Six-Star Cruising: The Ultimate Splurge

The Seattle Times ran an article a few years ago about people who economize in some areas in order to splurge on a luxury item in another area. The article by Jolayne Houtz included an interview with one woman who said she planned to drive her 6-year-old Toyota Camry "until it dies", yet she had spent $2500 on a cruise to Tahiti.

"Living the high life is not a part of my day-to-day experience. It's a major treat," said Betty Hanks, of Des Moines. "I save up for it and ... just eat up every moment."

The cruise lines owe a lot to people like Betty Hanks, who choose to splurge on cruises instead of luxury cars or other temptations. For Betty -- and many others -- travel is the ultimate save-up-and-splurge experience, and a cruise is the ultimate form of travel.

You'll find people splurging on every cruise, for all kinds of reasons. Life's big celebrations are good excuses for people to splurge, and virtually every ship at sea has passengers celebrating weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, promotions, college graduations or retirement.

And the ultimate splurge for people who love to travel? In my opinion, it's the 6-star cruise lines Silversea, Crystal, Regent and Seabourn. I was in the business for 15 years before I was able to sample a 6-star cruise, but I found that it was worth the wait. The level of luxury and service beats anything on land, and these small-to-mid-size ships (they range from 208 to 1080 passengers) sail to the most interesting and exotic locations on earth.

Fortunately, the number of folks who can afford this experience has increased in the past several years, as 6-star lines have begun to target specific sailings with much bigger discounts than ever before.

Frankly, I've felt I was splurging every time I've set foot on a ship, 6-stars or 3, it's just so much better out there.

Sincerely,

Alan Fox
Executive Chairman
Vacations To Go