Comparing Regent to Seabourn

[bebop bonnie]

We have sailed a lot on Radisson/Regent over many years and loved it all (even back when drinks weren't included;p). We have also sailed on Silver Seas and although it had a more formal atmosphere to us, we did enjoy that also. In fact, we recently booked the Muse in April, Hong Kong to Tokyo.

 

We just returned from our first Seabourn cruise on the Quest from Boston to Montreal. So, this is only one Seabourn experience compared to many on Regent. Our most recent Regent cruise was on the Voyager from Monte Carlo to Barcelona. I believe the Regent Voyager and the Seabourn Quest have been updated about 2-3 years ago.

 

Suites. In late June we sailed on Regent in a Master Suite with 2 bedrooms/2 1/2 baths. Pretty difficult to top that! The suite was huge, comfortable and perfect in every way. On Seabourn we were in an Owners Suite. A bit smaller with 1 bedroom/ 1 1/2 bath. . Our Owners Suite, while smaller than the Master Suite on Regent, was just about as comfortable and had a more 'contemporary' feel with more neutral colors. Interestingly both suites were almost same location (801 on Regent and 701 on Seabourn)

 

Service. I've always heard raves about the service on Seabourn but couldn't imagine it would top the phenomenal service we consistently received on Regent. I was beyond surprised. The service on Seabourn was like nothing I've ever experienced....including the usual top brand hotels and first class suites on top airlines. I'm not certain I can articulate this properly, but every staff member always showed a unique combination of warmth, professionalism and joy to be there for us. It wasn't just that they immediately knew and addressed us by name and knew what drink to serve us, their smiles extended to their eyes. Always.

 

Food. On our recent Regent Voyager cruise, we fell in love with Chartreuse. The food there, and everywhere was sensational. While our usual room service breakfast orders were not particularly demanding, Regent was better. Regent also offered a better selection of canapes (in suite or at the bars) before dinner. The Patio Grill was similar on both ships. Seabourn was superior, however almost everywhere else. The Thomas Keller Restaurant, the MDR and Colonnade were outstanding. Lunch at Colonnade had more variety and prettier presentations than La Terrazza on Regent. CR and the MDR and Colonnade on Seabourn had similar 'always available' options on their menus at dinner. I love caviar and Seabourn offers it complimentary...so I took delight and advantage in ordering it frequently on Seabourn!

 

Passengers. I think each cruise has it's own vibe. We found the Voyager guests to all be warm and friendly. Same with Seabourn Quest. Voyager had several (wonderfully behaved!) children. That cruise, however was in the Med, late June. Seabourn cruise had no children. That cruise was mid September in Canada.

 

Excursions. That is not important to us and we rarely do any excursions. On Regent, we did the transportation only to and from the ports in Rome and Firenze. Both were well organized and fine. On a Mariner trip to Alaska we did a rafting trip that was lots of fun! On Seabourn we did a paid for trip (Bai d' Comei in Canada) that was underwhelming.

 

Ship Differences We loved the Voyager layout and general feel. Have not yet been on the Explorer....but so far, the Voyager is our favorite Regent ship. Our only Seabourn experience on the Quest took a little adjustment for us. There is no reception desk/main area. The center of the ship is the Seabourn Square. We did like it a lot, and the guest service staff there were wonderful. The cafe there serves a similar purpose as the Regent Coffee Connection, but offers more variety.

 

I'm fortunate that we've loved all our travel experience, over many years and to many destinations. Cruising has evolved into our now more preferred / easier way to travel....for all the obvious reasons. #1 our age :D . I think that every cruise becomes our new favorite....so at the moment I give one additional star to Seabourn. But....having said that, we just booked the Voyager again in early January...and i can't wait to board her again!! You have all been incredibly helpful to me over many years as I cruise along....hope I can return the favor and answer any questions you have.

[1982CruzStart]

Thank you for posting your informative and well balanced comparison.

[liptastic]

Thanks for posting your comparison thread. We have always heard good reports about Seaborne from Regent passengers, and it’s good to hear how you found your first cruise with Seaborne. Jean.

[Snore42]

Thanks for this! We'll be doing our first Seabourn this December (we've done Regent and Silversea so far) and am excited to see their product. We have two more Regent cruises booked for 2019/2020, but are holding off booking anything else till we see how we like Seabourn.

[RJ2002]

Thanks very much for your comparison. Sounds like you had a nice experience.

 

We haven't sailed Seabourn yet, but it is certainly a possibility if the itinerary and timing are good. Another opportunity to use our CCL stockholder benefit! :D

[Travelcat2]

Really nice comparison - thank you!

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I'll be able to contribute to this thread when we finish our Quest trip Montreal-Montreal in a few days. Suffice right now to say there are ups and downs and it's not a total win for S.

