Regent or Silversea

[darn88]

So...I have booked my first Regent cruise for next year.  Absolutely can't wait to experience this cruise line for the first time as I have heard/read so many great things about it.

 

In searching through itineraries, I also found one we like on Silversea which is another cruise line I have not sailed on as of yet.  

 

Could someone who has experience with both lines give me some sort of idea of the differences (positive and negative) between these two lines?  I have not found a great source of information on this.  It appears that Regent is the better value which is one of the things that attracted us in the first place.  Just want to make sure we made the right decision.

 

Thanks is advance for your help with this.

[mrlevin]

I have over 400 nights on Regent and 89 on Silversea; and I am done with Silversea.  All  of my Silversea cruises have been on expedition ships; something that Regent no longer does (they used to charter ships to Antarctica).  My best cruise was on SIlversea as was my worst.  Ships are great and home office is terrible.  For non-expedition trips; I much prefer Regent.  Much more relaxed (casual versus stuffy) and no nickel and diming.  Silversea actually charges for one of their specialty restaurants.  Mariner and Voyager are my two favorite Regent ships due to Horizon Lounge; nothing like that on Silversea ships that I have been on (including Silver Cloud which used to be mainline).

 

You won't go wrong with either line but if you are perfectly fine not wearing coat and tie I would go with Regent.

[GOARMY]

History:  First sailing on Silversea was way-back aboard Cloud in 1997.  Extended London-St. Petersburg; followed by another Baltic segment ending up in England.  That was after a few earlier Holland America Maasdam and Veendam cruises.  Our TA at that time suggested Silversea as an "upgrade" in service, particularly as to all-inclusive aspects on a much-smaller ship.  

 

Great advice.  A different experience going from ships with 1650 passengers to about 450. Remained "hooked" on Silversea ( and then Seabourn) for several subsequent cruises over the next years.  This was our basic transition from mid-sized (or, used-to-be) to ships--including Crystal--ranging from 450 to 950 passengers.   

 

Cut to the chase:  Last on Silversea was in 2012.  No issues.  This after experiencing our first early 2000s Raddison Seven Seas cruise in the 'Med, shortly followed by its transition to Regent Seven Seas.  We have, basically settled upon Regent to the present (interrupted by COVID-19). 

 

Why does Regent get a slight nod over Silversea?  Uniform great experiences on ALL of its ships, sans Splendor.  We were to be aboard Splendor at San Diego, March 14, 2020 for our 50th Wedding Anniversary Panama Canal transit cruise to Miami.  Nope. Canceled while we were at San Diego on March 13th.  

 

Basic reasons are that additional ship size throughout the fleet affords more "walking around" venues. No add-on cost for any of Regent's specialty restaurants.  Larger ship capacity is important in handling rough seas.  Regent has a generous (some might disagree) benefit package for repeat customers--which we have been.  Have established real connections with many Officers and Staff.  We have continued contacts with them through this very difficult 15-month period.  We hope to meet several when we continue cruising this late October aboard Explorer at Barcelona.  

 

I would certainly not turn down another Silversea cruise.  But, given the mythical Hobson's choice of that mythical donkey poised between two bales of hay: Which way to go?  No need to starve.  First choice--Regent.   

 

GOARMY!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Silver Sweethearts]

1 hour ago, GOARMY said:

Why does Regent get a slight nod over Silversea?  Uniform great experiences on ALL of its ships, sans Splendor.  We were to be aboard Splendor at San Diego, March 14, 2020 for our 50th Wedding Anniversary Panama Canal transit cruise to Miami.  Nope. Canceled while we were at San Diego on March 13th.  

 

You make it sound as if Regent cancelled the cruise on a whim.

[WesW]

For a balanced perspective on both lines, suggest you also post this Silversea vs. Regent question on the Silversea board.

