Silver Muse or Seabourn Quest in Japan

[highplanesdrifters]

[Mr Luxury]

10 minutes ago, highplanesdrifters said:

Can i leave a deposit 

[highplanesdrifters]

Just now, Mr Luxury said:

Can i leave a deposit 

Cash and carry.

[Tothesunset]

35 minutes ago, Mr Luxury said:

Can i leave a deposit 

Why not? The pigeons do. 

[commodoredave]

7 hours ago, saminina said:

The difference today is significant.  

Hi Saminina. I agree that Silversea ranks higher than Seabourn as a luxury line, but my experience has been that the difference is not that significant. I would be interested to know in what ways you think the difference today is significant. Thanks.

[Daveywavey70]

6 hours ago, highplanesdrifters said:

For Sale from a smoke free home.

[highplanesdrifters]

54 minutes ago, Daveywavey70 said:

For Sale from a smoke free home.

We'll be here all week. 🤣

 

Thanks to @commodoredavefor allowing our hijack.

[drron29]

9 hours ago, Daveywavey70 said:

Is it in London?

No everyone is wrong. The bridge I have for sale is an iconic Aussie one.

 

And when it was built the workers would have been able to go straight from work to a restaurant on SS on formal night without changing.

 

[drron29]

8 hours ago, commodoredave said:

Thank you, Drron29, for your advice. This is indeed our first visit to Japan so I have copied and printed off your detailed comments which I know will be very useful in our planning. Looks like we may see you on the same cruise around Japan departing April 3.

We are indeed on that sailing. Look forward to meeting.

Good advice by @RetiredandTravel about Hiroshima. Fortunately the cruise will finish 2 weeks before Golden Week.

As to the cherry blossoms it is always up to luck. We have already done a cruise for cherry blossom time and in Kyoto and Osaka they were late and magnificent whilst in Kanazawa and niigata they were early but at least some remaining.

Post cruise the Sakura should be good viewing in Northern Honshu such as Hirosaki castle and Hokkaido with Hakodate.

[commodoredave]

1 hour ago, highplanesdrifters said:

We'll be here all week. 🤣

 

Thanks to @commodoredavefor allowing our hijack.

No problem. But I want a 6% commission on the sale of any bridge on this forum!

[markham]

Mr L,

 

Yes but no. I was very frustrated with the South America Grand Voyage earlier this year for several profound and documented reasons which showed me that Seabourn’s provisioning, technology, itinerary selections and general attitude towards making this 78 cruise memorable were bottom drawer. This, after November on Silver Dawn, made for an incredible contrast: new vs old, smart and “oh, well…”, and what my priorities are: “get what you expect” and “wake up and recognize times are changing” and “spend wisely”.

 

All that said, I found Venture utterly to my liking and standards for reasons I have made clear here. So our next cruise, after our Sojourn WC 2024 segment (chosen a long time ago for itinerary) we will be on Venture. And I am keen to see Seabourn’s 2025 itineraries for the 2 expedition ships; Silversea’s expedition ships cannot touch the Venture/Pursuit class for their design/flow nor outdoor deck space. I trust that we will not have to wait much longer.

 

So it’s Silverseas’ classic Muse/Moon/Dawn ships (not their older ships- we have tried them) and Seabourn’s expedition ships. With the new Silver Nova and Ray coming in mere months Seabourn is losing the battle for innovation, a crown they held when they launched Odyssey in 2009 until Silversea delivered and refined the 3 beauties named above.

 

Thanks for asking. 
 

Happy and healthy sailing!

[Mr Luxury]

53 minutes ago, markham said:

Mr L,

 

Yes but no. I was very frustrated with the South America Grand Voyage earlier this year for several profound and documented reasons which showed me that Seabourn’s provisioning, technology, itinerary selections and general attitude towards making this 78 cruise memorable were bottom drawer. This, after November on Silver Dawn, made for an incredible contrast: new vs old, smart and “oh, well…”, and what my priorities are: “get what you expect” and “wake up and recognize times are changing” and “spend wisely”.

 

All that said, I found Venture utterly to my liking and standards for reasons I have made clear here. So our next cruise, after our Sojourn WC 2024 segment (chosen a long time ago for itinerary) we will be on Venture. And I am keen to see Seabourn’s 2025 itineraries for the 2 expedition ships; Silversea’s expedition ships cannot touch the Venture/Pursuit class for their design/flow nor outdoor deck space. I trust that we will not have to wait much longer.

