How does Silversea compare to Regent

I would appreciate any input on Silversea versus Regent.After 300 nights sailing with Regent I am ready for a change.Since Apollo acquired Regent I have seen a falloff of the product.Many long time Regent people; both passengers and crew have made the switch to Silversea.Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Crew also are moving from Silversea to Regent. The movement goes both ways.

I prefer Regent for several reasons including: the more relaxed dress code, the inclusion of nice extras (phone, internet, international newspapers) for passengers who have travelled as many nights as you have, somewhat less stuffy atmosphere. The SSS inclusions on Regent are worth a great deal to me. In addition, I prefer the single malt scotches offered on Regent to those offered on Silversea.

There is another difference (in my experience): When I have had a problem (which is rarely), I find the Regent US headquarters to be *far* more responsive than Silversea. Silversea post-cruise customer service has been very disappointing for me.

In any case, traveling on either line is no hardship!

Observer, Just out of curiosity what are the single malts served on SS? I'm familiar with those on Regent and will be on SS this summer for the first time. I must admit though my personal tastes aren't as demanding as some. I have found the Macallan 12 on Regent most satisfactory though Tallisker and Laphroaig are my two favorites (that I can afford:o).

Thanks,

Greg

I too like the Macallan 12, available at no extra cost throughout the ship on Regent. The best no-surcharge single malt I have found on Silversea is Glenmorangie, which I do not like as much as the Macallan. Of course, on both lines one can call for super-premium single malts at additional cost. I think Macallan is a splendid single malt, and I appreciate taking a sip now and then from the bottle provided by Regent (at no charge) in the suite.

On the Navigator last summer, they had the Macallan Elegancia, which I found to be a nice change from the 12. They also had one bottle of Laphroiag 10 left in the aft bar; after my 3rd night of requesting the 'Phroaig from the Connoisseur Club, they finally just brought the bottle up for us. :D

I have heard that the selection of single malts will vary based on departure country, nationalities of passengers, etc. I can't vouch for that personally, though.

But I don't think you'll have a problem finding a malt you enjoy.

UUNetBill,

No surcharge on either?

Greg

Seacap, if you are feeling this way about Regent, the only thing to do is give Silversea a try. I could easily go back and forth between the two lines, but I do miss the Platinum Regent perks when I'm on Silversea. One difference you will see with Silversea is that the passenger mix is much more varied in terms of nationalities, which I like. Other than the now more relaxed dress code of Regent, I think the lines are strikingly similar once you are onboard in terms of service, food, activities, etc.

UUNetBill,

No surcharge on either?

Greg

Greg,

Nope - all included. And generous pours as well. Saves the stewards repeat trips. :p

Typical conversation:

Me: "The Macallan, please. Neat."

Bartender: "Certainly, sir. Just tell me when to stop pouring."

Me: "When your fingers get wet, my good man!"

Bartender: <Smile>

In overall experience, we have found Silversea to be a virtual copy of Regent -- just with a smaller ship. Differences include Regents casual dress code vs. Silversea's formal nights, Regent's included excursions, and Regent's inclusion of alternative dining venues (Silversea's are at charge.) You will encounter more European fellow guests on Silversea. Silversea has a more permissive smoking policy. And regulars of both lines often complain of declines in certain areas.

Richard, +1, well said. (tho La Terraza (Italian specialty restaurant requires no fee, but requires rsvns)

Dolebludger, I agree with you, to a point.

I think the process of the experience is similar but it stops there for me.

The size and passenger no's of the Regent ships meant l could lose myself (in a good way of course) and be a little annonomous/reserved, whereby on SS l find that very difficult, if not impossible.

I also find SS to be much more intimate and more personal.

"All" the staff on SS would be calling me by name within days. This took much longer on Regent and even then it was not by everyone. SS would know my needs instinctivly, where on Regent l have to give more encouragement.

I found the Regent experience to be much more busy, active with a younger age demographic, bigger and brighter entertainment offerings and far more roaming options.

I thought SS just pips Regent with food quality, but not by much.

You are right with passenger demographics, SS has a much broader nationality base where Regent is lot more 'USA' centric.

Regents land office services beats SS. SS onshore offices can do with a lot of improvement here.

To me Regent was a more outgoing and energetic product where Silversea was more intimate, soft and gentle.

In the right mood and frame of mind both are great products not for there sameness but for there differences.

Mind you l am talking as a solo cruiser here and not as a couple. I have no idea how they stack up with an intimate companion.

The overall demographics of Regent cruises does vary a bit. On our last Voyager, Rio-FLL, trip, there were probably close to 50 Canadians, and well over a 100 Brits.

Richard, +1, well said. (tho La Terraza (Italian specialty restaurant requires no fee, but requires rsvns)

Silversea charges a fee for dining in the "Champagne" restuarant ($30 per guest)

Silversea charges a fee for dining in the "Champagne" restuarant ($30 per guest)

Does $30 fee per guest require that you purchase a bottle of their wine? Thought I read this somewhere. If I remember correctly, dinner with wine pairings is around $200 per guest. The new ship also charges for their Japanese venue.

The main reason we have not booked Silversea is their smoking policy. While they can certainly clean a room thoroughly after a smoking guest has departed, smoke wafts too easily from one balcony to another.

Does $30 fee per guest require that you purchase a bottle of their wine? Thought I read this somewhere. If I remember correctly, dinner with wine pairings is around $200 per guest. The new ship also charges for their Japanese venue.

 

The main reason we have not booked Silversea is their smoking policy. While they can certainly clean a room thoroughly after a smoking guest has departed, smoke wafts too easily from one balcony to another.

