How does Silversea compare to Regent

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I agree, nobody is harmed by having an obese person near them! :p

[johnnycruise]

I agree, nobody is harmed by having an obese person near them! :p

 

Southwest Airlines may disagree with that assumption:eek:

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Oh yeah, well. Thought we were talking about cruising. Airline seats are a real issue, not sure how I feel about it.

[JPR]

Many airlines now require very obese passengers to purchase two adjacent seats.

[Roland4]

Did the executives at Crystal give you a percentage of those "high mileage" (what does that mean, exactly?) It can't just be World Cruisers, because there are many of those who don't smoke and don't like smoke.

 

How much of the problem is related to officers and staff onboard wanting to smoke in the piano bar, as has been mentioned by some? I don't have a problem with smoking in special rooms set aside for that purpose, like a closed cigar bar, but wherever people sing or dance, customers or performers, I think there should be no smoking.

 

(My apologies for taking this thread slightly off-topic here, but I thought this deserved an answer.)

 

I am paraphrasing (since I don't recall the eact words) but what he said was a substantial number of their long-time and multiple-segment (what I meant by "high-mileage") clientele are smokers and they do not wish to unnecessarily antagonize them. He also said they seriously considered making both the Palm Court and the Avenue non-smoking in 2010, but decided to do them one at a time.

[Travelcat2]

Don't know if this thread will ever get back on track. . . . Crystal has nothing whatsoever to do with the OPS question (yes. . . . I know that I inadvertantly contributed to posting information about Crystal when none was requested). Smoking on ships is always an interesting topic and it has been discussed here quite reasonably. . . . and, Silversea does allow smoking in suites and balconies. It is very surprising to hear that some passengers on Silversea are allowed to smoke because they are frequent cruisers. Fortunately, I cannot imagine Regent doing this.

[Dolebludger]

Travelcat2:

 

I don't think it was Roland4's intent to say that some (long term regular) guests were allowed to smoke in areas where other guests were not. I think it was his intent to say that Silversea had not designated as many areas non-smoking as they might have, but for the pro-smoking input of many of its regulars. In any event it has been my observation on Silversea that nobody is allowed to smoke in non-smoking areas, and anybody is allowed to smoke in a smoking-allowed areas. I don't think there is any personal discrimination here.

 

I think the input of the Silversea regulars on smoking is much like the input of Regent regulars on the issue of formal nights. Just as many Regent regulars find it unthinkable that regular guest demand has caused Silversea to allow smoking in more areas, many Silversea regulars find it unthinkable that the opinions of regulars caused the demise of formal nights on Regent.

[Travelcat2]

Travelcat2:

 

I don't think it was Roland4's intent to say that some (long term regular) guests were allowed to smoke in areas where other guests were not. I think it was his intent to say that Silversea had not designated as many areas non-smoking as they might have, but for the pro-smoking input of many of its regulars. In any event it has been my observation on Silversea that nobody is allowed to smoke in non-smoking areas, and anybody is allowed to smoke in a smoking-allowed areas. I don't think there is any personal discrimination here.

 

I think the input of the Silversea regulars on smoking is much like the input of Regent regulars on the issue of formal nights. Just as many Regent regulars find it unthinkable that regular guest demand has caused Silversea to allow smoking in more areas, many Silversea regulars find it unthinkable that the opinions of regulars caused the demise of formal nights on Regent.

 

Thanks for clearing that up.

[gdlamberth]

Just completed our first SS cruise and have over 100 days on Regent so I thought I'd share some observations.

