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John

Not sure I am able to post a private email but if you call Seabourn Southampton tomorrow I am sure they will be happy to confirm 

Just heard from Seabourn and also received confirmation by email that they no longer require a Covid test to be produced on embarkation.

They are still testing at the quayside prior to boarding and that is all that is necessary to emabrk the ship.

We have just disembarked the Venus and are very surprised that the trips have been cancelled for British visitors. The extra day in Dubrovnik was fine and we didn't hear any complaints. An extra sea day would have been fine if Dubrovnik hadn't been able to accommodate us.

We cannot understand why Viking are so keen to go back into Kotor as Montenegro is also on the US Travel Advisory as Red Level 4 "Do not travel due to Covid 19"!

Also may possibly be an issue for Americans returning to US via London as a visit to a red country will have to be declared on the passenger locator form.

We did enjoy our trip as we were able to go ashore independently in Malta and Croatia.

This next trip to Greece will not allow independent shore visits and although we felt safe on the ship we are not sure that we would want to take ships tours on a bus. The shuttle buses in Dubrovnik did not practice social distancing until we pointed this out to the Hotel Manager and even though notes were put on some seats after that there was no checking or enforcement with some passengers not wearing their masks correctly.

As the flight was booked by Viking the online pre booking was unavailable 

I called Air Malta direct and was able to pre book our seats for about 20 euros each. Just give them the flight code given by Viking. 

I also booked Go First for 10 euros each which will allow you to board first which will ensure that you can take hand baggage rather than it possibly going into the hold if the flight is full. Our flight was full

We still had to check in at the airport because Air Malta need to check the paperwork however they only had a quick look to make sure we had our Vaccination certificates

Be prepared for a long snaking queue, about an hour, to leave the airport in Malta after you collect the baggage. All paperwork checked and they much preferred looking at the paperwork rather than the VeriFLY  app.

Many thanks for the information.

We will take lots of clothes and keep our fingers crossed for good weather.

Lovely photos Tony, cant wait to see for ourselves.

Wendy & Norman

We would welcome advice about likely weather conditions and what to wear when venturing outside either on excursions or just sightseeing from the ship.

We plan to take a couple of Zodiac trips  although no kayaks!

Although the cruise is in June much of the time will be spent above the Arctic Circle and we are not sure whether a warm jacket, hat and gloves will be enough or whether we should plan to dress as per the Antarctic with multiple layers, waterproofs etc.

Also recommendations of "must do" excursions would be appreciated.

Looked today on The Ovation just after lunch, access is all roped off as usual.

Lovely weather.

Nobody there, not even a member of staff!

George was with us for a few days before returning home.

He seemed very professional and hopefully he will return.

We disembarked Odyssey last Tuesday and can honestly say that this was one of the best cruises we have ever had on Seabourn.

The chef, Tom Goetter, was excellent and The Chef's Dinner was our best ever. He also ensured that the Dining Room was open for lunch every day even when in port. There were always about 40 people taking advantage of this! The Galley Market was back and enjoyed by most.

The Hostess in the Dining Room Emel was great, always smiling and always anxious to accommodate seating requests. Never a problem getting a nice table for 2.

There weren't many familiar faces but the new crew are very keen and anxious to please and we encountered no issues.

Sky Bar with Julien and Paul ran as it always does. Aperol Spritz was perfect.

Finally there was unlimited champagne and caviar for those who wished to partake.

Just our opinion but having sailed over 300 days I think we are able to make a sound judgement of the current situation.

Fear not you will have a great time.

Markham

It was Captain Dag.

We were very taken aback when he told us but he was so pleased with the concept we didn't have the heart to tell him how much we disliked them!

Just embarked on the Odyssey and to date all is well and service as normal.

Thanks for the information it is much appreciated.

We will be spending a couple of days in Fort Lauderdale at the end of our November cruise and would be grateful if somebody could recommend a reliable company to pick us up at Miami port and take us up to Fort Lauderdale.

Hi Seacruiser123

Thank you for your help. Either Coral Gables or Coconut Grove would work well for us. Ideally we are looking for a boutique hotel with good restaurants and bars close by. On or near the water would be good.

Suite Travels

Thank you for your suggestion which is very welcome and with four days before the cruise we will definitely put Vizcaya on the list.

For the first time we will be cruising from Miami rather than Fort Lauderdale for our November trip.