 

We have over 200 days on both lines; having about 25 days booked on Silversea this year.  We have about 25 days booked on Regent next year with 39 days booked on Silversea in 2022 (Expedition voyages)

 

For classic voyages we will generally pick Regent over Silversea as we have more fun on Regent during the daytime.   We enjoy the games and how the officer and entertain staff (they run the games) participates with guests in friendly games.   The cruise director on Regent during the day is much more active on Regent during classic voyages.  Also, we enjoy the dance classes given by the Regent entertainment team  For expedition voyages (Antarctica, Svalbard, Africa, Australia (Kimberley region) we choose Silversea as Regent has no Expedition option.

 

We enjoy the dining & service experience on both lines but prefer the Italian venue on Silversea (Italian line originally now majority owned by RCL).  We love being able to get an expresso or Cappuccino any time we want at the self serve machines on Regent.  On Silversea if you want coffee before 6:30am you have to order room service.

 

As gym rats we find the Regent gym/spa experience better as the gym is better equipped, personal trainers give more classes and the Spa experience is more enjoyable. Fitness classes have more space on Regent in devoted and reasonable spaces vs small class areas or no fitness class space on Silversea.

 

We enjoy the culinary teaching experience on Silversea much more than we have on Regent.  Silversea has a dedicated Chef (David Bilsland) who not only gives cooking demonstrations, knife classes and small cooking classes; this month he now will help implement Silversea's newest culinary experience  in Greece on the Silver Moon's near dozen Greece voyages,  called S.A.L.T (Sea and Land Taste).  We have done Market shopping with David in Spain, buying an Imberico ham that he carved and served as appetizers in the restaurant venues that evening.   Silversea also has they own wine ambassador, Lawrence D'almedia who gives outstanding wine classes at no charge and fabulous tastings (Super Tuscans anyone) for a small charge.

 

The suites on both Regent and Silversea are wonderful.  We like the soap/shampoo on Regent (L'occitane vs Bvlgari) more than on Silversea.  Silversea for a nice touch includes a small flashlight to use at night complimentary on you suite's nightstand when boarding.

 

 We believe the frequent floater program on Silversea far exceeds that on Regent (we got 5% of all future cruises and free laundry at 100 days cruised on Silversea vs 200 on Regent to earn free laundry, we will get 10% off future Silversea voyages after the maiden voyages of Silversea's newest ship, Silver Dawn this November.  And next year after 350 days sailed we will get a complimentary seven day cruise.

 

As posters above note both lines are enjoyable, we are blessed/fortunate to be able to sail both lines.

 

Hope this helps.

Edited June 13, 2021 by WesW

[RachelG]

I replied over on the Silversea board. 

[darn88]

Thank you for all of the excellent information you have provided on this board as well as Silversea.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

There was a discussion over on the other thread on the Silversea about suite sizes.  It was brought up that the smallest standard cabins on the newer ships, Explorer and Splendor, are quite small.  I have wondered why they decided to do that, and assumed I guess that perhaps they could offer better single supplements for those small cabins.  But doubt that now.

 

Anyways, this discussion was used to discount Regent because their cabins are smaller.  As far as I'm concerned, the older ships' standard cabins are wonderful.  Yes, Mariners are a bit smaller, a trade-off against larger public spaces.  But if large standard suites are the issue, Voyager and Navigator have wonderful ones.  We booked an F2 on Splendor next year; it's a 'Superior Suite'; we are assuming that this cabin class will be comparable to the wonderful suites on Navigator/Voyager. About 325 sq ft without the balcony.

[Dolebludger]

That may be my post on the similar thread on the Silversea forum. I was referring only to the base level “suites (?)” on the Explorer and Splendor and not to those on any other Regent ship. I agree, the others are great. My point in this line comparison was that when comparing prices between ships/lines the small base suites(?) on those two ships will require upgrading to be comparable with the other ships being discussed.

 

There has been discussion here that these micro-mini suites were originally planned to be used by single guests at some reduced rate. This may have been only a rumor, theory, or guess. But in any event, it would have been a good plan!

[SWFLAOK]

We have cruised on both Regent and Silversea. We preferred the Silver Whisper to the Regent Mariner and Voyager. We really liked the smaller ship. We didn't mind paying extra for the French restaurant. It was much better than the specialty restaurants on our Regent cruises. And in fact was the best cruise ship restaurant that we've experienced. We went there several times on our 2 week cruise.

