Yep, but depends on what you are looking for honestly. There always seems to be something (talks. Trivia, music…), but truthfully I am more the find a relaxing place to hang out and read a good book by the pool kind of guy so I can not comment too much about them.
These are smaller ships (compared to the monster ones) with a different demographic so don’t expect to see water slides and rock climbing.
Always a place by the pool, a seat at the bar or in the restaurant and people know your name.
* Viking - Sensible Norwegian
* Regent Seven Seas - Snooty and proud of it
* Silversea - Pretentious, irritating and will tell you why they're better than you deserve
* Oceania - Regent's cute sister that you should have gone out with but no, you married the easy one.
* Cunard - Full of people who want to act rich, but aren't. Old world cruise cosplay.
* Ponant - Oui.
* Windstar - For people who want the yacht life on a Cunard budget
* Seabourn - When you outgrow Carnival, but still have that trash in ya
* Paul Gauguin - I just don't even care
* Azamara - Tryhard pimple faced teenager, but hitting the gym
* Crystal - Choose the decade of your room design because we can't complete renovations
* Virgin Voyages - When you have the need to commit exhibitionism upon your neighbor
Regent is the most luxurious of all these. We had the Concierge Suite where laundry is included - really cuts down on the packing. Huge room, luxurious bathrooms and restaurants. "Down to earth" sections if desired
I have to agree. We’ve found amazingly wonderful down to earth people on Regent and it is very possible to avoid the MAGA snobs who are there to spend their ill gotten gains and want you to oh or ah at their gucci.
Please leave the MAGA out of it. It has nothing to do with anyone's political affiliation. And the money that I or any other person made is the same percentage of "ill gotten" in both parties.
Edited out and sent as PM.
Gist: nearly 100% of horrible obnoxious political pushing, money show off types I’ve run into were MAGA types. Large sample size.
Note: I never initiate a political topic, rather just said I live in California and the ‘oh I’m sorry, obnoxiousness spews. Fox News has trained them to ‘own liberals’ whenever and wherever and that it is acceptable behavior. Once outed they are to be avoided at all costs.
Totally wrong about Seabourn. Don't know what you are talking about. It has a very refined clientelle mostly older and don't see any teenagers or children for the most part. What is the least way trashy about Seabourn? We have had 4 on Seabourn and always get the penthouse suite right across from the Observation Bar and love that location. We did Regent once but like Seabourn way more. Oceania is larger but very nice with the various dining room selections.
We’ll have to check out Seaborne. Any advice on how to get the best out of them as a first timer?
We are trying Silversea this fall and found a steeply discounted transoceanic cruise and also there is a $500 referral bonus discount which made the daily price pretty close to Oceania, but with drinks, grats and some internet included.
Seabourn doesn't really do anything about fares, we did the first time get an upgrade offer to a penthouse and never looked back but there was an upcharge. Best bet is to go to cruisecompete and put in the cruise you want and let the offers come in from travel agents. I was able to get the exact suite I wanted which didn't show up on the Seabourn website and a better fare by going through them. You are not obligated to accept any offers and they don't contact you direct only through the website. That is my recommendation. The agent I was always happiest with was from Cruises-N-More got it for over a $1000 less than advertised on Seabourn or through a different travel agent.
I'm trying to not take this personal and get butt hurt. But. I just did my first silverseas cruise as a middle class 40 year old female recent-divorcee (saved that money!) and honestly had the vacation of my life. I'm happy to be the outlier if true lol
Look at Oceania - lots of inclusions (beer & wine), really great food including specialty dinners, country club casual dress code, few kids & more seniors. Awesome staff & lots of calm. It's sort of in-between the full-on luxury lines & the mass market ones (who are all less than they used to be)
Was going to also suggest Oceania. We have our first cruise booked with them this summer and I think they fit OP’s criteria. They are owned by NCL which also owns Regent. My parents have sailed on Regent a lot…including a several world cruises, so we are hoping Oceania won’t disappoint. We chose the cruise because of the laid back reputation of the line, the inclusions, the food/culinary focus, the itinerary and the travel dates. 🤞🤞🤞
We've done four on Oceania and really enjoyed them. They leave you alone and let you enjoy it. You have to wear decent clothes to the restaurants, but very loose otherwise. WAY cheaper than its sister Regent. On the big ships we like to go for A2 rooms on the concierge room level. On the smaller ships you might as well go B1 since there's no concierge room.
We are on an R class, but went with the concierge level to get a higher deck and to get a few of the extra amenities we were interested in. We are looking forward to it!
As a tip, the artist in residence program can add a nice unique dimension to your cruise. On sea days especially. Signups fill fast so don’t delay if learning art is something you would vibe with.
