Regent vs. Seabourn

[Les Picantins]

There are a few things better on Regent than Seabourn :

 

The beds (if you like memory foam)

The bread and the desserts

The 300 minutes of free wifi

The complimentary champagne pour

The MDR open for lunch everyday

 

However, we have sailed 140 days on Seabourn since 2009 and never have either of us been sick from the food. I cannot say the same for Regent. See my thread titled FOOD POISONING.

[Travelcat2]

There are a few things better on Regent than Seabourn :

 

The beds (if you like memory foam)

The bread and the desserts

The 300 minutes of free wifi

The complimentary champagne pour

The MDR open for lunch everyday

 

However, we have sailed 140 days on Seabourn since 2009 and never have either of us been sick from the food. I cannot say the same for Regent. See my thread titled FOOD POISONING.

 

Are you saying that Seabourn does not have complimentary champagne? That would be surprising.

 

Also, unless I missed it, you mention that you have 140 days on Seabourn. Kindly let us know how many days you have on Regent.

 

I did read your food poisoning post and am sorry to read that you went through such a negative experience. While not sticking up for Regent, we have over 250 nights on Regent (since 2004) and have not had food poisoning. I have, however, had food poisoning from some highly rated restaurants. I wonder if it was the mayonnaise.

 

Emperor Norton: Same question for you. It appears from your signature that you have sailed once with Regent, Silversea and Seabourn. Is this correct? FYI, Regent does not have shopping with the chef as they do on both Seabourn and Silversea. Wish they did have it but wonder if the number of passengers on the Regent ships make it more difficult to accomplish. Really hope you reported the Executive Chef to management. IMO, it is totally out of line to make a comment such as what you described - whether it is true or not.

 

I am not sticking up for Regent here. I have not sailed on Seabourn but have sailed on Silversea and could (and have) listed what we feel is superior on both Silversea and Regent. While we really enjoy Silversea and would sail them again, our cruise line of choice remains Regent. We are following this thread as we are interested in the Seabourn experience. The reason I continue to ask how many nights you have on each cruise line is because one experience may not be enough. Our first experience on Silversea was less than expected. We disliked the ship (and still do) but felt it was worth another try. Our second and third experiences on Silversea were dramatically better (due to the ship(s) rather than food or service).

Edited February 7, 2015 by Travelcat2

[Eager2Travel]

As requested here are a few of the things that stand out in our minds.

 

The service was excellent. It was friendly and attentive. There never was the feel of inadequate staffing.

 

Being new to Seabourn we were pleasantly surprised by how fast we were greeted by name in the Colonade (their buffet), by the food and Beverage manager and even their guest services personnel when they saw us on the ship.

 

The Matri'D made it a point to let us know if we wanted anything special to let them know.

 

Caviar is available whenever requested. It arrives in a beautiful presentation with ample quantity. It even arrived with Champagne at our cabin unexpectedly one evening as a thoughtful gesture by the F&B manager before we had even met him.

 

Several evenings little gifts appeared at bedtime. On the final night we received a small plastic kit to take on the airplane with some essentials.

 

On arriving inthe show room the bar staff was waiting to follow you to your table to take your drink order.

 

The crew appeared contented and well taken care of which pleased us. They never appeared stressed or rushed.

 

These are just a few of the things that come to mind. Our overall impression was one of them exceeding excellence. Please remember this comes from a couple that for years thought of Regent as their favorite cruise line.

Edited February 7, 2015 by Eager2Travel

[Emperor Norton]

Yes Seabourn does pour champagne like Regent, however Seabourn is still pouring the (in)famous Nick F.

[Les Picantins]

Sorry, I was not clear about the champagne. I prefer the Montaudon served on Regent to the choice on Seabourn.

 

One other thing that is better on Regent are the shows.

 

That still doesn't make up for the fact that they poisoned my husband, denied it and then threatened him tobe kicked off the ship if he left the cabin.

 

No cruise line is perfect. Flaws can be found in all hospitality services on land and at sea. The secret is not putting us in a situation where we see those flaws. Great service, for example will not make certain plates taste better, but it will not make them taste worse. If that makes any sense.

