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Again, Chartwell Magazine thought we would hand pick some of the most luxurious travel options - today we are concentrating on luxury cruises. We have selected the following 3 companies, that truly represent a luxury cruise - limited guests, all cabins with sea view, crew remembering your preferences and no commercial cruise line kitsch. All lines offer cruises ranging from 7-day vacation cruises to 116 day world cruises.
Seaburn
This luxury cruise line has 6 ships in its fleet and they are all relatively small, ranging from 104 to 225 suites on board. They customize your mini bar before you board and they offer outstanding shore excursions, with options such as elephant rides in Thailand and horseback riding in Patagonia. The cruises we love most are:
16-day Indian and Arabian Odyssey: from Singapore through Phuket and Mumbai and ending in Dubai
19-day Path of the Vikings: from South Hampton (England) through Dublin, Faroe Islands, Reykjavik to Greenland and Canada (Labrador to Quebec) ending in Montreal
33-day Arabia, India, Asia: from Dubai through Mumbai, Phuket, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Bangkok to Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and ending in Hong Kong
Crystal Cruises
They specifically train their crew members to anticipate and remember your preferences. Fresh flowers, nightly turndown, Frette bathrobes and just some of the perks on-board. They only have 2 ships in their fleet and on both they offer enrichment programs like language classes or golf lessons from PGA professionals. Our favourites with Crystal Cruises are:
14-day Icelandic Adventure: going from Dover through Dublin and Reykjavik to Nova Scotia in Canada and finally finishing in New York
98-day Asia Pacific Adventure: starting in Auckland you will visit everything from New Zealand, Australia (Sydney, Brisbane, Darwin), Indonesia (Bali, Jakarta), Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur), Singapore, Bangkok, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Japan (Nagasaki, Kobe), Petropavlovsk in Russia, Alaska, Vancouver, Seatlle, San Francisco and finally arriving to Los Angeles.
Silversea
Their fleet accounts for 6 ships, all with ocean-view, Bvlgari bath products, Egyptian cotton linens and butler service. Our favourite is the Silversea 115-day World Cruise for 2013 - if there is any luxury line you would like to spend 115 days on, it is Silversea. The world cruise starts in Los Angeles and on the way you will stop in the following places: Marquesas Islands, Tuamotu, Tahiti and Bora Bora, Cook Islands, New Zealand, Tasmania, Sydney, Melbourne, Adeleide, Perth, Bali, Borneo, Phillipines, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Bangkok, Singapore, Shri Lanka, Maldives, Mauritius, Madagascar, Mozambique, South Africa, Namibia, Cameroon, Ghana, Gambia, Sao Vincente, Barbados, Dominicana and Florida.
