Silversea vs. NCL (Apples to Kumquats Comparison?...)

[rkaratsu]

Waiting for a delayed flight back home so thought I would do a comparison between Silversea (so-called "luxury" line; the last three cruises my wife and I have taken have been on Silversea) and our recent raise on the Breakaway. (We have also cruised on Princess, Celebrity, HAL, and a number of river cruises.) We wanted to try something different (where the ship was the destination; the ports really held no interest) and the Breakaway certainly seemed about as different as one could possibly get to the Silversea line!

 

We stayed in the Haven (which as a concept I think is pretty genius.) The "ship within a ship" was actually very nice. I was told that on this sailing, there were approximately 190 guests in the Haven (although if there were ever more than 40 or 50 people max at any one time either in the restaurant (other than during the embarkation lunch) or in the courtyard area, I would be surprised. One reason I like Silversea is because it never feels crowded (no ship carries more than 550 passengers) so the Haven compared very nicely here. (Outside of the Haven was a different matter however...)

 

Our cabin was 16128 which turned out to be the handicapped H5 room. (Was just randomly assigned when booked.) I saw a few other cabins around the ship and I would say that for two people, this is *the* best cabin on the Breakaway. I'm going to say that it was around 500 sq. ft. Definitely bigger than any cabin I could afford on Silversea. (For the record, we paid $3,150 p/p for our cabin and then after the price dropped, we were given a $200 OBC. We also received the four freebies when we booked. A comparable room for a 7 day Caribbean cruise on Silversea starts around $4,500.)

 

We found the service in the Haven to be comparable to Silversea. The maitre 'd, bartender, and restaurant staff all knew our names and preferences/quirks by the second day and the cabin steward and butler were also great.

 

I thought the food in the Haven Restaurant and a couple (although not *all*) restaurants to be fairly comparable to the food on Silversea (with the exception of what was served in the Silversea Le Champagne restaurant. That was without a doubt the best meal I have ever had on a cruise ship and comparable to a Michelin starred restaurant.) I was given an impromptu tour of the galley of the Haven restaurant by its executive chef and saw that everything served was cooked ala minute. (Because the volume was so small, this was possible. The kitchen was tiny but with the exception of the desserts, everything served in the Haven was coming out of this kitchen.)

 

One area that I thought NCL really has over Silversea is the entertainment. Assuming one likes the big production number shows (we really liked "Rock of Ages"), this kind of thing Silversea just does not (technically cannot) do. Maybe a couple of singers and dancers but certainly nothing of Broadway quality.

 

One place where Silversea is better than NCL is with the complimentary wines served. At least with the red wines, there were only a couple on NCL that I found decent. It's not like Silversea is pouring great complimentary wines but they certainly were better than anything NCL was serving. (Silversea also constantly will restock your minibar with whatever you like; I think NCL only does this for the Owner Suites.) And with the exception of the Haven, I think one would be hard pressed to find many quiet spaces on the Breakaway. (The entire Silversea ship is pretty tranquil.)

 

Obviously the target market of Silversea (to be honest, older folks like myself) and NCL (families) are night and day but at least based on my experience, if a couple wanted to experience a fairly upmarket cruise experience (at a discount to a line like Silversea), the Haven on the Breakaway is something to consider.

[Vacationlover2]

Thank you for that comparison. It is very interesting!

 

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

[ryarger]

Thanks for the report! I'm in 16128 this December and can't wait!

 

Did you do any en suite dining and if so, was the table sufficient size to manage various courses, dishes, etc.?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Merriem]

We were on Silversea a couple of years ago. It was not that great. However, I cannot say that NCL floats my boat unless you in the Haven. Then it is quite nice. Silversea is horribly overrated.

[js]

Hi. Can you please tell me who the concierge was on the Breakaway and if you used them and how was your experience. David has been mentioned in a not so great light so just asking. Thanks.

[Stillfloatin']

Enjoyed your observations. Thanks for posting.

[rkaratsu]

Did you do any en suite dining and if so, was the table sufficient size to manage various courses, dishes, etc.?

 

We didn't do any en suite dining (we enjoyed the Haven Restaurant ambiance) but if you decide to, the table is plenty big. (There are three chairs but easily could accommodate a fourth if need be.)

 

And as great as 16128 is, there are a couple of quirky things about it (being a handicap accessible room): The first is that the door into the suite is twice as big as a regular cabin door. And heavy! And when you enter the cabin (and once you are in the cabin), it is activated by a push button that is on a timer (it will stay open for 10 seconds before automatically closing. Seriously, manually opening and closing the door is a bit of a challenge.) Anyway, there were many times when my wife would leave the room (while I was still in bed) and before the door would automatically shut, people would walk by. (And I don't know about you but I tend to look into open cabin doors just because I have nothing better to do. Be prepared to wave to the gawkers...)

 

The other quirk about this room is that the door to the bathroom is again quite big (wheelchair accessible) and slides open and shut. But there is no lock on the door. So if the seas get a bit rough, the door will just slide open. (Believe me, it did so numerous times...)

 

But otherwise, like I said, it was a *great* cabin, probably the best one I have ever had.

 

Enjoy it!

[rkaratsu]

Hi. Can you please tell me who the concierge was on the Breakaway and if you used them and how was your experience. David has been mentioned in a not so great light so just asking. Thanks.

 

Yes, on the recent Breakaway cruise, it was David. I may have interacted with him once (during disembarkation. I didn't think he was all that visible.) But I did interact with members of his staff (to change/cancel a couple of reservations I made online via MyNCL) and they were great.

 

But personally speaking, I really can't imagine how the concierge could have any meaningful impact on your cruise. If you know what you want to do, I definitely would book the specialty restaurants (in particular Teppanyaki) ahead of time but I didn't think getting into any of the shows or the tendering needed anything special. (For other things I asked at the concierge desk (i.e. a problem with the TV remote, a plumbing issue), they just referred them on to the butler.)

 

Enjoy your cruise!