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Seabourn vs. Regents Seven Seas?


Kamfish642
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We are currently looking at the Odyssey. Our only luxury cruise experiences have been on the RSSC Navigator twice: once to Alaska and once to Caribbean. Can anyone give me an honest comparison, since the Seabourn experience appears to be what my wife and I are looking for on our next cruise. The age of the Odyssey concerns me.

 

Thank you in advance for your feedback.

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I could be really wrong on this but, having been on the Navigator, it's a whole lot older than the Odyssey. I really liked the Navigator & they do include shore excursions & economy air. Probably somewhere on these boards someone has done a detailed cost comparison but only you can decide how much each plus or minus is worth to you. After being on 3 Regent cruises, we switched back to Seabourn & Silversea & have certainly not regretted it. Everyone will have his/her own opinion & can certainly back it up with facts & figures & experiences. We did not find the warmth or the personal experience on board either the Mariner or the Navigator that we found on the Odyssey class ships (or the Silversea ships). I'm not really sure you can do a point by point comparison of specifics as food/wine/trivia/lecturers/bridge/fellow passengers vary from cruise to cruise on all lines. I recall that Regent has art auctions which doesn't happen on Seabourn but may not matter to you one way or another. Just listen to everyone's experiences & read as much as you can & decide what is the most important to you.

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Enjoyed our Regent cruise but it's Seabourn as option 1 all the way for us. Whilst Seabourn doesnt include everything that Regent does it certainly isn't 'free' as the cost on Regent when not on offer can be significantly more. Also the excursions are OK ( St Petersburg ones were very good) but if we sailed Regent again (we were on Voyager)I definitely would do my own thing far more than take the included tours as we spent a lot of time being herded in the theatre.

Staff not as helpful, food not as good (although liked the wider choice of speciality restaurants) and when we were onboard they guarded the list of included wines like they were the Crown Jewels

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I could be really wrong on this but, having been on the Navigator, it's a whole lot older than the Odyssey. I really liked the Navigator & they do include shore excursions & economy air. Probably somewhere on these boards someone has done a detailed cost comparison but only you can decide how much each plus or minus is worth to you. After being on 3 Regent cruises, we switched back to Seabourn & Silversea & have certainly not regretted it. Everyone will have his/her own opinion & can certainly back it up with facts & figures & experiences. We did not find the warmth or the personal experience on board either the Mariner or the Navigator that we found on the Odyssey class ships (or the Silversea ships). I'm not really sure you can do a point by point comparison of specifics as food/wine/trivia/lecturers/bridge/fellow passengers vary from cruise to cruise on all lines. I recall that Regent has art auctions which doesn't happen on Seabourn but may not matter to you one way or another. Just listen to everyone's experiences & read as much as you can & decide what is the most important to you.

 

We have just finished a 10 day cruise on the Regent Voyager, it was our first Regent cruise.

Having only sailed with Silversea (6 times) and Seabourn twice we thought we would try Regent as the itinerary suited us.

 

In conclusion we found Regent "OK", certainly in my opinion not a good as Seabourn and certainly not as good as SS.

We booked a concierge suite which we found comparable with SS and Seabourn we were not disappointed. The suite was spacious and well laid out.

Unfortunately the room service was almost non existent, we ordered coffee most mornings which arrived very late and was only tepid. We had one in suite dining experience which was a disaster, the wrong meal arrived!!

 

Seabourn as you will know has Seabourn square which is just superb. On Regent the smoking area is on the pool deck which is just awful, you pass it to get to the dining area at the rear of the ship.

 

The dress code on Regent is again almost non existent, I like to wear a shirt and tie to dinner, not everyone's choice I accept that, I did so on the first night in the MDR and looked really out of place.

 

The main dining room the Compass Rose is very nice, they have two specialized restaurants which are also good however, you can only book one night on each on line.

 

On the bright side, if you choose a concierge suite you get unlimited internet which was very good, also the tours are all in the price.

Overall, if the itinerary was right and the price we would sail with them again but we much prefer Seabourn and SS.

 

I wrote a blog of our travels on Regent, look for live Venice to Monaco, if you want a feel for the cruise.

 

Any other questions fire away.

