Oceania vs Seabourn

[wripro]

Seabourn has always had smaller yachts. It now has larger ones too.

 

Having sailed both Seabourn and Silversea extensively they are both great products though still unique, and in a different league from Oceania. But O has so many advantages it's in my mix as well.

[glutenhab]

Thanks swifs. Looks to me like a well sought out deal on Seabourn is the way to go. Oceania, although a great line I am sure, seems to me to be WAY overpriced. I have been comparing Seabourn & Oceania for itinearies & price for a month or so & Oceania seems to be the same price or higher per day, while offering much less (Seabourn = 6 star luxury, large outside suites, all grats, all drinks including wine & liquor, more space, better crew to passenger ratio, over-the-top service, etc etc.).

 

Honestly, the only reason I can see for going with Oceania would go back to my original question on this thread regarding Seabourn...

"I have no doubt that it will be a very luxurious experience. However I do not want to spend any of my time listening to or trying to make conversation with anyone who thinks they are sometimg they aren't, or "prima donna's" as you called them. I am sure this will not go for all guests, but the fact that you said you experienced people like this on each of your Seabourn cruises makes me nervous. My goal is to relax, be pampered a little & see the world, not to "keep up appearances & listen to drivel". We have travelled extensively & like meeting new people. We are not poor but we are definitely not rich. Am I wrong in thinking that we may be uncomfortable on a Seabourn boat?"

 

From all the comments here I think I will end up making the same decision as you & going with Seabourn, if I can find the right itinerary & price.

[frqttrvlr09]

I have never been on Seabourn. However, at the start of my recent Regent cruise, I was seated, at the pre-cruise dinner on shore Regent had for all of the 254 or so passengers that were going on the entire 2 1/2 month cruise (which had its share of prima donnas), next to a delightfully funny, and as I quickly learned, well-travelled, couple from the UK. I asked them if they had sailed with Seabourn. They said they had, and added:"full of a bunch of uppidity Brits."

[no fuss travel]

I think regardless of which line you sail on you will find some primadonnas who figure they are entitled to the best of everything. Every cruise I have been on has had more than one and I find listening to them trying to outdo each other quite amusing. I am looking forward to no formal nights and going to ports that many of the other ships do not travel too.

[JimandStan]

May we revisit the veranda issue?

 

 

On the Legend, the Spirit and the Pride, only the six biggest Suites have true verandas (Albeit impossibly tiny ones)

 

Every cabin has an (also VERY undersized) veranda on the Odyssey, but then, she is even larger than the R ships.

 

I suppose it might depend on which itinerary you sail , but we found those "French Balconies" to be ridiculous in the Caribbean.

 

French balcony: a door, usually largely glass, that opens to a railing rather than a platform onto which the guest could walk. Sometimes called a false balcony.

[juli2020]

May we revisit the veranda issue?

 

 

On the Legend, the Spirit and the Pride, only the six biggest Suites have true verandas (Albeit impossibly tiny ones)

 

Every cabin has an (also VERY undersized) veranda on the Odyssey, but then, she is even larger than the R ships.

 

I suppose it might depend on which itinerary you sail , but we found those "French Balconies" to be ridiculous in the Caribbean.

 

French balcony: a door, usually largely glass, that opens to a railing rather than a platform onto which the guest could walk. Sometimes called a false balcony.

 

The Seabourn Odyssey (32,000 tons) carries 450 guests compared to Oceania R ships(30,277 tons) which carries 684 guests.

The least expensive cabins on the Odyssey are 300 sq. feet excluding the balcony...the least expensive cabins on the Oceania R ships are 160 sq.feet and the least expensive veranda cabin on the R ships are 216 sq. feet including the balcony.

Seabourn Legend, Pride and Spirit carries 208 guests...and the least expensive cabins are 277 sq. feet without a veranda.

Oceania and Seabourn are two totally different products. It is like comparing apples to oranges.

[wripro]

That is exactly correct. Not to say that both apples and oranges aren't good. But when you can get a balcony suite on one of the new SB ships for less than a PH on O it's a really good deal.

 

I agree the French balconies on the small SB ships are very limited, other than allowing the fresh air into your suite or being able to stand on and look at the view. However, on such a small yacht the need for a full balcony is less since you can be outside anywhere on the ship within a few steps. It's just a different experience.

