Help Me Choose

[BroncosFan2010]

I am currently looking into luxury cruise lines as DH and I are planning our next cruise and have had enough of the mass market lines. We have it narrowed down to Regent and SilverSea. I want you SilverSea loyals to convince me why I should choose SilverSea over Regent. We are looking to book a Caribbean cruise, probably 10 days. Right now SilverSea has the top bid because of their dropping the children's program--We really don't want to sail on a ship filled with kids. Our top priority is itinerary (which have not been released yet for the time we are looking to sail), food, service, and entertainment, in that order.

 

Thanks for your help!

[WesW]

We have sailed on both SS and R..and as you can see in the signature block we are booked on both SS and R in 2010. For us the lines are exceedingly similar in dining

service, and entertainment..altho presently Regent's Voyager and Mariner offer

four dining options..SS new Spirit will also offer four dining options (altho Le Champagne, and Seisin one or both may have

a reservation fee), Regent's speciality restaurants have no fee)--but dining/wining in SS's Le Champagne, imo, is a step up (esp in wine pours) from Signatures and Prime 7 (have not tried Prime 7 yet) on Regent. Our decision on sailing either line is the value offered on the particular sailing we choose...good luck.

[dougburns]

As Wes said, you won't go wrong with either line. We've had 14 Regent cruises on all of their ships and 1 Silversea cruise aboard Shadow with Spirit scheduled for Jan '10. Regent has changed somewhat over the past few years. They are much heavier on Asian crew now than they used to be, whereas Silversea is still more heavily weighted toward European /South American crew. Regent does not allow smoking in staterooms/on balconies anymore and Silversea does. Food is comparable, but service is better on Silversea IMHO. The folks who travel Silversea are more respectful of others and tend to be more widely traveled. They are from a variety of countries, whereas Regent tends to attract mostly folks from the States. We really enjoyed our cruising on Regent, but were very pleasantly surprised by Silversea. Never thought it could be better, but it is and by a step above Regent. We're dancers and we much prefer the music on SS, as opposed to Regent, even though Regent has more venues. SS just has the European 4 piece combo and a piano player in the Bar, but the combo plays great dance music in the Panorama Lounge( a really nice dance floor ). Regent has the ship's band, which is Asian and can't keep a beat and a duo in the lounge. The duo is usually good, but the lounge dance floor where they play is small aboard Voyager and Navigator. Aboard Mariner the duo usually plays in the Horizon Lounge, which has a larger dance floor. Don't know how it will work out, but SS is going to a butler in all suites in 2010. Stateroom size aboard Shadow and Whisper is comparable to the Regent Voyager; Mariner standard staterooms are just a bit smaller. If it were me and I were looking for a 10 day Caribbean cruise I'd take the Silver Shadow. Next option would be Regent Voyager. Don't really care for Navigator and Voyager is better than Mariner in many ways. Either way, get yourself a good TA who regularly deals with the line you chose. You'll find either line a major step above Celebrity.

[meow!]

Our top priority is itinerary (which have not been released yet for the time we are looking to sail),

That means you are looking for 2011, which is a long time away. Things change with time, it may be better to wait for next year before you decide.

[BroncosFan2010]

Thanks for your replies! We will be looking for a TA who deals with luxury lines, as I am sure the one we have now is great for mass market. I am not sure how much she will be able to help us, but then again, we have not really asked her!

[yogagal47]

Booking with a "Virtuoso" agent can often help as they offer special virtuoso cruises with special perks on selected cruises including complimentary excusions, shipboard credits, etc and they also tend to have very good relationships with the luxury cruise lines. Just MHO.

[dougburns]

For my money I would not deal with a Virtuoso agent. You'll pay more and the perks you get really aren't that great. Our TA gives us part of their commission and that's worth far more than you'll get out of outfits like Virtuoso.

[Host Dan]

I deal with a luxury specialist agent that is part of the Signature travel group. His prices are always the lowest with great add-ons. I WAS using a Virtuoso agent previously, and her prices were always more than anyone elses! Good luck!

 

Host Dan

[wripro]

I agree about Virtuoso agents. Their prices are always higher than what you can get elsewhere. And now that you have to choose between their excursion and the AMEX platinum OBC it further diminishes their value.