 

Musings on our 15 day Copenhagen to Copenhagen cruise on Silver Cloud

 

General Impressions: Our collective overall impression is that this was what Regent was like several years ago. It started when we dropped off our luggage at about 12PM with the knowledge we wouldn't be able to board until 3PM. We had planned to do some sightseeing in the area where we were docked. However, when our taxi pulled up to drop off our bags we were immediately checked in an told we could go on board for lunch. As we were getting our pictures taken for our key cards our butler introduced himself and offered that our room was ready and wanted to know if we'd like a tour of the ship before getting lunch. So we dropped of our "hand carry," received a quick tour of the common areas and were taken to lunch at the Terrace Cafe. Sushi and sashimi were on the lunch buffet and we were off to a great start! Bottom line, after two weeks we felt if you were "beamed up" to the Cloud you wouldn't know whether you were on a Silversea or Regent ship. Our feelings are, "If you like Regent there's a pretty fair chance you'll like Silversea and vice versa." That said, there were some nits and nuanced differences we noticed so here goes.

 

Service: As I alluded to earlier, this is the way we remembered Regent's service being several years ago. We were greeted by name pretty quickly and the overall cheerfulness of the crew as a whole was quite noticeable. Only glitch in service was one morning at breakfast. After coffee was served no one came by to take breakfast orders. It was a sea day and maybe the staff was overwhelmed. When I mentioned to Head Waiter, he came immediately to take my wife's order, but by then we were all out of synch with each other. I thought the "Butler system" on Silversea worked pretty well for us. Since "Richie" always brought us our morning coffee and any other room service requests as well as getting the room made up in the morning and turned down in the evening; it seemed like we were dealing with a single person for all our needs. For whatever reason that worked very well for us.

We also had a leak in the ceiling above our bathroom the first night. Nothing was seriously damaged but the floor in our closet was soaked. I called Richie first thing and he notified head of housekeeping and we were offered a new suite down the hall before breakfast. Our "stuff" was all moved for us. Since our dirty clothes on the floor of the closet had gotten wet, I asked if we could get and the staff one day of free laundry so we could handle the wet clothes. No problem. Turned out to be a good deal as we were moved to a midship suite on the same deck.

One of the Sommeliers spent a bit of time discussing our tastes in red wines one day at lunch and promised she would have something for us that evening. She did and it was really great.

Don't know if this is really "service" or not but the Captain did a couple of things that were real pluses for our cruise. First, he delayed our departure from Honningsvag from 2AM until 6AM. This meant we arrived at Nordkapp at about 10AM instead of 6AM. Besides being a somewhat more civilized hour (after a 9:30PM-1AM land tours at Honningsvag) it also meant the fog had a chance to lift affording us a great sea view of Nordkapp. Second, he took advantage of good weather to take us into Troll Fjord on the way to Svolear. That was pretty magic. Fjord was only about 50 meters wider than the ship so you could just about reach out and touch the fjord walls.

 

Silversea -vs- Regent: I hesitate to take this on but here goes. BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front): We all three agree that Silver Sea and Regent provide very similar products. Our future choice of cruise lines between Regent and Silver Sea will be based on price, itinerary and schedule. Here are some small differences but none were "deal breakers."

• It came to pass that the more liberal smoking policy on Silver Sea was a non-issue as there did not appear to be many smokers on board.

• Buckwheat pancakes. Yes, I said "buckwheat pancakes." We happen to love buckwheat pancakes. On Regent it's not real obvious there is any buckwheat flour in the buckwheat pancakes at all. Not so on Silver Cloud. Here they had a rich buckwheat flavor. I know this isn't a big deal for most if any of you, but we noticed and my wife was thrilled.

• Bathroom design. There are two items here. First, there is no shower door or curtain (I know the curtain is a sanitation thing). There is a standing (unmovable) glass panel that goes about half way back. You feel like you're going to get water all over the bathroom floor. It really does a pretty good job keeping the water in but it is somewhat unnerving in any event. Second, the vanity is in the corner with a curved edge. However, the shelf underneath goes straight across the corner. This has two affects: 1)you lose a fair amount of shelf space; and, 2) it's darn near impossible to reach the waste basket under the sink.

• There seemed to be an ongoing problem with the shower water temperature constantly varying in the middle of a shower. Other guests noticed this, too.

• Hot tubs and pools. The pool on Silver Cloud was heated and full at all times. Typical temp was 88-90 F. Hot tubs were also full at all times. Regent used to drain theirs frequently rendering unavailable for swimming.

