I once asked a venerable cruise critic what constitutes a “luxury cruise,” since some of the most expensive (and expansive) windows at sea are on the big ships.
You can plunk down $40,000 a week for Celebrity Edge’s Iconic Suite, or even $150,000 a week for the Ultimate Family Townhouse on Royal Caribbean’s vast Icon of the Seas.
But, “Luxury,” he said, “is where other people aren’t.”
He has a point. On the aforementioned ships, you’ll have 3,500 to 5,600 neighbors, respectively. In contrast, the luxury branded, smaller ships offer a more village atmosphere of 200 to 600 or so, with a high ratio of staff to cruisers (think 1:1, or better).
Additionally, you’ll often find these lines more attractive to solo travelers who don’t want to be surrounded by (and feel excluded from) big groups, so even a sold-out sailing doesn’t equate to full capacity. That means ample chill spaces and pool loungers, and a sense of calm versus cacophony.
The boutique Seabourn line, with just five ships, including two expedition cruisers, fits that less-is-more ethos, placing an emphasis on unfussed luxury where almost everything comes included in the sticker price — something else luxe travelers want. That includes caviar at your beck and call, and lashings of Champagne, which is liberally offered at every opportunity. In fact, you’ll rarely be far from a popping cork. (Guests quaffed some 145,000 bottles of the stuff across the fleet last year.)
On a seven-day “Yachtsman’s Caribbean” trip on Seabourn Ovation (from $3,329 per person), the neater ship size also means the itinerary can live up to its title, cruising from St. Maarten to Barbados via the British Virgin islands, St. Kitts, Martinique, Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, all the while bypassing touristy big towns and industrial dock views in favor of anchoring out in scenic bays, overlooking hillside villages and lush vistas.
“Every morning I had a ‘throw those curtains wide’ moment,” said UK denizen Sue Pattinson. “It was just a step onto the balcony to take in huge blue skies and a beautiful new island.”
The 600-passenger capacity, suite-only accommodations on Ovation are all balcony oceanfront — a bonus of which is the lack of interior rooms, which means the corridors don’t feel eerily claustrophobic. Neither will your suite. The bathroom has huge elbow room and you’ll gawp at the enormous walk-in closet, all presented in a sleek, upscale design created by hospitality specialist Tihany Design.
Delicious, fresh food, as you would expect, is at the forefront. A variety of restaurants include a poolside grill, Earth & Ocean, and a serene sushi restaurant.
The Mediterranean menu in the new eatery Solis includes branzino, homemade lobster ravioli or chicken cooked in a cocotte and served tableside — but if you just want a cheesy bacon hot dog and fries, 24-hour room service is included, too.
Should you be so inclined, there’s a small casino, a spa and a theater with a variety of entertainment, plus a host of onboard activities. We made it a point to make it to the daily trivia, where our rag-tag team “We Just Met” put in a decent inning or two.
In fact, it’s the friendly ambience of the cruise that comes top of mind to many of the guests. That’s what impressed Maggie and Clive Wilkinson, property developers also from the UK (our sailing had 278 Brits versus 225 of the rest, probably in part due to the UK’s many direct flights to Barbados). They had resisted cruising for years.
“We were far too cool for all of that,” said Maggie. “However, a few of our friends who travel a lot in some style, and have great fun and enjoy luxury, kept telling us that we’d love cruising — but only to go at the top end of the market on relatively small ships.”
Lines like Silversea, Regent Seven Seas and Ritz-Carlton were all, ahem, floated, but the Wilkinsons went for Seabourn, and they’ve since been on three cruises with them, hooked on the brand thanks to the personable atmosphere on board.
“We love meeting new people, especially ones that we wouldn’t meet in our day to day lives,” she said. “We really like that most people onboard are also happy to chat so it’s easy to talk to whomever you find yourself near.”
Of course, the prime cruising locations help, too. There’s plenty for sea lovers, including the white beaches of Soper’s Hole in Frenchman’s Cay in the British Virgin Islands, where you can sip a Painkiller cocktail at the Soggy Dollar Bar, where it was invented in the ’70s. At Carambola beach in St. Kitts, there’s an all day party barbecue complete with “caviar in the surf” — a floating board of fishy treats served by wading waiters and, yes, plenty more fizz.
You can also find culture and history, too. In the pretty, arty colonial town of Saint-Pierre in Martinique, we walked the ruins left by the explosive eruption of the Mount Pelée volcano in 1902, which wiped out the city that was considered “the Paris of the Caribbean.” It killed 30,000 people with lethal gas, scalding ash and pummeling rocks, sucking all the ships in the bay under the waves. A sobering thought since the volcano is still active and described as “restless.”
The real surprise, though, was the unspoiled beauty of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, where a cruise around the bay revealed crazy rustic villas carved into the cliffs, as well as pristine deserted bays for swimming and snorkeling.
If the Caribbean isn’t your thing, despite being a smaller line, Seabourn has an extensive network of routes all over the seven seas, including lesser known destinations like Kimberley coastline in Australia or the wilds of Iceland. The space and comfort level (including a self-serve laundry) also lend itself to long itineraries, such as the new 94-day “Pole-to-Pole: Grand Expedition” in 2027, sailing 20,500 nautical miles from the Arctic to Antarctica (from $109,000 per person). Or, maybe go for broke and set off on the 120-day world cruise in 2028, and help celebrate the cruise line’s 40th Ruby anniversary (from $78,000 per person).
On our cruise, a guest had signed up for an eight-month trip just pootling around the Caribbean, and that’s not unusual, said guest services manager Le Roux van Dyk.
“We provide attention to detail,” he said. “We get to know what the guests want in a small ship experience.”
A luxe home from home with an ever-changing view without any crowds. What’s not to love?
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