How inclusive is Silversea

[decibeldb]

Hi Chaps

 

New to this board, so please excuse any mistakes.

 

I am thinking of Silversea for the Artic trip and I was wondering how inclusive they are.

 

I have been on a couple of cruises with Seabourn and I like the way that I did not have to worry about paying for anything once I was on board.

 

How does Silversea compare to Seabourn in this respect.

 

Thanks

 

db

[dougburns]

Silversea and Seabourn are pretty much mirror images when it comes to inclusiveness. On SS you have to pay for le Champagne and Sieshin restaurants.

[TLCOhio]

Hi Chaps. New to this board, so please excuse any mistakes. I am thinking of Silversea for the Artic trip and I was wondering how inclusive they are. I have been on a couple of cruises with Seabourn and I like the way that I did not have to worry about paying for anything once I was on board. How does Silversea compare to Seabourn in this respect. Thanks. db

 

Welcome to these Cruise Critic boards. Doug from Arizona has summarized things well. There are some offering/facility differences, in part due to the size differences on the various ships, but that is minor. Silversea does have the Butler program, which we liked much. From my below posting, you can see many details on what we enjoyed and experienced in early July, 2010, on the Silver Cloud.

 

We did late June 2006 on 204-passenger Seabourn Spirit, Athens to Istanbul, enjoying the Greek Isles over seven days. And this past July 1-16 on the 296-passenger Silver Cloud from Copenhagen seeing the Norway Coast, fjords, above the Arctic Circle, Land of the Midnight Sun, etc. Both lines are excellent with great service, fellow passengers, staff, etc. What’s best? The honest answer is . . . “It depends!!!”. Ports, schedules, timing and prices vary much, especially right now with this economy and Seabourn expanding so much. You need to seek what best fits your exact personal needs, budget and interests.

 

Here are a couple of other suggestions to help you and other future travelers. FIRST, scroll back through all of the earlier postings. You will see many different items on ports you would visit and/or at the board for each separate cruise line in planning for your upcoming cruise. SECOND, do a search on these boards by each city and you will see lots of postings on various subjects connected with each port stop. Then, after taking the time to get that background, see other experiences, etc., you can post with specific questions in each port city. Be sure to have a title that is narrow to your question so that other can know what you are seeking. There are lots and lots of great people and information here on these boards. Don't be shy in asking follow-up questions. Folks are happy to share more when they know what you are seeking and background on your timing, cruise ship, travel party, personal interests and travel style, etc.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

For lots of interesting details, great visuals, etc., from our July 1-16 Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. Don’t be shy and feel free to ask any questions of interest. This posting is now over 29,100 views. Appreciate those who have “tuned in”.

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

[PaulaJK]

SS is quite inclusive. As posted, two of the alternate restaurants carry charges while others do not. Other non-included items are the standard ones, namely personal choices such as salon, spa, computer, shops.

[Emtbsam]

Silversea and Seabourn are pretty much mirror images when it comes to inclusiveness. On SS you have to pay for le Champagne and Sieshin restaurants.

 

If you buy special wines or brandies, you will be charged, but the house pours are generally quite good and poured liberally.

 

There are laundromats on board which are free. If you send clothing out to be washed, ironed or dry cleaned, there is a charge. I do not believe there is a laundromat on the PA II. There is a charge for most shore excursions. Shuttle buses to the town center from the ship are free. The medical services are not free and can be quite expensive.

 

There is no photographer, jewelry hawking or other "in your face" revenue generator - a true blessing.

[AllisonJames]

You also have to pay for internet access.

[TLCOhio]

You also have to pay for internet access.

 

On both lines, and most other ships, the Internet access is extra. Then, there's Internet quality, which is another, more complicated question/challenge, regardless of cruise line.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

For lots of interesting details, great visuals, etc., from our July 1-16 Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. Don’t be shy and feel free to ask any questions of interest. This posting is now over 29,180 views. Appreciate those who have “tuned in”.

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

[wripro]

On Seabourn caviar is included anytime anywhere. On Silversea it is not although they may serve it at some parties and on some menus.

[justfoxie]

Silversea and Seabourn are pretty much mirror images when it comes to inclusiveness

 

I'm actually trying to decide between these two lines for a trip with my mom. What distinguishes most between these lines in your view?

[decibeldb]

Thanks for the replies.

 

My next trip is Sebourn Odyssey transatlantic in March, I was looking at Silversea for an Artic trip during the summer as Seabourn do not do these.

 

Looks like it is a good alternative.

 

Thanks again

 

Don

[TLCOhio]

I'm actually trying to decide between these two lines for a trip with my mom. What distinguishes most between these lines in your view?