[lincslady]

Travelcat - you admit that you have not cruised with Seabourn, so really cannot know what the 'ambiance' on board is, as compared with Regent and Silversea for example. I have cruised with all of these lines, and Seadream. Only one I can think of we have not been with in this category is Crystal, and I would not dream of advising people on Crystal.

 

We have done quite a few (gold category) trips with Regent, and even more(diamond) with Seabourn, so do have quite a lot of experience. Even so, I would hesitate to recommend one over the other unless I knew the person seeking the advice quite well, as we all have different priorities.

[Travelcat2]

Travelcat - you admit that you have not cruised with Seabourn, so really cannot know what the 'ambiance' on board is, as compared with Regent and Silversea for example. I have cruised with all of these lines, and Seadream. Only one I can think of we have not been with in this category is Crystal, and I would not dream of advising people on Crystal.

 

.

 

It is still relatively early on the west coast so perhaps you can point me to where I commented on the "ambiance' on board Seabourn. I read this thread twice -- maybe I need a cup of coffee? Thank you!

[lincslady]

It is still relatively early on the west coast so perhaps you can point me to where I commented on the "ambiance' on board Seabourn. I read this thread twice -- maybe I need a cup of coffee? Thank you!

 

Sorry if I phrased that badly - what I really mean is that obviously you can make comparisons about the actual facts between the lines, suite sizes, passenger/crew ratio, etc., as can anyone. However, I felt that you drew conclusions from what others on this thread have been saying, in favour of either Regent or Seabourn, which is not helpful to someone who has travelled on neither or only one of the lines. Surely reports from those who have tried both are going to be more helpful?? - as see the ones above.

 

And caviar is indeed available at any time at no extra cost on Seabourn, as is champagne, but it is the not much liked Nicolas Feuillatte.

[Travelcat2]

Sorry if I phrased that badly - what I really mean is that obviously you can make comparisons about the actual facts between the lines, suite sizes, passenger/crew ratio, etc., as can anyone. However, I felt that you drew conclusions from what others on this thread have been saying, in favour of either Regent or Seabourn, which is not helpful to someone who has travelled on neither or only one of the lines. Surely reports from those who have tried both are going to be more helpful?? - as see the ones above.

 

And caviar is indeed available at any time at no extra cost on Seabourn, as is champagne, but it is the not much liked Nicolas Feuillatte.

 

While not 100% successful, I try to only draw conclusions on cruise lines that I have not sailed based on facts (such as suite size, ship size, set seating or not, smoking policies, etc.) These are generally the things we research prior to selecting which cruise line to sail on.

 

In terms of this thread, the first thing I asked the OP was for details on her experience on Seabourn vs. Regent because I really want to know. One also has to consider the conclusions drawn by a cruiser that has sailed one cruise line multiple times and the other only once.

 

This brings me to the one question that I forgot to ask the OP (and is a reason that Regent customers have stated is why they won't sail on Seabourn). Could you smell smoke from balconies near you (or anywhere else on the ship)? This has been a deal breaker for us.

[wripro]

These discussion are exactly why I hate what I call the lawsuit threads....one line vs. another. The partisanship is almost as bad as in politics. Just as TC2 says, these posts are nothing more than opinions and they more you read the more conflicting they are.

[lincslady]

These discussion are exactly why I hate what I call the lawsuit threads....one line vs. another. The partisanship is almost as bad as in politics. Just as TC2 says, these posts are nothing more than opinions and they more you read the more conflicting they are.

 

Quite agree; I just feel that one should not enter into a comparison discussion if one has not actually cruised on the various/both lines mentioned, and as I also said, we all have different priorities, and better to only advise people whose tastes one knows.

[Travelcat2]

Quite agree; I just feel that one should not enter into a comparison discussion if one has not actually cruised on the various/both lines mentioned, and as I also said, we all have different priorities, and better to only advise people whose tastes one knows.

