Think luxury cruising is too expensive? The best suites on mega-ships deliver less for more

• Some cruisers opt for the top suites or “ship-within-a-ship” options on contemporary lines, thinking they are getting luxe for less.
• But our survey of prices shows they are actually spending more for less.
• Here’s why luxury cruising can sometimes make sense – and save you. money.

Australians have traditionally assumed ultra-luxury cruise lines such as Regent Seven Seas and Silversea sit in a completely different price bracket from family favourites, including Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Line and Celebrity Cruises.

However, this is not always the case, as our survey reveals.

Many cruisers who sail with lines such as Princess, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity are sailing in balcony staterooms or suites, then adding on amenity packages for drinks, Wi Fi, specialty dining and spas.

But once you add on these costs, you can find yourself paying more than luxury lines like Oceania and Viking.

Those that book exclusive “ship-within-a-ship” experiences such as Celebrity Cruises’ The Retreat, Norwegian Cruise Line’s The Haven or Royal Caribbean’s Sky, Star and Sea Suite classes either equal or can exceed the prices of Silversea or Regent Seven Seas, which are considered ultra luxury.

Why? Because upper premium and luxury ships from Azamara right up to Regent Seven Seas have many more inclusions, meaning there is nothing more to pay. In a world of extras for specialty dining, shore excursions and service, this can make a huge difference.

As luxury lines such as Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas step up their presence in Australia, this comparison becomes more relevant.

Cruise Passenger has crunched the numbers to compare traditional cruising and all the added extras, with the smaller ships and elevated experiences of premium and luxury lines.

How much does a luxury cruise really cost?

The first step is to establish how much an upper-premium or luxury cruise line really costs.

We selected representative local itineraries from five cruise lines. Prices are based on the least expensive available accommodation on each ship.

On Azamara and Oceania, that might mean an inside cabin. Silversea and Regent Seven Seas, however, operate all-suite ships, so you get the sea views included.

Cruise line	Itinerary	Ship	Length	Total price from	Price per person per day
Azamara	Australia and New Zealand	Azamara Pursuit	15 nights	$6,149pp	$409
Oceania Cruises	Sydney to Bali	Oceania Marina	18 nights	$9,560pp	$531
Viking	Komodo and the Australian Coast	Viking Orion	17 nights	$9,995pp	$587
Silversea	Singapore to Melbourne	Silver Moon	18 nights	$12,520pp	$695
Regent Seven Seas	Sydney to Singapore	Seven Seas Splendor	18 nights	$13,206pp	$733

Here’s what equivalent amenities cost on a mainstream cruise line?

	Carnival	Royal Caribbean	Princess Cruises	Celebrity Cruises	Norwegian Cruise Line
Itinerary	Nine-night Vanuatu and New Caledonia	Nine-night South Pacific Lelepa Cruise	14-day New Zealand cruise	12-night South Pacific cruise	11-day Melbourne, Adelaide and Kangaroo Island
Cabin category	Ocean Suite	Junior Suite with large balcony	Reserve collection mini-suite	Magic Carpet Sky Suite (The Retreat)	Basic Balcony
Ship	Carnival Splendor	Anthem of the Seas	Grand Princess	Celebrity Edge	Norwegian Spirit
Total base price	$2377pp	$4723pp	$5536pp	$6633pp	$5591pp
Base price per day	$264pp	$524pp	$395pp	$552pp	$508pp
Drinks + wifi package	Ultimate value package $120 per day	No package available, approx $150 per night for both	Princess Plus $79 per day	Included in suite	$59 per day as part of Free At Sea
Final price per day	$384pp per day	$674pp per day	$474pp per day	$552pp per per day	$567pp per day

Here’s what happens when you add a suite, drinks package and Wi Fi.

Note when making this comparison: different cruise lines’ cabin categories don’t exactly correlate with one another. For example, Royal Caribbean’s junior suite is far more spacious than an NCL balcony cabin. However, a suite on NCL would cost more.

Similarly, The Retreat on Celebrity is more exclusive than the corresponding options for Carnival and Princess. When booking your cruise, the most important thing will always be to analyse your personal situation. 

