Head-to-Head: Comparing Oceania vs. Silversea

[ak1004]

We have just returned from a cruise on Silver Dawn (full review here), and I would like to provide a comparison between Oceania and Silversea.

The comparison refers to Oceania Riviera (3 cruises total, 2 post Covid) and Silver Dawn and Spirit (one cruise each, both post Covid). Those are my personal observations, priorities and preferences, yours might be different.

 

• Inclusions (depends on your preferences). Silversea markets itself as an All inclusive line, but this is not entirely correct. 2 out of 8 restaurants have a surcharge, to get decent internet you have to pay extra, and many wines are extra as well. Excursions are included, but not all of them, about 50% are extra charge. O excludes tips and excursions but you get certain credit depending on the length of the cruise, and wines and beer included with meals only. Some people prefer the all inclusive model, but if you don't drink and prefer to book private tours, O provides a better value for money.
   
• Service (almost tie). The service on SS was very good to excellent overall, but we didn't feel that they "learn our preference and anticipate our needs". Except our butler, nobody ever addressed us by our names, and nobody remembered our drink preferences. In fact, we had to ask for many things more than once (like drinks, ice etc) We found the service on O excellent as well, and we would give a very small edge to SS in this department.
   
• Staff (tie): I have only good things to say about the staff on both lines. They were extremely friendly and tried very hard.
   
• Stateroom (SS wins). We always book the lowest category OV or veranda. This category is ~305 sqft on SS and 240 sqft on O. While O cabins are very nice, SS was a real treat. There is a walking closet, and a curtain separating the bed from the living area. 
   
• Bathroom Design (SS Wins). SS has both shower and bathtub, which is an advantage for many people. That said, the redesigned bathroom on O has a huge walk in shower, which is very nice.
   
• Internet (tie). SS has StarLink, but with the basic package that is included with the fare, they limit the speed to about 1.5M, which is pretty pathetic for an ultra luxury line in 2023. You can do the basic things like email, uploading photos, loading web pages etc, but they block high bandwidth sites and also block streaming like YouTube. To get good internet you need to upgrade, which is $29 a day (a bit less if you buy it for the whole cruise). On O I was getting 3-5 MB speed some days and under 1 MB other days. Slight improvement compared to previous sailings, but still not enough. Both lines need to improve the internet.
   
• Activities (tie). I would say that activities on both lines are almost non existent. This is fine for European port intensive cruise, but for the Caribbean, I would probably select another line for better activities. 
   
• Entertainment (tie). Evening entertainment on SS included a show in the theatre at 9:45pm (not even every day), and some live music around the ship in the various lounges. There were no guest entertainers (I think SS is the only line that doesn't have guest entertainers, only in house shows). The in-house singers have great voices, but the shows were a bit repetitive. O at least has some guest entertainers, and they also have a very nice string quartet.
   
• Launderettes (tie). Both have great self-serve laundries.
   
• Beds (O wins). Both lines have excellent beds and bedding, but I likes O beds and bedding better.
   
• Butler (SS wins): Every suite on SS has butler service. Ours was almost invisible, but did his job very well. We didn't utilize him very much, and he did not volunteer to offer any extra services. O has butlers in PH and above.
   
• Ships (SS Wins). O has 3 newer ships (and one more on its way) - Riviera, Marina, Vista and Allura. I don't consider the older R ships in the same league due to much smaller cabins, less dining options etc. SS has 5 newer ships (and one more on its way) - Spirit, Muse, Moon, Dawn, Nova and Ray). All O ships are around 66 tons with 1,200-1250 passengers and 800 crew. The first 4 SS ships are around 40 tons, with 600 passengers and 411 crew. So O has around 1:1.55 passengers/crew ratio while SS has 1:1.45. SS has 1:65 passenger space ratio while O has 1:53. Both metrics give an edge to SS, but none of the ships ever felt crowded. 
   
