“Luxury cruises cost three times as much” is the sentence that ends most of these conversations, and it is comparing the wrong two numbers. A premium fare and a luxury fare do not buy the same thing, so setting them side by side tells you almost nothing. The real question is what each one still leaves you to pay for once you are aboard — and on that measure the gap is much narrower than the brochures suggest, and occasionally it closes altogether.
This guide is about the two product categories, not about which line is best. If you already know you want luxury and are choosing between brands, our guide to luxury cruises for a milestone celebration profiles the individual lines. This one sits upstream of that: should you move up at all?
What the two categories actually mean
Premium means a large ship — often two to three thousand guests — with a good standard of food, service and design, sold on a fare that covers your cabin, main dining and entertainment. Almost everything else is a separate purchase. Celebrity, Princess, Holland America and Cunard sit here.
Luxury means a small ship — typically 600 to 800 guests, sometimes far fewer — sold on a fare that bundles most of what you would otherwise buy: drinks, gratuities, Wi-Fi, specialty dining and sometimes shore excursions. Regent Seven Seas, Silversea, Seabourn and Explora Journeys sit here. Oceania and Viking Ocean sit deliberately in between, and we will come back to them.
The distinction is not really about quality. It is about where the money changes hands.
The inclusion grid
This is the heart of it. Everything else in this article is a footnote to this table.
| Specialty dining | Alcohol | Gratuities | Wi-Fi | Excursions | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Celebrity | Extra | Extra | Extra | Extra | Extra |
| Princess | Extra | Extra | Extra | Extra | Extra |
| Holland America | Extra | Extra | Extra | Extra | Extra |
| Viking Ocean | Included | Beer and wine at lunch and dinner | Extra | Included | One per port |
| Oceania | Included | Soft drinks and coffee only | Included | Included | Extra |
| Explora Journeys | Mostly included | Included | Included | Included | Extra |
| Seabourn | Included | Included | Included | Included | Extra |
| Silversea | Included | Included | Included | Included | Credit on the Plus fare |
| Regent Seven Seas | Included | Included | Included | Included | Included |
Two honest caveats. Explora is not quite surcharge-free — nine venues are included, but Anthology, The Chef’s Kitchen, The Chef’s Table and The Cellar all carry charges, with Anthology’s tasting menu running to €165 plus €70 for the wine pairing. And Regent’s “unlimited” shore excursions are unlimited by entitlement, not by availability — they are booked in advance and capacity-limited, they sit in tiers, and whether every tier is genuinely surcharge-free is not clearly published. Ask before you assume. Regent’s air and transfers are also an optional Air Concierge add-on rather than part of the base fare, which is a common and expensive misconception.
The bundled premium fares that blur the line
The premium lines know exactly what the grid above looks like, which is why they all now sell a bundled fare. These are what make a fair comparison possible — and one detail inside them matters more than everything else.
- Celebrity “All Included” — the Classic drinks package plus basic Wi-Fi. Gratuities are not included; Celebrity removed them from this bundle in 2023 and plenty of comparisons have not caught up.
- Princess Plus, around $65 per person per day — 15 drinks a day up to $15 each, specialty coffee, twelve bottled waters, Wi-Fi on one device, four casual dining meals, and crew appreciation included.
- Princess Premier, around $100 per person per day — unlimited drinks up to $20, unlimited casual and specialty dining, crew appreciation, Wi-Fi on four devices, unlimited digital photos, a $300 per-person shore excursion credit and reserved theatre seating.
- Holland America “Have It All” — the Signature Beverage Package, Surf-tier Wi-Fi, a shore excursion credit of $100, $200 or $300 depending on voyage length, and one, two or three specialty dining nights on the same bands. Gratuities are not stated as included.
So: of the three big premium bundles, only Princess includes gratuities. Celebrity’s and Holland America’s leave the single largest recurring add-on on the table, and at $19.50 to $24.50 per person per day on Celebrity that is not a rounding error over a two-week voyage. Princess Premier is the one premium product that genuinely approaches a luxury inclusion set.
Now do the arithmetic
Here is how to compare the two fares honestly. Take the premium fare and add what you will actually spend per person per day:
| Add-on | Roughly, per person per day |
|---|---|
| Gratuities — Celebrity | $19.50 standard, $20.50 Concierge and AquaClass, $24.50 in The Retreat |
| Gratuities — Princess | About $18, more in suites |
| Gratuities — Holland America | About $17–18, more in suites |
| Gratuities — Cunard | About $16 |
| Drinks — Celebrity Classic package | About $90, plus a 20% service charge |
| Drinks — Celebrity Premium package | About $105, plus 20% |
| Wi-Fi — Celebrity basic | About $20 per device |
| Specialty dining | Per cover, per restaurant |
| Shore excursions | Per person, per port |
Drinks, gratuities and Wi-Fi alone land somewhere around $110 to $145 per person per day on a premium line before you have booked a single excursion or specialty dinner. Multiply that by two people and by the number of nights, add it to the premium fare, and then compare it with the luxury fare. That is the only comparison worth making.
