Seabourn/Silversea Comparison

Posting this on the Silversea board since I'm guessing comments may be different ...

I recently returned from my first cruise on Silversea (Silver Spirit) after several cruises on Seabourn Legend/Pride (R.I.P.) and one cruise on Seabourn Odyssey. Based on my limited experience, here are some of the differences I noticed between the two lines.

Suites. Silver Spirit's veranda suites have a roughly similar square footage as Odyssey veranda suites. Legend/Pride suites, though large by industry standard, are considerably smaller. I preferred the long, narrow layout of Silver Spirit as it provided more separation between the sleeping and living areas - helpful if one person is watching TV while the other one is napping. Bed linens and toiletries are of a much higher quality on Silversea. Butler service on Silversea provides a face-to-face method of handling any requests or issues but can impact timeliness of room service delivery if one's butler has other clients requesting service at a similar time. Silversea housekeeping was always completed before 11am. Several times on Seabourn the room was being serviced as we returned from lunch. I missed the handwritten notes from the Seabourn stewardess.

Seabourn has a standard beverage list for minibar consumption but will try to honor special requests. Silversea will ask you to choose something else. Seabourn provides a bottle of Nicolas Feuillatte champagne in suite upon arrival and will not replace it. Silversea provides champagne on request and replaces full bottle on request. Our butler provided a chilled bottle every afternoon. Silver Spirit audiovisual system more modern and better placed than Odyssey or Legend/Pride system. Silver Spirit room service menu is about twice as long as the Seabourn room service menu.

Seabourn offers laundry by the bag, Silversea does not. Seabourn laundry (by piece) prices are slightly lower, but the base price is for a two-day turnaround. Silversea standard laundry turnaround is same day (SB provides this for a considerable surcharge). Seabourn self-service laundry facilities are limited. Silversea has a self-service laundry facility on nearly every floor.

Minor, but annoying - Silversea's charity requires an active election to opt-out of participation. Should be the other way around.

General Service. Seabourn customer facing staff is European/South African by a large majority. Silversea customer facing staff is Filipino by a large majority. Two very different service styles, with the former being more polished. Seabourn wait staff place napkin in one's lap and carry the ubiquitous pepper mill. On Silversea these steps are omitted. Seabourn wait staff addresses you by your surname. Silversea wait staff address you by your surname if it's easy to pronounce, otherwise they address you by your first name (e.g., what would you like Mr. Johnny?). All in all, Silversea needs a more professional training regimen in place. Service is definitely Sea bourn’s strongest category.

Pool Service and Layout. Silversea always seemed to have someone ready to set up a chaise lounge and to bring drinks. Seabourn always seemed to have someone ready to bring drinks but I don't recall chair set-up. Legend/Pride has the worst pool layout in the luxury market hidden away and frequently in the shade. Pool lay out on Odyssey is best with a second pool area aft of the club. However, this has the effect of stretching deck staff thin. Silversea has full menu service poolside (rather than room service) until late in the afternoon. Skybar layout on Legend/Pride is most conducive to socializing.

Smoking. No smoking indoors on Silversea except in the small Connoisseur's Corner lounge. However, it appeared from the burn mark on our suite balcony's sheer curtain that a previous passenger had sneaked a puff in our room. Smoking outdoors in designated areas. Seabourn allows smoking in suites, balconies and certain public areas (e.g. Observation Lounge), as well as in designated outdoor areas.

Entertainment. Silversea Silver Spirit has a significant advantage in this category. Stars Supper Club has a jazz singer and accompanist who excellent. The six main showroom singers on Silversea are mostly classically trained and sing rather than screech - very pleasing. Seabourn has dated entertainment in comparison and the sound system on Legend/Pride is dreadful. Silversea shows always attracted a significant crowd (2/3 room) whereas I don't even recall going to a show on our last Legend cruise. On Silversea we would go to the shows even though they started later than we would have preferred.

Public rooms. Slight advantage to Seabourn Odyssey. Silver Spirit's observation lounge was underutilized as was the Bar. Most late night activities ended up in the Panorama Lounge and it became crowded. Better layout on Seabourn in the Club. Once we found out Stars on Silver Spirit offered a nice after-dinner show, the Seabourn advantage was not as great. Not a fan of the casino on any of the ships.

Food and Beverage. Silver Spirit has a greater variety than Odyssey, and due to their size, Legend/Pride cannot compete. Upon boarding in Rome we were offered three dining venues for embarkation lunch - the Restaurant, the Pool Grill (full menu service, not hamburgers and hot dogs) or La Terrazza. Legend/Pride has guests herded in the show room for sandwiches that are anything but five-star. Odyssey guests are all directed to the Colonnade. Silver Spirit had the Restaurant open for breakfast and lunch every single day even though ours was a port-intensive cruise. We also had multiple other venues for breakfast/luncheon dining including Seishin (Japanese restaurant) as a sushi/tempura bar every day except embarkation day (no charge for lunch). “Always available” section of dinner menu on Silversea is much more extensive and has many more side dish/vegetable choices than Seabourn. Odyssey has frequent breakfast/luncheon restaurant closures.