• Food at dinners (O wins). O has the main dining room, the buffet and 4 specialty restaurants, where you get certain number of reservations depending on cabin category and cruise length. While on board, you can get more reservations based on availability (all free). There is also baristas and afternoon tea which is a very nice experience. SS has 8 restaurants, but 2 of them are extra cost (which by itself is unacceptable on an all inclusive line). We found the food on both lines between very good and excellent, but O had more meals that were truly memorable. We especially like the specialty restaurants on O in terms of food quality and selection.  
   
• Food at buffet (Oceania Wins). O has a buffet at breakfast, lunch and dinner, SS only breakfast and lunch. Selection and quality much better on O in my opinion, and O dinner buffet is exceptional, with Lobster and Grill station. We were disappointed with La Terazza breakfast and lunch buffet, both food and service. Long waits for simple items like cappuccino, Perrier etc. After a few days I gave up on Perrier and just was asking for their in house sparkling water, but they ran out of Perrier and Pellegrino around mid cruise, also all types of diet Coke.
   
• Excursions (SS wins): SS fare includes one excursion per port, while O provides some credit which is typically enough to cover about 20-25% of the excursions. They both use the same tour operators, but SS groups size is typically 20-25 people while O is closer to 35 (at least this was the case on our last cruise in May). That said, we prefer to book private tours, so to us, O model works better when it comes to excursions.
   
• Dress code(O wins): SS is much more formal, in fact, their dress code is the most ridiculous and archaic of all cruise lines. O is much more relaxed, no jackets required, but people still dress very respectfully. You can rarely see men in jeans or t ****. To me, O wins big time in this department, but of course there are many people who like SS dress code.
   
• Pricing (O wins): This one is tricky because the cabins are not comparable. O standard cabin is 240 sqft, then jumps to 350 sqft for PH (excluding veranda). SS entry level is 305 sqft, then jumps to 700 sqft for Silver Suite. This makes the comparison difficult. For entry level cabins, SS is more expensive by approximately 40-50%, but it also includes more, so the real gap is smaller. 

 

Summary:

I consider both lines excellent overall. Some people consider SS in a different league (luxury vs premium category), but this was not my impression, based on our relatively small sample. To me SS is a step up compared to O, but a very small one. SS is a good value for people who drink decent amounts of alcohol, use exclusively ship excursions, need cabins larger than 250 sqft and take full advantage of the butler services. To me, O is a better value at this point, but we would gladly sail on both, depending on itinerary and pricing.

[Vallesan]

49 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

We have just returned from a cruise on Silver Dawn (full review here), and I would like to provide a comparison between Oceania and Silversea.

The comparison refers to Oceania Riviera (3 cruises total, 2 post Covid) and Silver Dawn and Spirit (one cruise each, both post Covid). Those are my personal observations, priorities and preferences, yours might be different.

 

• Inclusions (depends on your preferences). Silversea markets itself as an All inclusive line, but this is not entirely correct. 2 out of 8 restaurants have a surcharge, to get decent internet you have to pay extra, and many wines are extra as well. Excursions are included, but not all of them, about 50% are extra charge. O excludes tips and excursions but you get certain credit depending on the length of the cruise, and wines and beer included with meals only. Some people prefer the all inclusive model, but if you don't drink and prefer to book private tours, O provides a better value for money.
   
• Service (almost tie). The service on SS was very good to excellent overall, but we didn't feel that they "learn our preference and anticipate our needs". Except our butler, nobody ever addressed us by our names, and nobody remembered our drink preferences. In fact, we had to ask for many things more than once (like drinks, ice etc) We found the service on O excellent as well, and we would give a very small edge to SS in this department.
   
• Staff (tie): I have only good things to say about the staff on both lines. They were extremely friendly and tried very hard.
   
• Stateroom (SS wins). We always book the lowest category OV or veranda. This category is ~305 sqft on SS and 240 sqft on O. While O cabins are very nice, SS was a real treat. There is a walking closet, and a curtain separating the bed from the living area. 
   
