The sheer luxury of cruising on a new designer ship comes at a price

CRUISE ships are the ultimate family holiday with waterslides, endless activities and kids’ clubs. Then there is this one.

The very suite life: luxury cruising will have you saving your bucks to do it. Pics: James Morgan and Eric Laignel

THE Seabourn Encore cruise ship doesn’t have a water slide. Or a kids’ club. Or Disney characters.

It does have a well-stocked, free bar fridge, verandas off every suite (these aren’t just rooms), “bath menus” and 24-hour butlers.

Children are allowed onboard but it is all designed to feel more like a luxury yacht or a five-star hotel than a mega cruise ship.

Which is just as well because a day on board will set you back about the same as a week’s rent in Sydney.

A trip in the Aussie and New Zealand region, between November 2017 and February 2018 STARTS from $14,499 per person for a 16-day voyage from Sydney to Auckland.

So what do you get for your money on board the newest, up-market cruise liner in the world?

Sunrise/sunset: how’s the serenity?

By cruise ship standards, the number of guests is relatively low at 600 with just 300 suites, all with their own balconies. If you want there are also penthouses.

Cabanas on tap: complete with TVs and fridges

The suites are fitted with in-suite entertainment with a good selection of movies, music, television and radio channels.

No water slide but we can live with that.

Encore is spending her first three months cruising the shorelines of the Pacific Rim, including Australia, via six inaugural itineraries. It will then spend the northern summer cruising the glamour of the Mediterranean.

Dining in looks to be a pretty smart affair.

The bathroom is bigger than the average apartment and has granite finishes, a separate bath and lots of nice smelling accessories.

Room to move: suites have bigger bathrooms than your average apartment

A personal bar and refrigerator is stocked according to guest preferences and everything is maintained by a personal ‘Suite Stewardesses’.

There is a walk-in closet, flat-screen TV, 24-hour room service, Wi-Fi and yes, there is mobile service at sea.

A Penthouse Spa Suite: umm, yes please ...

The ship has seven lounges and bars, including the Observation Bar, which sits at the highest viewing point on the ship and has a semicircular skylight that casts sunlight or moonlight on it.

This is called the Wintergarden Suite. Of course.

Then there’s an area called the Seabourn Square which is a concierge lounge that lets guests access every shipboard service in a living room-style space.

There are lots of books; iPads for loan; boutique shops; a large open-deck terrace with lounge chairs and concierges.

A little bit of up-market cruise-ship buffet action

The ship arrived in Australia for the first time last week — the timing coinciding with the start of the first day of Australia’s busiest cruise month. There are a total of 26 ships scheduled to make 45 calls just to Sydney across the 28 days of February.

During her current two-month season in the southern hemisphere, Encore has two, 16-day itineraries between Sydney and Auckland and a 16-day voyage from Sydney to Bali via the Queensland coast.

Well, you’d better get saving ...

This spa is actually PART of a room. Indeed.