HAL vs Seabourn

[Jalex63]

:confused:Following what we and many others agree has been a continual reduction in quality and service on HAL, my wife and I finally upped the ante and took a cruise aboard Seabourn's Soujourn. This was a Southern Carib., 10 day cruise that embarked and debarked in Ft. Lauderdale. We wanted to determine if the much higher cost of Seabourn was worth the money. We booked the cruise during a special, Veranda for the price of an OV, of $2999.00 pp. +Taxes and Port charges. This compares to a similar cruise itinerary and length to a cruise on the Noordam where a Veranda starts at about $1600. pp, plus the added expense of tips, totaling $220. for the 10 days bringing the total to approximately $1820.00 pp + taxes and port charges. There is no tipping on Seabourn, so that is not a factor in the equation. Thus the total expense of the cruise came to about $6000. on Seabourn vs $3640 on HAL. However, depending upon on board expenses for drinks, tips for room service, Pinnacle, etc., much of that gap of $2360. can be closed. We typically end up spending $600. to $800 on those items. So, I figure in our case the true cost differential of the two cruises was around $1500. However, had we not booked the special, the cruise expense for a starting Veranda would have been $3499. pp raising the cost difference to about $2500. A significant increase. That is the cost part of this investigation.

 

Stateroom: Frankly, the "living area" of the cabin was not much larger than a standard Veranda on a HAL ship, but there was enough difference to allow for a small dining table which made room service meals much more enjoyable. The rest of the larger stateroom, as advertised, is taken up by a small walk in closet and a much larger bath. In our opinion, while the walk in closet was nice, it was really no larger than the closet space on HAL and the larger bath incorporated a stall shower and tub, plus double sinks. Not a big deal to us as we primarily shower and have never used a tub on a cruise ship. The Veranda itself was only slightly larger than on HAL, not enough to make much difference and the lounge chairs were really kind of funky being in two pieces and hard to situate. Other things about the cabin were pretty similar to HAL except instead of drawers they had shelves with touch latch doors. I did not care for this arrangement as I had to practically get down on my hands and knees to get things out. Of course there was a refrigerator and being all inclusive even a small bar stocked with the alcohol of your choice, in our case a bottle of Gin and one of Vodka. Overall rating? With the exception of the included mini bar and dining table, almost a draw.

 

Room Service: While we did not have any dinner meals in the room, we did have breakfast and some lunch in the room. The "service" part of the room service was outstanding! Orders left on the door at night were delivered on time and even orders placed over the telephone were delivered at lightning speed compared to any other cruise ship I have been on. Usually in less than 10 minutes. The really special part was that when the service was delivered, the dining table was set up by the steward complete with table cloth, flatware, etc. almost as in the dining rooms on the ship. As to the food quality, it was good, but IMHO the pastry was not as good as HAL and a Club Sandwich that I ordered one time was not nearly as good as the ones I have had on HAL. Rating vs HAL, superior.

 

Ship and on board dining experiences. The ship, being much smaller than even the Prinsendam, passenger total about 450, obviously lacked much of the public space that HAL has to offer. But, what I would compare to the Explorer Lounge and Library were quite comparable and again while the ship was much smaller there was never a crowded feeling and I never had to get in line for anything! There were basically three restaurant choices with open seating, main dining room, colonnade dining room and the patio grill in the pool area and three bars, two in the mid-ship pool area and one up in an observation lounge similar to the Eagles Nest on HAL ships. Food quality and service in the dining rooms was far, FAR superior to HAL. Maybe what HAL was like 30 years ago. Also, we were invited to dine with either Ships Officers, cruise director and even one of the comedians on the ship for dinner about six times, we accepted about four of the invitations and the "hosted" dinners were exceptional. Entertainment aboard was far better than what we have experienced aboard HAL the last few years, even a Concert Pianist one night that I considered the best entertainment I have ever had on a cruise ship.

 

The only downside we saw with Seabourn besides the cost differential is that they don't cruise often out of Florida, basically only three months a year, Oct. Nov and first week of Dec. ( we no longer desire to fly and can drive to Ft. Lauderdale in about two hours ) and while we met some wonderful people on the cruise there were also some of the biggest "snobs" I have ever met. Also ship dress codes are a little more upscale, requiring men to wear Jackets most evenings, etc. But I liked there formal policy as it was formal "optional" with only the main dining room requiring formal wear or suit and tie on one night of the cruise.