• Bathroom Design (SS Wins). SS has both shower and bathtub, which is an advantage for many people. That said, the redesigned bathroom on O has a huge walk in shower, which is very nice.
   
• Internet (tie). SS has StarLink, but with the basic package that is included with the fare, they limit the speed to about 1.5M, which is pretty pathetic for an ultra luxury line in 2023. You can do the basic things like email, uploading photos, loading web pages etc, but they block high bandwidth sites and also block streaming like YouTube. To get good internet you need to upgrade, which is $29 a day (a bit less if you buy it for the whole cruise). On O I was getting 3-5 MB speed some days and under 1 MB other days. Slight improvement compared to previous sailings, but still not enough. Both lines need to improve the internet.
   
• Activities (tie). I would say that activities on both lines are almost non existent. This is fine for European port intensive cruise, but for the Caribbean, I would probably select another line for better activities. 
   
• Entertainment (tie). Evening entertainment on SS included a show in the theatre at 9:45pm (not even every day), and some live music around the ship in the various lounges. There were no guest entertainers (I think SS is the only line that doesn't have guest entertainers, only in house shows). The in-house singers have great voices, but the shows were a bit repetitive. O at least has some guest entertainers, and they also have a very nice string quartet.
   
• Launderettes (tie). Both have great self-serve laundries.
   
• Beds (O wins). Both lines have excellent beds and bedding, but I likes O beds and bedding better.
   
• Butler (SS wins): Every suite on SS has butler service. Ours was almost invisible, but did his job very well. We didn't utilize him very much, and he did not volunteer to offer any extra services. O has butlers in PH and above.
   
• Ships (SS Wins). O has 3 newer ships (and one more on its way) - Riviera, Marina, Vista and Allura. I don't consider the older R ships in the same league due to much smaller cabins, less dining options etc. SS has 5 newer ships (and one more on its way) - Spirit, Muse, Moon, Dawn, Nova and Ray). All O ships are around 66 tons with 1,200-1250 passengers and 800 crew. The first 4 SS ships are around 40 tons, with 600 passengers and 411 crew. So O has around 1:1.55 passengers/crew ratio while SS has 1:1.45. SS has 1:65 passenger space ratio while O has 1:53. Both metrics give an edge to SS, but none of the ships ever felt crowded. 
   
• Food at dinners (O wins). O has the main dining room, the buffet and 4 specialty restaurants, where you get certain number of reservations depending on cabin category and cruise length. While on board, you can get more reservations based on availability (all free). There is also baristas and afternoon tea which is a very nice experience. SS has 8 restaurants, but 2 of them are extra cost (which by itself is unacceptable on an all inclusive line). We found the food on both lines between very good and excellent, but O had more meals that were truly memorable. We especially like the specialty restaurants on O in terms of food quality and selection.  
   
• Food at buffet (Oceania Wins). O has a buffet at breakfast, lunch and dinner, SS only breakfast and lunch. Selection and quality much better on O in my opinion, and O dinner buffet is exceptional, with Lobster and Grill station. We were disappointed with La Terazza breakfast and lunch buffet, both food and service. Long waits for simple items like cappuccino, Perrier etc. After a few days I gave up on Perrier and just was asking for their in house sparkling water, but they ran out of Perrier and Pellegrino around mid cruise, also all types of diet Coke.
   
• Excursions (SS wins): SS fare includes one excursion per port, while O provides some credit which is typically enough to cover about 20-25% of the excursions. They both use the same tour operators, but SS groups size is typically 20-25 people while O is closer to 35 (at least this was the case on our last cruise in May). That said, we prefer to book private tours, so to us, O model works better when it comes to excursions.
   
• Dress code(O wins): SS is much more formal, in fact, their dress code is the most ridiculous and archaic of all cruise lines. O is much more relaxed, no jackets required, but people still dress very respectfully. You can rarely see men in jeans or t ****. To me, O wins big time in this department, but of course there are many people who like SS dress code.
   
