ak1004

Each time we ask for a quote for business class, it's significantly higher than we could book on our own.

On your last Riviera cruise, did you feel that the mattress is the same as on previous sailings? Our feeling was that it's softer and slightly less comfortable. It could be due to the fact that we got a new mattress at home last year that is more firm. Not sure.

I actually just looked at Windstar.. Looks like the 3 smaller ships have cabins similar to R class (slightly larger actually) but the 3 bigger ships (Star Pride, Breeze and Legend) have pretty large cabins (277 sqft). They are old but were fully renovated recently. And the prices are very reasonable, with inclusions similar to what O has now (except for internet). The itineraries are very intriguing. Seems like a very interesting option if O prices go up significantly on July 1st.

Almost.. but at the same time, it's possible to take regular veranda, not concierge, for $1,000 CAD less. But I do agree that in many cases when you add all the extras to O basic price, the difference might become minimal.

I thought this might be the case.. The O cruise on May 18 is $7,399 CAD: SB is $9,373.

The main difference is that now you can opt out of O life, but you cannot opt out of Simply More. I like your optimism, but I believe we are going to see significant increase, more than oLife.

I would be interested to see the comparison. The SB cruise I assume you refer to this one: I couldn't find a 14 nights O cruise next April. There is one on April 5th on the Marina - https://www.oceaniacruises.com/transatlantic-cruises/miami-to-barcelona-MNA240405/ but it's transatlantic, and they are typically cheaper. Still, the cheapest Concierge is $4,899 CAD, so about half price compared to SB for cruise only.. with oLife, it's extra $400. Not sure how you get only $15/day less compared to SB.

Just got an email that Regent published their 2025 itineraries. I hope SS and SB will follow soon.

So there are a lot of moving parts and obviously it will depend on the region, the category you book, when you book etc. Our typical cruise is around 10-12 nights in Europe in Ocean View (don't really need the veranda and don't use it). Typical OV on Marina/Riviera is around $450/night (all prices are in Canadian dollars). On the Vista it's French balcony, and average is around $500/night. Now lets look at SB: Many sailings are around $600-650/night, sometimes slightly less. So the difference is around 30-40%. And now SS: So pretty similar, around $600/night, but SS includes excursions. Now, those are among the cheapest sailings, most are more expensive, but definitely not double. So depends what are you looking for, sometimes there are great deals. For examples, we were booked on Vista for next May at $4,500 for 10 nights cruise. We booked last May when itineraries just came out, now it's $5,000. Few months ago we found a better itinerary on SS for $5,500, also 10 nights. When you account for all inclusions, SS was actually cheaper. It was an easy switch. Those deals are not common, but if you monitor the prices, you sometimes can sail with SB or SS at prices pretty close to O. SB had a sale a few months ago - 15% discount on all sailings. Many European sailings were under $6k CAN for 10-11 nights, great deal. Paying 30-40%+ more might be worth for some people to get more inclusions, bigger cabin, unlimited black caviar etc. For us, O was still the best deal till now because we don't drink and paying that kind of premium was usually not worth it, unless there was a great deal like our next May cruise. It remains to be seen how much O hikes the prices on July 1st when drinks are included, but it might become a much closer call to book on SB or SS.

Yes and no. On our last cruise with SS we stayed in Abu Dhabi till 11pm. We took the included SS tour from 9am till 2pm. We returned just in time for lunch. Then we went to the city for an independent tour, including high tea in Emirates Palace. We came back to the ship at 9pm and still had time for dinner as some venues are open till 11pm. So it really depends on the port. We don't usually do 9-10 hours tours, but we do come back to the ship and after a short break can go back to explore the place on our own. This is even more relevant with overnight stays.

So are Oceania Silversea and Regent.. Some of those reviews are just ridiculous.

And here is the last SB itinerary that @PaulMCO posted: 3 sea days, no single stay beyond 6pm. Compare to SS: 2 sea days, 5 late stays, one overnight.

