Is luxury cruising really out of reach? Why it could be better value than premium lines

• Premium or luxury cruising is often something that’s thought to be simply out of reach for most Aussie cruisers.

• However, recently we’ve seen more and more Aussie’s making the leap to luxury cruising, with many smaller and more luxurious ships set to sail to Australia over the coming season.

• This is creating an interesting situation where we’re seeing less big family ships in Australia, but a rise in smaller and more luxurious ships on our shores.

While reasons such as ongoing post-pandemic revenge travel have been suggested as partially responsible for this rise, another appears to be that the price difference between regular cruising and upper-premium cruising appears to be narrowing. 

While the fare for a Royal Caribbean cruise is much lower than those of an Azamara or Oceania cruise, after adding up all the inclusions, the difference generally isn’t as large as you think. In some circumstances, depending on the type of experience you’re looking to have, a more luxurious option could even come out cheaper. 

While budget cruising will of course still generally be cheaper, while the difference in fares may repel many cruisers from even considering a more luxurious option, they could be more open to new type of cruise if they knew that the final bill at the end often doesn’t look that different.

The reason this can happen is because larger cruise fares often have more inclusions built into the fare, such as WiFi, alcoholic drinks, specialty dining and so on.

Therefore, if someone just wanted the cheapest cruise possible, the best option in Australia will always be Carnival or Royal Caribbean and simply enjoying the free food and activities and not going overboard on amenities. 

However, if someone cruises with these lines, but opts for a Wifi package, a drinks package, specialty dining experiences and other extras, the cruise can quickly rise in price until it’s not overly different from the larger fare of a premium cruise, such as Azamara or Oceania.

This also applies to Princess Cruises, which is a hugely popular option for Australians for those who are looking for a cruise experience that is a bit more elegant and a bit less hectic than those which are provided by a Royal Caribbean or Carnival ship. 

Princess has a great option for those who want to bundle extra inclusion such as alcohol, Wifi and more, with their Princess Plus and Princess Premier packages. However, slightly more upscale lines often have many, not all but many, built into the fare. 

This means that if you see a Princess fare on the higher side, and an Oceania or Azamara fare on the lower side, the complete Princess experience could actually come out more expensive. 

Furthermore, many Aussies may never even begin to consider upper luxury lines such as Viking Cruises, however, when considering the inclusions and looking at the final fares, those high fares might not look so intimidating.

Final fare comparison

Ultimately, in choosing the cruise you want to go, it will always involve weighing the cost, experience offered, ambiance of the ship, destinations and many more factors against each other.

However, this breakdown shows some of the surprising final fare possibilities when comparing lines such as Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Princess, to lines that are generally considered more upscale such as Azamara and Oceania, and even a luxury cruise line such as Viking.

This comparison is done for a cruiser that wishes to have four particular amenities, Wifi, a drinks package, go on three shore excursions and enjoy three specialty dining experiences.

Shore excursions and specialty dining experiences can vary from cruise to cruise, so for the purpose of this comparison, an average shore excursion will be $150, and a specialty dining experience to be $60.

Carnival Cruises

• Analysing an 11-day cruise to New Zealand with Carnival, the lowest base fare is $1462 per person.
• Three shore excursions would cost $450, three specialty dining experiences $180, a Wifi package would be $23 per day and a drinks package would be $111 per day. 
• This would make the total fare, $3566 per person, or $324 per person per day. 

Royal Caribbean 

• Looking at an 11-night Royal Caribbean cruise to New Zealand, the fare starts from $2699 per person.
• Three shore excursions would cost $450, three specialty dining experiences $180, a drinks package price can change but averages about $130 per day, and Wifi could cost $30 per day. 
• This comes out to $5089 total per person, or $462 per person per day. 

Princess Cruises 

• A 14-night Princess Cruise to New Zealand starts from $4012 per person. 
• Princess is slightly different as they have their bundled packages. 
• For an option without specialty dining, but with Wifi, drinks and many other inclusions, you could opt to pay $65 per day for a Princess Plus package. This plus three shore excursions comes out to $384 per day. 
• Other Princess plus inclusions include ‘two ‘casual meals’, room service and two fitness classes.
• For an option with unlimited specialty dining and further inclusions, you’d opt for Princess Premier for $100 a day. This plus three shore excursions comes out to $418 per day. 
• Other Princess Premier inclusions are unlimited fitness classes, theatre reservations, premium desserts, a photo package and more.

Azamara 

• A 16-night cruise around Australia with Azamara starts from $5659. 
• Within this fare you can get an alcohol package and access to dining that would generally be considered ‘specialty dining’ on other lines, although your fare doesn’t include access to all restaurants.
• Wifi costs $30AUD per day and three shore excursions will be considered $450. 
• Therefore the total fare would be $6589 per person, or $411 per day. 
• This fare also includes a self-service laundry service and access to Azamara’s ‘AzAmazing’ evenings, which includes cultural performances and events related to the destinations.

Oceania Cruises

• A Sydney to Bali 14-night cruise with Oceania starts from $7276. 
• At the moment, this cruise can be booked with a package that contains Wifi, all specialty dining and a beverage package. Not all Oceania Cruises include a beverage package, but many fall under deals that do. Three shore excursions will be considered $450.
• Therefore the total cost is $7717 per person, or $551 per person per day. 
• This cruise would also include $800USD credit, group fitness classes, laundry service and more. 

Viking Cruises 

• A 17-night cruise around Australia on Viking starts from $10,995. This will include a shore excursion at each port, specialty dining, Wifi and alcohol. 
• This comes out to $646 per person per day.

Conclusions 

• Surprisingly, for these particular inclusions an Azamara cruise is cheaper than Royal Caribbean or than sailing with Princess with a Princess Premier package.
• Furthermore, a luxurious cruise with Oceania only comes to around $80 more per day per person than the Royal Caribbean option. 
• While these show the fares for one particular set of amenities and inclusions, you can always consider what you will want to spend extra, and do your own calculations or ask an agent how much each cruise line would cost you.
• For example, if someone also knew they wanted spa services, then the Oceania offer would become even more appealing as the $800USD credit could be put towards that. 
• In general, luxury cruising may not be as out of reach as some people might think, particularly for those who just want to try it and see how they enjoy it.
• For example, a couple who normally books a balcony on Royal Caribbean or Carnival, may be able to test a cheaper cabin category, on a more expensive line, without spending more than their usual fare.