JUST WHAT CONSTITUTES LUXURY CRUISING?

Just What Constitutes Luxury Cruising These Days?

Most people have an image of luxury travel- five star hotels, epicurean food, impeccable service, and always that intangible sense of exclusivity, far beyond the norm.

Put that imagery afloat, and it becomes distilled down to very specific elements.

The ship has to be special, with the highest caliber crew to be found. Big or small (and most tend to be smaller), the ‘passenger space ratio’, or amount of space per guest, must be high. The passenger to crew ratio, by definition, must be low. The appointments must be top notch throughout. The public rooms must be enticing and not garish, the staterooms, or better, the suites, must have the best mattresses and furniture, more than adequate storage, an inviting bathroom with  elegant fixtures, fluffy towels, deluxe toiletries. Its capabilities- to travel to remote areas, perhaps an ice-hardened hull, and itineraries that match those capabilities, really do set luxury ships apart from the ordinary.

The way you are treated onboard is paramount. People want excellence, but not stuffy formality, though they may well want to dress up for dinner. Butlers throughout have become a hallmark on at least one cruise line. Anticipating your every need, just before you were even thinking of it, provides the assurance that one can truly relax, knowing you will be well looked after at all times. No lineups to embark or disembark, or at a buffet.

The food HAS to be superlative. Almost all cruise ship fare is pretty good- dining is pretty much the drawing card across the whole industry, but aboard a luxury ship, it must be much better than that. Drinks tend to be included, though not universally, and the labels are expected to be premium brands. In fact, inclusions are big selling point, so you don’t get a bar bill or worry about gratuities or even transportation into town at every port. Some lines offer free computer labs or music lessons, others include many or all shore excursions.

The onboard facilities, whether the fitness area, the pool and spa, the lounges and bars, the observation decks should be a delight to the senses- again, to simply invite you to partake and relax.

The programs, and this usually means guest speakers, or themes such as food and wine, or golf, or photography and bird watching,  must be high caliber, with small groups and genuinely knowledgeable personnel. The shore experiences must mirror the quality aboard. The ability to ‘read’ the clientele interests, to not impose formula, canned activities, or any regimentation- ie to respect that the guests are generally intelligent, well travelled, discerning, curious, and well healed, again distinguishes the first rate from the not-so-great.

Finally, the itineraries. There is little sense in booking a luxury cruise and ending up docked in a port overrun with large mass-market megaships, and find the main attraction to be generic trinket shops. So luxury has come to be synonymous with ‘off-the-beaten-path’, or at least small harbours, and though there continue to be luxury cruises to the caribbean, names such as Nevis, Gustavia, Barbuda or St. Kitts pop up on the itineraries more than the better known stops of the U.S. Virgin islands or St. Maarten.

For every ‘rule’ there is an exception, and certainly there is luxury to be found aboard ships that are not generally branded as luxury, and stops in big draw ports. There can be Broadway or Las Vegas type entertainment and casinos, and often these pale in comparison to that found on the main stream market ships. Sometimes, absence of something is a hallmark; you won’t find climbing walls or waterslides aboard the luxury product. As well, some luxury ships AREN’T new and spacious, but have a classic ambience.

By definition, the concept of luxury is quite personal, and embraces adventure travel to tiaras on formal nights. For many, it connotes just the idea of quiet- not too many kids running around, contact with nature. For others, it means hobnobbing with an elite group of like-minded fellow travelers. Regardless, whether for the unabashed hedonist or the understated history buff, travel aboard a well chosen luxury cruise should put all concerns to rest, and allow full attention to the pleasurable tasks at hand, whatever they may be.

Next- an overview of luxury cruise lines.

Cruising the St. Lawrence, Atlantic Canada and New England

 The St. Lawrence River, so central to the history of Canada and its modern inland shipping alike, has long been a popular cruise destination. Coupled with Prince Edward Island, Cape Breton and the Bay of Fundy, and thence south to legendary Bar Harbour, Maine and transiting the Cape Cod Canal before heading into Boston or New York, the route is scenic, generally calm, and features spectacular fall foliage colours.

