Emdee

If you are worried about luggage the airline you take to the camps will usually store it for you. Your safari TA will arrange it for you. 
 

14 minutes ago, vistaman said:

One evening I was asking for a grilled tomato , as a side dishfor lamb chops. Reaction was if was asking for a 3 double caviar -  ok i got it  but the tomato was maybe in the grill for 30 seconds

- ice cold inside ...for such a simple item ???

lol you need to count yourself lucky they went outside the box,

Oceania was even better for us….they served my daughter a frozen tuna melt. The bread and tuna were totally frozen. They put some ersatz cheese on top and melted it. Then they had the temerity to say that is how they serve it when she complained. Never again on Oceania for us. 
The Indian meal  Special order on both Silver Endeavour and Silver Moon were very good and better than Crystal. 

2 hours ago, vistaman said:

my filet steak on the Dawn in the Grill was not so special , it was a thick piece of meat OK , but I had better meat on other cruise lines.  

We had the same experience on the Moon.

Thomas Keller on SB had the best meat on the high seas but now they have discontinued the collaboration. I use the same quality75% Wagyu/25% Angus  from Snake River Farms at home.
DH didn’t like the sirloin on Crystal but the other cuts were fine. Their roast beef both in Waterside and Marketplace was amazing. I am not a beef eater but I sneaked a piece from his plate. 

3 minutes ago, Covepointcruiser said:

We just returned from a crossing on the Regent and were pleased with the beef.   We were on the Splendor.

Great to hear really looking forward to our August cruise on her.

16 minutes ago, ChucktownSteve said:

A perfunctory look at Crystal didn't appeal to attract me.  I tend to like longer cruises if I'm traveling somewhere distant.  It appeared many if not most of theirs are shorter than 14 days.

 

I looked at the restaurant listings. What I observed on one itinerary I might be interested in, that there are two specialty restaurants which are included. However if you desire a second reservation, there's an additional $50 pp charge. Really?  We were never charged for additional specialty reservations on Regent regardless of the number of times we could obtain a reservation.

 

Perhaps my thoughts are misdirected on Crystal and Silversea. Can someone show me where they outshine Regent for value and quality? I admit I haven't sailed the other two. However my exposure on Regent's cuisine is the best I've experienced in all my cruising.

 

I've enjoyed the variety, quality and even the special requests.  An example was on a Mariner. They had apple pie one evening. One of our table mates mentioned they like peach pie.  So I asked our server if by any chance they had peach.  He went to the kitchen, came back a few minutes late and apologized they hadn't.  But he said come back tomorrow and we will.  Sure enough the four of us showed up in the MDR the next evening and we were served the BEST peach pie I've ever eaten. Freshly made with no filler. Later in the cruise we were surprised by another peach pie unrequested. That impressed me.

We mainly cruised Regent until 2015 . Then tried Crystal and loved it. 
Regent is very good with special orders. The staff are wonderful too.

I don’t think SSea outshines Regent at all. Since we are itinerary driven we look at Regent and Crystal and book accordingly.If we look for pure relaxation then we prefer Crystal. 

 I didn’t like the beef on Regent though. Even in Prime 7. Everything else was fine and I think that Compass Rose has an exceptional menu of always available items. 

1 hour ago, Mahogany said:

May I ask what suite category you were in "three times...love it"? Because I am disappointed in the standard balcony size on Crystal (as opposed to SS, SB, Regent), and the larger suites are very expensive.

We were in the standard Balcony on Crystal. I preferred the previous design but am willing to live with this design if it means I can cruise Crystal more often. My 3 cruises were 12 and 14 days. If I was on a longer cruise I would definitely book a larger suite.
 

Yes the Regent suites are very nice. We were in the F on Explorer and will be in a similar size on Splendour in August. We have been 4 times on SB during Covid and once on the Moon ( not counting Cloud and Endeavour as they are different animals). Would have happily sailed twice on Crystal for the same money if I could have. Ultimately we are all different and what is important to some is not to others. Cost is not the only criteria we put into the mix. 

