Celebrity Retreat vs Silversea

[econprofessor]

This is my attempt to compare Celebrity and Silversea.  We traveled to Alaska in August 2021 in a Sky Suite on Celebrity Millennium.  We traveled to Alaska in August 2022 in a Superior Veranda on Silver Muse.  As I use Cruise Critic as a resource, I thought this might be helpful for those of you attempting to decide between the two.

I would love to hear everyone’s thoughts!

 

Price:  We drove to both ports.  Therefore, airfare was not included.  (On Silversea this is a Port-to-Port sailing.) As of 2022, the price was within $200 of each other, with Celebrity costing slightly more.  However, Silversea also includes shore excursions.  So, Silversea gets the win here.

 

Embarkation:  This is not really a fair comparison as our Celebrity cruise left from Seattle and Silversea departed from Vancouver.  That said, Celebrity was much faster and pleasant.  We had a designated check-in time, separate check-in for Retreat guests and were on-board within 30 minutes.   

Silversea gathered everyone at the same time.  There was not enough seating in the waiting area and long lines.  There were at least 7 check points where we had to show the same documents over and over.  It took over an hour to get on board. Celebrity gets the win.

 

Muster Drill:  Celebrity wins hands down.  You watch the video on your phone or suite TV.  Go to your muster station and done.  Silversea gathers you in 2 groups, at different times.  Your group is given the muster drill in person and you were then escorted to your muster station. 

 

Cabin:  The Silversea cabin nicely appointed.  It had a couch and a chair. The walk-in closet had tons of storage space.  The Celebrity Sky Suite also has plenty of storage, but no separate comfy chair next to the couch. 

The bathroom on Silversea had a separate shower and bath.  As we are older, we found the step into the bathtub/shower combo on Millie a bit of a challenge.   Silversea wins.

 

Restaurants:  I know this one will get comments.  😊  For lunch, the pizza and burgers were better on the Muse.  It was some of the best pizza I have ever had!  The Millennium had a much better lunch buffet. 

For dinner, I thought Luminae was equal in quality and ambiance to all the restaurants on Silver Muse with the exception of Alantide.   Alantide had regional food (Alaska halibut, cod, rockfish, and salmon) every night along with lobster, steaks, and very good vegetarian meals.    However, you had to wear a jacket to dinner (no tie), which DH didn’t love.   If you didn’t wear one, they provided one for you. 

On Silversea, if you don’t make dinner reservations prior to boarding you will find yourself out of luck with the exception of Alantide and Indochine.  – Unless you want to eat at 9pm, that is.  As this was our first time on Silversea, I wasn’t sure which we would like best, so I made reservations at all of them except La Dame.  I would have liked to return to La Terrazza, but couldn’t get a reservation.

Overall, wait service was better in the Celebrity restaurants than Silversea.  One night in Hot Rocks our waiter was more interested in flirting with another crew member than taking our order!

I would call this a tie, as the Silversea quality was great, but their service was inconsistent.

 

Wine Steward:  The wine stewards on the Muse were terrible.  They took forever to come take your wine order (wait staff could not take your wine order) and rarely ever came by to refill your glass.   On Millennium, the wine stewards were knowledgeable, always making recommendations, and your glass was never empty.  Celebrity is the big winner.

 

Butler:  I know this varies depending on the butler, but our butler on Millennium was much better trained and responsive.    Our Muse butler seemed overwhelmed at times and didn’t offer anything beyond what we asked for.   Celebrity is the clear winner.

 

Bars:  The bars are great on the Muse.  They had large ones where you could socialize with other passengers and small ones if you preferred a more intimate gathering.   The bartenders were personable.  While I love Cellar Masters on Millie, Silversea is the winner.

 

Entertainment:  The shows on Mille were not up to pre-pandemic standards.  However, the music in Michael’s (Retreat Lounge) was better than anything on Muse.  Celebrity wins.

 

Shore Excursions:  ShoreX are included on Silversea.  They were smaller groups than on Celebrity, but of the same quality.  Since they are “free”, and smaller, I would give the edge to Silversea.

 

Overall:    I really enjoyed being on a smaller ship.  However, with the Retreat areas, you can get that same vibe on Celebrity.  Overall, service was better on Millie.  The cabin was better on Muse.  Food, in my mind, was about equal. 