 

If I could Cruise Critic members could only advise people whose tastes they know, I doubt if CC would exist. I have recommended cruise lines to people that I have not sailed on based on their stated desires for a cruise. I recommended Silversea on CC prior to sailing on it for people looking for the old fashioned "formal" cruises and recommended Oceania (prior to sailing on them) when someone was looking for a luxury line that is not all-inclusive. While Oceania is not defined as "luxury", IMO, it is the closest you can get to a non-inclusive luxury line.

 

In the "old days", I would agree with you about not entering into comparison discussions if one has not actually cruised both lines because information was more difficult to obtain. Now there are so many of us that do research on the internet where there is a wealth of information available, that we can make recommendations. The most thing, IMO, is to state the fact that you have or have not cruised on the line that you are discussing. When someone states that they have not cruised on the cruise line, the reader can choose to discount the post (or not). Those of us who put our cruise history as part of our signature may be annoying but it gives readers a lot of information -- not only if you have sailed on a cruise line, but which ships, how many times, etc. I try to remember to allow my "signature" to appear at least once on every thread (then I suppress it as I will do on this post).

[Emperor Norton]

:rolleyes:

 

Perhaps prefacing posts with "I haven't sailed Seabourn but you should totally take my comparison advice as seriously as those who have actually been on both lines" would be helpful.

 

Further having been on SilverSea as well I found it sadly lacking compared to Seabourn, Crystal, Radisson and in some ways even Disney.

[Eager2Travel]

There was a smoker in the cabin next to us. I don't know how bad it would have been as this was Antarctica and we spent very little time on the balcony. I was told if it was a problem on a future cruise they would move us. I don't know if this would happen or not. This issue is troubling.

 

The shows did not compare to Regent but we had some great entertainers including a laugh out loud comedian.

[Travelcat2]

There was a smoker in the cabin next to us. I don't know how bad it would have been as this was Antarctica and we spent very little time on the balcony. I was told if it was a problem on a future cruise they would move us. I don't know if this would happen or not. This issue is troubling.

 

The shows did not compare to Regent but we had some great entertainers including a laugh out loud comedian.

 

Thanks, Ann! This is an important issue for many people (although apparently I'm not suppose to know that there is smoking on balconies on Seabourn because I have not sailed on that cruise line). :D

[diebroke]

(although apparently I'm not suppose to know that there is smoking on balconies on Seabourn because I have not sailed on that cruise line). :D

 

Congratulations for knowing about smoking on Seabourn balconies without sailing on it!

Aren’t you the same poster who posted on another thread that passengers boarding Seabourn are “quarantined” in a small room until your cabin/suite is ready? No one who has ever sailed a Seabourn larger ship would ever post this because it is so untrue. (Seabourn's boarding policy on the larger ships is much like Regent's.) Maybe it is o.k. to post misinformation since you do not indicate you have ever been on Seabourn in your signature, so reader beware. Unfortunately, many newbies do not read the fine print below your signature & may think you know what you are writing about.

[Travelcat2]

diebroke: Yes - I did make the post you are referencing and I was incorrect. (although I did not use the term "quarantined".) I admitted the error on the thread that I posted it on. However, it was true that passengers on the smaller ships were escorted to a room where sandwiches were served (unlike other luxury lines where guests go to a proper dining venue to have lunch.) I have also been incorrect on some postings that I have made about Regent despite the fact that I have sailed on Regent for 11 years. No one is perfect and I certainly do not claim to be. Our memories are not always accurate.

 

You failed to mention the fact that I not only post my cruises in my signature but also post the fact that I have not sailed on a particular cruise line in my posts. Actually, I would be very happy if all people that have either not sailed on Regent or have not sailed on Regent in the past 3 or so years would make that known as most do not. Reading posts from people that dislike Regent AND have not sailed on a Regent ship for a long time is very frustrating. Thankfully there are some of us that make an attempt at transparency.

 

As the result of your post, I have put the part of my signature that indicates which cruise lines we have sailed in red. Hopefully this will make it easier to see.

 

In terms of smoking (not ready to let this one go as it is so important to us and to some other Regent guests), I wonder if there are more smokers on Seabourn than on other luxury cruise lines because of the more lenient smoking policy? We were in California when their policy of not smoking in restaurants went into effect. The policy that was first introduced was in restaurants only -- not in bars. We found that the bars had what seemed like three times more smokers than before the "ban" went into effect. I do "get it" -- people that smoke look for places where it is still okay to smoke.