We were in a Silver Suite on Silver Whisper, and would never have been able to afford a suite of that size on Regent. We've cruised quite a few times at this point, and the Silver Suite was the best cabin we've ever had. And our butler was also the best we've had. We also had a great waiter in the main dining room, and later met him again in the main dining room of Regent Voyager.

Our only problem with Silversea are their itineraries. They just don't seem to have the ports that we're looking for,  and often have too many sea days, which I don't enjoy.

Our next Regent cruise is in a Concierge cabin on Splendor. We found that cabin to be too small on Mariner and Voyager (but loved the Penthouse for a 32 night back to back on Voyager). It's a bigger cabin on Splendor, but the ship is bigger than we normally would cruise on.

And we already had to postpone our back to back on Splendor because we didn't want to take a chance on Sept 11, 2021, or having to give full payment in April when new bookings didn't have to do that until 2 months later. We're very happy that we're not on the first sailing of a Regent ship. Hopefully, we'll do a similar back to back in September 2022.

[Gpilon]

We have cruised 3 times on Silversea, with the last being a Mediterranean one a few years ago on their (at the time) new ship, Silver Muse. We booked a Silver Suite and although roomy and comfortable, we found it to be rather bland. We went to the "pay for" specialty restaurants and their teppanyaki one, Kaiseki, was definitely not worth the charge with the food mediocre at best and with it being billed as a theatrical experience it was simply 2 chefs preparing teppanyaki without any flare whatsoever. La Dame was slightly better but we felt still not worth the $60 PP charge. What fell flat for us on this particular cruise was that even though it was not pre-announced, men were required  to wear at least a jacket in all dining venues save for The Grill on deck. For my wife and myself, we prefer the option of casual wear most evenings and this restriction certainly put a damper on this 12 day cruise. We have made 3 cruises on Regent and very much prefer the "ambiance" afforded compared to Silversea. We were booked on Splendor in a Splendor Suite in June 2020, but we all know how that turned out. We have now just booked another Med cruise on Explorer for 2022 in a Grand Suite and are very much looking forward to it. So for us, Regent wins vs. Silversea. 

Edited June 15, 2021 by Gpilon

[pingpong1]

Gpilon - Thanks very much for the post.  Our only (ever) "luxury cruise experience" has always been on Regent.  And for me, NOT having to put on a sports coat or tie to eat dinner is "my luxury experience"!  I simply won't do it.  I spent too many years of my working life in the "corporate world", where having to wear a coat/tie or suit every day was a "requirement" of employment, even though it added absolutely nothing to one's professional qualifications or the way one "did their job".  In fact, that long-established and "traditional" corporation I worked for went into bankruptcy in the early 90's, so I guess that "corporate dress code thing" didn't really "work for them so much", after all!

 

I think "the kids" have it right today.  As long as they're clean, neat, and professional, and provide value added to their company and the customer, they simply no longer have to "do" the "coat and tie thing", that our generation was blindly locked into.  And good for them!  I feel the same way about what constitutes acceptable dress standards on a cruise...and certainly with no intention to put this thread onto the dreaded "dress code gangplank".... I think Regent has it exactly right with "Elegant Casual", or "Country Club Casual", or whatever it is they call it.  Thanks a lot for providing your review and comparison.  Regards 😜 

[Gpilon]

1 hour ago, pingpong1 said:

Gpilon - Thanks very much for the post.  Our only (ever) "luxury cruise experience" has always been on Regent.  And for me, NOT having to put on a sports coat or tie to eat dinner is "my luxury experience"!  I simply won't do it.  I spent too many years of my working life in the "corporate world", where having to wear a coat/tie or suit every day was a "requirement" of employment, even though it added absolutely nothing to one's professional qualifications or the way one "did their job".  In fact, that long-established and "traditional" corporation I worked for went into bankruptcy in the early 90's, so I guess that "corporate dress code thing" didn't really "work for them so much", after all!

