ak1004

If I sailed based on the reviews, I would stay home for the rest of my life.. The only opinion that matters is yours. Some of the reviews are so absurd and ridiculous.

After 2 cruises on SS (Dawn and Spirit), this was not our experience at all. While we liked food on Oceania better, food on SS was overall very good in all venues. I would gladly sail on both given the right itinerary and price.

Good point. We sailed on SS twice, and SS has passenger to crew ratio almost as good as EJ (around 67), and I didn't see significant different between SS and O in terms of crowds. Don't forget that O average cabin size is 25% smaller than EJ, so public areas are not necessarily larger per guest.

EJ has space/passengers ratio of 69 vs Vista 56 (922 vs 1,200 guests with almost the same tonnage). Also better Passenger to Crew ratios. I guess numbers don't lie.. Interesting what you are saying about entertainment because entertainment was never among O strengths.

Well, this is to be expected due to the price difference. But all other factors equal (say same itinerary) - would you say that EJ is worth the price difference? From your description, you enjoyed Vista very much.

Yes, this is correct. SS rate is around 1.30 give or take. It is very easy to check if you are in Canada. Go to cruisecritic "find cruse", select Silversea. Then click on "find a deal", in many cases it will take you to SS website and will show prices in CAD. Then compare. In this case, the rate is 1.308 which is better than the official. Crystal is using 1.38-1.39.

Agree, it's a good deal. But prices for this area have usually been less than Europe. We sailed on Silversea in Dec.2022 a very similar itinerary for $5,500 CAD for 12 nights. And SS includes excursions, plus their cabins are 305 sqft while Crystal is 215. To get a comparable size cabin on Crystal the price will jump to $9,570 CAD even when applying the 12 % discount.

What I meant by "10 days would be significantly more expensive than say 30 day" was that including flights will have much higher impact on the 10 days cruise per day cost. For example: 10 day cruise no flights is $5,000 = $500/day 30 day cruise no flight is $15,000 = same $500/day. Now include business flights at $4,000. 10 day cruise becomes $9,000 or $900/day 30 day cruise becomes $19,000 or $633/day. Hence including flights in a per day cost is meaningless.

And the cancelled cruise should disappear from their online account. This is the simplest way to confirm that it was indeed cancelled, in addition to written confirmation from the TA. We all make mistakes, but in this case, without any written proof, I'm not sure what can be done.

What is the benefit of quoting "per person per day" cost including flights? The cost will be impacted by the cruise length (10 days would be significantly more expensive than say 30 days), flight fare (business class would make "per person per day" cost significantly more expensive etc. Completely meaningless.

You can have unlimited caviar anywhere anytime. We ordered it in Arts Cafe, on the pool, any bar etc. And of course at any meal in any dining venue. Even if it’s not on the menu.

I actually agree with most of their ratings lol.. except for "value for money" which is really subjective.. to me Silversea does not provide the best value for money, but it doesn't mean I would ever give it 1 star overall. And yes, 1 star for Family, which would be true on all premium or luxury lines.

Exactly! So why 1 star rating?

O entertainment and atmosphere are well known. This is not why people cruise on O, and it's not a reason to give 1 star.

I don't disagree, but is it a reason to give a one star rating? Looks like they liked the ship, the food, the service, so the age must be the main reason for 1 star rating. Also, O average age is a well known fact, doing some research or asking the TA could go a long way if this is a deal breaker.

I learned to take the reviews with grain of salt. Just look at the latest review of the Vista - https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=712929 Can it be any more ridiculous and absurd??

Or maybe a TA? By then again, TAs are typically much cheaper, so this wouldn't fit the theory that land vacations are cheaper.

And to me comparing a low cost resort in Cyprus to the cost of PH on O is useless.. But I guess if you spend a week in a resort, the risk to miss any ports is close to zero.. But I think comparing a good hotel in Barcelona, Paris, Rome or London to OV on O is a more accurate comparison..

Here is a screenshot of a cruise we took in 2018 on the Riviera in inside cabin, 10 night from Rome to Barcelona, cruise only. And here are comparable sailings in 2024-2025 that now include SM (drinks and excursions credit): At the same time, hotel in Barcelona that cost $1,150 CAD in 2020, now costs $1,750. Only facts. No speculation.

Always important to compare apples to apples. Comparing Silversea or PH on O to some cheap "Pensions in Europe" is definitely not apples to apples. And if you manage to do it under $300 per night, your meals are definitely not the same quality as O or SS.

When we asked to fly 2 days early, SS asked almost $1,000 USD extra per person for business class. We took air credit and booked our own flights. The amount is fixed, should be specified in your reservation or on SS website.

Why not Norwegian Heaven? From what I read, their product is comparable to MSC Yacht Club. Or not?

I checked land tours and/or independent tours few times, and every single time the prices were significantly higher than cruises. But you need to compare apples to apples. For example, when comparing a line like Silversea or Seabourn, you need to compared to hotels like Four Seasons or Ritz Carlton. You also need to compare comparable rooms. Does your hotel room have a veranda? If not, then the correct category on a cruise would be OV, not veranda and definitely not concierge. What about food? Are you comparing to eating 3 times a day in a high end restaurant? Do you include drinks with meals at those restaurants? Do you consider all other inclusions, like free room service? What about transportation cost? And I'm not even mentioning all the convenience that comes with cruising.

Thank you. I read the review. Our experience with food on Riviera and Regatta was very different. But then again, it's matter of expectations. Is a couple hundred bucks for a 50 minute massage exorbitant? Of course it is, but those are the prices on all cruise lines. This is why we don't do massages on cruise ships. Some of the other points are equally ridiculous. But obviously everyone is entitled to their opinion.

Same I would spend booking direct, less 10-12%.