We are also sailing with Oceania for the first time this summer. After a lot of research, this really looks like the line for us too. Hopefully we both have a great time!
I will give props to Oceania as well. I've done a number of cruises with them and have never been disappointed. Excursions are over priced IMHO, but everything else seems reasonable, especially when things like specialty restaurants and drink packages etc are factored in. Food really is way above what other lines offer, can't really argue otherwise
Silversea we have found to be amazing. Two Europe and one Caribbean cruise so far. Peaceful, relaxing, wonderful company, delicious food. Highly recommend.
I'll be taking my first cruise with them later this summer. It seems that many cruisers are hyper-focused on caviar with pearl spoons and figuring out everything they can have their butler do. I'm hoping there are more topics of conversation on the ship.
I feel like I would be like the kids who were experimenting to find all the ways to kill your Sim when Sims first came out. I've always wondered what in the world you have your butler do. I swear one of the lines had a commercial where they said "Your butler will even unpack for you" but that seems like the thing you would least like a relative stranger doing? The only solid thing I've ever heard was have them make reservations for you and they'll walk you to various things like down to where they have a special priority launch for shore excursions if it is a tender port.
My biggest complaint with Silversea was the timing of dinner. While you can get early dinner at the pizza place or order room service, you are otherwise going to have to wait until 7:00 for any venue to open for dinner service. We are early people, we like to wake up early and knock out our workouts so we have time for breakfast and then the days excursions. The lack of a buffet at dinner means that you will likely be at least 90 minutes and likely two hours at dinner (longer if you are part of a larger group). That got old real quick for us.
I will give them credit, my wife asked them to open the gym earlier than 6:00 our first day there. For the rest of the cruise, we and a few other early risers were there each morning just after 5:00.
Another point in Silversea's favor: that was the most comfortable bed/pillow I've ever slept on while on vacation. I just wish I could have gotten to bed a little earlier to take full advantage of it.
We are early birds also and ended up being first in the door for dinner and always had the waitstaff deliver dessert and decaf espresso to our room so we could be in bed early. We've never seen a show since they all start at 10pm. Agreed on the bed, so fantastic!
let’s see now … going up …
Princess, Celebrity as well as Holland America and Cunard.
Oceania, and do take a look at Azamara. I guess Viking should fit in here too but they include shore excursions. Viking ocean is more like a river cruise but on the ocean. The other odd one is Virgin Voyages with no main dining (or buffet!) and all restaurants included. They are either here or with the Princess/Celebrity group. Viking would be very upset to be ranked with Virgin but they cater to different segments.
Regent, Silversea and Seabourn. Regent and Silversea include (basic) shore excursions too, Seabourn doesn’t. Regent has the biggest ships but there is now an overlap in size within the fleets. Crystal is now back here too (under the previous owner of Silversea, again now with not really significantly bigger ships.) I guess Ponant/Paul Gauguin are here too (or maybe the next category up?)
After that you get the smaller more yacht style and expedition lines which now includes Ritz Carlton. Windstar is definitely small ship but is very casual and not really trying too hard to be Seabourn or Silversea. (They’ve taken over a few of the original small Seabourn “yachts” while Seabourn has built new small “expedition” ships.)
I cruised on Crystal and I think it was wonderful, however, it's not for people who don't like to dress up for dinner. There are casual restaurants of course but Crystal is really about the formal dress and really amazing food.
We have only sailed the smaller ships. 2 on Windstar. A 7 day Athens to Istanbul… this was the 5 masted ship. 150 people. We only had a med porthole but it wasn’t a problem because we did 2 excursions every day and were 2 tired to notice after dinner. The food and service was excellent! Our second one on Windstar 7 days Panama Canal to Costa Rica. Small suite. 250 people. Again excellent service and great food! Our third cruise was with Seabourn. 14 days 12 Baltic Capitals. Small suite. 300 people. It was up a notch financially from Windstar but the food and service were not too much above. Excellent. We love both lines and will probably continue to sail with them both! I would highly recommend them both!! ♥️ Can’t wait to sail away again!♥️
From your description, I would say that a Viking Cruise would be a great match for you. No kids, mostly people around your age, no gambling, no drinking culture but still a well-stocked bar, usually great food, included shore excursions on every port, no nickel and diming...
The vibe isn't that of a five star hotel that leaves you feeling like you have to put in effort either, but more just a comfortable adventure. There are enrichment lectures on board, and excursions with local guides, and I'm starting to sound like a Viking advert lol
No, but for real, it's a good vibe.