• Pool Grill. Regent ships have a real grill. Silver Cloud has a large rectangular griddle. We prefer the grill especially for the "grilled" catch of the day offered at lunch. The griddle meant the fish had to be "pan fried" essentially and hot dogs boiled.

• Dress. We can live without formal nights.

• Postcards. Regent has always had postcards of the ship available at Reception that Regent would mail for free. Silversea has the postcards but charges to mail them.

• 24 hour coffee service. Silver Cloud had no way to get a cup of coffee before 0615 or so, except through room service. We really missed the "coffee bar" machine that Regent has on their ships.

• While the "midship veranda suite" we were in is smaller (about 240sqft plus balcony) than the standard suites on Regent's ships, we really didn't notice the size reduction except, maybe, in the bathroom.

• The Executive Chef spent 15-20 minutes in the dining room each evening making 5-6 minute visits to 4 or 5 tables (tables without any "management" just seemingly random tables).

• I had been told that the ceilings on Silver Sea were a bit lower but had not said anything to Gretchen or Cheryl (they're both rather tall). On the second day Cheryl asked, "Are the ceilings were lower than on Regent?" I hadn't noticed from my position closer to the floor, but others did notice the lower ceilings.

 

Other observations:

• Special occasions. At

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

you can read about two special events we were invited to attend. A birthday dinner for one of our friends that featured a specially prepared menu with the waiter describing each course in some detail and a visit by the Executive Chef toward the end of dinner. The second was a "Champagne Breakfast" with the Captain, the Hotel Director and the Cruise Director each hosting a table. Both were quite memorable. Also on this sight you'll find photos posted by "TLCOhio." They're great and portray a really good photo-journal of our cruise.

• The ship also hosted a small "4th of July" celebration in the theater. Nothing big, but for the 160 or so US citizens on board, a nice touch.

• On "Canada Day" (I hope I got the name right) there was a Maple Leaf Flag cake on display in the dining room.

• The Silver Cloud provided an extremely smooth ride.

• For our very first time we had "in suite" dinner (so we could watch the World Cup Final, and "dodge" a formal night). In the past we've always been a bit apprehensive about this, partly because there are three of us in the suite. However, it was GREAT. I suspect we may try on our next Regent cruise, too.

• Shore excursions can be quite pricey and folks should factor that in carefully when comparing Regent to Silver Sea.

• We did miss our "Gold" perks with Regent.

• TLCOhio's posts on Cruise Critic provide a lot of additional information and detail in addition to the great photos. This was the most visually stunning trip we've ever taken. I must add that we were blessed with great weather. Only rain of any significance was the morning in Geiranger Fjord.

• We absolutely enjoyed our cruise on the Silver Cloud!

 

Greg

__________________

USNA72

 

"Big Red Boat" Bahamas 1995

Destiny Caribbean 1996

Elation Mexico 1998

RSSC Mariner Caribbean 2002

RSSC Navigator Alaska 2002

RSSC Navigator TransCanal 2003

Paul Gauguin Tahiti 2004 B2B

RSSC Voyager Baltic Aug 2004

RCCL Mariner of the Seas Caribbean 2005

RSSC Mariner Auckland to LA 2005

RSSC Voyager Monte Carlo to Dover 2006

Paul Gauguin Papeete-Fiji 2007

RSSC Navigator Athens to Monte Carlo B2B2B

[Hambagahle]

It is bizarre to me - I don't see why Silversea allows smoking in the suites - or at "specified tables" in the common areas like lounges! I do not understand why they charge for their "speciality" restaurants. And now I see that you cannot even get a "normal" wine in one of them I do not understand why that is so either! Are you supposed to bring your own? After all, you have paid your cruise fare which is - again - supposed to include your drinks!

 

I had booked a SS cruise for 2012. My husband (American) and I (British) began to get more and more worried that we would spend quite a bit of money and then find that we were disapppointed that we were not on a Regent ship. So we cancelled it! This thread makes me all the more happier that we did, even though we would (as permanent Swiss residents) probably "fit in" more with the Silversea passengers... Who knows? We love what Regent provides for us.

