Price wise and service wise, can Oceania compare with Silversea`

[clo]

I don't know if this is allowed.

 

I'm very casually looking at a SS cruise to Japan and China. 14 days for $6k pp. Upgrade to business class flights for $3349, economy included. Shore excursions include (with some exceptions). Anyway you get the point. And then I found this CC review which honestly blew my mind. Is there something I'm missing here. I ask sincerely. Big fan of O but it seems they've slipped a bit.

"I agree with all . I was on the Silver Shadow in Recife Brazil March 2020. We were stranded there due to COVID . Silversea was nothing less than awesome . The captain sent us champagne at least twice . Silversea chartered a plane and flew us to Dallas Texas . Governor Abbott gave us permission to come there . We arrived in Dallas at around 11:00pm and Silversea had a wonderful buffet set up in a big room they leased ..they had it all ..and we then boarded buses to the Hyatt to shower and rest in our rooms for about 5 or 6 hours . We left early morning back to the airport and they had a big buffet breakfast for us . We were then flown home by different lear jets and driven right to our front doors . AND before I left Brazil they moved me to a a Silver Suite and I was very stunned. I told Mark Conroy in Dallas that I had a motto ..." If it ain't Silversea it ain't for me " I got a note from him and also Barbara Muckermann ...Go for it and never look back !! They go above and beyond for their passengers ! 🙂"

 

[oskidunker]

Looks like a good deal. I am,paying 4k for a 10 day Caribbean on oceania end of month. No air. 

[clo]

1 hour ago, oskidunker said:

Looks like a good deal. I am,paying 4k for a 10 day Caribbean on oceania end of month. No air. 

Thanks for this. All the perks are very enticing.

[Hlitner]

4 hours ago, clo said:

I don't know if this is allowed.

 

I'm very casually looking at a SS cruise to Japan and China. 14 days for $6k pp. Upgrade to business class flights for $3349, economy included. Shore excursions include (with some exceptions). Anyway you get the point. And then I found this CC review which honestly blew my mind. Is there something I'm missing here. I ask sincerely. Big fan of O but it seems they've slipped a bit.

"I agree with all . I was on the Silver Shadow in Recife Brazil March 2020. We were stranded there due to COVID . Silversea was nothing less than awesome . The captain sent us champagne at least twice . Silversea chartered a plane and flew us to Dallas Texas . Governor Abbott gave us permission to come there . We arrived in Dallas at around 11:00pm and Silversea had a wonderful buffet set up in a big room they leased ..they had it all ..and we then boarded buses to the Hyatt to shower and rest in our rooms for about 5 or 6 hours . We left early morning back to the airport and they had a big buffet breakfast for us . We were then flown home by different lear jets and driven right to our front doors . AND before I left Brazil they moved me to a a Silver Suite and I was very stunned. I told Mark Conroy in Dallas that I had a motto ..." If it ain't Silversea it ain't for me " I got a note from him and also Barbara Muckermann ...Go for it and never look back !! They go above and beyond for their passengers ! 🙂"

 

 

I think when you find a desirable cruise on Silversea or Seabourn that costs less than $500 per person/day it is a terrific value!  As far as air to Asia, we do think the devil is in the details.  Ideally, you should be able to choose your own flights and use one of the better Asian airlines (ie. JAL, Cathy Pacific, Singaore, ANA, etc).  That is even more so with Business Class since the hardware and service on the Asian airlines are hard to beat.

 

As to O, there are quite a few reasons why we have never cruised on O until our upcoming booking.  The space ratios are so much better on the luxury lines that this alone is a huge attraction.  We also appreciate that there is none of the gratuity hassles, drink packages, etc.  That being said, we have good friends that routinely cruise on Seabourn and Oceania, tell us that they prefer Seabourn, but that the food on O has generally been better than on SB.  They were not as impressed with food on on SS or Regent.

 

Hank

 

Hank

[Snaefell3]

4 hours ago, clo said:

I'm very casually looking at a SS cruise to Japan and China.

Be sure to buy CFAR insurance.  Taiwan Strait is at risk of "going kinetic".

[clo]

1 hour ago, Snaefell3 said:

"going kinetic".

Had to look that up. Gotcha!

[clo]

3 hours ago, oskidunker said:

Looks like a good deal. I am,paying 4k for a 10 day Caribbean on oceania end of month. No air. 

Thanks for THAT perspective!

[clo]

1 hour ago, Hlitner said:

I think when you find a desirable cruise on Silversea or Seabourn that costs less than $500 per person/day it is a terrific value!  As far as air to Asia, we do think the devil is in the details.  Ideally, you should be able to choose your own flights and use one of the better Asian airlines (ie. JAL, Cathy Pacific, Singaore, ANA, etc).  That is even more so with Business Class since the hardware and service on the Asian airlines are hard to beat.

 

As to O, there are quite a few reasons why we have never cruised on O until our upcoming booking.  The space ratios are so much better on the luxury lines that this alone is a huge attraction.  We also appreciate that there is none of the gratuity hassles, drink packages, etc.  That being said, we have good friends that routinely cruise on Seabourn and Oceania, tell us that they prefer Seabourn, but that the food on O has generally been better than on SB.  They were not as impressed with food on on SS or Regent.

