Regent versus Seabourn

[glorygaf]

This may have been done to death, but there seem to be a few posts that indicate Regent maybe dropping the ball.

Seabourn cruisers continue to rave about their experiences. What is the difference is it the quality of excursions, internet usage, better food and service, better suites and crew friendliness?

Have prices spiralled where it is cheaper to sail Seabourn or is it the fact their newest ships are superior to Regent's. Interested to hear the latest comparisons.

[Travelcat2]

Hi and welcome to the Regent board. I am rather surprised by some of your comments about both Seabourn and Regent. I also read the Seabourn boards and, IMO, there is just about the same amount of positive and negative comments on both boards. Seabourn customers seem quite concerned about Seabourn being put under the Holland America umbrella and losing three of their ships (which is probably why their prices have dropped). There is a very long Seabourn thread about the smoking policy on Seabourn. It sounds like the majority of passengers would prefer a policy closer to Regent or Silversea.

 

As you probably have read on the first page of the Regent board, most repeat customers still love the Regent experience although they are not too happy with the increased prices. Some of us are not happy that there are included excursions.

 

I touched on excursions above. Seabourn excursions may be better than Regent's because there are not 500+ passengers taking an excursion whenever a ship is in port.

 

I wonder if one can compare a new ship with ones 10 years old? Regent does major refurbishments to their ships every couple of years. IMO, the Voyager and Mariner are in excellent condition..... they do not look their age because they are constantly being worked on (like most people I know:-)

 

Internet usage is pretty much the same on all cruise ships and is dependent upon where you are in the world. There are places where there is no internet service.

 

For me, there are a few reasons why we don't sail on Seabourn (but do on Silversea). The biggest one is the smoking policy. I will not sail on a ship where smoking is permitted in suites and on balconies. Also, unless this has changed, Seabourn does not include air -- another reason we prefer Regent.

 

One of my closest friends has sailed on Seabourn, Regent, Crystal, Silversea, Oceania (and many non-premium or luxury ships). She rates Oceania's new ship, the Riviera, the top for food and service followed by Crystal. The one cruise line she will not cruise on again is Seabourn. She was not a big fan of Regent but, in her opinion, it was dramatically better than Seabourn (one of the small ships right after refurbishment).

 

Food is too subjective....... some dishes that other people love on Regent we don't care for and visa versa.

 

Well, this is a start. Hopefully you will receive lots more feedback.

[WesW]

Hi, Tony & Gloria;

 

Know you both have over 100 days sailing on Regent and enjoy Regent tremendously--we did have fun on Mumbai to Delhi didn't we.

 

You may want to also consider Silversea in your cruise options--we would let the itinerary be the deciding factor--y'all have wonderful choices on any line you choose.

[wripro]

TC2,

 

Your friend who will not sail Seabourn again has a completely skewed impression since she only sailed once on the Pride right after a dry dock when things were not up to par. I think if she tried on of the new ships she;d have a different take. And not everyone on Oceania gets to sail in the Owner's suite where as you yourself so often say, there is a class system.

[Travelcat2]

TC2,

 

Your friend who will not sail Seabourn again has a completely skewed impression since she only sailed once on the Pride right after a dry dock when things were not up to par. I think if she tried on of the new ships she;d have a different take. And not everyone on Oceania gets to sail in the Owner's suite where as you yourself so often say, there is a class system.

 

You are right -- she sailed at a bad time -- her suite was basically falling apart -- flooded, etc. However, the staff, food, etc. wasn't what she had expected. She and I have both have sailed on ships that we did not care for but felt the service and food were good enough to give another ship in their fleet a try (in my case Silversea -- in her case Oceania). For whatever reason -- I'm not sure -- she did not feel that Seabourn was a cruise line she wanted to try again.

 

You are also correct about my feelings regarding "class" systems. I have stated previously that both my dear friend and DH do not feel the same as I do on this subject. Unlike the way I been bashed for my views on CC, we are able to share our views -- discuss them and get on with life. We have mutual respect -- even though we disagree sometimes.

[RachelG]

Really the only reason I would not consider seabourn is their smoking policy. Any ship, no matter how wonderful otherwise, is totally out for me if they allow smoking in the suites and on the verandas. I did not consider silversea until they revised their smoking policy. Now we have 3 cruises booked on silversea with their new policy, and only one with regent, even though I get great perks with regent due their loyalty program.

