Luxury Cruises, Booked Properly

The luxury tier is small enough to know well. Regent includes the most (economy flights, unlimited shore excursions, premium drinks, specialty dining, Wi-Fi and gratuities), and prices accordingly; it suits travellers who want a single number. Silversea includes drinks, gratuities and butler service on every suite, sells air as a credit you can decline, and runs the most interesting itineraries, including its expedition ships. Seabourn is the classic small-ship product: open bars, no assigned dining, a relaxed and social atmosphere on ships of about 450 to 600 guests.

The newer entrants changed the look of the category. Explora Journeys, from the family behind MSC, sails modern hotel-like ships with large suites and no formal nights. The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection runs yacht-scale vessels with the hotel brand’s service culture and a younger crowd. Four Seasons Yachts is the newest name, built around residential-scale suites. Several of these lines now also offer business-class air packages or upgrades; whether they beat the fares we can book is a route-by-route question, not a rule.

The Mediterranean from April to October is the deepest luxury programme, with port-intensive seven- to fourteen-night sailings between Barcelona, Monte Carlo, Rome, Athens and Istanbul. Northern Europe and the Norwegian fjords run May to September. The Caribbean fills the winter, often with longer sailings from Miami and Fort Lauderdale. Asia, from Singapore, Hong Kong and Tokyo, is where the flights matter most and where our business class flights desk earns its keep. Silversea and Seabourn also take their expedition ships to Antarctica and the Arctic, covered on our expedition cruises page.