Cost comparison between V, O, and SB

[Vineyard View]

23 hours ago, deec said:

looking forward to your review/comparisons

our TA often encourages us to check into O and Seaburn...not sure why we are loyal other than familiarity is easy and comfortable.

I have to admit. We were a little nervous trying SB. We were never disappointed with V. It wasn’t the reason we booked. It was not long on the ship before we were glad we branched out. It is a different experience, and we were in no way unhappy with our decision. 

[SJD117]

18 minutes ago, Vineyard View said:

I would say though that if I looked at dollars only, the average prices of tours on SB would have been hard pressed to spend that amount of difference. And conversely, what was included in the Seabourn fare that we enjoyed - would have cost a lot of extra money had we ordered it on V. 

Cruising is never a "dollars only" proposition, at least for us. If that were so on the bottom end, we'd cruise on Carnival and its ilk -- and as you observed above, that's "not going to happen." And if it were so on the top end, we'd cruise on one of the lines with butlers -- how pretentious! So we're comfortable right where we've landed, somewhere in the marketing middle.

Edited July 1, 2023 by SJD117

[Vineyard View]

8 hours ago, milling73 said:

 So I guess my question would be - what is the cost of those introductory types of tours from the other 2 companies?  Add that cost in for each port, and then the overall comparison is more fair / accurate.   There is also the overall decor / layout / quality of the ships to consider. (granted that is subjective taste)

I did not know how to answer your question as it was not something we paid attention to. I just looked to get an idea. SB walking tours range from $50-$70. 
The ship that we sailed on was fresh, clean, no wear showing, high quality, comfortable and yet luxurious. Again, as you say, that is subjective. We also thoroughly enjoy the layout and decor of V. They are just different. 

[lackcreativity]

Vineyard View,

Thanks for all your efforts in providing this comparison. We have been happy Viking customers also, and initially it was the search for new itineraries that prompted us to start looking at other lines. It now looks like price will be a significant issue as well. It still seems complicated to do the comparisons if you try to get too detail focused, so big picture will be my focus. Thanks again!

Edited July 1, 2023 by lackcreativity

[deec]

Vineyard View,

I may have missed it but have you done the comparison write up?  I will be interested in the areas that you thought were better on Seabourn.    Thanks again for the $$$comparison.

[CCWineLover]

16 hours ago, SJD117 said:

somewhere in the marketing middle.

Love it!  The "marketing middle" - that's where we are too!

[longterm]

Very interesting thread; we've looked at both Oceania and Seabourn, but haven't tried them yet.

 

In my opinion, more value should be given to the following:

 

Included excursions: while there are many who don't bother with them, we usually go on the walkabouts and then remain in town to expand on what we've just seen. For example, on our upcoming 2nd Grand European river cruise, we'll take some of the short walking tours and then wander off on our own to have lunch or look deeper into the towns. 

 

So for that reason, I think included excursions do add a value that O and SB don't; while some of the included excursions are not very creative, we've been on some that we really enjoyed.

 

Casinos: personally, as someone who played casinos in Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe, Reno, and Atlantic City dozens of times in my career, I loathe casinos, so not having one on-board is a plus to me;

 

No children: we love our kids and grandchildren, but we don't want to travel with them, nor do we relish the idea of children on a cruise ship.

 

Wi-fi: If I pay $350 for shipboard wi-fi, it had better be decent, as opposed to the last couple of Viking cruises we took where wi-fi was abysmal.

 

Routes: This is where I think Viking lacks; there are some great routes on SB and O that we've considered, and it may be time for Viking to freshen up their route offerings.

 

All that having been said, this thread is prompting me to wander over to the O and SB sites and take more looks.

[longterm]

Just took a look at an Alaska cruise, picked June 2024 as departure date, balcony stateroom:

 

Duration (including embarkation & debarkation days): Viking - 11; Oceania - 12; Seabourn - 11;

Lowest-priced balcony (not incl. taxes): Viking: $6000; Oceania: $6600; Seabourn: $7500;

Suite size: Viking - 270 sq. ft.; Oceania-219 sq. ft.; Seabourn - 300 sq. ft.;

Free wi-fi: Viking & Oceania

Excursions: Viking; I think Oceania offers an excursion credit, but it wasn't quickly apparent whether the $800 credit went for the price I quoted above.

 

My perusal was done rather quickly, but it's in line with what I thought; looking at the Alaska cruise as an example, I couldn't see the advantages for O or SB, other than having a casino (as I said, I consider that a minus rather than a plus), children (same here); alcohol (not important to us).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Myrtle Ave. Mayhem]

22 hours ago, CCWineLover said:

Nice writeup and figures.

However, no one as addressed how to you put a price on some of things Viking is 

 

A strict $ for $ may work for some people and for others there are non-quantifiable aspects.

Thanks goodness there are cruise lines for everyone's needs and interests.

Exactly Ken! It is the onboard atmosphere distinctive to Viking that is the premium for me.

[lackcreativity]

1 hour ago, Myrtle Ave. Mayhem said:

Exactly Ken! It is the onboard atmosphere distinctive to Viking that is the premium for me.

