Silversea or Seabourn- What is the absolute best?
 

I am planning a cruise of the Mediterranean in the spring. What is the top cruise line- Seabourn or Silversea or have I missed one?

Neither. Both. SB. SS.

Your question is worded in such a way that it makes no sense to me. There are plenty of companies sailing the Med that offer something better than SB and SS. What is better for me, maybe not so better for you.

Good point, Hedoman.

So what do you suggest?

You should check out Cruisecritic.com --- much more robust resource on cruising

I've done Seabourn and Regent in the Med... of the two I prefer Seabourn for the smaller ships.. the food/service is also better. Regent seems to be selling the "all inclusive" experience which can be good or bad... I will say that I extremely dislike cruising in the Med because the itineraries are very very port intensive and very tiring... Though, if I would cruise the med again I would give Seadream a try... I've done them in the Carribean and very much enjoy their casual luxury approach to cruising...

FDW

I've done 3 cruises with Silversea and loved each one. First was ATH-IST, second BCN-VCE, and third was 18 days around British Isles and Iceland.

We started on Silversea because the itinerary was the best for the time period we had.

I don't think you can really go wrong. I'd talk to a travel agent that specializes in luxury cruises and they can tell you the difference between the lines. We have one we love and have gotten great service and pricing.

What part of the Med are you looking at?

As usual, FDW is correct. Go for the smaller ship. We did the Spirit twice and then the Cloud. Nothing worse than seeing a huge ship pull into Santorini...I'm talking those monster Royal Carib etc.

I would not post this question on cruise critic. A similar question is asked about every fifteen days, so just scroll around and read some good stuff.
This question brings out the cheerleaders for each line so you might end up with a headache. BTW, a luxury cruise line does not staff from India and Philippines for front line service personnel.

Seabourn/ Silversea
 

My wife and I have 72 days on Silversea and 136 days on Seabourn. We have also traveled on Oceania and Celebrity.
Seabourn and Silversea are ---in our opinion---the 2 best cruise lines. We slightly prefer Seabourn because of the "personal touch"---remembering your name and drink--and their food is slightly better.
I think you would have an outstanding cruise on either line---I would choose base on the itinerary.
One other thing to note---unless you book a suite all the cabins are the same size---so you pay a lot more for higher decks

Be aware Seabourn sold Seabourn Pride, Legend and Spirit (10,000 Gross Tonnage, 106 suites / 208 passengers) - Pride began service with Windstar Cruises 5 May 2014, the other two began in April and May 2015, respectively. So if smaller ships are your reason, Seabourn will be bringing in at least one larger ship to replace the Pride-class ships in 2016 (Letter Of Intent with Fincantieri to bring on another Odyssey size ship).

If you're thinking way back, the Sea Goddess I and II (4,250 GT) were transferred to SeaDream Yacht Club~2001. C

SeaDream Yacht Club (85 passengers in 44 suites

Noble Caledonia offers some very interesting trips with a lot of free land excursions and lecturers included. They might be a bit too "educational" for some; they usually include airfare ex-U. K. In particular, they operate two very nice ships (all suites), M. V. Island Sky and Caledonian Sky. Each has 57 suites (114 passengers) and each is quite nice. (One thing we found - the 254-262 suites midships on the lowest deck are the cheapest, largest due to the shape of the vessel, and most stable - with easiest access to the main restaurant.)

JDiver - I always enjoy your posts. I will be on the Island Sky next week. The cruise is being operated by Zegrahm and we will be cruising Belize-Panama-Costa Rica. Coincidentally, our cabin number is 260. Looking forward to all the snorkeling opportunities we will have and of course all else nature has to offer.

And, I thought you were just good with advice on the AA forum :)
Thank you for this.
I have note heard of Noble Caledonia, but now I am really interested in the nuclear powered ice breaker "Fifty Years of Victory". It looks like the only tour this year is for The North Pole..

I think a cruise on 50 Let Pobedy would be truly epic!

People I;ve known who have taken the "nukes" to the Arctic say one should take ear plugs - the icebreaking is continuous and noisy.

I, too, would give an edge to Seabourn over Silversea as Silversea's food quality can be an issue. However, if you have the opportunity, don't rule out Crystal. Crystal has bigger ships over the other two and now offer an all-inclusive cruise (the other two always offered it). You can't go wrong with any of the three, with the slight caveat of Silversea's food.

Neither
 

Crystal is superior to both.

In my opinion, Seabourn is the best.

Their ships are, in my opinion, perfectly designed- beautiful, with bounds of space yet very intimate and upscale all at the same time. I'd rate the food higher than that on Silversea, although we are splitting hairs... but that is what one must do when you are looking at the ultra-luxury cruise market. Seabourn is more modern, the decor on Silversea more traditional. I also found what made the difference with Seabourn is the personal touch, that of the crew- them remembering your name, the stories you tell them, and they manage to genuinely make you feel that their service is coming from the heart. In my personal experience, the crew on Silversea, while going through all the necessary 'motions' did feel a tad aloof or uninterested at times.

Please do remember that by the time you shall set sail the final of Seabourn's original, timelessly classic triplets would have been retired, and as such all the above comments are in regards to the Odyssey class of ships. Silversea maintains a far more diverse fleet, from the 16,000 GRT Cloud to the 540 passenger Spirit.

I don't know if this would factor in to your equation at all, but I do tend to enjoy Seabourn's marina when it is lowered- you can swim straight into the sea or engage in a number of watersports in port, weather depending naturally.

I don't necessarily know what kind of experience you are after, but if an intimate, ultra-luxury vacation of the simple pleasures of great food, wine and destinations is to your taste, I would also suggest looking at SeaDream Yacht Club. They run two ships, the SeaDream I and SeaDream II that originally launched the ultra-luxury cruising category way back in 1984. They are a delightful pair, and are perfect for romantic, relatively active getaways. Either way, I'd pop onto their website and check them out.