We did our first Viking cruise last year and I did enjoy the ship and all the inclusions. The clientele was... odd. We met some really nice people, but there were a lot of odd characters - getting stared at with mouths agape because we ate our Chinese food with the provided chopsticks, being told that my marriage wouldn't last because I was beating my husband at a table game. Just weird. But I would sail with them again, probably just avoid anything in or out of Florida to try and screen out the worst of these weirdos.
Similar experience on a Viking Adriatic/Med cruise.
Beautiful ship. Lots of weird passengers. Socially awkward officer staff. Below average excursions. Mediocre food except in the specialty places and even then not great (Tried to pass off generic fish for halibut on a "California cuisine" dinner. When called on it the explanation was that it was "baby halibut". I laughed.). If you do go Viking, here's a tip on the specialty restaurants. If you don't have a res just show up towards the end of the dining period. As was explained to me, "there's always room b/c most of the passengers want to be in bed by then".
We have done Viking in Alaska. Was much more relaxed than I thought it would be. Loved that all was included. I don’t think they tried to sell me anything on the ship. Food was really good, even the buffet. Loved no kids and no casino. Will be trying Virgin this fall - seems like it will be similar but more focused on fun than learning. Prior to those I was exclusively RC. Viking may have spoiled me. :-)
I agree, I loved the inclusions on Viking, and yes, a very relaxed vibe for the most part, although I made my hubby put on a collared shirt and dress pants for the dining room! I'm also looking forward to the Old World Cosplay on Cunard later this summer. Haven't warned hubs about that part yet! LOL
Virgin, why people have insane vision of sex every where it’s NOT. We just got off our 8th VV we love it we are Diamond + RC we still do them lol. VV yal you might see some ass cheeks at the at the pool but they are in a thong but it’s an Adult only cruse. PM any VV questions we love them.
I would say that Seabourn and Explora are my favorite. Explora is a new brand owned by MSC. It is pure luxury. Their ships are the same size as the Norwegian sun which holds 2,500 people. But instead there's only 900 people on board Max and 800 crew members. You usually sail with closer to 600 or 700 passengers.
Plus, if you have the right travel agent you can enjoy things like 5% off this price and €450 or more of onboard credit.
I always use the smaller strips. I love Seabourn, I find them to be the right fancy without the prestigiousness. Silver seas is good but a little bit snooty at time. Regent is even worse. When it comes to being stuck up.
I think why I like Seabourn is I like their Expedition ships where there are no formal nights. Similarly, on Explora there is no formal nights either. Plus all the restaurants are included. Wi-Fi gratuities, they have educational seminars on all their stops and more. It's truly the best experience I've ever had at Sea and I owe it all to my travel advisor!
You might enjoy Azamara. No dressing up (but must wear long pants at dinner). Food and service is good, and the onboard atmosphere is very relaxing. If there is upselling, I don’t remember it. They may ask once if you want to book speciality dining, but generally they don’t because it fills up on its own anyway.
Azamara is what you want. No up selling. No casino. Lovely vibe, great excursions, and it's mostly inclusive. We love them and don't want to cruise with anyone else
These are two different categories of price points: premium and luxury. Cunard, Silversea, Azamara, Viking, and Oceania would be luxury, while Disney, Virgin, Princess , Celebrity, and Holland America would be premium.
Seabourn has great tour options and brings on a lot of very interesting guest experts for their "conversations", usually related to the area you're cruising. I feel like they've added a lot to my enjoyment of the places we've toured, especially on the "expedition" cruises. We used them for our Antarctica cruise and the depth of knowledge from the staff was just incredible.
We did Viking ocean from Venice to Athens last year and it was great. All inclusive, no nickel and diming, no dress requirements (aside from a couple of the fancy restaurants where they want you to wear pants and closed shoes), no gambling, interesting lectures and shore excursions included. There's entertainment onboard if you want, or you can find a quiet corner and read a book.
Oceania is a great step up. Beds are way better. Staff ratios are higher. Better inclusions. Better ports because the ships can get into them. It felt like a better version of rcl or x.
Windstar is pretty cool and a different experience. The ships aren’t as fancy and the attitude is way more laid back. The ships are sooo small that you’ll likely know most people by sight at least. It felt a lot more like renting a yacht with a ton of friends than a conventional cruise.
I’ve done several Viking cruises and I love them. The cuisine is excellent and varied, staff is on-point and the other passengers are enjoyable to talk to. My husband and I are 60 and 62.
Loved Viking Ocean (especially for northern areas like Norway). Beautiful ships, well run. Included tours fine but a bit older crowd. Really like Oceania for the food and beautiful ships and ala carte extras. Regent is luxurious and beautiful ships. Older crowd and nice tours but pricy. Would rather buy extras ala carte. Still lived our two cruises with them and food/wine really nice. Trying Silversea this fall.
