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Viking compared to Seabourn


lynn-in-nc
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We have become kind of spoiled the past few years, cruising in suites on Seabourn and Ponant. Viking ships look amazing, and the itinerary in the Baltic is what we are looking for. I believe it’s on the Jupiter. 
 

Has anyone in this forum sailed on both Seabourn and Viking, and if so how would you compare the two? Seabourn ships have about 450, Ponant about 180 so the Viking ship at 930 is quite a bit bigger. 
 

thanks in advance. 

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37 minutes ago, lynn-in-nc said:

We have become kind of spoiled the past few years, cruising in suites on Seabourn and Ponant. Viking ships look amazing, and the itinerary in the Baltic is what we are looking for. I believe it’s on the Jupiter. 
 

Has anyone in this forum sailed on both Seabourn and Viking, and if so how would you compare the two? Seabourn ships have about 450, Ponant about 180 so the Viking ship at 930 is quite a bit bigger. 
 

thanks in advance. 

We have sailed Seabourn and Viking.  A direct comparison of ours is that one month after disembarking Viking Sun from the 120 day Inaugural World Cruise, we sailed Seabourn Sojourn for two weeks in Alaska.  In every way, food, service, physical ship, rooms, baths, drinks, etc. Viking was superior.  We used to love Seabourn in the era of the Little Sisters but not so much now.  Others will have to speak to Ponant.😎

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We have 100+ nights on Seabourn and since sailing with Viking we have not returned, we are low maintenance and eat in the World Cafe where we enjoy the relaxed atmosphere, choice of food and style of service.

 

We love the open style of the ships, the decor, s spa pool/steam room/ice room that is never crowded etc

 

I would suggest that you try Viking and form your own opinion, I am glad we did

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My wife & I sailed Seabourn Sojourn to Alaska from Vancouver for 10 nights in 2018.  We are sailing the Seabourn Ovation on a Norway/Baltic cruise for 21 nights this year.  We love Seabourn.

 

We have also sailed Crystal four times (including one river cruise), Silversea three times, Regent, Paul Gauguin and Windstar.  We love them all too. 

 

We have sailed Viking twice (Orion, NYE 2018/2010 and Sky, NYE 2019/2020).  We loved both cruises. 

 

They all have their many positives and few negatives. None of them are perfect.

 

If they all had the exact cruise we wanted, on the same dates, for the same price (for the lowest category cabin with a verandah), this would be my order of choice…

 

Crystal

Silversea

Seabourn

Viking

Regent

Windstar

 

I do not agree with Mr. Avery that Viking is superior in every way.  There are reasons Viking is considered premium and Crystal, Silversea, Seabourn and Regent are considered luxury. 

 

The best part of Viking to me is the adults only policy…and that is HUGE advantage. The worst part is the too casual attire allowing men in tank tops and sleeveless shirts in restaurants.

 

IMO, if you don’t have a wonderful time on any of the cruise lines I mention above, it is your fault, not theirs.

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Imcpa,

I certainly agree with you that not having a good time on any cruise is a person's own fault.  Even a cheap-o Carnival cruise out of New Orleans was fun.  Differences of opinion are why they call this Cruise Critic and not Cruise Kumbaya and why there are so darn many different cruise lines.  Wouldn't we both be shocked if Richard Branson's new cruise line turns out to be our favorite, tattoos and all?😱  As to Seabourn/Viking, this question was asked in 2018 and I posted a detailed point by point reason for my statement about Viking being superior.  If you are interested it is out there several pages back on the threads or look it up in search.  As former Seabourn fans we were quite a bit disappointed in where Seabourn has gone but then, as you say, that is just my personal opinion.  Hope y'all have a great time on your next cruise.  

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We have sailed Oceania, Crystal, Viking and our earlier days were on Celebrity, Norwegian, etc.  We are now enamored with Viking.  The only lacking element on our first Viking was the poor lectures.  Crystal has all the lines beat on this aspect. Our last was Oceania Sirena. I don't think we will cruise with them again. This will surprise most. We love the MSC Yacht Club. We mostly travel to the Caribbean on them. They are inexpensive and have all private facilities. Everyone leaves for shore on port days and we have the rest of the ship to ourselves.  Totally lacks lectures but we love it anyway. Beautiful ships.

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We have sailed on both and I find them comparable for service and dining. The one area that Viking surpasses Seabourn is the overall ambience of the ship. Viking ships never seem crowded and the retractable roof on the pool deck is great. No problem in finding a quiet area to read, surf or just relax. Another area where Viking excels is the wine selection(by the glass) and beer selection -- important if you are on the Spirits package.

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22 hours ago, agnesd said:

Our last was Oceania Sirena. I don't think we will cruise with them again. This will surprise most. 

I'm not surprised.  Sailed Sirena on a Buenos Aires - Barcelona Transatlantic last year and was disappointed.  The much heralded Oceania dining was sub par and equal to our preceding Holland America cruise.  We also have thoroughly enjoyed our Seabourn  cruises but look forward to our first Viking cruise in October.  Glad to see Viking compares favorably with Seabourn.

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 2/22/2020 at 12:14 AM, imcpa said:

My wife & I sailed Seabourn Sojourn to Alaska from Vancouver for 10 nights in 2018.  We are sailing the Seabourn Ovation on a Norway/Baltic cruise for 21 nights this year.  We love Seabourn.

 

We have also sailed Crystal four times (including one river cruise), Silversea three times, Regent, Paul Gauguin and Windstar.  We love them all too. 

 

We have sailed Viking twice (Orion, NYE 2018/2010 and Sky, NYE 2019/2020).  We loved both cruises. 

 

They all have their many positives and few negatives. None of them are perfect.

 

If they all had the exact cruise we wanted, on the same dates, for the same price (for the lowest category cabin with a verandah), this would be my order of choice…

 

Crystal

Silversea

Seabourn

Viking

Regent

Windstar

 

I do not agree with Mr. Avery that Viking is superior in every way.  There are reasons Viking is considered premium and Crystal, Silversea, Seabourn and Regent are considered luxury. 

 

The best part of Viking to me is the adults only policy…and that is HUGE advantage. The worst part is the too casual attire allowing men in tank tops and sleeveless shirts in restaurants.

 

IMO, if you don’t have a wonderful time on any of the cruise lines I mention above, it is your fault, not theirs.

I haven't seen tank tops or sleeveless shirts on men in any restaurant on Viking except in the more casual World Cafe. 

 

Edited by roothy123
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