Can any of you compare Seabourn to Royal Caribbean?

[iuki]

I have relatives that a friend has invited three of them to join him and his wife on a Mediterranean cruise at his expense.  He sent them different itineraries with Seabourn.  They asked me if I knew anything about Seabourn - and I don’t. They have all been on Royal Caribbean.

 

Does Seabourn’s clientele consist of mostly elderly and wealthy people?  Does the dining room require suits and dresses?  What kind of entertainment and activities are on their ships?  How is the food? 
 

Any info you can provide will be greatly appreciated.

 

Mahalo.

Judy

 

[DWhit]

I’ve not been on Seabourne, but I have been on Crystal and SeaDream, which are similar.   I would say you will enjoy Seabourne.  Really, most any line has great people.  I know SeaDream and Crystal both had people of all ages and we had a ball on each line.  And we are frequent Royal and Celebrity cruisers .

[suzyluvs2cruise]

1 hour ago, iuki said:

I have relatives that a friend has invited three of them to join him and his wife on a Mediterranean cruise at his expense.  He sent them different itineraries with Seabourn.  They asked me if I knew anything about Seabourn - and I don’t. They have all been on Royal Caribbean.

 

Does Seabourn’s clientele consist of mostly elderly and wealthy people?  Does the dining room require suits and dresses?  What kind of entertainment and activities are on their ships?  How is the food? 
 

Any info you can provide will be greatly appreciated.

 

Mahalo.

Judy

 

 

You might find answers to your questions on the Cruise Critic Seabourn Forum

[happy cruzer]

The biggest difference is the size of the ships.  Seabourne ships are much smaller and all the cabins are suites ie. have a sitting area.  Drinks included.  Limited specialty dining usually one visit to each specialty.  It can be as formal or as casual as you make it. In the main dining room most dress nicely but not really formal.

 

The smaller ship makes for great service and no lines or crowding.  Fewer options for entertainment.  If you are comfortable on RCI, try Seabourne it is special especially if you get a good deal like someone else paying. 

[iuki]

5 hours ago, suzyluvs2cruise said:

 

You might find answers to your questions on the Cruise Critic Seabourn Forum

I did check out that forum, but I wanted the opinion of loyal to Royal members since our relatives love RCCL.  

[Bobal]

Yes I can compare. Have done many RC cruises and only 1 Seabourn but would sail Seabourn again in a heartbeat  - and there's no e at the end folks 😉. Lucky people who get offered a Seabourn cruise. We were lucky enough to know someone who worked there so got a generous discount. Sadly he's now left and it's only the price which would prevent us from booking again.

 

Whilst I wouldn't know whether the people are wealthy it's not cheap to book so they won't be on the breadline. We certainly didn't find them to be snobby or standoffish. The age demographic was probably older than RC as its not a line which attracts children or party people but I wouldn't describe them as elderly- more of the age of Celebrity/Azamara cruisers.

 

There are no formal nights on Seabourn. People tend to dress nicely so you won't find scruffy shorts and baseball caps in the restaurants but suits are not expected. There is one special night - called Gala Night - where people did dress up a bit more but nothing like the old 'formal' night on RC.

 

Entertainment is obviously different as

They don't have the size of ship for big production shows. The shows take place in a cabaret lounge setting with a small cast of high quality singers and dancers and with some guest performers eg comedians. We love the RC shows but didn't feel we missed out.

 

The food is outstanding. We only ate in the buffet at breakfast and the pool grill for lunch (where they do excellent burgers) but the Main Dining room food is fantastic and on a par with RC speciality restaurants but with more choices as obviously the menu changes every night. The Gala Night dinner was one of the best I've ever had on a ship.

 

Drinks are all included and top quality with plenty of choices and proper champagne- not the RC Chandon cheap version.  You can even order caviar for free any time of day.

 

We had a balcony stateroom which was similar in size to a RC Junior suite but much better appointed and also comes with a stocked bar.

 

The ships are small which means they can get into ports which the larger ships can't, which is particularly nice in the Med where some of the ports are a long way from the attractions. 

 

What an amazing opportunity for your relatives. I would grab it with both hands 😁

Edited June 20, 2022 by Bobal

[Bobal]

Just to add to the above.  I had forgotten that they did have a formal night but we chose to eat in the Japanese specialty restaurant as they had a special menu. No one was dressed 'formally' in there and don't recall seeing a lot of formal dress around the ship.