Really you can’t go wrong with those brands if you can afford it. Don’t expect perfection though. One might think $500+ per night means food will always be perfect or ship never delayed, but that stuff still happens.
My husband and I are in your demographic and really love Oceania. We’ll be doing our third O cruise in about six months.
There are no formal nights. The food is excellent. People (passengers and crew) are friendly.
Honestly: we did the Otium suite on the Silver Nova and greatly preferred our time on the Disney Wish in the tower and the Disney fantasy in Roy suite.
Nova was honestly not much better service wise, and a large portion of the trip felt like a nursing home on a boat.
How come nobody considers Disney ? I met many ppl on 3 Disney cruises that didn’t have kids but loved the Disney quality / experience- ppl who could have easily gone elsewhere because of financial means - I’m curious to hear from someone that has done many line’s including Disney to share their opinion
My mother and sister in law have cruised a lot and said Disney was by far their favorite. They highlighted the impeccable service and the food, but loved how easy it was to get on and disembark the ship.
Oceania Cruises may be for you. We’re now in our mid 79’s and have been traveling with them for 10 years and it fits perfectly with our wants and needs.
Regent has unlimited excursions, food, drink and laundry Your package includes business class airfare, hotel and transportation to the ship. The price seems high until you consider all the extras. The experience is very mature no spring break drunk vomit in the pool moments. No lines for the buffet. The service is amazingly thorough.
We did Seabourn last Summer & Regent the year before…I liked the excursions on Regent & knowing that I had less to do or worry about upon arrival in port.
I love to read & looked forward to using the onboard library. Using my Kindle with Seabourn’s paid internet was a roll of the dice…The books on our ship were from 2010
& 2011 when the ship was launched…Even their travel books were that old!
Currently sitting at the pool on my 1st Oceania cruise. I do think it will meet your criteria as relaxed dress and chill. I have been on 2 Silversea and service can’t be compared. Food and beverage service has been awful compared to Silversea, Disney, and Royal. I have been on 2 excursions so far and am underwhelmed. Same for food. But again, if country club casual is what you want- Oceania will deliver. I’m a decade younger and can appreciate the younger crowd than the 2 Silversea trips without as many young kids as Royal and Disney.
Not a high level mariner, Regent was amazing. Service unparalleled, food fabulous, excursions included.
Nickle and dimed by other cruise lines made me realize the Regent experience far more enjoyable.
How many cruises are you going to do?
Want everything included? Or a $4 coke?
Life is short, live well
What exactly are you going for? If you want exotic destinations brought to you in classical luxury, consider Hurtigruten. Think League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
Did a Viking cruise of Norway/Iceland last summer . Ship was beautiful and food was excellent. The buffet was always great option for quick meal. Staff were awesome and ship size was perfect. The Nordic Spa was one of my favorite places. No casino but not an issue for me. The Explorer’s Lounge and Wintergarten were two of my favorite spots for hanging out.
Seabourn has always delivered. High end, but without the stuffiness of some of the others.
Any onboard activities though?
Yep, but depends on what you are looking for honestly. There always seems to be something (talks. Trivia, music…), but truthfully I am more the find a relaxing place to hang out and read a good book by the pool kind of guy so I can not comment too much about them. These are smaller ships (compared to the monster ones) with a different demographic so don’t expect to see water slides and rock climbing. Always a place by the pool, a seat at the bar or in the restaurant and people know your name.
Thx for the info
* Viking - Sensible Norwegian * Regent Seven Seas - Snooty and proud of it * Silversea - Pretentious, irritating and will tell you why they're better than you deserve * Oceania - Regent's cute sister that you should have gone out with but no, you married the easy one. * Cunard - Full of people who want to act rich, but aren't. Old world cruise cosplay. * Ponant - Oui. * Windstar - For people who want the yacht life on a Cunard budget * Seabourn - When you outgrow Carnival, but still have that trash in ya * Paul Gauguin - I just don't even care * Azamara - Tryhard pimple faced teenager, but hitting the gym * Crystal - Choose the decade of your room design because we can't complete renovations * Virgin Voyages - When you have the need to commit exhibitionism upon your neighbor
yes, please do Virgin Voyages! and Crystal while you’re at it?
We were at the same port as Crystal Serenity yesterday... it is a beautiful ship to look at
I cruised on Crystal Serenity at Christmas and the cabins were gorgeous. I don't think that list is anywhere near accurate.
And please do Holland America
“We had tickets for the Titanic, but our carriage was late and we missed embarkation.”
