Seabourn versus Regent

Thanks Sheila.

Anne Marie and I send you our very best.

Keith

Keith,

Your remarks are pertinent. I am in the process of trying out other cruise lines to compare with the experience on Crystal.

Do post again with your impressions of other lines.

I am right now on the Regent Explorer! As I wrote in an other treat - after seven Seabourn cruise and a very disappointing cruise on the Encore last year, we tried the new Regent ship and all in all it is far better than Seabourn (Seabourn has gone the wrong way in the last years - they cut the cost too much - what you see as a regular SB-cruiser - maybe not if you are cruising the first time on SB)! The service was far better, the food was better and more choices (3 speciality restaurants), free (fast) internet, free excursons, larger standard cabin and at the end cheaper than Seabourn!

I am not going back to Seabourn!

Adios Stefan,you have found what suits you.

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ZAnd the best of all was that I have seen no black smoke coming out of the chimney. This was a huge difference to our last Seabourn cruises where you saw a lot of black smoke!

Which cruise line is the better one?

I know, Regent offers included excursions and flights are also included in the price. More or less price policy is the same, but what is different or you like more?

 

 

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My husband & I sailed with Seabourn in 2015 and absolutely loved it! We felt that everything (from the staff to the food to the venues) was tip-top. Everyone wants to accommodate your requests - special foods (we have certain dietary restrictions, and I'd made requests that weren't otherwise offered), etc...nobody ever said "no".

Last year we had to sail with Regent Seven Seas, and right from the start, the embarkation was horrible - totally disorganized and I felt like we were cattle being herded around. The crew members were also not as professional (for the most part). Nobody really learned your name or your preferences. And forget about dietary restrictions. Trying to get what you want is like pulling teeth. Can I have a gluten-free pizza? "No". Do you have fresh avocados? "No" Do you have almond milk? "No". Do you have hot sauce? "No".

Our cruise was only a 7-day cruise and it took them 5 days and a fight with the ship General Manager to get what we want....and they still can't get it right. There's absolutely no communication among the departments. Our butler did all he could but kitchen still messed things up. Food quality was ok. But for the money, it should be excellent.

Out of the 7 days, 2 days were at sea, 3 of the ports were their own islands, which were all man-made for tourists, with vendors selling touristy things and restaurants serving hamburgers & hotdogs and the like. And the last day's port before disembarking back in Miami was Key West. And this was the only "real" port.

The only saving grace was the Entertainment department and the Canyon Ranch spa (but then CR is a different entity). Everyone were stellar! And they were all amazing. And the WIFI.

I didn't feel that the value was there with Regent, despite their promises.

This year, we will be sailing with Seabourn again. We may check out Silversea next.

Well, we have many cruises on Silversea, Crystal and Regent - and one last year on Seabourn Encore and a BtoB coming up this spring on Ovation. We like all of them. And sometimes we like one more than others. We do compare, especially if we get on a ship on another line and they don't have something that we especially loved on another line. Like we really love the promenade deck on Crystal. The other 3 really don't compare. But then Crystal doesn't put out waters as you are heading out to excursions - you have to remember to go to one of the bars or bring one from your room - like the other ones do. (Both of these are just examples; not meant to indicate all the specific differences among the lines.) We like some specialty restaurants better on some lines. And we like the layouts on some ships vs. other ones on the SAME line. Even on the same ship, one cruise will differ from the next (as we found out on a back to back a couple of years ago). All 4 lines have pros and cons, and even those are not all consistent. The staff, the chef, the ship itself, the line, the weather and the other passengers are ALL factors in whether we might rate a cruise higher than another one.

Bottom line, in our minds, every cruise is an entity into itself. We would never go on another Caribbean cruise on ANY line. That is just not our thing. (Yes, we will pass through the Caribbean on the way to the Panama Canal or somewhere in South America). We won't do the Mediterranean in the summer on ANY line. We won't do 7 day cruises on ANY line. So, we look at when we want to go and see if any of the 4 lines we cruise are going anywhere we think is interesting. If two are similar, then we compare prices (and sometimes it is surprisingly different!) but mostly it is itinerary and timing that dictate for us which line we choose.

Any cruise line can have a good and bad sailing. Our first experience on Seabourn Quest was not optimal. We were told that most of the experienced crew had left for the Encore, so we were left with new staff. Many commented to us not to judge Seabourn on this cruise. I don't eat meat and was very unhappy with the seafood selections most nights and it was the last of the smoking cruises where they allowed smoking in the observation lounge on one side - as you know that is not the case it permeated the entire lounge and destroyed the experience. We have sailed most recently with Regent and Oceania. While most will not agree, I personally love Oceania Riviera and Marina for the diverse dining opportunities and love the penthouse with butler. While on Regent - I would never want a butler again. Yet when we found the itinerary that Seabourn has for Barcelona to Dover we were excited to give it another try. Regent does include all excursions and business class air. The excursions were intense and long and unfortunately we chose the hottest month of August to see Spain. We will return to a few ports we visited last year but this time will just take a taxi into the towns. Valencia in particular is easy to navigate on your own in the city center where there are beautiful shops and buildings and a gorgeous fountain.

What I in particular do not like about Regent is that they charge you if you change your plans even if it is within the free cancellation period. They charge an administrative fee of $100 per person if you cancel even 6 months before your cruise.

All in all we are looking forward to this next Seabourn experience and will report back. We have Marina scheduled for end of October.

And remember Regent includes excursions and Business class air because they charge you for it. There's a big difference between included and free.

