Your comparison opinions please

I realize that opinions are personal and varied, but that said, this is what I am asking you for, your personal opinion.

For those who have cruised with more than one of these cruise lines, could you please compare and give any particular reasons?

Seabourn

SeaDream

Regent

Crystal

Silversea

FYI.

I will be sailing in the Caribbean.

I love good food and service.

I have sailed on Seabourn Legend, don't know whether to stay with Seabourn or try another line.

Thank you in advance for any input you can give.

L

I see that over 80 posters have read your post and have not responded. This could be because many Regent cruisers will not sail on Seabourn due to their smoking policy. While Seabourn has a reputation for good food and service, the smoking issue is a deal breaker for many of us.

We have sailed Regent and Silversea - we find them very similar. Would not sail on Seadream as it is too small and has no balconies. Crystal also has good reviews but has set seating and very small cabins. Granted, you can have "almost" open seating on Crystal but must make a reservation that can be hard to get. So, for me, the only options for a luxury cruise line are Regent and Silversea.

IMO, if you enjoy Seabourn, there is no reason to change. On the other hand, try one of the inexpensive cruises in the Caribbean on Regent or Silversea and see what you think (note: the only two ships we would sail on Silversea is the Whisper and Shadow -- the smaller ships are old and look it -- the newest ship was built during the downturn of the economy and is, in the opinion of some, a joke!

despite what "some" say.......over and over and over.

We have sailed the Caribbean on the Spirit and Voyageur and our experience on both lines has been excellent - very good service and food and we really enjoyed both ships. The open dining seating policies on both lines was a big plus for us, as we don't care for set seating and I understand that Crystal's attempt at providing an open seating opportunity is going through some growing pains. Butler service on the Spirit was a nice touch but we found the room stewards on Voyageur gave us everything we needed.

The eternal debate about what constitutes "six star/five star and straight luxury" gives me a big headache so I won't go there. Suffice to say, both lines and ships suited us very nicely although I'd give the nod to Regent as I don't care for the formality with Silversea - nice to leave the jacket and tux at home!

Based on the lines you're considering, I don't think there are really any bad choices. Have a great trip!

Hello, I saw your same post on the Crystal board and responded. I am responding here since it is likely since different people may view each board. What I just said on the Crystal board was:

My husband and I have many cruises on Silversea, Regent and Crystal - and in the past two years we have sailed on all 3 of them (twice each). Right now, Silversea is my favorite and Regent is my husband's favorite. We will not sail Crystal again until they have open seating in the dining room (promised on their new ship). On our recent Crystal cruises (returning after many years on Silversea and Regent) we wanted to like the "Dining by Reservation" but it was a disaster on one of our cruises (and okay on the other one). Suites are also quite a bit smaller on Crystal, but we could live with that (and knew going in, of course). It is really the lack of open dining which keeps us from considering another Crystal cruise.

In an expansion of that post, I will say that we have sailed on all the Silversea (except the adventure ones), Regent and Crystal ships in the past 10-15 years. While SS is my favorite, given that the Silversea ships are of varying sizes, it might be that some would find the Wind/Cloud too small or the Spirit too large. There is less variation on the Crystal ships since there are only 2 ships and they are of similar size. Regent also varies some since their ships are built differently. And for all of them, the staff, the chef and the passenger mix are all things that you cannot anticipate when you reserve a cruise. Each cruise is different and has its own personality - as we learned when we did a back to back recently.

Have sailed both SS and Regent. Imo the single best experience we had was on Silver Whisper.

Both lines, however, offer wonderful trips and we would not hesitate to use either depending on the itinerary. Crystal has always intrigued us due to the itineraries, food reputation and cultural extras. The small cabins (at our price range) and the lack of open seating has prevented us from using them. We feel Seabourn is an option, but have not (yet) seen a cruise that has made us change. Seadream is too small.

