Silversea vs Seabourn

Is Silversea or Seabourn better for Antarctica?

Silversea is the better value and the only one of the two that flies you over the Drake Passage; Seabourn is the easier booking to change, with two near-identical new ships. On December voyages that cross the Drake Passage by sea, each with five days in Antarctica, Silversea's Silver Wind costs $12,100 per person in a veranda suite for 10 days and Seabourn Venture $17,298 for 11.¹² The Silversea price is a non-refundable Last-Minute fare; cancelling a Seabourn sailing 121 days or more ahead costs a $100 fee, returned as cruise credit.³⁴

Both are all-inclusive luxury brands inside larger cruise groups. Silversea, founded in 1994, is part of Royal Caribbean Group and based in Miami; Seabourn, founded in 1986, is a Carnival Corporation brand based in Seattle.⁵⁶⁷⁸ We have not sailed with either. Fares were read on October 14 and 15, 2026, per person with two sharing.

How do Silversea and Seabourn compare?

Which is cheaper, Silversea or Seabourn?

Silversea, on almost every matching date, but its cheapest prices come with the strictest terms. Silversea's 10-day Exploring the Peninsula and Seabourn's 11-day The Great White Continent are the closest pair: both cross the Drake by ship each way and both schedule five days in Antarctica.¹¹⁶ Cheapest veranda suite on each date:

The suites are not the same size: Silver Wind's and Silver Cloud's verandas measure 295 square feet, and Seabourn's Veranda Suite 355 square feet including a 75-square-foot veranda.¹²⁴¹³ Seabourn's 13-day Antarctica Exploration narrows the January gap: $21,998 on Seabourn Pursuit from January 10 buys seven days in Antarctica, or $3,143 a day.¹⁸ Seabourn's Veranda Suite fares also carried $500 of onboard credit per suite, its Explore Beyond offer for bookings made by November 16, 2026.¹⁶²⁵

Silversea's season low, $9,000 on October 20, 2026, is a 9-day Silver Wind trip that sails south from Puerto Williams and flies back from King George Island, with six days in Antarctica.²⁰ Like the other Silversea prices above, it is a Last-Minute fare: offered on voyages departing within five months, paid in full and non-refundable.³ For what flights and insurance add, see what an Antarctica trip costs.

Can you fly to Antarctica with Seabourn?

No; of the two, only Silversea flies. Its Antarctica Fly Cruise starts with a hotel night in Santiago and a charter of about 3.5 hours to Puerto Williams, where guests spend a night at Silversea's hotel, The Cormorant at 55 South, before a flight of about 1.5 hours to King George Island and Silver Endeavour.¹⁵ The 6-day cruise is a 10-day trip from Santiago, with five days at the Antarctic Sound, the Antarctic Peninsula and the South Shetland Islands.²⁶

Fares start at $13,000 on October 20, 2026, a Last-Minute fare, and the open dates from November to February ran from $22,400 to $34,100; five of the eight departures from December 1 to February 23 were waitlisted when we checked.²⁷¹⁷ If weather grounds the flight, Silversea keeps trying for up to three days, pays for the extra hotel nights meanwhile, and if it still cannot fly by 2 p.m. on the third may cancel the Antarctic part and refund the cruise fare.¹⁵ Seabourn's 11-day voyage spends two days crossing the Drake each way.¹⁶ Our guide to flying or sailing the Drake Passage helps you choose.

Which has the better ships, Silversea or Seabourn?

Seabourn's pair is the more consistent; Silversea's best ship matches them and its other two are older. Silver Endeavour and both Seabourn ships were built to Polar Class 6 in 2021 to 2023, while Silver Cloud and Silver Wind are 1990s ships Silversea has refurbished, Silver Wind in 2021 with a strengthened ice-class hull.^1213142810

Every Silver Endeavour suite has a veranda, so on that ship the entry cabin matches Seabourn's; Silver Cloud and Silver Wind undercut both with 240-square-foot Oceanview suites.²⁷²⁴ Each Seabourn ship also carries a 19-person expedition team.¹³ Seabourn retired the submarines it launched with Venture at the end of the 2025-26 season, so brochures that still show them are out of date.²⁹

How many guests go ashore at once?