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I forgot one other point, you could grow a beard waiting for a drink on the pool deck, if you went to the bar no problem however, a member of the crew would walk straight past and not ask if you needed a drink. :mad:

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We were on the Navigator from Miami through the Amazon to Manaus and then back to Miami--53 days. There was vibration felt throughout some of the ship very often. We could see the water in our glasses shake. We were seated with the head engineer one night and he told us that the Navigator is a very old ship and it was not new when purchased. It used to be an icebreaker. That said he said that it is the safest ship on the seas because of the way it was built. Since we were not going through ice we did not like the vibrations.

I feel that Seabourn has it all over Regent. We compared charges and Regent charges much more in their basic charge to include the air and excursions. There is an up-charge for "premier" excursions. Many included ones we took were not great. And even though it is the same size we did not feel the closeness to staff as we do on Seabourn

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I could be really wrong on this but, having been on the Navigator, it's a whole lot older than the Odyssey. .

 

You're not wrong. The Navigator went into service for Radisson SSC or whatever they were called then, in 1999. The ship was not brand new at that time. Odyssey has been in service for 8 years.

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We have just finished a 10 day cruise on the Regent Voyager, it was our first Regent cruise.

Having only sailed with Silversea (6 times) and Seabourn twice we thought we would try Regent as the itinerary suited us.

 

In conclusion we found Regent "OK", certainly in my opinion not a good as Seabourn and certainly not as good as SS.

We booked a concierge suite which we found comparable with SS and Seabourn we were not disappointed. The suite was spacious and well laid out.

Unfortunately the room service was almost non existent, we ordered coffee most mornings which arrived very late and was only tepid. We had one in suite dining experience which was a disaster, the wrong meal arrived!!

 

Seabourn as you will know has Seabourn square which is just superb. On Regent the smoking area is on the pool deck which is just awful, you pass it to get to the dining area at the rear of the ship.

 

The dress code on Regent is again almost non existent, I like to wear a shirt and tie to dinner, not everyone's choice I accept that, I did so on the first night in the MDR and looked really out of place.

 

The main dining room the Compass Rose is very nice, they have two specialized restaurants which are also good however, you can only book one night on each on line.

 

On the bright side, if you choose a concierge suite you get unlimited internet which was very good, also the tours are all in the price.

Overall, if the itinerary was right and the price we would sail with them again but we much prefer Seabourn and SS.

 

I wrote a blog of our travels on Regent, look for live Venice to Monaco, if you want a feel for the cruise.

 

Any other questions fire away.

 

fudge, thanks for giving more information about your recent Regent cruise, it's helpful.

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I have been on both the Navigator and the Sojourn (identical to Odyssey). Will be on the Odyssey in about a month, which just went through a 2 week dry dock (new carpets etc).

 

There is no comparison between the Navigator and Odyssey. Odyssey is larger in size but smaller in the number of passengers. There is SO MUCH more public space on Odyssey and no vibration (terrible on Nav). Service is superior on Seabourn. The only thing I dislike about Seabourn is that their sun loungers have no cushions on them. Regent has nice padded loungers with a terry cover that goes over it.

 

Hands down Seabourn Odyssey is the best choice. Even if Nav had a better itinerary, I would be hesitant to book it considering Regent's higher pricing (even when taking into account all the "free" stuff they include).

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

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I have close to 300 combined days at sea on Seabourn, Silversea, Crystal, Seadream, Windstar, Club Med 2 and Regent. Regent is the only one of these lines that I will never consider cruising again. For more details about my experience, go to the Regent board and type "food poisoning" in the search this forum space.

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We have sailed almost 200 days with both Seabourn and Regent although we have not sailed on Navigator. We have sailed on all the others of both lines.

In our opinion there are good and not so good points for both lines .

Seabourn is possibly a little more personal because of fewer passengers but we love both.

We have sailed on both the new ships Encore and Regent Explorer and both have many design faults but we have enjoyed them all, sometimes you have to over look some minor faults and after all it is up to yourselves to make sure you have a good time .

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We have done both Seabourn (10 years +) and Regent (Caribbean on the Navigator). Our observations:

 

Feel on the ship

Regent - very "American" - some large ship attributes such as art auctions, photographers, filming of cruise director daily program which seemed a bit Disney park, announcements. Brash in your face CD (who, when she settled everyone in was probably the best we have ever had in terms of intuitiveness). Dark interiors, more old world in this sense. Passengers 490 - seemed crowded in many areas. Deck space feels tight and limited.

