We get it: Ocean cruising with 5,000 of your nearest and dearest friends isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. But what if we said there’s a way to transform your cruise so it doesn’t feel like a floating mega-resort? The key is to splurge for upgrades to get a more bespoke, boutique vacation. For many travelers, part of the allure of an ocean cruise is its semi-all-inclusive nature. But for experiences that go above and beyond the norm—and that pull you away from the buffet-scavenging, lounge-chair-hoarding crowds—you’ll have to spend some money. If you’re looking for a non-cruising cruise experience, here are the upgrades that are worth the spend.
The Suite Life
When you book an ocean cruise, you'll find there are several room types, ranging from tiny interior cabins with bunk beds and no windows to full-on presidential suites with hot tubs on terraces. In recent years, however, a new category of stateroom has evolved: suites that belong to a private club, so to speak. At least five cruise lines—Celebrity, MSC, Royal Caribbean, Cunard, and Norwegian—have debuted a class of cabins that offer private lounges, private dining, and even private pools just for guests of the exclusive room type. It's the VIP treatment and you can keep to yourself if you'd like, save for when you embark and disembark. Plus, the suites that belong to these categories are usually spacious and luxurious, which means spending time in your cabin isn't a bad thing.
Even if you don’t decide to splurge on the “ship-within-a-ship” concept, you could still visit the adults-only areas, which are offered on most ships, for a respite from the crowds. Even Disney cruises have a number of adults-only venues that allow the 18-plus demographic to have some alone time. Another potential perk to booking a high-end room on a ship? On Regent Seven Seas Cruises, specifically, guests who book suites receive complimentary business-class flights to and from their starting and ending ports.
Splurge on a Special Meal
Since upgrading to a suite-level cabin might be a bit over budget from some travelers, there are other ways to personalize a cruise experience, including paying for specialty dining. Most cruises include three meals a day at their standard restaurants and buffets, but a number of ships have exclusive restaurants that are available by reservation only, for an extra fee. For serious foodies, these upgrades are worth the spend, given the quality of the experience. For example, Oceania offers a Dom Pérignon dinner on some of its ships for about $300 per person—but it’s a six-course menu each paired with a vintage. (If you ask nicely, you might be able to get a second or third glass of each.) Many cruise lines also partner with celebrity chefs to develop specialty restaurants that rival the ones on land; Royal Caribbean has Jamie's Italian with Jamie Oliver, Oceania teams with French chef Jacques Pépin, and Seabourn pairs with French Laundry's Thomas Keller.
Book a Spa Treatment
On the majority of cruise lines, spa treatments aren't included in the base fare, but a little pampering can go a long way. Since a limited number of passengers can be in the spa at a time, it makes for a calmer experience (especially given how great the spas on ships can be). Ship spas tend to have cafés, too, with healthy food options that make a nice foil for the pizza, hamburgers, and hot dogs you might see at the snack bar. Even if you don’t want to spend on a specific treatment, some cruises let you book packages that allow access to their spas’ facilities, like steam rooms, saunas, and quiet lounges. On Celebrity Edge, for instance, all guests can buy access to the Sea Thermal Suite, an area within the spa that includes a hammam, steam room, infrared sauna, crystal room, and sea salt room. (For what it’s worth, guests of the “ship-within-a-ship” AquaClass suites get free access.)
Excursions for 2, not 22
Particularly for non-cruising types, excursions might be the highlight of the entire trip. But if you want to avoid the typical flag-following cruise groups that hit up all the tourist attractions in a given port city, you’ll have to spend a little extra on a more customized experience. One great way to make the most of a port stop is to book a private driver to take you to the places you actually want to visit. A number of cruise lines, from Seabourn to Carnival, offer chauffeured excursions where you get to make the call on the stops. So if you’re sailing to Italy and have specific wineries in mind, you can easily make your own way there.
There are many occasions, too, when cruises might offer exclusive access to a tourist site via its excursions. A number of ships are extending their hours in port to include evening activities, which means it’s possible to get special after-hours access to tourist-packed museums (Azamara Cruises is known for these outings). It can also be helpful to book more elaborate excursions through a cruise directly, like taking a helicopter ride over Whitehaven Beach in Australia’s Whitsunday Islands or a private plane ride to Torres Del Paine National Park in Chile.
Finally, there are also pre- or post-cruise "overland extensions," where you book a few extra days at a remote landside destination, like the interior of Alaska or Machu Picchu in Peru—it’s an ideal way to add a non-cruising element to your sailing.
