The cruise megasuite is BIGGER than ever

Achorus of “wows” filled the room when Regent Seven Seas Cruises executives shared the square footage of the largest suite on their upcoming ship.

The evening was hosted on a hotel rooftop in lower Manhattan in June, a strategic decision to mimic the panoramic views one might enjoy from the fittingly dubbed Skyview Regent Suite. But what it didn’t fully put into perspective was the size.

At nearly 9,000 square feet, the suite on the Seven Seas Prestige will be as big as a mansion on land. It has a private gym, an elevator and a 3,703-square-foot balcony, and its starting rate is $25,000 per night.

While the Skyview suite is among the most extreme examples of how massive ship suites have gotten (or, in Regent’s own words, “palatial”), it is just one indicator of how cruise lines are adapting to meet the demands of the wealthiest cruisers, particularly in the luxury space. Top suites are hot commodities, and as a result they are growing in both size and number, said the advisors who sell them and the cruise executives who design them.

The Skyview Suite on the Prestige was booked within one minute of the ship’s sales launch on 10 of 13 itineraries, said Regent chief luxury officer Jason Montague. Other megasuites also elicit heavy competition, advisors said, and satisfying client requests can require preparation and countdowns to sales launches akin to the experience of buying high-demand concert tickets. 

“The trend is clear,” said Linda Scroggins, founder of Affluent Luxury Travel in Frisco, Texas. “Cruise lines are treating these guests as a top-tier market, and they’re building entire product strategies around their expectations for privacy, personalization and just the prestige itself.” 

Luxury cruise inventory is on a steady growth track overall. The number of ships offering luxury experiences has tripled since 2010, according to CLIA, which projects luxury cruise passenger volume will grow to 1.52 million in 2028 after exceeding 1 million for the first time in 2023. 

The largest accommodations on a ship — often called the owner’s suites, though some lines put their own twist on the name — represent the most lavish of offerings. They appeal to travelers who are accustomed to immense space and service at home and who may only book a ship if a comparable experience is available, said Carlos Edery, CEO of Miami-based Luxury Cruise Connections.

Those guests not only appreciate but expect inclusions like private butler service and priority dining, he said.

“Either I have something that is similarly as comfortable or more comfortable, or I just won’t travel,” Edery said of megasuite clients. “That’s the mindset when you get to that level of wealth.”

The megasuite demographic

Who are these suite guests? 

Entrepreneurs, C-suite executives, the occasional public figure. If they’re not yet retired, they are often still working while traveling, said Explora Journeys North America president Chris Austin. Sometimes they’re a celebratory traveler splurging on a “treat yourself kind of moment,” said Fora Travel head of cruise Randy Marsden.

The suites are designed to feel like homes, cruise executives said, with dining rooms, living rooms, bathtubs and walk-in closets.

But they’re not just your average home.

The Owner’s Residence on Explora’s ships have a steam room connected to the bathroom. Guests booking Regent’s Regent Suites can enjoy two original Picasso lithographs in their private accommodations. Seabourn’s Wintergarden Suites feature a glass-enclosed solarium with a tub and daybed.

And all luxury megasuites prioritize sweeping, private views.

“When you’re laying in bed and you sit up for your morning coffee and electronically open these amazing panoramic windows, you are looking out of a two-story mass of glass out to Antarctica, Newfoundland, the Kimberley in Australia,” said Seabourn president Mark Tamis of the cruise line’s Wintergarden view. 

Cruisers who book an owner’s suite often travel with extended family or groups of friends who stay in lower-level suites or cabins. In the evenings, the groups often gather in the dining room of the largest accommodation.

Many suite guests can afford a private yacht charter, but they like the variety of destinations, the multiple dining and entertainment venues and the social nature of a cruise ship.

“They’re alone at home in their mansion, so they want to go enjoy time out and meet new friends,” said Melanie Kostrab, a Travelmation advisor in Orlando.

The occasional public figure is likely to prefer the privacy that their suite offers and the ability to have everything they need — gym equipment, fine dining, a pool — right in their secluded section of the ship, said Scroggins, whose clients include professional athletes.

Their friends and family members will likely mingle more on the rest of the ship, she said, embracing anonymity when separated from their recognizable relative.

High-net-worth cruisers with young children may opt for the largest suite on a contemporary ship, like the three-story Ultimate Family Townhouse on Royal Caribbean’s newest ships or the 2,000-plus-square-foot Tower Suites on Disney Cruise Line, said Maryland-based Jenny Koppenhaver, a team leader with Magical Vacation Planner. 

Those family-style suites allow up to eight guests, close to triple the maximum for many luxury lines, which also may limit the number of children in the suite.

Families splurge on the tower or townhouse as a bucket-list vacation, Koppenhaver said, or it may be a C-suite executive who says, “I’ve got to take my kids on something they really like. [But] I’m not mixing with the rest of the ship.”