Any cruise line can have a good and bad sailing. ... We have sailed most recently with Regent and Oceania. While most will not agree, I personally love Oceania Riviera and Marina for the diverse dining opportunities and love the penthouse with butler. While on Regent - I would never want a butler again....

 

What I in particular do not like about Regent is that they charge you if you change your plans even if it is within the free cancellation period. They charge an administrative fee of $100 per person if you cancel even 6 months before your cruise.

...

Funny how "your experience may vary" pertains. We've had butlers a couple of times on Regent and they've been excellent--our butler on Oceania Riviera was awful (fawning, practically groveling, doing things for us without consultation). Plus we found enrichment activities on Oceania very sparse, and the ambience in the bars quite different, absent the included alcohol.

Yes, they do charge a cancellation fee prior to final payment. I'm pleasantly surprised, actually, that Seabourn doesn't (didn't know that.)

And remember Regent includes excursions and Business class air because they charge you for it. There's a big difference between included and free.

Yes, and I do wish that you could opt out of excursions but you can't. As for Business Air, it has raised the fares quite a lot, but it's still true that rolling that benefit into cost comparisons with other, similar cruises, similar itineraries, usually puts Regent on top for value. I was just comparing two Crossings in 2020, Seabourn vs. Regent--Seabourn came out ahead by a couple of grand, but only when I factored in a Premium Economy flight instead of Business. Fair enough, but we love Business when we can swing it.

We do love the Regent product, and hope to fall in love with the Seabourn product this fall.

Nowadays we only cruise with Regent or Seabourn - the cabins on Crystal are much too small and we dislike the dress codes on Silversea. We think Regent has the edge. Wi-fi is free on Regent and the cost is exorbitant on Seabourn. Also Seabourn charges for excursions are excessive. There is a better choice of dining venues on Regent.

Nowadays we only cruise with Regent or Seabourn - the cabins on Crystal are much too small and we dislike the dress codes on Silversea. We think Regent has the edge. Wi-fi is free on Regent and the cost is exorbitant on Seabourn. Also Seabourn charges for excursions are excessive. There is a better choice of dining venues on Regent.

Good to know. We've had unlimited wifi on Regent for years because of our status, so this upcoming Seabourn trip in September will be brutal for us. Perhaps I can train myself only to use data onshore, and being it's in Canada, perhaps I can use it from my own data plan!

Good to know. We've had unlimited wifi on Regent for years because of our status, so this upcoming Seabourn trip in September will be brutal for us. Perhaps I can train myself only to use data onshore, and being it's in Canada, perhaps I can use it from my own data plan!

For $399 you can have unlimited wifi for the entire cruise, still far cheaper than you'd pay on Regent for all those supposedly "free" excursions and you included wifi due to status. Remember also that on SB after sailing 140 days you get a free seven day cruise, not just wifi.

Use a $400 referral coupon then your internet is free :)

The TA-Journey on the Regent Explorer was the best cruise ever (7 times Seabourn etc). It reminded me on our first Seabourn cruises. Really amazing.

After 18 Seabourn cruises, we decided to give Regent a try this past January with a 3 week Asia cruise. At first, we didn't care for it, no calling us by name (like Seabourn does), larger ship, etc. However, we felt like the food was better, with much more selection on the menu, and the 'included' tours were great. We arranged our own business class air, which ended up saving us several thousand off the advertised Regent cruise prices. We have already reserved another 3 week Regent cruise, as well as another Seabourn cruise. We love both them both!

I've been on both Regent and Seabourn. I found the food overall better on Seabourn (Regent has more variety on the Explorer - however IMO the quality wasn't there. Further they don't seem to understand what several freeze/thaw cycles do to proteins). I'd put the ne plus ultra of Regent crew alongside an average Seabourn crew; while a good Seabourn crew surpasses Regents. Of course Seabourns changed things up a bit (IIRC no more wine stewards and waiters pressed into that role sans training/experience).

As for kid friendly - Regent gets the nod. So much so that I know two lilliputians will probably be terrors on the Baltic this summer (assuming their behavior doesn't improve). Kind of odd though that the kids club is only on sea days and this cruise has one. That should make things...interesting.

Which Baltic cruise are the little angels sailing on?

If they make their flight the Aug 4 out of Stockholm.

Which cruise line is the better one?

I know, Regent offers included excursions and flights are also included in the price. More or less price policy is the same, but what is different or you like more?

 

 

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We have only been on two cruises so far so I’m sure our opinion is relative, but Seabourn hands down. Booked for Antarctica this coming December.

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Regent is more expensive because it’s “all inclusive and free”. However you’re paying for that. If you book their more expensive tours you don’t get credit for the ones you’ve paid for with your fare. Also try to see how they mangle(d) singles.

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To David and Wendy - looking forward to your review in September. We just booked PG for the Marquesas in 2019 and are now targeting SB for first time in 2020. Hope to find a great Med itinerary with not too much in France since we’ve done that.

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We would pick Seabourn over Regent. We recently spent 22 days on the SB Quest. The Seabourn ship personnel were excellent and truly customer oriented, however Seabourn headquarters was not. The issue was cabin credit. Seabourn refused to give us the credit to which we were entitled. After over a month of discussions and emails, they mailed a check without any apology or explanation. Despite this, I would still choose SB over Regent for the food and the personal service. They genuinely seem to want to help us in any way they could.

Do both have formal nights? In practice, do the men wear sport coats/ties, or is a long sleeve buttondown shirt and nice khaki's acceptable?

Both have optional formal nights. But in both smart casual (for men shirts long or short sleeved and decent trousers) is very acceptable. We have stopped sailing with Silverseas because of their rigidity on formal nights, but maybe having lost our custom they have become more relaxed.