 

I just do not want to deal with the possibility of a suite I booked being previously inhabited by a chain smoker or having to smell second hand smoke when I walk out on my balcony.

[OrpingtonT]

I tried Seabourn once and found it almost, but not quite, up to the overall standard of Regent. The ship, Sojourn, is beautiful. The service, again overall, a little better especially on the pool deck. But for my tastes, the food and wine not quite Regent quality and certainly not the variety, with Mariner & Voyager having more outlets being bigger.

 

But the statement that " Seabourn cruisers continue to rave" doesn't match my reading of the board. They are continually complaining about the wine, the home office management and so on. Nevertheless they will defend Seabourn over other lines.

[Joanandjoe]

Really the only reason I would not consider seabourn is their smoking policy. Any ship, no matter how wonderful otherwise, is totally out for me if they allow smoking in the suites and on the verandas. I did not consider silversea until they revised their smoking policy. Now we have 3 cruises booked on silversea with their new policy, and only one with regent, even though I get great perks with regent due their loyalty program.

 

I just do not want to deal with the possibility of a suite I booked being previously inhabited by a chain smoker or having to smell second hand smoke when I walk out on my balcony.

 

Interesting comments about smoking from you and Travelcat2. We were considering a Seabourn North Cape cruise in July, 2014 on their new ship. Now that air is included, it's cheaper than Regent. Based on your comments, we've checked their smoking policy, and it's a deal breaker for us, for the reasons you state. We'll stick to Regent.

[Travelcat2]

Interesting comments about smoking from you and Travelcat2. We were considering a Seabourn North Cape cruise in July, 2014 on their new ship. Now that air is included, it's cheaper than Regent. Based on your comments, we've checked their smoking policy, and it's a deal breaker for us, for the reasons you state. We'll stick to Regent.

 

Agree that it is a deal breaker. Have you tried a Silversea cruise? They are non-smoking in suites and balconies. While we still prefer Regent, they have itineraries that Regent had in the past but no longer have. The only Silversea ships we will sail on is the Whisper and Shadow. The Wind and Cloud are too small and too old. The Spirit, IOP (in our opinion) is too plastic -- built during the downturn of the economy. Even the crew find the Spirit lacking in many areas.

[PaulaJK]

Joan & Joe

 

Last year we did the North Cape on SB and loved our experience. We are non

smokers. We never detected smoke aroma/odor, regardless of 'the policy' . The cabins are lovely. The crew makes a point of learning your name and preferences. I didn't love all of the meals but,then, I didn't love all of them on Regent either. Wines about equal. Pool deck service superior. Entertainment is not 'productions' but very well done. Every line has its pluses and minuses. I enjoy Signatures and Prime 7 and not Restaurant 2 but there a lot of aspects of

SB that I prefer. Their Verandah equivalent [Collanade] is quite nice. Paula

[RachelG]

The problem is the deal breaker--the possibility that your suite may have been just previously occupied by a chain smoker ( I would be able to smell it) or that you are next door to a smoker who lights up on their veranda. Neither are acceptable, no matter how great the rest of the cruise.

[UUNetBill]

The problem is the deal breaker--the possibility that your suite may have been just previously occupied by a chain smoker ( I would be able to smell it) or that you are next door to a smoker who lights up on their veranda. Neither are acceptable, no matter how great the rest of the cruise.

This. I'm a former cigarette smoker and have been on ships where our verandah was almost unusable because of smoking neighbors. Deal-breaker for us as well...

[FPJC03]

I get tired of all the whiners who complain that RSSC is not as good as _______ (insert cruise line). If you don't like it, sail on someone else. But don't moan because the dining room doesn't offer filet mignon every night or the cocktail lounge doesn't have your favorite wine or liquor. Why not just compare the last cruise to your one previous, not to Seabourn of Oceana or Crystal. Enough said.

[Travelcat2]

I get tired of all the whiners who complain that RSSC is not as good as _______ (insert cruise line). If you don't like it, sail on someone else. But don't moan because the dining room doesn't offer filet mignon every night or the cocktail lounge doesn't have your favorite wine or liquor. Why not just compare the last cruise to your one previous, not to Seabourn of Oceana or Crystal. Enough said.

 

Very good point. Besides, you can have filet mignon every night if you order it 24 hours in advance.

[wripro]

Where would CC be without all those threads called "vs"? I call them lawsuit threads. For some reason people seem to think they'll get objective comparisons. To quote Julia Sweeney...."And God Said Hah!"