 

P.S. Full disclosure: I am a former smoker and am not judging smokers but am part of the group of former smokers that want to avoid second hand smoke.

Edited February 8, 2015 by Travelcat2

[newlondon]

Emperor Norton, I must admit I was astonished that you found Silversea "sadly lacking" compared to a list of luxury lines including one that no longer exists. I have not siled on Disney but the size of their ships would be off putting to DW and myself (children as well).

Would you please comment explicitly what your complaints were vs. the listed lines, even the one that no longer exists.

[wripro]

I don't understand why someone who has not sailed on a line would even want to recommend or dissuade from it. Unless the issue is something that is a deal breaker for which one does not need to be aboard (read "included excursions") the information can only be incomplete at best.

[Travelcat2]

I don't understand why someone who has not sailed on a line would even want to recommend or dissuade from it. Unless the issue is something that is a deal breaker for which one does not need to be aboard (read "included excursions") the information can only be incomplete at best.

 

Why would someone not want to share information - such as I did on this thread about smoking on balconies? No one that sails on Seabourn brought it up. While it is a deal breaker for us, it could well be a positive thing for people reading the Regent board that would appreciate being able to smoke on their balcony.

 

IMO, sharing information is part of the CC experience - whether it be information obtained from someone you know, from the cruise ship website or ??? Again, to me the important thing is to be honest about whether or not you have cruised on the cruise line or ship that you are posting about.

[wally_bushy]

Smoking on balcony....no bookings from us then.I agree,a deal breaker...:eek:

 

+1

One of the major decisions which eliminate a cruise line:mad:

[Emperor Norton]

I don't understand why someone who has not sailed on a line would even want to recommend or dissuade from it. Unless the issue is something that is a deal breaker for which one does not need to be aboard (read "included excursions") the information can only be incomplete at best.

 

I have an answer for that but Im not sure it would survive a CC host.

 

I'l just say that some people need to remember that they aren't the hot HS cheeleaders and that pulling out their Pom Poms here actually hurts their favorite cruise line. Especially when every post is met by pom poms.

 

What does all this look like to someone who doesn't post?

 

You have those with experience on both lines stating A > B or that perhaps A >B or in their opinion A > B. Or even that A = B. Then you have a person who's never been on A stating that B. So you have those that know making a comparison one way and you have those that don't know making a somewhat uninformed guess the other.

[Emperor Norton]

Emperor Norton, I must admit I was astonished that you found Silversea "sadly lacking" compared to a list of luxury lines including one that no longer exists. I have not siled on Disney but the size of their ships would be off putting to DW and myself (children as well).

Would you please comment explicitly what your complaints were vs. the listed lines, even the one that no longer exists.

 

OK. The problems I had with SilverSeas were as follows: Le Champagne: When I went it was still a very large surcharge with the wine pairings. Normally Im fine with that. However when the first dish they bring out is some the veinest nastiest foie gras I've ever the displeasure to taste you've lost me. Also IIRC the wine pairing for that was something dry rather than say a sweet sauternes. The rest of the food wasn't cooked correctly for the protein type and the wine pairings were o.O. The Maitre'd tried to fix things (indeed he was one of the few crew members that over the duration of the cruise seemed to know that they had a job to do and a reputation to uphold the CD was the other).

 

For the most part on that cruise the restaurant staff seemed like angry pirates that were constantly shall I say extremely upset with the passengers. They aside from a single exception were no fun and had zero personality. The exec chef on that cruise couldn't get pasta or rice out correctly to save his life (snap crackle pop is fine for rice crispies - not pasta or rice or risotto!).

 

The bar servers seemed to have an attitude of WGAF (I dont think CC will allow me to explain that one).

 

The fellow passengers were the epitome of fine cruising jokes (wheel chair bound, one foot in the grave and nasty attitudes). This was the only trivia game where I or anyone on my team was 'threatened'. Some geriatric former judge who was wheelchair bound liked to end the trivia day by making a throat slitting motion at my team.

