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Condé Nast Traveler picks
 Luxury Cruising
Welcome to a hushed, privileged world. Welcome aboard the elite, glamorous ships of Silversea, Crystal, Regent Seven Seas, Cunard, and those exquisite small vessels with the flavor of billionaire yachts—Oceania, Seabourn, SeaDream, and Windstar. This is grand luxe cruising, where service and amenities rise to new heights of refinement and opulence, carrying you across the ocean with marble-clad bathrooms and multihead showers, Frette bathrobes and Bulgari toiletries, Christofle silverware and Riedel crystal, private butlers and personal shoppers, and, on the Queen Mary 2, even freshly baked biscuits for your pet at turndown. These luxury liners range in size from about 100 passengers on the SeaDream I and SeaDream II to just under 2,000 on the Crystal Serenity (the Queen Mary 2's 2,600-passenger capacity is an exception in this group), and they claim an unusually high crew-to-passenger ratio: one crew member for 1.34 passengers on Silversea or, in the case of the SeaDream I and II, 92 crew for just 110 passengers. Extra crew means superior service and all sorts of perks. On the ships of SeaDream Yacht Club, for instance, staff organize tropical beach parties that feature the trademark Caviar and Champagne Splash, with waiters in crisp white uniforms wading ashore through the surf with platters of refreshments. Ultimate Lodgings It goes without saying that on ships of this class, passengers settle into large, finely appointed staterooms. As Gregg Michel, president of Crystal, says, "We find that people who live the good life at home want spacious, refined accommodations when they travel." Today, top-of-the-line penthouse suites come with round-the-clock butlers, sumptuous bathrooms (often with a Jacuzzi), and, in the case of Crystal Penthouses, separate dining areas with tables for ten people. On the Crystal Serenity, the 1,345-square-foot Crystal Penthouses also incorporate private fitness rooms and private libraries. On the Queen Mary 2, a Grand Duplex comes with private elevator access and measures an imposing 2,249 square feet; even so, passengers often combine a Duplex with a Royal Suite for a sea-going villa of more than 4,000 square feet. Spacious and refined accommodations, indeed. Ultimate Pastimes The luxury lines assume that passengers want some form of enrichment for the mind and the spirit rather than just mere entertainment—hence, theme cruises. Deilmann Cruises' Deutschland and the ships of Regent Seven Seas have frequent miniature music festivals at sea showcasing distinguished performers and guest lecturers; the Queen Mary 2 usually sets sail with lecturers from Oxford University and performers from London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art; and Crystal's onboard curriculum ranges from instruction in keyboard playing and language lessons to wellness seminars by experts from the Cleveland Clinic. Think of a cruise as a chance to catch up on all the pastimes you had to forgo when you were building wealth and raising a family. Ultimate Euphoria On grand hotels at sea, the spas are the real thing: Steiner Leisure on Crystal and Silversea, Carita on Regent Seven Seas, and a two-story Canyon Ranch on the Queen Mary 2. Seabourn yachts give guests a five-hour Ceremony of Tranquility in a Thai Spa (the only sea-going member of the esteemed Thai Spa Association). Five hours—that just about takes care of the crossing from Mykonos to Rhodes, and is far more comfortable than the local ferry. Ultimate Cuisine There was a time when cruise cuisine was considered an oxymoron, but in recent years dining out on the high seas has become almost as much a voyage of discovery as the sailing itself. Cruise lines have been signing up star chefs to create menus and train their kitchen brigades: Le Cordon Bleu for Regent Seven Seas; Wolfgang Puck, Piero Selvaggio, and Nobu Matsuhisa for Crystal; Charlie Palmer for Seabourn; Jacques Pépin for Oceania; and Joachim Splichal for Windstar. TV star Todd English even has his own "alternative dining" restaurant on the Queen Mary 2. Sure beats airline food. Ultimate Tranquility Here's a twist: Cruise ships now have so many action-packed diversions that the very latest megaliner to join the cruising fleet, Princess's 3,080-passenger Crown Princess, has introduced—ta-da!—tranquility. It takes the form of an adults-only retreat on the uppermost deck: In a "spa-inspired setting" known as The Sanctuary, Serenity Stewards dole out Evian spritzers, smoothies, tuna pâté, and personal MP3 players. The Sanctuary also reminds us, of course, that cruising is all about enjoying the invigorating sea air and bracing sea breezes, about strolling a teak deck or relaxing in a steamer chair. For many cruisers, that's the ultimate vacation. Truth in Travel is the guiding principle for all content published in Condé Nast Traveler. Other travel publications often accept free travel and accommodations. Condé Nast Traveler does not. It is independent of the travel industry. The magazine always pays its way, and, as far as possible, its correspondents travel anonymously. By doing so, they experience the world—both the good and the bad—as other travelers do, and their reports and recommendations are fair, impartial, and authoritative.
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