The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - Travel
Bonus to blow? Here’s how to cruise
Submarines, helicopters, caviar, a suite as big as a house… For the 1 per cent, it’s all there for the taking, says Nicole Carmichael
Fancy a trip to the Galapagos with a luxury Bahamas holiday add-on for 10 nights? Yours for just £136,000. You wll stay in the Owner’s Suite on a six-star Silversea cruise, with a separate suite thrown in should you need it. Travelling alone? Then how about two back-to-back ultraluxe Seabourn cruises taking in Seattle and Sydney with a week touring New Zealand, an extended stay in Australia, a week in New York and a week in Dubai – all first class, of course. A snip at £215,000, since you’re asking.
These are just a couple of recent trips organised by David Walker from The Travel Snob (thetravelsnob.co.uk), which specialises in planning dream holidays for those with cash to splash. We’re talking lottery winners, highnet-worth individuals and celebrities. And no, Walker won’t name names.
For cruise fans who appreciate the acres of space afforded by a big ship and have bonuses to blow and bucket lists to tick off, it’s all there for the taking. No more elbowing through the breakfast buffet to spear that last sausage or dicing with the grab-and-go grill that has been festering on the sun deck all day; cruising for the 1 per cent means selecting the very best experience on offer and never glancing at the price tag. These types don’t even consider packing a suitcase unless their cruise includes a galaxy of Michelin-starred chefs and enough Dom Pérignon to bathe in. Luckily, such things exist.
Seven Seas Grandeur – the latest ship in the Regent Seven Seas fleet – offers the Regent Suite: 4,435sq ft (412sq m) of unadulterated luxury with a wraparound veranda boasting 270-degree views, unlimited in-suite spa services, an in-house caviar service (or maybe Twiglets if that is more your thing), a personal butler and a private car with a chauffeur in every port, plus unlimited shore excursions and included upgrades on just about anything you can upgrade. Even the sofa comfortably seats 10 people. A 14-night voyage from Miami to Barcelona comes in at an eyewatering £65,804 – and that is per person, of course.
If you really want to live like royalty, how about Cunard? After all, it was good enough for our late Queen, Winston Churchill, Coco Chanel and Hollywood legends such as Cary Grant and Marilyn Monroe. The Grand Duplex Queen’s Grill Suite on Cunard’s brand new ship Queen Anne, launching in March 2024, is dubbed Your Private Residence at Sea. It features a sweeping staircase descending into a sumptuously appointed living room and 2,249 sq ft of space (bigger than the average four-bedroom house), with a pillow concierge service and a private butler on speed-dial to serve your pre-dinner canapés. There is a 12-night Northern Cape Discovery voyage setting sail next summer with your name on it – a steal at just £25,598, staying in the best suite.
Knowing that there is a market out there for seriously pushing the boat out, several of the biggest cruise lines feature exclusive “ship within a ship” neighbourhoods. Book the Massive Suite on Virgin Voyages, and you are elevated to “rockstar status”, which unlocks access to Richard’s Rooftop, a members-only sundeck. Or maybe you would prefer to check in to the Iconic Suite, part of The Retreat on Celebrity Edge? You will enjoy 2,500 sq ft of space, a private veranda (with a double day bed), cashmere bed linen and Le Labo toiletries.
Evrima – a sleek vessel operated by the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection – has the Living Room, a chilled lounge flowing across the yacht’s entire breadth, and a designer boutique selling Chanel bags for over £5,500.
Families intent on blowing the budget have plenty of choice. Cruise lines offer super-sized Owners’ suites and family accommodation such as Disney Wish Tower Suite, inspired by the Oceania world of Moana. It features a double-height living room and four bathrooms. Royal Caribbean’s
The suite has a cinema, a karaoke station, a tubular slide connecting all levels, and a ‘royal genie’ butler
Ultimate Family Suite on new ship Utopia of the Seas includes an in-suite cinema, a karaoke station, a giant tubular slide connecting all levels and a dedicated “royal genie” (butler) to grant your family’s every wish.
So that’s your accommodation sorted. Now it is time to to ensure that you don’t get bored. Expedition cruises are the hottest ticket in cruising right now, offering passengers money-can’t-buy experiences (except it clearly can) and once-in-a-lifetime holidays. Superyacht Scenic Eclipse II has a submarine and two helicopters on board to ferry passengers to realise their dreams. Guests have access to previously inaccessible environments, meaning they can explore the undersea world of Antarctica over 900ft down, or hop on their heli for an eagle-eyed view of the Arctic Circle. Other excursions offered by the Scenic group include dinner under the stars at Unesco site Angkor Wat and kayaking around the Chilean fjords.
Meanwhile, thanks to their relatively compact size, the two SeaDream superyachts offer excursions that larger ships can’t, such as hiking on the Crispeen track on the Dutch Caribbean island of Saba, lunch in Mustique or sport fishing off Mayreau, the smallest island in the Grenadines.
And then there are the curated pursuits and experiences from Explora Journeys – quite possibly the ultimate in luxury cruising. A one-to-one chat with a Nasa astronaut, a private view of New York’s Museum of Modern Art, or learning to pilot a racing yacht in the Caribbean?
If you can dream it, you can be pretty sure there is a luxury cruise that can make it reality. Dust off your platinum card and take a deep breath…