Silversea v. Regent

[newlondon]

Keith1010,

 

As usual you make sensible posts. I wish Crystal was in our future plans, but at the moment it will be SS and Regent. Keep up your good work, however, we really enjoy it:)

[meow!]

We have been on Silversea but not on Regent. From what we can read on the web, a significant component of Regent's usually higher fare is the included excursions. So those who want Regent should seriously consider whether they want the included shore excursions (not optional), and whether these (you pay nomatter you go on all of them or not) are worth the price difference.

[Keith1010]

newlondon, thank you so very much for the very nice comments.

 

Keith

[WesW]

HI Keith, Bill/Newlondon and Poss:

 

Poss; Regent included excursions work exceptional well for exotic itineraries we have experienced (Hong Kong to Bangkok, and Dubai to Athens), reasonably priced and very well done--a Regent plus. We sail Silversea generally on crossings...and love Silversea as well.

 

Keith; You're Crystal's #1 Ambassador and you're polite, thoughtful, entertaining, Crystal's (as well as Silversea & Seabourn) posts are what drew us to booking Crystal in 2014 (Tokyo to LA, with one port stop in Oahu)..esp Anne Marie and your wonderful description with pix of the military excursions Crystal offers in Oahu.

 

Bill/Newlondon; this Tokyo to LA itinerary is a winner..as a Navy Vet, Wendy and you should seriously consider...we can toast our fallen comrades at the Arizona Memorial & Pearl. I'll buy!

[Keith1010]

Thank you so very much Wes.

 

My hope is that sometime Anne Marie and I will have the opportunity and pleasure of sailing with you and Ida.

 

 

Keith

[TexasHorseLady]

We have been on Silversea but not on Regent. From what we can read on the web, a significant component of Regent's usually higher fare is the included excursions. So those who want Regent should seriously consider whether they want the included shore excursions (not optional), and whether these (you pay nomatter you go on all of them or not) are worth the price difference.

 

We have mostly sailed with Regent, but would like to try Silversea one of these days. In regard to the comment about the free excursions on Regent and whether it's worth it - I want to mention that the Regent excursions are OUT OF THIS WORLD. We have gone places and done things...amazing things...and always without waiting in line. We walked right in at the Vatican while other cruise groups waited in a line around the block. We have done things in small groups that were so personalized and so special we still talk them ten years later. We ate lunch at a Turkish family's ancient rock house in the middle of a mountain top village - and there were just four of us in the group. Through a translater we were able to hear stories and ask questions about what their life was like...as we were served a feast fit for a king. What a fantastic experience! Not your average excursions by any stretch of the imagination.

[Travelcat2]

We have been on Silversea but not on Regent. From what we can read on the web, a significant component of Regent's usually higher fare is the included excursions. So those who want Regent should seriously consider whether they want the included shore excursions (not optional), and whether these (you pay nomatter you go on all of them or not) are worth the price difference.

 

You bring up a very good point. While included excursions have brought many passengers to Regent during the downturn in the economy, many Regent regulars just want it to go away. Although Regent excursions in the MIddle East were good, you were still part of a caravan of buses going to the same place. Our experience with Regent excursions in South America was very poor. On our recent Med. cruise, there were 16 buses doing the same excursion. Five buses arrived at a restroom stop at the same time. I personally would rather spend the money on private or small group excursions.

 

Is it worth the price difference? IMO -- no! As mentioned previously, we enjoy Silversea and Regent equally. We sail Regent for their loyalty program and non-smoking/smoking policy (cats just don't do well with smoke;).)

[WesW]

TexasHorseLady, +1 (very strongly agree)

[Travelcat2]

We have mostly sailed with Regent, but would like to try Silversea one of these days. In regard to the comment about the free excursions on Regent and whether it's worth it - I want to mention that the Regent excursions are OUT OF THIS WORLD. We have gone places and done things...amazing things...and always without waiting in line. We walked right in at the Vatican while other cruise groups waited in a line around the block. We have done things in small groups that were so personalized and so special we still talk them ten years later. We ate lunch at a Turkish family's ancient rock house in the middle of a mountain top village - and there were just four of us in the group. Through a translater we were able to hear stories and ask questions about what their life was like...as we were served a feast fit for a king. What a fantastic experience! Not your average excursions by any stretch of the imagination.

 

Could you clarify your post a bit? Regent used to have small group excursions that were great. Since changing to "free" excursions, this has not been the case for us. Your post mentions excursions going back 10 years -- Regent has only had included excursions for 2+ years. Were any of the excursions you mentioned within this time frame? I've never heard of a group of four in a "free" excursion. They are typically from 28 - 35 per bus. The smallest we have had since "free" excursions went into effect are on excursions that you pay for. Even then, the group size was approx. 20.

 

In terms of going to the head of the line, all tour companies do that. They pre-purchase tickets and are therefore able to bypass the lines. Actually, we've done that on a tour..... purchased the ticket on the internet and avoided long lines.

 

Thanks --- just trying to give the OP a realistic view of Regent excursions. A thread on the Regent board that reviews their April cruise on the Mariner talks about how excursions were handled on their Regent cruise. Here's a link to that thread http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1651408.

 

While we love sailing on Regent, we could not recommend that part of the Regent experience to anyone.

[newlondon]

I agree TC, I've never heard of 4; but, on our stop in Cooktown AU we're waitlisted because the excursion has only 16:mad:

[rallydave]

I agree TC, I've never heard of 4; but, on our stop in Cooktown AU we're waitlisted because the excursion has only 16:mad:

 

Couple of years ago, we were on a Regent tour in Dutch Harbor Alaska that ran several times that day and seem to remember that there was a limit of 6 on each departure. Our departure was scheduled for 4 people and the other 2 didn't show up so my DW and I were the only ones on the tour.

