Seabourn vs. Crystal

[Stickman1990]

3 minutes ago, MightyQuinn said:

 

I'm inclined to agree with you, even though there are some aspects of dining on SB that we prefer over Crystal.  Sadly we've noticed service levels on SB have indeed declined since we started sailing with them in 2014.  Your Crystal posts, especially the photos from Umi Uma, are making me envious.

 

We did love Sushi (the restaurant on Encore) and the team led by Momoe - she was wonderful - simple but well prepared Japanese dishes with the atmosphere of a Tokyo restaurant 

 

That’s one thing I miss with Umi Uma is the Japanese service staff. However they were very good last night and the sashimi was divine (Japanese chefs) - and Nobu’s modern treatment is interesting. It really was divine last night - and the Black Cod to finish with was so well prepared

[MightyQuinn]

2 minutes ago, Stickman1990 said:

 

We did love Sushi (the restaurant on Encore) and the team led by Momoe - she was wonderful - simple but well prepared Japanese dishes with the atmosphere of a Tokyo restaurant 

 

That’s one thing I miss with Umi Uma is the Japanese service staff. However they were very good last night and the sashimi was divine (Japanese chefs) - and Nobu’s modern treatment is interesting. It really was divine last night - and the Black Cod to finish with was so well prepared

 

Stickman, enough already!  I'm kicking myself since we considered that Serenity cruise but chose Encore instead.  Oh well, we really do prefer the itinerary.  I'm also looking forward to eating at Sushi which is not on the O-class ships.  I'll try hard not to compare it with Umi Uma.

[OceanPatter]

No one has mentioned the age of the ships. If ‘new’ matters to you (as in new hardware), you’d probably lean towards Seabourn Encore and Ovation. When it comes to Crystal, ‘new’ is reflected in its river boats, rather than in its cruise ships (refurbished).

 

We prefer newer ships, so are branching out to Seabourn, while also having tried Regent and Viking Ocean (which, by the way,  had the fastest WiFi we’ve ever experiened at sea). A new ship brings modern technology, which may or may not trump things  like dining, service and entertainment for you.

Edited February 10, 2019 by OceanPatter

[Stickman1990]

1 minute ago, OceanPatter said:

No one has mentioned the age of the ships. If ‘new’ matters to you (as in new hardware), you’d probably lean towards Seabourn Encore and Ovation. When it comes to Crystal, ‘new’ is reflected in its river boats, rather than in its cruise ships.

 

Sort of....

 

One of Crystals river yachts is an old base unit and was refurbished to Crystal standards, that’s Mozart, while the rest of the River fleet are all new builds 

 

I’m not trying the defy gravity with my argument but both Crystal Ocean ships have had many of the public areas extensively refurbished in the last two years and it’s hard to detect any signs of aging or lack of features on the Crystal ships. In some cases like Palm Court v the Observation lounge Crystal is streets ahead 

 

I certainly understand the standard cabins on Crystal are smaller than on Seabourn Encore and after seeing a Penthouse on Serenity this week I’d say the standard Seabourn suite is very similar to that level in terms of space and functional items like walk in robe and shower and bath. There is no butler on any of the Seabourn rooms - Penthouse or base 

 

So if comparing Seabourn suite price and size was important you’d be comparing with a Penthouse on Crystal - I’ve never looked at that as I’m simply not interested in paying Penthouse prices nor do I have any issue with the size of the base Crystal rooms 

[TRIPACIAN]

We love both Crystal and Seabourn!!!  There  are differences which in my opinion is great.  If they were the same in every area we would lose some of the “excitement” of cruising.  

 

In in my opinion it really is nice to cruise both and enjoy the difference!  It usually comes to the itinerary and time of year that dictates our choice.

[imcpa]

In in my opinion it really is nice to cruise both and enjoy the difference!  It usually comes to the itinerary and time of year that dictates our choice.

I second this.  Both are great.  Neither is perfect.  I also love Silversea, Regent, Paul Gauguin, Viking and Windstar.  Assuming we feel the price is fair, date and itinerary are the driving factors.

 

Edited February 11, 2019 by imcpa
correct a misspelling

[wripro]

16 hours ago, imcpa said:

In in my opinion it really is nice to cruise both and enjoy the difference!  It usually comes to the itinerary and time of year that dictates our choice.

