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Differences between Seabourn and Oceania


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We are a couple in the mid of our 40s who have been cruising a few times with Oceania and we like it very much. Now we have found a cruise with Seabourn that looks exciting and that also fits well in time for us.

However, we feel somewhat unsure about changing cruise company because we have liked Oceania so much, so the question is what we are going to experience differently? What are the pros and cons about Seabourn?

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Oceania was our choice of cruise line until we tried Regent and then Seabourn. Seabourne is now our "go to" line. The difference to us was dramatic. My husband and I were I in late 40- early 50's when we tried both these lines.

 

Rooms: Unless in a Penthouse or above on Oceania, smallest room on Seabourn wins by a long shot. This is perhaps the biggest FIRST impression between premium and luxury brands.

 

Service: Seabourn won handsdown. There is a huge uptick in service between a premium cruise and this luxury cruise. It was little things, no signing for alcohol etc. laundry facilities with free soap. Many times plates of appetizers sitting in your room after a long day. Refrig always stocked and restocked with favorite sofas/water. We are not huge drinkers but so much alcohol available we never used our room supply. A lot of Officer engagement with passengers.

 

Food: Subjective. I would give specialty restaurants the edge on Oceania but main dining room edge on Seabourn. You can make special requests on a Seabourn. We found main dining room service rushed and crowded on Oceania. No one beats room service on Seabourn. Fast and wonderful. You can have coure by course meal delivery to your room.

 

Seabourn has great special evens. Private beach barbecue with their trademark Caviar in the Surf with flowing champagne, caviar and steaks and lobster. They also have a fun on deck barbecue and dancing.

 

People: Similar. I would say leans slightly younger on Oceania but our Asian cruise on Seabourn felt young. Did noticed several people like us had tried multiple cruise lines moving up the chain from mainstream, to premium and then luxury. We had more business owners on Seabourn but both lines diverse, nice and unpretentious people ( I am a nurse). We developed friendship on both lines, encouraged by flexible dining.

 

 

Crowds: Oceania felt crowded at times, something we rarely felt on Seabourn

 

Shore Excursions: Rarely do but when have Seabourns very good, small groups good transportation compared to Oceania.

 

I will warn you that when you cruise with Seabourn you rarely want to go back to premium. I say go for it!

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Travelwell, TY for your response w extensive examples. Currently Oceania is my favorite line (over Celebrity, Princess and HAL), but I am happy to add Seabourn to my “lotto fantasy vacation dream“. [emoji41]🥂

 

 

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We are a couple in the mid of our 40s who have been cruising a few times with Oceania and we like it very much. Now we have found a cruise with Seabourn that looks exciting and that also fits well in time for us.

However, we feel somewhat unsure about changing cruise company because we have liked Oceania so much, so the question is what we are going to experience differently? What are the pros and cons about Seabourn?

 

ditto everything Travelwell said. We were (several times) repeat cruises on the Oceania's Riviera, and then took a Seabourn caribbean cruise on the Odyssey. It spoiled us for any other cruise line. We found the difference to be substantial, not just a little. Hard to imagine a better cruise.

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Thank you all for responding, Seabourn sure seem to have a lovely product but there are a few things that makes us a little bit unsure.

1. There has been some not so good reviews of the Encore the last couple of months.

2. We are kind of foodies and do love the food on Oceania, but when we look at the sample menus at the Seabourn website it does not impress us that much, maybe we are wrong and they are just samples and might not show it all but for us the menus seems rather limited!

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I think Seabourn is far superior. First the food is much better imo. The ships are smaller and more intimate.

I sailed once on the Riviera, and my self, my partner and our other friends all agreed that we wouldn't sail on Oceania again.

The average suites are larger on Seabourn, so unless you pay for a suite upgrade on Oceania, your cabin is small. In that case the price difference is substantial. Alcohol isn't included on Oceania, and the wine package sucks.

I could go on and on....especially, the food....

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I think Seabourn is far superior. First the food is much better imo. The ships are smaller and more intimate.

I sailed once on the Riviera, and my self, my partner and our other friends all agreed that we wouldn't sail on Oceania again.