 

Overall most crew members either didn't understand customer service or didn't care to offer it.

 

After speaking with other cruisers on a few different lines I've heard that some of those issues were par for the course for SilverSeas.

 

If I hear from enough people I trust that SS is mended or on the mend Id give them another go as the crew that got it really did get it.

 

Radisson - Well they may not have been the best with ship upkeep but none of their employees have ever lied to me or my relatives. Nor did they engage in advertising that was untruthful. They also didn't hose single travelers (hey the cruise isn't selling - instead of screwing over potential passengers and losing them, how about we offer a $100 single supplement). Further they made a booking error booked us for more weeks than wed asked for. When this was pointed out they offered us the extra weeks gratis. WOW.

 

They had the Diamond. That dining room alone is worth crazy points because IMO it was the most beautiful at sea, pity its a brothel now.

 

Radisson was also the line that had and encouraged Dag. The fact that he's now with Seabourn should indicate how little PCH thinks of its customers IMO.

 

Regent: They were fine when they first took over Radisson. Then they got (VERY IMO) pants on head dumber than a box of rocks. They massively raised their prices while giving passengers nothing real in return. Sure you have the 'included tours' (unlike the lie on the website those tours are not free - they're part of your cruise fare) but they cost more than a similar tour on a different cruise line. Further their 'expensive' tours don't seem to take into account the fact that part of your cruise fare just paid $100+ for a tour. So for their expensive tours you are paying far more than any other cruise line. Then there's the wee fact that they don't seem to vet their tours. What do I mean? Well they had a tour that IIRC was in the $400 USD range that was supposed to be dinner at a Chateau in Bordeaux. Reality was you were eating off paper/plastic plates in a barn near the chateau. The only thing you were near was a John Deere tractor. Yet after everyone on the tour complained about the reality of the tour Regent felt they should offer it the next year.

 

For luxury - well again IMO they haven't a clue. You don't combine your room service kitchen with the MDR kitchen and call that luxury. Especially when your average breakfast time in the MDR is 45+ minutes and thats just for an English muffin! Aside from horrific service times there were other food issues. Food that had been thawed/frozen enough to turn to mush combined with a kitchen that wasn't tasting food or noting is texture as it went out caused a lot of problems. Ultimately when the ships exec chef states that his budget is far too low to turn out the type of food the customers are expecting you know theres a problem. The tours were magic too - they all seemed to arrive back at the ship right after the Compass Rose (MDR) had closed for lunch.

 

Then there were the passengers who elicited a very nasty Germanic response from a tour guide in France. Threatening to take away her tip by a dollar a minute because they'd booked tours too close together and instead of ending the tour early and bringing them back to the ship the guide was running the tour as described in the literature and in the time length promised.

 

On the Voyager the smell/odor/smoke from the cigar lounge permeated the surrounding areas and decks. Also while in P7 you were subjected to the lovely smell of burning oil. Yum.

 

Regent likes to hose single travelers. 200% single supplement. Ouch. That would be OK if a single got double the airfare or double the OBC but they dont. So say you spend 10000 for a room with your spouse. You each get 2000 airfare credit and 500 OBC. Whats a single who pays the same get? Well about 2000 airfare credit and 500 OBC. So even though you're paying the price for two you're getting about half the credit for travel and OBC.

 

Then there's the included tours (and again they are not free no matter how much the Regent website plays fast and loose with the truth). Best hope you're Titanium. Why? Well since they're free and theres zero penalty for canceling it seems people like to sign up for everyone available. If they don't show no skin of their back.

 

Disney - the food for the main restaurants are IMO slightly better than cafeteria quality. However it hasnt been given the Regent freeze/thaw treatment. Further I think Palo blew away any Regent meal I had save one (which I don't believe is even a chance to get anymore). The staff was far friendlier and on point than SilverSea. I hated the lines to get back on the ship, however getting off in ports was far smoother than my last Regent or Oceania experience (I guess knowing how to deal with the self important rule breaking jerks from theme parks pays off here! whereas Regent and Oceania seemed to feed their egos). Even though the ship was laden with children Disney did an excellent job of controlling them (as opposed to Crystal). So overall I thought Disney had some amazing staff members, easily forgettable food (aside from the pay restaurant) but they kept urchins under control and didn't serve things that were devoid of life last year. I'll be on them again in the future but only because of being related to munchkins. The line wasn't as bad as a I expected and in several ways exceeded expectations.