I second this.  Both are great.  Neither is perfect.  I also love Silversea, Regent, Paul Gauguin, Viking and Windstar.  Assuming we feel the price is fair, date and itinerary are the driving factors.

 

Good attitude. Besides, sailing on the same line over and over can get repetitious and boring. It's not always worth the perks you get for sailing hundreds of days. Not even worth being able to walk into the restaurant and hugging the maitre d' because you've sailed with him/her so often.

[marchanxiety]

Is Crystal still two seatings in the main dining room?  that was one of the big reasons we never tried them

[Stickman1990]

7 minutes ago, marchanxiety said:

Is Crystal still two seatings in the main dining room?  that was one of the big reasons we never tried them

 

No it’s now Open seating in Waterside Restaurant (the old Crystal Dining Room) - no reservations taken 

 

Only two speciality restaurants, Prego and Umi Uma, need Reservations - and a third, Silk, it’s optional to reserve 

[teamflames]

On 2/10/2019 at 3:50 AM, OceanPatter said:

No one has mentioned the age of the ships. If ‘new’ matters to you (as in new hardware), you’d probably lean towards Seabourn Encore and Ovation. When it comes to Crystal, ‘new’ is reflected in its river boats, rather than in its cruise ships (refurbished).

 

We prefer newer ships, so are branching out to Seabourn, while also having tried Regent and Viking Ocean (which, by the way,  had the fastest WiFi we’ve ever experiened at sea). A new ship brings modern technology, which may or may not trump things  like dining, service and entertainment for you.

Strange, we sailed Viking in Caribbean and couldn’t use internet at all, an absolute joke. Basic email was the only thing that worked, fb and skype never worked for 2 weeks. Crystal was like being on land (also Caribbean and down to South America), I could even join online games that normally require the best land connection.

[Stickman1990]

We’re on Crystal Serenity in NZ & Australia at the moment and the Internet is the best we’ve ever had on Crystal - consistent connection and good speed 

Contrast that to last August on Crystal Symphony from San Fran to New York where it was patchy and not as fast - was good when it was working though

Hopefully they are able to maintain the Serenity performance and get Symphony to the same level 

[teamflames]

57 minutes ago, Stickman1990 said:

We’re on Crystal Serenity in NZ & Australia at the moment and the Internet is the best we’ve ever had on Crystal - consistent connection and good speed 

Contrast that to last August on Crystal Symphony from San Fran to New York where it was patchy and not as fast - was good when it was working though

Hopefully they are able to maintain the Serenity performance and get Symphony to the same level 

That was my point Stickman, the Symphony Internet was phenomenal! So maybe the have upgraded it since you were onboard?

[OceanPatter]

3 hours ago, teamflames said:

Strange, we sailed Viking in Caribbean and couldn’t use internet at all, an absolute joke. Basic email was the only thing that worked, fb and skype never worked for 2 weeks. Crystal was like being on land (also Caribbean and down to South America), I could even join online games that normally require the best land connection.

Glad you experienced such fast Internet on Crystal, teamflames. We don’t do fb and rarely skype anymore ... we really just use the Internet for email, texting and regular surfing (on cruisecritic!) when we cruise.

 

I do take back my emphasis on a ship’s age, as I read that the Europa 2 and its sister ship (built 20 years ago) were the only ones awarded 5+ stars in the small luxury category of the Berlitz Cruise Guide (Douglas Ward). For what it’s worth, the four Viking Ocean ships topped the list in the the midsize category ... Serenity came in 10th and Symphony 12th. Not sure where the Seabourn ships came in. Perhaps someone can advise. Of course, it’s all personal, but it’s hard to dispute Ward’s cold analysis.

Edited February 14, 2019 by OceanPatter

[teamflames]

2 minutes ago, OceanPatter said:

Glad you experienced such fast Internet on Crystal, teamflames. We don’t do fb and rarely skype anymore ... we really just use the Internet for email, texting and regular surfing (on cruisecritic!) when we cruise.

 

I do take back my emphasis on a ship’s age, as I read that the Europa 2 and its sister ship (built 20 years ago) were the only ones awarded 5+ stars in the small luxury category of the Berlitz Cruise Guide (Douglas Ward). For what it’s worth, the four Viking Ocean ships topped the list in the the midsize category ... Serenity came in 10th and Symphony 12th. Not sure where the Seabourn ships came in. Perhaps someone can advise. Of course, it’s all personal, but it’s hard to dispute Ward’s detailed analysis.