[PaulaJK]

Thank you for the excellent review. It contained a lot of interesting information and made both SS and Regent sound very desirable while noting perceived differences.

[gdlamberth]

Let me add an item and clarify another.

 

First, we had dinner with the Senior Accountant one night and while discussing things in general, I mentioned how pleased I was that we weren't being bothered by the smoke. He then said, Silversea will soon prohibit smoking in suites though it will still be permitted in certain open deck areas aft.

 

Second, when I described the Sommelier story:

 

One of the Sommeliers spent a bit of time discussing our tastes in red wines one day at lunch and promised she would have something for us that evening. She did and it was really great.

 

I did not mean to imply that we were having trouble getting a "normal" bottle of wine. In fact, I quite enjoyed some of the reds being poured. The backstory here is that my cousin really doesn't like red wine but her doctor had suggested she should try drinking a glass now and again. So, the Sommelier spent 10-15 minutes at lunch interviewing my cousin to determine what sort of red she might like. That was the bottle brought out that evening.

 

Sorry for any confusion I may have caused.

Greg

[grapejuice]

gdlamberth

That is fantastic news regarding the no smoking policy (soon to be enforced) in suites. We will wait and see. I definitely will be booking cruises on SS if that is the case. Just have to get rid of the tuxedos and everything will be sweet.

[mariners]

Thanks for the detailed comparison, Greg. As the pools/hot tubs are heated, did you find that the smell of chlorine was an issue?

[fizzy]

For what it's worth...... we had dinner with the hotel director on our recent, fabulous SS Shadow cruise and he assured us that there are absolutely no plans to change any of the current rules. He felt that people will choose the line that fits them best and vote with their wallet. His thoughts were based on the large ammount of repeat cruisers and positive comments about SS that management recieves.

[gdlamberth]

Thanks for the detailed comparison, Greg. As the pools/hot tubs are heated, did you find that the smell of chlorine was an issue?

Did not notice chlorine odor in either pool or hot tub.

[countflorida]

Earlier I had posted the quote below in this thread:

We too have been disappointed with Regent in recent years, particularly the decline in service and food and the constant expansion of all-inclusive coupled with increasing costs, so after almost 250 days on RSSC, we are trying Silversea in April – Silver Shadow from San Juan to Ft. Lauderdale. If that cruise goes well, we'll take the triple back-to-back Istanbul-Athens-Venice-Monaco cruise on the new Silver Spirit in September-October, 2011. . .

The information here about the extra charges for alternate dining and wine with dinner on Silversea is disquieting, particularly as we will again have to pay for the Internet, and do or pay for our laundry. . .

It’s really a shame, RSSC was so good, and many of the Platinum perks are so nice, but we just haven’t been happy with the cutbacks, first in cabin service, and more recently in food and dining service. Plus we prefer to make our own excursion arrangements rather than join the thundering herds on the busses. We like a drink, but not enough to support the all-inclusive policy. Wine with dinner plus the set-up was plenty for us, although we would have preferred a cocktail party or happy hour before dinner to the in-suite setups. We're giving Regent another shot though, the Voyager from Ft. Lauderdale to Reykjavik in May, with high hopes but low expectations. Truly a shame!

Well, now we’ve taken both cruises, the April - Caribbean cruise on the Silver Shadow and the May - East Coast to Reykjavik cruise on Voyager, which just happened to be this year’s (season’s?) President’s cruise; Mark Conway and his lovely wife were on board as far as Halifax. During that part of the cruise, both food and service were the best we’ve had on Regent in several years. After Halifax, it fell off a bit, but was still pretty good. And we certainly enjoyed all the perks that come with the Platinum tier on Regent, plus we were offered and took a low-cost upgrade to a Penthouse Suite, so we were able to compare service, butler against butler!

