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How does the other half live on a cruise ship? I’m telling you that it can be very, very different from what most passengers enjoy.
From fancy rooms most never see, to exclusive spaces only for certain well-to-do passengers, to perks that the rest of us can only dream about, rich cruise passengers certainly have it better.
I’m pulling back the curtain, showing you some of the secrets behind wealthy cruisers, and the lifestyle they have on the ship. Here’s what you didn’t know…
Rooms That You Won’t Believe
Let’s start with what is perhaps the biggest difference between how normal people like you and me cruise and how wealthier passengers travel, and that’s with the room you sail. The high-end suites on cruise ships can look not like a typical cruise cabin, but more like a penthouse suite in the fanciest hotel you can imagine.
These aren’t cramped rooms where you have to skirt around the end of the bed to get by or where you have a shower that you can barely turn around in.
We’re talking rooms that run the gamut but that can include multiple bedrooms, massive bathrooms, and balconies larger than most cabins on the ship. There are rooms with views that rival even what the captain has. And some of the high-end cabins even span multiple decks, with floor-to-ceiling windows that make you feel like you’re outside even while relaxing in the room.
To say that these cabins are nice is an understatement — they’d rival some of the nicest rooms you see on land. The only difference? Here you get views that are absolutely priceless.
Amenities the Rest of us Don’t Get
Another secret of wealthy cruisers is that with the high-end cabins that can cost literally tens of thousands you aren’t just getting the cabin, but you’re getting a lot of amenities within that cabin as well that most passengers don’t get.
They can be small touches — such as having cotton swabs and lip balm supplied in the bathroom. Nice, but nothing to write home about when you see some of the other things available. Robes and slippers are a staple. Some cabins offer your own umbrella and binoculars. One amenity you might not want on your cruise is a scale, but I’ve seen them included. Some rooms even come with their own exercise equipment.
But what about walk-in closets? Or maybe a bathrooms with full bathtubs and water closets? Or even a full jacuzzi? Balconies can even have your own private hot tub that looks out over the ocean.
These days, if you can dream it up and someone is willing to pay for it, you can imagine it being an amenity in the cabin of wealthy passengers.
Special Treatment and Exclusive Perks
When the wealthiest cruise passengers sail in the nicest cabins, it’s not just a nicer room and better amenities. They also sail with perks the rest of us — unless we’ve got top-tier loyalty status — can just dream about.
Royal Caribbean — while certainly not the highest-end cruise line — does a lot to cater to affluent passengers. It offers three Royal Suite Class tiers known as Sea, Sky, and Star.
Book the Star class, and the special perks and treatment are like nothing you get in a normal cabin. You get gratuities included, an included drink package, and included wi-fi. But that’s just the start.
Laundry? It’s no extra charge for these passengers, nor is the minibar. They get things like bathrobes, priority seating in theaters, priority boarding, and more. They even get different bedding than what the rest of the ship gets.
Access to Areas of the Ship You Won’t Get to See
So I’ve talked about the rooms, amenities, and perks included. But these days the passengers spending the most get even more. This includes areas of the ship that are private to only the highest-end rooms and the rest of the passengers never see.
The trend is to move to a concept known as a “resort-within-a-resort.” So you have the ship, but then the highest-end rooms have their own pools, lounges, and even restaurants that they don’t have to share with the masses.
Not only are these spots ridiculously nice, but they also don’t have to deal with the crowds like you see in other parts of the ship. Meanwhile they are all hidden away, usually under special keycard access… available only to those passengers wealthy enough to afford access.
Money Talks, but Wealth Whispers
So far, I’ve talked about the highest-end rooms on the ship, but there’s an old saying — money talks, but wealth whispers.
In other words, while you certainly have to have some coin to sail in the high-end suites, don’t think that the wealthiest people on the ship are automatically in the nicest rooms. There are certainly plenty of people out there that keep a much lower profile and simply sail in a regular cabin.
It’s similar to how the most popular car brand driven by millionaires isn’t a Mercedes or Porsche, but Toyota.