• Pricing (O wins): This one is tricky because the cabins are not comparable. O standard cabin is 240 sqft, then jumps to 350 sqft for PH (excluding veranda). SS entry level is 305 sqft, then jumps to 700 sqft for Silver Suite. This makes the comparison difficult. For entry level cabins, SS is more expensive by approximately 40-50%, but it also includes more, so the real gap is smaller. 

 

Summary:

I consider both lines excellent overall. Some people consider SS in a different league (luxury vs premium category), but this was not my impression, based on our relatively small sample. To me SS is a step up compared to O, but a very small one. SS is a good value for people who drink decent amounts of alcohol, use exclusively ship excursions, need cabins larger than 250 sqft and take full advantage of the butler services. To me, O is a better value at this point, but we would gladly sail on both, depending on itinerary and pricing.

Thank you!

Very interesting review.

 

We sailed on the Dawn in June this year and on the Riviera  October 2022, penultimate cruise before refurbishment.

We have sailed Oceania 9 times mainly on the R class ships. Having sailed on the Riviera last year, after several years on the R class ships, I think we now prefer the larger ships. Well we have both the Riviera and Marina booked for the  first half of 2024!
 

I think I probably have to agree with most of your conclusions about Silversea.

 

We loved our first Silversea cruise which was to the Norwegian Fjords, but the spectacular scenery may have coloured our view as well! Our butler was unobtrusive but excellent. Arrived with caviar as a surprise some late afternoons, and other goodies too, kept our supply of champagne topped up in the fridge, polished OH’s dress shoes and our glasses(spectacles) and was generally just a really nice guy.

 

At the end of the day I agree with you itinerary and pricing would be my reasons to choose either of the lines and I would probably throw Seabourn into the mix too! They are all excellent in different ways and I think ‘value’ a very personal thing so really difficult to make ‘true’ comparisons.

 

Maybe we should talk about ‘enjoyment’ as the main priority rather than value,  and for me, I’m yet to be disappointed in any of my cruises!

[ak1004]

2 hours ago, Vallesan said:

Thank you!

Very interesting review.

 

We sailed on the Dawn in June this year and on the Riviera  October 2022, penultimate cruise before refurbishment.

We have sailed Oceania 9 times mainly on the R class ships. Having sailed on the Riviera last year, after several years on the R class ships, I think we now prefer the larger ships. Well we have both the Riviera and Marina booked for the  first half of 2024!
 

I think I probably have to agree with most of your conclusions about Silversea.

 

We loved our first Silversea cruise which was to the Norwegian Fjords, but the spectacular scenery may have coloured our view as well! Our butler was unobtrusive but excellent. Arrived with caviar as a surprise some late afternoons, and other goodies too, kept our supply of champagne topped up in the fridge, polished OH’s dress shoes and our glasses(spectacles) and was generally just a really nice guy.

 

At the end of the day I agree with you itinerary and pricing would be my reasons to choose either of the lines and I would probably throw Seabourn into the mix too! They are all excellent in different ways and I think ‘value’ a very personal thing so really difficult to make ‘true’ comparisons.

 

Maybe we should talk about ‘enjoyment’ as the main priority rather than value,  and for me, I’m yet to be disappointed in any of my cruises!

 

Yes, we are trying SB too next year, and Windstar is also on our radar. I think you cannot go wrong with any of those small ships, a different league from mass market lines like Celebrity/Princess. The minor service issues that I described are really minor and did not impact our overall enjoyment.

 

And yes, agree about enjoyment, but my point is - if I enjoy both lines almost the same, why to pay 50% for SS? But then again, it really depends on the category that you book. For people who book PH on O, entry level veranda on SS might be a better value (especially when comparing to PH on R ships).

[Acrusa]

We sailed the Silver Wind back on 2005 Cape Town to the Maurichs. 

