One more reason to choose Seabourn over Silversea

[caviarforme]

14 hours ago, SLSD said:

Well---here's a disappointment.  I've been working with our travel agent (an agent we are considering using) and Silversea was going to charge us MORE for a 17 day cruise than the 10 day and 7 day cruises separately.  What's more--they were going to make us change suites mid-cruise unless we pay more.  I'm not buying it.  VERY disappointed.  

Had a similar situation with SB on booking our annual transatlantic  from Europe to Barbados in November. Having booked the 14 day crossing using cruise credit, we discovered that SB had reduced the price - so asked the UK agent to complain and she successfully got a price reduction for us. This meant we still had Cruise Credit left so looked at adding a B2B week on to the 14 days as the sane suite was available.  Booking the 14 +7 separately was priced cheaper than the 21 day cruise offered by SB - so asked the Agent to challenge SB.  Result was that SB said they could not accept B2B where there was a separate cruise covering the whole 21 days - but let my agent book me at the B2B cheaper price.

 

A good agent is worth their weight in gold!

[SLSD]

3 hours ago, caviarforme said:

Had a similar situation with SB on booking our annual transatlantic  from Europe to Barbados in November. Having booked the 14 day crossing using cruise credit, we discovered that SB had reduced the price - so asked the UK agent to complain and she successfully got a price reduction for us. This meant we still had Cruise Credit left so looked at adding a B2B week on to the 14 days as the sane suite was available.  Booking the 14 +7 separately was priced cheaper than the 21 day cruise offered by SB - so asked the Agent to challenge SB.  Result was that SB said they could not accept B2B where there was a separate cruise covering the whole 21 days - but let my agent book me at the B2B cheaper price.

 

A good agent is worth their weight in gold!

Beginning to understand the pricing a bit more.  But, I spent most of an afternoon looking at numbers.  It all seems to be part of a scheme making you think you are getting a great deal when you actually are not.  There is a good chunk of OBC that comes along with it--from SS.  And, if you book as a 17 day cruise, you get less than half as much OBC.  

[Rothko1]

22 hours ago, fdnycruiser said:

I’ve sailed both SS and SB, and have never dined in LaDame, and only once in Keiseki. However, there are 6 other restaurants with no up charge. Just like most believe the retreat a rip off and wouldn’t go there, some will still flock there. Personally, I wouldn’t pay any up charges on any inclusive restaurant 

 

I've paid the old price for La Dame ($60 a person) and even then didn't always feel like I was really getting that much of a benefit over the food in the regular restaurants. 

 

I certainly won't be paying the new price.

[SLSD]

If people are given a hefty OBC by Silversea, it will be easy to justify dining at La Dame.  We still haven't decided if we are going to book the SS cruise.  I will be doing some comparisons with Seabourn cruises for the same approximate dates.  Have I mentioned that I am NOT a person who enjoys planning trips and Mr. SLSD enjoys it even less than I do?  I'm beginning to consider a land based trip--but it has to be in the heat of Texas's summer--which really limits destinations.  

[Sunprince]

SLSD, if you are looking at venturing away from Seabourn and trying a different line,  I would suggest also looking at Regent (their newer ships). There is a large Dallas TA that does significant business with Regent (I’m sure you know them). We have sailed Seabourn, SS and Regent and enjoy them all and don’t really have a strong preference for one over the other.  
 

I do agree that the SS pricing model is complicated and sometimes more expensive per diem than Seabourn or Regent.  We spent 24 days on Regent last year in a penthouse suite and we had superior service, and excellent food. Their Compass Rose menu is extensive and very nice, and IMO much better than Seabourn or SS. And the main dining room is always open for luncheon.  Dress code is still smart, but thankfully not the 3 tier SS dress code which I find a bit unnecessary.  And, the foolishness of paying a high fee for a specialty restaurant on SS, a luxury cruise line, is counterintuitive to their “door to door” pricing model, and a bit of a turn off IMO. Good luck with your planning. 

[SLSD]

1 hour ago, Sunprince said:

SLSD, if you are looking at venturing away from Seabourn and trying a different line,  I would suggest also looking at Regent (their newer ships). There is a large Dallas TA that does significant business with Regent (I’m sure you know them). We have sailed Seabourn, SS and Regent and enjoy them all and don’t really have a strong preference for one over the other.  
 

I do agree that the SS pricing model is complicated and sometimes more expensive per diem than Seabourn or Regent.  We spent 24 days on Regent last year in a penthouse suite and we had superior service, and excellent food. Their Compass Rose menu is extensive and very nice, and IMO much better than Seabourn or SS. And the main dining room is always open for luncheon.  Dress code is still smart, but thankfully not the 3 tier SS dress code which I find a bit unnecessary.  And, the foolishness of paying a high fee for a specialty restaurant on SS, a luxury cruise line, is counterintuitive to their “door to door” pricing model, and a bit of a turn off IMO. Good luck with your planning. 

I'm glad I am not the only one who finds Silversea's pricing to be unnecessarily complicated.  It is not impressing me or encouraging me to sail with them.  I would  totally ignore their extra fee restaurants. 

