I wouldn't quite call the Norwegian Epic a luxury liner. I thought they may have a look at the real luxury liners such as Seabourn, SIlversea or even Crystal Cruises.

When I mad my first cruise I was amazed at the number of families with children... I thought we would have a quiet vacation, but since it was the summer holidays, there were lots of youngsters...

 

These kids grow up and become young adults. They have gotten the taste of cruising and luxury (I think it is addictive) so I guess they might want to save for their own cruise vacations, yes.

 

What I found more of interest in this BBC piece is the acknowledgement that there may be a lot of singles out there who want to cruise but are not willing to pay or cannot afford the double cabin price. So these single cabins are a real winner, I would say! I have been single for a long, long time (enjoyed that enormously), travelled the world in those days, but would never have thought of cruising since it was "so expensive". Now if you market the single cabins right, that may be quite a new target for the cruise companies...

When I hear "Luxury" I don't really think of Norwegian no matter how big their new ship is.  Luxury is Seabourn or Silver Sea.  These lines usually cost $5000 to $7000 a person for a week cruise to the Caribbean.  Younger folks usually don't have the resources for that ritzy a vacation.

I can imagine that stream of cancellations... Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against children, but I too dislike the running and screaming of young children who apparently haven't learned to respect other people's peace and quiet or  - in this case - enjoying their vacation on the ship.

 

Of course there is luxury and luxury. I cannot affort 4000 or 5000 dollar for a 7 days cruise, but if I had that kind of money I would not want to spend it on a week's cruise. You can exaggerate, I think.

 

So the question right now is: define 'luxury'...

 

To me personally an inside cabin is good enough if that saves me money for interesting excursions on land... After all, most of the time you spend elsewhere on the ship... a cabin is like a hotel room, but that is just my 2 cents - I value my 2 cents, though! And honestly, how many towels you need per day??

I have to agree.  Frankly, I wouldn't know what to do with a butler.