The average suites are larger on Seabourn, so unless you pay for a suite upgrade on Oceania, your cabin is small. In that case the price difference is substantial. Alcohol isn't included on Oceania, and the wine package sucks.

I could go on and on....especially, the food....

We do usually sail in a PH on Oceania so it´s comparable to a standard suite on Seabourn I think, and this matter is not so much about the price it´s more about that the timing and the itinerary of the Seabourn cruise is great for us, we do still both work and are some what limited which cruises we can take.

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Absolutely agree with Kevnzworld, and also add that i think there is a much more convivial atmosphere on SB too, the included drinks help massively.

 

A bit of history: it used to be that Regent (then called Radisson) charged for drinks except for wine at dinner and an extensive setup in your cabin. When they went to all-inclusive, according to the then CEO, Frank del Rio, the overall alcohol consumption on the ships didn't change. But, the social atmosphere of their ships changed a lot, for the better in my opinion. The lounges and bars were much more full of interesting people to meet and talk to.

 

My one Oceania experience, where drinks are not included, is that one could go into a beautiful lounge, and Riviera's lounges are physically spectacular, and virtually nobody would be there. Instead, I presume that people were staying in their cabins and perhaps socialising with other passengers there.

 

Although I haven't yet been on Seabourn, what I have heard from friends whose opinions I trust is that the social atmosphere is much closer to Regent and the Paul Gauguin, which I've been on more than any other ship. That's one reason why I'm booked for a cruise with them in September.

 

 

I am not criticizing Oceania in general: different things are important to different people. But for me, it would take a spectacular itinerary at a great price to get me back on one of their ships. As always, your mileage may vary.

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You guys are right about the alcohol. Bars on Seabourn a great place to hang out before and after dinner. We often ate with people we met at the bar prior to dinner. This is not part of the culture we saw on Oceania. This post does bring back fond memories and great anticipation on boarding the Odyssey in a month.

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I found the piano bar lounge on the Riviera to be crowded but I didn't like the vibe or the atmosphere. Their coffee bar is small and in a weird location, unlike Seabourn Square.

I enjoy the lounges on Seabourn more. If sailing on Encore, the piano bar at TK grill is a nice addition.

Did I mention the food? 🙂 Seabourn food is vastly superior IMO.

Ok, I'm biased , I really disliked my experience on Oceania. I've sailed numerous times on Regent ( and Paul Gauguin ) and though I liked both, I still think Seabourn is better.

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We have sailed on Oceania 7 times and Seabourn once. The Seabourn ships compare in size to Oceania's R class ships. The Penthouse cabins on Oceania are basically the same as the Veranda cabins on Seabourn. I found the food and the service to be equal on both lines. Definitely liked the included drinks on Seabourn. I agree that probably helps bring more people into the lounges at night. On Oceania we often were the only ones in the lounge after the show. We have another cruise booked on Seabourn. Depending on itinerary and cost we would gladly sail on either line.

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We have sailed on Oceania 7 times and Seabourn once. The Seabourn ships compare in size to Oceania's R class ships. The Penthouse cabins on Oceania are basically the same as the Veranda cabins on Seabourn. I found the food and the service to be equal on both lines. Definitely liked the included drinks on Seabourn. I agree that probably helps bring more people into the lounges at night. On Oceania we often were the only ones in the lounge after the show. We have another cruise booked on Seabourn. Depending on itinerary and cost we would gladly sail on either line.

Size of the penthouse suites on Oceania's R class ship is 260 sq. ft of interior space or 320 with balcony. Size of entry level suite on Seabourn is 295 sq. ft of interior space or 365 with verandah. So not the same at all. Plus no separate shower in the bathroom. just a tub/shower combo.

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We have sailed on Oceania 7 times and Seabourn once. The Seabourn ships compare in size to Oceania's R class ships. The Penthouse cabins on Oceania are basically the same as the Veranda cabins on Seabourn. I found the food and the service to be equal on both lines. Definitely liked the included drinks on Seabourn. I agree that probably helps bring more people into the lounges at night. On Oceania we often were the only ones in the lounge after the show. We have another cruise booked on Seabourn. Depending on itinerary and cost we would gladly sail on either line.