[labonnevie]

1 hour ago, Sunprince said:

SLSD, if you are looking at venturing away from Seabourn and trying a different line,  I would suggest also looking at Regent (their newer ships). There is a large Dallas TA that does significant business with Regent (I’m sure you know them). 

SLSD, I second Sunprince. I have wondered for sometime why you don’t look at Regent. We have done 5 Seabourn and 10 Regent cruises, 4 Seabourn and 8 Regent before Covid. We have done other lines as well, but not SS. Prior to Covid we really had no preference between Seabourn and Regent. Since Covid, our experience with Seabourn has not been as good as with Regent.
Our two post Covid Regent cruises were both on Explorer, which is slightly more glitzy than we like. However, the specialty restaurants are fabulous (of course no upcharge). And the dining room (Compass Rose) is exceptional featuring daily specials as well as everyday entrees that are very good. Additionally, you can request any meal in the CR, 24 hours in advance and they’ll do it!

Business class air over the oceans is habit forming. And you’d love the free laundry which would make your carry on only strategy more doable. The clientele is very similar in our estimation, great people on both. Entertainment is equivalent in our estimation but we are not connoisseurs of entertainment. Lots of fun activities on board daily. I’ll stop selling, sorry!
We also use the TA in Dallas for both Seabourn and Regent. 

[nolatravelgirl]

On 7/28/2023 at 1:46 AM, tv24 said:

Recently on the Silver Moon, we had a lot of OBC, so we spent some of it on La Dame. It was a very weird experience trying to get a reservation in the generally empty restaurant.  We finally found a bar tender who volunteered to talk to his friend who arranged our reservation which we could not do with our butler or on their bizarre TV screen system.  

I am not sure if there are staffing issues or what but we were on the Muse over 4th of July and every restaurant was out of reservations for pre-booking. We went went straight to the maitreD upon embarkation and they gave us the same song and dance about "we can add you to the waitlist" and our butler was of zero help in securing reservations. We did finally clear waitlists but it was irritating to not know till late in the afternoon as to whether we had won the reservation lottery on the daily. I too found it bizarre that every restaurant that required reservations was strangely empty. The thing that irritated us the most was we were seated right by the entrance at La Dame that sorta killed the mood. I figured the other tables were all just allocated but the only other table that was sat after us was directly next to us so we could hear their entire conversation even though there were 8 or more other tables they could have been sat at. 

[SLSD]

On 7/29/2023 at 8:08 PM, labonnevie said:

SLSD, I second Sunprince. I have wondered for sometime why you don’t look at Regent. We have done 5 Seabourn and 10 Regent cruises, 4 Seabourn and 8 Regent before Covid. We have done other lines as well, but not SS. Prior to Covid we really had no preference between Seabourn and Regent. Since Covid, our experience with Seabourn has not been as good as with Regent.I 

I guess we should look at Regent.  The only cruise lines we have ever sailed with are Seabourn and Silversea--so that is probably part of the reason we haven't look at Regent.  

[ON cruiser]

Hi SLSD, I join Sunprince and Labonnevie in suggesting you consider Regent amongst your options. “BC” (before Covid) we did two cruises on each of Regent and Seabourn.

 

Returning to cruising last October, we sailed on Splendour, and much enjoyed our trip. I suspect you would enjoy the choice of specialty restaurants, albeit Compass Rose is equally great. This past May we sailed on the little Navigator, from Miami to Montreal. She only has the steakhouse as a specialty, yet you can order most anything at Compass Rose. We didn’t feel deprived. The crew was also the most cohesive team we’ve ever encountered, in over 20 years of cruising ( we “graduated” to the all-inclusive lines about 2017, tired of the increased nickel & dimeing on HAL). 

 

Currently, we have three Regent cruises booked. We enjoy the “penthouse” category with its extra amenities, albeit have been fine in a regular veranda. Obviously, we’re voting with our wallet. Yet for the right price and itinerary we would consider seabourn again.
 

For you and your hubby, if you try Regent, I suggest you begin with one of the ships other than Navigator, to have more dining options. Check out the Regent board, and feel free to post any questions which come to mind.

 

Best wishes, 

ON cruiser

[Mr Luxury]

9 hours ago, ON cruiser said:

Hi SLSD, I join Sunprince and Labonnevie in suggesting you consider Regent amongst your options. “BC” (before Covid) we did two cruises on each of Regent and Seabourn.

 

Returning to cruising last October, we sailed on Splendour, and much enjoyed our trip. I suspect you would enjoy the choice of specialty restaurants, albeit Compass Rose is equally great. This past May we sailed on the little Navigator, from Miami to Montreal. She only has the steakhouse as a specialty, yet you can order most anything at Compass Rose. We didn’t feel deprived. The crew was also the most cohesive team we’ve ever encountered, in over 20 years of cruising ( we “graduated” to the all-inclusive lines about 2017, tired of the increased nickel & dimeing on HAL). 

 

Currently, we have three Regent cruises booked. We enjoy the “penthouse” category with its extra amenities, albeit have been fine in a regular veranda. Obviously, we’re voting with our wallet. Yet for the right price and itinerary we would consider seabourn again.
 