 

I think "the kids" have it right today.  As long as they're clean, neat, and professional, and provide value added to their company and the customer, they simply no longer have to "do" the "coat and tie thing", that our generation was blindly locked into.  And good for them!  I feel the same way about what constitutes acceptable dress standards on a cruise...and certainly with no intention to put this thread onto the dreaded "dress code gangplank".... I think Regent has it exactly right with "Elegant Casual", or "Country Club Casual", or whatever it is they call it.  Thanks a lot for providing your review and comparison.  Regards 😜 

pingpong1. Our last Silversea cruise turned out to be exactly that. Our last one with them. As mrlevin said in this thread the comparison is "stuffy to casual" and we very much agree with that. Country Club casual is how we like to travel and if there is a "formal evening" we gladly comply with that. Our TA hosted an evening at our Club here in Savannah prior to our cruise with Mark Conroy, Managing Director Silversea Americas where he introduced the new Muse to potential customers. After his presentation we introduced ourselves and let him know we would be sailing on Muse in a few months time and he gave us his card and asked we contact him prior to sailing. I emailed him and heard absolutely nothing back. That to me speaks of a lack of customer empathy that we feel is paramount for luxury cruise lines. Regent and Seabourn offer us great choices to sail high end within our comfort level and how we enjoy traveling. 

[Dolebludger]

There is no rule banning jackets and ties on Regent. On our Regent cruises, we have seen many guest who chose to dress this way after 6:00 PM, and do so with no problems. But for those who prefer traditional formal nights, Silversea is a plus for them in this category. 

[SWFLAOK]

10 hours ago, Gpilon said:

We have cruised 3 times on Silversea, with the last being a Mediterranean one a few years ago on their (at the time) new ship, Silver Muse. We booked a Silver Suite and although roomy and comfortable, we found it to be rather bland. We went to the "pay for" specialty restaurants and their teppanyaki one, Kaiseki, was definitely not worth the charge with the food mediocre at best and with it being billed as a theatrical experience it was simply 2 chefs preparing teppanyaki without any flare whatsoever. La Dame was slightly better but we felt still not worth the $60 PP charge. What fell flat for us on this particular cruise was that even though it was not pre-announced, men were required  to wear at least a jacket in all dining venues save for The Grill on deck. For my wife and myself, we prefer the option of casual wear most evenings and this restriction certainly put a damper on this 12 day cruise. We have made 3 cruises on Regent and very much prefer the "ambiance" afforded compared to Silversea. We were booked on Splendor in a Splendor Suite in June 2020, but we all know how that turned out. We have now just booked another Med cruise on Explorer for 2022 in a Grand Suite and are very much looking forward to it. So for us, Regent wins vs. Silversea. 

Our cruise on Silver Whisper was in November of 2018. We were well aware that jackets were required in the dining venues on certain nights of our 14 night cruise. My brother had his own cabin onboard, but joined us in our Silver Suite for in cabin dining on the nights that jackets were required, because he didn't want to wear a jacket. La Dame didn't require jackets on either night that we ate there. They expected us to dress upscale casual, and we did, and we had no problems making a second reservation after our first dinner. While we enjoy Asian cuisine, we don't like teppanyaki, so we would not pay extra for that.

We had 2 reservations at The Grill on Silver Whisper, but it was windy on the first night that we tried it, and cooking on a stone on the table didn't work well at all. We cancelled our second reservation since the food in the restaurant was much better.

[amusea]

My last cruise on Silversea was the Silver Cloud in 1997.  Back then it was very formal and most men wore tuxedos on formal nights.  Since that was a European itinerary and I was traveling to other locations before and after the cruise I found the extra baggage needed for formal clothes just was not practical.

My two favorite lines are Regent and Seabourn which both seem to have found a happy medium that works for me since I like longer itineraries but not the burden of lots of luggage.

[DavidTheWonderer]

I too much prefer Regent since they dropped their requirement of jackets for men in the evening. For those who like a more formal experience, it sounds like Silversea is a good choice.  However, just because that choice is not mine doesn't mean that I, unlike some others, feel I have to justify myself by using pejoratives like "stuffy" to describe it.