We boarded the ship around 11 am and they gave us a wine list chose our wine had lunch and by dinner time new our names and wine preferences. 

Back then it was assigned seating 7:30 table with the same 2 couples best time we had.Ate in restaurant 1 time no charge LOL.

Sailing since the late 70's all our cruises where assigned seating exept the Windstar cruises. 

In 2008 did Oceania and this year will be our 13th cruise. with them.

[dawntrdr]

5 hours ago, ak1004 said:

I would like to provide a comparison between Oceania and Silversea.

How did the company of the fellow passengers strike you?  Were they more friendly, outgoing, interesting on one line more than another?  More/less abled?  Did you strike up pleasant conversations or did folks keep to themselves?    

[ak1004]

2 hours ago, dawntrdr said:

How did the company of the fellow passengers strike you?  Were they more friendly, outgoing, interesting on one line more than another?  More/less abled?  Did you strike up pleasant conversations or did folks keep to themselves?    

 

I didn't notice any difference. All people we talked to were very friendly, social and pleasant, on both lines. Average age on O tends to be higher, especially on Caribbean cruises.

[FlyerTalker]

22 hours ago, ak1004 said:

• Entertainment (tie). Evening entertainment on SS included a show in the theatre at 9:45pm (not even every day), and some live music around the ship in the various lounges. There were no guest entertainers (I think SS is the only line that doesn't have guest entertainers, only in house shows).

 

SS most assuredly brings in guest entertainers.  Most recent SS cruise had a mix of about 50-50 between in-house and guest shows.

 

One factor is that SS has a "set number" of in-house shows, and uses guest entertainers to fill in the remainder gaps.  So the shorter the cruise, the higher the ratio of in-house to guest.  Take some longer voyages and you will find plenty of guest entertainers.

 

 

22 hours ago, ak1004 said:

• Food at dinners (O wins).  SS has 8 restaurants, but 2 of them are extra cost (which by itself is unacceptable on an all inclusive line).

 

Which doesn't accurately describe the situation.  La Dame is an extra-charge restaurant, but that is because it provides a bespoke French wine and food experience.  Elevated wines are a huge chunk of the extra cost.  And Seishin/Kaiseki are also elevated Asian experiences with higher cost items included.  So there is reason for the extra costs.

 

 

 

22 hours ago, ak1004 said:

• Food at buffet (Oceania Wins). O has a buffet at breakfast, lunch and dinner, SS only breakfast and lunch. Selection and quality much better on O in my opinion, and O dinner buffet is exceptional, with Lobster and Grill station.

 

Dinner on luxury lines doesn't mean a buffet.

 

 

 

[ak1004]

49 minutes ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

SS most assuredly brings in guest entertainers.  Most recent SS cruise had a mix of about 50-50 between in-house and guest shows.

 

One factor is that SS has a "set number" of in-house shows, and uses guest entertainers to fill in the remainder gaps.  So the shorter the cruise, the higher the ratio of in-house to guest.  Take some longer voyages and you will find plenty of guest entertainers.

 

 

Thank you for the correction. I based my comparison on our experience. Our cruises were 12 nights and 10 nights, and both had in house entertainers only, so in our case the ratio was 100%. Many people take only shorter cruises, for different reasons, I certainly hope that even on shorter cruises, there are at least some guests entertainers (on O shorter cruises, the ratio is around 50/50 if I remember correctly). 

 

49 minutes ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

Which doesn't accurately describe the situation.  La Dame is an extra-charge restaurant, but that is because it provides a bespoke French wine and food experience.  Elevated wines are a huge chunk of the extra cost.  And Seishin/Kaiseki are also elevated Asian experiences with higher cost items included.  So there is reason for the extra costs.

 

 

 

On our previous cruise on the Spirit, the reason given for the extra charge was that La Dame is a very small venue and this is done for capacity control. But on the Dawn the venue is about 3 times larger, so this excuse doesn't hold anymore.

