World's most expensive cruises 2005

"Traditionally, people have thought of cruising as something for old people and their parents," says Brian Major, director of public relations for New York-based Cruise Lines International Association. "That's changed because there is a ship out there for everyone." Today's ships, from ocean-going leviathans like the Queen Elizabeth 2 to much smaller yachts, offer amenities ranging from butlers and masseurs to onboard helicopters and zodiacs and trained private guides for land excursions.

The Galapagos Islands-based Eclipse, a 210-foot luxury vessel that operates through a variety of tour operators, including Abercrombie & Kent, only carries 48 passengers at a time--and far fewer than that when they're VIPs, like Queen Beatrice and Enrique Iglesias, who visited together with the Dutch royal family. The Eclipse can also be bought out for corporate retreats, which was done most recently by the CEO of a pharmaceutical company.

In other cases, the more you pay for a cruise, the more you get. On Seabourn cruises, a flat rate (which can be over $2,000 per person per night) means that everything, down to the champagne and caviar you're served upon arrival, is included--and tipping is absolutely verboten. The staff will know your name from the very first day.

In a nod to the increasing importance of gourmet dining as a component of luxury travel, Silversea Cruises recently partnered with Relais & Chateaux to introduce wine-themed restaurants on their ships. "The focus of these restaurants is wine appreciation. The menus will feature all-new dishes to complement the finest vintages from our Epicurean Collection," says Silversea CEO Albert Peter. "Guests will enjoy a different glass of wine with each course, so this will be a great opportunity to explore some very rare and expensive wines, while paying a nominal fee to dine in the restaurant."

On Cunard's Queen Mary 2, a Canyon Ranch spa, seven restaurants and a nightly disco are available to all passengers, while those traveling in one of the Grand Duplex apartments (which have a private balcony, marble bathrooms and cost $24,249) enjoy private butler service as well.

As if all of these modern-day luxuries weren't enough, cruises still make sense for all of the same reasons they always have; passengers can sightsee to their hearts' content, while only having to pack and unpack once on the entire trip; Americans traveling to Europe save money by paying in dollars for overseas accommodation; and all-inclusive pricing (which even includes land excursions) takes away the unpredictability that's part of paying for any other type of vacation.

Forbes.com has compiled its 2005 list of the World's Most Expensive Cruises. To calculate the priciest routes, we took the per-person rate for one of the ship's best rooms and divided it by the number of nights on board. That way, a transatlantic cruise wouldn't be unfairly skewed toward the most expensive. In case of a charter or multiple-person suite, we indicated the price per night if only one person were renting.

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