Seabourn question from Windstar loyalist

Hi all,

I am thinking about trying a Seabourn cruise after sailing many times with Windstar (both sail and ex-Seabourn ships). What I love about Windstar is the intimate, small-ship feel, and very casual luxury. While the all-inclusive, luxury aspect of Seabourn is very appealing, I am worried that the ships will feel more like "ships" rather than intimate yachts where you get to know a lot of people. Any comments or thoughts? How intimate/small-ship feel is Seabourn these days?

Seabourn's O Class ships have more spaces, so one is less likely to bump into folks you were with before, and the Veranda and Colonnade are much larger than their old counterparts, so one is not as likely to sit at a table with others. It can happen but feels less "natural". So I feel the triplets were more conducive to making friends. But outgoing folks will do so anyway, and the new Seabourn ships are a good bit more comfortable. In summary, we like them both, but they are certainly different.

We enjoy both but greatly miss the Little Sisters formerly owned by Seabourn and have yet to give them a try with Windstar. The Seabourn ships do feel a little large to us compared to W/S but it's nice to have a change - and very nice indeed to have a more comfortable suite and added luxury all round, so we continue to sail both.

I've never struggled to meet people on the O class ships or indeed the (relatively) mega sized ship Encore.

You still bump into people you have met previously but don't feel you are living in each others pockets. What you do find is you form several sub groups throughout the cruise. Your triva group, your 11.00am coffee cub, your art / bridge / lecture group, your pre dinner drinks club and so on.

Henry :)

The Seabourn triplets (and now the Windstar trio) were yachts. The new Seabourn vessels, even the Odyssey Class, are ships. You simply cannot compare the intimacy no matter how hard they try. I never found myself living in anyone else's pockets on the triplets. There was plenty of room for everyone. And in fact, the suites were much more comfortable because even though the square footage was a bit less, they did not have the long corridor of wasted space that exists on the current ships. That space was outside the suite itself. The suite was much wider and felt much more comfortable.

All that said, the new ships offer so many improvements in other ways, mainly verandahs, that I still find Seabourn the best way to sail the seas.

The Seabourn triplets (and now the Windstar trio) were yachts. The new Seabourn vessels, even the Odyssey Class, are ships. You simply cannot compare the intimacy no matter how hard they try. I never found myself living in anyone else's pockets on the triplets. There was plenty of room for everyone. And in fact, the suites were much more comfortable because even though the square footage was a bit less, they did not have the long corridor of wasted space that exists on the current ships. That space was outside the suite itself. The suite was much wider and felt much more comfortable.

 

All that said, the new ships offer so many improvements in other ways, mainly verandahs, that I still find Seabourn the best way to sail the seas.

I agree with this but would also add I felt the service was more personal in the smaller ships. I still prefer Seabourn to SilverSea and Regent but I do think they lost a bit going to the bigger ships.

Agree with all the comments posted. The babies were our favourites. We enjoyed many sailings at half capacity which added to the private yacht feeling and more personal contact with staff.

The suites in the "O" class are lovely, and the bathrooms are generous. We were tentative at first and worried about private space and more passengers but there is a nice balance.

The main difference we notice is the changed relationship with staff - while still personal it is not as "intimate" as on the smaller ships.

I am looking at sailing the triplets again now that John Delaney is president.

He came from Seabourn and looks as if he is employing some industry greats and going places with Windstar

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