Would you spend $14,000 on a cruise? Here's why these travelers splurged.

For Walter Morgenstern, it’s the little things on a luxury cruise that justify the big price tag.

On his last sailing from Barbados to Miami with Regent Seven Seas Cruises in February, the 75-year-old said he didn’t have to fight for a lounge chair. Morgenstern was on the relatively modest-sized Seven Seas Mariner, and the line also did his laundry multiple times during the nearly two-week voyage at no extra charge. He and his wife, Karen, paid around $14,000 upfront but weren’t hit with surprise bills during the voyage.

“They don’t nickel and dime me for anything,” said Morgenstern, who lives in Melville, New York.

Morgenstern has been on roughly 40 cruises. However, with fewer expenses after their kids graduated college and looking for a more laid-back vacation, the couple began sailing with upscale lines such as Regent and Seabourn after retirement.

“We've saved up a little bit and this is our primary sort of recreation, the two cruises or so we take every year,” he said.

Cruises can often be a budget-friendly way to travel, but for passengers willing to splurge, there are plenty of pricier options that come with a different set of inclusions.

‘Top of the line everything’

After years of longingly watching Viking commercials on TV, Michelle Brown finally took a cruise with the line last May. She sailed down the Rhine River in Europe with her husband, Gary, for their 25th wedding anniversary.

The couple is typically budget-conscious when they travel, but the 53-year-old content engagement manager felt the trip – which cost about $13,000 with stops in Cologne, Germany, Strasbourg, France, and more – was “worth every single cent.”

The price included a veranda suite on the Viking Hervor ship, meals, excursions, airport transfers, round-trip economy flights they booked through the cruise line and more.

“If I would have done a European trip to all these different cities, it would have probably been close to that (price),” said Brown, who lives in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. Plus, she said, she saved time that she didn’t have to spend planning an itinerary.

With a capacity of just 190 guests, Brown felt the crew members got to know them over the course of the eight-day sailing, and said the line offered “top of the line everything.” On their first day, even before leaving Amsterdam, Gary had lamb chops for lunch on the ship – a more decadent midday meal than he’d typically have.

“I mean, it was just something that we are not really accustomed to in the life that we live,” Brown said. “This was a real special treat.”

What can travelers expect from luxury cruises?

Michelle Fee, CEO of the travel agency franchise network Cruise Planners, told USA TODAY in October that guests can expect to find immersion into destinations on upscale lines, with menus that may be from acclaimed chefs, rather than rock climbing walls or ice skating rinks.

She said Regent, Seabourn, Viking, Silversea Cruises and Oceania Cruises are all in that category.

While mainstream lines such as Carnival Cruise Line or Royal Caribbean International include many costs in the fare, there are extras that can add up, such as specialty restaurant fees and beverage packages.

Luxury lines, by contrast, typically include all meals, drinks – including liquor – and Wi-Fi, according to Tina Robinson-Quirke, owner and travel adviser at TRQ Travel.

Brown said some alcoholic drinks were not included in the Viking fare, but since she does not drink much, they opted to forgo a beverage package and purchase them a la carte for “maybe $15 (each).”

“The amount of drinks (Gary) had, one a day maybe, it was fine, and they just put it right on your tab,” she said.

The luxury lines also have smaller ships that allow them to visit ports mainstream lines may not, Robinson-Quirke said.

Long sailings on mainstream lines can be surprisingly costly, however. She recently booked clients on a 116-night MSC Cruises World Cruise that cost about $47,000 for two guests, including some shore excursions. She said those kinds of sailings often offer discounts on add-ons like laundry packages as well “because people are going to be at sea for a great deal of time.”

Luxe ship-within-a-ship concepts like the MSC Yacht Club – which has perks like 24-hour butler service and a dedicated concierge – can also offer a luxe experience on a ship that may have more multigenerational appeal.

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For a week in the Caribbean, a Yacht Club fare can run between $5,000 and $6,000 on average based on double occupancy, according to Robinson-Quirke. “So if you look at it in that sense, you know, it really is a good value for the number of days that you're getting,” she said.

Travelers can approach settling up in different ways too. Morgenstern said he and his wife put down a deposit before paying the remainder of the cruise cost on the final payment due date, while the Browns paid in installments after making the initial deposit, which Michelle Brown said helped the cost feel more manageable.

Even with so much included, Morgenstern said he has found luxury cruises can still be “considerably more expensive” than mainstream sailings, but he keeps booking them. “I guess, it’s a ‘once you've tried it, it's hard to go back’ type of thing,” he said.

Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at ndiller@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Luxury cruises: What to know, are they worth it?