Question for others who enjoy both Regent and Seabourn

[poss]

We hadn't expected to like cruising and found that we loved it. (We're 70-somethings and have always taken lots of vacations, just no cruising until recently.) Did Voyager/Baltics in '05 and Voyager Dover/Nice in '07. Am ready to start thinking about reservations for another cruise in '09. We know we love Voyager, but the cruises we're interested in (Venice, Greece, Istanbul) are in the fall-- not a good time for us. So we're thinking of maybe trying Seabourn.

I'm hoping that knowledgeable folks can give me a quick comparison of the two lines, what I might enjoy more on Seabourn, what I might miss from Voyager.

Things we liked about Voyager: good size staterooms and bathrooms (we had "lowest" category; king bed a must for us, by the way-- I assume Seabourn has them?); balconies; good food and plenty of choice for restaurants and times, plus choice of eating alone or with others; relaxed atmosphere (not "clubby" or stuffy); enjoyed the ports and were always well satisfied with the excursions; liked the general look of the ship (luxurious, but not too glitzy)

Will greatly appreciate in-put; would like to make reservations soon (or is it much too early?)

Thanks!

[Iamboatman]

Hi Poss.

 

I posted a response on the Regent board, but while you are over here, search out the thread on my Food & Wine cruise from September/October.

 

Others join in!:)

[jgn]

How do I do a search? :o

 

Jean

[kitty9]

The suites on Seabourn are not as large as Regent, but as far as comparing both in other areas, I feel Seabourn is by far the best. Before they rid themselves of Radisson Diamond, I felt the two lines were fairly equal, but now, I feel Regent is a step below Seabourn, especially in terms of food and service. My experience with Regent's food was disappointing as I found preparation and presentation to be uneven at best. Food not prepared as ordered, overcooked seafood and very tough beef (even when ordered medium rare) and problems with serving things like soup at the wrong temperature were other problems. In my Seabourn cruises, I don't believe I've had one bad meal. While Regent's alternate restaurants are fantastic, Compass Rose is quite lacking IMHO.

 

In the area of service, I just don't see the can do attitude on Regent. The word "no" isn't in Seabourn's dictionary. On Regent, while crew members such as butlers and cabin stewardesses were very good, I found other crew members in places such as the Purser's office and concierge to be unfriendly.

 

And, unless I'm mistaken, Regent doesn't have king beds. I've booked PH suites on Regent and the beds have always been queen---basically two twins pushed together. Perhaps they've changed in the past year, and have gone to kings?

[poss]

Thanks for replies. Alas, it looks like we'll have to forego Seabourn, though the line has real appeal for us. I got exact bed dimensions, and Seabourn beds are a full 10" narrower than Voyager's (more narrow, even, than beds on Oceania). Tant pis-- I think we would have much enjoyed Seabourn. (Perhaps Odyssey will have larger beds; they're not sure yet it seems.)