“Who are the affluent, and do I really want to travel with them?”

I’ve had this conversation with some of you a few times lately, so thought it was time to write about it. People considering luxury travel products are worried they’re going to end up in pretentious dinner time conversation, or they won’t know how to interact with their butler. They’re worried about feeling like Gilligan on a ship full of Mr. & Mrs. Howells.

So who are these “affluent” that travel on luxury products? They’re YOU.

I know how counterintuitive this may seem, and I was surprised the first time I did a 5-star cruise. Here’s a profile of the people that end up on luxury cruise ships:

They’ve worked for a living. They are people that worked hard, lived within their means, saved for retirement, and are now able to afford some of the nicer things.
Many of the “affluent” had public sector jobs. Some are small-business entrepreneurs. Many are retired or semi-retired plumbers, electricians, lawyers or bankers.
They are people that make decisions on value, NOT price. Folks that want the cheapest vacation go on the mega-ships. The affluent calculate the extra benefit they’ll receive by spending $100 more per day, and decide it’s worth it for them.
They don’t want to play dress-up on vacation. This is the most common objection we get to luxury products (“Will I have to wear a tuxedo?”). As a general rule, the more you pay for a cruise, the less likely you are to have to dress up. Formal nights happen on the mega-ships… not so much on the small luxury ships.

If your perception of a luxury ship is having a pretentious butler with an English accent (his name is probably “Jeeves”), helping you light your Cuban cigar, by burning a $100 bill, and drinking $2000 bottles of champagne (that you secretly hate), while sucking back caviar by the shovel-full. Well… you’ve got it wrong. You will find people just like YOU on luxury cruise ships.

AND…when you look at the value proposition, it actually doesn’t cost that much more than those mega-ship options. Here’s a quick comparison:

Alaskan 7-night Cruise in May 2025

	*Royal Caribbean Quantum*	*Celebrity Edge*	*SilverSea Silver Moon*
Number of Guests	4905	2908	596
Tonnage of ship	168,000	129,000	41,000
Guest Space Ratio (tonnage / guests)	34	44	69
Guests per Crew member	3.8	2	1.5
Size of Best Priced Room	101 Sq Feet	181 Sq Feet	335 Sq Feet
Cost per night of Best Priced Room	$138	$141	$500
All-inclusive Premium (drinks, tips, wifi)	$115	$95	Included
Specialty Dining Cost-3 times added to fare	$15	$25	Included
Excursions ($100 X 4 ports added to fare)	$57	$57	Included
TOTAL Daily cost of Fare additions	$187	$177	Included
ACTUAL COST/DAY OF BEST PRICED ROOM	$325	$318	$500
Cost of minimum 350 square foot veranda *(equivalent room across all 3 vessels)*	$813	$469	$528
ACTUAL COST/DAY OF EQUIVALENT ROOM	$1000	$646	$528

The third and fourth rows above will tell you that you get twice as much space per guest, and more than twice as many crew members per guest on the small ship. Then you see the price per day, and it looks like you pay A LOT more to be on a small ship. However, you need to look at the WHOLE cost – the cruise fare AND your on-board charges to get an apples to apples comparison. If you take the cheapest room on each ship, you’ll still pay $180 more on the small ship (keep in mind the cheapest room looks quite a bit different on each ship). When you look at comparable rooms – the small ship is actually the best priced option.

The bottom line is on the small luxury ship, you’ll have more inclusions, more choices, better service, more space, and your incremental cost isn’t that much more (might even be less for those that like to take the big suites on the mega-ships).

Now you just need to find Mary Ann for dinner conversation (another Gilligan’s Island reference).

Today’s Travel Opportunities

WINDSTAR

We can get you 10% off this small-ship luxury experience, but we have to place a hold before July 31. Here’s a link if you want more details about WINDSTAR, and some examples: https://pamperedcruiser.com/yacht-cruising-with-windstar/

UNIWORLD BOUTIQUE RIVER COLLECTION

Christmas in July Sale! Great if you’re ready to travel this year. The catch: book by July 31.

https://pamperedcruiser.uniworld.com/us/current-offers/2024-flash

Here are two examples:

Budapest to Amsterdam departing October 19, 2024 for 16-days:

Visit Budapest (overnight), Vienna (overnight), Wachau Valley, Passau, Regensburg, Nuremberg, Bamberg, Rothenburg, Wertheim, Frankfurt, Heidelberg, Rudesheim, Cologne, Amsterdam (overnight).
2024: Fares from $4999 per person.
2025: Departures in July & August from $6299.

Peru & Amazon Rainforest departing September 11, 2024 or October 15, 2024 for 11-days

Visit Lima for 2-nights, then fly to Iquitos to board the ship. Make several stops in the Amazon River Basin over the course of 7-nights, and then fly back to Lima.
Optional pre-trip to Rio de Janeiro & Iguazu Falls.
2024: fares from $6999
2025: departures every month from $11,699

CHINA with VIKING OCEAN

The folks at Viking sold out their fall 2024 China itineraries very quickly, and they’ve just announced several itineraries for 2025. Here’s a summary:

Japan & China for 15-days from $7999
China from Beijing to Hong Kong for 20-days for $9999
China, Japan & Tibet for 22-days from $12,999
China from Beigjin to Hong Kong for 15-days from $6999

If you want all the details:

https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/cruise-destinations/asia/countries/china/index.html

REMEMBER: We can get you an extra $100 per person on board credit on ANY Viking cruise.

TAUCK DOMESTIC LAND CRUISES

Michigan Lakes and Mackinac Island from Traverse City to Detroit for 8-days

Visit Traverse City (for the sand dunes, vineyards, and sandy beaches), Petoskey, Mackinac island, Midland, Bay City, Frankenmuth Bavarian Village, Dearborn (for Henry Ford Museum), Detroit.
Limited space from now through October in 2024 from $4890 per person.
Departures in 2025: May to October from $5290 per person.

Hot Air Balloon Festival in New Mexico from Albuquerque to Santa Fe for one week:

Visit Albuquerque (historic old town and sawmill district), Pueblo Culture center, and Nuclear Science museum, Bandalier National Monument, Taos, float trip on Rio Grande, Santa Fe, Georgia O’Keeffe museum.
Be part of the world’s largest hot air balloon festival
Daily departures October 6 – 13 from $5990 per person

GALAPAGOS ISLANDS WITH HX

2-nights in Quito, then fly to Galapagos (included in fare) for 6 nights. Visit Mosquera Inlet, Santa Fe, South Plaza, Santa Cruz, Charles Darwin Research Station in Port Ayora, Espanola Island, Eden Islet.
2024: $7477 for departures in October, November & December.
2025: $7477 for departures in January, February, or March

ICYMI: Australia & New Zealand Destination Focus

https://pamperedcruiser.com/how-to-visit-australia-new-zealand/

Do You Have an Upcoming Viking Cruise?

Earlier this year, Viking replaced its Book on Board program with the BON VOYAGE incentive. This allows you to book your next Viking cruise in the 2 weeks BEFORE you board, and get some extra goodies for doing so: