Comparison Silversea vs Oceania or Azamara

[Enrythedog]

Could anyone comment on how Silversea compares as we have done both Oceania and Azamara cruises which we really enjoyed but the next voyage that appeals to us is with Silversea. We don't want anything too formal and enjoy good food and child free environment.

[RetiredandTravel]

There are multple discussions comparing SS to other lines in this forum.  If you search this forum for "oceania" for example you will find the comparisons.

 

Although the standards have decreased some recently SS is probably one of the most formal in dress of the cruise lines.

 

Under "packing your cruise luggage" you will find the dress code.

 

https://www.silversea.com/travel-informations/general-information.html

 

Cheers!

 

 

 

 

'

Edited January 22 by RetiredandTravel

[Port Power]

On 1/22/2024 at 1:35 AM, Enrythedog said:

Could anyone comment on how Silversea compares as we have done both Oceania and Azamara cruises which we really enjoyed but the next voyage that appeals to us is with Silversea. We don't want anything too formal and enjoy good food and child free environment.

Silversea is not a child free cruise line, although there are not often many kids on board.  On Silver Dawn my friends had the Silver Note dinner ruined with two kids running around.  
 

I love Azamara, but it is country club casual at all times.  Silversea requires jackets for men even on informal nights, and then there are formal nights as well.    I dressed up more in the evenings on SS than Az, and enjoyed doing so.  The included wines are a higher level on SS without a package surcharge.  The main difference is that a shore excursion in each port is included.

[ak1004]

I posted a full comparison:

 

To me the main difference is that SS is all inclusive, which can be positive for some people and negative to others, and much more formal. Otherwise I consider them in the same league, SS a small step up.

 

[caviargal]

Unless you have a suite on AZ, the staterooms and bathrooms are TINY. No comparison to SS.

Specialty dining extra.

Upcharges for premium spirits.

 

[roaming_kiwi58]

We have sailed Azamara, Oceania and Silversea.

Azamara is undoubtedly our preferred cruise line. Though we have not sailed them since Covid and since their change of ownership. We have two Azamara cruises booked later this year. The small bathrooms do not bother us. How long do you spend in the bathroom?!

Oceania has been disappointing on several of our voyages, but we do like their itineraries sometimes, so would use them again.

We spent 21 days on the Silver Shadow last August/September. We were extremely disappointed, to say the least. Not worth the price, not by a mile. Yes, the cabins are nice, but that was as far as it went. Service was erratic and sometimes appalling. Food was ordinary, sometimes poor. My husband had to reject his servings on numerous occasions and some of the food I got was very marginal. We are not complainers and usually go with the flow, but this trip was certainly not what we were expecting for a “luxury line”. The F & B manager did admit they had problems with recruiting and training staff. After some not so great included shore excursions we ended up cancelling several of the others we had booked, preferring to do our own thing. The formal dress thing is ridiculous – we witnessed the extent the staff go to, to force some men to wear jackets! Various other niggles. There were a few children onboard, so you cannot say it is a childfree line. We are itinerary driven and would normally sail just about any cruise line if the itinerary is right. However, we would be very reluctant to use Silversea again. We want a better experience than that when we are spending that much money!

But that is all just us.

I strongly believe people have to find out for themselves what cruise line suits them and other people’s opinions may be totally irrelevant! Given that, I am not sure why I felt driven to put a response on this thread, as I usually avoid expressing too many opinions, which are mine and mine alone! Maybe because Silversea really was a huge disappointment and has therefore stuck in our minds!

Back in my box....

[QueSeraSera]

40 minutes ago, roaming_kiwi58 said:

I strongly believe people have to find out for themselves what cruise line suits them and other people’s opinions may be totally irrelevant!

so true

 

 

[markham]

Never say never.

 

After cruising on the tired old Whisper and Cloud a few years ago we tried Muse, then Moon and Dawn- newer ships with far better facilities albeit a bit larger (which we like). We will never go back to their old ships no matter what the itinerary, so we simply select these 3 plus Nova now when searching for cruises. The line is what you make it, and there’s no blanket Silversea product as far as we are concerned.

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

[machotspur]

5 hours ago, markham said:

Never say never.

 

After cruising on the tired old Whisper and Cloud a few years ago we tried Muse, then Moon and Dawn- newer ships with far better facilities albeit a bit larger (which we like). We will never go back to their old ships no matter what the itinerary, so we simply select these 3 plus Nova now when searching for cruises. The line is what you make it, and there’s no blanket Silversea product as far as we are concerned.

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

 

Very much 'ditto'. 

The experiences on the 'old' fleet led to us deserting Silversea for 8 years. Whilst aware of certain shortcomings the 'Muse Class' ships meet much of our needs. 