I would choose future sailings based on iteniery and pricing.  We got a great price on Silversea because we had Port-to-Port.  Their Door-to-Door pricing (included airfare and transfers) is much higher.  They seem to be moving to fewer Port-to-Port sailings so I am not sure if we will sail with them again. 

[wineoclock]

Thank you that’s very comprehensive. I’ve often looked at luxury lines & end up back at Celebrity. 

[Jeremiah1212]

Thanks for the comparison. I always find it odd that more Celebrity suite cruisers don't dabble in Silversea more often, especially in areas where the ports offered are a bit more varied.

[Lastdance]

2 hours ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

Thanks for the comparison. I always find it odd that more Celebrity suite cruisers don't dabble in Silversea more often, especially in areas where the ports offered are a bit more varied.

I have a friend who loved Silver Sea, tried Celebrity and said it was quite good.  She has not been on a cruise since except from Galveston, but said she would cruise either line depending on itinerary!  Dessing up and not having enough to do is always a concern for me and my DH, as we also have to have a good gym.  The latter is why we have not been interested in Silver Sea etc.

Edited September 29, 2022 by Lastdance

[Whinenowine]

Thanks for this.  My opinion was that the food and alcohol on Silversea is better--but I HATE having to dress up for anything, especially a meal.  Luminae is good, but other specialty restaurants were just ok in general. I haven't been on the Muse yet, but generally I'd agree that the cabins are nicer on Silversea in general (bigger and nicer materials). Interesting thoughts on service--I agree that who you get (wine steward, butler, etc) is very important. I've had good folks and bad ones.  The sommelier I had on Millie last month (southbound, so not your cruise) was horrible.  I brought some very nice wines on board and he didn't seem to know what to do with them; and his by the glass suggestions left a lot to be desired (eager but not knowledgeable).  However our butler on the Millie was fantastic--so luck oft he draw I think.

 

I do have to say that not having a Connoisseur Corner/Lounge equivalent on any X ship is a bummer (love them on Silversea and Regent).  I know 99% of people don't care about this, but I do!

 

[Cardinal Gal]

We are Elite on Celebrity and have over 100 days on Silversea. Overall, we prefer Silversea to Celebrity because of the size of the ships and the overall service. That being said, we have been on 2 cruises on the Edge in a Sky Suite and loved both. Luminae is a treat!  We enjoy the Retreat sun deck very much. I like that Silversea will deliver room service to you anywhere on the ship. 
It all comes down to itinerary and price. 

[Shadow9612]

Thanks so much for this.  I really enjoyed the layout of your comparison. 

 

 

[NMTraveller]

I had always thought that the itineraries were better on the smaller ships.  How did the itineraries compare?  Smaller ships normally get closer to the attractions vs a long bus ride.  Perhaps not much difference on an Alaska cruise,  but a gigantic difference on an Eastern Med cruise and others.

Edited September 29, 2022 by NMTraveller

[NutsAboutGolf]

Besides the pizza and burgers, what did you think of the taste of the food between the two lines?

[econprofessor]

On 9/28/2022 at 2:29 PM, Jeremiah1212 said:

Thanks for the comparison. I always find it odd that more Celebrity suite cruisers don't dabble in Silversea more often, especially in areas where the ports offered are a bit more varied.

Yes, I wondered that myself.  That is why I tried out Silversea.  Since they cost less, I felt like I couldn't go wrong!

 

Vikki

[econprofessor]

21 hours ago, Whinenowine said:

Thanks for this.  My opinion was that the food and alcohol on Silversea is better--but I HATE having to dress up for anything, especially a meal. 

 

I do have to say that not having a Connoisseur Corner/Lounge equivalent on any X ship is a bummer (love them on Silversea and Regent).  I know 99% of people don't care about this, but I do!

 

I agree, the food and alcohol was better on Silversea.  If it weren't for the poor service, I would have given the "win" to Silversea. 

My favorite place on the Muse was the Arts Cafe.  I also liked having a before dinner drink in the Panorama Lounge.  Our weather was great for both trips so we spent quite a bit of time enjoying the views outside.

[econprofessor]

18 hours ago, NMTraveller said:

I had always thought that the itineraries were better on the smaller ships.  How did the itineraries compare?  Smaller ships normally get closer to the attractions vs a long bus ride.  Perhaps not much difference on an Alaska cruise,  but a gigantic difference on an Eastern Med cruise and others.

