| OCEANCRUISES.com’s mission is to report on the very best any cruise ship has to offer; typically the best room with the best services available. Seldom covered publicly, most of the major cruise lines offer what they consider an “extreme upper class” experience. Certainly Disney Cruise Lines highest quality cruise will not compare with the same quality level cruise on Crystal Cruises, but they all do seem to offer something for those where money is not material. In most of our articles, we report on cruises that our staff writers have actually been on. Taking a different perspective, we wanted to focus this time around on customer service, the responses received, and how accommodating the cruise lines were with our requests made via e-mail. This article will focus on two commercial cruise lines and the best trips they offer; Crystal and Seabourn. Many cruise lines offer exceptional luxury packages. For this article we required that our e-mailed requests be responded to within 24 hours. Only Crystal and Seabourn accommodated our deadline.
In both cases, we had a senior manager in the public relations office respond. We were impressed with the immediate escalation of our requests to these departments. Although we were clearly offering a press opportunity (i.e. this article), this is the peak cruising booking season, which clearly presented challenges to the other cruise lines in responding so quickly. We believe this is significant in that it may show certain cruise lines have embraced the Internet beyond just simple e-commerce. |
|
|
YOU WILL HAVE TO WAIT FOR THE SEABOURN VIKING PASSAGE |
London to New York in 20 days |
|
| Sold out with a waiting list, the 575 Sq Ft Owner’s Suite at $39,279 per person, double occupancy offers some of the finest accommodations we have ever seen offered for a cruise in this price range (as always, Seabourn offers many less expensive packages on the same cruise ship). |
| |
| What you will find with all of Seabourn Cruises is solid and consistent attention to detail and extra services that many of the other cruises do not offer. All suites feature: |
|
|
| • |
Complimentary Champagne upon arrival |
| • |
24 hour room service |
| • |
TV/VCR (satellite TV where available) |
| • |
In-suite bar |
| • |
Personalized Stationary |
| • |
Fruit basket (replenished daily) |
| • |
Direct dial phone |
| • |
Private electronic safe |
| • |
Walk-in-closet |
| • |
Fluffy terry robes |
| • |
Hair dryer |
| • |
Nightly turndown service with pillow sweet |
| • |
Daily program |
| • |
Umbrella |
| • |
100/220 volt outlets |
| • |
Pure Pampering Aromatherapy |
|
|
|
CRYSTAL’S BEST IN CLASS for 2003 |
Around the World in 104 Days |
| Top accommodations: Penthouse |
| Tour: 104 Days – World |
| Price (based on double occupancy): $172,665 |
|
|
Crystal Cruises will set sail for its eighth annual World Cruise in winter 2003, touring four continents and visiting 37 ports of call in 15 countries. Two firsts will distinguish Crystal Symphony's globe-spanning cruise, "Wonders of the Southern Seas," the luxury liner will depart from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, Crystal's first-ever East Coast embarkation for its annual World Cruise, and she will navigate through Antarctica's icy waters, a destination never before visited by the floating resort. Also new for the 2003 104-day journey are a circumnavigation of South America and Australia, and a host of other exotic locales in North America and the South Pacific.
While the "Wonders of the Southern Seas" concludes in Los Angeles, those who prefer a round-trip Ft. Lauderdale voyage may continue on a convenient 15-day Panama Canal cruise from Los Angeles to Ft. Lauderdale.
As in past years, Crystal Cruises surveyed thousands of past guests and top-producing travel agents regarding their itinerary preferences. The resulting 2003 World Cruise was crafted from responses earning the highest level of interest. "Each year our goal is to create the luxury cruise experience of a lifetime," says Gregg L. Michel, president, Crystal Cruises. "We also appreciate - perhaps more so than ever - that many of our guests value the convenience of domestic embarkation and disembarkation ports." |
| |
| Continued On Page 2... |
|