 

We cruise with Silversea, Seabourn and Regent and in our experience the downturn in standards that some note is apparent across all three. We went back to Oceania a year or so back and found the food & service standards to be very disappointing.

 

None of the cruise lines mentioned fully meet our needs, but we would consider any of them if the itinerary was of interest. 

  

[MuseCruiser]

Just to show you how things are so individual, we prefer the Shadow and Whisper over Spirit and larger ships. What makes the world go around. 

[Host Jazzbeau]

3 hours ago, MuseCruiser said:

Just to show you how things are so individual, we prefer the Shadow and Whisper over Spirit and larger ships. What makes the world go around. 

Thanks for your positive perspective. Boarding Whisper in a few days and looking forward to it. 

[nfcu]

12 hours ago, MuseCruiser said:

Just to show you how things are so individual, we prefer the Shadow and Whisper over Spirit and larger ships. What makes the world go around. 

You are not the only one, because I'm with you on this.  Much prefer the old-school, large main dining room instead of figuring out where we want to eat every night.

[Lois R]

9 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Thanks for your positive perspective. Boarding Whisper in a few days and looking forward to it. 

Hi Jazz, hope you had a good flight and wishing you a great cruise😃

[exlandlubber]

Hello everyone! This will be our first time on Silversea (Silver Moon to be exact) and I was wondering if there was any reciprocity between Silversea and Regent. We have had several Regent cruises and I saw on a Gary Bembridge video that some lines offered similar status if a level had been reached. It’s probably not going to happen but I thought there was no harm in asking. By the way, I highly recommend his “Tips for Travellers” videos.

[Lois R]

13 minutes ago, exlandlubber said:

Hello everyone! This will be our first time on Silversea (Silver Moon to be exact) and I was wondering if there was any reciprocity between Silversea and Regent. We have had several Regent cruises and I saw on a Gary Bembridge video that some lines offered similar status if a level had been reached. It’s probably not going to happen but I thought there was no harm in asking. By the way, I highly recommend his “Tips for Travellers” videos.

Hi, nope.......there is no reciprocity. . Not sure why there would be to be honest with you, they are not part of the same company and would probably be considered competing lines.

[billc23]

1 hour ago, Lois R said:

Hi, nope.......there is no reciprocity. . Not sure why there would be to be honest with you, they are not part of the same company and would probably be considered competing lines.

Some competing lines do offer reciprocity to entice passengers. MSC and Ponant are two examples. Silversea does not as far as I know but does offer OBC to RCI shareholders.

[dawntrdr]

1 hour ago, billc23 said:

but does offer OBC to RCI shareholders.

This was news to me - but it does indeed say that in the shareholder materials.

[exlandlubber]

Thanks everyone. Appreciate the comments. We have received 100$ OBC on Oceania and Regent by purchasing 100 shares of NCL stock, which was fine since it was only about 17-18 dollars a share and ideally the stock goes up eventually. But RCL stock is about $125 a share so that would be a sizable investment for the same OBC credit, especially since we don’t know how much well like Silversea compared to Regent. We’ll see.

[QueSeraSera]

6 hours ago, exlandlubber said:

But RCL stock is about $125 a share

whoa, I shouldn't have sold at 110

 

[J18ktleo]

Hi everyone!

Looking for advice, every year I have a group of girls (all mature over 50) doing a Caribbean cruise.  We've done Windstar and Celebrity, some of us are Elite + on Celebrity and we've really enjoyed the new Suite Class/Retreat on the newer ships.

However I'm really tired of the same old ports, even with Windstar we're so repetitive and I am the one planning all the tours everywhere we go so it gets challenging.

I'm looking at Silver Shadow for Jan 2026 with an awesome itinerary and I like the all included excursions plus Celebrity has started upcharging for wines that should be/used to be part of Premium pkg and they've degraded the Suite Class perks so we're looking elsewhere.

 

I'm a little 'put off' by the comments of dressy dress code, especially for Caribbean, is that true?

Wonding if those of you who are 'loyalists' think this might be a good experience for us?

I've looked at Oceania, fact that you have to call at midnite to book dining reservations scares me, especially with 12 people!

And Azamara wasn't our thing, felt too old for my group.

 

Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Thank you!

 

p.s. Jazzbeau, we met somewhere years ago, no idea but HI!!!!

[Xerxella]

Overall, I hate dress codes. I'm on vacation for Pete's sake.  But, for women, it's no big deal.  Just pack some cute cotten summer dresses or a skort and the kind of t-shirt that's just a pattern shirt.  Or capris and a dressy tank top.  It totally sucks for guys though....

[Host Jazzbeau]

@J18ktleo your face looks familiar.  If you generally sail Celebrity (we haven't been on Windstar yet) the possibilities would be Summit in Jan-Feb 2012, Eclipse in Mar 2015, Expedition in May 2015, Constellation in May-Jun 2016, and Edge in January 2019.  Unlike you, we hated Edge so won't sail Celebrity again.