[Travelcat2]

Looking forward to reading about your first Seabourn experience.

[rallydave]

I too have cruised Regent and Seabourn. Took 3 relatively long cruises on Regent becoming Silver. Have taken only a single Seabourn cruise so fare but, of 44 nites with another cruised scheduled in a few weeks of 24 nites which will make me Seabourn Gold. Won't go into the detail of the OP however, from my memory Seabourn is over and above better than Regent. We missed a port last year due to Hurricanes in the Caribbean and while they added a replacement port, they did refund the port charges for the missed port and fount the port charges significant, $120 per person without asking. The Seabourn home office has been wonderful with accurate answers and quick responses. Unfortunately, IMHO Regent could learn a thing or two about timely and accurate responses to their customers. No gimmick buy one get one free pricing and both cruises had price decreases that were easily changed with a simple call to our TA. No arbitrary changes or decisions and the few ships tours we took were excellent with only about 25-30 people on 55 passenger busses and extremely important much lower costs than my remembrance of Regent. Seabourn Square was a wonderful place where anything that needed to be done would be done quickly and accurately. No special Destinations Department, anybody in Seabourn Square can take care of excursions and no problems there. Then there is pricing. Our first cruise came in at under $400 pp per day while the next one will be under $300pp per day. Significantly lower than Regent for an as good or mostly better experience.

 

Onboard while not perfect, the crew knew us within a couple of days and were much more accommodating. Food was excellent across the board and loved the Patio Grill for casual lunches and dinners. Did have a few formal optional nites but, only a jacket, no tie required and only in the main Restaurant the rest of this ship available for regular evening dress with the Pool Grill available like the new Regent with shorts, swim wear etc.acceptable. No fashion police that I saw, etc.

 

Enjoyed Seaburn and will be back on them in the future.

[MalbecWine]

I too have cruised Regent and Seabourn. Took 3 relatively long cruises on Regent becoming Silver. Have taken only a single Seabourn cruise so fare but, of 44 nites with another cruised scheduled in a few weeks of 24 nites which will make me Seabourn Gold. Won't go into the detail of the OP however, from my memory Seabourn is over and above better than Regent. We missed a port last year due to Hurricanes in the Caribbean and while they added a replacement port, they did refund the port charges for the missed port and fount the port charges significant, $120 per person without asking. The Seabourn home office has been wonderful with accurate answers and quick responses. Unfortunately, IMHO Regent could learn a thing or two about timely and accurate responses to their customers. No gimmick buy one get one free pricing and both cruises had price decreases that were easily changed with a simple call to our TA. No arbitrary changes or decisions and the few ships tours we took were excellent with only about 25-30 people on 55 passenger busses and extremely important much lower costs than my remembrance of Regent. Seabourn Square was a wonderful place where anything that needed to be done would be done quickly and accurately. No special Destinations Department, anybody in Seabourn Square can take care of excursions and no problems there. Then there is pricing. Our first cruise came in at under $400 pp per day while the next one will be under $300pp per day. Significantly lower than Regent for an as good or mostly better experience.

 

Onboard while not perfect, the crew knew us within a couple of days and were much more accommodating. Food was excellent across the board and loved the Patio Grill for casual lunches and dinners. Did have a few formal optional nites but, only a jacket, no tie required and only in the main Restaurant the rest of this ship available for regular evening dress with the Pool Grill available like the new Regent with shorts, swim wear etc.acceptable. No fashion police that I saw, etc.

 

Enjoyed Seaburn and will be back on them in the future.

 

So glad you enjoyed your cruise on Seabourn and many people we know are trying them out and it is an excellent line as well.

 

We have no loyalty to any line no matter how many cruises we have with the line. Life is like a box of chocolates, you don’t know what you are going to get but if you don’t try it you won’t know.

[purpleally]

We are gold on both Regent and Seabourn. Thought we'd be loyal to Regent forever until they cancelled a cruise on us. That wasn't the problem because they certainly made it up to us. However, that opened up the opportunity to sail Seabourn. Seabourn is better than Regent. It used to be very close but Regent is getting way too expensive.

[bebop bonnie]

Wendy...Can't wait to hear about your experiences on the Quest! I want to go back!! Enjoy!! Bonnie

[rallydave]

I'll be able to contribute to this thread when we finish our Quest trip Montreal-Montreal in a few days. Suffice right now to say there are ups and downs and it's not a total win for S.

 

Hoping the end result is positive and you sail Seabourn again. So looking forward to our return to Seabourn soon. The crew on Quest was wonderful and sure will be similar on Odyssey. With identical layouts, we will be familiar with the layout immediately.