Please don't take my comments about the internet as a negative on Viking. I loved the Viking ship, new and awesome design. I just thought the internet was a waste of time (there would be a dozen people all hovered around the guest relations desk because that was where the signal was the best all just trying to message people on the various message apps). The only thing we could do was email. We loved our Viking cruise (we enjoyed our Seabourn as well) but as I put in my review it doesn't quite work for us as we would prefer drinks included (completely) rather than lame shore excursions (in the Caribbean where we sailed).

My wife and I were chatting yesterday about the various ships we have sailed on and said just for the ship alone we would put Crystal and Viking on a par as our favourites for our needs. Both have great outdoor walking areas, other sports activities, lovely comfortable indoor areas for relaxing. 

Seabourn doesn't include internet and I refuse to pay for it but on our cruise people were describing it as average coverage.

[Hobar]

I’ve not been on Crystal, but my very energetic octogenarian mom and her “boyfriend” prefer Crystal over SB because there is more to do on Crystal. There’s more variety as far as entertainment, etc. They like the “dancing cruises.” Funnily enough, my mom introduced my husband and me to SB nearly 20 years ago as she had travelled extensively on SB, Silversea and Crystal. But they only sail Crystal now because of the variety. Bottom line, more to do on Crystal. Although my mom tells me the cabins are smaller.


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[offtoalaska]

We have cruised on Crystal eight times and just completed a 14 day voyage on the Seabourn Odyssey in the Caribbean.  Clearly the entertainment on Seabourn does not approach the level of Crystal but the problem for us is that we have seen all the Crystal production shows.  Many of the speakers are repeat for us with just minor spins on their presentations from previous years.  The Seabourn cabins (cabin 640 - standard veranda) are far superior to the veranda suites on Crystal.  Our stewardess, Maria, was excellent and promptly responsive to all requests.  The Restaurant on Seabourn is a more pleasant dining experience compared to the MDR (now Waterside) on Crystal.

The seating hosts and hostesses are delightful in attitude and skill ( right table etc.)  We find their counterparts on Crystal are stiff and unsmiling.  The food and service are equal although our last two cruises on Crystal had noticeable delays in wine service.  The waiters on Seabourn are a delight; on Crystal very professional but again a bit stiff in personality.  Lido on Crystal is generally not a good experience - food quality and offerings 7/10; service non existence - search for your own table; good luck getting drinks and water refills.  On Seabourn same caliber of service as in the main dining in the Colonnade (Lido equivalent) for lunch.  Colonnade atmosphere is cleaner, more open than the Lido or certainly Trident where good luck on finding a clean table.  Patio Grill equal offerings to Trident on Crystal but great service on Seabourn.  Crystal wins on the fitness center; Seabourn is cramped; limited tv/video on treadmills - adequate plus no promenade.  Fellow passengers - on Crystal polite but distant (based on eight cruises) - on Seabourn glad to be aboard and make new friends ( based on one cruise.)  The itineraries on Seabourn offer more options for us  during January - April (Crystal only has its two world cruises.)  Just booked two more Seabourn cruises (trans atlantic and  Lisbon to London - 30 days on the Quest.  Will report back.

Edited February 18, 2019 by offtoalaska
spelling error

[Stickman1990]

9 minutes ago, offtoalaska said:

We have cruised on Crystal eight times and just completed a 14 day voyage on the Seabourn Odyssey in the Caribbean.  Clearly the entertainment on Seabourn does not approach the level of Crystal but the problem for us is that we have seen all the Crystal production shows.  Many of the speakers are repeat for us with just minor spins on their presentations from previous years.  The Seabourn cabins (cabin 640 - standard veranda) are far superior to the veranda suites on Crystal.  Our stewardess, Maria, was excellent and promptly responsive to all requests.  The Restaurant on Seabourn is a more pleasant dining experience compared to the MDR (now Waterside) on Crystal.