 

We are currently on our first Silversea cruise, on Whisper (sister to Shadow).  Not sure you would find the demographic dramatically different from Azamara but the atmosphere is a bit livelier.  Trivia is handled in the same laid-back manner, shows are similar [small ships can't support large casts], limited number of specialty restaurants.  There is a casino but it has been empty when we have walked past.  The included shore excursions are a real plus.

 

I was very put off by the dress code, but (a) DW says she doesn't mind dressing up a bit (no gowns in her wardrobe) and having packed the suit I don't mind wearing it, and more importantly (b) there is a strong rumor that Silversea will be easing the dress code sometime this year (probably bringing all ships to the dress code presently on Nova and promised for Ray):

• Elegant Casual: On casual evenings, ladies may opt for trousers, blouses, skirts, or casual dresses, while gentlemen can wear open-collar shirts and slacks. A jacket is optional.
• Formal Optional: Guests may choose a more formal attire, such as an evening gown or cocktail dress for ladies and a tuxedo, dinner jacket, or dark suit with a tie for gentlemen.

What I can tell you is that the documents for this Whisper cruise had said that we would have 3 Formal nights, 8 Informal Nights and 5 Casual nights – but on boarding it had been relaxed to 3 Formal, 5 Informal and 8 Casual.  So the process has already started.  And while some ladies were wearing elegant formal gowns on the first formal night, most were wearing short dresses or pants and sparkly tops [sorry for the lack of specificity:  I'm a man...]

[J18ktleo]

12 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

@J18ktleo your face looks familiar.  If you generally sail Celebrity (we haven't been on Windstar yet) the possibilities would be Summit in Jan-Feb 2012, Eclipse in Mar 2015, Expedition in May 2015, Constellation in May-Jun 2016, and Edge in January 2019.  Unlike you, we hated Edge so won't sail Celebrity again.

 

We are currently on our first Silversea cruise, on Whisper (sister to Shadow).  Not sure you would find the demographic dramatically different from Azamara but the atmosphere is a bit livelier.  Trivia is handled in the same laid-back manner, shows are similar [small ships can't support large casts], limited number of specialty restaurants.  There is a casino but it has been empty when we have walked past.  The included shore excursions are a real plus.

 

I was very put off by the dress code, but (a) DW says she doesn't mind dressing up a bit (no gowns in her wardrobe) and having packed the suit I don't mind wearing it, and more importantly (b) there is a strong rumor that Silversea will be easing the dress code sometime this year (probably bringing all ships to the dress code presently on Nova and promised for Ray):

• Elegant Casual: On casual evenings, ladies may opt for trousers, blouses, skirts, or casual dresses, while gentlemen can wear open-collar shirts and slacks. A jacket is optional.
• Formal Optional: Guests may choose a more formal attire, such as an evening gown or cocktail dress for ladies and a tuxedo, dinner jacket, or dark suit with a tie for gentlemen.

What I can tell you is that the documents for this Whisper cruise had said that we would have 3 Formal nights, 8 Informal Nights and 5 Casual nights – but on boarding it had been relaxed to 3 Formal, 5 Informal and 8 Casual.  So the process has already started.  And while some ladies were wearing elegant formal gowns on the first formal night, most were wearing short dresses or pants and sparkly tops [sorry for the lack of specificity:  I'm a man...]

I think it might've been Azamara Panama Canal Mar 2015?

Anyways, we just finished Beyond in Suite class and Ascent and they were both awesome!

I wanted to try luxury and love the itinerary with Silver Seas however I'm looking at Jan 2026 and they have a non refundable deposit for port to port which we can't do, this far out, as I have a group of 12 and that's a big commitment this far in advance.

Thank you all for the info , good to know as I have a client doing Silver Nova this summer in Alaska!

 

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

2 hours ago, J18ktleo said:

I think it might've been Azamara Panama Canal Mar 2015?

We didn’t cruise on Azamara in 2015.  Full cruising history is in my signature. 

[ak1004]

4 hours ago, J18ktleo said:

I think it might've been Azamara Panama Canal Mar 2015?

Anyways, we just finished Beyond in Suite class and Ascent and they were both awesome!

I wanted to try luxury and love the itinerary with Silver Seas however I'm looking at Jan 2026 and they have a non refundable deposit for port to port which we can't do, this far out, as I have a group of 12 and that's a big commitment this far in advance.

Thank you all for the info , good to know as I have a client doing Silver Nova this summer in Alaska!

 

 

We sailed on SS twice with p2p. It was significantly cheaper than D2D, way less than flight plus transfers. If you are not certain, just insure the non refundable deposit.

 

Celebrity suites cost about the same if not more as SS veranda. To me this is absurd. I would love to try it, but definitely not paying those prices.