful” service delivered by staff. Scenic, Silversea and Crystal have butlers for all, while Regent has them for those in suites from Penthouse level and above.
“Having a butler is very special and all part of the ultra-luxury experience,” says Peter Shanks, managing director at Silversea UK. Among duties, they will book restaurants and spa treatments, organise in-suite parties and even unpack and pack suitcases.
Good service is all about making people feel special
The key word in all this is “personal”. Chefs across all high-end lines create individual vegan or gluten-free menus for passengers with dietary requirements and tailor dishes to suit food allergies, preferences and dislikes, while special hosts on Regent organise gatherings and dinners for solo travellers and Seabourn arranges parties for past passengers.
Most of the ultra-luxury lines offer a concierge service to organise trips ashore, be it making reservations for a top land-based restaurant – and transport to reach it – or organising private tours or experiences.
Fine dining – from Nobu to SALT
Ultra-luxury customers, whether past cruisers or not, expect everything to be the best and are prepared to pay for it, so imagine the selling power when you tell them that dining on high-end ships not only rivals the best restaurants ashore but is mostly complimentary.
They can dine free on dishes created by Michelin-starred chef Thomas Keller on Seabourn ships, try local cuisine in the SALT (Sea and Land Taste) Kitchen on Silversea’s Silver Moon and Silver Dawn (despite the name it is a restaurant) and indulge in French fine dining in Chartreuse on Regent’s ships (except Seven Seas Navigator).
Nobu’s Umi Uma restaurants, which serve his trademark Japanese-cum-Peruvian dishes, will be back on Crystal Cruises’ ships Crystal Serenity and Symphony, when they resume service this autumn. “It wouldn’t be Crystal without [these] popular restaurants back on board,” says senior vice-president of hotel operations Bernie Leypold. Passengers can dine there once for free on cruises of up to 11 days (more on longer voyages). After that, it costs $50 per person.
Despite their size, the ultra-luxury ships have a terrific choice of places to eat. There are up to eight dining venues on Silversea ships, up to seven on Regent vessels and nine on Scenic’s yachts including the invitation-only Chef’s Table@Elements, where just 10 passengers at a time feast on an 11-course degustation menu with food, wine and a head chef to personally present each dish to the table. In Scenic Epicure, passengers prepare local dishes under the watchful eye of a chef and then tuck into their creations.
Relaxing spas – Thai massages and hydrothermal suites
Pity the luxury cruise traveller – spa treatments are the only things that none of the lines include in the price, so if they fancy a massage or facial it will cost them. On the plus side, the spas are deliciously lavish and free, so clients can spend as long as they like in saunas, steam rooms, and, as on Regent Seven Seas, hydrothermal suites with cold and hot chambers, and a relaxation area with heated loungers.
SeaDream has the only Thai-certified spas at sea (where the masseurs are all trained and certified in Thailand) and private open-air spa areas where passengers can doze to the sound of the waves while being massaged. Seabourn has guided meditation and yoga group classes (mostly paid for) created by mindful living expert Dr Andrew Weil.
Champagne and Caviar
Imagine attending a private classical concert after dark among the ruins of Roman temples and bathhouses in Ephesus, Turkey. This experience, offered by Seabourn, is one of a host of exclusive events lines offer to make passengers feel extra special.
SeaDream has a Champagne and Caviar Splash on Caribbean cruises, when the chef and waiters wade into the sea in uniform and serve fizz and pickled roe in the water. Seabourn has a similar event called Champagne and Caviar in the Surf. Silversea has had exclusive events in caves in Halong Bay in Vietnam and the vineyards of South Africa.
Scenic packs exclusive ‘Enrich’ outings into most of its ocean cruises (not expedition). Coming up, passengers will join the chief and villagers for an evening of song, dance and traditional cooking at Sangliat Dol Village in the Tanimbar Islands (17-day Secrets of Indonesia cruise departing September 5, 2024, from £12,698) and enjoy sundowners on a private beach in Bermuda (13-day Bermuda and Bahamas cruise departing October 12, from £7,943).
Scenic director of trade sales Andrea Stafford says knowing about these events will help agents inspire ultra-luxury clients. “Luxury cruises are about making memories. If they can bring the cruise to life for a potential guest, it will help them sell.”
Watersports, premium wine, gourmet cuisine
All ultra-luxury lines include drinks and tips as standard, but after that they go their separate ways in terms of what’s covered. Silversea, Scenic and Regent include flights, transfers, shore excursions, the lot, but with a few added bits here and there. “Last year, two-thirds of sales were brochure price due to our [new] door-to-door fares,” says Silversea chief executive Barbara Muckermann.
Paul Beale, Regent Seven Seas Cruises senior director of sales UK, says having everything taken care of is convenient, makes for a friendlier atmosphere on board and means passengers can relax and enjoy their holiday. On Regent, Scenic and Seabourn, all dining is included, while Silversea’s Kaiseki and La Dame restaurants cost an extra $40 and $60 per person respectively.
Crystal fares include drinks, tips and the Umi Uma dining outlined above. With SeaDream, passengers enjoy what Andreas Brynestad calls an “array of special services and activities – a marina complete with a new slide and watersports equipment, gourmet cuisine, premium wine, drinks and gratuities. It’s all included, and it’s all open-air activities.”
PICTURES: Stephen Beaudet
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