[Dolebludger]

Yes, David, we have cruised Silversea twice. The first time, I even bought a tux to fit in! And most men were wearing them. But the experience was friendly and not stuffy at all. But the social need to tux up is still a negative for me. Indeed, I liked a music cruise we took in Celebrity suite class where jeans were allowed after 6:00 PM everywhere. I wore good jeans, a dress “T” and a jacket and did not look like a bum at all! Now I don’t have to dress like that in the evenings on a cruise. Regent’s rules are fine. But our fellow guests on Silversea were most friendly, even if they wore tuxes. But if I have a choice, I would prefer not to wear one.

[Carol From California]

Have cruised on both but prefer Regent over Silversea. We do not like the more formal dresscode on Silversea. It's good that there are options for those that do like it.

[DavidTheWonderer]

7 hours ago, Dolebludger said:

... Indeed, I liked a music cruise we took in Celebrity suite class where jeans were allowed after 6:00 PM everywhere. ...

The word "jeans" is derived from Genoa, whose tailors devised this form of serge cloth.  The word "denim" is derived from the French "serge de Nimes" because the tailors in Nimes, France adopted the Genovese type of serge. So why this Italian- and French-based material is verboten (to bring in a 3rd language) for some folks and Regent after 6 has long been a mystery to me. Even a $1000 pair of pants made of this material by Saint Laurent won't do.  Incidentally, this same form of serge has been produced in India as "dungaree" for hundreds of years.

[lincslady]

My impression is that it is almost entirely the colour which is objected to by cruise lines - i.e. any shade of blue.  I have worn trousers made of denim, and in the jeans style, in the evenings on casual/informal nights, but in black, white or a colour (even have some in bright pink).  I have never been turned away from a ship restaurant wearing these.  I think it is the association with physical work which blue jeans used to  have which some lines object to - and I dare say some passengers would agree.

[fizzy]

5 hours ago, DavidTheWonderer said:

The word "jeans" is derived from Genoa, whose tailors devised this form of serge cloth.  The word "denim" is derived from the French "serge de Nimes" because the tailors in Nimes, France adopted the Genovese type of serge. So why this Italian- and French-based material is verboten (to bring in a 3rd language) for some folks and Regent after 6 has long been a mystery to me. Even a $1000 pair of pants made of this material by Saint Laurent won't do.  Incidentally, this same form of serge has been produced in India as "dungaree" for hundreds of years.

I would not be surprised if this becomes a non issue. The way things are going, somebody will be insulted, feel persecuted and hurt or left out if they can't wear what they want to wear when they want to wear it.  Growing up, it was always dungarees in our house. Is that word no longer acceptable?

[Pudgesmom]

In our part of the country, Texas and the SW, nice jeans styled with a sport coat and boots are a common site at most top restaurants and offices. 
 

 I recently visited friends in Kiawah Island, SC and was told jeans were not allowed in the casual Bar-b-cue restaurant. Restaurants and club around my hometown of Washington, DC also ban jeans. 
 

The dress codes about jeans seem to be based on older, east coast attitudes. As ship dinner dress has changed from required tuxedos to elegant casual, there are sure to be changes in the future. 
 

My husband prefers not to lug around a sport coat, particularly when we travel to hot destinations and can travel with only carry ons. 

[wcsdkqh]

If you don’t like the Regent after 6 dress code, by all means choose another cruise line.

[ronrick1943]

On 6/17/2021 at 6:20 AM, Pudgesmom said:

In our part of the country, Texas and the SW, nice jeans styled with a sport coat and boots are a common site at most top restaurants and offices. 
 

 I recently visited friends in Kiawah Island, SC and was told jeans were not allowed in the casual Bar-b-cue restaurant. Restaurants and club around my hometown of Washington, DC also ban jeans. 
 

The dress codes about jeans seem to be based on older, east coast attitudes. As ship dinner dress has changed from required tuxedos to elegant casual, there are sure to be changes in the future. 
 

My husband prefers not to lug around a sport coat, particularly when we travel to hot destinations and can travel with only carry ons. 

You don’t need nan sport coat or suit in any dining room on Regent.  You only need a collard shirt (yes even a polo shirt) and pants.  That said I’ve seen people in nice dress jeans in the dining rooms of Regent.