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Just sailed SIlversea, LOVED IT.......so would I love Seabourn too?


Lois R
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Good morning Seabourn cruisers........I just sailed Silversea last month and LOVED IT......it was my first time sailing on a

LUXURY LINE.......not sure I will be going back to mainstream now;)........I have been cruising regularly on

Celebrity for the past 14 years..

 

Anyway, looking at possibly trying Seabourn now.....not a "definite" thing yet but just want some input on why YOU love

Seabourn..........I loved the small ship, service, food, overall ambiance of Silversea. I met several cruisers on my sailing

who have sailed both lines.....some said Seabourn is much better than SS........but my trip was awesome and I had no

comparisons..........I know, different strokes for different folks but would like some feedback..........please be kind:)

 

Thanks!:)

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My reply is an unequivocal YES. I started cruising on Silversea and switched to Seabourn a couple of years later. I haven't been back to Silversea.

There are differences between the two lines, the most apparent being that Silversea is overall more formal than Seabourn. I prefer more formal and thought the less formal SB would bother me, but it doesn't, I'm happy with the level of formality and feel as if I actually have more choice on SB regarding dress code.

 

Which of the SS ships did you cruise on? If it was Silver Spirit, three of the Seabourn ships are smaller than it, with 450 guests max. The public areas feel more spacious though on the Seabourn ships, IMO. Silver Spirit has about 100 more guests and it was the Silversea ship I cruised a few times before moving to Seabourn. I definitely prefer the smaller Seabourn ships (Odyssey, Quest, Sojourn).

I haven't yet cruised Seabourn's newest and biggest ship, Encore, which has more guests than Silver Spirit. I believe it's 600 capacity. If you sailed on one of the smaller SS ships then all of the Seabourn ships will be bigger than it.

 

Overall I prefer nearly everything about Seabourn, except I do miss a proper promenade deck. I prefer the onboard ambience, the food, the service is more personal and friendlier, better choice of dining venues.

Give Seabourn a try :)

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Thanks for the detailed reply:)...yes, I went on The SPIRIT......500 guests, that is small compared to all my previous

cruises.......oh except I did go on a River Cruise last year and LOVED IT too. Now that is small......there were only about

150 guests;).........

 

I will do some more research with Seabourn and see what I come up with............thanks again:)

 

How did you find the dining? I sail on my own and just wondering if it easy to meet other folks? I love my independence but enjoy

having dinner with other people.

Edited by Lois R
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I have been sailing solo (all on Seabourn) since 2006. Seabourn takes care of us singles, especially at dinner, very well. If you notify the helpful folks in Seabourn Square that you wish to dine with others you will not lack for dinner companions and may even be included in hosted tables.

 

You will easily meet others soon after boarding so you need not dine alone unless that is your choice. Sometimes dinner in our suite, served course by course if you wish, while watching the latest movie on your TV, can be quite self-indulgent and comfy to boot!:o

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Hi, wow, you have been sailing solo with them for a long time........you must love them:)........

I have a BIG Birthday coming up in 2018......60........I am trying to decide what to do.....Seabourn is in the running;)

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This subject has been covered extensively on both boards so do have a look, Lois. What it comes down to is your personal taste, the crew on board the ship at the time,conviviality of fellow passengers, the itinerary & your state of mind, not to mention the weather! It's like asking which is better, steak or lobster? We can all argue our choices & rationale for the answer we give but in the long run, it's a personal taste issue. Nothing is perfect - we've had dreadful wines on Seabourn (and by dreadful, I mean swill) but that same wine might be your fav. We've had less than pronto service on Silversea but you may have had that on Seabourn. Many, many factors in play but after about 200 days on each, I'm thrilled to be on either & we'll be delighted to be on both of them again soon, Seabourn in a month & Silversea in 4 months. Ain't life grand? Enjoy your due diligence & decision making process and rest assured that you can't go wrong with either. Cheers !

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How did you find the dining? I sail on my own and just wondering if it easy to meet other folks? I love my independence but enjoy

having dinner with other people.

 

I often cruise alone and like Winner wrote earlier, Seabourn is great for single travellers. When I'm cruising solo I do enjoy the occasional dinner in my suite, especially after a long port day, but frequently join the hosted tables. This often leads to other invitations and on all cruises longer than 10 days I've received an invitation to dinner on a smaller table in the Colonnade (similar concept to SS's La Terrazza, although the theme for dinner changes each evening). There's absolutely no pressure to "join in", you can be as independent as you wish.

 

For some reason I've always found it easier to meet others on Seabourn than I did on Silversea, that applies whether I'm cruising alone or with my partner or our cruising group of friends.

 

I see you're thinking of a cruise for your 60th birthday, if it's on Odyssey, Quest or Sojourn I'd say definitely go for it. I can't comment about solo travel on the Encore as I've not been on her yet.

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It has been awhile since we sailed Seabourn. With that said if you enjoyed Silversea my guess is that you would not only like Seabourn but it is very possible that you would like Seabourn even more.

 

Lois, the reality is that you won't know until you try it out yourself.