The seating hosts and hostesses are delightful in attitude and skill ( right table etc.)  We find their counterparts on Crystal are stiff and unsmiling.  The food and service are equal although our last two cruises on Crystal had noticeable delays in wine service.  The waiters on Seabourn are a delight; on Crystal very professional but again a bit stiff in personality.  Lido on Crystal is generally not a good experience - food quality and offerings 7/10; service non existence - search for your own table; good luck getting drinks and water refills.  On Seabourn same caliber of service as in the main dining in the Colonnade (Lido equivalent) for lunch.  Colonnade atmosphere is cleaner, more open than the Lido or certainly Trident where good luck on finding a clean table.  Patio Grill equal offerings to Trident on Crystal but great service on Seabourn.  Crystal wins on the fitness center; Seabourn is cramped; limited tv/video on treadmills - adequate plus no promenade.  Fellow passengers - on Crystal polite but distant (based on eight cruises) - on Seabourn glad to be aboard and make new friends ( based on one cruise.)  The itineraries on Seabourn offer more options for us  during January - April (Crystal only has its two world cruises.)  Just booked two more Seabourn cruises (trans atlantic and  Lisbon to London - 30 days on the Quest.  Will report back.

 

When did you last cruise Crystal? Some of the names of restaurants etc you’ve used are the old pre refurbishment Crystal - I just wonder how recent your experience is? 

 

We’re currently on Serenity at the moment and Waterside is 11/10 - range of dishes, service and quality of the food and wine - I’m the first one to call out issues but they have excelled this cruise. We were on Symphony back in August

 

As for entertainment - the Crystal shows are being refreshed and several changed out - shows like Crystal on Broadway and Icons are relatively recent and top notch. The guest artists are a mix of regulars and new talent and the standards are very high. The show band and ensemble as well as the violin at and other entertainers around the ship are significantly better than those we experienced on Encore last December. Don’t event start on the special shows like the one for Valentines Day which they put together on the World Cruise - but events like Mardi Gras and St Patrick’s Day also have special shows 

 

Oh and there aren’t any poles in the sight lines of the theatre either - I still can’t get over how Encore has poles in the theatre blocking views - on a 18 month old ship???

 

We haven’t experienced any distance or aloofness from staff or fellow passengers at all - after a few days we are addressed by name and greeted with a smile and a conversation if we wish (sometimes you just want to chat amongst yourselves). We have many lifelong friends we have met on our crystal cruises 

 

Sure I have a lot more experience on Crystal than Seabourn but what you describe as your Crystal experience is not what I have found or what I believe is the norm on both the Crystal ocean ships 

 

Yes the rooms are smaller on Crystal - but we don’t spend much time in ours preferring to enjoy the lounges and entertainment around the ship. The beds huge and comfortalbe, the showers great and the TV and in house entertainment is excellent - we even have room service breakfast sometimes at our cute little coffee table cum dining table

 

[offtoalaska]

2 hours ago, Stickman1990 said:

 

When did you last cruise Crystal? Some of the names of restaurants etc you’ve used are the old pre refurbishment Crystal - I just wonder how recent your experience is? 

 

We’re currently on Serenity at the moment and Waterside is 11/10 - range of dishes, service and quality of the food and wine - I’m the first one to call out issues but they have excelled this cruise. We were on Symphony back in August

 

As for entertainment - the Crystal shows are being refreshed and several changed out - shows like Crystal on Broadway and Icons are relatively recent and top notch. The guest artists are a mix of regulars and new talent and the standards are very high. The show band and ensemble as well as the violin at and other entertainers around the ship are significantly better than those we experienced on Encore last December. Don’t event start on the special shows like the one for Valentines Day which they put together on the World Cruise - but events like Mardi Gras and St Patrick’s Day also have special shows 

 

Oh and there aren’t any poles in the sight lines of the theatre either - I still can’t get over how Encore has poles in the theatre blocking views - on a 18 month old ship???

 

We haven’t experienced any distance or aloofness from staff or fellow passengers at all - after a few days we are addressed by name and greeted with a smile and a conversation if we wish (sometimes you just want to chat amongst yourselves). We have many lifelong friends we have met on our crystal cruises 

 

Sure I have a lot more experience on Crystal than Seabourn but what you describe as your Crystal experience is not what I have found or what I believe is the norm on both the Crystal ocean ships 

 

Yes the rooms are smaller on Crystal - but we don’t spend much time in ours preferring to enjoy the lounges and entertainment around the ship. The beds huge and comfortalbe, the showers great and the TV and in house entertainment is excellent - we even have room service breakfast sometimes at our cute little coffee table cum dining table

 

 

[offtoalaska]

Stickman, we were on the Serenity for two weeks this past July.  The passenger mix was lots of families and kids that were not well behaved.  There were also large groups next to us many nights in the MDR now Waterside which made dinner noisy.  This was our most recent experience although other Crystal cruises within the past two years have been better.  Hopefully the situation in then Trident and then Lido has improved from a service perspective.  Glad your experience has been better.  No argument on entertainment;  glad there are new shows and performers on Crystal.  We are booked on the Serenity for 16 days later this year but are looking forward to our 30 days on the Quest this spring.  Every voyage is unique - weather, itinerary, passenger mix, entertainment - one never knows - that's the interesting part of travel.  Bon voyage.