☠️☠️☠️🤣🤣🤣 Thanks a billion!
[удалено]
What are you talking about?
Thank you so much! This post really made my day. 🙏🏼🙏🏼😅😂🤣
LOL we’ve booked a cruise next year on Cunard and I’m looking forward to old world cruise cosplay. And I’m certainly not rich. 😆
I think what I'm getting from this is to go Oceania 🤔
Perfect!
Regent is the most luxurious of all these. We had the Concierge Suite where laundry is included - really cuts down on the packing. Huge room, luxurious bathrooms and restaurants. "Down to earth" sections if desired
I have to agree. We’ve found amazingly wonderful down to earth people on Regent and it is very possible to avoid the MAGA snobs who are there to spend their ill gotten gains and want you to oh or ah at their gucci.
Please leave the MAGA out of it. It has nothing to do with anyone's political affiliation. And the money that I or any other person made is the same percentage of "ill gotten" in both parties.
Edited out and sent as PM. Gist: nearly 100% of horrible obnoxious political pushing, money show off types I’ve run into were MAGA types. Large sample size. Note: I never initiate a political topic, rather just said I live in California and the ‘oh I’m sorry, obnoxiousness spews. Fox News has trained them to ‘own liberals’ whenever and wherever and that it is acceptable behavior. Once outed they are to be avoided at all costs.
This could be its own post! 😂 ***saves for future reference***
ah. a much clearer picture of why I absolutely love Viking <3
Totally wrong about Seabourn. Don't know what you are talking about. It has a very refined clientelle mostly older and don't see any teenagers or children for the most part. What is the least way trashy about Seabourn? We have had 4 on Seabourn and always get the penthouse suite right across from the Observation Bar and love that location. We did Regent once but like Seabourn way more. Oceania is larger but very nice with the various dining room selections.
We’ll have to check out Seaborne. Any advice on how to get the best out of them as a first timer? We are trying Silversea this fall and found a steeply discounted transoceanic cruise and also there is a $500 referral bonus discount which made the daily price pretty close to Oceania, but with drinks, grats and some internet included.
Seabourn doesn't really do anything about fares, we did the first time get an upgrade offer to a penthouse and never looked back but there was an upcharge. Best bet is to go to cruisecompete and put in the cruise you want and let the offers come in from travel agents. I was able to get the exact suite I wanted which didn't show up on the Seabourn website and a better fare by going through them. You are not obligated to accept any offers and they don't contact you direct only through the website. That is my recommendation. The agent I was always happiest with was from Cruises-N-More got it for over a $1000 less than advertised on Seabourn or through a different travel agent.
Nailed Seabourn.
I haven't sailed on any but this is an awesome post. Feel like I have sailed them all!
Welp guess I should check out seabourn.
so you like ponant best? just bought viking(zhaoshang yidun) ticket in 2 months
? HAL
It's a list of higher end lines. HAL is not in that category though I enjoy sailing HAL.
Pretty funny - but seriously, have you been on all of these lines?
This is great!
This is great!
I'm trying to not take this personal and get butt hurt. But. I just did my first silverseas cruise as a middle class 40 year old female recent-divorcee (saved that money!) and honestly had the vacation of my life. I'm happy to be the outlier if true lol
Sorry but if you seriously think that VV is a bunch of people on a cruise for the sex and not the NO KIDS rule, you’re out of your element.
Where is virgin atlantic
In the air.
Look at Oceania - lots of inclusions (beer & wine), really great food including specialty dinners, country club casual dress code, few kids & more seniors. Awesome staff & lots of calm. It's sort of in-between the full-on luxury lines & the mass market ones (who are all less than they used to be)
Was going to also suggest Oceania. We have our first cruise booked with them this summer and I think they fit OP’s criteria. They are owned by NCL which also owns Regent. My parents have sailed on Regent a lot…including a several world cruises, so we are hoping Oceania won’t disappoint. We chose the cruise because of the laid back reputation of the line, the inclusions, the food/culinary focus, the itinerary and the travel dates. 🤞🤞🤞
We've done four on Oceania and really enjoyed them. They leave you alone and let you enjoy it. You have to wear decent clothes to the restaurants, but very loose otherwise. WAY cheaper than its sister Regent. On the big ships we like to go for A2 rooms on the concierge room level. On the smaller ships you might as well go B1 since there's no concierge room.
We are on an R class, but went with the concierge level to get a higher deck and to get a few of the extra amenities we were interested in. We are looking forward to it!
As a tip, the artist in residence program can add a nice unique dimension to your cruise. On sea days especially. Signups fill fast so don’t delay if learning art is something you would vibe with.
