SB vs O which is better?

[Cruisemonty]

11 hours ago, sunlover12 said:

Your 2017 cruise isn’t recent but I am curious about what you said about entertainment being non-existent. There is a show in the lounge every night, among other venues as well.   Regarding elevator music being played everywhere….I wouldn’t classify Eagles and Led Zepplin as “elevator music”.  
 

You are correct, there was entertainment on the Riviera, but it wasn't to our taste. While I have no problem with the Eagles or Led Zeppelin, I didn't like hearing easy listening music everywhere, but that is a personal preference. I saw someone complain about the same thing recently on the Explorer boards.

[Vallesan]

We sailed SB in 2018 and O (many times) pre 2020. We have sailed O, R class and Riviera in the last 12 months. We’ve also sailed Silver Dawn and SB Encore this summer. 
All cruise lines have changed since the pandemic. 

Yes, all reviews, apart from the physical size of suites etc. are subjective. However, I’ve come to the conclusion that the itinerary is probably most important when it comes to choosing a ship.

 

Port cancellations

We sailed O in the Med in August 2022 and had 2 ports cancelled, one in the middle of a storm, and the Caribbean in February 23 again with 2 ports cancelled.

We sailed Silversea in June 23  to Norwegian Fjords with no cancellations.

We sailed SB Encore, Greek Islands, in September with one port cancelled.

I hear lots of people complaining about O cancelling port stops but, personally, I can’t see any benefit to them avoiding a port without good reason.

 

Service

All three lines are excellent. O offers great service. Seabourn’s service was even better, but Silversea went above and beyond. BUT, again it’s all subjective. One persons idea of ‘great service’ is another person’s ‘intrusive’!

 

Food

Again completely subjective. People rave about O’s Red Ginger miso glazed sea bass, I find it far too sweet!

In general Oceania wins for me.

Seabourn have fewer restaurant choices and both meals we had in the TK were a real disappointment.

Silver Dawn has greater choice of restaurants and we enjoyed all the food but Silver note didn’t open until 8pm, too late for us, the grill was outdoor … not in June in Norway! So really the choices were a bit limited.

 

Suites

Easy comparison really :

Verandah on Silversea and Seabourn compare with …

Verandah on Oceania Riviera, Marina and Vista 

BUT

O, R class verandah, especially bathrooms, are  far too small, so only PH is comparable.

 

So I started by saying the itinerary is really the most important consideration. SB had great deck parties, sail-away, caviar, shellfish events etc. in the Med and Greek islands…. warm weather cruising.

Oceania, none that I remember on warm weather cruises.

Silversea, cooler weather cruise, a few indoor events that were lovely.

 

I guess the itinerary you pick, and the time of year, will be the most important factor when you cruise. Sea days, love them or hate them, time in a port, your personal preferences,  many factors are in the mix, not just the cost, when you choose a cruise. I don’t think there is a ‘perfect’ cruise where all passengers disembark and say that was the best trip I’ve ever done! 
You make your choice and you pay your money!

 

[ak1004]

@Vallesan excellent analysis! 

 

Personally I think you cannot go wrong with any of those lines, itinerary is the most important consideration (unless you consider the ship your destination, which some people do). But great itineraries on paper mean little if ports are cancelled on a regular basis. So far, there is no evidence that O does it more than others, and even less evidence that they do it on purpose.