I don’t know if we’d be willing to pay full price for a butler on Regent, but it is a very welcome addition; it takes the level of in-suite service back to, and honestly a fair distance beyond, that we used to enjoy when every suite on Radisson had both a stewardess and a steward. Interestingly enough, our Silversea butler was on his first contract with them; previously he had been on Voyager for several contracts, and was a good buddy of our butler on that ship. Both were great and insured we had outstanding service! Having butlers in all suites is a definite plus for Silversea.

Silversea’s food was just a slight bit better than Regent’s early high standard, in both selection and quality, but the choice of standard wines was not as extensive or as good. And since we had to pay for many amenities we get without charge via our Seven Seas Society tier status with Regent (laundry, Internet access, newspaper, air deviation service, etc.), we didn’t spring for the connoisseur collection wines. Overall, Silversea gets the edge on food, wine and overall service. My wife remarked that all of the Regent staff were graciously attentive and smiled a lot while the Conroys were aboard, but went back to cordial but slow service, smiles absent as soon as they left. Despite disclaimers that service and provisioning expenses have not been cut, our experience on this cruise (after Halifax) and on earlier cruises, and the very nature of the Apollo-Prestige-Regent business relationship, the way outfits like Apollo operate, strongly suggest different. If budgets haven’t been cut, they certainly haven’t kept up with inflation.

In his Town Meeting on board, Mark Conway pointed out some of the constraints on staffing, one being Regent’s ability to recruit and keep trained help, particularly in competition with lines that do not include gratuities in the fare, where wait and stateroom staff make more overall than their counterparts on lines like Regent that do include tips in the fare. Other factors impeding staffing is that Regent ships don’t have free staff cabins to house larger crews, a hard-to-believe claim as all three ships were in service when Radisson had two stewards(esses) per suite as well as many more wait and supervisory staff in the dining areas. Also, Mark cited competition from all the large new ships just coming into service, and joked at one point that if he banned smoking he’d have to do it for both guests and crew; then we’d have to wait on ourselves and make our own beds. Neither of us smoke, and only once in two weeks, in the bar across from the Casino, did we smell smoke, not enough to bother us, but certainly noticeable.

Comparing ships overall, suites and entertainment the two lines come out basically equal. Bothersome to us are charges for the alternate restaurant and the Internet on Silversea, and the loss of choice and quality as well as the degrading levels of service on Regent. We get lots of benefits with them though, and like all three ships, with the Voyager being a slight favorite. Frankly, we wonder whether we'll like the Cloud or Wind, as they are much smaller and lack separate showers in the baths. The specialty restaurants on Regent are better too, in our opinion, plus there isn’t an added charge for either of them. And today, access to the Internet is (or certainly should be) an integral part of any upscale lodging or cruising experience. Silversea approach is so 1990ies.

In all honesty, for us Silversea and Regent are mostly just about equal. Silversea’s slight edge in food quality and selection, it’s universal butlers, and clear edge overall in service and friendliness of staff is fairly balanced by Regent’s plethora of included features and amenities. So we’ll continue to cruise with Regent, and if we can pick a cruise that isn’t cancelled or truncated to accommodate a charter, we'll also travel again with Silversea.

The great three week triple back-to-back Istanbul-Athens-Venice-Monaco cruise on the new Silver Spirit in September-October, 2011 we’d booked was cancelled when they chartered the ship for a major piece of the Athens-Venice leg. Our super-agent and a very helpful woman at the Silversea call center found us another, shorter back-to-back cruise on the Cloud a bit later, making several of the same port calls, so we booked that, disappointed that we wouldn’t be sailing in the new ship but comforted by a small discount to make up for the cancellation. Then just last week we were notified that this cruise has been shortened by several days, making it hardly worth the effort to get to it and back; flying is such a giant hassle these days!

So our verdict in the Silversea vs. Regent sweepstakes: TOO CLOSE TO CALL! For those just getting started cruising, I think Silversea gets the edge over Regent, but I’d try Seabourn and Crystal as well before I made up my mind.

[wripro]

Frankly, Mark Conway's excuses for not being able to staff properly should not be our problem. He advertises and we are charged for a certain product and it is up to him to deliver it. If you bought a Mercedes and it came with cloth seats because BMW bought all the leather would you be happy?