[Tarwood3]

Thanks for the review. We have sailed Silversea many times but have decided to branch out and do some sampling. We tried Seabourn for the first time last month on the Encore and it was phenomenal. LIke you said, the crew was unbelievable. Far exceeded our expectations. And the vibe or energy on board was much better than SS IMHO. We are doing Regent for the first time in January on the Voyager so appreciated hearing about that as well. We are also booked on the Explorer in 2020, assuming we enjoy the January cruise on Voyager.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Hoping the end result is positive and you sail Seabourn again. So looking forward to our return to Seabourn soon. The crew on Quest was wonderful and sure will be similar on Odyssey. With identical layouts, we will be familiar with the layout immediately.

 

Dave, I'm going to start a new thread about our Seabourn experience. I'll post it here on the Regent board because it will be couched in terms comparing Seabourn to Regent. I may post a link over on the Seabourn board, but frankly I doubt it, since everyone there I've seen posting on that board is a Seabourn booster or apologist, and they will vehemently defend their line.

 

Perhaps that's a hint. We really liked the ship, our cabin, the cruise, the staff, etc., but I personally, based on a single cruise, I think I would choose Regent. Details to follow, as I said, in a new thread.

[bspill]

We have sailed on both Silversea and Seabourn and have a question regarding Regent. We usually prefer a table for two at dinner. Does Regent offer that option?

[DaveFr]

We have sailed on both Silversea and Seabourn and have a question regarding Regent. We usually prefer a table for two at dinner. Does Regent offer that option?

Yes. We’ve never had a problem getting a table for two.

[Travelcat2]

We have sailed on both Silversea and Seabourn and have a question regarding Regent. We usually prefer a table for two at dinner. Does Regent offer that option?

 

They absolutely offer that option and many of the tables for two are by the window. When making reservations in a specialty restaurant you can have a table for 2 or more (most dining reservations are made online a couple of months prior to the date of sailing).

 

Wendy: Looking forward to your review of Seabourn.

[alwaysonaship]

I'll be able to contribute to this thread when we finish our Quest trip Montreal-Montreal in a few days. Suffice right now to say there are ups and downs and it's not a total win for S.

 

I would like to do that cruise next year. Looking forward to your review. Tomorrow Vancouver to LA

[goldenrod]

Does Seaborne include tours and air in its fare? Do they have butlers?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[rallydave]

Does Seaborne include tours and air in its fare? Do they have butlers?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

 

 

No to all questions

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Tom504]

Seabourn has an attendant dedicated to a set of suites but no one called a ‘butler’— this would work against their vibe. Seabourn does not include shore excursions. Air is included in some sailings. On all sailings Seabourn is significantly less expensive than Regent. WIFI is not included on Seabourn though it becomes a perk as one advances in level status but in any case it is slow. Attention to detail, service staff, food quality are all outstanding. Cabin sizes tend to be slightly larger for the average cabin on Seabourn.

 

Penthouse type suites, however named on each line, are extraordinarily expensive, and should not, in my view, be a general point of comparison between these two fine cruise lines. The experience will be stilted. 

 

Shore excursions can be interesting but, with respect, the descriptions in the online or paper brochures are often written with a fanciful sales style, upbeat, best case, and not usually accurate. 

[GOARMY]

Have sailed on Seabourn's Quest on the same basic itinerary as TS; plus one other time on a different segment in Europe.  Previous experiences on other Seabourn ships, way-back in the day on "Legend".  So, have some appreciation for the Seabourn Brand over the past 18 years.  More experience(s) on all current Regent ships.  (Will be aboard Regent's newest--"Splendor" in early 2020.)  That said--

 

Attempting to contrast/compare overall experiences on Regent and Seabourn is akin to trying to count Angels on the head of a pin.  As has been pointed out in earlier posts--look hard enough, with or without an agenda, one will find a distinction and a difference.  To us, it is a matter of time of year and itinerary as to which ship to book.  Plus, guidance from our seasoned Travel Agent as to special offers and such. 

 

The quality of service on both is 5+ across the spectrum as to food, attitude of personnel, condition of suites, and overall "shape" of that particular ship (how long since last refurbishment).  It is really hard to look back on any cruise on either Line and lament the experience. 

 

Just feel fortunate to have the resources and health to participate! 

 

GOARMY!

 

 

[MalbecWine]

24 minutes ago, GOARMY said:

Just feel fortunate to have the resources and health to participate! 

This is the best sentence I have seen and so true.

[GOARMY]

MalbecWine:  Thank you so much.  I believe we have previously-been Regent shipmates.  Or, was it Seabourn, or Silversea?  Whatever. 

 

My dear wife and I look forward to celebrating our 50th Wedding Anniversary aboard Splendor--March, 2020.  Captain will officiate Rededication of Vows.  This will assure us another 50 years!  Right?

 

Considering my past Army experiences--every day is a gift. 

 

GOARMY!