 

Was on a private boat and only room for 6 based on Coast Guard limitations. So, extremely limited tours do exist depending on the circumstances. Depends on the capacity of the tour operator.

 

No one can have the answers for all circumstances. Agree it is rare but, small numbers on excursions do exist.

[Travelcat2]

Couple of years ago, we were on a Regent tour in Dutch Harbor Alaska that ran several times that day and seem to remember that there was a limit of 6 on each departure. Our departure was scheduled for 4 people and the other 2 didn't show up so my DW and I were the only ones on the tour.

 

Was on a private boat and only room for 6 based on Coast Guard limitations. So, extremely limited tours do exist depending on the circumstances. Depends on the capacity of the tour operator.

 

No one can have the answers for all circumstances. Agree it is rare but, small numbers on excursions do exist.

 

 

Was that an "included" tour?

[phillipahain]

We did Regent last year Athens to Istanbul via The Holy Lands and did all FREE excursions

 

Cannot begin to fault the organisation or the tours and there were only ever 20 people on a 48 seater bus

 

The guides and the tours were truly excellent

 

On other lines we normally avoid Ships tours like the plague and as for the appalling one we did on our Med Cruise in May with SilverSea that was definitely a " never again "

 

It was so bad that we cancelled the other tours we had booked

[WesW]

Phillipahain, we completely agree having done Tel Aviv and Ashdod on the Voyager in April our buses were half full too. Excursions were outstanding, esp returning one evening and the entire ship (incl Captain and staff) were there clapping welcoming us home with cool towels & champagne & live music.

 

http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/aa436/colonelwes/Pyramids025.jpg[/img]"]

[Travelcat2]

Interesting variety of opinions. Just wanted to add that we loved our Silversea excursion -- especially the way it was handled before the excursion. No waiting in line to exchange tour ticket for bus ticket -- waiting in the theater to be called -- then standing in line to get off of the ship. In fact, I have touted Silversea tours to Regent -- for us it was a refreshing change.

[WesW]

Thanks to Wellseasoned's heads up (thx Dieter) Silversea announces today their "Shore Amore" These are six ultra lux sojourns 8-12 days in Med that include Biz Class Air, overnite in Deluxe Hotel and all tours--in this six cases even more inclusive than Regent. Pls see link Wellseasoned shared with me below:

 

http://www.silversea.com/ShoreAmore/?utm_source=USD&utm_medium=Email&utm_content=Hero&utm_campaign=EM12176

[duct tape]

Unfortunately, for me, they are all on the Spirit.

[Travelcat2]

First I must agree with duct tape's last post.

 

Secondly, has anyone really looked at the comparison of Silversea and Regent in terms of this offer? I did a comparison of our recent cruise from Istanbul to Venice. Silversea has a similiar cruise from Venice to Istanbul on their special. Silverseas advertises 11 days while Regent advertises 10 nghts. It is really the same thing.

 

Regent already includes a pre-night hotel stay and many excursions. In Penthouse and above, Regent includes Business Class Air.

 

So, looking at our cruise -- the lowest price cabin was $6,100. If you add Business Class air, it would be $8,100. On Silversea, this cruise would be $8,999 for the lowest priced cabin. If Silverseas excursions are better and are worth almost $900 more, then it is a good deal. It may also be a good deal for larger cabins -- did not calculate those.

 

When we were on our (April 23 - May 3rd), the weather was beautiful. The reason we selected that time of the year to take this cruise was the weather and crowds. It is unbearably hot in many ports in the month of August (the month of the special). While touring Venice we asked our guide what it was like in August. Her one word response was "hell".

 

My point is not to put down Silverseas offer -- simply to point out that you need to make the same comparisons as you would do on any other cruisr and also determine if the weather is tolerable for you.

[Travelcat2]

Upon further investigation, it appears that there is one included excursion available in each port. Still a nice touch.

[Wellseasoned]

I can't comment on Regent excursions, since I've never sailed Regent. But my wife and I have been on Silversea many, many times over the past 17 years. And we tend to take their excursions. No problem whatsoever in burning the shipboard credit and plenty more besides. They have been uniformly excellent (well, one or two clinkers). Buses were never crowded, guides usually excellent. Most recently, on the Cloud this spring, we had a nice excursion from Valencia, Spain, where the bus was the team bus for Valencia's pro basketball team. Wonderful leg room, leather seats, tables in the back. They really do try to provide the best available.

 

I really hope that today's Silversea announcement of the few summer Spirit cruises with the extra perks is a trial balloon, and that they are considering restoring their previous pre-cruise hotel inclusion and other perks. They still have the greatest of all perks, free laundry after 100 days, but the Regent free internet would be wonderful!

[Travelcat2]

I completely agree.

[WesW]

Hi Dieter/Wellseasoned, also hope this Spirit "Shore Amore" trial balloon promotion is succesful. We anxiously look very forward to seeing Debbie/you, Dougburns (Doug/Lynn) on board the Spirit next year, but can't to see all of you in Phoenix this September.

[Delilah21]

For the record the Shore Amore offer does not appear on theSilversea UK website only the USA

[wripro]

It wouldn't make sense to sell the shore Amore in the UK since business class airfare is a big part of the attraction. I would much prefer this promotion if the cruises were not in the Med in August which is proving more difficult to sell and most weren't seven day cruises on the Spirit which usually carries many more kids in the summer.

[CanadianKate]

I would much prefer this promotion if the cruises were not in the Med in August which is proving more difficult to sell and most weren't seven day cruises on the Spirit which usually carries many more kids in the summer.

 

Apparently, others feel the same way, hence the promotion!

 

(The cruises I want seldom have specials like this but that's because I have a specific goal - when I started on Silversea, I just took the best deal out there. Now I'm addicted.)