 

Seabourn - "European" - quiet atmosphere, light colours. No forced razamatazz trying to boost passenger morale. "Gee are you having a good time yet". Passengers 450 - lots of space, not crowded. Deck space feels open and accessible.

 

Cabins

Regent - slightly smaller and dark paneled.

Seabourn - slightly larger, better laid out and light - easier to find things without all the lights on. Larger better bathroom.

 

Entertainment

Regent - excellent for a small ship. A scaled down Cirque du Soleil show which was fabulous. A 9 piece hard working band who popped up in various smaller groups all over the ship. 7 entertainment "kids" each of whom was excellent and not only did shows, but did mini sessions at the nightclub area. For example one night was Beatles which was brilliant. The CD also joined in and was really able to belt out a tune. Otherwise, the same 1 night performers that you see doing the rounds on every cruise line.

 

Seabourn - very hit and miss (we haven't seen the new Tim Rice show). Over the last few years we haven't been going to the night entertainment as we have seen all the shows before. Usually 4, but sometimes 5 young entertainers in a troupe who do the shows. Usually OK, but always a few duds. Part of their duties is meet and mingle with guest which is done with varying success and with some, they would rather be anywhere else. The resident "band" is a collective of 4 sometimes 5 who will play back up at deck parties, in the club and for some visiting artists. They have had a couple of very good duos over the years and some good pianists in the observation lounge. Otherwise, the same visiting entertainers as other lines.

 

Food

Regent - MDR was good, lunch buffet area terrible, no variety or daily variance, two specialty restaurants - steak and lobster house OK, Italian very ordinary. Pool grill was crowded (near smoking area), loud and greasy fast food and hot dogs. Had room service breakfast 1 day and it was OK.

 

Seabourn - MDR is good, Colonnade good an quick for lunch with great back deck, OK for evening meals. Thomas Keller is the specialty restaurant. I will refrain from comment as there are separate posts dealing with the ups, downs and personal preferences to do with this "innovation". Pool grill is more spacious and open than Regent. Limited menu, but not necessary a greasy food outlet (they do have fries, burgers and hot dogs). Room service - limited menu which doesn't change. Never had any problems.

 

Food and beverage staff

Our experience is that Regent staff were predominantly Filipino and Indonesian while Seabourn are European, South African, multinational.

We have found all to be exceptional on both ships.

 

Excursions

Most cruise lines do the same things in port and use the same local companies. Some of the included Regent excursions we have experienced were excellent - others basic.

 

Seabourn is pay as you go. Unless there is little infrastructure and Seabourn has monopolised the local tour company, we generally will arrange our own so we can do what we want, when we choose and without loading and unloading a bus. That said, Seabourn do try not to cram buses. However, the excursions content is all very straightforward. The new Ventures program (kayaks/zodiacs etc) will provide an alternative for the Alaskan run. Generally, all the excursions are considerably more expensive than private tours which is the same for other cruise lines.

 

Hope this helps.

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You folks have me really pumped up! After 180 days on Regent, 21 on Crystal and 15 on Silversea I am finally going to board my first Seabourn ship (Quest) on 8/3 for a 16 day circle of the British Isles. Busy cruise: 14 of 16 days in port. I'll report back with my impressions. :)

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We are currently looking at the Odyssey. Our only luxury cruise experiences have been on the RSSC Navigator twice: once to Alaska and once to Caribbean. Can anyone give me an honest comparison, since the Seabourn experience appears to be what my wife and I are looking for on our next cruise. The age of the Odyssey concerns me.

 

Thank you in advance for your feedback.

 

I'm sure a lot of this will have been covered but -

 

The only new Regent ship is the Explorer which is older than the Encore and will be older than the Ovation. The others are far older than the Odyssey.

 

Regent does (IMO) shady things like sell an inaugural cruise at a premium and then forgets to mention its not actually the inaugural cruise and by the way even if you count it as the first paying guest inaugural they're not doing anything special for the guests and that premium.

 

They also pay to put a blogger on a cruise and "forgot" to mention the subsequent blogging was a paid endorsement. Then there's all the marketing they send out stating "free this, free that" only its not free. The word inclusive like Seabourn uses it far more accurate and honest. So shoreside Regent comes across as less than honest than the average corporation.

 

Ship side:

Dining Rooms:

 

Wine service:

Over several cruises on Regent I've found that their wine stewards/sommeliers do the absolute minimal amount of work possible. They don't recommend wines based on your previous orders or what you're eating. They also were some of the worst when asked for pairing suggestions (not in the suggestions made - just in that they seemed unable to make suggestions).