A typical cruise either begins or ends in Montreal and Boston/New York. Southbound, after departing Montreal, one stops in Quebec City and dock within steps of the old city, directly under the citadel.

A day leisurely cruising the Saguenay River, or at least slowing down by the confluence, is rewarded with almost assured spotting of whales- Fin, Minke, sometimes Belugas and Rights.

It is at this point the wheat and chaff are separated. A seven day cruise will generally then head to Halifax. Crystal does this, while Holland America skips the Saguenay, but stops at Charlottetown and Sydney, Nova Scotia. The latter provides a much richer experience, as Cape Breton and PEI are ideal for one day tours. Great places to simply rent a car for the day, and stop by a lobster pound, take in the PEI North Shore National Park and perhaps visit Anne of Green Gables. The Cabot Trail is a scenic byway close to Sydney, as is Baddeck, Louisbourg, the Alexander Graham Bell museum and the Celtic College.

Longer cruises, such as the 12 day offered by Oceania, venture to Cornerbrook, Newfoundland, for Gros Morne National Park, and then get back on the main track with Charlottetown, Halifax, a sidestep to St. John, NB for Bay of Fundy, and on to Bar Harbour. From there, they have time for a visit to picture perfect Campden, Maine and toney Newport with its gilded mansions and yacht harbours, before finishing in New York.

The exhilaration of sailing past the Statue of Liberty at sunrise is something I will never forget as a finale to a Silver Cloud 10 day October trip taken some years ago.

Many will dismiss these itineraries as ‘too tame’, or just as easily done by land. Not so! You simply would not see as much without taking ferries and battling traffic on New England coastal roads. Nor would you get the perspective of looking from the water onto rolling hills in full autumn splendour.

It is interesting, though, that it is the premium and luxury cruise lines that dominate this market area. After all, there is something very refined and dignified about the whole Northeastern Seaboard, and not just the wealthy parts. It is the long European inhabitation, the sometimes stern architecture and town layouts reflecting the largely Protestant Pilgrim heritage.

Buried just under the surface are French influences, and Scottish, and aboriginal, though the First Nation Peoples have suffered greatly here.  The Eastern Algonquins were largely driven out or absorbed by the Iroquois. The Beothuk were driven to extinction. The Mic Mac survive, but their culture has been debased and they struggle to find their rightful place.

So a voyage here provokes thoughts about history and heritage, religious and cultural freedoms.

For small ship coastal cruising, Blount offers a number of itineraries with titles such as “Locks, Legends and Fjords”, or “Islands of New England” and “Northeast Explorations: Boston to the Bay of Fundy”. These are comfy ships with self serve BYOB bars (they provide mixer), and tend to attract a pretty hard core following among 60 to 70 something retirees who like straight forward American food and might have a fondness for military history.

American Cruise Line are a keen competitor with Blount, and visit many of the same places. “Maine Coast and Harbors”, “Hudson River” are seven nighters, and the “Grand New England” a ten day trip, stopping in at smaller ports including Nantucket, Hyannisport, Bath, Boothbay Harbour. This is an upscale brand, with elevators, for example, where Blount foregoes the amenity in favour of stair chair lifts.

The namesake St. Lawrence Cruises operates a single steamboat replica, with heritage styling and confined to the upper St. Lawrence and the 1000 Islands, Kingston area and up the Ottawa River. Definitely a Canadian version of Blount, the emphasis is on local history, and the likes of lemon meringue pie and evening board games. Perhaps I’m being a bit unfair, but their self descriptor is ‘quiet comfort’, though that might be displaced by the occasional outbreak of accordion music!

With so many choices, the most important one is to simply choose to go. The boat, the ports, scenery, rivers, ocean and memories are the outcomes, and undoubtedly, happy ones.