Travel Maven Blog ...... David Molyneaux posts from TheTravelMavens.com

Ocean-going Crystal Cruises slides smoothly into the luxury niche on Europe’s rivers

 

Spacious and comfy top deck of Crystal Bach, cruising on the River Rhine (Photo by David G. Molyneaux, TheTravelMavens.com)

BY DAVID G. MOLYNEAUX

We were new passengers, my wife and I, when we boarded the Crystal Bach, docked at Mainz, Germany, on the River Rhine near Frankfurt. As we walked into the Palm Court lounge, fellow passengers made no secret of their curiosity. Most of them were at the midpoint of a two-week cruise from Amsterdam.

Warm and friendly, they acted as if we were new members of their private club.

“Welcome.” “You’re new, we haven’t seen you before.” “Just get onboard?” “Come join us.”

The cruise line could not have planned a better welcome.

When Crystal, which is known for its country club atmosphere on two luxury-style ocean ships, took an expensive plunge into the world of river cruising, I wondered how well the ocean product would translate when plopped onto a much smaller, less endowed river vessel.

To make it work, Crystal has built four of its own river ships that are warm, airy, and spacious with only 53 suites on vessels that could hold 90 cabins or more.

They once said that small, luxury ships would not be profitable, but now they are building more

Cruising on new Seabourn Ovation in the Med

BY DAVID G. MOLYNEAUX 

Atrium stairway on Seabourn Ovation, designed by Adam Tihany: “No matter what you wear when you walk down the stairway, you straighten up, make your grand entrance, because you look and feel great.” The art at the base is "Warrior The Second," created by Luciano Vistosi from polished and hammered lagoon green crystal. (photos by David G. Molyneaux TheTravelMavens.com)

In a scene that plays out each evening on cruise ships all over the world, during a recent voyage I popped into a bar for a pre-dinner cocktail. My request was a Jack Daniels on the rocks.

How the next scene plays out depends on your choice of ships.

If your ship is operated by a budget cruise line or most premium lines, the price of that drink would range from about $8, as measured by a small shot glass (the kind my dad used to call a “swallow”), to $12-15 for a good pour. Alcohol is a big money-maker in the cruise business, a major portion of the onboard revenue that determines cruise line profitability. On ships that charge for alcohol, drinkers may drop a bundle at the bars, on deck, and in the dining rooms.

At the other end of the cruise line economic scale float the top luxury ships where such onboard expenses as the consumption of alcohol almost always are complimentary. Not that the Jack Daniels is free, but you pay up front for most indulgences on luxury ships that charge fares as much as $1,000 per person, per day.

Luxury lines, a growing segment in the cruise industry, like to brag that guests won’t feel nickel-and-dimed during vacation; when passengers meet for a drink or dine with new friends, they never have to be concerned about who pays.

Something better than Jack, perhaps?

On the evening in question, I was cruising on the 600-passenger Seabourn Encore, one of five ships owned and operated by Seabourn, which calls itself ultra-luxury and has granted itself a sixth star in the typical range of one-to-five.