Neither line can land a full ship together at a busy site. IAATO allows no more than 100 visitors ashore at one site at a time, so ships of 220 to 274 guests land in at least three groups (our arithmetic), and IAATO lists Seabourn among operators of ships carrying 201 to 500 passengers.³⁰³¹ Site rules add limits for ships of that size: Petermann Island takes no more than two a day, Cuverville Island no more than three.³²³³ Seabourn sells a Polar Pass, listed at $1,850 or $2,250, for priority access and the option to be first off the ship at landings.³⁴²³ Our guide to small vs large expedition ships explains the trade-off.

What does each fare include?

Both cover drinks, onboard gratuities and Wi-Fi; they differ on flights, gear and activities.³¹¹

• Flights and hotel: Silversea includes a Santiago hotel night and the charters to and from Puerto Williams, with one checked bag of up to 50 lb (23 kg). Seabourn includes a night at the Alvear Palace Hotel in Buenos Aires and charters to and from Ushuaia, with two checked bags of up to 50 lb each.²¹¹⁶
• Gear: Silversea gives you a parka to keep, a backpack and a water bottle; on voyages that cross the Drake some Antarctic equipment is rented at extra cost, while fly cruises include all of it. Seabourn gives you a Helly Hansen parka and waterproof day pack.²¹¹¹
• Activities: Silversea includes Zodiac cruising, hiking and kayaking with no pre-booking.²¹ Seabourn includes Zodiac outings and landings, and charges $325 per kayak outing and $1,850 for its four-day Image Masters photography workshop.²²³⁵
• Service: Silversea's suites come with a butler, and it staffs its ships at nearly one crew member per guest. Seabourn includes an in-suite bar and caviar.³²¹¹¹

Our luxury Antarctica cruises guide sets both against the other high-end lines.

Silversea or Seabourn for the Arctic?

Silversea, if Svalbard is on the list; Seabourn has no 2027 sailing there.²³ Silver Endeavour's 7-day Exploring Svalbard from Longyearbyen on June 6, 2027 starts at $15,050 per person, 100% refundable until January 6, 2027; that is $2,500 a guest off the $17,550 list fare under a "Save $5,000" offer ending November 2, 2026.³⁶ For Greenland the two are close: Silver Wind's 14-day voyage from Reykjavik to Nuuk on June 25, 2027 starts at $16,800, and Seabourn Venture's 14 days in southeast Greenland and Iceland at $17,498.³⁷²³ Seabourn adds the Northwest Passage, 20 days from $31,998.²³ See Svalbard and our Greenland cruises guide.

Which is safer to book if your plans might change?

Seabourn. Its cruise contract charges, for voyages of 21 days or less, a $100 fee per guest, returned as a future cruise credit, if you cancel 121 days or more before departure; 15% from 120 to 91 days; 50% from 90 to 61; 75% from 60 to 46; and the whole fare from 45 days.⁴ Final payment is due 120 days out, and Seabourn's fare data labels the fares quoted here "flexible".⁴² The $100 band only helps if you book early: on October 15, 2026 the December 8 departure was 54 days away, already in the 75% band, and January 19 was 96 days away, in the 15% band; March 13, 2027, at 149 days, still qualified (our arithmetic).

Silversea's cheapest fares sit at the other end: Last-Minute fares are paid in full and non-refundable.³ Its All-Inclusive Plus fares cost more and carry a refundable deposit, but each voyage page sets a date after which the refundable share falls. The December 12 Silver Wind voyage was 25% refundable until November 11, 2026, the January 24 fly cruise 75% refundable until October 25, and the November 7 fly cruise already non-refundable.^3812639 Buy insurance with either line.

Who should choose Silversea, and who should choose Seabourn?

Choose Silversea if you:

• want to fly over the Drake, from $13,000 for a 6-day fly cruise;²⁷
• want the lowest luxury fare and can pay in full now, from $9,000 for a 9-day sail-and-fly trip in October or $11,000 for 10 days in December in an Oceanview suite;²⁰¹
• want kayaking included, or Svalbard next summer.²¹³⁶

Choose Seabourn if you:

• want a ship built for polar waters whichever date you pick;¹³¹⁴
• would rather start in Buenos Aires and Ushuaia than Santiago and Puerto Williams;¹⁶
• want a March voyage you can still cancel for a $100 credit, from $15,998 for 11 days on Seabourn Pursuit on March 13, 2027.¹⁶⁴

Weighing other lines? See Lindblad vs Silversea and how to choose an Antarctica cruise.