[Stickman1990]

50 minutes ago, offtoalaska said:

we were on the Serenity for two weeks this past July

 

I agree with you - we are all lucky to be able to sail these lines - and every Voyage is different 

 

As you may know Serenity underwent a major refurb in November 2018 with major work on Palm Court, CDR to Waterside, Lido to Marketplace and the Churrascaria at night amd Tastes becoming Silk Asian inspired dining and Star Dust club enhanced - you will really notice a difference with open seating now and reservations only required in Umi Uma (was Silk Road) and Prego 

 

Lots of new menu items even in those specialty restaurants 

 

Bon Voyage for your future cruises

[wripro]

This is why I hate these "lawsuit" threads....one line vs. another. Out of a hundred people you will get fifty who prefer one line, fifty who prefer the other and a long list of why they prefer their preferred line. The bottom line is that only your opinion counts because that's all you'll get here is other peoples' opinions. 

[Stickman1990]

6 hours ago, wripro said:

This is why I hate these "lawsuit" threads....one line vs. another. Out of a hundred people you will get fifty who prefer one line, fifty who prefer the other and a long list of why they prefer their preferred line. The bottom line is that only your opinion counts because that's all you'll get here is other peoples' opinions. 

 

The answers simple then - if you don’t like them or choose to consider others opinions and some facts they may be privy to then don’t read them - but don’t stop others from doing so and benefiting 

[jmkclee]

We’ve been on 5 Crystal cruises. We love Crystal. But our last cruise wasn’t as fabulous as the others. 7 days in the Med on Serenity a few weeks before it went into rehab.  There was a black ring in our toilet the day we arrived...and wasn’t gone until I complained a few days later (I even had tried to get it out myself). The cabinetry was chipped and there was a few stains in the upholstery.  Also, the whole cruise felt rushed...although that was clearly our fault for picking a 7 day in the Med...7 days in the Caribbean is ok, not for the Med.  The staff just wasn’t as on point as earlier, and the cruise seemed to not have that Crystal pizazz that our earlier cruises had. That said, we absolutely would take another Crystal cruise...

 

However, Crystal had no interesting itineraries in the late April/early May timeframe that we were interested in. All seemed to be places we’ve already been, and/or 7 days. So we are on a Seabourn Odyssey cruise in the Med on May 1 for 11 days, which stops in at least 2 places we haven’t been (Sicily and Malta) We are looking forward to seeing the difference.  Hubby is doing a trip report that he started today. I’m sure he will have comments/concerns on Crystal vs. Seabourn. 

[tv24]

Anyone considering a booking on one or the other of these 2 luxury lines should ask herself what she is looking for in a cruise, what is most important.  There are differences as others are pointing out.

 

Seabourn is our preferred line, and I am not sure if we will ever come back to Crystal.  Crystal has a great product and some things clearly superior to Seabourn, such as the Crystal enrichment program.  However we found the passenger mix on Crystal to be way less active than on Seabourn, and sadly, not at all friendly.  This affected the conviviality of the experience.  We have always easily made friends with lovely people on Seabourn, not so much on Crystal.

[brittany12]

It's been several years since we sailed Crystal. Yes excellent food but the basic cabin was so small. And the bathrooms claustrophobic. This matters a lot to us and why we stopped. Seabourn excels on both counts with much larger space.  Very good food on Seabourn, too, as has Crystal, and regaining its old honor of best food at sea. Complimentary caviar on Seabourn only, half the passenger count if you want to sail on a small ship. Generally, better more interesting itineraries on Seabourn, and less sea days. Service has slipped, as it has on every cruise line and ship with the influx of so many new and bigger ships,  river cruises and new cruise lines. - all experiencing excessive turnover and competing for the same and best service people to staff these vessels and training rookies..