For you and your hubby, if you try Regent, I suggest you begin with one of the ships other than Navigator, to have more dining options. Check out the Regent board, and feel free to post any questions which come to mind.

 

Best wishes, 

ON cruiser

And don't forget,everything is free on Regent 😀

[Techno123]

On 8/1/2023 at 7:03 AM, Mr Luxury said:

And don't forget,everything is free on Regent 😀

It's only free if you live in the US, in most other places it's included 😜

[Hlitner]

We are on the Quest where we have a “Guest” British chef who is doing a few events.  This includes a $250 pp dinner!  That makes Le Dome sound like a bargain🤧

 

Hank

[caviarforme]

13 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

We are on the Quest where we have a “Guest” British chef who is doing a few events.  This includes a $250 pp dinner!  That makes Le Dome sound like a bargain🤧

 

Hank

What is his name?

[Hlitner]

1 hour ago, caviarforme said:

What is his name?

Robert Thompson, MBE.  He is the youngest English chef to get a Michelin Star

[adoctor]

He earned his Michelin Star at a restaurant called the Hamborough in Ventnor on the isle of Wight.It was excellent .

If Seabourn and the Chef can source the right provisions its certainly a big step up from the regular MDR fare . 

[caviarforme]

I have never eaten at his Restaurant but his tasting menu is GBP99 (USD126) and paired wines GBP55 (USD51) - so if it is similar then USD250 is a premium

[lincslady]

I wonder if he is in line to succeed TK?  I admit to not having heard of him - and do know a bit about most of the top chefs in the UK - but he is a bit off the radar in the Isle of Wight.  His a la carte menu for the summer looks very much like most of today's up to date chefs, and is not particularly expensive.

 

I would hope that the wines to go with the dishes are extra special, at that price onboard.

[markham]

A Michelin Star star, you say? For only $250 per punter on top of what you’ve already paid for your feeding? After all, as caviarforme explains this is a $177 meal for $250. Sounds rich, non?

 

Ans where does the action happen? If this dinner is not in a private dining room what about protocol for hoi polloi who may be seated in the MDR nearby? Do they get any nods of acknowledgment, photo opps and/or maybe autographs? Is there a waiting list? Do you need to first buy a pass to the VVIP Retreat to get a ressie? All too exciting.

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

Edited August 2, 2023 by markham

[Mr Luxury]

The UK boss of Seabourn lives on the Isle of Wight.

I'm sure this is the connection for the Chef being on board

 

[PaulMCO]

So does Seabourn have an equivalent Japanese venue or La Dame equivalent???

 

But of course unless you have a bunch of non refundable OBC -- La Dame even at its best is not worth it.

Edited August 3, 2023 by PaulMCO

[Hlitner]

We are not going to that Chef’s dinner, so can not be of further help.  It is tonight (formal night) and The Restaurant menu is more than adequate for our meager needs.

 

Hank

[lincslady]

It would be very interesting to see his menu, if anyone has it - and the wines to go with it.

 

It does seem unbelievably expensive, even comparing badly with Silversea's new prices at La Dame.

[CalmSea]

If the chef dinner is an excursion to a land based Michelin Star restaurant, would the price still be too high?

[markham]

While we’re talking about who pays what for dining on different cruise lines, does anyone know how much the TK Grill outposts on Seabourn cost the line and how their obviously high costs are offset? I am thinking that these “free” TKG restaurants on the classic ships operate to the detriment of the MDR, Earth and Ocean, and Colonnade. Another way of looking at this is to ask why Seabourn does not invest more in these three outlets than they can do now with the weight of TKG expenditures dragging things down. 
 

So that might round out the discussion of why the MDR sponsors $250 pp dinners inclusive of fancy wines.
 

I have thought a bit about it myself when I determined that our first quarter 2023 Colonnade lunches on Quest were downright cheap and mournful, and the MDR lunches were extremely limited as well, sadly based on the same few courses found not only at the Colonnade but Patio lunches: think black bean soup, hake, and chili con carne at all of them on one date that was absurdly ridiculous but also indicative of poor quality and thoughtless catering. And believe it our not on the same day we suffered the Mexican themed stuff the Sojourn endured the same menu. Why? Had both ships run out of all other provisions?

 

Back to the question, I believe the TKG concept has run its course anyway, and the expenses question may be more pressing now than ever. One idea is to get rid of it, share the budget fully, offer up steaks and chops in the MDR, and use the space for a high end Italian or Asian concept restaurant.
 

And moving over to Silversea, we can question how and why they make a surcharge for dinner at Kaiseki and La Dame. I found the former on Silver Dawn very poor value since the meal was a hodge podge of a bland presentation (fusion?) not at all resembling a Japanese meal. I refused to pay. (This contrasted with Silver Muse whose Kaiseki has a good teppanyaki, well worth the upcharge.)

 

About La Dame at $60 on Muse and Dawn, I thought it was a treat, and it was largely. What interfered with the ambiance, frankly speaking, were some of the other diners’ raucous behaviors, more befitting a sports bar. Which kinda spoiled it. So not sure that the premium is “entirely” worth it - although the food, decor and service certainly were.

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

Edited August 3, 2023 by markham