Silversea or Seabourn for Windstar Cruiser

[kimrealestate]

We have been on 6 or 7 Windstar cruises and have enjoyed them all. Unfortunately we are running out of itineraries and would like to "kick it up an notch". We tried Oceania and absolutely hated it. Beautiful ship and cabin but just too many people.

 

My concerns about Seabourne and Silversea are: passengers too old? (we are in our early 50's), all inclusive can sometimes mean lots of heavy drinkers/drunks?

 

Are the balcony rooms worth the extra money? Windstar cabins are so basic that probably anything would be an improvement so we are thinking of just getting the stadard room. Should we try a Carribean first to see if we like the line?

 

Thanks .

[wripro]

You might also want to throw Sea Dream into the mix since like Windstar they are casual dress, no formal nights, and all inclusive.

[oregon50]

Agree that SeaDream should be a consideration, if you want to stay away from formal and still kick it up a notch. We did four Windstar trips before trying SS and wished we had quit after two or three.

 

The complexion of the ship changes with the booze included. +++ There are seldom more than three staggering drunks, besides me.

 

You're at a great age to try SS.

[surfklutz]

I too am a big SeaDream fan - it seems to be what you are describing.

I found Silverseas to be just a bit to large - and too formal for me - I like being able to do what I want to do when I want to do it and SeaDream allows me to do just that.

[kimrealestate]

Thanks for the info. I am afraid my husband would be with you. The bar guys always remember him! Guess I only like "my drunk". Will look at seadreams.

[DebbieH103]

We found Wind to be very intimate and zero drunks vs. 1 drunk on Whisper that had to be carried off to his cabin.

[simonv]

Funny I've never seen even one drunk on Silversea. On Reagent, yes. My guess is that there are companies that do Caribbean as well or better than Silversea, though I haven't tried them there. I believe that their forte is Europe or other lesser visited ports. Save Caribbean for Seadream or Seabourn, and do Silversea in other locations.

[DebbieH103]

We loved our 2 Caribbean SS cruises. On one of them, we had a fun day in Il de Saintes, and we had a great time at The Baths on the first one and at the SS BBQ on North Sound the 2nd. The Seabourn 2 for 1s November and December sure do look good for Caribbean, and I would love to try them out at those rates, but we already have a couple of other trips booked, and we are going to have to surrender our passports to get the India visas.

[MuseCruiser]

I agree with the posts above re SeaDream, but also think you'd like either Seabourn or SS. Everyone I've talked to on Seabourn or SS who's there for the first time, comments something like "I thought with the alcohol included, I might see a lot of drunk people, but I don't." Personally, I've never seen any issue on either line with this.

[dusababy]

It's been my experience that the tariff to get on board eliminates those who would book Silversea just because they get free booze.

It costs so much to sail compared to the mass market lines that free booze is not much of an incentive and makes little difference to total cost of the trip.

And I've heard from SS staff that consumption may be a little high at beginning of a voyage but overall it levels off -- just the excitement of finally getting under way probably contributes to the gaiety.

FWIW

[eroller]

I've never seen a drunk on Silversea, but I have seen many on ships where you have to pay for the drinks.

 

Frankly if someone has had a bit too much to drink, so be it. I really don't care. After all, it's a vacation and I would rather have someone drink too much on a ship then at a local bar then hop in a car and drive home.

 

Ernie

[simonv]

It's been my experience that the tariff to get on board eliminates those who would book Silversea just because they get free booze.

It costs so much to sail compared to the mass market lines that free booze is not much of an incentive and makes little difference to total cost of the trip.

FWIW

 

I think you are right.

[wripro]

I think when people go on a ship to "party" as opposed to travel they don't care how much they spend on alcohol so you'll find more drunks. I too have only seen one overly inebriated person on all the SS or SB cruises.

[meow!]

Save Caribbean for Seadream or Seabourn, and do Silversea in other locations.

On a different front, aren't Seadream ships very small, just a few thousand "tonnes"? In the Caribbean, the weather can be rough, it may be nice to be on a ship with not too many passengers, but on one that is really small, won't the "rock and roll" be a little too much for many people?!

[oregon50]

It's been my experience that the tariff to get on board eliminates those who would book Silversea just because they get free booze.

 

I mainly book SS for the (free) booze. The advantage SD has in the Caribbean is that it does some late port departures. Sailing from a Caribbean port during happy hour seems a crime. For the price paid on a SS type cruise, you can charter a sailboat.

[TheWineGuy]

My wife and I just returned from the special "America's Cup" cruise on Silverwhisper. Let me first say that we have done 10 cruises on Windstar in the Mediterranean over the past 11 years and we are out of itineraries like many others. We booked Silverwhisper only because of the "America's Cup" special. The staterooms were fantastic, everything else was overrated and overpriced. I am in the wine business and I know great hotels, service, wine and food and Silversea 2007 is underwhelming. To "frost the cake", I sent a letter nearly a month ago by USPS 1 day service to the President of Silversea and I have not heard back from him yet. I could be more forgiving but to not reply after that much time is unprofessional.

[Signor John]

Silversea doesn't attract a party crowd, by and large, and I've seen only one drunk (a tipsy elderly lady in a gown and jewels) on Silversea.

 

For what it's worth, the hotel director on a Silversea ship once told me that--in his experience--the all-inclusive booze policy tends to result in less drinking, not more. That seems counterintuitive, but who knows: Maybe you get fewer show-offs buying rounds in the bar and fewer people who decide they might as well finish off the bottle of wine that they paid for at dinner.

 

About staterooms: The balconies on Silversea are delightful if you like stepping outdoors in your bathrobe in the early morning or at bedtime, but the sea feels closer in a Vista cabin because you're looking directly through a picture window at the water. You can't go wrong with either choice. (As for Windstar's cabins, I wouldn't call them basic--at least not on the WIND SURF, where I loved my beautifully designed cabin last year.)

[Observer]

My wife and I just returned from the special "America's Cup" cruise on Silverwhisper. Let me first say that we have done 10 cruises on Windstar in the Mediterranean over the past 11 years and we are out of itineraries like many others. We booked Silverwhisper only because of the "America's Cup" special. The staterooms were fantastic, everything else was overrated and overpriced. I am in the wine business and I know great hotels, service, wine and food and Silversea 2007 is underwhelming. To "frost the cake", I sent a letter nearly a month ago by USPS 1 day service to the President of Silversea and I have not heard back from him yet. I could be more forgiving but to not reply after that much time is unprofessional.

 

Welcome to the club -- i.e., the club of those disappointed by non-response from SS headquarters. What are they thinking????? I have over the years written to both Seabourn and RSSC with concerns. The RSSC(now Regent) CEO responded by email within a day. The Seabourn president responded promptly as well, offering a discount on a future cruise (which I had neither requested nor expected). I should point out that I do not write after every cruise. Among my 15-18 cruises over the years, as I recall, I have written once to RSSC (regarding art auctions), once to Seabourn (about a problem in the spa that could not be remedied during the cruise), and twice to SS (once about impossibly slow service in the Restaurant and the other time about an incredible internet access bill that was clearly in error and was not resolved at reception.)

[wripro]

Observor,

 

According to Abraham Lincoln you should make up your mind to be happy about this.

[bearhall]

My wife and I sailed Winstar twice in the last 12 months, once in Costa Rica and once in the Med. Costa Rica was good not great and the Med was disapponiting. The dinning service was more than slow and the food selection below par,we will not sail Winstar again.