We have sailed only Regent and that line only once. We are booked on one Silversea cruise in November (Amazon) and two Seabourn voyages next year, Panama Canal and Norwegian Fjords.

We were not wowed by Regent Navigator although it was pleasant. We loved being at sea!

So, next March we'll be able to discuss three of the lines considered by many to be luxury.

We have sailed only Regent and that line only once. We are booked on one Silversea cruise in November (Amazon) and two Seabourn voyages next year, Panama Canal and Norwegian Fjords.

 

We were not wowed by Regent Navigator although it was pleasant. We loved being at sea!

 

So, next March we'll be able to discuss three of the lines considered by many to be luxury.

As you know, you can be "at sea" with any cruise line. Your Silversea cruise in November is interesting but not something that we are interested in. The Norwegian Fjords, on the other hand, was perhaps our best cruise (in terms of ports). I will be reading the Silversea and Seabourn boards to learn how you feel about the ships, the service, the food, and the itinerary. While some posters feel that I am bashing you, I am simply trying to get a sense of how you will rate other luxury cruise lines against Regent.

I realize that opinions are personal and varied, but that said, this is what I am asking you for, your personal opinion.

 

For those who have cruised with more than one of these cruise lines, could you please compare and give any particular reasons?

 

Seabourn

SeaDream

Regent

Crystal

Silversea

 

FYI.

I will be sailing in the Caribbean.

I love good food and service.

I have sailed on Seabourn Legend, don't know whether to stay with Seabourn or try another line.

 

Thank you in advance for any input you can give.

L

We have cruised two of the lines you listed - Regent and Silversea. We have not sailed on Seabourn because of their smoking policy. If you smoke (and I am not judging), I suggest that you stay with Seabourn as the other luxury lines have very restrictive smoking policies.

We find the food and service on Regent and Silversea to be excellent. However, there is no reason for me to think that it is not on Crystal and Seabourn. IMO, you cannot go wrong with any of the major luxury lines. As stated above, we do have a problem with the smoking policy on Seabourn but also have an issue with set seating on Crystal.

Readers here may not know Panama is my home! Born and raised there so our March Seabourn cruise from LA to Fort Lauderdale is a homecoming of sorts and I could not be more excited.

Our TA booked us an Odyssey owner's suite on the Balboa side so I will have much of home to see: Amador Beach, Causeway, Balboa piers, the locks at Pedro Miguel (my Dad did specifications and estimates there), Pacific Saddle Club, the Panama Railroad, and more. We are booking a car and driver to meet us at the tender port in Fuerte Amador for a full day of nostalgia and new sights.

Off topic, sort of sorry. But, semi on topic, my Panama heritage is a salient factor in my cruising love: from 1951 to 1971 I, with my parents and elder brother, cruised most summers aboard the now-defunct Panama Line, first from NYC to Panama via Haiti, then direct from New Orleans to Cristobal, Panama.

Techno123 - you will find absolutely some of the nicest people on Regent ships. Welcoming, well traveled and interesting.

Have a great time!

Thank you JVilleGal and also to Ridolphi and newlondon I am sure that this board has input from only a very small minority of Regent cruisers and the unpleasantness is from an even smaller group. Very much looking forward to my Baltic cruise :D

Techno123 -

Great attitude. You have spent this money, this time, planned your cruise, just get onboard and enjoy every moment you can. Life is short we never know what tomorrow will bring......my husband says we have never had a bad cruise, even on Carnival, and he is right, we have just liked some more than others. Look for the positive side and ignore the little things that aren't important anyway.

Would love to hear about your experience when you return.:)

We were originally all about Regent, dating back to the Diamond. But then they cancelled one of our cruises which gave us a chance to try Seabourn. Still go on a Regent but Seabourn is just a smidge better. And smoking has never been an issue with us. No worse than when one walks by the smoking room on Regent. Haven't been on Crystal,too big, nor silver sea - don't want to start a new cruise line. If I was looking at similar itinerary I would go with Seabourn