Questions about Regent vs. Seabourn

While I have cruised on Seabourn, many of the passengers told me that they had also cruised on Regent and that the two are fairly comparable. While I thought I was going to cruise this year with Seabourn, I felt that Regent offered a better deal with air and transfers included. I'm not sure if when all is said and done that both fares would end up being about the same. I was just wondering why Regent could offer more things than Seabourn, or is there a catch somewhere? Can anyone give me feedback on the differences between the two lines--good/bad/indifferent. Also, I read on one of the threads that Regent, while offering free shore excursions, had people on waiting lists once they got to port. How can they promise something and not deliver? Again, if you have experience with this, I would like to hear about it. Thanks to all who respond, I greatly appreciate your kindness.

The catch is they charge more. Nothing is free as they claim, rather it's included in the higher fare.

We booked a cruise at last minute a few years ago and all tours we wanted were "waitlisted" but we got all of them. There is NO guarantee, however.

People cancel and Regent can add more slots if possible.

We booked a cruise at last minute a few years ago and all tours we wanted were "waitlisted" but we got all of them. There is NO guarantee, however.

 

People cancel and Regent can add more slots if possible.

Right! They add more slots so that multiple buses are going to the same places. Not my idea of luxury!

It's interesting there is another similar thread with someone who is more likely to go with Seabourn because they can use ff miles for air and prefer to arrange their own independent shore excursions. The cruising experiences are similar, although Seabourn's ships are smaller than Mariner and Voyager. The issues come down to itinerary and how much value you feel you are getting for your price. If you elect not to take Regent's air there is a credit on your cruise fare that can be substantial and varies from cruise to cruise. There is no credit for not taking any "included" excursions. And, as noted above, many excursions do get "sold out" quickly and there is a waiting list, that may or may not be lifted. There are also for-fee excursions on Regent, which are more involved than the "free" excursions. The prices for these excursions are heavily discounted, especially compared to costs from other cruise lines, but some folks are alarmed that not all excursions are, in fact, free. Also, especially for more popular cruises, the most popular excursions get wait listed very quickly after they open up for reservations. If your expectations are that you will get every excursion you want and that they will all be "free" you may be disappointed.

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This is not planned to be negative. We love Regent and for the money for our purposes, we have and continue to find wonderful cruising opportunities. Jeff

It's interesting there is another similar thread with someone who is more likely to go with Seabourn because they can use ff miles for air and prefer to arrange their own independent shore excursions. The cruising experiences are similar, although Seabourn's ships are smaller than Mariner and Voyager. The issues come down to itinerary and how much value you feel you are getting for your price. If you elect not to take Regent's air there is a credit on your cruise fare that can be substantial and varies from cruise to cruise. There is no credit for not taking any "included" excursions. And, as noted above, many excursions do get "sold out" quickly and there is a waiting list, that may or may not be lifted. There are also for-fee excursions on Regent, which are more involved than the "free" excursions. The prices for these excursions are heavily discounted, especially compared to costs from other cruise lines, but some folks are alarmed that not all excursions are, in fact, free. Also, especially for more popular cruises, the most popular excursions get wait listed very quickly after they open up for reservations. If your expectations are that you will get every excursion you want and that they will all be "free" you may be disappointed.

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This is not planned to be negative. We love Regent and for the money for our purposes, we have and continue to find wonderful cruising opportunities. Jeff

You summed up some of the differences between Regent and Seabourn very well. Just want to add a couple of comments regarding excursions. Most "included" excursions do not get waitlisted. When an excursion is waitlisted most are eventually cleared. The people that do not get the excursion they wanted post the fact on Cruise Critic. We have cleared every waitlist we have been on (so far -- we are waitlisted on two for July) and have not bothered to post about it.

Generally it is people new to Regent that complain about every excursion not being free (note: none of them are actually free -- they are included in your cruise fare which is why Regent is more expensive than other luxury lines).

Glad to hear that you love Regent....... so do we!

