Luxury cruise lines compared: Regent, Silversea, Seabourn, Explora Journeys and Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection

At a glance

• Five lines, one question: which fare already covers what you would otherwise buy onboard, and which does not.
• Seabourn lists complimentary dining, premium spirits, fine wines and caviar .
• Silversea publishes guest counts per ship, from 100 on Silver Origin to 728 on Silver Nova .
• Regent lists seven ships by suite count, from 244 on Seven Seas Navigator to 409 on Seven Seas Prestige .
• Explora Journeys lists Explora I through Explora VI, with Explora IV and V shown for 2027 .
• Port Everglades has eight cruise terminals, and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International sits next to the port .
• The usual mistake: comparing headline fares without listing what each line leaves out of the fare.

Who this is for. Travelers deciding between the luxury tier and a premium line such as Oceania, Viking or Celebrity's Retreat suites, and anyone who wants a method for comparing lines per person per day instead of by brochure price. If you want the cheapest week afloat, this tier is not it; if you are tired of itemized bills, it may be.

The five things that decide the question

1. What the fare includes. Seabourn's page names dining, premium spirits, fine wines and caviar as complimentary . Flights, excursions, gratuities, Wi-Fi and transfers are line-by-line questions for the other four; Regent's rules sit at https://www.rssc.com/experience/all-inclusive, Silversea's at https://www.silversea.com/all-inclusive.html and Explora's at https://explorajourneys.com/us/en/all-inclusive, and none of them is confirmed here as of 2026-10-16.
2. Ship size. A 100-guest expedition ship and a 728-guest ship from the same line are different vacations.
3. Where you sleep. Suite category decides butler service, balcony and deck position; the rules are on each line's suite page, not confirmed here.
4. Your loyalty position. Seven Seas Society, Venetian Society, Seabourn Club, Explora's program and Marriott Bonvoy (for Ritz-Carlton) each reward repeat sailing differently; tiers and perks are on each line's page, not confirmed here.
5. Your per-day math. Fill in the worksheet in the full guide with your own quotes.

How to use this free guide. Read the five deciders, then open the official page named beside each one and write the answer in the margin. The aim is a short list of facts you checked yourself, so that a sales call or a brochure cannot reframe the question for you. Take the list to the full guide when you want the comparison tables and the worksheet. If you only compare two lines, compare them on the same trip length, the same number of travelers and the same suite class; a mismatch in any of those three makes the comparison meaningless.

A fast filter. If you drink little and book few tours, ask whether the fare premium buys anything you will use. If you drink daily and book tours in most ports, ask the opposite question: what would the same week cost on a premium line once you add those items? The honest answer comes from your own numbers, not from a general rule, which is why the full guide ends in a per-person-per-day worksheet with blanks.

Three free things (quick wins)

• Walk Las Olas Boulevard before you board. It runs from downtown toward the beach and walking it typically costs nothing — Not confirmed on https://www.fortlauderdale.gov as of 2026-10-16; go in the morning, bring water.
• Sit on Fort Lauderdale Beach for an hour on embarkation morning if your ship boards in the afternoon. Public beach access is typically free and parking typically is not, so plan on a rideshare — Not confirmed on https://www.fortlauderdale.gov as of 2026-10-16.
• In Gustavia, walk the harbor and cross to Shell Beach. The beach is typically open to the public — Not confirmed on https://www.saintbarth-tourisme.com as of 2026-10-16; confirm port-call times on your itinerary.

What to ask before you pay a deposit. Four questions, in this order. One: which suite category is this fare, and what is its size and deck? Two: what does the fare include, in writing, for drinks, gratuities, Wi-Fi, excursions and transfers? Three: what are the deposit, the final-payment date and the refund window? Four: what happens to the fare if the itinerary changes? The answers belong on your booking confirmation, and the official pages named above are where you check them. A line that answers all four in writing makes the comparison simple; a line that answers three leaves a blank worth pricing at the worst case.

Ship names worth searching. Seven Seas Grandeur and Seven Seas Splendor on Regent ; Silver Dawn and Silver Muse on Silversea ; Seabourn Ovation and Seabourn Encore ; Explora I and Explora II . Deployment and dates change by season, so use the line's itinerary search for the months you want.

Points paragraph. Marriott Bonvoy points can be a way to book Ritz-Carlton, and per our chart checked 2026-10-08 Amex, Chase and Bilt each transfer to Marriott at 1:1. For flights to Fort Lauderdale, the same chart lists Chase to United at 1:1 and Bilt to Alaska Atmos at 1:1. Card cruise credits exist on some cards; check your card's terms for what they cover.

Two more notes for the lite reader. First, Silversea's published guest counts make ship size easy to compare inside that one line , but the same figures are not on every line's list page: Seabourn's ship list names Seabourn Pursuit, Seabourn Venture, Seabourn Ovation, Seabourn Encore and Seabourn Quest without capacities , and Regent's lists suites rather than guests . Second, Port Everglades publishes a free cell phone lot for pickups and says taxis, shuttles and rideshares are available ; if a friend is dropping you off, that lot is where they wait.

Link line. The full guide adds a line-by-line inclusions table, fleet tables, loyalty and booking-order chapters, a representative Fort Lauderdale week, hotel bases, a points playbook, a checklist and a cost worksheet. Photo plan for this lite guide: Port Everglades, Las Olas Boulevard, Fort Lauderdale Beach, Gustavia, Shell Beach and Silver Nova.

This is the free lite guide. The full day-by-day guide, with maps, photo stops, rain plans and the points playbook, is part of PerkJolt All-Access.