 

There's a thread about formal night on the Seabourn board 

Edited June 20, 2022 by Bobal

[Norwich Cruiser]

1 hour ago, Bobal said:

Yes I can compare. Have done many RC cruises and only 1 Seabourn but would sail Seabourn again in a heartbeat  - and there's no e at the end folks 😉. Lucky people who get offered a Seabourn cruise. We were lucky enough to know someone who worked there so got a generous discount. Sadly he's now left and it's only the price which would prevent us from booking again.

 

Whilst I wouldn't know whether the people are wealthy it's not cheap to book so they won't be on the breadline. We certainly didn't find them to be snobby or standoffish. The age demographic was probably older than RC as its not a line which attracts children or party people but I wouldn't describe them as elderly- more of the age of Celebrity/Azamara cruisers.

 

There are no formal nights on Seabourn. People tend to dress nicely so you won't find scruffy shorts and baseball caps in the restaurants but suits are not expected. There is one special night - called Gala Night - where people did dress up a bit more but nothing like the old 'formal' night on RC.

 

Entertainment is obviously different as

They don't have the size of ship for big production shows. The shows take place in a cabaret lounge setting with a small cast of high quality singers and dancers and with some guest performers eg comedians. We love the RC shows but didn't feel we missed out.

 

The food is outstanding. We only ate in the buffet at breakfast and the pool grill for lunch (where they do excellent burgers) but the Main Dining room food is fantastic and on a par with RC speciality restaurants but with more choices as obviously the menu changes every night. The Gala Night dinner was one of the best I've ever had on a ship.

 

Drinks are all included and top quality with plenty of choices and proper champagne- not the RC Chandon cheap version.  You can even order caviar for free any time of day.

 

We had a balcony stateroom which was similar in size to a RC Junior suite but much better appointed and also comes with a stocked bar.

 

The ships are small which means they can get into ports which the larger ships can't, which is particularly nice in the Med where some of the ports are a long way from the attractions. 

 

What an amazing opportunity for your relatives. I would grab it with both hands 😁

We’ve been lucky enough to cruise once on Seabourn and really cannot add anything to this excellent report.

 

Although we absolutely love Royal if money was no issue would certainly cruise with Seabourn every time.

[F27TW]

No Biggest Booty Contest or Best Bellyflop Contest at the pool on Seabourn.   😆

[iuki]

10 hours ago, Bobal said:

Yes I can compare. Have done many RC cruises and only 1 Seabourn but would sail Seabourn again in a heartbeat  - and there's no e at the end folks 😉. Lucky people who get offered a Seabourn cruise. We were lucky enough to know someone who worked there so got a generous discount. Sadly he's now left and it's only the price which would prevent us from booking again.

 

Whilst I wouldn't know whether the people are wealthy it's not cheap to book so they won't be on the breadline. We certainly didn't find them to be snobby or standoffish. The age demographic was probably older than RC as its not a line which attracts children or party people but I wouldn't describe them as elderly- more of the age of Celebrity/Azamara cruisers.

 

There are no formal nights on Seabourn. People tend to dress nicely so you won't find scruffy shorts and baseball caps in the restaurants but suits are not expected. There is one special night - called Gala Night - where people did dress up a bit more but nothing like the old 'formal' night on RC.

 

Entertainment is obviously different as

They don't have the size of ship for big production shows. The shows take place in a cabaret lounge setting with a small cast of high quality singers and dancers and with some guest performers eg comedians. We love the RC shows but didn't feel we missed out.

 

The food is outstanding. We only ate in the buffet at breakfast and the pool grill for lunch (where they do excellent burgers) but the Main Dining room food is fantastic and on a par with RC speciality restaurants but with more choices as obviously the menu changes every night. The Gala Night dinner was one of the best I've ever had on a ship.

 

Drinks are all included and top quality with plenty of choices and proper champagne- not the RC Chandon cheap version.  You can even order caviar for free any time of day.

 

We had a balcony stateroom which was similar in size to a RC Junior suite but much better appointed and also comes with a stocked bar.

 

The ships are small which means they can get into ports which the larger ships can't, which is particularly nice in the Med where some of the ports are a long way from the attractions. 

 

What an amazing opportunity for your relatives. I would grab it with both hands 😁

You answered every question I had in mind.  Thank you for your detailed response.

[iuki]

Thank you everyone for your responses.  There’s no doubt my SIL and her daughter and son-in-law will enjoy the cruise.

[iuki]

Sorry - forgot to ask if there is karaoke and game shows for entertainment?