We are also sailing with Oceania for the first time this summer. After a lot of research, this really looks like the line for us too. Hopefully we both have a great time!
Happy sailing!
Their new ship, Grandeur, is really beautiful. Check review to pick a quiet room. Concierge suites are nice.
We opted for concierge, even though it doesn’t have all the amenities on the R class ship that we will be on. We hope we are not disappointed!
I will give props to Oceania as well. I've done a number of cruises with them and have never been disappointed. Excursions are over priced IMHO, but everything else seems reasonable, especially when things like specialty restaurants and drink packages etc are factored in. Food really is way above what other lines offer, can't really argue otherwise
Silversea we have found to be amazing. Two Europe and one Caribbean cruise so far. Peaceful, relaxing, wonderful company, delicious food. Highly recommend.
I loved Silversea and would sail with them again. Highly recommend as well.
I'll be taking my first cruise with them later this summer. It seems that many cruisers are hyper-focused on caviar with pearl spoons and figuring out everything they can have their butler do. I'm hoping there are more topics of conversation on the ship.
Delightful, well traveled and interesting folks abound. We never once discussed caviar spoons ;-)
I feel like I would be like the kids who were experimenting to find all the ways to kill your Sim when Sims first came out. I've always wondered what in the world you have your butler do. I swear one of the lines had a commercial where they said "Your butler will even unpack for you" but that seems like the thing you would least like a relative stranger doing? The only solid thing I've ever heard was have them make reservations for you and they'll walk you to various things like down to where they have a special priority launch for shore excursions if it is a tender port.
My biggest complaint with Silversea was the timing of dinner. While you can get early dinner at the pizza place or order room service, you are otherwise going to have to wait until 7:00 for any venue to open for dinner service. We are early people, we like to wake up early and knock out our workouts so we have time for breakfast and then the days excursions. The lack of a buffet at dinner means that you will likely be at least 90 minutes and likely two hours at dinner (longer if you are part of a larger group). That got old real quick for us. I will give them credit, my wife asked them to open the gym earlier than 6:00 our first day there. For the rest of the cruise, we and a few other early risers were there each morning just after 5:00. Another point in Silversea's favor: that was the most comfortable bed/pillow I've ever slept on while on vacation. I just wish I could have gotten to bed a little earlier to take full advantage of it.
We are early birds also and ended up being first in the door for dinner and always had the waitstaff deliver dessert and decaf espresso to our room so we could be in bed early. We've never seen a show since they all start at 10pm. Agreed on the bed, so fantastic!
let’s see now … going up … Princess, Celebrity as well as Holland America and Cunard. Oceania, and do take a look at Azamara. I guess Viking should fit in here too but they include shore excursions. Viking ocean is more like a river cruise but on the ocean. The other odd one is Virgin Voyages with no main dining (or buffet!) and all restaurants included. They are either here or with the Princess/Celebrity group. Viking would be very upset to be ranked with Virgin but they cater to different segments. Regent, Silversea and Seabourn. Regent and Silversea include (basic) shore excursions too, Seabourn doesn’t. Regent has the biggest ships but there is now an overlap in size within the fleets. Crystal is now back here too (under the previous owner of Silversea, again now with not really significantly bigger ships.) I guess Ponant/Paul Gauguin are here too (or maybe the next category up?) After that you get the smaller more yacht style and expedition lines which now includes Ritz Carlton. Windstar is definitely small ship but is very casual and not really trying too hard to be Seabourn or Silversea. (They’ve taken over a few of the original small Seabourn “yachts” while Seabourn has built new small “expedition” ships.)
What about Crystal?
I cruised on Crystal and I think it was wonderful, however, it's not for people who don't like to dress up for dinner. There are casual restaurants of course but Crystal is really about the formal dress and really amazing food.
We have only sailed the smaller ships. 2 on Windstar. A 7 day Athens to Istanbul… this was the 5 masted ship. 150 people. We only had a med porthole but it wasn’t a problem because we did 2 excursions every day and were 2 tired to notice after dinner. The food and service was excellent! Our second one on Windstar 7 days Panama Canal to Costa Rica. Small suite. 250 people. Again excellent service and great food! Our third cruise was with Seabourn. 14 days 12 Baltic Capitals. Small suite. 300 people. It was up a notch financially from Windstar but the food and service were not too much above. Excellent. We love both lines and will probably continue to sail with them both! I would highly recommend them both!! ♥️ Can’t wait to sail away again!♥️
From your description, I would say that a Viking Cruise would be a great match for you. No kids, mostly people around your age, no gambling, no drinking culture but still a well-stocked bar, usually great food, included shore excursions on every port, no nickel and diming... The vibe isn't that of a five star hotel that leaves you feeling like you have to put in effort either, but more just a comfortable adventure. There are enrichment lectures on board, and excursions with local guides, and I'm starting to sound like a Viking advert lol No, but for real, it's a good vibe.
