Seabourn Sojourn v. SilverSea Spirt-- A Long Overdue Review

I promised this review in August but haven't had a chance to write it until now.

In July we did a 10 day sail on the Sojourn, from Athens to Monte Carlo. This review compares this to a similar Western Med sail we did the prior year on the SilverSea Spirit.

I know this is the Seabourn board, but overall we felt the SilverSea product-- at least the Spirit-- was superior in most respects. (We can't speak to the smaller SilverSea ships, which seem to suffer from less kind reviews than the Spirit).

[U]Layout[/U]: We much preferred the layout of the Spirit. It felt far roomier, and the quality of the furnishings is superior. The back of the ship in particular is very spacious and laid out in a manner which promotes relaxation, for example with very comfortable sofas and bed/pods to lounge on. In contrast, similar areas on the Sojourn are more cramped and seating is either sun loungers (with cheap padding) or round picnic style tables. There is also little or no service on the back of the Sojourn, just a cart of 'help yourself' beverages and towels. On the Spirit, you were waited on constantly, and brought drinks, canapés and a meal if you liked.

[U]Food Quality[/U]: Seabourn wins this category. The caviar in particular is a real treat and is almost reason enough to choose Seabourn. [I][B]SilverSea should take a lesson on this one.[/B][/I]

[U]Dining Options/Variety[/U]: SilverSea prevails in this category. On the Sojourn, we grew tired of eating in the MDR almost every night. We were not enthused about the other options. The Colonade has a cafeteria feel and layout, and its outside space is small and covered with a tarp, rather than al fresco like La Terraza, which is the similar dining venue on the Spirit. Restaurant 2 was a weak attempt at a gourmet style restaurant. The pool grill was just meh in terms of atmosphere. In contrast, the Spirit has several interesting options, including a supper club, two al fresco dining options (La Terraza and Hot Rocks), La Champage (a Relais and Chateaux experience) and a Sushi Bar... in addition to the MDR. While food quality was a little less than Seabourn, the dining options made up for this.

[U]Service[/U]: Surprisingly, we found the service to be very spotty on the Sojourn. Some of the staff were quite good, while others were going through the motions. The Butler on SilverSea is an excellent amenity. Some on this Board seem to be confused about how to utilize this service. Our Butler was only two happy to serve as our personal assistant, handling all of our dinner reservations, special requests, laundry and anything else we asked. In contrast, the cabin attendant on Seabourn was essentially a maid who pointed iu to the phone to call room service when we asked if we could have canapés left in our suite in the late afternoon, or to have beverages re-stocked. We were disappointed on the first day when the maid informed us that we must be sure to leave our "make up the room" card on the door so that she can do her work as early as possible to be free to have her time off the boat. Don't they have a way to track when we leave the ship? The last thing I want is to have to be concerned about-- and told how to manage-- the attendant's schedule on my vacation. This was a far cry from SilverSea where our Butler was literally at our service. What a treat! On SilverSea, we purchased fresh fish in the market which the dining staff happily prepared. On Seabourn, it became an ordeal when we asked if we could have something which we purchased ashore simply cut up and plated by the staff. SilverSea also effortlessly arrange for a rental car in one port for us, whereas the Seabourn rep in the Square simply gave us a cell number to call, which of course did not work. In the end, another rep in the Square handled it 3 days later after we expressed frustration. Why they did not execute on this as asked the first time is inexplicable and in sharp contrast to SilverSea.

[U]Excursions/Tender Service[/U]: This was executed much better on SilverSea. The port crew always had a beautiful and well stocked set up with cold water and fruit. On Seabourn, the water was often left in the boxes, and warm, and the set ups were dismantled by the crew 30 minutes before the last tender. We missed out on this service nearly every day because we would always return on one of the last tenders.

[U]Nightlife[/U]: Far superior on SilverSea. We found the crowd to be more fun loving and casino/night club oriented. On Seabourn, the MDR is open only until 9pm, and we were actually turned away and told to order room service our first night when we arrived at 9:15pm. We usually prefer to eat late, European style, at 9:30ish. The early dinner crowd means that the casino and night club also close early. Too early in our opinion. On the Sojourn, they also had the SAME singer in the night club EVERY night, singing the same songs. This became very tiresome. We also love the Club Room on the Spirit, which, like the Spirit overall, has a very old world and elegant feel which we loved. There is no equivalent for cigars and cognac on the Sojourn, merely a box of cigars which sits on the bar.

[U]Passengers[/U]: We found the passengers on SilverSea to generally be more interesting, more fun loving, more sophisticated and slightly younger (which surprised us, because we were expecting Seabourn to have a younger crowd). We tend to stay out late and get up early to enjoy the port, rent a boat or a car. We are in our VERY LATE 40's, and were easily among the youngest on Seabourn, but not on SilverSea where we felt near the middle of the pack age-wise.


On balance, we would choose the Spirit over the Sojourn, though we did enjoy Seabourn enough to go again if the itinerary suited us and the Spirit was booked or had a much less appealing itinerary. Edited November 4, 2014 by descartes1

Thanks for posting the useful comparison.

Thank you Descartes1 for your review. I was on the Sojourn in late June-early July on a 10-day cruise, Athens to Monte Carlo (perhaps the same sailing as you). First time on Seabourn for me. Your comparison echoes my impressions. The only difference is that I found the food on Seabourn somewhat hit-and-miss. There were some very good meals in the MDR, but not always. Also, I found the meals rather mediocre in the Colonnade most days. Must say, I was surprised that the whole Seabourn experience was not quite as great as the reviews led me to expect.