 

I could go on quite a bit longer in detailing the differences that we experienced, but I think I have given enough to give you our impressions of the cruise, YMMV. IMHO, if price is not a factor to you, then Seabourn (or other upscale cruise lines ) may be the way to go. At present we take about 2-3 cruises a year and for us to switch would mean we would have to cut at least one cruise a year in order to stay within our travel budget.

 

We are sailing again on the Prinsendam this week end for the Holiday cruise and as I have always heard that the Prinsendam is so much better it will be interesting to compare the smaller HAL ship to the Soujourn.

 

This much I can tell you, I am already watching for a special on Seabourn out of Ft. Lauderdale next season as we do intend to do it again! We think that when you boil it down, it was worth the price difference.:) Quite frankly, I believe that were Seabourn to offer round trip sailings from Florida more often that just the three fall months, you would likely never get me on any other cruise line again. However, since HAL has some itineraries out of Florida that I still want to do, I will probably be around on HAL for a while longer.:D

[ldog]

Thank you for answering those questions for the rest of us.

[Aruba]

Thank you for that informative review. I've been toying with the idea of trying Seabourn myself but so far haven't...probably because of its price reputation. I too am troubled by the cutbacks on HAL and, within reason, would happily pay more for a higher quality experience.

[whogo]

Great comparison! Thank you.

[kazu]

Thank you for this excellent info.

 

Seabourn has been on our agenda and if a certain cruise wasn't chartered we would have given her a try.

 

I don't think the Prinsendam will be up to Seabourn and I wouldn't expect her to be - but if your experiences are like mine have been - you might be looking at a very tough decision :)

 

I'll be looking forward to your thoughts on the EE - we have been very happy (some would say lucky) and enjoyed wonderful service on this ship including room service. For us, this ship has been better than the other ships in the fleet :)

 

Do share - the more we hear - the more we know = thanks again for the great information :D

[Typhoon1]

DH keeps talking about trying Seabourn. Maybe someday we'll check it out.

[Jalex63]

Well.............doesn't look like I will be cruising Seabourn again anytime soon. Just to see what might be coming up next year I just checked and there are no Seabourn cruises scheduled to embark and debark in Florida next year. None, Nada, Zero! Cost of airfare in conjunction with a cruise would definitely put it out of reach on our budget and besides like I said in my original post, we hate to fly. We'll do short distance flights when we have to, but none of the 6-8 hour or longer international flights that would be needed to be used in this case.

 

I am guessing that the fact that Seabourn has sold it's three smallest ships has something to do with this.

[sail7seas]

Thanks so much for your comparison review.

I really enjoyed reading it.

 

Hope you enjoy your Prinsendam cruise. :)

[cruisetrail]

Thank you for the report.

 

HAL delivers exceptional value product and IMO is probably the least suitable for a comparison with "luxury club" cruises if one wants to justify the difference in price.

 

Interesting observations (except "everything prices" of course).

 

A couple of things raise questions though:

 

"a continual reduction in quality and service on HAL":confused:

 

"Entertainment aboard was far better than what we have experienced aboard HAL the last few years" :confused:

[Thebes]

Thanks for your time writing up this rev.

It helps to see the other side of things.

[LindaM]

Please come back and let us know how you felt about Prinsendam. I can only compare her to Regent Navigator, and IMHO, she comes very close and in some instances better ie food and service. She is old, so you will notice that difference from Seabourn, I'm sure.

[prescottbob]

Ahoy!

 

We've have had the privilege of having sailed on the Prinsendam for 48 days (a 2008, 26 day Amazon & a 22 day eastbound TA & Med) and having sailed on the Seabourn Spirit (a 2011, 14 day westbound TA).

 

We usually stay in ocean view staterooms on the lower decks and did so for both the aforementioned cruises.

 

Without going into too much detail I can say we really enjoyed the Seabourn experience. The Spirit only carries 208 pax while the Prinsendam in now north of 800 pax with the new aft cabins (we haven't been on 'her' since the retrofit).

 

Needless to say, the Prinsendam is our all time favorite HAL ship. We hope to cruise on 'her' more in the future if & when any sort of retirement happens (God knows when that'll be).

 

 

The pricing really wasn't out of the ball park since it was a TA & included all beverages, specialty dining venues, etc. I believe the TA at that time on the Spirit was something like $1900 pp for the 14 days in 2011.