1 hour ago, vistaman said:

very curious about new Crystal ! 

Been three times…love it. For me better than the old Crystal but we are still itinerary driven and cruising around 4 knee replacements lol. 

10 minutes ago, vistaman said:

yes but some regulars on SS are not accepting it anymore -  the downfal !

my very upmarket Champagne was heavily mistreated  on the Dawn in La Terrazza -  a sommelier was supposed to serve 120 guests  ??? - the head sommelier was knowing her duty , as was the sommelier in Salt and in La Dame  

on Regent I can eat a Dover Sole in Compass Rose  , in Prime 7 and in Chartreuse , on SS only in La Dame  - during my week in the Med there really was no special fish at all ...

I had a far more "luxurious" feeling on Regent as on SS despite the Pommery bubbles ( for how long ?? ) and the caviar  ( portions reduced last year it was a full small jar - now a tea spoon )

 

 

Yes I noticed that too. Besides Regent has wonderful suites. 
The same regulars beat me up when I criticized their beloved SSea.
My only beef about Regent is the beef quality. But otherwise my go to are Regent and Crystal. Crystal food and service consistently amazing and Regent new itineraries are good.

In 2015 I moved from Regent to Crystal because of different itineraries and then with Covid and Crystal demise traveled on the three other luxury cruises. 

SSea food mediocre at best. Regent has better offerings in Compass Rose and has a yes mentality compared to SSeas No mentality.

sSea  Hotel Director told me on my first SSea cruise that SSea didn’t need new passengers as they had plenty of regulars! Regent Hotel Director chatted with my DD on the Explorer where she said the food was disappointing and the next day we were introduced to the F&B manager by the Head sommelier ( who she had established a rapport with due to her love of specialty champagnes) and notes were taken on our suggestions.

The result was we haven’t booked any Classic SSea cruises but have stayed with their Expeditions where the ports are the thing and have several Regent cruises booked.

1 hour ago, ak1004 said:

 

We didn't do SB yet, but I agree that SS service can be inconsistent. And with the recent price increase, I don't find value in SS anymore.

 

However, we enjoy Oceania very much, and can book it around $400. I find food on O excellent and service very good too. To me there was nothing on SS or Crystal that made them more luxurious than O when we look at things that are important to us.

 

Crystal might feel like family if you did dozens of cruises on their ships, know the crew and they know you. On our cruise on C in 2019 we felt like outsiders. Doesn't mean the service wasn't good, on the contrary. But part of the family? Not really, at least this was not our feeling. To some people it's worth the extra cost. To others it's not. Especially if you sail for destinations and not see the ship as a destination.

All of us have our hot buttons and price points as someone on the Crystal Board says choice is good. 
We tried Oceania in 2008 and it wasn’t our cup of tea at all. Have not tried them since then. We are still somewhat itinerary driven so Regent whom we have been cruising with since 2003 and Crystal and the SSea Endeavour cover our needs.  Seabourn has very good Caribbean itineraries so may sail them in order to break up our winter. 

39 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

 

Yes, I'm well aware of it. But for those bigger cabins, the prices are even crazier.

 

I just looked at few sailings for summer 2025.

 

SB has many sailings around $500-550 USD per night. Crystal starts around $600-650 for standard OV room (210 sqft) while AQUAMARINE suites (323 sqft) are around $900. 

 

To me, those prices are crazy. I don't mind being in a 210 sqft room, but the price should reflect it. I would try Crystal even if the price was similar to entry level cabin on SB, but paying 20-25% more for a smaller cabin on a much older ship just doesn't make sense to me.