We plan to stay for four days before the cruise and are wondering where would be the ideal hotel location for exploring, we hope to go into the Keys on one of the days although not all the way to Key West.

We would like to base ourselves in one place and not too far from the port for embarkation. A smaller hotel would be our choice if possible.

Any ideas would be appreciated.

Norman & Wendy

We were on the Odyssey for 3 weeks in Nov/Dec and have to say that our stewardess was by far the worst we have had in over 300 days.

She was never around in the corridor and I strongly suspect that she spent a lot of time downstairs smoking.

She didn't replenish soap, tissues, laundry bags etc despite me leaving very polite notes for her. I guessed it was her first contract so cut her a lot of slack and didn't complain for over a week.

The final straw came when I asked her how often the sheets were changed, she replied that it was every 3 days but when I pointed out that ours hadn't been changed for 6 days she told me it was because she was too busy!!

A word with Ana resulted in one of the Asst Housekeepers dealing with our suite for the rest of the cruise and of course the cabin looked sharp from then on.

The problem of course is that those passengers who didn't complain, perhaps because they weren't sure what to expect from Seabourn, received poor service and certainly whoever was in our cabin for the crossing would have the same stewardess.

I am not sure that the stewardess is wholly to blame, her work should be checked on a daily basis until she gains the experience necessary to give the service that Seabourn passengers have come to expect and obviously this has not been happening on the Odyssey otherwise there would not be the volume of complaints that the OP refers to.

Apart from the stewardess we had a great cruise. Lots of new serving staff who were all very anxious and willing to please and we had no complaints in that area.

We are aboard the Odyssey at present and will be disembarking in Lisbon.

We have sailed on Seabourn many times and this cruise is just as good as ever.

There will always be small issues but the staff are great and last nights welcome dinner was as good as it has ever been.

If you look for the positives you will not be disappointed, we are very happy!

Hi Lincslady

I hear what you say regarding the "extra rich souls" not being concerned but if someone has saved hard to book a penthouse for a special occasion they may well be a little upset.

Perhaps it's just me but I feel very uncomfortable about "deals" being discussed in detail on the forum.

We have always taken the view that what we pay is between us and Seabourn and never tell anybody what we have paid nor would we ever ask.

I think we all know that there are good deals around on some occasions and feel lucky should they ever come our way but we are always mindful that many people will have paid full price and don't want to be told that someone else has done better.

Also if Seabourn see details coming up on public forums they may be less likely to offer the last minute deals!

Thanks Jemweb

The list looks good!

Look forward to meeting you on board, not long to go now.

Wendy & Norman

Our favourite drink when cruising is Aperol Spritz.:):)

We depart Bergen on 31st July and wonder whether it is available on board.

It will be our first cruise with Viking on 31st July and I just wondered whether the ship's laundry charges by piece or by laundry bag as on some other lines?

When prices are lowered it is normally only the OB (Guarantee) suites which are reduced.

If you have booked a specific cabin grade and have been allocated a suite number it is unlikely that these will have been reduced although you can check on the Seabourn website for your particular trip.

If you have booked a guarantee Seabourn will normally honour the lower price and not expect you to take an upgrade or onboard credit.

We recently used the service for our cruise on the Sojourn departing Athens.

The luggage was collected about a week before departure in a 2 hour time slot.

No problems at all and we will certainly use the service next time. It was great to travel through Heathrow with just hand luggage. It is always slightly worrying until you see your luggage appear on the carousel so we felt very relaxed this time!

I didn't realise until after I had booked online that there is a discount for Seabourn Club members (Gold 10%, Platinum 15% and Diamond 20%) and when I called Luggage Forward to enquire they gladly refunded the difference.

Sadly the dream team will be breaking up

David E is staying until the end of January and Antonio until the middle of December.

Kurt gets off in Singapore and I think Guenter is only on for a short time.

Martha, we will send your best to Guenter and David E.

Wendy & Norman

We are currently on the Sojourn and having a wonderful time.

Guenter is Hotman, David E is CD, Antonio is Maitre'D and Kurt is the chef.

The MDR is open for breakfast and lunch every day, even yesterday when most passengers went to Petra!

The pouring wines include Sancerre and Petit Chablis so no complaints there.

The new menus have not been rolled out here yet but the food in the MDR in the evening is great.

Recently there has been some negativity on the boards but having sailed with Seabourn for over 15 years we have to say that life is still good on a Seabourn ship.