Can RSSC or SS hold a candle?

Hi All, my wife and I have only cruised with Seabourn in the past and have absolutely loved the experience. We're wanting to go to Alaska in June but can only take off a week and Seabourn doesn't do shorter cruises there. As an alternative, we're thinking of going on Regent Seven Seas or Silversea. I know it may sound silly because, at least from what I've heard, Seabourn, RSSC, and Silversea are all excellent experiences, we just love Seabourn so much that we'd almost prefer to do a totally different type of vacation than to have a cruising experience that is far off the mark from Seabourn. Can anyone who has been on the other lines speak to whether we'll feel a real difference?

In my opinion, what you won’t have on Silversea is the outgoing and extremely engaging international officers and crew from South Africa, western and eastern Europe, Latin America and other places. You won’t have those joyous welcome back on board receptions on the pier nor the officers on deck party towards the end of the cruise where every department assembles on deck or in the Grand Salon for the heartfelt applause from passengers. This social vibe is what makes Seabourn my line of choice.

Silversea has dedicated, charming and hard-working staff, mainly from the Philippines. They are more reserved. The officers on my last Silversea cruise were largely missing in action. Almost never saw them. The only reminders of Seabourn were 4-5 maitres d’ or assistants and one waitress in the bar. That said, the food and inclusive wine were very good. We were on the Whisper which is an older ship, a bit smaller than the Odyssey class ships. It did not have similar facilities eg one pool bar (in a smoking seating section!) vs the Pool and Sky Bars, 2 jacuzzis vs 5, a small and underused Observation Lounge vs the large, fun and hospitable Observation Bar, and the Colonnade restaurant equivalent which had much less outdoor eating space than does the Colonnade.

But you are going to Alaska and if I were you I would join Silversea in a minute. I happen to prefer the more conservative and traditional dress code on Silversea. Somehow nothing I have see or read about Regent appeals.

Happy and healthy sailing!

Having cruised Silversea and Regent several times each, though admittedly not over the past few years, I can only endorse what Markham says, essentially, and the remarks about the staff also apply to Regent. One aspect of Silversea I particularly dislike is the automatic donation from each passenger to a 'family charity', unless you opt out. This may change when the takeover occurs. Captains on Silversea are usually Italians some of whom do not speak very good English, and understandably do not engage much with passengers. We actually prefer the more casual dress code for evenings also.

Somehow to me neither of these lines engenders the same camaraderie as we find on Seabourn, both with fellow passengers and staff. You will certainly get replies from people who completely disagree with me - vive la difference.

We went with Regent to Alaska in July of this year. I posted the comparison of the two below over on the RSSC forum here. We'll be sailing again with Seabourn in February - I don't know if we'll ever do RSSC again. But for the Alaska cruise, with the 2 for 1 deal they were doing at the time (we were a large group), the price was right.

Just got back from a Regent cruise on Mariner to Alaska a few days ago, and sailed Seabourn in the Med last summer. For context, have also sailed SeaDream, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian.

I think I can definitively say we prefer Seabourn by a mile. Regent is very nice, and I think had I NOT have been on SeaDream/Seabourn I would have found it spectacular compared to the other cruise lines of the world.

Food and drink is free and plentiful, there are always staff around in some form or another, the ship is large enough that there are always quiet places to curl up and watch the scenery or read a book, and the balcony suites are great. I also just loved Alaska and have only wonderful things to say about the itinerary as a basic, intro to Alaska trip.

Now the comparisons. And I FULLY admit this is nitpicky, but we're talking luxury cruising. If I wasn't going to nitpick the details, I wouldn't be on this type of cruise.

- Regent costs more on average than Seabourn. This is (I am guessing??) because they include flights and excursions. We did not take the flight, and instead got $600 taken off of our overall bill. We did have transfers from airport to hotel to cruise in Vancouver, which we since learned were charged $70 per. The walk from hotel to cruise was 5 minutes downhill and we skipped the bus entirely.

- Excursions also fill up EXTREMELY quickly. We ended up deciding to do 2 premium (additional cost) excursions, and fortunately cleared the waitlist for the 2 non-premium we chose. Quality wise, they were all great, no obvious difference between free and non.

- Same with spa reservations - no appointments were available. Ever. The ENTIRE CRUISE.

- our suite door was left wide open one day, I don't know for how long. We came back from an excursion and the bolt was thrown to keep the door open...we only noticed AFTER showering and realizing we could hear outside voices very closely.