 

We do get the Seabourn mailings all the time and, yes, most of the itineraries would be considered 'pricey' as compared to HAL. But then again, like most things, you get what you pay for.

 

In any event, enjoy your cruise aboard the 'Elegant Explorer'. Unless things have changed radically I don't believe you'll be disappointed.

 

Bon Voyage & Good Health! (and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!)

Bob:)

[KirkNC]

Great comparision! I appreciate the detail differences. We have consider but not yet dome something similar on other lines (Crystal being one) so this was very informative.

[seniorladycruiser]

For the past couple of years we have been sailing on Seabourn. We have been exclusively on the little ships known fondly as the 'lil sisters. At this time it is our most favorite cruise line. We love the all inclusiveness never having to sign for checks, the amazing service, the friendliness of staff. We have been on the Spirit and the staff always remembers us and gives us hugs and welcomes us back as we board. This ship only holds about 200 passengers and makes us feel like we are on our own private yacht. We have never encountered any snobbishness and instead have made very good friends.

 

That being said we are sailing with our adult daughters this February on the Zuiderdam doing a partial transit of the Panama Canal. Haven't been on a Holland America ship since 2009. My husband and I are very much looking forward to taking this cruise with our daughters. It will really be interesting to see the difference between cruise lines. I do not expect it to be the same as Seabourn but we know we will enjoy ourselves.

[peaches from georgia]

For the past couple of years we have been sailing on Seabourn. We have been exclusively on the little ships known fondly as the 'lil sisters. At this time it is our most favorite cruise line. We love the all inclusiveness never having to sign for checks, the amazing service, the friendliness of staff. We have been on the Spirit and the staff always remembers us and gives us hugs and welcomes us back as we board. This ship only holds about 200 passengers and makes us feel like we are on our own private yacht. We have never encountered any snobbishness and instead have made very good friends.

 

..................

We also have been sailing on Seabourn, on the Sojourn class, not the 'lil sisters. I also was taken aback by OP's description of encountering snobbishness. Our experience has been exactly the opposite. We have found the atmosphere, with the fewer number of pax on each cruise than on a mass market ship (max of 450 on the larger ships) to be much more friendly on Seabourn. Pax mix very easily and friendliness to other pax is apparent whatever we are doing, there are no class/cabin category distinctions on the ship at all, everyone gets the same amenities and perks, and we never have known whether a pax has saved up for years for this one cruise or is CEO of a Fortune 500 company. Same with the crew- they all are friendly, the pax are all treated the same and the officers invite pax to dine at their tables nightly. OP may have had a different experience than we, but I was surprised with the snobbishness comment.

[Jalex63]

We also have been sailing on Seabourn, on the Sojourn class, not the 'lil sisters. I also was taken aback by OP's description of encountering snobbishness. Our experience has been exactly the opposite. We have found the atmosphere, with the fewer number of pax on each cruise than on a mass market ship (max of 450 on the larger ships) to be much more friendly on Seabourn. Pax mix very easily and friendliness to other pax is apparent whatever we are doing, there are no class/cabin category distinctions on the ship at all, everyone gets the same amenities and perks, and we never have known whether a pax has saved up for years for this one cruise or is CEO of a Fortune 500 company. Same with the crew- they all are friendly, the pax are all treated the same and the officers invite pax to dine at their tables nightly. OP may have had a different experience than we, but I was surprised with the snobbishness comment.

 

I may have overstated the case a bit as we ran into only a few "snobs", but they were to found on board. One Lady, who we had the misfortune to dine with twice at hosted tables went on and on about the cost of her jewelery. We also ran onto her at the coffee bar one day and I commented about how nice it was not to have to sign for it (pay additional for it) and she said something like "Oh yes, some lines charge extra for this don't they? I responded that it was only a Nominal fee on HAL upon which she stated by literally looking down her nose at me " We don't sail those lines" implying they were not up to her qualifications.

 

On the other hand, I will say that while some folks on HAL are not overly friendly, the vast majority are and I have never ran into anyone I would classify as snobbish.:)

[rkacruiser]

I appreciate you taking the time for this comparison. Seabourn is a line that I have considered and have wondered if it really is worth the additional expense. Your comparison gives me more food for thought. Thank you!

[Jalex63]

I appreciate you taking the time for this comparison. Seabourn is a line that I have considered and have wondered if it really is worth the additional expense. Your comparison gives me more food for thought. Thank you!

