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Good in bed
Cruise lines wooing customers with promises of a better night’s rest
Recently, cruise lines have become much better in bed. Taking their cue from hotel “bed wars,” which began seven years ago when Westin Hotels and Resorts introduced its “Heavenly Bed,” cruise lines are now wooing customers with promises of a better night’s rest in newly upgraded beds. Pillow-top mattress, down duvets, and higher-quality sheets have turned up everywhere, and some lines even offer passengers a choice of pillows (soft or firm, regular or hypoallergenic, down or fill).
The bedding has become so popular that some passengers want to take it home with them. Now they can. Three cruise lines are now offering their beds and linens for sale (new not used, of course), and they’ve got lots of takers.
Carnival Cruise Lines
Manufactured exclusively for Carnival, the “Carnival ComfortBed” sleep system includes a comfortable eight-inch spring mattress and box spring, a duvet made from 100 percent hypoallergenic down, and high-quality, cotton-blend satin-stripe sheets and pillowcases.
“We never imagined it would be so popular,” says Bob Dickinson, Carnival’s president and chief executive officer. “Guests are telling us that this is by far the most comfortable bed they’ve ever slept in.”
Carnival spokesman Vance Gulliksen noted that the company is selling several hundred bedding components each month and that sales have increased dramatically since the Web site launched last November.
Holland America Line
“The neat thing about buying a bed that you have slept on during a cruise is that it is like a week’s trial period,” says Rose Abello, Holland America’s vice president for public relations. Indeed, response to the line’s “Mariner Dream Bed” has been overwhelmingly positive. Customers often say it’s the best sleep they’ve had in years, and several ebullient wives have written to say that their husbands stopped snoring because of the bed.
The Mariner Dream Bed is a custom-designed Sealy Posturepedic Euro-top mattress with 300-count cotton bed linens with a striped, soft sateen finish, duvet and choice of hypoallergenic or down pillows. The entire collection can be purchased online in Holland America’s Web store. Plan to spend about $850 for a twin. Linens, pillows and duvets are sold separately, with prices ranging from $35 to $300.
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