 

Crystal - mea culpa I haven't sailed them since their fleet consisted of the Symphony and Harmony. On both cruises I found the last ~3 days intolerable. Why? Staff that had been about as useful as teats on a bull suddenly came out of the woodwork trying to get tips. My second (and last) cruise was on Harmony. Crystal had the brilliant idea that kids should sail free but they didn't have any staff for them (or rules). The end result was the constant running up/down of halls by the children. Further they found it amusing to flip the sleep/make room hangars around. Then they had ice bucket fights. In the hallways, between decks, out of the pool into the pool and other places. The crew did nothing to curb the behavior. Speaking to the parents was nauseating (well they never do that for the nanny - ***!?!?!?!) Then there were the passengers. I've never experienced this on any other cruise line. To our tour guides credit he saved the tour and the worthless Crystal guide. The tour was of Chichen Itza. IIRC the requirements were being fully mobile and being mobile over rough uneven terrain in a hot/humid ran forrest for several miles. At the meeting point some 70+ year old in a walker showed up along with his even older mother in a wheelchair. IMO Crystal should have sent them back to the ship (sadly the guide did not). We almost all missed the tour because of them. If the guide says X perhaps you should be able to do X.

 

That being said I do have a 2017 Crystal cruise coming up - Im hoping that their newish all inclusive policy eliminates the greedy at the end of the cruise types.

 

Seabourn was a breath of fresh air the first time. Staff that seemed to genuinely care. Ingredients that tasted fresh and didn't seem to have suffered freeze/thaw cycles. You could even special order things including table side flambe dishes! If you went on a long tour you'd find that before and after the tour some sandwiches and other food magically found their way into your cabin before and after to make sure you actually got to eat.

 

My second Seabourn cruise I was dearly missing the chef and hotel manager from my first. Had that been my first Seabourn experience it may have been my last.

 

My third/fourth Seabourn cruises had a good chef and the best IMO Hotel Manager (sadly he's now with Viking Ocean - guess Ill have to try them now!). The were like a repeat of my first.

 

Now I have five and six setup for next month and April. It'll be a new ship and some new staff. It should be an informative experience.

[Suite Travels]

As reformed smokers it is not a deal breaker for us and trust me it is a struggles even today. Most luxury lines do not permit smoking except in designated areas. The balcony of course is a safety hazard as well. What really is funny is when someone sees a pack of cigarettes on a table and is not smoking people start coughing just at the site of them.

 

What really bothers me and more of a health issue is the number of morbidly obese passengers that pile their plates high with food as if it were their last meal. It is clear that here in the US it is a major problem. Sugar is more addictive and causes many health issues. We never gained a pound during our smoking cessation and avoided over eating. Do we indulge occasionally .....of course we do and on cruises it is all around you.

 

Of course smoking is a big health issue and decreasing which is a good thing. Unfortunately obesity is not. We are the fattesed people in the world thanks to all the fast food resturants and parents that do not encourage healthy eating habits. The old saying goes you are what you eat and the same goes for smokers.

 

Off my soap box.

Edited February 9, 2015 by Suite Travels

[Suite Travels]

OK. The problems I had with SilverSeas were as follows: Le Champagne: When I went it was still a very large surcharge with the wine pairings. Normally Im fine with that. However when the first dish they bring out is some the veinest nastiest foie gras I've ever the displeasure to taste you've lost me. Also IIRC the wine pairing for that was something dry rather than say a sweet sauternes. The rest of the food wasn't cooked correctly for the protein type and the wine pairings were o.O. The Maitre'd tried to fix things (indeed he was one of the few crew members that over the duration of the cruise seemed to know that they had a job to do and a reputation to uphold the CD was the other).

