Do Upgraded Features Create Cruise Lines Within a Cruise Line?

By now, we’re all aware of the cruise industry’s ship-within-a-ship concept, but I wonder if there isn’t a line-within-a-line element that is also present.

Just as a quick reminder, the two main examples of a ship-within-a-ship are Norwegian Cruise Line’s The Haven and MSC Cruises’ MSC Yacht Club. Essentially, certain venues and features of their ships are available exclusively to guests occupying top-tier accommodations. While not outright defined as a class system, it’s effectively similar to that found on vintage ocean liners and, to a degree, still on Cunard’s vessels.

These distinctions occur on particular ships. Sailing aboard Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Splendor the other day, I got to thinking about differences that exist within an entire fleet.

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I have become quite a fan of Carnival over recent years, and its consistency is a huge reason why. Overall, guests can expect great Playlist Productions shows, hilarity at The Punchliner Comedy Club, tasty sea day brunches, playful trivia and more activities across all the vessels, but not all of them have yet been updated to Fun Ship 2.0.

Carnival’s newest ships and many existing ones now feature the Alchemy Bar, BlueIguana Cantina, RedFrog Rum Bar, Guy’s Burger Joint and Cherry On Top, but others including the Splendor still do not. I wish I could say I didn’t miss these venues from the other ships, but I did. The burrito bar did not quite compare to the cantina nor did the generic grill live up to Guy Fieri’s gourmet items.

Truth is, Carnival is doing a fantastic job at quickly rolling out these premium features—available to everyone onboard—to its fleet, which is no small task. In fact, the line just announced that Carnival Paradise is next in line to receive these upgrades.

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It’s just that until all of them do, a line-within-a-line exists. There are new features guests can enjoy on certain ships but not others, making some vessels in the fleet effectively more desirable than others.

Of course, a line-within-a-line is not something that Carnival alone exhibits. Any cruise company engaged in an enhancement program faces the challenge until it is complete across the entire fleet, from standard mainstream lines to luxury ones.

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Within the Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Limited corporation, for example, the Norwegian Cruise Line brand itself and Regent Seven Seas Cruises are in the midst of refurbishing their ships as well.

The end result of all such endeavors is certainly to offer guests a more consistent experience across the board. After all, any time a new ship comes online with exciting fresh features, it’s only natural that potential passengers will come to expect them on existing vessels too. It’s just a matter of budgeting and timing as to how and when it eventually happens.

Meanwhile, always follow along here to stay abreast of which cruise ships have all the latest and greatest bells and whistles. Travel agents, more than anyone, should be able to put their clients on the right ship with all of the amenities they are expecting.