Both Seabourn and SSea staff are inconsistent in service and food in my opinion is nowhere near the new Crystal. In my opinion the new Crystal service and food are amazing….I personally believe better than before. Our butlers on Crystal definitely went above and beyond ….much better than any we had on other lines including SSea. My last Crystal cruise in December was when I was recuperating from knee surgery and the concern I received from the staff makes me tear up. The staff really make you feel part of the Crystal family and that is priceless and worth the higher costs. I would rather go on three cruises on Crystal instead of four on SSea and Seabourn. The only SSea we are likely to go on are the Expeditions and we are currently booked on The Endeavour as the ship ( built by Crystal) is technically amazing.  

On 2/28/2024 at 1:17 PM, ak1004 said:

 

But Crystal excursions are not managed by A & K. I believe in most ports all cruise lines use the same operators. 

 

So what exactly am I paying for? To cover Manfredi's hundreds of millions investment in Crystal refurbishment (which some describe as putting a lipstick on a pig compared to SS new ships)? 

Have you been on the new Crystal? I tried all of the competition in the last few years but Crystal is way better than the rest. The only one that comes close is Regent which I continue to sail on due to itineraries. 
 

You bring back memories of our not so great Silversea experience.

Since then we have avoided the classic cruises and sailed on their expedition cruises.

On 3/27/2024 at 11:37 PM, Treasure Hunter said:

I have never been on Crystal. I will try the one cruise and see if the amenities out weigh the lack of a casino. I tried Viking and hated it. Perhaps the fact that we don’t drink alcohol ( so cocktail hour holds little charm) has something to do with it. We have been on many land tours ( Safaris and touring exotic locales ) where casinos just weren’t important. But casinos are fun for days at sea and long evenings. I don’t know the layout of the ship but they had what I hear was a large casino for the size of the ship, so perhaps they can use part of that space again.

Crystal has a huge selection of non alcoholic cocktails, some non alcoholic wine and beer. When my DH ran through the non alcoholic wine they picked some up for him at the next port. He would get them to make a spritzer with the non alcoholic sparkling and a little lemon juice.

8 hours ago, vistaman said:

I do not like that - on every day -  on old C it was not on every day ...

One of the several reasons  I left SB  , however the lunch buffets on SB were far inferior on those on C. 

On SS and Regent some non - buffet restaurants  are open for lunch ! 

Yes I wish they would open the Italian and Japanese restaurants for lunch sometimes too. Always a pleasure to dine in Chartreuse and Prime 7 at lunch.

To be fair to C  the marketplace lunch is definitely the best at sea, Bistro, Tastes and Grill are also open as well. 

Under Rao’s training the new butlers are doing an excellent job anticipating your every need.

4 hours ago, PaulMCO said:

I will jump...

 

SS does not require payment for its premium (added cost) excursions.  They are posted to your account once on board.

 

Seabourn does require prepayment, but will refund (without cancelling) those cruises against both non refundable and refundable OBC. 

To add to above…Regent requires prepayment at time of booking but will first use the OBC noted on your reservation. We find this very convenient. 

In the Arctic the daily recap was before dinner with drinks and apps. Dinner was depending on where one booked. We were able to switch reservations if needed. 
I think there was Trivia post dinner. 

1 hour ago, grandma*knows*best said:

There is no need to bring boots or buy your own.  The Bogs boots provided are perfectly comfortable.  If you are on the Pursuit, boots are provided for free.

Thank you. I have boots but won’t bother carrying them.

What about trekking poles?

Did you have to rent the boots or were they included? What about trekking poles?

It looks like they are tightening up clothing choices on their expedition ships. Sad I booked the Endeavour now though I love the ship. 

We did the Endeavour itinerary you mentioned last year and it was great. The ship is the main star…beautifully designed. Also the 2 storey tall windows in the Grill were great when we went to Prince Christian Sound.

9 hours ago, Mrs. Claypool said:

I just finished booking the specialty restaurants online for our Serenity June 24 sailing, and there was no Beefbar option. 

The options will form part of Tastes.

Interesting…I have a 2025 cruise booked. Will have to check if the payment of the cruise 1 year in advance is non refundable to get the 20% off! 
 

Serenity in Monte Carlo.