 

Dining Service:

Speeds of between glacial and decent. They never seem to get around as much as on Seabourn. There have been more than a few occasions when I was longing for the more upbeat personalized service provided by Disney. I was on the genuine fake inaugural cruise that had the Ne Plus Ultra crew from the actual inaugural dog and pony show cruise - and while service was vastly improved over the most recent prior Regent voyage I felt it was a level or three behind Seabourn, SilverSea and Crystal.

 

Food:

Better than some previous Regent voyages but at the end of the day I think despite some standout dishes inferior to Seabourn. Also caviar is an extra charge save for one buffet. But then is there really luxury in standing in buffet lines with people cutting in line, indecisive people trying to figure out should they or shouldn't they and then fighting for a seat?

 

Special note: Sette Mari for dinner was nasty. Off flavors to most of the foods I tried. This was on the faux inaugural.

 

I found Chartreuse their version of a French restaurant had the best overall service and food on the ship by a large margin.

 

Bars/Coffee:

While the experience on the Explorer was VASTLY improved over previous Regent cruises I'm holding my breath to see what a regular Regent bar experience is like (some of the best bartenders on the faux inaugural cruise were temps on loan from Oceania).

 

Coffee: Who am I kidding? I haven't found a luxury line yet with what I consider good coffee or espresso.

 

Tours:

They're included (not free like the less than honest people at Regent claim). Depends on location but a lot skew towards the scenic overview via bus end of the equation. Then they have higher priced paid versions (even higher priced when you realize you're paying more than other lines would charge for the same tour PLUS you've already paid for your included tours and don't get any form of discount based on that). Capacity of each tour seemed to be more than on Crystal and Seabourn.

 

Several Hundred new very best friends:

The Ovation and Encore carry less passengers than every Regent ship save the Navigator (which has 490 passengers). The other Regent ships are 700 (Mariner and Voyager) and 750 (Explorer).

 

Everything else being equal unless Regent had some very different itinerary or a smoking deal on the fare (Regents single supplement is usually 200% but at least solos get double credit for days now. Pity that didn't happen a few world cruises ago) I'd pick Seabourn.

 

That being said - due to certain midget minion limitations my next currently booked cruise is on Regent. I figure releasing midget minions there would be better than on Seabourn. For which I'm sure the Seabourn passengers will be thankful.;)

 

The above are my opinions.

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As everyone knows--travel is a personal experience where two people having the same experience report their feelings differently. That is why it is difficult for me to recommend places to my friends or to say anything negative about places they plan to visit that I may not have enjoyed. My friend disliked St. Petersburg, we loved it. She loved Amsterdam and we were not exactly thrilled with it. We just returned from a trip to Alaska on Regent and I compared it to our favorite line--Seabourn. I actually liked the cabins on Regent--lots of storage and for some reason, the loud, flushing toilets that are the norm on most cruise ships, seemed to be more quiet on Regent (Mariner). We enjoyed the specialty restaurants, didn't have a problem with room service and there certainly was a large variety of choices of food at the grill and buffet. We enjoyed every excursion and overall, pleased with the Regent experience. I agree with most posters, that the service on Seabourn is more personal and I feel that the food, in general is better on Seabourn. Would I cruise Regent again? I would if the itinerary was of interest but for now Seabourn does have a slight edge over Regent.

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Regent is hit and miss. We like the consistency on Seabourn and Crystal so we definitely give them the edge. Silversea is too formal for us and the new ship the Muse does not have a MDR. You need to make reservations months out and you may not be able to get into the speciality restaurants or you are waitlisted.

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This September, we are taking the Seabourn Odyssey from Venice to Barcelona (18 days) and then flying to Lisbon where we will board the Regent Navigator for a 13 day crossing to New York. I guess by the end of this trip we should have a great comparison between the two.

 

We have previously sailed on the Navigator and the Seabourn Sojourn so we are not "newbies" to these two lines. We normally sail on Crystal and these cruises should give us a refreshed comparison between the three. We love everything about cruising and rarely complain about "little things" but we will try to give a fair review and comparison of each when we return.

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It'll be interesting to read your comparisons.

It will be late October, when we return home but I will post a review/comparison of all three when we return.

 

By the way I have enjoyed your Serenity review on Crystal.

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