[nowornever]

We're veterans of both also & find SS staff to be absolutely beyond compare. It's like you become a "family" member. Food excellent on both. Smoking is an issue on Silversea. Why they've placed the Humidor inside the Non Smoking Panorama on the Cloud is one of life's myteries! We would (and will) book with either in a heartbeat, depends on itinerary. You will be surrounded by interesting & welll traveled passengers on both. As has been mentioned, stay tuned....many things change in the course of time & who knows what might transpire in this economy? Maybe they'll all be owned by Carnival or Royal Caribbean, & instead of quietly enjoying the sunset with a cocktail in the Caribbean, you'll be attending the belly flop contest with 2,000 screaming little darlings.:eek:

[Goldens4]

I'd bet on SS. Don't let the smoking issue bother you. The smokers on SS have class and always ask if it bothers you. There are also designated smoking areas on SS. Some non-smokers are freaks". If they don't like it, they don't want you to do it. Well, I'm a fitness freak if you are more than 20lbs overweight, you have a problem and are costing all thin people $$$. We are paying extra for all the food you consume. Plus, you look awful in a bathing suit. And, you usually have to keep your suites at a lower temp. because your body weight cannot handle the temps. in a warmer climate. Shame on you "greenies" who are wasting all this energy.

 

And, if I have offended anyone out there so be it. Be tolerant of others and treat everyone with the respect you would like. The way things are going in the world now, smoking would be the last thing on my mind.

 

PS: 1 of the 3 seals who took out the pirates in Somalia and saved the American captain was a smoker. Would you spit on him? Think about it if you were in that situation. Or, would you ask if he smoked and then say don't save my life because I don't "like" you because you smoke.

 

My husband is a retired navy seal seal seriously wounded in Grenada. He smokes. This is the MAN I want to be in a life boat with.

[WesW]

From one Vet to another (even tho a squid) hope to see you onboard SS...

[Goldens4]

Thanks! Our next SS is 11/22, 10 days over Thanksgiving. So looking forward to it. You do become addicted to SS.

[chrislcruise]

I am on the verge of booking July 20 Alaska cruise on the Shadow, but have hesitation due to the smoking issue. Will the cabin I am in have smoke residue from a previous resident? Are the hallways smoky?

 

Please advise as I really want to go on this cruise, but would be uncomfortable with smoke. BY the way, I am not judgemental, but find cigarette smoke very distasteful.

 

thanks

[endosunshine]

I spoke to my SS agent about the smoking, as we (mostly me) are second hand smoke haters. I was told that if there are any lingering smoke smells in my cabin from a previous passenger that all I have to do is ask and it will receive immediate "deep cleaning" that should erase any odors at all. If I am still not satisfied, if at all possible, I will be moved to a different suite. She says it is very seldom an issue. From what I understand, even if the people in the adjacent suite are smoking, you should not be able to smell it.

 

I have haunted the forum on smoke issues and have never really heard anyone complain.:)

 

We are on Shadow on Aug 1.

[BroncosFan2010]

Thank you so much for all of your helpful replies. I asked this question on the Regent line as well, and have gotten several responses, mostly from people who truly love both lines! You guys have given me much to think about and consider.

 

I appreciate the honesty and comments about the smoking. My husband suffers from terrible allergies, that are heightened by smoke. It would be a really big issue if we ended up in a cabin that had previously held smokers. To be honest, I don't care how much deep cleaning is done, if you are sensitive to smoke, you can still smell it. We bought a house that was previously owned by smokers. We stripped everything down to the drywall, put in new flooring (ripped out all old carpet and replaced it with hardwood), new paint, new everything!!! We still sometimes get a wiff of smoke.

That being said, do you know if there are specific cabins on SS that are non-smoking and kept that way all the time?

[Jade13]

I deal with a luxury specialist agent that is part of the Signature travel group. His prices are always the lowest with great add-ons. I WAS using a Virtuoso agent previously, and her prices were always more than anyone elses! Good luck!

 

Host Dan

 

What about "Ensemble" agents? They always had a host and a first class excursions on some ships (Hal anyway).