[HotRoot]

Very good point. Besides, you can have filet mignon every night if you order it 24 hours in advance.

 

I am not convinced this works for everybody. I requested tuna salad 24 hours in advance and was told no.

[purpleally]

I was on Seabourn in December and Regent in January, both Eastern Caribbean cruises so I can give you an excellent contrast but would prefer not to do it on this board. If you send me your email I can send you what I sent my TA

[commodoredave]

We've done 10 cruises on Regent and 2 on Seabourn (a third is scheduled for September). Both lines provided us with a very high quality product and experience.

At the moment, we find Regent prices too high compared to what we can get elsewhere in the luxury segment. For example, a good number of their recently promoted cruises are selling for close to $2,000 per cabin, per day for two people. In fairness, this price includes air and excursions, and usually a pre or post-cruise hotel package. However, we prefer to arrange our own air (have loads of flyer points), and don't like to have shorex included as we prefer to do our own thing. So these days we are finding more attractive prices on other luxury lines including Seabourn, and are buying accordingly.

[Travelcat2]

We've done 10 cruises on Regent and 2 on Seabourn (a third is scheduled for September). Both lines provided us with a very high quality product and experience.

At the moment, we find Regent prices too high compared to what we can get elsewhere in the luxury segment. For example, a good number of their recently promoted cruises are selling for close to $2,000 per cabin, per day for two people. In fairness, this price includes air and excursions, and usually a pre or post-cruise hotel package. However, we prefer to arrange our own air (have loads of flyer points), and don't like to have shorex included as we prefer to do our own thing. So these days we are finding more attractive prices on other luxury lines including Seabourn, and are buying accordingly.

 

I find your posts very fair and am curious about one thing. I have been reading very negative reviews of Seabourn on their board. Do you find the overall experience (not considering money) better on Seabourn than Regent?

[commodoredave]

I find your posts very fair and am curious about one thing. I have been reading very negative reviews of Seabourn on their board. Do you find the overall experience (not considering money) better on Seabourn than Regent?

 

Thanks TC2. I do not find Seabourn better than Regent. However, I do find that my enjoyment of either cruise line can vary depending upon the crew and officers on a particular ship. It has always been very good, but sometimes it has been great. For example, we did b2b cruises on Regent last year on the Voyager from Singapore to Auckland. The first leg had a few hiccups; the second leg was near perfect. I can't say for sure it was the cause, but we did change several key officers who were completing long contracts in Sydney in between the two cruises. It made a noticeable difference.

[WesW]

Nana, pls look at Purpleally's post #17 on this thread (State of the Regent experience)

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=37038677#post37038677

[wripro]

In all fairness the negative posts on the Seabourn board are not about Seabourn in general but about one particular cruise on the Sojourn, or even about the Sojourn's inconsistency. No line is perfect all the time. I've had great cruises on Silversea and simply awful ones.

[commodoredave]

In all fairness the negative posts on the Seabourn board are not about Seabourn in general but about one particular cruise on the Sojourn, or even about the Sojourn's inconsistency. No line is perfect all the time. I've had great cruises on Silversea and simply awful ones.

 

Wripro, I agree with you completely. As a I noted on my previous post on this thread, I did b2b cruises on the Regent SS Voyager last Janaury in Australia and the experience on each cruise was very different. Any line can have a problem with a particular ship for a particular time because of officer and crew issues. But this is a snapshot in time, rather than a complete and overall assessment of the entire cruise line. You are correct that the negative reports on the Seabourn thread have been mainly about the Sojourn. My experience on the Sojourn two years ago on its Norway itinerary was fabulous. That's why in my view it's more important to look at the overall performance of a cruise line rather than one-off situations. However, if these boards are showing a consistent negative issue across most ships and most sailings, then it is time to get concerned.

[hula dancer]

I was on Seabourn in December and Regent in January, both Eastern Caribbean cruises so I can give you an excellent contrast but would prefer not to do it on this board. If you send me your email I can send you what I sent my TA

 

 

We are considering either Regent or Seabourn for a Carib cruise in 2014 and would also love to read what you had to say about both.

 

Thanks,

beachwahine@sbcglobal.net

[nana541]

Nana, pls look at Purpleally's post #17 on this thread (State of the Regent experience)

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=37038677#post37038677

 

Thank you for sharing that Wes. Somehow I did not connect the two.