 

For the most part on that cruise the restaurant staff seemed like angry pirates that were constantly shall I say extremely upset with the passengers. They aside from a single exception were no fun and had zero personality. The exec chef on that cruise couldn't get pasta or rice out correctly to save his life (snap crackle pop is fine for rice crispies - not pasta or rice or risotto!).

 

The bar servers seemed to have an attitude of WGAF (I dont think CC will allow me to explain that one).

 

The fellow passengers were the epitome of fine cruising jokes (wheel chair bound, one foot in the grave and nasty attitudes). This was the only trivia game where I or anyone on my team was 'threatened'. Some geriatric former judge who was wheelchair bound liked to end the trivia day by making a throat slitting motion at my team.

 

Overall most crew members either didn't understand customer service or didn't care to offer it.

 

After speaking with other cruisers on a few different lines I've heard that some of those issues were par for the course for SilverSeas.

 

If I hear from enough people I trust that SS is mended or on the mend Id give them another go as the crew that got it really did get it.

 

Radisson - Well they may not have been the best with ship upkeep but none of their employees have ever lied to me or my relatives. Nor did they engage in advertising that was untruthful. They also didn't hose single travelers (hey the cruise isn't selling - instead of screwing over potential passengers and losing them, how about we offer a $100 single supplement). Further they made a booking error booked us for more weeks than wed asked for. When this was pointed out they offered us the extra weeks gratis. WOW.

 

They had the Diamond. That dining room alone is worth crazy points because IMO it was the most beautiful at sea, pity its a brothel now.

 

Radisson was also the line that had and encouraged Dag. The fact that he's now with Seabourn should indicate how little PCH thinks of its customers IMO.

 

Regent: They were fine when they first took over Radisson. Then they got (VERY IMO) pants on head dumber than a box of rocks. They massively raised their prices while giving passengers nothing real in return. Sure you have the 'included tours' (unlike the lie on the website those tours are not free - they're part of your cruise fare) but they cost more than a similar tour on a different cruise line. Further their 'expensive' tours don't seem to take into account the fact that part of your cruise fare just paid $100+ for a tour. So for their expensive tours you are paying far more than any other cruise line. Then there's the wee fact that they don't seem to vet their tours. What do I mean? Well they had a tour that IIRC was in the $400 USD range that was supposed to be dinner at a Chateau in Bordeaux. Reality was you were eating off paper/plastic plates in a barn near the chateau. The only thing you were near was a John Deere tractor. Yet after everyone on the tour complained about the reality of the tour Regent felt they should offer it the next year.

 

For luxury - well again IMO they haven't a clue. You don't combine your room service kitchen with the MDR kitchen and call that luxury. Especially when your average breakfast time in the MDR is 45+ minutes and thats just for an English muffin! Aside from horrific service times there were other food issues. Food that had been thawed/frozen enough to turn to mush combined with a kitchen that wasn't tasting food or noting is texture as it went out caused a lot of problems. Ultimately when the ships exec chef states that his budget is far too low to turn out the type of food the customers are expecting you know theres a problem. The tours were magic too - they all seemed to arrive back at the ship right after the Compass Rose (MDR) had closed for lunch.

 

Then there were the passengers who elicited a very nasty Germanic response from a tour guide in France. Threatening to take away her tip by a dollar a minute because they'd booked tours too close together and instead of ending the tour early and bringing them back to the ship the guide was running the tour as described in the literature and in the time length promised.

 

On the Voyager the smell/odor/smoke from the cigar lounge permeated the surrounding areas and decks. Also while in P7 you were subjected to the lovely smell of burning oil. Yum.

 

Regent likes to hose single travelers. 200% single supplement. Ouch. That would be OK if a single got double the airfare or double the OBC but they dont. So say you spend 10000 for a room with your spouse. You each get 2000 airfare credit and 500 OBC. Whats a single who pays the same get? Well about 2000 airfare credit and 500 OBC. So even though you're paying the price for two you're getting about half the credit for travel and OBC.