Sometimes the luxury fare still loses, and by a lot. Sometimes it wins outright. The point is that you cannot know without doing the sum, and almost nobody does it. Our guide to what a cruise really costs lays out the full set of line items, and the drink packages guide covers the biggest single variable.
One useful reality check
Holland America’s own bundle values shore excursions at $100 to $300 for an entire voyage. Set that against Regent, where excursions are included in every port. If you are the kind of traveller who takes a tour at nearly every stop, that single line explains most of the gap between the two products — and if you are the kind who prefers to wander a port alone, it explains why luxury inclusions can be money you never use.
Space, service and ship size
The two measures that actually describe the difference are the space ratio — gross tons per passenger — and the crew-to-guest ratio.
- Regent’s Seven Seas Explorer: a space ratio around 75 and roughly 1.29 crew per guest.
- Seabourn Quest: around 71, with roughly 1.30 crew per guest. Seabourn’s expedition ships Venture and Pursuit run about 87 and 2.20.
- Silversea’s Silver Shadow: around 73, with roughly 1.28 crew per guest. Silver Nova works out at about 75, carrying 728 guests and 556 crew.
- Oceania Vista: around 56 and 1.71 — visibly the lowest of the luxury group, which is exactly why Oceania is best described as upper-premium.
- Celebrity Edge: 130,818 gross tons and around 2,918 guests works out at roughly 45.
So a luxury ship gives you somewhere between a half and two-thirds more space per person, and roughly a third more crew per guest, than a premium ship. That is what “the ship never feels crowded” actually means, and it is the part of the luxury product that cannot be bought back with a bundled fare.
Size follows from it. Silver Nova carries 728 guests in 364 suites. Seabourn’s Encore and Ovation carry around 600. Oceania’s Vista and Allura classes carry about 1,200. A Celebrity Edge-class ship carries nearly 2,918. Whether that is an advantage depends entirely on you: fewer guests means quieter and more personal, and it also means fewer restaurants, less entertainment and nothing much happening at eleven at night.
Cabins, suites — and the comparison people miss
Regent, Silversea, Seabourn and Explora are all-suite. Regent puts a private balcony on 99% of them. Seabourn’s are all ocean-front, though most rather than all have a veranda. Silversea’s all have ocean views and many have a teak veranda.
Butler service is where the luxury lines genuinely differ from each other, not just from premium. Silversea provides butler service to every guest, with a staff-to-guest ratio approaching one to one. Regent restricts butlers to Penthouse level and above. If a butler is part of why you are upgrading, that distinction is worth more than any brochure comparison.
The premium suite is the real alternative
Here is the comparison most people should be making and almost nobody does. A premium line’s top suite tier is much closer to a luxury base cabin than a premium balcony is.
Celebrity’s The Retreat includes a butler in every suite, the suites-only Luminae restaurant with Daniel Boulud dishes, a private lounge and sundeck, the premium drinks package and premium Wi-Fi, in-suite dining and afternoon tea. Royal Suite and above add complimentary specialty dining and the thermal suite. That is a luxury-style inclusion set on a large ship — with more restaurants, more entertainment and more to do than any 700-guest ship can offer. Gratuities still bill separately at $24.50 per person per day, and you are still sharing the ship with nearly three thousand people.
If you want luxury service but would miss a big ship, The Retreat is the honest answer and it is cheaper than moving lines. Our Celebrity guide covers how suite class works across the fleet; Holland America’s Neptune Suites and Princess’s Signature and Reserve Collection are the equivalents on those lines.
Dining
In the luxury tier, specialty dining is essentially free. Seabourn states plainly that all dining venues are complimentary and includes caviar throughout the voyage. Regent includes every specialty restaurant. Oceania’s Toscana, Polo Grill, Jacques and Red Ginger carry no cover, with only its wine-paired La Reserve experiences charged. Explora, as noted, is the exception that breaks the rule.
The culinary positioning is real rather than decorative: Jacques Pépin is Oceania’s Executive Culinary Advisor, and Seabourn runs The Grill by Thomas Keller. In the premium tier, Celebrity confirms specialty restaurants are extra — Virgin Voyages being the striking anomaly with twenty-plus eateries and no upcharge venues at all.
If food is the main reason you are considering the upgrade, note that Oceania is the value play: food included, alcohol not. A couple who dine seriously but drink modestly get most of the luxury dining experience without paying for a beverage inclusion they would not use.
The counterintuitive part: dress codes have inverted
Most people assume luxury means dressing up. It no longer does — the premium tier is now the dressier one.
- Regent and Oceania moved to “Elegant Casual” in September 2025. Refined denim and smart trainers are acceptable in the evening; formal wear is optional.
- Seabourn is Elegant Casual after 6pm with elegant jeans welcome in every dining venue, and it eliminated formal nights entirely on its expedition ships in 2023.
- Celebrity retains Evening Chic. Princess keeps two or three formal nights. Holland America keeps Gala Night.
- Cunard is the formal holdout — a jacket in Britannia after 6pm, and Queens and Princess Grill effectively black tie.