 

Hank

 

Hank

Great info and thoughts.  I'm having our TA look into it.

[basor]

We are looking at a cruise on Riviera that ends in Japan....found a great one way business class fare on Hawaiian Air that is using JAL equipment between Tokyo and Honolulu, change planes and then HA equipment between HNL and PDX .......

 

[clo]

1 hour ago, basor said:

We are looking at a cruise on Riviera that ends in Japan....found a great one way business class fare on Hawaiian Air that is using JAL equipment between Tokyo and Honolulu, change planes and then HA equipment between HNL and PDX .......

 

I've only started this process but I'm pretty sure I saw that JAL has nonstops SEA to Tokyo. Would that be better for you. Oh, wait, if that's one flight then no. I should look at other things 🙂 Thanks.

[basor]

9 minutes ago, clo said:

I've only started this process but I'm pretty sure I saw that JAL has nonstops SEA to Tokyo. Would that be better for you. Oh, wait, if that's one flight then no. I should look at other things 🙂 Thanks.

For 1/2 the price, I can change planes in HNL.....

[clo]

9 minutes ago, basor said:

For 1/2 the price, I can change planes in HNL.....

That's way better. I'll look into that also. Thanks.

[basor]

Just now, clo said:

That's way better. I'll look into that also. Thanks.

yes - we have to change planes somewhere for PDX....JAL/HA around $1800.00 pp, , JAL - around $4500.00..  be sure to choose the flight between HNL - TYO that is operated by JAL as HA also has non stop flights too.

[clo]

2 minutes ago, basor said:

.JAL/HA around $1800.00 pp,

Is that round way?

[basor]

Just now, clo said:

Is that round way?

no one way as our cruise starts in SEA

[clo]

24 minutes ago, basor said:

no one way as our cruise starts in SEA

So $1800 one way. So our $3349 round trip Seattle to Tokyo is a good deal?

Edited February 8 by clo
I screwed up again.

[Hlitner]

2 hours ago, basor said:

For 1/2 the price, I can change planes in HNL.....

If I were to use that option, we would try and work it out so we could stopover for a few days (or more) in Hawaii.

 

Hank

[basor]

2 hours ago, clo said:

So $1800 one way. So our $3349 round trip Seattle to Tokyo is a good deal?

Since I am only in need of a one way back to PDX, I did not check roundtrip out of SEA...I was just noting that for our one way in October, using the change in HNL was much less expensive than flying JAL with a change of planes in SEA, SFO or LAX.  It sounds like you have a much better option out of SEA roundtrip,

[basor]

Please let me know where you found this great fare as I have been searching and can't come close. Perhaps your dates are better or you have a great website for discounted business class fares, When I checked the JAL website, it was double your price for a roundtrip:

Tue 8 OctTuesday, October 8, 2024   13:301:30 PM

Seattle 

(Seattle Tacoma International )

Wed 9 OctWednesday, October 9, 2024   15:403:40 PM

Tokyo 

( Narita International , Terminal  2 )

Fare: Business Special Plus   Fare conditions

Return flight

 

Tue 22 OctTuesday, October 22, 2024   17:405:40 PM

Tokyo 

(Narita International ,  Terminal   2 )

Tue 22 OctTuesday, October 22, 2024   10:2510:25 AM

Seattle 

( Seattle Tacoma International )

Fare: Business Special Plus   Fare conditions

Total$ 6,762.50 (USD)

Edited February 8 by basor

[Vallesan]

11 hours ago, clo said:

I don't know if this is allowed.

 

I'm very casually looking at a SS cruise to Japan and China. 14 days for $6k pp. Upgrade to business class flights for $3349, economy included. Shore excursions include (with some exceptions). Anyway you get the point. And then I found this CC review which honestly blew my mind. Is there something I'm missing here. I ask sincerely. Big fan of O but it seems they've slipped a bit.

"I agree with all . I was on the Silver Shadow in Recife Brazil March 2020. We were stranded there due to COVID . Silversea was nothing less than awesome . The captain sent us champagne at least twice . Silversea chartered a plane and flew us to Dallas Texas . Governor Abbott gave us permission to come there . We arrived in Dallas at around 11:00pm and Silversea had a wonderful buffet set up in a big room they leased ..they had it all ..and we then boarded buses to the Hyatt to shower and rest in our rooms for about 5 or 6 hours . We left early morning back to the airport and they had a big buffet breakfast for us . We were then flown home by different lear jets and driven right to our front doors . AND before I left Brazil they moved me to a a Silver Suite and I was very stunned. I told Mark Conroy in Dallas that I had a motto ..." If it ain't Silversea it ain't for me " I got a note from him and also Barbara Muckermann ...Go for it and never look back !! They go above and beyond for their passengers ! 🙂"

 

 

I think that at that extraordinary time, extraordinary things may have happened!

 

If the choice is Silversea or Oceania for similar prices then Silversea would be my choice. However, they are very different experiences.

