Thanks for a very detailed review, Ngaire. I am wondering, too, when you got the time to write it .

We've found cruising scratches some of our travel itches. Of late, we've found the right fit of itinerary, schedule and price on 3 Silversea sailings, plus we've done more land-based travel. The silversea and regent ships are quite similar; the service and amenities are about equal but delivered in a noticeably different way. Based on the latest silversea and regent sailings, I'm happy to sail on either line. It's good to know what the differences are and adjust one's expectations accordingly.

off the top of my head in no particular order ... Silversea very much priorities individual service. It may make you nuts if you want a fast cup of coffee, but it is a nice touch. Tea time is about tea .. not trivia. Our NZ trip had a trivia time run concurrently with tea time, but didn't provide beverages. We had to call another open bar and they would send a waiter down with the requested drinks. The pre-dinner cocktail hours just plain work better on silversea than regent. We very much enjoyed meeting a more geographically diverse group of passengers on silversea. Regent, though, has worked out the right mix of loyalty benefits. Free internet, 6 hours phone time, and what ever else fits into the tier level is a huge and welcome benefit. We don't need too much more time on Regent to gain the platinum tier. Regent has larger ships, still small enough to avoid crowding and large enough to offer better on-board activities and alternative restaurant choices. Regent's dress code also fits our packing style better than silversea. We can dress down on silversea as well, but we stick out a bit more than on Regent.

I'm less inclined to add another cruise line, given the loyalty benefits. If there was the right price, group, itinerary and a fit with our schedule, we'd give it a whirl.