 

Then there's the included tours (and again they are not free no matter how much the Regent website plays fast and loose with the truth). Best hope you're Titanium. Why? Well since they're free and theres zero penalty for canceling it seems people like to sign up for everyone available. If they don't show no skin of their back.

 

Disney - the food for the main restaurants are IMO slightly better than cafeteria quality. However it hasnt been given the Regent freeze/thaw treatment. Further I think Palo blew away any Regent meal I had save one (which I don't believe is even a chance to get anymore). The staff was far friendlier and on point than SilverSea. I hated the lines to get back on the ship, however getting off in ports was far smoother than my last Regent or Oceania experience (I guess knowing how to deal with the self important rule breaking jerks from theme parks pays off here! whereas Regent and Oceania seemed to feed their egos). Even though the ship was laden with children Disney did an excellent job of controlling them (as opposed to Crystal). So overall I thought Disney had some amazing staff members, easily forgettable food (aside from the pay restaurant) but they kept urchins under control and didn't serve things that were devoid of life last year. I'll be on them again in the future but only because of being related to munchkins. The line wasn't as bad as a I expected and in several ways exceeded expectations.

 

Crystal - mea culpa I haven't sailed them since their fleet consisted of the Symphony and Harmony. On both cruises I found the last ~3 days intolerable. Why? Staff that had been about as useful as teats on a bull suddenly came out of the woodwork trying to get tips. My second (and last) cruise was on Harmony. Crystal had the brilliant idea that kids should sail free but they didn't have any staff for them (or rules). The end result was the constant running up/down of halls by the children. Further they found it amusing to flip the sleep/make room hangars around. Then they had ice bucket fights. In the hallways, between decks, out of the pool into the pool and other places. The crew did nothing to curb the behavior. Speaking to the parents was nauseating (well they never do that for the nanny - ***!?!?!?!) Then there were the passengers. I've never experienced this on any other cruise line. To our tour guides credit he saved the tour and the worthless Crystal guide. The tour was of Chichen Itza. IIRC the requirements were being fully mobile and being mobile over rough uneven terrain in a hot/humid ran forrest for several miles. At the meeting point some 70+ year old in a walker showed up along with his even older mother in a wheelchair. IMO Crystal should have sent them back to the ship (sadly the guide did not). We almost all missed the tour because of them. If the guide says X perhaps you should be able to do X.

 

That being said I do have a 2017 Crystal cruise coming up - Im hoping that their newish all inclusive policy eliminates the greedy at the end of the cruise types.

 

Seabourn was a breath of fresh air the first time. Staff that seemed to genuinely care. Ingredients that tasted fresh and didn't seem to have suffered freeze/thaw cycles. You could even special order things including table side flambe dishes! If you went on a long tour you'd find that before and after the tour some sandwiches and other food magically found their way into your cabin before and after to make sure you actually got to eat.

 

My second Seabourn cruise I was dearly missing the chef and hotel manager from my first. Had that been my first Seabourn experience it may have been my last.

 

My third/fourth Seabourn cruises had a good chef and the best IMO Hotel Manager (sadly he's now with Viking Ocean - guess Ill have to try them now!). The were like a repeat of my first.

 

Now I have five and six setup for next month and April. It'll be a new ship and some new staff. It should be an informative experience.

 

You have not sailed Crystal in many years. The Harmony has been long gone so I am guessing over twenty years since you have sailed with them. Crystal wins awards every year and so far 23 Conde Nast and T&L. I have never seen or experienced what you described on Crystal nor what you experienced on RSSC/Radisson. We were told by Seabourn past guests that we would not enjoy it and we would be bored to death. Crystal still is considered a Four Season or Ritz Carlton experience with one caveat, the standard staterooms are not the size of other luxury lines unless you are staying on Penthouse Deck. Crystal has many Regent,Silversea,Seabourn that we have spoken with. These people love the product and all that is offered and it fits the bill for them. The same goes for Regent. Product loyalty is ok.

 

I have heard great reviews about Oceania and the quality of food and service which is very tempting to test drive. Thank you Jackie for your well rounded review on your cruise with them.

 

All in all the line of choice is yours. You can either love the line or leave it.