[Travelcat2]

Really well written and thoughtful review. Your experience on Silversea is pretty much what we expect when we are on the Silver Spirit in November. We expect a slightly different experience rather than a better or worse one.

 

I have heard that the staffing on Regent is not less than it was -- just that the ships are running full with the same staff as when they were perhaps 75% full. For those of you who sailed on Regent several years ago, do you recall if Regent was sailing with less passengers than they have now? Just curious.

[jhp]

wripro, I agree. Regent knows well in advance (full payment due date, what 90 days, 120?) almost exactly how many will be cruising. Having been in this segment of the service industry in another life for 20 years, absolutely NO excuse not to have enough service personnnel onboard on any cruise in every department. Hotel part, restaurant part, bar part, you name it. Plenty of notice to them to get them there from any part of the world. Unless they are trying to cut costs at the expense of us passengers who are paying higher and higher prices each year.

 

I cut Regent a lot of slack for lapses now and then on my many cruises with them for the same reason, for things that happen now and then on a cruise. But scheduling staff for a particular cruise, they should know what to do for the numbers.

[WC11]

Frankly, Mark Conway's excuses for not being able to staff properly should not be our problem. He advertises and we are charged for a certain product and it is up to him to deliver it. If you bought a Mercedes and it came with cloth seats because BMW bought all the leather would you be happy?

 

I really agree with this, for what it costs us to do this we really don't need to hear excuses from management. Or how bad or dangerous Regent was before Apollo.

 

I would like to try Seabourn. Silverseas is a cut above Regent. The standard cabins are almost identical. The food is a little better. Everything runs just a little bit smoother. There is less BS it seems. You do get the full leather on Silverseas. The Voyager is a heck of a boat though and slightly leads as my favorite ship.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I would also like to try Seabourn, but won't go back to a ship that requires formal nights. Guess this precludes Silversea as well.

 

Count, thank you so much for such a great comparative review! I agree that Regent has lost an edge in service and dining consistency--if they could get back to where they are, we would never look elsewhere.

 

I also have no sympathy for Conroy complaining about how hard it is get staff--staff used to *want* to work with Radisson because they were well compensated and worked in a harmonious environment--if this is no longer true, then Regent is shooting itself in the foot.

[wripro]

Wendy,

 

Try a seven day Med or Caribbean cruise on Seabourn. No formal nights at all. And even on longer ones you can always dine in one of the other restaurants in elegant causal attire on the formal night.

[tigercruisefan]

After three Regent cruises in Europe in 04,06 and 08, we did Silversea in July 2010. Regent has better food, and an overall better experience.

[bev'sid]

I love this thread - so thorough & so many different thoughts. I think it's great to try many lines. I feel it makes us appreciate the things you do like more & maybe realize nothing is perfect too.

 

 

I have heard that the staffing on Regent is not less than it was -- just that the ships are running full with the same staff as when they were perhaps 75% full. For those of you who sailed on Regent several years ago, do you recall if Regent was sailing with less passengers than they have now? Just curious.

 

I think I can offer a bit of info here, at least during the last 9 yrs since I first tried Regent/Radisson. I was indeed on several full sailings then & now, but those were at busy times of the year. Still, the ratio of staff to guest was definitely higher then. The obvious staff cut was cutting down to only one stateroom attendant. On the Diamond & Navigator I always had a male/female team, but they seem to have gone to one "stewardess" across the fleet now. I'm not sure of any others, for sure.

 

Of course, the cruise industry does not live in a bubble & they were hit by a sagging economy just like most of the rest of us, so it doesn't surprise me that they have cut back here & there. I do miss some of the little things (*sigh* real Aveda products lol), but still feel it is the best fit for me and my friends & family.

 

Just a side note: several years ago I listened to a panel comprised of all the CEOs & presidents for the luxury cruise industry. Interestingly enough, Mark Conroy was being chastised by his colleagues/competitors for offering sales & discounts. Sort of funny since we see so many types of incentives these days. ;)