TC, I know you like Silversea. Let's stop the obfuscation; when you pay for an excursion on SS the buses all go to the same place at the same time. This is no different than Regent.

We have done Norway and SA on SS and there are many simultaneous arrivals at attractive sites. Please don't continue the fallacy that Regent is doing something different.

TC, I know you like Silversea. Let's stop the obfuscation; when you pay for an excursion on SS the buses all go to the same place at the same time. This is no different than Regent.

We have done Norway and SA on SS and there are many simultaneous arrivals at attractive sites. Please don't continue the fallacy that Regent is doing something different.

I have not taken a bus tour on Silversea -- only boat tours. and they were not full. My experience with Oceania's excursions was one excursion with less than 20 people and one with about 25. My experience on Regent is obviously different than yours. We paid for Regent excursions before the "included" excursions went into effect and there were not nearly as many people or buses going on the same excursions. I've actually taken pictures of the hordes of people lining up to get off of the ship in South America -- it was like a cattle call. This is not a fallacy -- I write about our honest experiences.

I have not taken a bus tour on Silversea -- only boat tours. and they were not full. My experience with Oceania's excursions was one excursion with less than 20 people and one with about 25. My experience on Regent is obviously different than yours. We paid for Regent excursions before the "included" excursions went into effect and there were not nearly as many people or buses going on the same excursions. I've actually taken pictures of the hordes of people lining up to get off of the ship in South America -- it was like a cattle call. This is not a fallacy -- I write about our honest experiences.

And, I am writing about our experiences as well..

Pretty difficult to compare a 700 passenger ship with a 3-4-5000 passenger behemoth.

We have been sailing with Regent since 2004 and have experienced their excursions both with and without inclusion.

The only criticism we have had with Regent's excursions, included or not, was the occasional guide we could not understand. Once in a while a bus will be full but again, we had the same situation on all lines.

You can't compare a group tour with a private one, but not everyone goes private. For us, Regent excursions are not bad at all, and we have never been wait-listed and not accommodated on the tour.

I suppose we're just not exclusive enough to find fault.

Responder: I do not argue with anyone's personal experience just as no one should question or argue mine. I take Regent excursions (also sailed with Regent 10 years). There are certainly some really good ones. My point is not the quality of excursions, it is the ability to opt out. Again, IMO, excursions were not as crowded -- we did not feel like cattle being herded and had smaller groups prior to "included" excursions. It is for this reason that we take more small group excursions and want to opt out of included ones. We certainly are willing to pay for the few excursions that we wish to take.

P.S. Who is talking about a 5,000 passenger ship? I was discussing Silversea, Regent and Oceania.

TC, A personal experience.

Cruise: Venice to Istanbul 2008. Excursion paid for to original site of Olympic games. Ship-Voyager. 10+ buses all arriving at destination at the same time. Mobs of people.

What is the difference? I paid for that, just not in the fare.

P.S. Who is talking about a 5,000 passenger ship? I was discussing Silversea, Regent and Oceania.

We have always agreed that the included excursions were unwanted by us and we pretty much only sail SS. We would love an opt out but it seems business is booming as is. Travelcat2, when docked next to the big O ship in Key West a couple of weeks ago, the first thing I thought of was "look at the hoards of people getting off that ship!" and I realized it most certainly was a different type of experience than Regent or SS...not better or worse but very many more passengers. It surprises me that you have become so fond of such an obviously more crowded ship. Regent and SS are probably a closer match for comparison. 1000, 3000, 5000......I doubt if there are many similarities between the smaller ship cruise lines, included excursions or not.

P.S. Who is talking about a 5,000 passenger ship? I was discussing Silversea, Regent and Oceania.

 

Agree that Silversea and Regent are a much better comparison. Oceania isn't really classified as a "luxury" cruise line -- not even by the CEO. When we were in Rome last year (on the Riviera), it was docked next to one of their smaller ships -- the size of Regent. It was definitely a sight to behold!

