Class System, Exclusive Experience Return To Cruises

DolceTracker| The class system has returned to cruising, writes WSJ, after decades of a more egalitarian approach in which travelers rubbed elbows together in the same bars and restaurant facilities, no matter what class of travel they slept in.

Now cruise lines are creating lavish and separate ‘cocoons’ for their big spenders, a throwback to the glory days of trans Atlantic crossings when class ruled and defined interactions onboard. When the ships stop to put travelers on land for the day, separate facilities also keep the voyagers separated.

The so-called ship-within-a-ship is an effort by several cruise lines with big, mass-market ships to attract passengers who might normally sail on small luxury lines. As ships have gotten larger, noise and crowds are a turn-off to some guests.