 

And even if I accept that the the higher end drinks are the reason, aren't the same or similar drinks available in other venues for extra cost? Why they couldn't do the same in La Dame - offer it for free and then charge extra for those higher end drinks?

 

49 minutes ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

Dinner on luxury lines doesn't mean a buffet.

 

 

Well, I must admit that our experience with luxury lines is limited, but I'm pretty sure the old Crystal had an evening buffet. Not sure about SB and Regent, but I'm not sure what buffet has to do with luxury. Many people on SS told us that they miss the evening buffet.

 

btw, SS does have two very casual options (The Grill and Spaccanapoli). So why a luxury line can have a casual grill or Pizza place but not a buffet?

[Vallesan]

20 hours ago, ak1004 said:

 

Yes, we are trying SB too next year, and Windstar is also on our radar. I think you cannot go wrong with any of those small ships, a different league from mass market lines like Celebrity/Princess. The minor service issues that I described are really minor and did not impact our overall enjoyment.

 

And yes, agree about enjoyment, but my point is - if I enjoy both lines almost the same, why to pay 50% for SS? But then again, it really depends on the category that you book. For people who book PH on O, entry level veranda on SS might be a better value (especially when comparing to PH on R ships).

Yes as you say the category is important.

On the R class we always book PH but with both Seaborn and Silversea the entry class suites are fine. When we sail Riviera etc. we take a concierge and  although they are smaller they are adequate. 
So, for us, I guess it’s a bit like swings and roundabouts!

[ak1004]

4 minutes ago, Vallesan said:

Yes as you say the category is important.

On the R class we always book PH but with both Seaborn and Silversea the entry class suites are fine. When we sail Riviera etc. we take a concierge and  although they are smaller they are adequate. 
So, for us, I guess it’s a bit like swings and roundabouts!

 

To me PH on the R class is a poor value. They are usually priced similar to entry level suites on SS and SB, but still smaller and less inclusions. Of course many book them based on the itinerary, but looking at the price only, it's hard to justify PH on the R ships

[Vallesan]

1 hour ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

 

Dinner on luxury lines doesn't mean a buffet.

 

 

 

Why?

[Vallesan]

Just now, ak1004 said:

 

To me PH on the R class is a poor value. They are usually priced similar to entry level suites on SS and SB, but still smaller and less inclusions. Of course many book them based on the itinerary, but looking at the price only, it's hard to justify PH on the R ships

Yes you’re right but we just enjoyed the smaller ships but not the smaller cabins!

We are trying one of the smaller Seabourn ships  in the Spring so it will be interesting to see how it compares with the R class ships.

Price for price Seabourn is definitely better than PH on an R class for the cruise we’ve chosen.

[ak1004]

2 minutes ago, Vallesan said:

Yes you’re right but we just enjoyed the smaller ships but not the smaller cabins!

We are trying one of the smaller Seabourn ships  in the Spring so it will be interesting to see how it compares with the R class ships.

Price for price Seabourn is definitely better than PH on an R class for the cruise we’ve chosen.

 

We will be on the Quest in September. I believe this is what would be considered one of the smaller ships? Only 32,000 ton, so pretty close to R ships, but only 450 guests, compared to 700 on the R ships. Should be the best of both worlds.

[Vallesan]

17 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

 

We will be on the Quest in September. I believe this is what would be considered one of the smaller ships? Only 32,000 ton, so pretty close to R ships, but only 450 guests, compared to 700 on the R ships. Should be the best of both worlds.

We are sailing on the Quest in April!

Yes hopefully will be the best of both worlds!

[hamrag]

On 12/28/2023 at 3:19 PM, ak1004 said:

.....SS has 8 restaurants, but 2 of them are extra cost (which by itself is unacceptable on an all inclusive line).....

 

2 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

....Which doesn't accurately describe the situation. 

La Dame is an extra-charge restaurant, but that is because it provides a bespoke French wine and food experience.  Elevated wines are a huge chunk of the extra cost.  And Seishin/Kaiseki are also elevated Asian experiences with higher cost items included.  So there is reason for the extra costs....

 

1 hour ago, ak1004 said:

......On our previous cruise on the Spirit, the reason given for the extra charge was that La Dame is a very small venue and this is done for capacity control. But on the Dawn the venue is about 3 times larger, so this excuse doesn't hold anymore.

 

And even if I accept that the the higher end drinks are the reason, aren't the same or similar drinks available in other venues for extra cost? Why they couldn't do the same in La Dame - offer it for free and then charge extra for those higher end drinks?.....

 

Seems to be a contradiction here...are you saying that it is acceptable on an all inclusive line for some drinks to be chargeable, yet unacceptable for the 'bespoke' or 'elevated' dining experiences as described by FlyerTalker to be chargeable?? 

 

🤔🤔

[Vineyard View]

1 hour ago, Vallesan said:

We are sailing on the Quest in April!

Yes hopefully will be the best of both worlds!

We sailed Quest this Spring for the first time. Really enjoyed our cabin layout, food, service, etc. We would sail them again with the right itinerary/price point in a heartbeat. We also do not do ship excursions. We sailed Viking several times as our comparison, and if their one free bus ride or walking excursion is important, then that is an edge, along with the full walking promenade. Overall, SB was definitely a step up in many other ways to us. Viking’s current pricing is now higher than SB and we enjoyed the overall SB product more. 
Moving forward SB and Oceania will likely be our most looked at. Maybe SS, but we don’t need excursions or butlers…..we do need a balcony. R ship bathrooms/cabins won’t work for us, and to bump up, the price point is not attractive with either O or Azamara.
 I really appreciated your comparison here. It’s helpful to someone, like us, who has not sailed on them. 
We are not attracted to  buffet dinners, so moot point for us, but it sounds like the cabins are similar in class to SB. Thanks again for posting! 

[MEFIowa]

14 minutes ago, Vineyard View said:

... We are not attracted to buffet dinners, so moot point for us....

Always fascinating to compare subjective desires.

 

Just came back from 20 nights on Riviera after 10 nights on Sirena in 2022 and 10 nights on Riviera in 2021. We have NEVER eaten in the GDR and have no plans to do so for our upcoming 22 nights on Sirena later in 2024. You couldn't pay us to sit down there to be waited on slowly when I can readily get wonderful food in the Terrace Cafe, esp. eating under the stars at night! We travel for ports & excursions, so we're out & about daily off ship doing a plethora of things. We're in bed by 10 pm and up for the earliest time to get off the ship.

 

But to each their own.

[Vineyard View]

8 minutes ago, MEFIowa said:

Always fascinating to compare subjective desires.

 

Just came back from 20 nights on Riviera after 10 nights on Sirena in 2022 and 10 nights on Riviera in 2021. We have NEVER eaten in the GDR and have no plans to do so for our upcoming 22 nights on Sirena later in 2024. You couldn't pay us to sit down there to be waited on slowly when I can readily get wonderful food in the Terrace Cafe, esp. eating under the stars at night! We travel for ports & excursions, so we're out & about daily off ship doing a plethora of things. We're in bed by 10 pm and up for the earliest time to get off the ship.

 

But to each their own.

It is fascinating our differences in preferences. We also travel for the ports and DIY in each of them. We enjoy being out all day, mostly not returning until close to sail time. Where we differ is that we enjoy a leisurely dinner. That is not to say that eating under the stars doesn’t sound attractive and wouldn’t catch our attention from time to time now that you mention it! But we enjoy MDR and specialty restaurants at a slow pace…..still allowing for decent bedtimes and early off the ship. 
I guess it all works out the way it’s supposed to, because if everyone just wanted to dine in one place, that could create quite a cluster! 

[Vallesan]

15 minutes ago, MEFIowa said:

Always fascinating to compare subjective desires.

 

Just came back from 20 nights on Riviera after 10 nights on Sirena in 2022 and 10 nights on Riviera in 2021. We have NEVER eaten in the GDR and have no plans to do so for our upcoming 22 nights on Sirena later in 2024. You couldn't pay us to sit down there to be waited on slowly when I can readily get wonderful food in the Terrace Cafe, esp. eating under the stars at night! We travel for ports & excursions, so we're out & about daily off ship doing a plethora of things. We're in bed by 10 pm and up for the earliest time to get off the ship.

 

But to each their own.

Horses for courses!!

We NEVER eat in the Terrace Cafe in the evenings!

We all enjoy different things and that’s one of the charms of Oceania ….. CHOICE!

Edited December 29, 2023 by Vallesan

[Vallesan]

41 minutes ago, Vineyard View said:

We sailed Quest this Spring for the first time. Really enjoyed our cabin layout, food, service, etc. We would sail them again with the right itinerary/price point in a heartbeat. We also do not do ship excursions. We sailed Viking several times as our comparison, and if their one free bus ride or walking excursion is important, then that is an edge, along with the full walking promenade. Overall, SB was definitely a step up in many other ways to us. Viking’s current pricing is now higher than SB and we enjoyed the overall SB product more. 
Moving forward SB and Oceania will likely be our most looked at. Maybe SS, but we don’t need excursions or butlers…..we do need a balcony. R ship bathrooms/cabins won’t work for us, and to bump up, the price point is not attractive with either O or Azamara.
 I really appreciated your comparison here. It’s helpful to someone, like us, who has not sailed on them. 
We are not attracted to  buffet dinners, so moot point for us, but it sounds like the cabins are similar in class to SB. Thanks again for posting! 

You know I didn’t think I needed a butler until I travelled Siversea …. and guess what I still don’t BUT he was a wonderful luxury and YES I would do it again in a heartbeat ……. if the price was right!

[FlyerTalker]

3 hours ago, ak1004 said:

Well, I must admit that our experience with luxury lines is limited, but I'm pretty sure the old Crystal had an evening buffet. Not sure about SB and Regent, but I'm not sure what buffet has to do with luxury. Many people on SS told us that they miss the evening buffet.

 

Crystal never had an evening buffet.  The closest was the Churascurria (sp?) that had some self-serve side dishes.

 

 

[nancygp]

7 minutes ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

Crystal never had an evening buffet.  The closest was the Churascurria (sp?) that had some self-serve side dishes.

 

 

You are correct

 

Nancy

[Vineyard View]

42 minutes ago, Vallesan said:

You know I didn’t think I needed a butler until I travelled Siversea …. and guess what I still don’t BUT he was a wonderful luxury and YES I would do it again in a heartbeat ……. if the price was right!

Love this!  If the price was right I wouldn’t turn it down, for sure! 

[ak1004]

3 hours ago, hamrag said:

 

 

 

Seems to be a contradiction here...are you saying that it is acceptable on an all inclusive line for some drinks to be chargeable, yet unacceptable for the 'bespoke' or 'elevated' dining experiences as described by FlyerTalker to be chargeable?? 

 

🤔🤔

 

No contradiction - he mentioned that Elevated wines are a huge chunk of the extra cost. The dining experience itself is exceptional, but so it Jacques on Oceania, which us free. So again, the rational thing would be to make the dining in La Dame free, but charge for the "elevated" wines.

[ak1004]

2 hours ago, Vallesan said:

You know I didn’t think I needed a butler until I travelled Siversea …. and guess what I still don’t BUT he was a wonderful luxury and YES I would do it again in a heartbeat ……. if the price was right!

 

Butler is nice, but personally I wouldn't pay extra to have a butler. To me it's more a convenience of having one contact point for all of your needs - almost everything that butler does you can ask your room attendant or do yourself by going or calling the front desk or reservations desk. 

Edited December 29, 2023 by ak1004