First time on Silversea

We have previously taken 5 Seabourn cruises and one Regent cruise. We are now taking out first Silversea cruise. What can we expect the differences will be? The first Seabourn cruise was owned by Cunard and now it is owned by Carnival. There is a big difference. We are hoping Silverseas will be more like the first Seabourn cruise. Really first class. Any comments from cruisers who have been on both cruise lines? Much appreciated

We have previously taken 5 Seabourn cruises and one Regent cruise. We are now taking out first Silversea cruise. What can we expect the differences will be? The first Seabourn cruise was owned by Cunard and now it is owned by Carnival. There is a big difference. We are hoping Silverseas will be more like the first Seabourn cruise. Really first class. Any comments from cruisers who have been on both cruise lines? Much appreciated

IMHO I would like to say that I think you will find SS like the what Seabourn used to before Carnival,but I have not sailed on them for that reason and I love SS.I really hope you have a wonderful cruise.

We have previously taken 5 Seabourn cruises and one Regent cruise. We are now taking out first Silversea cruise. What can we expect the differences will be? The first Seabourn cruise was owned by Cunard and now it is owned by Carnival. There is a big difference. We are hoping Silverseas will be more like the first Seabourn cruise. Really first class. Any comments from cruisers who have been on both cruise lines? Much appreciated

Actually Seabourn was independent until Carnival bought it. Only then was it combined with the Cunard brand (World Club). So actually if you sailed Seabourn when it was affiliated with Cunard, it was already owned by Carnival.

Host Dan

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With the exception of one brief period where Seabourn charged for sodas and drinks (quickly abolished) I find no difference in service between earlier years and now. it has been consistently excellent. Silversea's service is usually excellent as well, although imo not quite as consistent. If you are used to SB or Regent you will feel comfortable on SS.

We have sailed both Silversea and Seabourn--you can't go wrong with either one--we find we like the food and service slightly better on Seabourn, and the facilities better on Silversea. We like them both!!! Don

Do you find the service and food as good as on Regent? (I already know the standard cabins won't likely compare). I've also heard that the average age on Silversea is a bit older than on Regent?? Any opinion on this?

The standard cabins on the Shadow and Whisper do compare to Regent, being about 350 sq. ft with balcony. These are larger by far than the Mariner and about the same size as the Voyager and Navigator. Those on the Cloud and Wind are smaller, 295 sq. ft with balcony. I find it hard to quantify demographics on cruise lines since it varies from cruise to cruise and the itinerary. What I do think is that many people worry too much about little details and spoil all the anticipation of a wonderful holiday.

I'm going on my first Regent Voyager trip on the 27th and my 3rd SS cruise on December 1 (other two have been in the last 18 months on Whisper and Wind).

I'll be comparing cabins, food, service, etc. in great detail upon my return in early November. I am expecting some things to be better and some not as good but a similar level of overall experience.

12 Cruises - Wow! You are just about the first person to surface on these boards with any sort of cavil about Seabourn; they are mostly one super-loyal bunch. I hope you will enjoy your Silversea introduction. We have been aboard both and enjoyed both very very much. What you can look forward to is a 'real' balcony (assuming you have booked a verandah suite) as opposed to that teeny space on Seabourn. AND a bathroom to die for, spacious and luxe with a huge tub and separate shower. I also like the layout of the Silversea suites better, with more of an entry foyer than the SB rooms that simply open onto the bed (or at least that was the configuration of ours).

While we'd been very happy with the level of service and the staff friendliness on SS, we did feel that somehow SB takes that up a notch. Food may have also been just a bit better on SB, but for my money, SS wins in the desserts category. Ah, not too bad when such things are the major concerns of our life, eh? :rolleyes:

Have a wonderful trip!

wripro, thank you for the good information. I had no idea the standard cabins were as large on some of the SS ships as on Regent. great news...

You are welcome, traveller333.

The SS ships were built at the same Mariotti boat yard, weren't they? I have only been on the Shadow for one cruise, and the standard cabin was identical in layout and space to Navigator and Voyager, except that SS had a double sink in the bath. Honestly no difference. No experience with Seabourn, although I look forward to the launch of their new ships.

I just love the Double Sinks and Separate Tub and Shower on the Shadow and Whisper. On the Regent Voyager - you do get the separate Tub and Shower but not the two sinks.

Interesting how different people prefer different things. I prefer one sink so I can have more counter space to store and use my toiletries.

Well depending on the seas - a second sink is a great place to store those items you don't want slamming onto the floor....

But I prefer them because two of us can get ready at the same time.

Most people prefer them so two can get ready at the same time. I guess I'm just one of those people who likes to get ready without anyone else in there. At home we use two separate bathrooms.

12 Cruises - Wow! You are just about the first person to surface on these boards with any sort of cavil about Seabourn; they are mostly one super-loyal bunch.

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Jgibbs,

You should do yourself a favor and try Seabourn again. After many great experiences on Silversea I had a terrible one about a year and a half ago. But I wanted to give them another shot and did so this past August. i am glad I did because they were back to the old Silversea. The same may be true for you on Seabourn.

We just took our first Silversea cruise and I think it will be our last. We were so disappointed. The food was not that great and the service in the food areas was horrible. It seemed like the staff was very unhappy. It took forever for service and you had to ask for everything more than once. They close one bar and open another one. You need to travel around the ship. Drink orders and food orders were mixed up. We were not the only passengers unhappy. To have to ask for water & coffeee 4X is a bit much. Forgotton food orders, etc. What we really found offensive was the attitude of some staff. We have never experienced anything like this and we have never had an experience where they talked back to you so much. Very unprofessional to say the least. I think I will stick with Seabourn in the future.:(

Which ship have you been on? I really wonder about because I've been on all four and never experienced something like that. We always loved it and never will go on any other cruise line.

Did you talk to somebody like Hoteldirector while you were on board?

Which Silversea ship were you on? Though i had issues on the Whisper this past July, I think it was a result of the poor cruise director ( I hear no longer with Silver Sea) and hotel Manager. Previously all prior 4 SS cruises were fine.

Sorry to hear it didn't go well. We are about to take our first SS cruise on the Silver Whisper ...

Which ship was it? Did you speak to the Hotel Manager or anyone else in authority? Did you write to corporate?

If you check the previous posts by "12 Cruises," you will see that this poster was complaining about the precipitous decline of Seabourn before taking this Silversea cruise. In carefully reading the complaints, they appear quite subjective in nature. Perhaps this is someone who is very difficult to please?

We were just on the Silver Whisper in late September-Early October, Rome to Venice, and there were some people with that type of attitude on board. One (classless) couple complained constantly about minor stuff, and then went totally ballistic because they had eaten every night in La Terrazza (no accounting for taste) and one night (well into the cruise) a private party took over La Terrazza and they found out a 6 pm that they had to eat in the main dining room or Le Champagne. Poor babies!