 

That said, if you want a great experience for less money Oceania comes out on top since you can book inside or porthole or window rooms for less. Nice to have options.

[ZME66]

We just returned from our 1st Seabourn cruise, 7 nights between Istanbul and Athens. We have sailed O twice over the past 2 years. We chose Seabourn this time because it was less per night for a Verandah Suite (essentially the basic cabin) than it was for the (slightly smaller) Penthouse Suite on O.

 

Since our previous two cruises were on O, we found ourselves comparing the two lines quite a bit. That is probably reflected in the length of this post ;)

 

There were a couple of things we liked better about O:

 

- Some of the food. In particular, we missed Toscana and Polo. The alternate restaurant on the Odyssey, Restaurant 2, was a bit disappointing. Also, we thought that the savory items served at Aftenoon Tea were better on O.

 

- Some of the people. We did run into a small handful of people on Seabourn who were snobbish. But, they were a small minority, most of our fellow passengers were very friendly.

 

There were a lot of things we liked better about Seabourn:

 

- Some of the food. The food in the main dining room and the buffet was consistently better than in the comparable venues on O. I've had good food in both venues on O, but I've also had mediocre fare in them. On Seabourn, it was consistently good.

 

- The ship. The ship is brand new and it shows. It is beautifully finished in a sleek decor with lots of wood, granite, and marble. We do like the more traditional look of the O ships, but we prefered the high end finishes on the Odyssey.

 

- The space. As juli2020 points out, the Odyssey is slightly larger than O's R-class ships and carries about 2/3 the passengers. That extra space is put to good use. There are plenty of quiet spots where you can get away from the crowd. For instance, there is a small pool at the back of deck five that we literally had to ourselves one afternoon.

 

- The cabins. Our cabin had a great bathroom with two sinks, a separate shower and a large tub. We liked the walk in closet. The balcony is not as wide as a PH on O. But, it is deeper and has space for 2 chairs, a table, and a lounger. We had room service breakfast on the balcony a couple of times.

 

- The entertainment. Like O, it is more cabaret style than on the big ships. Still, we found the quality to be higher. In particular, we liked that there were at least two live music options, a great singer/piano player in the Observation Lounge (ie Horizons) and a band in the club (adjacent the casino), every night.

 

- The laundry. A small issue, but certainly one that gets a lot of discussion in this forum. The same 4 washers/dryers as on the O ships, but a lot less contention. Never needed to wait for one and never saw any of the "altercations" we're seen on O. Plus, there is no charge to use them.

 

- The embarcation and tenders. There were no lines at boarding. Once we stepped on the ship, the assistant maitre d' immediately escorted us to our cabin. The tenders ran almost continuously, we never had to wait for more than a couple of minutes after boarding a tender for it to leave.

 

All in all, we found Seabourn to be a nicer experience than O. We like O, and would sail them again. But, with the current pricing, I think we'll stick with Seabourn for a while.

[2kiwis]

 

By the way, any & all suggestions on what we should include/avoid over this 2 month period would be very much appreciated. We are open to anything & have no bookings yet. We are leaning towards Asia & Australia/South Pacific but may do parts of Europe. I am trying to piece together something from the Baltic to Fiji if I can fit it all in. We will probably start in September, 2011 so weather suggestions in different areas are also welcome..

 

We did 45 days back to back cruising on Nautica at the beginning of this year. From Sydney to Bangkok and then Bangkok to Beijing which was amazing and we would really recommend it. We pre-arranged tours in Bangkok, Vietnam which were excellent. In Bangkok we booked with Michael (bangkokprivatetour@hotmail.com) for 3 days and had the best time. Vietnam we used "Smiles Tours" who were fantastic. Shanghai we had "Min Min" booked but she messed the booking up and we ended up with Leigh Gong who was very good. In Beijing was "Mary Yin" who we were not happy with as she fobbed us off onto someone else the last few days.

 

Even with the couple of 'hic-cups' we had a wonderful time and would love to do it again.

 

Have a wonderful holiday!!

 

[wripro]

Restaurant 2 on SB is a unique experience with cutting edge cuisine. It is not to everyone's taste unlike a steak house or an Italian restaurant. It is meant to offer a departure from normal cuisine. I happen to love it but I can understand those who do not.