 

So it’s Silverseas’ classic Muse/Moon/Dawn ships (not their older ships- we have tried them) and Seabourn’s expedition ships. With the new Silver Nova and Ray coming in mere months Seabourn is losing the battle for innovation, a crown they held when they launched Odyssey in 2009 until Silversea delivered and refined the 3 beauties named above.

 

Thanks for asking. 
 

Happy and healthy sailing!

Yes,that's a compelling argument for the change on a normal ocean going vessel.

I will be on Pursuit at the end of August to get a feel for the new class.

I too am getting a little tired of some disadvantages on Seabourn against what seems to be a vast improvement on the newer Silversea ships.

Thanks for getting back to me on this.

Our mutual TA loves the Endeavour 

Have you tried her yet?

Edited June 30, 2023 by Mr Luxury

[markham]

I have only visited Endeavour and it was a happy SS perk that allowed this. I did like the decor etc but not the lack of outdoor space relative to Venture which has an incredible amount that even challenges the SB classic ships. Nor did I like the Endeavour’s 2 level indoor pool area doubling as a sort of buffet restaurant. This makes the Atlantide the main/kinda only restaurant given that the Terrazza/Terrazzino is so small. And the Expedition Lounge and ante-lounge on Venture is very large and generous whereas the same functions are within one area on Endeavour. That’s why I think Venture is a better choice.

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

[saminina]

22 hours ago, commodoredave said:

Hi Saminina. I agree that Silversea ranks higher than Seabourn as a luxury line, but my experience has been that the difference is not that significant. I would be interested to know in what ways you think the difference today is significant. Thanks.

For me, it's been a string of misfortunes on SB versus smooth sailings on SS.   My opinion pretty much matches what markham has written.    Recent two weeks on Endeavor and agree on some design flaws.  The ship was just over 50% occupancy, so great service/F&B and having more familiar staff made for best SS experience since 2006.   Two weeks without buying a bottle of wine because it was easy to rotate several included cabs.  Can't do that on SB.  A significant difference is that I recognize very few crew members on SB.  Past ten years have been mostly on SB, yet more crew on SS welcome us back. 

[commodoredave]

12 minutes ago, saminina said:

For me, it's been a string of misfortunes on SB versus smooth sailings on SS.   My opinion pretty much matches what markham has written.    Recent two weeks on Endeavor and agree on some design flaws.  The ship was just over 50% occupancy, so great service/F&B and having more familiar staff made for best SS experience since 2006.   Two weeks without buying a bottle of wine because it was easy to rotate several included cabs.  Can't do that on SB.  A significant difference is that I recognize very few crew members on SB.  Past ten years have been mostly on SB, yet more crew on SS welcome us back. 

I understand. Been cruising since 1980 and have experienced the ups and downs of some cruise lines. I used to love Regent -- sailed with them more than any other cruise line -- but haven't been back in several years due to a couple of disappointments without satisfactory resolution (and they always seem more expensive than SS for similar itinerary). Went off both SS and Seabourn for a stretch, but have been back enjoying both for some time. 

[RetiredandTravel]

16 hours ago, commodoredave said:

I understand. Been cruising since 1980 and have experienced the ups and downs of some cruise lines. I used to love Regent -- sailed with them more than any other cruise line -- but haven't been back in several years due to a couple of disappointments without satisfactory resolution (and they always seem more expensive than SS for similar itinerary). Went off both SS and Seabourn for a stretch, but have been back enjoying both for some time. 

 

Although we absolutely loved Japan our Regent cruise was a also a big disappointment.

 

Our excursion (group) in Shimizu was to a beach & park that was advertised as having Mt Fuji views.  It was rainy day and we couldn't see any of Mt Fuji.  A local gentleman on the beach told me you can only see Mt Fuji about 25% of the time, so if your objective is to see Mt Fuji I'd recommend getting closer.  I have a write up of our Tokyo experiences in here somewhere.  If you'd like me to dig them up let me know.  Cheers.

[Texas Tillie]

1 hour ago, RetiredandTravel said:

 

 

Our excursion (group) in Shimizu was to a beach & park that was advertised as having Mt Fuji views.  It was rainy day and we couldn't see any of Mt Fuji.  A local gentleman on the beach told me you can only see Mt Fuji about 25% of the time, so if your objective is to see Mt Fuji I'd recommend getting closer.  