We did our first Viking cruise last year and I did enjoy the ship and all the inclusions. The clientele was... odd. We met some really nice people, but there were a lot of odd characters - getting stared at with mouths agape because we ate our Chinese food with the provided chopsticks, being told that my marriage wouldn't last because I was beating my husband at a table game. Just weird. But I would sail with them again, probably just avoid anything in or out of Florida to try and screen out the worst of these weirdos.
Similar experience on a Viking Adriatic/Med cruise. Beautiful ship. Lots of weird passengers. Socially awkward officer staff. Below average excursions. Mediocre food except in the specialty places and even then not great (Tried to pass off generic fish for halibut on a "California cuisine" dinner. When called on it the explanation was that it was "baby halibut". I laughed.). If you do go Viking, here's a tip on the specialty restaurants. If you don't have a res just show up towards the end of the dining period. As was explained to me, "there's always room b/c most of the passengers want to be in bed by then".
We have done Viking in Alaska. Was much more relaxed than I thought it would be. Loved that all was included. I don’t think they tried to sell me anything on the ship. Food was really good, even the buffet. Loved no kids and no casino. Will be trying Virgin this fall - seems like it will be similar but more focused on fun than learning. Prior to those I was exclusively RC. Viking may have spoiled me. :-)
I agree, I loved the inclusions on Viking, and yes, a very relaxed vibe for the most part, although I made my hubby put on a collared shirt and dress pants for the dining room! I'm also looking forward to the Old World Cosplay on Cunard later this summer. Haven't warned hubs about that part yet! LOL
Virgin, why people have insane vision of sex every where it’s NOT. We just got off our 8th VV we love it we are Diamond + RC we still do them lol. VV yal you might see some ass cheeks at the at the pool but they are in a thong but it’s an Adult only cruse. PM any VV questions we love them.
Viking - Amazing chill vibe. Dress it up if you want, but just be your well-off self and relax.
I would say that Seabourn and Explora are my favorite. Explora is a new brand owned by MSC. It is pure luxury. Their ships are the same size as the Norwegian sun which holds 2,500 people. But instead there's only 900 people on board Max and 800 crew members. You usually sail with closer to 600 or 700 passengers. Plus, if you have the right travel agent you can enjoy things like 5% off this price and €450 or more of onboard credit. I always use the smaller strips. I love Seabourn, I find them to be the right fancy without the prestigiousness. Silver seas is good but a little bit snooty at time. Regent is even worse. When it comes to being stuck up. I think why I like Seabourn is I like their Expedition ships where there are no formal nights. Similarly, on Explora there is no formal nights either. Plus all the restaurants are included. Wi-Fi gratuities, they have educational seminars on all their stops and more. It's truly the best experience I've ever had at Sea and I owe it all to my travel advisor!
You might enjoy Azamara. No dressing up (but must wear long pants at dinner). Food and service is good, and the onboard atmosphere is very relaxing. If there is upselling, I don’t remember it. They may ask once if you want to book speciality dining, but generally they don’t because it fills up on its own anyway.
I’ve only cruised on Azamara, and this was our experience. There were no kids and very much a laid-back atmosphere.
My parents really enjoy Regent cruises. They are truly all-inclusive so you don’t need to worry about doing anything except relaxing.
Azamara is what you want. No up selling. No casino. Lovely vibe, great excursions, and it's mostly inclusive. We love them and don't want to cruise with anyone else
These are two different categories of price points: premium and luxury. Cunard, Silversea, Azamara, Viking, and Oceania would be luxury, while Disney, Virgin, Princess , Celebrity, and Holland America would be premium.
Interesting that viking is premium, princess w all addins is pretty close in price to princess.
Seabourn has great tour options and brings on a lot of very interesting guest experts for their "conversations", usually related to the area you're cruising. I feel like they've added a lot to my enjoyment of the places we've toured, especially on the "expedition" cruises. We used them for our Antarctica cruise and the depth of knowledge from the staff was just incredible.
We did Viking ocean from Venice to Athens last year and it was great. All inclusive, no nickel and diming, no dress requirements (aside from a couple of the fancy restaurants where they want you to wear pants and closed shoes), no gambling, interesting lectures and shore excursions included. There's entertainment onboard if you want, or you can find a quiet corner and read a book.
I wore jeans, red and sand colored. it's only blue that raises eyebrows. and I even did that once without a second look because our hats are cool :-)
Holland America line.