 

Oceania is interesting. We tried it because we were curious and were very impressed with the food -- only in the specialty restaurants and the service was as good as on Regent. The ship itself is gorgeous (as the Explorer will be). Many/most of the new passengers were from mainstream cruise lines which I found interesting since many/most new passengers on Regent are from HAL. There were many things on Oceania (the Riviera specifically) that I did not like. The reason we booked another Oceania cruise has little to do with the cruise line itself. We have friends in Miami that we want to touch base with and also became friends with the G.M. on the Riviera and his girlfriend (who may or may not be there in November). The cost to book one of the large suites on Oceania was really good. I must say that their three top suites are amazing (think I mentioned this earlier or another thread). We do not care for the Navigator and certainly do not need excursions so Oceania made sense.

 

In terms of excursions, Oceania is quite expensive but we did try two of them. Both were quite good. While they have passengers wait in the theater, there are not hoards of people like there are on Regent. Actually, I think you might like the way many Oceania passengers handle excursions. On their Roll Call people book small group excursions at a cost much less than Oceania offers. We did that in Tuscany and had a wonderful time.

 

I have probably gotten this thread off track - sorry. To get back on track -- I have not been on Seabourn but have heard fairly good things about them. One not so positive thing I heard was that on the larger ships, you do not have the option to have lunch when you board. Instead sandwiches, etc. are passed around while you are kept in a room awaiting the announcement that suites are ready. This may or may not still be the case. Also, I believe the main dining room was not open for breakfast and lunch -- only dinner. Lastly, there is smoking on balconies which we would have a problem with. If I had to recommend a cruise line other than Regent, it would definitely be Silversea.

It's interesting there is another similar thread with someone who is more likely to go with Seabourn because they can use ff miles for air and prefer to arrange their own independent shore excursions. The cruising experiences are similar, although Seabourn's ships are smaller than Mariner and Voyager. The issues come down to itinerary and how much value you feel you are getting for your price. If you elect not to take Regent's air there is a credit on your cruise fare that can be substantial and varies from cruise to cruise. There is no credit for not taking any "included" excursions. And, as noted above, many excursions do get "sold out" quickly and there is a waiting list, that may or may not be lifted. There are also for-fee excursions on Regent, which are more involved than the "free" excursions. The prices for these excursions are heavily discounted, especially compared to costs from other cruise lines, but some folks are alarmed that not all excursions are, in fact, free. Also, especially for more popular cruises, the most popular excursions get wait listed very quickly after they open up for reservations. If your expectations are that you will get every excursion you want and that they will all be "free" you may be disappointed.

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This is not planned to be negative. We love Regent and for the money for our purposes, we have and continue to find wonderful cruising opportunities. Jeff

I agree with everything you have said, except that from my experience, the wait list usually lifts. I can't remember an excursion I wanted that I didn't get, of the "free" sort.

But here's something that irritates me. I am on a Princess cruise this summer with my family (4 cabins, no way I can do that with Regent with my other cruises with them this year) and we have to pay for excursions (like on Silversea). I chose one I thought my family would enjoy that I had done before on Regent. Darn, regent is now charging more as a supplement than what I am paying on Princess, and excursions are "free" on Regent? This just doesn't seem fair to me.

Travelcat2- It was on the small Seabourn ships that you only got sandwiches in the lounge for lunch on boarding; in the new ships you are advised that you can go up to the Colonnade restaurant for a buffet or waiter served lunch, usually up to 3 p.m. Generally the main dining room is open for breakfast and lunch, although it is possible that this does not apply every day on all cruises. You are right, however, about smoking being allowed on balconies, sadly.

Travelcat2- It was on the small Seabourn ships that you only got sandwiches in the lounge for lunch on boarding; in the new ships you are advised that you can go up to the Colonnade restaurant for a buffet or waiter served lunch, usually up to 3 p.m. Generally the main dining room is open for breakfast and lunch, although it is possible that this does not apply every day on all cruises. You are right, however, about smoking being allowed on balconies, sadly.

Thanks for setting me straight on that. I'm glad to hear that you can board and have lunch:)