Originally Posted by
ButterflyVioletta
Different note: I've done Carnival (hated it) and RCCL twice and had a good time. I was really hoping to do Seabourn this time...smaller ship, gourmet meals, few announcements in your room, bigger baseline cabins. However, hubby says looks pretentious (having the staff stand in the water to serve you caviar and champagne is a bit over the top). Wondering what your thoughts were about other lines that would be worth checking out.
While we've never been on Seabourn I would take the caviar and champagne being served in the water with a bit of the grain of salt. I'm not saying it hasn't or doesn't happen but photos like that are typically PR or advertising setups and not the norm. We cruise almost exclusively with Silversea which is a fairly similar product and experience to Seabourn. If you look at their ads or visit their website you see some of the same kind of thing like a line of butlers standing on the dock greeting passengers or white gloved service of coffee on your verandah. Again, not to say that doesn't or can't happen but it's mostly hype.
The thing to remember is Seabourn, Silversea, or any the other upscale cruise lines are not the same product as a mass market line like Carnival, RCCL, etc. They're all cruises but there is generally a very distinct difference in the level service, food, and ambience between the mass market and all inclusive luxury lines. I would hesitate to call the difference over the top or pretentious.