I have agreed with this up to now.  However, when I can't find an itinerary in the area I want to cruise that covers any new territory, I have a dilemma. Oceania has three options that look really appealing. The price is better than the one new cruise Viking has introduced in the Mediterranean, and Viking's offering is 25% sea days. Two of the ports are in Algiers and Tunisia, and when Viking used to go there, those stops were frequently canceled. That could end up with a 15 night cruise with six sea days. 

 

I have always valued the on board experience with Viking. I love their port focused approach and the adults only environment. But I need to be able to find new ports, so if that means I need to have a casino on the ship, it doesn't mean I have to go in it. If I cruise in April or October (and we do), I hope there won't be many children at that time. I expect Viking will remain my first choice, but it may not remain my only choice.

[Vineyard View]

7 hours ago, deec said:

Vineyard View,

I may have missed it but have you done the comparison write up?  I will be interested in the areas that you thought were better on Seabourn.    Thanks again for the $$$comparison.

I have yet to do that but will in the next few days. 
I am glad this has been helpful to others, no matter their loyalties nor future decisions.  It was not meant to degrade any of these three lines. 

[Azulann]

31 minutes ago, Vineyard View said:

I have yet to do that but will in the next few days. 
I am glad this has been helpful to others, no matter their loyalties nor future decisions.  It was not meant to degrade any of these three lines. 

  What was the onboard culture like? I have  read the Seabourn forum and Silver Seas forum and Crystal. IMO,  there are  regular posters on those forums that I would not have anything in common with , in fact, nmost  seem very pompous and full of themselves.

Here on Viking forum ,  the regular posters are all folks I would love to cruise with based on their posts over the years.😍

Edited July 1, 2023 by Azulann

[Vineyard View]

1 hour ago, Azulann said:

  What was the onboard culture like? I have  read the Seabourn forum and Silver Seas forum and Crystal. IMO,  there are  regular posters on those forums that I would not have anything in common with , in fact, nmost  seem very pompous and full of themselves.

Here on Viking forum ,  the regular posters are all folks I would love to cruise with based on their posts over the years.😍

Short answer - I understand completely where you are coming from. I wasn’t sure what to expect with respect to fellow passengers. It turned out to be a pleasant surprise. It’s something I should address in the review so thank you for mentioning this. I cannot speak to SS though. 

[wine-wine-wine]

1 hour ago, Azulann said:

  What was the onboard culture like? I have  read the Seabourn forum and Silver Seas forum and Crystal. IMO,  there are  regular posters on those forums that I would not have anything in common with , in fact, nmost  seem very pompous and full of themselves.

Here on Viking forum ,  the regular posters are all folks I would love to cruise with based on their posts over the years.😍

I have sailed on Crystal, Silversea and Viking. Not yet Seabourn although I am intrigued. We always found people that we connected with on all lines. I would NEVER use a social media network as a barometer of who I would connect with on a ship or elsewhere. 
 

On another note I am very interested in SBs arctic sailings as they seem to more sensibly sail later in the season. We are signed up for next May which seems like a huge mistake when viewing threads showing many ice issues with Viking’s first May sailings this year. 

[Myrtle Ave. Mayhem]

1 hour ago, lackcreativity said:

I have always valued the on board experience with Viking. I love their port focused approach and the adults only environment. But I need to be able to find new ports, so if that means I need to have a casino on the ship, it doesn't mean I have to go in it. If I cruise in April or October (and we do), I hope there won't be many children at that time. I expect Viking will remain my first choice, but it may not remain my only choice.

True indeed. Thank goodness for options. I'm looking at giving O a whirl aboard their new Vista to experience & compare. 

[Twitchly]

Looking forward to hearing comparisons from those who have cruised Viking plus Seabourn or Oceania. The onboard culture is something I’m particularly interested in hearing about. We fit very well into Viking’s culture; curious how the others compare.

[CurlerRob]

1 hour ago, Twitchly said:

Looking forward to hearing comparisons from those who have cruised Viking plus Seabourn or Oceania. The onboard culture is something I’m particularly interested in hearing about. We fit very well into Viking’s culture; curious how the others compare.

Apologies if you've read this one already as I linked to it some time ago! We have an initial experience on Oceania, have not sailed SB. I deliberately avoided a lot of direct comparisons, but with your Viking experience you will easily be able to do the contrasts.

 

Regarding onboard culture, we really didn't find all that much of a difference. Generally pleasant and well-travelled pax, with the occasional 'outlier'. Oceania actually reminded us of HAL about a dozen years ago - when they had the small ships, pre Carnivalization...🍺🥌

 

 

[Vineyard View]

CurlerRob I just finished reading your post and all the following threads. It was really helpful to me as a person considering O. Thank you for re-posting it. I appreciated your breakdown of subjects and your clear reasoning behind your opinions and thoughts. 
Discussions following were also useful and had a lot of good information and feedback

So again, thank you. 

[Clay Clayton]

10 hours ago, CurlerRob said:

Apologies if you've read this one already as I linked to it some time ago! We have an initial experience on Oceania, have not sailed SB. I deliberately avoided a lot of direct comparisons, but with your Viking experience you will easily be able to do the contrasts.

