Silversea vs Seabourn

[DR John]

We were on the Legend June 30 -July 7 and have just booked a week on Silverseas ( Whisper) Aug 24 -Aug 31,2007 (Monaco to Barcelona.)

Whereas we have sailed previously on Seabourn, this will be our first SS sailing.

I am hoping to post a unbiased comparison of the two experiences as soon as we get off.

I am slightly concerned with the posts I have been reading on the SS board, but will go with an open mind

[LaPaloma]

Our experience is that Silversea isn't all bad--we have been on Seabourn many times, and Silversea twice. The SS ships were nicer. We have had a midship veranda and Grand suite, both were very nice. What we found was service that did not compare to Seabourn. Food on SS was good, but not as good as Seabourn. I think the thing that bothered us most was the cool and distant attitude of the senior staff. There contact with passengers was little or none! I'm sure you will enjoy your cruise--SS has a large and loyal group of passengers--they have some great itineraries--that maybe be there strongest point. Thats way we chose them twice. You will enjoy your cruise, but I'll bet you will return to Seabourn. Don

[avalon1025]

Completly agree. SS physical ships are winners hand down, but the soft goods (the service, officers, and food) on Seabourn are tops. I never understood why the officers on Silversea come off as such pompous jerks. They hardly even say hello or interact with passengers. Its like you are bothering them on their ship

[LaPaloma]

Completly agree. SS physical ships are winners hand down, but the soft goods (the service, officers, and food) on Seabourn are tops. I never understood why the officers on Silversea come off as such pompous jerks. They hardly even say hello or interact with passengers. Its like you are bothering them on their ship

 

You made me chuckle...Pompous is how we described the as well. I even ventured to feel that if you offered to kiss the Capt's ring..he would be very pleased! Lola [We thoroughly enjoyed the Staff and Crew safety drill, again..their personalitys stood out!]

 

ps...as for sailing SS..our friends are taking it this fall..and our fingers are crossed for them. We treated it with a sense of humor...I don't think they will.

[Ms. J.]

Greetings, all....

 

Well, since I'm tryig out many cruise lines, you have just made up my mind for me - there will be NO SS cruises. I really enjoy the crew, and though I will be new to SB, I've heard the greatest things about the service. Thanks, all.....

Jini

[blackbird71]

Greetings, all....

 

Well, since I'm tryig out many cruise lines, you have just made up my mind for me - there will be NO SS cruises. I really enjoy the crew, and though I will be new to SB, I've heard the greatest things about the service. Thanks, all.....

Jini

 

SS has a quality control problem. Last year a number (mine included) of cruises in the Caribbean has poor service/food. Once the ship headed to the med, the service/food improved per posts on the SS forum. But when you are playing the SS/SB prices, quality issues should not come up.

[CruisinMatt]

Last year a number (mine included) of cruises in the Caribbean has poor service/food.

 

This is the first I heard of this. Can you link me to that discussion or fill me in on the details? I've just never heard anyone complain about the food except those that cruise multiple times per year and find the lack of variety tiring...

[MuseCruiser]

We have been on 4 Seabourn and 6 Silversea cruises. Slight edge to Silversea. Both are great and both can have lots of variability, given the staff who works on contracts. Let's face it--many of the staff bounce back and forth between the two lines. The ships are newer and more spacious on Silversea. For us, the food has been better--on average--on Silversea. We've had some duds in terms of food/chefs on both Silversea and on Seabourn but again, slight edge overall to Silversea. Its something like an 'A' for Silversea and for Seabourn an "A-".

 

Main differences I notice: The sommelier staff on Silversea (I'm a winegeek) are 'real' wine professionals; on Seabourn they tend to be wait staff who have worked their way up. Or Bar managers who pose as a Sommelier. More international clientele on Silversea; Seabourn tends to be predominantly Americans.

 

You won't go wrong on either; you could get a 'dud' on either. But slight preference here--from an experienced cruiser--for Silversea.

[LaPaloma]

We have been on 4 Seabourn and 6 Silversea cruises. Slight edge to Silversea. Both are great and both can have lots of variability, given the staff who works on contracts. Let's face it--many of the staff bounce back and forth between the two lines. The ships are newer and more spacious on Silversea. For us, the food has been better--on average--on Silversea. We've had some duds in terms of food/chefs on both Silversea and on Seabourn but again, slight edge overall to Silversea. Its something like an 'A' for Silversea and for Seabourn an "A-".

 

Main differences I notice: The sommelier staff on Silversea (I'm a winegeek) are 'real' wine professionals; on Seabourn they tend to be wait staff who have worked their way up. Or Bar managers who pose as a Sommelier. More international clientele on Silversea; Seabourn tends to be predominantly Americans.

 

You won't go wrong on either; you could get a 'dud' on either. But slight preference here--from an experienced cruiser--for Silversea.

 

I do not find those that serve to be Americans on SB....that would be the exception in my experience! As for the Sommeliers...I disagree there as well. I guess that it boils down to the old adage..."to each his own". Lola

[MuseCruiser]

I do not find those that serve to be Americans on SB....that would be the exception in my experience! As for the Sommeliers...I disagree there as well. I guess that it boils down to the old adage..."to each his own". Lola

 

 

Just to clarify...I mean the majority of the passengers on Seabourn are Americans and the passengers on Silversea tend to be more international...I was not referring to staff. Sorry for the confusion.

[GrannyLorr]

On our one and only (so far) Seabourn cruise......the Aussies almost outnumbered the Yanks!! :D

We did 4 back to back cruises, 2 had lots of Aussies and quite a lot of Kiwis, as the itinerary was in this part of the World....as we got closer to Europe, we had more Europeans, so I would guess the part of the World the ship is sailing in would also influence the nationalities on board. I think we actually had a good mixture for all 4 cruises.

[blackbird71]

This is the first I heard of this. Can you link me to that discussion or fill me in on the details? I've just never heard anyone complain about the food except those that cruise multiple times per year and find the lack of variety tiring...

 

Lobster and Creme Brulee :p Are the first two items that come to mind. I ordered the lobster thermador and when it came it was very very dry, like it had been seating under a heat lamp for hours. A couple at my table including me ordered their Creme Brulee and when you put your spoon into it there are a lower layer of ?water?.

 

The "Sommeliers" on my 4 day cruise were just BAD. Two out of four night I only got the first glass of wine. They did not return to re-fill. One night we had young busy bee sommeller and while we did get re-fills, he almost was running from table to table topping off people's glasses.

 

In their "buffet" at lunch if you got water you were luckly, you had to corner one of the wait staff for things like ice tea.

 

When a repeater on SS went to the Hotel Manager about service in the main restaurant, she was told they had a lot of new people still in training and in a couple weeks service would improve, her reply back to him was "But in a couple weeks I will not be on here, will I"

[blackbird71]

Completly agree. SS physical ships are winners hand down,

 

IMHO it is a toss up on the larger SS ships and the sisters. The two major things that come to my mind that the Whisper did better on (an not a big deal to me) is the more "normal" placement of the swimming pool, and the fact you take an elevator down to the tendering station.

 

With SB new ship with Marina, IMHO that will out class the Whisper/Shadow.

[Bulldogger]

We have sailed on both lines a number of times. I think that those who opine that SS has much nicer ships and Seabourn has slightly better food and better service are absolutely correct. SS seems to vary a little more in quality judging from the message boards. Both lines are very nice. We had a great cruise on SS last fall which went to Algeria, Tunisia and other Med ports. The ship was half full which allowed the service to be great. Food still not quite as good as Seabourn though. Those big balconies sure are nice.