 

It's like that with mountains all over the world. Even when within viewing range, you can see Denali in Alaska only about 30% of the time as the mountain makes its own weather. My first time in interior Alaska my group saw the mountain 3 days in a row, a miracle. Traveling, you have to know that you pay your money and take your chances when it comes to weather.

[RetiredandTravel]

47 minutes ago, Texas Tillie said:

 

It's like that with mountains all over the world. Even when within viewing range, you can see Denali in Alaska only about 30% of the time as the mountain makes its own weather. My first time in interior Alaska my group saw the mountain 3 days in a row, a miracle. Traveling, you have to know that you pay your money and take your chances when it comes to weather.

 

Correct and in my case there were options where the probability of seeing Mt Fuji would have been much much higher.  Near 100%. If you click on attached link then on Shimizu Port and the then "Fine Traditional art of Edo" excursion you will see the beach I'm referring to.  Quite sure this is the same excursion. This doesn't give me an impression of a 25% probability but that's me.

 

https://www.silversea.com/destinations/asia-cruise/yokohama-tokyo-to-tokyo-sm240417014.html

 

 

 

 

[commodoredave]

3 hours ago, RetiredandTravel said:

 

Although we absolutely loved Japan our Regent cruise was a also a big disappointment.

 

Our excursion (group) in Shimizu was to a beach & park that was advertised as having Mt Fuji views.  It was rainy day and we couldn't see any of Mt Fuji.  A local gentleman on the beach told me you can only see Mt Fuji about 25% of the time, so if your objective is to see Mt Fuji I'd recommend getting closer.  I have a write up of our Tokyo experiences in here somewhere.  If you'd like me to dig them up let me know.  Cheers.

Thanks for the very kind offer. I would love to see your write-up of your Tokyo experience. 

[RetiredandTravel]

On 6/13/2022 at 12:39 PM, RetiredandTravel said:

 

Hi

 

Yes we had a 3 night Regent pre-cruise package that was free.  We stayed at the Tokyo Hilton which was fine but very crowded (we had to take an elevator up to go down) at peak times.  Regent outsourced the excursions, nice group of young people but horribly unorganized excursions were fine.   You would have to run the numbers but my observation is the Regent pre-post cruise packages are very expensive.  You may be able to stay in better hotels with private tours for less money, Tokyo is very manageable you could just tour on your own.  Honestly there aren't a great deal of tourist sights in Tokyo, we (Allies) fire bombed Tokyo in WW2 and there wasn't much left.  Here is a list of tourist sites the first 4 are the best, Olympics were being built when we were there and the tower is a tourist trap (they say you can see Mt Fuji on a good day we didn't).

 

https://www.gotokyo.org/en/see-and-do/attractions/index.html

 

The Japanese people are an absolute delight very polite, friendly  & sophisticated.  The restaurant scene is Tokyo is extraordinary.  We don't care for sushi or raw fish so our choices are slanted, all are pre-Covid of course.

 

https://guide.michelin.com/us/en/tokyo-region/tokyo/restaurants

 

We had dinner in a 1* French, 2* Spanish & 3* French our favorite was probably the 1* French.

 

 

Lugdunum Bouchon - 1* French-  We loved this restaurant.  Its a smaller Brasserie with great food, good service, nice wine list (burgundies)  fun ambiance and reasonable for Tokyo.  Highly recommend

 

http://lyondelyon.com/blog/

 

Zurriola - 2* Spanish  Exceptional food and service great wine list.  Maybe the best tuna app ever, and I've has plenty.  Its in the wealthiest area in Tokyo.  Recommend my wife felt the decor was a little to stark, very formal.

 

https://guide.michelin.com/us/en/tokyo-region/tokyo/restaurant/zurriola

 

Joel Robuchon - 3 * French - Exceptional food with probably top 10 service ever experienced.  The maitre d had someone catch us a cab and walked us to the cab on the street and opened the door. The very high end of dining perfectly executed. All that being said I grapple with the price these 3* Michelin restaurants charge, the cheapest bottle of Red I could find was $350.  The total bill was $1100, we are of the mind set that we prefer the 1* places these days great food not as formal much cheaper.  Some of these 3* Michelin places in Paris are charging 500-550 euros each come on.

