At Sea with Doug Newman

In an unusual move for a luxury cruise line, Crystal Cruises has added 20 third berths to deluxe (standard) cabins on Crystal Serenity. This is a 15% increase in third berth capacity and gives the ship 157 third berths in every category and every deck. With a total of 520 cabins and suites, this means that about 30% of the ship’s accommodations now feature third berths.

This is still a small number compared to standard and premium ships, but is a very high number for a luxury product. While most other luxury lines do offer some cabins with third berths (four-berth cabins are essentially nonexistent in the luxury segment), few ships offer as many as the Crystal ships. (Crystal Symphony already offers 134 cabins and suites with third berths, or about 29% of the total of 470.)

Crystal says the change is largely in response to an increase in multi-generational travel. It claims that it is the best choice for families in the luxury cruise market. (Of luxury cruise lines, only Crystal and Regent Seven Seas market to families in any significant way.)

I think this is an excellent move for Crystal; while I doubt that any Crystal ship will be overrun by kids any time soon, the fact is that there are plenty of families who do not necessarily want a mass-market experience as provided by the more family-oriented standard and premium lines. Luxury resorts have long catered for families, yet there seems to be a definite aversion to them from luxury cruise lines. Kudos to Crystal for realizing (as it long has) that families are part of the luxury marketplace.

For more information on family cruising on Crystal, see here.