May 11, 2007
How to escape mega-cruiseship vulgarity without breaking the bank
A number of newspapers have reported with apparent glee about the four-lane bowling alley that recently made its appearance on the newest of the cruiseships, the 2,600-passenger Norwegian Pearl of Norwegian Cruise Line. Here, they implied, was a fitting response to the rock-climbing walls, basketball courts and boxing ring that NCL's competitor, Royal Caribbean Cruises, had earlier added to the seagoing experience.
We are seeing a major change in the nature of the cruise experience. With nearly every new ship approaching 3,000-passengers in size (and several 4,000-to-6,000-passenger ships are actually under construction), each one of them crammed with every entertainment of a theme park, the cruiseliner is becoming less of a ship than a giant metallic box containing a Las Vegas-style resort. One wonders why it is even necessary for these gargantuan "sea hotels" to leave the port where they are docked? Who aboard them is even aware that they are at sea?
Sold at low initial prices to attract the mobs that their immense cabin capacity requires, the mega-vessels are nevertheless extremely profitable because of the optional onboard income -- drinks, gambling, shopping, shore excursions -- they also enjoy. In the future, the average-income, cost-conscious cruise passenger will find that only the giant ships offer affordable rates. The smaller, quieter ships with open decks suitable for reading and repose, scholarly guest speakers, and itineraries that feature the lesser and less-developed port cities, are generally the upscale "premium" ships (operated by such lines as Seabourn, Regent Seven Seas, Silversea, SeaDream Yacht Club, Crystal Cruises, Windstar, others) charging forbidding rates of often $600 to $1,000 per person per day.
But the premium lines have occasional vacancies. And in a slowing economy, which many predict will be the case in the last half of 2007, they will periodically discount their unsold cabins through such cruise brokers (some specializing in upscale cruiseships) as www.cruiseweb.com, www.cruisecompete.com, www.mustcruise.com, www.cruise.com, www.vacationstogo.com, www.cruisewizard.com, www.cruisesonly.com, and others. If you will carefully scrutinize those sites, you will quite often find an opportunity to book an upscale smaller ship at rates of as little as $300 a day (low season) or $400 a day (high season) per person -- a high price, but perhaps justified by the joy of real seagoing cruise.
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We are seeing a major change in the nature of the cruise experience. With nearly every new ship approaching 3,000-passengers in size (and several 4,000-to-6,000-passenger ships are actually under construction), each one of them crammed with every entertainment of a theme park, the cruiseliner is becoming less of a ship than a giant metallic box containing a Las Vegas-style resort. One wonders why it is even necessary for these gargantuan "sea hotels" to leave the port where they are docked? Who aboard them is even aware that they are at sea?
Sold at low initial prices to attract the mobs that their immense cabin capacity requires, the mega-vessels are nevertheless extremely profitable because of the optional onboard income -- drinks, gambling, shopping, shore excursions -- they also enjoy. In the future, the average-income, cost-conscious cruise passenger will find that only the giant ships offer affordable rates. The smaller, quieter ships with open decks suitable for reading and repose, scholarly guest speakers, and itineraries that feature the lesser and less-developed port cities, are generally the upscale "premium" ships (operated by such lines as Seabourn, Regent Seven Seas, Silversea, SeaDream Yacht Club, Crystal Cruises, Windstar, others) charging forbidding rates of often $600 to $1,000 per person per day.
But the premium lines have occasional vacancies. And in a slowing economy, which many predict will be the case in the last half of 2007, they will periodically discount their unsold cabins through such cruise brokers (some specializing in upscale cruiseships) as www.cruiseweb.com, www.cruisecompete.com, www.mustcruise.com, www.cruise.com, www.vacationstogo.com, www.cruisewizard.com, www.cruisesonly.com, and others. If you will carefully scrutinize those sites, you will quite often find an opportunity to book an upscale smaller ship at rates of as little as $300 a day (low season) or $400 a day (high season) per person -- a high price, but perhaps justified by the joy of real seagoing cruise.
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Fifty years ago, 
Arthur Frommer is generally acknowledged to be the nation's foremost travel authority. He is the founder of the