Silver Spirit has two "extra charge" dinner restaurants. At this price point, it feels a bit petty. Fortunately, Seabourn doesn't have extra charge restaurants.

Stars Supper Club has a tasting menu somewhat similar to Restaurant 2 but has accompanying entertainment that makes the experience much more memorable. La Terrazza on Silversea has consistently good Italian cuisine that can't be matched by "Trattoria Night" on Seabourn (Veranda/Colonnade). Steak quality at dinner Hot Rocks Grill (Pool Grill) on Silversea was slightly better quality than dinnertime Patio Grill on Seabourn.

Special order for breakfast on Silversea was prepared incorrectly twice. Special order for breakfast on Seabourn prepared correctly the first time. Due to the larger variety of dining venues, Silver Spirit never felt crowded at an individual restaurant at mealtimes.

Liquor selection basically the same with better included gin selection on Seabourn but better included tequila selection on Silversea. Complimentary wines on both lines need improvement, but Silversea has a slight advantage. Its Italian wine selections were always palatable and its house champagne (Pommery) is far superior to Seabourn's. Silversea boutique (i.e. extra charge) wine list was much better value than Seabourn connoisseur wine list even with a Seabourn Club discount.

Other. Tours are generally overpriced on both lines. Embarkation and disembarkation is very good on both lines.

Thanks for the comparison. We're looking for a cruise for next year and right now it doesn't look like Silversea has an itinerary that suits us. Seabourn has a couple that are closer to what we might want so we're thinking about "jumping ship" next year. I did notice you said that Seabourn allows smoking in their suites but their site says otherwise. As I recall the non-smoking in cabins started maybe early this year. ???? Have they changed again?

You are correct - no smoking in Seabourn suites, only on balconies.

Also, caviar is available by request at no charge on Seabourn (although it is not listed in the room service menu). Silversea has caviar available for a fee per the in-room menu.

Aren't tours included on Silversea ? Don 't know about Seabourn.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Aren't tours included on Silversea ? Don 't know about Seabourn.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Tours are not included with Silversea. Regent does that but there might be others.

Thank you for the objective comparison with no drama.

Tours are not included with Silversea. Regent does that but there might be others.

Ah - guess it is just the expedition ships .

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ah - guess it is just the expedition ships .

Given the nature of expedition cruises, no pun intended, it makes sense that "tours" on the Expedition ships are included. I've never seriously considered one of the expedition cruises so I've not researched them. I'm far from a Silversea expert so I may be wrong in saying this but the only included tour I know of for sure on a regular Silversea cruise is the concert at Ephesus in the Library. Unfortunately we didn't get the concert last month as they supposedly don't have those until June or later because of weather. There may be other included tours and it could be we haven't book the right cruise yet. With only 32 days on Silversea we're still newbies but we're working on it. :)

And I have done and researched nothing but so just assumed that all inclusive included excursions.

And I have done and researched nothing but so just assumed that all inclusive included excursions.

Unfortunately all-inclusive really doesn't mean everything you can consume, use, partake in, etc., on a ship is included. The biggest and most standard meaning seems to be that wine and spirits are included at no additional charge and even then you can "buy up" to a better or more expensive wine or special spirit. Tours, spa appointments, beauty shop, etc., are extra services and are not part of the all-inclusive price.

All inclusive also means tips are included. There is often 1 included tour on many cruises as well.

The included tours are usually done by a private entity, Virtuoso, Captain's Choice, etc. there are Silversea Experiences on World Cruises and Extended Voyages. The SS Exp. has been eliminated otherwise.

The included tours are usually done by a private entity, Virtuoso, Captain's Choice, etc. there are Silversea Experiences on World Cruises and Extended Voyages. The SS Exp. has been eliminated otherwise.

Heck.....only been cruising with Silversea for two years and I don't recall ever hearing about a Silversea Experience. :)

Thank you for the unbiased review/comparison. It was a refreshing change to read and reflects our observations almost exactly.

I recently returned from my first cruise on Silversea (Silver Spirit) after several cruises on Seabourn Legend/Pride (R.I.P.) and one cruise on Seabourn Odyssey. Based on my limited experience, here are some of the differences I noticed between the two lines.

johnnycruise,

Can't thank you enough for your comparison and would like to ditto the comments made by nfcu and duct tape below. As we prepare for our first voyage on Silver Spirit in just under 3-weeks, I'm very excited after reading your post. Thank you for taking the time to share your comparison.

Thank you for the unbiased review/comparison. It was a refreshing change to read and reflects our observations almost exactly.

Thank you for the objective comparison with no drama.

Regent does include tours, if you call charging extra upfront including.

To echo DuctTape's comments, thank you for the objective review with no drama. You provided a terrific amount of detail in a thoughtful and concise manner. You answered a lot of questions I had. A friend of ours thinks they each excel in different areas (and cruises on both lines; they pick based on the itinerary and timing)...and if you scored each area and added them up both Seabourn and Silversea would probably have the same score! I guess it's all question of personal taste and what is important to you. Thank you for comparing and contrasting the two lines.

Oh, no butler service on Seabourn, correct?

Outstanding review .

Calm dispassionate and rational… brilliant … thank you.