Not much difference in Alaska.  Since the Celebrity cruise left from Seattle, we didn't get to Seward.  No stop in Canada in 2021 since Canada was still closed.  In 2022 on Silversea we went to Haines instead of Skagway due to the rock slides.  Otherwise, the same. 

[econprofessor]

18 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

Besides the pizza and burgers, what did you think of the taste of the food between the two lines?

I thought Silversea was better.  The ingredients seemed fresher and better presented.  The seasoning had more finesse. As a matter of fact, I loved their Alaskan rockfish so much, I asked how the Chef prepared it.  (We went fishing in Alaska and brought home halibut, rockfish, and cod.)

[NutsAboutGolf]

2 minutes ago, econprofessor said:

I thought Silversea was better.  The ingredients seemed fresher and better presented.  The seasoning had more finesse. As a matter of fact, I loved their Alaskan rockfish so much, I asked how the Chef prepared it.  (We went fishing in Alaska and brought home halibut, rockfish, and cod.)

 

Thanks for following up; Michelin Star Reviewers/"inspectors" only care about food while service and atmosphere are ignored.

[ggo85]

We’ve done X in a Royal Suite and recently did SS in a Silver Suite.  We slightly preferred SS — here’s why. 
 

We had a few VERY bad experiences with kids on X. Examples include kids ringing suite doorbells at all hours of the day and night.  We reported it and were told to live with it.  Teenagers hogging elevators such that a disabled person in a wheelchair couldn’t board. We prefer to cruise with minimal kids and there are almost none on SS.  
 

We’ve  had terrific and horrific butlers on X. The one on SS was - I would agree — overwhelmed.  Crystal was the best - just saying.  
 

Quality of food and service in Atlantide and Luminae are similar.  However, the Atlantide menu was MUCH more extensive and they would customize anything. Lobster was also available nightly.  We love Luminae but slightly prefer Atlantide. 
 

Entertainment on SS is more limited.  Excellent quality but many fewer options. If entertainment is really important to you, SS will disappoint. 
 

Was very pleasantly surprised that the included excursions on SS were really good — things you’d want to do.  Nice to have them included.  And there was plenty of space - there was nothing we wanted that we didn’t get.  
 

Passengers on SS are well-traveled and expect the best.  They skew older - saw almost no one under age 50 on a mid-summer cruise. No kids’ program..  The ships are Much smaller with many fewer venues - you either like that (we do) or you don’t.  
 

Finally, on SS, there is NO attempt to separate you from your money before or after you board (once you pay cruise fare). Even the spa folks aren’t allowed to upswell you or push products.  No photographers.  No T-Shirt sales or any sales.  You love or hate it - we love it. 
 

It all comes down to what’s important to you. 

[MarinerAlex]

I recently came off my 1st Celebrity cruise, staying in the Retreat. The service was great, though I found it to be too much at times… passenger to crew ratio was about 1.2 to 1. I also ran into some of the same folks all the time, and not particularly the ones I wanted to see all too often. 

 

This is my fear with the smaller ships, meeting the same people over and over, and being “pestered” by crew all the time. Admittedly, I’m a low needs traveler and quite independent.

[ggo85]

When we did SS, we SAW many of the same passengers but didn’t MEET them. No issue with tables for 2.  Plenty of seats in lounges and entertainment venues.  Don’t seek out conversations.  It’s really up to you. 

[letsgogogo]

4 hours ago, MarinerAlex said:

also ran into some of the same folks all the time, and not particularly the ones I wanted to see all too often. 

This is precisely what has me leery about trying a river cruise. Too much structure, and too much possibility of getting stuck on a trip with people you don’t care for and can’t really avoid. 

[chemmo]

44 minutes ago, letsgogogo said:

This is precisely what has me leery about trying a river cruise. Too much structure, and too much possibility of getting stuck on a trip with people you don’t care for and can’t really avoid. 

I understand exactly what you mean. We did a river cruise in Egypt and were really lucky, a fantastic group! However, we did reflect how our cruise experience would have been with a different group. 
It wouldn’t put us off another river cruise but we would look for one that perhaps had two lounge areas.

