Can I let you in on a secret?

Cruising comes with six different star ratings. Four-star cruise lines you may know, include P&O and Royal Caribbean. Then you can upgrade to five-star cruise lines like Oceania or Cunard. Finally, for the lucky few, there’s the luxurious, six-star cruise lines such as Crystal Cruises, Seabourn, Silversea or Regent Seven Seas.

Now so many people have the misconception that six-star cruises are very expensive and totally out of reach. The thing is though…. You couldn’t be more wrong! One of cruising’s biggest kept secrets is that a lot of the time cruising with a 6* cruise line like Crystal can work out to be cheaper than cruising with the likes of Royal Caribbean! Don’t believe me?

I get that the up-front cost of the cruise can put a lot of people off but what you need to do is consider the holiday cost in its entirety. Due to the nature of luxury cruising, once you’ve calculated the cost of the cruise nearly everything is then included for you.

Think for a minute how much did you spend on you last cruise…

Then think how much you paid for flights, getting from the airport to the ship, drinks on-board, gratuities, Wi-Fi packages… speciality restaurants. Etc. these are often free with a six-star cruise Then there’s the size of the accommodation, the number of crew looking after all the guests and the extra space on-board for you to relax.

Still not convinced? Then let me convince you…

I’ve compared a luxury cruise with Crystal Cruises against a similar cruise with Royal Caribbean, a 4* cruise line. I’ve laid out all the costings for you to compare below, so you don’t just have to take my word for it! Feel free to compare it for yourself.

So lets look at the facts, Crystal Cruises have been voted the worlds best for more than 24 years running, the above cruise on Crystal Symphony is 4 nights longer than the Radiance of the Seas, they both depart on exactly the same date 23 March 2019 and the there are still many items not mentioned above that are included on Crystal, but not on Royal Caribbean.

Now I am not saying that six-star cruising is for everyone, but most people I speak to do like to be pampered and would enjoy the pleasures of having Champagne (not sparkling wine) on tap without ever having to worry about a bill at the end of the night, day, or week. Did I mention the food…? I guess I need to leave something to the imagination.