 

As noted, the two lines are closer, in general, than that different. There are a few "technical" or minor differences, in my view, such as the point on caviar. Then, you have the major size difference factor. By this summer, Seabourn will have three 450-passenger ships and three of the 204-passenger size. Silversea is more "diverse" with three different-sized ships, plus their speciality Prince Albert II. I'd focus first and most on the trip schedules/port and cost/value.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

For lots of interesting details, great visuals, etc., from our July 1-16 Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. Don’t be shy and feel free to ask any questions of interest. This posting is now over 29,300 views. Appreciate those who have “tuned in”.

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

[msrieski]

My husband and I did both the Arctic and Antarctic in 2010 on Silversea's PAII and we loved both trips. The crew is excellent, the food was really good - particularly when you consider the difficulties of provisioning and maintaining fresh fruits and vegetables when there is nowhere to re-stock once the cruise begins. The PAII's cabins, when compared category by category to the other Silversea ships, are smaller but certainly adequate. The crew does a fabulous job with the shore excursions and really take care of you in that regard. The captains also made a huge effort to ensure we had a good experience. When weather precluded certain scheduled landings, they worked hard to find alternates or substitute experiences. I felt very safe and secure with the captain on each of our trips.

 

There is a small laundromat on the PAII, two washers and dryers. Except towards the end of the cruise it was not difficult to find an open washer when you wanted it.

 

I can't say enough good things about the PAII. The other guests on the trips were very interesting and seemed more interested in what we were seeing and doing than in impressing everyone else with where they'd already been, I really liked that. There was very little "can you top this" on our two PAII cruises.

[rojaan19]

There is no photographer, jewelry hawking or other "in your face" revenue generator - a true blessing.

 

 

There is a photographer on the PA II Arctic cruises - she takes photos of everybody and the highlights of the days zodiac excursions, plus spectacular animal and scenic shots. The cost is $ 150 from memory - but it is an optional extra.

 

let me just say the PA II is a fantastic boat and a wonderful cruise - we enjoyed ourselves so much we booked the Shadow for May 2011.

[flag fan]

Okay -- here's a little secret about "all-inclusive" cruise lines--what that phrase really means is "free drinks." All cruise lines provide free meals at one or more venues and all cruise lines (including Silversea) charge for meals at some on-board restaurants. Spa services, shore excursions, "premium" drinks, shop purchases, art purchases, and casino gambling cost extra on all cruise lines (although I understand Regent Seven Seas offers some free excursions). So only tangible difference in terms of what is included in "all-inclusive" vs. other cruise lines is free drinks.

 

That said, Silversea does a great job at providing the highest quality service and the included food and beverages are the best--free champagne in the room (good quality), free soft drinks and beer for the cabin refrigerator (you get to specifiy the brands), a free bottle of your choice of alcohol (I had Grey Goose vodka, which was not extra-cost). The free wine served with dinner was excellent (although perhaps others with more discerning taste would disagree) and the food was great in all the venues, including room service and afternoon tea.

 

Also Silversea also does not "nickel-and-dime"--no charges for games of chance (bingo and trivia), but prizes were awarded and in a blackjack tournament I entered the entry money was all given away to the winners--no cut for the house and they gave away little prizes to all participants as well. Shore excursions included free bottles of water (and were very well done with no overcrowding).

 

Also it was never hard to get service--I know on some cruise lines or events with free drinks it is hard to flag down a waiter; no problem on Silversea--service was always prompt and pours were generous.

 

I can't give any insight into Seabourn, but I would be surprised is you were not fully satisfied with a Silversea cruise because of the great service.

[lincslady]

Just to stick up for Seabourn - NO restaurants charge extra, and (at least at present) caviar is included whenever you want it. Plus two bottles of liquor in your suite on boarding. Otherwise, pretty much like Silversea as to inclusions.

[loujimbabe]

All inclusive also means 'no tipping' . Tips are not required or expected.

[SonomaWine]

Just to stick up for Seabourn - NO restaurants charge extra, and (at least at present) caviar is included whenever you want it. Plus two bottles of liquor in your suite on boarding. Otherwise, pretty much like Silversea as to inclusions.

 

Lincslady is spot on, as there are few differences. Having sailed the Soujourn and Seabourn for the first time after many fantastic Silversea cruises, the positives and negatives between the two lines offset each other. We enjoy sailing both lines, and will continue to do so based on itnerary and schedule.

[Croce]

Our very first cruise was on the Seabourn Odyssey and we were so happy that we took them up on the prepay $1000 open booking while still on board. Having said that, we booked our upcoming cruise on the Silverseas Spirit. The reason was primarily because of two points. First, Silverseas provided free airfare (not sure how that works, but will ask when I make final payment). Seabourn did not offer airfare. Second, Seabourn reserves the right to surcharge if oil goes above $70 a barrel. Silverseas assured me there would be no surcharge no matter what the price of oil. So even though I have $1000 on account at Seabourn, we went with Silverseas because it was a much better deal. We'll probably take out third cruise on Seabourn sometime down the line. We are looking forward to the Silverseas experience.