 

I can't explain why but on both our Seabourn cruises we met many people who we not only had dinner or drinks with but who we even kept up with on land from time to time when we visited cities where they lived. That was not the case on our Silversea cruises. Maybe it was just a coincidence. We just found that on Seabourn there were more opportunities to get to know people whether that was the hosted dinners, or at the lounges or even on some tours including going with the executive chef to pick out food.

 

Anyway, find an itinerary that you like and I would give it a try.

 

Keith

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Lois, I have taken only three cruises on Seabourn but, in terms of passenger mix and vibe, really loved the experience. I have sailed around six with Silversea, which I also enjoy, mainly itinerary/date driven. The food and wines are comparable and the crew, though from different nationalities (SS mainly Filipino, Indian, etc; SB mainly Eastern Europeans and some Asians) are both charming and service oriented. In my limited SB experience I very much agree with Keith, especially in regards to the easy, comfortable, interaction amongst passengers. I would recommend you give SB a try.

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We have cruised Silversea 3 or 4 times, though not for probably 5 years. We have done many on Seabourn, and definitely prefer it. I am not a solo traveller, but notice and am told that singles generally like Seabourn because of the fact that you will often be invited to dine with a host - Officer or perhaps entertainer - with 8 or 10 others, some couples and some singles. Then you will have met people you can make friends with. I would say the overall ambiance of Seabourn is more friendly and casual than Silversea, and we personally prefer the type of staff - many Europeans, and also some from South Africa, New Zealand, the UK etc. Also like the Colonnade casual restaurant on SB more than the Terrazza on Silversea.

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We have been sailing on both Seabourn and Silversea since the late 90's. We have never had a bad experience on either one and look forward to every cruise we book. There are some differences, but the overall cruise experience on both are similar. When we book a cruise we look at itinerary offerings by both lines to make a decision.

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I thought the folks on SS were very friendly:)....crew and staff as well. I had dinner with 3 staff members and also one

of the entertainers......sounds like both lines encourage the interaction with guests.....that is a good thing in my opinion.

 

One evening, the head of Guest Relations joined me and 1 other gal for dinner..........one night we dined with head

of F&B and on another evening I was invited (along with 4 other guests) to dine with the CD...........so there were

6 of us. It was quite enjoyable:)

 

And one of the singers joined me and 2 other guests one night.

 

Sounds like Seabourn does the same things:)

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi Lois, glad to see you on the Seabourn site after many years on Celebrity. I have been on all the luxury lines and I think you will feel very comfortable on Seabourn. I just came home from a 14 nt. Alaska cruise on Saturday. My first on Seabourn. I think all the luxury lines do a great job. That said, I feel Seabourn cruiser`s were the friendliest I have seen on any line. I`m sure the free flowing bar helps ! ;p We met several women solo traveler`s and they were having a great time. Cheers, Heather

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  • 2 months later...

Hi again, thought I would bring this back up front........now it is closing in on the end of the year and I am still trying

to decide what to for my birthday............:eek:

I wasn't planning to do a Caribbean cruise but Seabourn has a nice looking itinerary........it is on The Odyssey.

 

I am guessing they are no longer sailing to the hardest hit ports.....Barbuda? Didn't that Island get totally destroyed?

 

It is the called the YACHTSMAN'S Caribbean........sailing for 7 nights out of Barbados...........

 

Any thoughts about it would be appreciated:)

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Hi Lois if I looked at the correct itinerary, your cruise will visit two of my favourite ports in the Caribbean, Bequia and Ile des Saintes. They're both absolutely lovely islands, more traditional and much less touristy than the others on your itinerary.

I tend to avoid the 7 day cruises as they seem to have a different onboard ambience to the longer cruises. However, in my experience the Caribbean cruises always feel particularly sociable so I think you'd have a great time travelling solo.

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Hi Lois,

We will be sailing Seabourn's Caribbean Skies, out of Barbados, on January 6. Check it out.

 

Hi Cam:) I want to wait till closer to my bday. (March).......I will find something:)

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Hi Lois if I looked at the correct itinerary, your cruise will visit two of my favourite ports in the Caribbean, Bequia and Ile des Saintes. They're both absolutely lovely islands, more traditional and much less touristy than the others on your itinerary.

I tend to avoid the 7 day cruises as they seem to have a different onboard ambience to the longer cruises. However, in my experience the Caribbean cruises always feel particularly sociable so I think you'd have a great time travelling solo.

 

Hi, I still do 7 nighters;)........but I already have a 10 nighter booked for next summer. And sociable is always good:D

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We did a 10 day cruise most recently and enjoyed the atmosphere. The next cruise we have booked on SB is for 21 days. It does bother me a bit when people comment on the 7 days cruises as the inference is that these are the less expensive cruises and perhaps the passengers are not up to snuff. I'm probably the ONLY person getting this impression, so please set me straight!

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We did a 10 day cruise most recently and enjoyed the atmosphere. The next cruise we have booked on SB is for 21 days. It does bother me a bit when people comment on the 7 days cruises as the inference is that these are the less expensive cruises and perhaps the passengers are not up to snuff. I'm probably the ONLY person getting this impression, so please set me straight!

I haven't done a 7 day cruise, but I am guessing a 7 day turnover causes extra work for the crew and less time to get to know everyone's likes and dislikes. Hence a longer cruise = a more satisfied cutomer????

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