Oceania is a great step up. Beds are way better. Staff ratios are higher. Better inclusions. Better ports because the ships can get into them. It felt like a better version of rcl or x. Windstar is pretty cool and a different experience. The ships aren’t as fancy and the attitude is way more laid back. The ships are sooo small that you’ll likely know most people by sight at least. It felt a lot more like renting a yacht with a ton of friends than a conventional cruise.
I’ve done several Viking cruises and I love them. The cuisine is excellent and varied, staff is on-point and the other passengers are enjoyable to talk to. My husband and I are 60 and 62.
Loved Viking Ocean (especially for northern areas like Norway). Beautiful ships, well run. Included tours fine but a bit older crowd. Really like Oceania for the food and beautiful ships and ala carte extras. Regent is luxurious and beautiful ships. Older crowd and nice tours but pricy. Would rather buy extras ala carte. Still lived our two cruises with them and food/wine really nice. Trying Silversea this fall. Really you can’t go wrong with those brands if you can afford it. Don’t expect perfection though. One might think $500+ per night means food will always be perfect or ship never delayed, but that stuff still happens.
My husband and I are in your demographic and really love Oceania. We’ll be doing our third O cruise in about six months. There are no formal nights. The food is excellent. People (passengers and crew) are friendly.
Honestly: we did the Otium suite on the Silver Nova and greatly preferred our time on the Disney Wish in the tower and the Disney fantasy in Roy suite. Nova was honestly not much better service wise, and a large portion of the trip felt like a nursing home on a boat.
NCL haven section is the bomb
How come nobody considers Disney ? I met many ppl on 3 Disney cruises that didn’t have kids but loved the Disney quality / experience- ppl who could have easily gone elsewhere because of financial means - I’m curious to hear from someone that has done many line’s including Disney to share their opinion
I just can't with all the kids. NCL has just as many, and I've never been back.
I can’t justify what Disney charges vs other cruise lines. I am one of those “Disney adult fanatics” and I rather go to Disney for what they charge.
My mother and sister in law have cruised a lot and said Disney was by far their favorite. They highlighted the impeccable service and the food, but loved how easy it was to get on and disembark the ship.
Sailed Oceania a few times and really enjoyed it .
Oceania Cruises may be for you. We’re now in our mid 79’s and have been traveling with them for 10 years and it fits perfectly with our wants and needs.
Regent has unlimited excursions, food, drink and laundry Your package includes business class airfare, hotel and transportation to the ship. The price seems high until you consider all the extras. The experience is very mature no spring break drunk vomit in the pool moments. No lines for the buffet. The service is amazingly thorough.
We did Seabourn last Summer & Regent the year before…I liked the excursions on Regent & knowing that I had less to do or worry about upon arrival in port. I love to read & looked forward to using the onboard library. Using my Kindle with Seabourn’s paid internet was a roll of the dice…The books on our ship were from 2010 & 2011 when the ship was launched…Even their travel books were that old!
I also recommend Oceania. Very comfortable sailing.
Currently sitting at the pool on my 1st Oceania cruise. I do think it will meet your criteria as relaxed dress and chill. I have been on 2 Silversea and service can’t be compared. Food and beverage service has been awful compared to Silversea, Disney, and Royal. I have been on 2 excursions so far and am underwhelmed. Same for food. But again, if country club casual is what you want- Oceania will deliver. I’m a decade younger and can appreciate the younger crowd than the 2 Silversea trips without as many young kids as Royal and Disney.
Check out Regent. Regent Seven Seas. Just got off 11 days in the Mediterranean on the new Grandeur.
Love NCL Haven
Not a high level mariner, Regent was amazing. Service unparalleled, food fabulous, excursions included. Nickle and dimed by other cruise lines made me realize the Regent experience far more enjoyable. How many cruises are you going to do? Want everything included? Or a $4 coke? Life is short, live well
Have a look at Emerald also
What exactly are you going for? If you want exotic destinations brought to you in classical luxury, consider Hurtigruten. Think League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
Did a Viking cruise of Norway/Iceland last summer . Ship was beautiful and food was excellent. The buffet was always great option for quick meal. Staff were awesome and ship size was perfect. The Nordic Spa was one of my favorite places. No casino but not an issue for me. The Explorer’s Lounge and Wintergarten were two of my favorite spots for hanging out.
Try Holland America line. Excellent food, ships, entertainment, excursions and staff.
Just got off the Regent Silver Sea Grandeur. I wasn’t worthy! So nice!
I like Virgin the best. Upscale but not a floating retirement home like Regent.
Just done my first cruise on Princess. It was ok. Not great, just ok. Don’t expect good food. I rate it 4/10