This is why, for a direct comparison, it’s also worth looking at these ship-within-a-ship accommodations, compared to the very top luxury lines.

Ship-within-a-ship versus luxury lines

Ship-within-a-ship accomodation	Average daily price	Luxury cruise ship suite	Average daily price
Celebrity Cruises’ The Retreat Sky Suite	About $550 – $800pp	Silversea entry-level Vista Suite	About $695pp
Norwegian Cruise Line’s The Haven	About $680–$850pp	Regent Seven Seas entry-level Deluxe Veranda Suite	About $700-900pp
Royal Caribbean Sky, Star or Sea Suite Class	About $650–$900pp	Seabourn entry level suite	About $600 – 850

This comparison clearly shows that ship-within-a-ship accommodation can be more expensive than a luxury ship – but a ship from Regent Seven Seas gives passengers more space, art, service and more.

What they don’t have is the water slides and family activities of the big ship. For some, that’s a good thing – for others, not so much.

The full comparison

Cruise experience	Price per person per day
Carnival South Pacific cruise in an Ocean Suite with drinks and Wi-Fi	$384
Azamara Australia and New Zealand cruise in an inside cabin	$409
Princess New Zealand cruise in a Reserve Collection Mini-Suite with drinks and Wi-Fi	$474
Oceania Cruises Sydney to Bali cruise in an inside cabin	$531
Celebrity South Pacific cruise in The Retreat	$552
Norwegian Australia cruise in a balcony cabin with drinks and Wi-Fi	$567
Viking Indonesia and Australia cruise	$587
Royal Caribbean South Pacific cruise in a Junior Suite with drinks and Wi-Fi	$674
Silversea Singapore to Melbourne cruise	$695
Regent Seven Seas Sydney to Singapore cruise	$733

The key takeaway – you’re already spending like a luxury cruiser

If you’re sailing at the top of the ship on lines like NCL and Royal Caribbean, you’re likely already spending more than you would with lines like Azamara, Oceania and Viking.

In fact, you might even already be spending as much as you need to book on Silversea or Regent Seven Seas. This is because these lines have much more included, so when you add on extra spend for various activities.

Extra considerations to keep in mind

Inclusions – luxury offers more

• In determining which cruise will provide the most overall value to you, the key is to think about inclusions. Some ultra-luxury lines will even include things like airport transfers, shore excursions and more, meaning these costs are already covered in your fare, which they won’t be for other lines. 
• The important thing is to determine which inclusions make a difference for you. For example, Oceania doesn’t offer a full drinks package in the fare, but rather just select drinks at meal times. If you’re not a big drinker then this might be a perfect offering for you, but if you do enjoy more beverages, then you’ll need to factor that into your potential final cost. 
• If you regularly cruise without a Wi Fi or a drinks package and don’t spend much on either of these throughout a cruise, then the comparison will be less relevant, and a traditional cruise will generally come out cheaper. 

Destinations – luxury can take you to new places

• Generally, the smaller the ship, the more exciting are the potential destinations that you can visit.
• It’s a common complaint amongst Aussies who cruise on larger ships that sailings can get a bit repetitive, and one way to break this up would certainly be to cruise to change to a smaller ship and enjoy all the different routes and itineraries they take instead.
• However, an advantage of bigger ship cruising is that they generally offer round trips, whereas many small ship cruises are one-way, and you may have to add an extra flight, which of course, incurs an extra cost. 

Suitability – make sure you pick the right cruise for you

• It’s of course crucial to make sure that the ship you’re sailing on is suitable for the type of cruise experience you’re looking for. 
• For example, if you’re sailing with kids, even though a fancier cabin on Carnival, Royal Caribbean or NCL may become pricier, you’ll have many activities available and world-class kids clubs. Whereas, if you were to go on a more premium ship, the kids might not have as much to do.
• Similarly, if you want to be on a Royal Caribbean or Carnival type ship for the ambience and atmosphere, such as to party, dance, dress up and so on, then other ships might not fit the bill.
• More refined and intimate service won’t be the priority of everyone; think about what you’re looking for in your cruise, as otherwise, a more premium cruise could end up disappointing you.