- Basic maintenance wasn't there, surprising for a boat that was just refurbished. The toilet in our suite clogged one morning, and flooded our entire bathroom another. A panel in the ceiling rattled all night one night, keeping us both up. At least one elevator was out of service every day.

- Also basic service - there weren't any towels when I got out of the hot tub (in the cold, in Alaska). Never saw our room steward after the first day, and had to leave notes asking for more towels and the mini bar to be re-stocked. Cleaning rags were left in the room twice. Cups would be left on tables around the ship for a long time. I couldn't find a napkin anywhere in the coffee bar. Staff would often be congregated near a service door chatting for a noticeable amount of time.

- Restaurant reservations for the two specialty places requiring them also filled up fast - opening at midnight, and gone by 6am. We were part of a party at 7, and could only make "adjoining table" reservations in advance. Once on board, they did make adjustments to accomodate us - we were given a shared table at 6pm (restaurants normally opening at 6:30) for our two special dinner nights.

- The staff will say no or not know answers, and often are not particularly helpful. I got an "I don't know" when I asked for a ladies room the first time I was on the ship, I heard one woman being loudly told that she would need to go to another deck if she wanted soy for her coffee (at one of the bars)...little things like that. There definitely were staff who were very kind and helpful, but that was more the exception than the norm. In general the staff was more heavily worked than on Seabourn (for example: one bartender doing service for 3 resturants and a stand up bar), and just had less time & were not empowered to help. Also only saw the cruise director on television (the "Mariner Today" TV show)...never in person.

- Wine selection was okay, I found things I liked, although I usually had to ask for them as they weren't the wines of the day (very similar to Seabourn where you just have to ask). Liquor collection was not anywhere near as good. We spotted Pinnacle Whipped Cream vodka the last day, which was just hysterical.

- Passengers. I have never seen so many miserable looking people on a vacation! I am used to saying hi when I pass people in the hallway, and generally tend to get to know a fair number of people on board by the time the cruise is over (and I'm normally not a huge extrovert in real life). In general, people were not friendly and would not even smile in a shared elevator. Dunno if it was just this cruise, Alaska, more families, Regent...whatever it was, it was noticeable and very strange.

- Food was much better in general on Seabourn. Regent had a significant lack of fruit, vegetables and salads on Regent, with most veggie preparations being very overcooked or dripping in butter. They were also very small - a quarter cup of corn as a side. Seabourn's specialty restaurant is miles above any of Regent's as well.

- Regent did go out of their way to make a special cake for a birthday we celebrated on board, and decorated the celebrant's room, which was very much appreciated. I think the difference here is more that we had to ask for it, follow up on it daily to make sure it was on their radar, and so on. Seabourn's unexpected "wow moments" are real and we definitely experienced those last summer. Everything that happened on the regent ship happened because we made it happen.

So I wouldn't NOT recommend Regent or tell someone not to go, but when comparing the two...I definitely suggest Seabourn over Regent.

A friend went to Alaska with SS this summer and they were very pleased. The ship was one of the original Seabourn triplets. They have not sailed Seabourn yet.

We’ve also sailed all 3, each chosen for itinerary and timing, and all 3 are more or less the same BUT what differences there are could make or break your overall experience. For us, the clincher was frankly inferior service in most areas on SS and Regent, and incredibly rude, unfriendly pax on SS. When I say “good morning” to someone I pass in a corridor or share an elevator with I expect the same in return - nothing more, just a polite response. Or maybe I had a grandma who believed these things were important. So yes, given the choice (and we do have a choice) it’s Seabourn for us. No doubt others will disagree *shrugs*.

Marazul,

I believe the three little sitters all went to Windstar. Perhaps your friend was on Windstar this summer?

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We did Regent one, and it was fine. Did Vietnam in the Silver shadow and it was just horrible. I will stay with Seabourn.

Have not done Silver Sea. Regent was fine, just not worth the upgrade to butler service. She was awful. The excursions were long. We did Venice to Spain and Portugal. All rooms are suites and same size until you get to the owners type suites. Every cruise is different. My first Seabourn was very disappointing but when I went with them this year I fell in love and would always choose them first. From what I have heard Silver Seas is a little older crowd while Regent is more diverse. I found people on Regent were friendly enough and made some friends during the trip.

Windstar have the triplets, not Silversea.

Regent is ok if you like long excursions you can't always get on included in your price. Ss just didn't fit for us, no atmosphere, rude staff and passengers too. Poor food clinched the deal.