 

I have only sailed on the Silver Dawn which is about two thirds the size of the Riviera but with only 600 passengers. The service was very good, but in my opinion only Seabourn ‘go above and beyond’. Having a butler was nice, but was not essential for us.

 

The food was good, but for me Oceania has the edge, but that’s very subjective.

 

I think the biggest difference is in the general ‘atmosphere’. Oceania is far more laid back. Silversea has formal nights, but whilst you can eat in some restaurants without ‘formal attire’ lots of passengers sail Silversea precisely for that formality so there’s a very different ‘vibe’. It’s not as ‘stuffy’ as I may have made it sound but it is definitely ‘different’.

[Harters]

3 hours ago, Vallesan said:

lots of passengers sail Silversea precisely for that formality so there’s a very different ‘vibe’.

It's what put me off the likes of Silversea. I have no interest in "doing formal" but nor do I want to feel I'm a sort of "out of place" inferior passenger. As such, Oceania is very comfortable for me. 

[Vallesan]

54 minutes ago, Harters said:

It's what put me off the likes of Silversea. I have no interest in "doing formal" but nor do I want to feel I'm a sort of "out of place" inferior passenger. As such, Oceania is very comfortable for me. 

I don’t think you would feel ‘out of place’ or ‘inferior’. On both Silversea and Seabourn formal nights my husband wore a cream linen suit with a bow tie so not really conventional. He/we never felt out of place. But yes Oceania is a ‘comfortable’ fit.

[ORV]

5 hours ago, basor said:

Please let me know where you found this great fare as I have been searching and can't come close. Perhaps your dates are better or you have a great website for discounted business class fares, When I checked the JAL website, it was double your price for a roundtrip:

Tue 8 OctTuesday, October 8, 2024   13:301:30 PM

Seattle 

(Seattle Tacoma International )

Wed 9 OctWednesday, October 9, 2024   15:403:40 PM

Tokyo 

( Narita International , Terminal  2 )

Fare: Business Special Plus   Fare conditions

Return flight

 

Tue 22 OctTuesday, October 22, 2024   17:405:40 PM

Tokyo 

(Narita International ,  Terminal   2 )

Tue 22 OctTuesday, October 22, 2024   10:2510:25 AM

Seattle 

( Seattle Tacoma International )

Fare: Business Special Plus   Fare conditions

Total$ 6,762.50 (USD)

I think she said that the economy is included and the upgrade to business is $3349.. I think to compare apples to apples we need to know what the air credit is wit Silver Sea. So maybe not as good a deal as she thinks. 

[MarkWiltonM]

This is interesting, because I was considering a Silversea cruise and looked at the Silversea message board and at least one person said that their latest Silversea cruise was terrible. Inattentive service and not very good food. They spoke to the captain who said they have had staffing and training issues. The post said they prefer Oceania, especially considering that you pay a premium for Silversea. 

[ak1004]

16 hours ago, Hlitner said:

I think when you find a desirable cruise on Silversea or Seabourn that costs less than $500 per person/day it is a terrific value!  As far as air to Asia, we do think the devil is in the details.  Ideally, you should be able to choose your own flights and use one of the better Asian airlines (ie. JAL, Cathy Pacific, Singaore, ANA, etc).  That is even more so with Business Class since the hardware and service on the Asian airlines are hard to beat.

 

As to O, there are quite a few reasons why we have never cruised on O until our upcoming booking.  The space ratios are so much better on the luxury lines that this alone is a huge attraction.  We also appreciate that there is none of the gratuity hassles, drink packages, etc.  That being said, we have good friends that routinely cruise on Seabourn and Oceania, tell us that they prefer Seabourn, but that the food on O has generally been better than on SB.  They were not as impressed with food on on SS or Regent.

 

Hank

 

Hank

 

Hank, when comparing SS with O newer ships, we didn't feel much difference in terms of space. While "on paper" SS is better (1:68 compared to 1:62), remember that average cabin on SS is around 25% larger, so some of the space difference is offset by more space in the cabins, and public areas don't feel more crowded on O (again, this applies only to O class ships).

 

But I agree about $500 or less on SB or SS, this would be great value! Unfortunately those deals become much more difficult to find (except for the Caribbean).

 

8 hours ago, Vallesan said:

I think that at that extraordinary time, extraordinary things may have happened!

 

If the choice is Silversea or Oceania for similar prices then Silversea would be my choice. However, they are very different experiences.

 

I have only sailed on the Silver Dawn which is about two thirds the size of the Riviera but with only 600 passengers. The service was very good, but in my opinion only Seabourn ‘go above and beyond’. Having a butler was nice, but was not essential for us.

 

The food was good, but for me Oceania has the edge, but that’s very subjective.

 

I think the biggest difference is in the general ‘atmosphere’. Oceania is far more laid back. Silversea has formal nights, but whilst you can eat in some restaurants without ‘formal attire’ lots of passengers sail Silversea precisely for that formality so there’s a very different ‘vibe’. It’s not as ‘stuffy’ as I may have made it sound but it is definitely ‘different’.

 

Agree 100%. For us SS archaic dress code is a big drawdown, but not a deal breaker since we sail mostly for the ports and can handle the dress code. But we still like the O food better.