Edited June 20, 2022 by iuki
Correct autocorrect

[F27TW]

No tank tops in the dining room .. no buckets-o-beer ... no ugly neon pink slide hanging over the side of the ship .. no tacky fast-food celebrity chef burger & milkshake  chain places and no rock climbing walls on Seabourn  (their crowd all too old for that) .. 😄   (and i'd think no annoying pressure or begging by MDR servers for good reviews either)

Edited June 20, 2022 by F27TW

[neverbeenhere]

59 minutes ago, iuki said:

Sorry - forgot to ask if there is karaoke and game shows for entertainment?

Yes. Those shows exist.

[mitz18]

On 6/19/2022 at 3:57 PM, iuki said:

I have relatives that a friend has invited three of them to join him and his wife on a Mediterranean cruise at his expense.  He sent them different itineraries with Seabourn.  They asked me if I knew anything about Seabourn - and I don’t. They have all been on Royal Caribbean.

 

Does Seabourn’s clientele consist of mostly elderly and wealthy people?  Does the dining room require suits and dresses?  What kind of entertainment and activities are on their ships?  How is the food? 
 

Any info you can provide will be greatly appreciated.

 

Mahalo.

Judy

 

besides what has been said above, really no comparison as the two are focused on different passenger types.  Would be easier to compare Seabourn to Silversea than RCL, but I prefer Silversea's formality where many don't.  We are Diamond RCL so have some loyalty (although prefer Celebrity), but if they have a chance to go on Seabourn on someone else's dime, they should jump at it. Just mho

[flamingos]

2 hours ago, F27TW said:

No tank tops in the dining room .. no buckets-o-beer ... no ugly neon pink slide hanging over the side of the ship .. no tacky fast-food celebrity chef burger & milkshake  chain places and no rock climbing walls on Seabourn  (their crowd all too old for that) .. 😄   (and i'd think no annoying pressure or begging by MDR servers for good reviews either)

But do they have art auctions?  🙂

[iuki]

Mahalo everyone!

[Loracpin2]

Seaborne is LUXURY. Royal Carribbean is NOT!!!!

[deliver42]

It's like comparing Days Inn  with Ritz Carlton.

[ReneeFLL]

18 hours ago, F27TW said:

No Biggest Booty Contest or Best Bellyflop Contest at the pool on Seabourn.   😆

I have seen the belly flop contest before, but do they really have the biggest booty contest? 🙄 

[Ocean Boy]

On 6/20/2022 at 4:22 AM, Bobal said:

Yes I can compare. Have done many RC cruises and only 1 Seabourn but would sail Seabourn again in a heartbeat  - and there's no e at the end folks 😉. Lucky people who get offered a Seabourn cruise. We were lucky enough to know someone who worked there so got a generous discount. Sadly he's now left and it's only the price which would prevent us from booking again.

 

Whilst I wouldn't know whether the people are wealthy it's not cheap to book so they won't be on the breadline. We certainly didn't find them to be snobby or standoffish. The age demographic was probably older than RC as its not a line which attracts children or party people but I wouldn't describe them as elderly- more of the age of Celebrity/Azamara cruisers.

 

There are no formal nights on Seabourn. People tend to dress nicely so you won't find scruffy shorts and baseball caps in the restaurants but suits are not expected. There is one special night - called Gala Night - where people did dress up a bit more but nothing like the old 'formal' night on RC.

 

Entertainment is obviously different as

They don't have the size of ship for big production shows. The shows take place in a cabaret lounge setting with a small cast of high quality singers and dancers and with some guest performers eg comedians. We love the RC shows but didn't feel we missed out.

 

The food is outstanding. We only ate in the buffet at breakfast and the pool grill for lunch (where they do excellent burgers) but the Main Dining room food is fantastic and on a par with RC speciality restaurants but with more choices as obviously the menu changes every night. The Gala Night dinner was one of the best I've ever had on a ship.

 

Drinks are all included and top quality with plenty of choices and proper champagne- not the RC Chandon cheap version.  You can even order caviar for free any time of day.

 

We had a balcony stateroom which was similar in size to a RC Junior suite but much better appointed and also comes with a stocked bar.

 

The ships are small which means they can get into ports which the larger ships can't, which is particularly nice in the Med where some of the ports are a long way from the attractions. 

 

What an amazing opportunity for your relatives. I would grab it with both hands 😁

Appreciate the info.

[Ocean Boy]

On 6/19/2022 at 6:45 PM, suzyluvs2cruise said:

 

You might find answers to your questions on the Cruise Critic Seabourn Forum

The opinions of folks who have sailed, and like, RCI are much more meaningful to me.

[F27TW]

1 hour ago, ReneeFLL said:

I have seen the belly flop contest before, but do they really have the biggest booty contest? 🙄 

 

 

Why, yes ... I won it last time, in fact!   😁

 

(Just kidding.    I came in 2nd)   LOLOL