SeaDream versus Emerald Sakura

[commodoredave]

It's time for us to sail on a luxury small ship again. 

Our last two were on the Hebridean Princess, thanks to Knothead, and before that on SeaDream I. 

We will be sailing on the Explora I in March, but at 650 pax, I don't consider that a small ship. And we are sailing on the Silver Shadow in July, but at 382 pax it's still a bit larger than we want.

We enjoyed our last SeaDream cruise, but our TA has recommended the new Emerald Cruise line ship, the Emerald Sakura for a Carribean cruise next winter. It's a new ship, carries just 100 passengers, and is a subsidiary of Scenic, which has a good reputation.

I'm tempted to try it. Any opinions out there that might be helpful?

 

 

Edited January 26 by commodoredave

[garysarah]

I had asked the seadream forum in August if anyone had been on emerald and got so responses. I would definitely stick with seadream for the Caribbean. 

[commodoredave]

I am always curious about new ships. Tried the new Seabourn Pursuit in October and signed up for another one while on board. Trying the new Explorer 1 in March based on strong recommendation from my TA. She also recommended Emerald, which is why I’m leaning towards it unless I see negative reports.

[misztercruizer]

MrDave,

  We sailed on Explora1 from Iceland To NYC last September had a fantastic trip all 1st class service and great food. Would like to book again soon.

  We will be on Seadream1 next week out of San Juan with a BtB for a 14 day trip. We are looking forward to the relaxed atmosphere. First time on SD1  I never see any roll calls for this line I guess people will get to know everyone on board because of the size.

  TA love EJ because of the upgrade they offer in commissions. It helps them fill the ship. I did notice the prices are getting a little high on Explora Journeys.  Enjoy!

 

[commodoredave]

4 hours ago, misztercruizer said:

MrDave,

  We sailed on Explora1 from Iceland To NYC last September had a fantastic trip all 1st class service and great food. Would like to book again soon.

  We will be on Seadream1 next week out of San Juan with a BtB for a 14 day trip. We are looking forward to the relaxed atmosphere. First time on SD1  I never see any roll calls for this line I guess people will get to know everyone on board because of the size.

  TA love EJ because of the upgrade they offer in commissions. It helps them fill the ship. I did notice the prices are getting a little high on Explora Journeys.  Enjoy!

 

MiszterCruizer, I would be interested in your view of SeaDream after your upcoming voyage . I have not been back on SD since they renovated their two ships. I found SD1 a bit tired looking before the renovation,

[misztercruizer]

Dave, 

  You may be interested to see the review Ben & David mad on Seadream before and now.

They sailed two times, once during covid.

   

 

[commodoredave]

On 2/2/2024 at 7:10 AM, misztercruizer said:

Dave, 

  You may be interested to see the review Ben & David mad on Seadream before and now.

They sailed two times, once during covid.

   

 

Frankly, can’t tolerate these types of reviews. All hyperbole and takes ages to provide any information, some of which is useless. Are there any serious reviews out there?

[commodoredave]

I've decided to take the easy path and do Emerald first to do my own evaluation.

[stan01]

On 2/7/2024 at 1:47 PM, commodoredave said:

I've decided to take the easy path and do Emerald first to do my own evaluation.

 

The Seadream ships are now 40 and 39 years old, there's really no way to compare them to a brand new ship if that's important to you.  There's only so much refreshing that can be done. 

 

I'd be interested to read your view of the service, food, and "ambience" on Emerald though upon your return.  We like mix of "luxury casual" on Seadream that is unlike any other cruise line we've been on.

[commodoredave]

While we enjoyed our SeaDream cruise, it did not knock our socks off, mainly because of the design of the ship. However, the crew made up for some of that with their terrific service and attitude. I always thought if I could take the crew and put them on a newer vessel, it would be perfect. I'll report back next January on my experience.

[misztercruizer]

Well, we are about to complete our 14-day sailing on SD1, it was a back to back visiting the BVI San Juan to St Thomas, that ends on 2/24/24.

 We had great weather, just a few swells that made the tender trips a little tipsy. The food and service has been above expectations for our first trip on SD1. About 40% of the passengers are repeat guests. that says a lot for the brand. 

  We did have some unusual officer changes while on board. Last week the head chef was changed, this week the hotel manager left, then this Friday the captain will be changed. We were not given the name of the new captain, I guess we will find out Friday.

We are in Norman Island today with some excellent snorkeling at Treasure Island. 

   

I will try to post a detailed trip description at a later date.

 

[TrapperZimmy]

Glad you've been having a good time.  Actually, 40% repeaters is kind of low these days.  We've been on trips where it is closer to 80%.  The crew changes aren't really unusual.  Those officers have been on board for a while.  When we were aboard in January, they were planning their vacations.  I still have problems grasping the idea that we go to them for vacation, but they go home for vacation.