So you won’t be able to tell these wealthy, but low-key passengers, from anyone else. But one thing that might stick out is their loyalty status. It’s not always the case, but to reach the top tiers of loyalty can take upwards of 700 nights sailed on lines like Royal Caribbean or Norwegian. Even sailing in a low-priced cabin, it still adds up to more than $100,000 spent on cruises over the years.
I’m not saying everyone who sails a lot is worth tons of money, but they definitely live a lifestyle the rest of us are envious of.
Certain “Rich” Benefits Come With Loyalty
I talked about all the amenities that wealthy passengers can get when they pay up for the big expensive cabins.
But one secret is that these perks are also usually extended to passengers with high loyalty status on the cruise line. So yes, if you sail a lot to the point to where you have top tier status, then you’re likely to be well off, but just because someone isn’t spending tens of thousands on a fancy cabin doesn’t mean they don’t get some of the benefits.
For instance, high-status loyalty passengers can get things like priority boarding, free dinners, drinks, included perks with the cruise, and even free cruises in some cases.
So if you are envious of those passengers that spend a lot more money, frequent cruising may make the experience closer than you think.
High-End Cruising Might Be More in Reach Than You Think
If you look across the locked gates into the exclusive areas reserved only for the high-paying passengers that have booked the fanciest rooms, you might not realize that the cost may not be as much as you think.
First things first, you can spend as much as you want on some of these cabins. A cruise that may have a balcony room for a thousand dollars per person can have suites that run tens of thousands of dollars.
But one secret is that in some cases these people may not being paying that much more than the average room. For instance, you can find some of these high-end rooms for about twice the cost of a balcony. In fact, given that they usually sleep more people, if someone is traveling with a family, it may be roughly the same cost to book one of these suites as it would be to book two normal cabins. Plus, you get a lot of perks with the high-end room.
So it might not be that these folks have tons of money to throw around but are actually being smart spenders.
You Can Get Some Rich Perks for Much Less
As I’ve said, passengers that spend a lot on the ship can get all sorts of perks not available to the typical passenger. I’ve also mentioned that you can spend a lot of money cruising for years to achieve high loyalty status and get a number of perks included with your cruise.
Both those can both cost a considerable amount of money. If you want to feel like you’re a well-heeled passenger without spending nearly as much, then cruise lines are happy to oblige.
Major lines like Carnival and Royal Caribbean offer special programs where passengers pay a fee and get a number of these typically more expensive perks included. It’s called Faster to the Fun on Carnival and The Key on Royal.
For instance, with The Key you get priority boarding, a welcome lunch, private time for some activities onboard, dedicated seating in theaters, and even included wi-fi. Now it won’t have all the perks that come with the most expensive rooms, but it’s a way that you can spend a little to feel more like a VIP.
80% of the Cruise Is the Same Experience
A little disclosure, I’ve had the opportunity to tour and sail some of the nicest rooms in cruising at no charge. And I’ve had a taste of what those wealthy passengers pay so much money to experience.
One secret that I think gets overlooked is that while yes, the experience is nice sailing in these cabins… I was struck at how so much of the cruise is the same.
Think of it like flying first class. It’s hands-down nicer than flying coach, but you still get to your destination at the same time.
On a cruise, you’re still visiting the same ports, eating in largely the same restaurants, seeing the same shows, and playing in the same casino. So yes, there are people paying a lot more, but I’m not sure that means people paying considerably less are missing as much as they might think.
Where the Well-Heeled Normally Sail
If I asked 100 cruise passengers to name a cruise line, I’d expect 99 of them to say something like Carnival or Norwegian or Royal Caribbean. But there are tons of cruise lines out there and if you want to know where the truly affluent passengers go, it’s likely not in the nicest room on Carnival.
There are names like Viking or Silversea or Oceania or Regent Seven Seas that cater to a higher income level and where wealthy passengers are the rule rather than the exception. And this experience is unlike what you’d get from a mass market line, even staying in a nice room.
It’s smaller ships — often with only a few hundred people — more luxury, smaller ports that can’t be reached by mega liners, longer cruises, and an experience all catered to the finer things in life.
It’s a nice ride if you can get it.