 

Keep in mind that we sailed Seabourn at a pretty low rate for them, which is what made this trip doable for us and I was hoping to be able to get a similar deal next year, but not to be as I stated, they have no sailings out and back from Ft. Lauderdale on their Schedule for 2014. In reality, unless you have very deep pockets and don't mind the air travel, Seabourn cruises can be very expensive compared to main lines. However, like all lines I am sure that if you sign up for their newsletter you will find that there will deals to be had throughout the year.

 

Had we had to pay the full rate for the November cruise, originally advertised at $3999. pp for the 10 day cruise, then I would be at a different level of thought and I don't think it would be worth another $2,000. making for a total difference of around $3500.00 for the 10 day cruise. But, that is to me based upon what my travel budget allows. I would rather take 2-3 cruises a year than just one. On the other hand, if price were no object then the pendulum would swing back to Seabourn.:)

[rkacruiser]

Thanks for the advice, Jalex63. The Mega Millions, the Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes, and the Ohio Lottery are still eluding me. Like you, I would rather do 2-3 cruises a year rather than just one really out of my travel budget range.

[arzz]

We, too, have tasted the Sebourn experience. Last year from Athens to Dubai on the Pride. We loved the small ship and only 208 passengers. We were spoiled by the cabin. The service was very personal and we particularly enjoyed not having to pull out the room card to pay for things. We, too, had a fabulous price because of the lack of popularity of sailing to Egypt and through Somali waters.

 

But ... Though the food was fantastic, we found the service, at times, a bit pretentious. When I did have an issue with my food I was challenged (like the morning I was served corned beef instead of ham with my eggs - when I complained I was told that this is what their breakfast ham is like ... This was the only time I complained about anything).

 

We met several very nice folks on board, and several who were very standoffish - don't know how else to say it. And we witnessed one set of episodes that stand alone in the annals of our cruise experiences.

 

A woman who became a good friend while on board, about 48 hours before the end of the cruise, was called over by the Hotel Manager to tell her that the folks in the cabin next to hers complained that she was slamming her door at night. This was the first she had heard of such an issue. The rest of the day whenever her neighbors saw her they pointed and giggled. In the wee hours that night they called her on the phone,and hung up, every 15 minutes for over an hour. Hard to believe these were adults!

 

Would we do Seabourn again? Maybe if the price and ports were right but we might wish to bring our own friends.

[Ky Colonel]

HAL is the ONLY cruise line to have a Catholic priest on every cruise and to offer DAILY MASS. As long as HAL continues to do so, we will continue to be (almost 100%) loyal HAL cruisers!!!

 

Rod

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for your review and the comparison between the two cruiselines. Very interesting.

[jaguarstyper]

We cruised the Mediterranean on the Seabourn Odyssey several years ago in conjunction with the Monaco Grand Prix. Its very difficult for us to compare prices because it was a special Grand Prix cruise and we were docked in Monaco harbor for 3 nights as the ship was essentially our hotel for the race weekend. The fare also included VIP race tickets and several other amenities associated with the race. Lets just say the fare was A LOT more than you would expect to pay on HAL for a typical 7 night Mediterranean itinerary.

 

As for the other comparisons, I would agree with most of them. We were in a PH suite and we always book a Neptune Suite on HAL. I thought the suites were comparable in size and the HAL suite might actually be a little bigger. The big difference was there was an actual bedroom in the Seabourn suite. Perhaps that's what made it seem slightly smaller overall. The general finish and quality of the interior on Seabourn is much nicer than on HAL.

 

When it comes to service and food, there is no comparison. I found Seabourn to be miles above HAL in every possible way. I also found the atmosphere to be much more "upscale" than on HAL. Granted, we were on a special cruise, but it just seemed like a much more elegant environment all around the ship.

 

As for the other passengers, again because it was a special cruise, its difficult to compare, but most of the passengers seemed to be fairly well heeled and very seasoned travelers. I can't say I encountered any "snobbery" and we made some friends that we still stay in contact with and have met at other Grand Prix races since the cruise.

 

All in all, it was an impeccable, once in a lifetime experience. But, I think I would have a difficult time justifying the increase in cost over HAL for frequent cruising. For the most part, I am generally happy with what HAL provides.

Edited November 26, 2014 by jaguarstyper