I totally agree with you about smoking.

This is what is said concerning the chargeable restaurant:=

Travelcat 2-Thank's for the comment on smoking policy. We were about to book to try a change from Regent but the smoking on the balcony decided against.

Thank you

Likewise a thank you from me. I've been scouting Silversea itineraries and some other SS details, but hadn't thought to look at the smoking policy. Much more than aspects of dress or other details, the smoking permission is a deal breaker for us. Tant pis, since I think we may have much enjoyed SS in other respects (though I think, too, that we're happier with a less "personal" experience, i.e. more in lines with Regent than with SS).

On the other hand, a number of people have switched from Regent to SS because they do not like Regents stringent smoking policy (as one who does not smoke, I really don't care about this issue). But I don't think even the very long term SS fans like the cover charge for the alternative dining venue. And they don't like the backhanded way one is "encouraged" to buy their expensive wines due to the fact that no other wine is served. This sort of goes against the "all-inclusive" concept, doesn't it?

And they don't like the backhanded way one is "encouraged" to buy their expensive wines due to the fact that no other wine is served. This sort of goes against the "all-inclusive" concept, doesn't it?

When does this happen on SS? Do they actually claim to have no free wine?

When does this happen on SS? Do they actually claim to have no free wine?

See post 15 above.

Richard, on Silversea (Cloud, Wind, Shadow, Whisper) you cruise fare is all inclusive

for The Restaurant (Compass Rose equivalent), La Terraza, and Pool Grill for lunch.

On the new Spirit, you cruise fare is all inclusive for The Restaurant, Stars Supper club (light after dinner snacks), La Terraza, and Pool Grill (lunch & Dinner(Grill under the Stars (use Hot Lava Rocks to cook filet Mignon, ribeye, tiger prawns--this dining concept was

a hit on our January Spirit crossing as almost every night the Grill under the stars was

booked out. Silversea is partially inclusive when it comes to Le Champagne (four ships above) and on the Spirit, where you will also pay a $40pp fee for the nine course Asian dinner. (u can pay an additional $40pp to have saki poured with your courses) but in Seishin complimentary wine is served with your meal unlike Le Champagne. Techniques we use to make the Le Champagne and Seishin fee more palatable is use our ship board credit we get on every Silversea cruise ($300) by depositing with our AMX Plat card. We then can pay the $30 pp fee and order one white and one red with the meal bringing the cost to about $150 total. You are not compelled to order wine with your meal in Le Champagne. For the $30pp fee, they will first pour you the house champagne (pommery) to start with. No other wine will be served unless you order off the Connosieurs' wine list. Another option to save 25% off full degustation/wine pour menu

in Le Champagne is to order a Bon Voyage gift to yourself/friend at least 14 days prior to sailing and they will charge your credit card $300. We

prefer the all inclusive restaurant policy on Regent more than the partially inclusive on SS (fee for two specialty restaurants). However, as you intimated in your post above Richard, you will have a wonderful luxury cruise on either line--we like the Shadow and Whisper as we do the Navigator (they were built by Mariotti shipyard) but we prefer the Voyager over the Spirit.

We too have been disappointed with Regent, particularly the decline in service and food and the constant expansion of all-inclusive coupled with increasing costs, so after almost 250 days on RSSC, we are trying Silversea in April - Silver Shadow from San Juan to Ft. Lauderdale. If that cruise goes well, we'll take the triple back-to-back Istanbul-Athens-Venice-Monaco cruise on the new Silver Spirit in September-October, 2011. It includes calls around the Black Sea, in Turkey and the Greek islands, Cyprus, 2 calls each in Israel and Egypt, more Greek islands, Venice overnight, Croatia, Malta, more Italy and ending in Monte Carlo. We think that’s a marvelous trip, allowing us to see a variety places we’ve wanted to see on one [mostly] eastern Med cruise.

The information about all the extra charges for alternate dining and wine with dinner on Silversea is really disquieting, particularly as we will again have to pay for the Internet, and do or pay for laundry. So in case the trial run on the Shadow this April doesn’t work out better, we’ve booked the new Seabourn Odyssey from Buenos Aires to Ft. Lauderdale via the Amazon next February-March, and we’ll see how that goes. One or the other, or at least a part of one, has to go, unless some economic miracle develops.

It’s really a shame, RSSC was so good, and many of the Platinum perks are so nice, but we just haven’t been happy with the cutbacks, first in cabin service, and lately in food and dining service. And we prefer to make our own excursion arrangements rather than join the thundering herds on the busses. We like a drink, but not enough to support the all-inclusive policy. Wine with dinner plus the set-up was plenty for us, although we would really have preferred a cocktail happy hour before dinner to the in-suite setups. We're giving Regent another shot though, the Voyager from Ft. Lauderdale to Reykjavik in May, with high hopes but low expectations. Truly a shame!

I would appreciate any input on Silversea versus Regent.After 300 nights sailing with Regent I am ready for a change.Since Apollo acquired Regent I have seen a falloff of the product.Many long time Regent people; both passengers and crew have made the switch to Silversea.Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Just curious as to why you are looking at Silversea rather than Seabourn. Seabourn has had less inconsistancy in food and service than either Silversea or Regent (according to reviews). Their new Odyssey should be an excellent ship once they fix the kinks that are common with a new ship.

Your mention of Seabourn prompted me to check that forum about smoking. Seems that Seabourn even more than Silversea is a major turn-off for people who can't stand that environment. Lots of reports about people being bothered.

And the Seabourn Odyssey also has a vibration problem. This is one of the reasons we canceled a cruise we had booked for this summer.