Originally Posted by MADflyer

I would think the closest you will come would be the Holland America ms Zuiderdam or the Princess Princess Cruises — Caribbean Princess which are both Premium class ships with 4*+ ratings. Both these lines have a broad enough fleet to be able to leave a premium ship in the Caribbean.

There is a great deal of tradition behind the itineraries of the luxury lines. Traditionally these lines follow a seasonal guideline that has informally existed since the upper classes began leisure travel. The mass marketing that came in the 1980s basically destroyed the true luxury market and discounting became the norm. You may notice that the airline industry is suffering the same dilution and inconsistency of service today.

Luxury travelers follow a circuit of destinations. Many of these destinations are only "in-season" for very short periods of the year. Many times these seasons were tied to specific events.

One of the benefits of this is that air is not a preventative factor in reaching a Scandinavian or Med sailing to the extent that it once was.

Another interesting fact about the luxury market. In periods when the dollar is weak the quality of service on board the luxury lines can fall as it is much more difficult for them to compete to get the best staff. This especially effects the lines with a high percentage of European staff and crew. You could say that the dollar salaries have fallen over 50% the past four years when they convert it to their European currency.

Holland America has a high percentage of Filipino staff a dollar tied country so the effect is not as great.

I brought this up as the weak dollar may be a factor in many peoples cruise plans this year. Cruises are extremely inexpensive for Europeans now though.