- Virgin Voyages has abolished dress codes altogether.
If packing a tuxedo is the reason you have been avoiding luxury cruising, that reason expired.
Oceania and Viking sit in the middle on purpose
Neither is quite luxury and neither is quite premium, and both are deliberate about it.
Oceania changed its structure with “Your World Included,” effective for sailings from January 2025: gratuities became included for all guests worldwide, but the beverage package and the shore-excursion credit came out. Oceania got more inclusive on tips and less inclusive on drinks and tours at the same time — a nuance most comparisons miss entirely. Its eighth ship, Allura, was delivered in 2025.
Viking Ocean includes specialty dining, Wi-Fi and one shore excursion in every port, plus beer and wine at lunch and dinner, while charging gratuities of around $17 a day. It is adults-only and destination-focused, with no casino and no children. Our Viking guide covers the ocean and river products in detail.
For many travellers one of these two is the right answer rather than a full move to Regent or Silversea — you get most of the inclusion benefit and a good deal of the intimacy without the top-tier fare.
When the upgrade is worth it — and when it is not
Move up if you:
- Drink meaningfully. Two premium drinks packages plus service charge is roughly $216 a day for a couple — this is the single biggest driver of the maths
- Would take a shore excursion in most ports. Regent is the only line that includes them outright
- Want small ships, quiet evenings and space more than variety and entertainment
- Are sailing a long voyage, where per-day add-ons compound
- Value not seeing a bill. That is a legitimate reason and worth naming
Stay premium if you:
- Drink little. You will pay for an alcohol inclusion you do not use, and Oceania is the smarter middle path
- Prefer to explore ports independently rather than on organised tours
- Are travelling with family, or want a casino, production theatre and a busy ship
- Would rather have a suite on a big ship than a standard cabin on a small one — The Retreat exists precisely for this
- Are booking a short sailing, where the fixed daily inclusions have fewer days to earn back
And a genuine warning: a luxury cruise is not a better version of a premium cruise. It is a different holiday. Travellers who love the energy of a big ship — the shows, the choice, the buzz at ten at night — frequently find a 600-guest ship quiet rather than refined, and conclude they wasted the money. They did not buy the wrong brand; they bought the wrong category.
Let us run the numbers on your actual sailing
The honest answer to “is luxury worth it” depends on your itinerary length, how much you drink, how many excursions you would take, and whether you would rather have space or variety. That is a short conversation and it regularly changes the decision in both directions — sometimes upward, sometimes toward a premium suite that costs less and suits better.
We compare available supplier offers, agency promotions and added amenities to help you find strong overall value. Planning fees are $0. Fares, inclusions, gratuity rates and bundled-fare terms change frequently and vary by sailing.
Start with the Where2Next survey, or search available sailings. If you have not settled on a category at all, how the cruise lines differ is the place to start.
Luxury versus premium FAQs
What is the difference between a premium and a luxury cruise line?
Ship size and what the fare covers. Premium lines carry two to three thousand guests and sell an unbundled fare — drinks, tips, Wi-Fi, specialty dining and excursions are all extra. Luxury lines carry six hundred to eight hundred, are usually all-suite, and bundle most of that into the fare.
Is a luxury cruise actually more expensive?
Often less than it looks. Add drinks, gratuities and Wi-Fi to a premium fare and you are adding roughly $110 to $145 per person per day before excursions or specialty dining. Do that sum before comparing. For a couple on a long voyage who drink and take tours, the gap can close almost entirely.
Which premium bundle includes gratuities?
Only Princess. Princess Plus and Princess Premier both include crew appreciation. Celebrity’s All Included does not — it was removed in 2023 — and Holland America’s Have It All does not state that it does.
Is Oceania a luxury line?
Best described as upper-premium. Its space and crew ratios sit below Regent, Silversea and Seabourn, and its fare includes specialty dining and gratuities but not alcohol or excursions. That makes it excellent value for travellers who care about food more than drinks.
Do luxury cruises still have formal nights?
Much less than the premium lines do. Regent and Oceania moved to Elegant Casual in September 2025 and Seabourn welcomes elegant jeans in every venue after 6pm, while Celebrity, Princess, Holland America and especially Cunard retain dressier evenings.
Is a suite on a premium line as good as a luxury cruise?
For many people, yes — and it is the comparison worth making. Celebrity’s Retreat gives you a butler, a suites-only restaurant, a private lounge and sundeck, and premium drinks and Wi-Fi, on a ship with far more to do. What you do not get is the space and quiet of a small ship, and gratuities still bill separately.
Does Regent really include all shore excursions?
It includes them as an entitlement, and that is a genuine differentiator no other line matches. In practice they are booked in advance and capacity-limited, and they sit in tiers whose surcharge status is not always clearly published. Ask about the specific excursions on your itinerary before you treat them as free.
Which is better for a first luxury cruise?
It depends what drove the decision. Food, and Oceania. Drinks and excursions, and Regent. Butler service at every level, and Silversea. A yacht-like ship and small-scale evenings, and Seabourn. Not sure the small ship suits you at all, and a premium suite first.