In fact the only rude people on our SB ody cruise recently were SS fans trying SB, and I am pleased to say they didn't like it, so no one else trying SB will have to experience their rudeness! They were also pretty old, which explains why SS is their favourite.

Since we started higher end cruising we've cruised probably 3/5 Seabourn and 2/5 Silversea. Our last cruise was Seabourn and we were a little disappointed, our previous was Silversea and it was incredibly good, the one before that was Seabourn and it was excellent. A few years ago I'd say you really couldn't go wrong with either line, now I'd say they are both excellent but the variance on any given cruise, on both lines, is greater. I'd suggest checking the Silversea forum, there have been some very positive comments in the last 6 months and a number of legitimate complaints of absolutely dreadful cruises.

I'd say that Seabourn right now has a very good product with a bit of variance, Silversea can be incredible, but they can also turn in an absolute stinker of a cruse for the money.

Marazul,

I believe the three little sitters all went to Windstar. Perhaps your friend was on Windstar this summer?

 

 

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You are so right. Senior moment.

Yes, the friends did enjoy their Windstar Alaska cruise and loved the ship. I wish we still had them.

Our first cruise ever was on Silversea and we had nothing else to compare it to. We traveled with another couple who had cruised a lot, so we followed their lead on everything. It was an Athens to Istanbul intineary and we enjoyed it immensely. Since we did most everything with the couple we were traveling with, we didn't meet that many people. I DID meet a couple in the laundry room! They later toured with the other four us after disembarkation in Istanbul for several days. Looking back, I can see that Seabourn has more atmosphere and more fun on board. (Also better evening entertainment) We have taken 2 Seabourn cruises so far (Encore and Ovation). While the passengers are older, there is a mix and most people are quite friendly. We stay in touch with a number of friends met on our two Seabourn cruises. This next May, we'll be trying out the Sojourn and I look forward to making comparison--recognizing that each ship and each voyage is different.

Right now, we are not willing to go back to SS and have no desire to try Regent. Seabourn's friendly international crew is a big draw as well as the line's can do attitude. Nothing is ever perfect every single minute, but the vast majority of the time, SB has been great.

In my opinion, what you won’t have on Silversea is the outgoing and extremely engaging international officers and crew from South Africa, western and eastern Europe, Latin America and other places. You won’t have those joyous welcome back on board receptions on the pier nor the officers on deck party towards the end of the cruise where every department assembles on deck or in the Grand Salon for the heartfelt applause from passengers. This social vibe is what makes Seabourn my line of choice.

 

Silversea has dedicated, charming and hard-working staff, mainly from the Philippines. They are more reserved. The officers on my last Silversea cruise were largely missing in action. Almost never saw them. The only reminders of Seabourn were 4-5 maitres d’ or assistants and one waitress in the bar. That said, the food and inclusive wine were very good. We were on the Whisper which is an older ship, a bit smaller than the Odyssey class ships. It did not have similar facilities eg one pool bar (in a smoking seating section!) vs the Pool and Sky Bars, 2 jacuzzis vs 5, a small and underused Observation Lounge vs the large, fun and hospitable Observation Bar, and the Colonnade restaurant equivalent which had much less outdoor eating space than does the Colonnade.

 

But you are going to Alaska and if I were you I would join Silversea in a minute. I happen to prefer the more conservative and traditional dress code on Silversea. Somehow nothing I have see or read about Regent appeals.

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

I pretty much echo Markham on most everything. Pretty spot on for the most part. We have sailed SS and Celebrity mostly. We just tried our first SB last month and loved it. A lot of things are very similar on each line...but the biggest difference really is the overall energy on the ship for us. SB was so friendly and easy going. Much more social. Folks were actually out before and after dinner, whether having drinks in the bars and playing in the casino etc. SS social life is so dead. The energy is pretty quiet. Even very quiet on the pool deck, no one really talks. I wouldn’t say that SS passengers are rude as some say in here, although I have experienced multiple times where people dont like to say hi passing in corridor and in elevator. I would just say that they are more conservative. SS is overwhelmingly more British and the average age is older...hence the conservative, quiet nature. WE still like SS and our next cruise is with them to Vietnam, but I know we will be missing the friendliness of both the crew and passengers on SB. And agreed with one other poster, you will have little interaction with the crew on SS other than their obligatory Captains Welcome cocktail party ...the cruise directors on the other hand have always been super nice.

Having sailed all three lines (and many more) I rate Regent first, SS second and Seabourn third. Not that I found that much difference between them. The food selection on Regent is outstanding. The dining room on Seabourn Odyssey is soulless.