Here is another one even more similar: SS: SB: SS has 4 late stays, one overnight and one sea day. SB has one late night stay, no overnights and 3 sea days. SS looks like a clear winner in terms of itineraries.

One thing we noticed when comparing SS and O is that SS typically has longer stays in ports. Then I started looking at SB and found the same. Here are two fairly similar itineraries: SB: Only 3 ports till late night, the rest 5-6pm SS: 5 ports till late night. Is it typical?

SB. We are doing it next September.

Good to know, but this is not part of the loyalty program that we discussed.

We are trying SB next year, it should be fun. The dress code on SS is really archaic, hopefully they will drop it at some point. I hear that even today it's enforced much less than previously. And I agree about the loyalty programs. Variety is good. Loyalty is never really appreciated, and compared to the overall cruise cost, the perks are relatively small. btw, Azamara was fun too. Azamazing night, white night, deck parties, officers dinners etc. And the atmosphere is much more lively than O. Less important on port intensive sailings, but still.

Agree, however, on a big scale of things, 1 free cruise is equal to 5% discount. With SS, you get 5% discount after 100 nights (10 shorter cruises or 5 longer ones). I would say that O programs benefits people who take shorter cruises, but if you cruise mostly 15-20 nights, SS is at least as good. But I do agree that O program is one of the best.

Can you give some examples why SB itineraries are better than SS or Azamara, specifically in Europe?

My understanding is that SB dress code is very casual (unlike SS). They even allow jeans now at dinner.

It does actually - 151 sailings with single supplement.

Here is SS loyalty program: https://www.silversea.com/other-resources/venetian-society.html Discounts for future sailings and free cruises as well. They go by days, which I think is more fair (on O your credit jumps to 2 only sailing longer than 25 days. So if your average cruise is for example 20 nights, you get to next level after 100 days, same as SS, but with SS you get an extra 5% discount after 100 days, in addition to all other promotions. Plus a free cruise after 350 days. So it really depends on your sailing habits. SS also includes air or air credit, and their business class air upgrades are very good (unlike O).

We sailed last September on Regatta, December on Silver Spirit and last month on the Riviera, so this is as close as it gets for comparing SS and O. Service: comparable, excellent on both lines. We travelled 5 couples on SS, so sometimes service on dinners was a bit slow. Based on our experience, both would accommodate special requests. Food: excellent on both, with very slight edge to O. SS has 8 restaurants, and you can have unlimited visits to both, based on availability. Two are extra charge ($40-60 per person). Cabins: SS is a clear winner. Entry level cabins are over 300 sqft, with a curtain separating the sleep area and living area. Very convenient. Cabins on O class are very good too in OV level and above. Entertainment and activities: mediocre on both, with slight edge to SS. Excursions: SS is a clear winner. Itineraries: SS is a winner, with longer stays in ports and more overnights. Also, SS has a better space/passenger and crew/passenger ratios. SS is much more formal (drawdown for us, but not a deal breaker). SS has unlimited black caviar anywhere anytime. Overall I found the experience excellent on both. While O is 20-30% less, O would be a better value for us. But if prices become closer, we would prefer SS. We actually replaced our May 2023 booking on the Vista with Silver Spirit - better itinerary and the price was only 15% more with excursions and tips included (for people who drink also alcohol).

Completely agree. Even with the better programs like O, the Loyalty is not worth more than 5-7% of the cruise fare. And what if after getting to 20 cruises and a free cruise prices are higher by 15-20% and the product is not the same? I just like variety and don't like to put all my eggs in one basket. Itinerary comes first, then price, then ship. I believe that all small ships deliver excellent experience, the difference is in details.

We enjoyed the old Crystal too. We found it a small step up compared to O, mainly in the entertainment and enrichment department (food was comparable in my opinion, service maybe slightly better). But the new Crystal prices are 50-70% higher than pre Covid. Yes, all prices went up, but not that much. Just cannot justify paying over $500 USD per night for a 205 sqft OV cabin on a 25 years old ship. SB have many sailings that are less, on a much bigger cabins and much newer ships.