 

For those of us that sail often, the cost difference between a Seabourn veranda and an Oceania suite is a large one, almost double. Why pay twice as much for a similar room unless the ship/ cruise/ food is much better? In fact, the quality of all of the above is less than Seabourn.

The R ships are almost three times as large as the Odyssey class and twice that of Encore. 1100 passengers versus 400/600.

Add in the cost of wine and drinks on Oceania....

And did I mention the food? ...🙂

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But I am teetotal and the free drinks is just a waste for me, but is a chunk onto the price. Oceania, all soft drinks are free, even the mock tails. Perfect for me. So it’s Oceania for me.

 

 

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You will find pluses and minuses on both. We have done 15 cruises on oceania. We love it. We don’t drink and care little about nightlife or bars. The clientele and atmosphere are right for us. We feel we are treated royally. We love a suite with a butler. There are no butlers on seabourn and that changes our cruise experience

 

We love Seabourn square. Seabourn food is good but the bread especially does not come close to oceania. Oceania’s food is better imo but love the caviar on seabourn.

 

Only you can judge what suits you

 

 

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Someone we met on a recent Seabourn cruise also mentioned missing having a butler. When we asked what the butler did she wasn’t able to articulate it or give examples that differed from what was already taken care of. Room service came close. What is it about a butler that changes the experience ? We had a butler once on QM2 QG and I really couldn’t come up with what she could for us that I couldn’t do for myself. (Unpack? Call the spa?)

You will find pluses and minuses on both. We have done 15 cruises on oceania. We love it. We don’t drink and care little about nightlife or bars. The clientele and atmosphere are right for us. We feel we are treated royally. We love a suite with a butler. There are no butlers on seabourn and that changes our cruise experience

 

We love Seabourn square. Seabourn food is good but the bread especially does not come close to oceania. Oceania’s food is better imo but love the caviar on seabourn.

 

Only you can judge what suits you

 

 

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I can call the spa and unpack myself. Lol

 

A butler is at your Service 24/7. He can do things on the spot where you have to wait to hear back from a room steward or get in the queue for room service. We found this severely lacking on seabourn. One example : we both wanted some hot tea as our throats felt a little raspy. We called room service. There was an hour wait. I needed extra hangers to unpack. Took hours to get them. A room steward is not a butler. We love the pampering on vacation

 

We just got off a 26 night cruise on oceania. Our butler served us course by course from specialty restaurants eg. We like to eat in Room Service drops off the food

 

If seabourn had butlers I would book an upper suite. It’s a big drawback for us We have booked a few cruises on crystal and regent. We want a butler. We want to be spoiled

 

 

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Hmm, to each his own I guess. Not done Seabourn yet, but very much looking forward to it. We have had a few butlers, but the butler we had on our single O. Riviera cruise was smarmy and ingratiating. Just annoying. We did have a nice butler once on the Paul Gauguin, but there was really very little for him to do other than smile a lot and be nice. A butler we had on Regent Voyager once did bring me a sandwich one night when I was feeling under the weather. Mostly nice guys, but I don't really need a mother on a cruise. I guess we're low-maintenance.

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Things keep coming to mind comparing the premium to luxury cruise. The alcohol is noticeable as my glass seemed taken care of and no worries about signing. No worries about sharing bottles with table mates which we did on occasion on Oceania. These are not party cruises and we saw no drunkenness.

 

The big differences are on every day things. Whoever wanted to see the cooking class was able to come and those attending got full sized serving of both items cooked. We played trivia and our team won. Every person got a Russ stuffed Seabourn Bear. I left my sweater in Bangkok on a excursion we did on our own. Our room steward hear of my problem and somehow it was on my bed that evening. On another luxury cruise, Regent, we were called by the concierge two days prior to embarking in France that they were concerned we would not make our flight. They priced helicopter and taxi to airport and arranged us to depart with one of their guest speakers to catch limo that was portside.

 

We went years on mainstream cruises and then to Oceania. We enjoyed all cruises, especially Oceania but it was a noticeable difference when we jumped up to the luxury market just on ease of experience. Every day has little pinch me moments. We have cruised Regent, Seabourn and Crystal. Crystal is only cruise we had a bad experience with and would not go back. Seabourn to us is the top of the line for us.

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