 

OP, thanks for your well written review. Very useful.

 

On 9/28/2022 at 6:44 PM, econprofessor said:

 

Overall:    I really enjoyed being on a smaller ship.  However, with the Retreat areas, you can get that same vibe on Celebrity.  

 

 

OP I think this comment captures how many of us who cruise on Celebrity feel. We can have the more ‘club’ feel of a smaller ship in the Retreat areas  but then still have a wide range of bars, restaurants and entertainment to enjoy on the bigger ships.

[wineoclock]

When we sailed Constellation I felt that it was too small in some respects. For me the S class was perfect. I do wonder whether I will think the Apex is too big but we will see. 
 

Overall I think the more luxury lines will be too small for us although we are possibly looking at both Saga & Viking cruises for 2024. No doubt we won’t & we will come back to X as usual! 

[chemmo]

1 hour ago, wineoclock said:

When we sailed Constellation I felt that it was too small in some respects. For me the S class was perfect. I do wonder whether I will think the Apex is too big but we will see. 
 

Overall I think the more luxury lines will be too small for us although we are possibly looking at both Saga & Viking cruises for 2024. No doubt we won’t & we will come back to X as usual! 

During lockdown with so much leisure and feeling the need for things to look forward to we did quite a lot of research on other lines….yes, we decided to stick with Celebrity!

[wineoclock]

I have two issues with X. 

The first is that they do not offer a WC which we would like to do at some point; so we will have to start experimenting with other lines. I’m not really wanting to have the hassle of B2B. 
 

The second is that whilst I would be more than happy to always cruise DH isn’t. He enjoys them whereas I absolutely love them. 

[chemmo]

29 minutes ago, wineoclock said:

I have two issues with X. 

The first is that they do not offer a WC which we would like to do at some point; so we will have to start experimenting with other lines. I’m not really wanting to have the hassle of B2B. 
 

The second is that whilst I would be more than happy to always cruise DH isn’t. He enjoys them whereas I absolutely love them. 

We have never wanted to do a world cruise. However, we love cruising as part of a longer vacation experience…We did an Alaska cruise after a long tour of Washington state, Land stays in Hawaii before a TP cruise and Australia stay after. Cruise before a Hong Kong break and a Singapore break after…Best of both worlds, land holidays and cruise holidays combined.

 

A friend of mine did a WC on Cunard with her husband…she confessed that in Sydney she contemplated jumping ship…she described it as ‘just too much of a good thing’. She found she was increasingly ordering room service and watching TV in the evening, it was ‘too much trouble’ to get ready and socialise. Whilst the more formal dress code on Cunard in the evenings may we part of their ‘cruise fatigue’ I can understand it. Perhaps you and your husband could look at an extended land tour or three destination land tour followed by a longer cruise meeting your preferences and your better half’s…

[Whinenowine]

8 hours ago, ggo85 said:

When we did SS, we SAW many of the same passengers but didn’t MEET them. No issue with tables for 2.  Plenty of seats in lounges and entertainment venues.  Don’t seek out conversations.  It’s really up to you. 

 

Yes, I would second this.  Even when we were on the Silver Whisper (which I think has like 350-380 passengers) we never had an issue getting a two-top for dinner and we never felt stuck in unwanted conversation. 

[wineoclock]

41 minutes ago, chemmo said:

We have never wanted to do a world cruise. However, we love cruising as part of a longer vacation experience…We did an Alaska cruise after a long tour of Washington state, Land stays in Hawaii before a TP cruise and Australia stay after. Cruise before a Hong Kong break and a Singapore break after…Best of both worlds, land holidays and cruise holidays combined.

 

A friend of mine did a WC on Cunard with her husband…she confessed that in Sydney she contemplated jumping ship…she described it as ‘just too much of a good thing’. She found she was increasingly ordering room service and watching TV in the evening, it was ‘too much trouble’ to get ready and socialise. Whilst the more formal dress code on Cunard in the evenings may we part of their ‘cruise fatigue’ I can understand it. Perhaps you and your husband could look at an extended land tour or three destination land tour followed by a longer cruise meeting your preferences and your better half’s…

Yes all possibilities.

 

That did make me laugh about your friend. Cunard is too formal for us. My grandparents did 3 WC on Cunard with one being the inaugural QEII cruise.