[nowornever]

Our cabin on the Cloud had been occupied by smokers & it had a residue when we arrived. They did a "deep cleaning" while we were at dinner which helped but unless you clean the draperies, bedspreads, etc. it truly never goes away. We elected not to speak with the hotel mgr. about moving as our steward offered but "aired" it as much as possible. If you are very smoke sensitive, you might want to consider a more controlled smoking envirnonment such as RSSC or Oceania. Yes, at times when you walk by smoker's cabins, you can indeed smell smoke & depending on the passenger mix, you might be bothered on certain decks. Please don't turn this into a referendum on smoking, it's about being able to make informed choices on cruise options that fit into your comfort level.

[BroncosFan2010]

Our cabin on the Cloud had been occupied by smokers & it had a residue when we arrived. They did a "deep cleaning" while we were at dinner which helped but unless you clean the draperies, bedspreads, etc. it truly never goes away. We elected not to speak with the hotel mgr. about moving as our steward offered but "aired" it as much as possible. If you are very smoke sensitive, you might want to consider a more controlled smoking envirnonment such as RSSC or Oceania. Yes, at times when you walk by smoker's cabins, you can indeed smell smoke & depending on the passenger mix, you might be bothered on certain decks. Please don't turn this into a referendum on smoking, it's about being able to make informed choices on cruise options that fit into your comfort level.

 

Thank you for the post. It seems that being around smokers for short periods of time does not bother my husband too much, and if it does start to bother us, we will just leave and go to another part of the ship. While we may not like to be around smokers, we respect their right to smoke as long as they are polite and within reason.

[LOGHL]

i am currently looking into luxury cruise lines as dh and i are planning our next cruise and have had enough of the mass market lines. We have it narrowed down to regent and silversea. I want you silversea loyals to convince me why i should choose silversea over regent. We are looking to book a caribbean cruise, probably 10 days. Right now silversea has the top bid because of their dropping the children's program--we really don't want to sail on a ship filled with kids. Our top priority is itinerary (which have not been released yet for the time we are looking to sail), food, service, and entertainment, in that order.

 

Thanks for your help!

 

see my answer to this question on the regent board./.. Good luck

[meow!]

We have never smoked ourselves. We also don't notice much smoking on ships, including Silversea ships. Actually on Silversea, there is this very nice humidor room, which we deliberately visited. It is custom designed and its air is directly ventilated out the ship's chimney so smokers can smoke cigarettes, cigars and pipes in there without people outside noticing any smell. This room is cozy and comfortable, like a clubhouse room. Surprisingly, we hardly noticed anybody in there. Perhaps Silversea should try harder to encourage smokers to use the humidor rather then smoking elsewhere!

[Goldens4]

Sweetie, I understand your husband being super sensitve to smoking. If this is a health issue you may want to go with Regent. There is no smoking in their cabins or on the verandah. Why anyone on SS would want to smoke in their cabin when they have a verandah, I do not know. My husband smokes and he is out on the verandah. If our neighbors are out there he will poke his head around or ask loudly if it will bother them. 9 out of 10 they say no. If 1 couple says yes, then he doesn't. As far as the residual odor, I can attest that a couple we know ( she is a non smoker, he smokes) could not smell a thing. The only thing that bothered me was a smell of stale perfume on our sofa. (It was an ungodly smell & made my eyes water) I don't even want to think what may have happened on that sofa. Yuck! It was cleaned up after our first night. I guess it may be a crap shoot for you. But, you will be taken care of on SS.

[duct tape]

SWEETIE???? I have not seen any postings from this person.

[greygypsy]

Be nice!!! Anyway, the smoking/non-smoking issue is probably the oldest issue on CC. We cruise on both Silversea and Regent and Regent is definitely more anti-smoking these days. In fact, when they announced their new almost non-smoking policy (not even on Verandahs) a lot of regular Regent cruisers were quite upset and decided to try Silversea. Be that as it may, we have never had an issue in the cabins on either cruise line. Jeff

[Sweetpea711423]

The change in smoking policy on Regent (much more restrictive) is the reason that my husband and I have switched to Silversea and will remain with it. That being said, I have actually never noticed nor been bothered by smoke on any line I have cruised on (Regent, Silversea, Cunard). Of course, you and/or your husband may have different sensibilities than I do. Good luck with whatever choice you make.