Mark Twain and Luxury Cruises

If you doubt the ability of the human mind to attract exactly the information you need from highly unlikely and seemingly unrelated sources, try doing a daily crossword puzzle in your newspaper.  You’ll be amazed.  For example, a couple of days ago I read about Mark Twain visiting Genoa, Italy, and seeing where Christopher Columbus was born, and in today’s crossword puzzle, the clue for 49 down was “Hometown of Columbus.” 

I’ve been slowly perusing “Innocents Abroad,” a book Twain compiled from articles he wrote for a newspaper that sent him on a world cruise as a correspondent.  At the outset, Twain placed his ten percent deposit on the $1250 cruise and “rejoiced to know that a few vacant staterooms were left.”  I hope all my clients feel exactly this way upon booking a cruise through me.

Just paying the fare, however, was not enough on this forerunner to modern cruising, as passengers needed to be approval by the “Committee on Applications” to join the august company of excursionists, which according to the circular would include many celebrities and dignitaries.

“I did avoid a critical personal examination into my character by that bowelless committee, but I referred to all the people of high standing I could think of in the community who would be least likely to know anything about me.”

In the 21^st century, every American citizen in good standing is welcome on every cruise ship, as long as we have the price of admission, and while $1250 was a princely sum in the 1800s, and young Mark Twain could only afford it because his newspaper paid for him, today there are cruise affordable to virtually any American.  I love these mainstream cruises, but for some, the crowds attracted by this egalitarian approach are a bit too much, and for those who can afford it, there are luxury cruises.

The luxury cruises include all of the perks we all enjoy, like packing and unpacking only once while seeing a panorama of amazing cities, as well as fantastic meals and entertainment, but luxury buyers demand more.  They want more inclusions like gratuities, fine wines, alternative dining, selected excursions and even pre-cruise hotels and air travel in a seamless package, with service that not simply meets our needs on request but anticipates them without asking.  Of course, we all would ideally like that, but luxury travelers can afford luxurious things others dream about.

What is not so obvious is that luxury travel is not the exclusive purview of some privileged elite class with “old money.”  A secretary who brown bags it daily may save to splurge once a year on a lavish holiday.  Someone celebrating a honeymoon, retirement or monumental anniversary might make the occasion extra special with a luxury cruise.  Someone who survived a tragedy and now realizes how precious each moment of life actually is may also take a luxury vacation, as might an explorer who wants to go to the small ports that only a smaller ship can visit. 

You may be surprised to learn that the average age of the luxury cruiser is actually 49, reflecting many entrepreneurs and fast rising executives who consider travel the ultimate reward for a job well done.  In the final analysis, what these people have in common is recognition of value over price and the means to pay for their trips.  Like the well-healed of Twain’s day, they enjoy collecting experiences, recognizing that the ultimate luxury is knowledge.

Do you deserve to experience a truly luxurious cruise experience accompanied by seekers of excellence?