 

https://www.joel-robuchon.com/_dev/en/restaurants-tokyo-joelrobuchon.php

 

I have a fun Italian near Meiji for lunch but have to look it up.

 

Our trip had only one day in Osaka and we went to Kyoto which was by far the most interesting.  Looks like you have two days  so you can go to Osaka & Kyoto, Osaka is also cool I hear.

 

I have to run will come back with more info on Kyoto and other stuff.  Its an exceptional vacation hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

 

 

 

Here it is.  Footnote on the tower which I said was a tourist trap.  Many people said they liked getting the view of Tokyo.  When we were there it was 8 deep to most of the better windows.

 

Tokyo is a wonderful modern vibrant city.  Its very easy to manage on your own.  Some taxi drivers may not speak English but they will go out of their way to communicate.  We had a cab driver get out and walk us to the restaurant.  Reminded me of NYC, uh maybe not.  The Japanese people are a delight.

 

link to the whole thread

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2859002-links-to-any-tokyo-to-tokyo-trip-reports/#comment-63382085

 

 

 

[drron29]

There is no where in Japan where the chance of seeing Mt. fuji in all it's glory is near 100%. Even with all our visits and being in places where there can be a view of Fuji we have never seen the complete mountain. We have even stayed in Kawaguchiko which is at the base of Fuji in a room with a direct view of Fuji for 9 days in total with still no luck seeing the complete mountain. We are going back in late April next year for another 4 nights attempt.

[PaulMCO]

8 hours ago, RetiredandTravel said:

 

 

Here it is.  Footnote on the tower which I said was a tourist trap.  Many people said they liked getting the view of Tokyo.  When we were there it was 8 deep to most of the better windows.

 

Tokyo is a wonderful modern vibrant city.  Its very easy to manage on your own.  Some taxi drivers may not speak English but they will go out of their way to communicate.  We had a cab driver get out and walk us to the restaurant.  Reminded me of NYC, uh maybe not.  The Japanese people are a delight.

 

link to the whole thread

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2859002-links-to-any-tokyo-to-tokyo-trip-reports/#comment-63382085

 

 

 

We are booked in mid/late March 2924 on RSSC.  We already had two Japan cruises cancelled on SS.

 

In short you do not recommend the RSSC pre-cruise 1/2 day tours.  Most times Regent is offering the pre/post as a freebie but if you decline it they will give you $750pp credit.  For that the value is probably in the hotels and the transfers from Tokyo to Yokohama.  The Hilton is now $500 per night for 2024.

 

We will likely arrive a few days earlier and in our case we will likely forgo the first two days of tours and do some private tours (using Toursbylocals guide) and maybe also head up to Hakone.  I can navigate the Tokyo subway system myself, but it is always nice to have an expert guide provide the insight missed by touring without a guide.

 

To the OP's post -- if you have never been to Japan, missing Kyoto is a sin (and Seabourn is missing it).

[RetiredandTravel]

9 hours ago, PaulMCO said:

We are booked in mid/late March 2924 on RSSC.  We already had two Japan cruises cancelled on SS.

 

In short you do not recommend the RSSC pre-cruise 1/2 day tours.  Most times Regent is offering the pre/post as a freebie but if you decline it they will give you $750pp credit.  For that the value is probably in the hotels and the transfers from Tokyo to Yokohama.  The Hilton is now $500 per night for 2024.

 

We will likely arrive a few days earlier and in our case we will likely forgo the first two days of tours and do some private tours (using Toursbylocals guide) and maybe also head up to Hakone.  I can navigate the Tokyo subway system myself, but it is always nice to have an expert guide provide the insight missed by touring without a guide.

 

To the OP's post -- if you have never been to Japan, missing Kyoto is a sin (and Seabourn is missing it).

 

 

The free (really free) pre cruise package on Regent was fine.   We would probably do it again.  All of our Regent Japan excursions were very well executed and the guides excellent, including Tokyo. The excursions were all larger (50-60) and the buses near or at capacity.  Its easier taking the tours but it has the obvious limitations.  It was so crowded at some locations the guide was at no value, that's not their fault.  The Regent group in charge of setting up and allocating the excursions at the hotel although very nice IMO did a poor job, it was chaos. The Tokyo Hilton is a very nice Hilton but it is a Hilton and was very crowded at times.

 

 

Edited July 2, 2023 by RetiredandTravel

[conchyjoe]

And Nara, along with Kyoto.