which 6 star lines?
 

i'm planning a BIG birthday celebration and will be crusing somewhere in europe. i've heard great things about silversea,seabourn,crystal. i believe they all include drinks and tips in their price. anybody go recently on one of these lines? any recommendations for one over another? thanks for any help.

Crystal does not include tips or drinks in their rates.

All three you mentioned are upscale and formal, and also well regarded.

If you want upscale and all inclusive without required formal nites, Regent is a great choice. Top quality with large suites and no extra charges.

Seabourn ships are considerably smaller with no true balconies and significantly less going on day and night. If that sounds great to you, you might be very happy on their yachts. SeaDream is similar and all inclusive and even smaller at 100 passengers per sailing.

You need to decide what activities are important and the style of luxury you prefer.

A step down and not inclusive but still premium and up from the mass market lines is Oceania.

Crystal does not include alcoholic drinks but non-alcoholic drinks are included in the cost.

Tips are not included but there are several promos that Crystal is offering right now which includes the cost of tips on several trips - check your TA if interested. Though - with tips being $11 pp per day - it probably is not a deal breaker when considering ones of these cruises.

I was on Crystal Serenity in January and thought it was top notch. I haven't tried the other top lines.

I agree with kfusto, you must include Regent in your list, especially if you'd like luxurious cabins, in addition to great food and all-inclusive drinks and tips. We're taking our 5th Regent cruise in the fall (and signed up for 2 in 2008). If you'd like to know more or want a great TA that books mostly the luxury lines (with discounts), drop me a line: [email protected].

Something else to consider is that Crystal has fixed dining times. I prefer Regent's open dining policy that allows me to have dinner whenever and with whomever I choose at the moment I decide:)

We have sailed both Silversea and Seabourn and been way-impressed with both. And, as noted, there are no charges for most liquor/wine or any tipping expected. And both offer open seating (as opposed to assigned) at dinner, a real plus in our book. There's a comparison between the two lines in the Silversea forum of cruisecritic.com (which is another place for you to do some research; it's a great, informative resource with individual forums for every line).

We are very much small ship aficianadoes...Silversea's 396 and Seabourn's 208 felt 'just right' to us. It's just one of the factors you need to consider in finding what would be a good fit for you.