 

Regarding onboard culture, we really didn't find all that much of a difference. Generally pleasant and well-travelled pax, with the occasional 'outlier'. Oceania actually reminded us of HAL about a dozen years ago - when they had the small ships, pre Carnivalization...🍺🥌

 

 

Thanks for the link! Enjoyed hearing your thoughts.  Wonder if the buffet is still served or not the Covid is "over"🤔 have they reverted to self serve.  

[CurlerRob]

1 minute ago, Clay Clayton said:

Thanks for the link! Enjoyed hearing your thoughts.  Wonder if the buffet is still served or not the Covid is "over"🤔 have they reverted to self serve.  

 

I'm not 100% certain, but I believe that they have never used the self serve approach, including pre-pandemic - that has surfaced a number of times on their boards, as people generally appreciate it.. 🍺🥌

[Clay Clayton]

7 minutes ago, CurlerRob said:

 

I'm not 100% certain, but I believe that they have never used the self serve approach, including pre-pandemic - that has surfaced a number of times on their boards, as people generally appreciate it.. 🍺🥌

I certainly would!

[SoDakPirate]

We started cruising only 7-8 years ago after enjoying many years of European and Caribbean vacations.  Our first cruise was on Oceania Sirena from Athens to Rome and thoroughly enjoyed it.  We found the food in the main restaurant and in the Asian restaurant to be fantastic and much better than Viking. Since then we have taken 4 Viking cruises and have also been very pleased.

Due to age, health, etc. we no longer plan cruises a year or more in advance. We are having trouble finding an itinerary in April 2024 that is not sold out or redundant. We are considering going back to Oceania or to Regent as they have many cruises that are visiting different ports and are available.

We will miss the crew on Viking as they were superior from top to bottom compared to Oceania.  We will also miss the covered pool and the fellow passengers who we relate to better.

We are fortunate to have this dilemma!

[Mariastreby]

Going back to the very first comparison of the three cruises, there was something missing in comparing the type of cabin. On our several Viking cruises, we have chosen the larger PV1 or PV2, which tend to run $1,300-1,600 per person more than the standard (but spacious) Deluxe Balcony cabins. The OP also used this cabin type. 
 

However, the cabin he mentioned for Oceania was a level 2 Concierge cabin, which we also chose for our recent Oceania Riviera sailing. It is quite a bit smaller and tighter than a Viking PV. Its cost is just about equal to Viking’s Deluxe Balcony. If we had gone up to Oceania’s larger Penthouse suite cabin, it would have nearly equaled the price of Viking’s PV cabins. Also, we do not need Viking’s beverage package because their included lunch and dinner wine/beer is fine for us. In addition, Viking PV cabins get 4 mini bottles of basic spirits, which can be mixed with tonic or sodas that are provided free in your fridge. Or you can substitute those little bottles for a bottle of house wine, and my husband was able to get cans of beer in our cabin. We believe these things alone mean that many folks may not buy Viking’s Silver Spirits package. Which is one of the least expensive in the industry. 
 

Had we chosen Oceania’s expensive drink package, we’d then be paying for our wine at meals (and then way more other drinks than we’d ever purchase a la carte). And we did find ourselves missing Viking’s included wine at dinner. So we’ll have to see how Oceania’s new more inclusive pricing works out with their wine at meals. Also, O has truly abysmal Wi-Fi, and only one device per cabin can be logged in at the same time. That was ridiculous. 
 

With all this being said, we have two Viking Mars cruises coming up this fall and winter. Then two transatlantic + pre and post 10 night cruises in 2024 and 2025 on Oceania’s new Vista. Chosen partly because of itineraries (Viking’s transatlantics are very dull), including the interesting add-on cruises in both spring and fall. Each total cruise is 24 days, so we’re saving money by just getting a regular veranda cabin. However, we do like all the additional specialty restaurants on the Vista, and the more upscale decor. At the same time, we appreciate many things about Viking. We mostly like their homey feel and Scandinavian decor, but we’re getting a bit tired of it. With every ship being nearly exactly the same - 10 of them - that’s just starting to feel like Groundhog Day! And the exact same type of classical music every night in every ship’s atrium… We just need a change now and then. 

Edited July 2, 2023 by Mariastreby

[SJD117]

2 hours ago, Mariastreby said:

We mostly like their homey feel and Scandinavian decor, but we’re getting a bit tired of it. With every ship being nearly exactly the same - 10 of them - that’s just starting to feel like Groundhog Day! And the exact same type of classical music every night in every ship’s atrium… We just need a change now and then. 

I love the Scandinavian decor on Viking’s ships. (That’s probably because I’m part Danish.) It’s very welcoming to me — and one of the reasons I look forward to embarking on every Viking cruise. I’m definitely not tired of it.

[Hobson1754]

2 hours ago, Mariastreby said:

We mostly like their homey feel and Scandinavian decor, but we’re getting a bit tired of it.

That’s one of the main positives of Viking for me.