[Piaa]

We will let you know commodoredave as we booked Emerald Sakura for a Caribbean cruise in December - we know it won't be SeaDream but the price was great and it's always fun to try something new 

[commodoredave]

On 2/29/2024 at 9:29 AM, Piaa said:

We will let you know commodoredave as we booked Emerald Sakura for a Caribbean cruise in December - we know it won't be SeaDream but the price was great and it's always fun to try something new 

Yes please do as we will be following you a month later on February 1 and your tips/insights will be helpful. 

Agree with your rationale. I'm not expecting the warmth that SeaDream staff bring to the table, but a ship that isn't 40 years old can make a big difference. I may have been unlucky, but on my one SD cruise we were down to one engine, and had toilet and water issues during the cruise. 

[commodoredave]

For what it’s worth, her is the list of Top 10 small ship cruise lines in 2023 as selected by readers of Conde Nast Traveler:

Small ships (Fewer than 500 passengers)

10. Variety Cruises. Score 86.75
9. SeaDream Yacht Club. Score 89.66
8. Silversea. Score 89.93
7. Seabourn. Score 91.34
6. Ponant. Score 91.45
5. Windstar Cruises. Score 91.87
4. Sea Cloud Cruises. Score 91.94
3. American Cruise Lines. Score 92.88
2. Paul Gauguin Cruises. Score 92.94
1. Emerald Cruises. Score 95.27

[garysarah]

The problem with those lists is that Seadream has so many fewer passengers than most of the other ships that they have many more people to vote for them. Having been on several of those lines, to me they don't compare favorably. I do recognize people are looking for different things and it's hard to compare old ships with new ones.  You clearly enjoy many different types of experiences. I admire your breadth of experience. 

[commodoredave]

20 hours ago, garysarah said:

The problem with those lists is that Seadream has so many fewer passengers than most of the other ships that they have many more people to vote for them. Having been on several of those lines, to me they don't compare favorably. I do recognize people are looking for different things and it's hard to compare old ships with new ones.  You clearly enjoy many different types of experiences. I admire your breadth of experience. 

The secret to enjoying different types of experiences is to have an open mind, ample curiosity and a desire to get outside one’s comfort zone. We do have a handful of favourite cruise lines, but we like to complement them with a new experience every year or so. This year was Explora. Next year is Emerald. And I hope more to come!

[commodoredave]

On 1/31/2024 at 9:44 AM, misztercruizer said:

MrDave,

  We sailed on Explora1 from Iceland To NYC last September had a fantastic trip all 1st class service and great food. Would like to book again soon.

  We will be on Seadream1 next week out of San Juan with a BtB for a 14 day trip. We are looking forward to the relaxed atmosphere. First time on SD1  I never see any roll calls for this line I guess people will get to know everyone on board because of the size.

  TA love EJ because of the upgrade they offer in commissions. It helps them fill the ship. I did notice the prices are getting a little high on Explora Journeys.  Enjoy!

 

PS- Emerald carries the same number of pax as SeaDream, yet ranks 1st versus 9th best for SD. So while your point is valid for the larger ships on the list, it doesn’t explain why Emerald ranks better.

[commodoredave]

20 hours ago, garysarah said:

The problem with those lists is that Seadream has so many fewer passengers than most of the other ships that they have many more people to vote for them. Having been on several of those lines, to me they don't compare favorably. I do recognize people are looking for different things and it's hard to compare old ships with new ones.  You clearly enjoy many different types of experiences. I admire your breadth of experience. 

While your point is valid about some of the ships carrying more pax than SD and therefore having more voters, it doesn’t explain why Emerald, which carries the same number of pax is ranked so much higher than SD.

 

[wine-wine-wine]

7 minutes ago, commodoredave said:

it doesn’t explain why Emerald ranks better.

I was thinking the same but about the very small Sea Cloud ships. 

[commodoredave]

1 minute ago, wine-wine-wine said:

I was thinking the same but about the very small Sea Cloud ships. 

Good point. And that’s one ship I plan to try soon. 

[wine-wine-wine]

1 minute ago, commodoredave said:

And that’s one ship I plan to try soon.

We will be on Sea Cloud Spirit in September for our 25th anniversary.  Will post a write up - probably cross posting on both the small ship and luxury categories. Spirit is a bit bigger than the other two at 136 passengers - but they also have verandas which is important to DW. 

[commodoredave]

1 minute ago, wine-wine-wine said:

We will be on Sea Cloud Spirit in September for our 25th anniversary.  Will post a write up - probably cross posting on both the small ship and luxury categories. Spirit is a bit bigger than the other two at 136 passengers - but they also have verandas which is important to DW. 

I look forward to reading it. We are always interested in expanding our cruise horizons.