The suites go fast

When Regent made the Skyview suite on the Prestige nearly double the size of its next largest suite, it also increased the accompanying price tag by about 67%. 

Explora’s Owner’s Residences currently range from about $61,000 to $70,000 for a seven- or eight-day itinerary, depending on the destination. Spending 11 days in Seabourn’s Grand Wintergarden Suite during an Antarctica sailing will cost about $45,000 per person, Tamis said.

Despite being the most expensive inventory on the ship, the largest suites often get scooped up first because there are typically only one or two per ship.

For an advisor, satisfying clients who want them often means planning trips multiple years out and being in close touch with contacts at the cruise line.

Special sailings, like world cruises or the launch of new ships, are the most competitive dates to book and likely require trying to book them the minute they become available, Edery said.

In addition to the rush to book the Skyview’s first itineraries, multiple people expressed interest in booking Regent’s 4,443-square-foot Regent Suites for world cruises before itineraries went on sale, with a price tag of about $1.8 million for the entire cruise, said Regent’s chief commercial officer Wes D’Silva.

Advisors said they work with clients prior to launches so that they are ready to book as soon as the inventory becomes available. Sometimes, that preparation includes giving a contact at the cruise line a heads up about a client’s interest. 

“We worked with our biggest partners and said, ‘Please let us know ahead of time — what do your VIP clients want? What’s their preference?’” said Oceania’s chief commercial officer Nathan Hickman. “‘We can’t block it ahead of time, but we’ll make sure that as soon as it’s released, we will go in and make those bookings on your behalf as quickly as possible.’”

A client’s established loyalty with the line helps competitively, as they are typically given priority access for new itinerary dates. It can even be a deciding factor when there are multiple people trying to book the same date, D’Silva said.

Still, advisors will inevitably get client requests that they can’t perfectly satisfy due to the timing or criteria — even years out. 

“I just tried to book the Iconic Suite on Celebrity yesterday for a client for 2027, and it’s booked,” said Bridgett Quinn Webber, a Cruise Specialists advisor in Fulshear, Texas, who said both of the 2,581-square-foot suites on the ship she was booking were taken. 

Scroggins recalled an experience with a well-known personality accustomed to sailing world cruises in the largest suites who would “bring her entourage with her.” When the suite she wanted was taken, she was put on a waitlist. “That can be very taxing, because we have to wait and see if someone’s going to cancel,” she said. 

One strategy when the suite isn’t available? Book lower-level accommodations and then bid to upgrade, which some cruise lines offer, Marsden said.

“I’ve had clients get very lucky with that,” Marsden said.

How much bigger can suites get?

As cruise lines design new ships, some are choosing to add more and larger suites rather than increase overall capacity. 

Explora Journeys’ decision to double the number of Owner’s Residences on its next four vessels was a direct response to advisor feedback, Austin said.

Couples traveling together don’t want one pair to settle for a second-best suite, advisors told Explora — and they would rather decline to book than deal with the discrepancy.

With the Explora III and IV being slightly longer than their sister vessels, the cruise line decided to use the additional space to add more top suites. 

“It doesn’t need to be, ‘Ugh, I didn’t book in time, I missed it,’” Austin said.

It’s a formula other cruise lines are also employing to meet demand for larger accommodations: building more elaborate suites, adding more suites, or both, rather than increase capacity.

Oceania will not have a larger owner’s suite on its next ship class, Montague said, but it will have more suites altogether and introduce of a new suite category. To make room, it will reduce the number of standard verandas.

“Cruise lines, I think they see, especially as we have this big group going into retirement years and hopefully cruising for many years, that suites are important, and if they can add more, they’ll be booked,” Quinn Webber said. “It’s very rare that a ship will go out with empty suites.”

Luxury-hotel branded cruise lines, such as Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection, hope to source many of their customers from their land-based properties, where guests are accustomed to larger spaces, Edery said. Those new-to-cruise guests transition straight into the large suites when they start cruising, Quinn Webber said.

“Talking to them, you can kind of understand what they’re looking for,” she said. “A lot of people who do vacations like private villas are looking for suites. They’re looking for exclusive access. They’re looking for concierge-level service.”

So how much bigger can the biggest suites get?

While it’s possible they’ll continue growing on large, contemporary ships, there is only so much space available on smaller ships, Tamis said, citing Seabourn’s expedition ships as an example.

“But in general, there will always be this idea of creating a new offering … and just continuing to attract people who are new to cruise,” he said.

As for the price tags? 

Regent knew there would be demand for its Skyview suite, but listing it at $25,000 per night, the team couldn’t help but also feel a bit of apprehension, D’Silva said. Then it opened for bookings and immediately began selling out.

“It’s like, OK, maybe I underpriced her a little bit,” he said.