CLOU

We currently have a rental car booked in Isafjordur in Iceland and planned on driving to Dynjandi falls.  However, I now see that the last forty kilometers or so is on a gravel road.  Does anyone know if we can drive this in a standard car, and not a 4x4 in June.  Also, if so, how difficult is the drive and about how long should it take?  I am starting to wonder if seeing the falls is worth it.  The ship  has an excursion to the falls, but it is long, six and one half hours, and expensive.  We generally avoid ship's tours and go off on our own, preferring the freedom and flexibility, and in this case it would be significantly cheaper, since the cost of the rental car would be divided between two couples.  Any information from anyone who has fone this drive would be appreciated.

For us, getting up early is no big deal, we are early risers so we do it anyway.  I have been shopping with the chef twice.  Once it was terrible, not due to the chef, but because it was in Uruguay and organized by a travel agent on a day where there were no real markets to speak of.  The chef was disappointed and so were we.  The second time was in Guadeloupe, as mentioned above, and we enjoyed it much more.  The one benefit to chopping with the chef is that if certain fresh ingredients are purchased, you may know of something special to ask for or look for in the dining rooms later.

That being said, I would never adjust other plans I had to do shopping with the chef.  I have only gone on days and in ports where we had no other plans.  In Guadeloupe it worked out perfectly because the itinerary was switched at the last minute, the day before boarding, and we were not able to rebook our rental car for the new day in Guadeluope.

On our last cruise in the Caribbean in December, we asked in Seabourn Square at the beginning of the cruise and they said they had no idea when shopping with the chef would be.  A day or so later we saw the chef in the dining room and aksed him.  He told us he would be going in Guadeloupe.  We went to Seabourn Square later that day and signed up.  They made us act all hush hush and not let anyone less hear us speaking, but they signed us up.  The day before Guadeloupe I looked in the Herald and it was not listed.  I checked with Seabourn Square and they told us to just meet outside the dining room the next morning.  That morning, about 15 - 20 people appeared.  I asked several of them how they knew to sign up, since it was not in the Herald.  All but one other couple said that they were called that morning or nabbed in Seabourn Square at the last minute and asked if they wanted to join.  Apparently, they forgot to put the notice in the Herald and so only four proactive people, including my husband and me, had signed up so they had to scramble to fill out the group at the last minute.

As it turned out, the chef had to tour with a group of models and photographers to take promotional pictures, so we went shopping with the Thomas Keller liaison who was on board for part of the cruise.  He was actually great, taking time to explain lots of things.  We saw the chef in the same markets with the models, and several of us commented that clearly real Seabourn passengers are not good looking enough for the brochures.

Thanks for the repies.  I know you can get more choices than show up on the reservation form on the website.  One of the Glens would prbably be acceptable to him although he would prefer Laphroaig.

Does anyone know what single malt scotches are available for the in suite bar set up>  Personally, I do no t like scotch but mt DH enjoys single malts, the peatier the better. We generally know what is available on a complimentary basis in the bars, but am not sure if all are available for the in suite set up.  I know that more that what is listed on the website is available, because we have requested and recieved Hendricks gin in the past, and that is not on the list, but I am not sure if you can get a bottle of anythig that is available without extra charge in the bars.

Thanks for the quick reply.  Since Isafjordur is our first stop, and we are driving of to Dynjandi falls, I will make sure to order box lunches shortly after boarding.

I have never requested a box lunch before, preferring to sample the local cuisine, but on our upcoming cruise we are renting a car in several ports in Iceland and driving off to some scenic desitinations where there may not be many, if any, lunch options.  We were thinking of requesitng box lunches but it occurred to me that Iceland, being an island nation, might not allow us to bring food off the ship.  My limited google research has left me with an unclear answer as to limited amounts of food for personal consumption.  I was wondering if anyone had experience with requesting a box lunch in Iceland.

Thanks for all the info. We also do not like any fuss so we will likely skip the event. While I will not likely where the pin it is still nice that Seaborn recognizes the loyalty, even for those of us who do not like the public attention.

My travel agent contacting me for final payment info has gotten me thinking more about my upcoming cruise at the end of May. Besides celebrating my birthday, which I have never done on a cruise, my husband and I will pass 100 sailed days on orms cruise, but my 100th day will be toward the end of the cruise.  I am sure this will be after the repeat guests party, when the awards are normally presented.  Unlike moving up to the next category of Seabourn Club membership, where the benefits don't go into effect until the next time you sail, I thought one received the milestone reward on this cruise on which you reach the milestone.  Can anyone confirm if this is true, even of that date is late in the cruise?  Not that I am expecting any great prize, just a token of appreciation, but I am just curious.  Also, do we have to attend the repeat guest party to receive the award, since we sometimes skip this event? 

It appears some new itineraries are finally out.  At least through October 2020.

My husband remindes me that it happened twice.  The first time he gave Seabourn the benefit of the doubt.  However, there was again a shrinkage problem and neither shirt was new.  He will speak to the head of housekeepng before senidng anything out again.  On my advice, he may stick to dry cleaning.

Unfortuntely, the sleeves shrunk, so I cannot blame it on the the cruise itself.

I am not sure if anyone will know the answer to this.  We have taken advantage of the benefit of the free stuffed laundry bag.  We have found it works well for durable things like jeans and polo shirts.  However, last time my husband included a long sleeved cotton blend shirt that he would normally have laundered (but not dry cleaned) at the dry cleaners at home.   When it was returned it had shrunk a little.  He thought that on our upcoming cruise, if instead of stuffing it into the bag, he had it laundered as an individual item, it would be handled separately and with more care.  I think it may just be a price issue, and that laundry is treated as laundry, whether it is included in the $50 bag or paid for as an individual item, and if he wants different care, he would need to have the shirts dry cleaned on board.   Does anyone know the answer?  We intend to ask on board before we send anyting out, but since it may affect the number of shirts he packs, any advance knowledge would be helpful.

I know this is a small port and not many people go there, but we will be visiting Bronnoysund off a cruise ship in June.  We would like to go to Torghatten and was wonderin if anyone has any advice on how to get there from the cruise port.  We would prefer no to take a ship's excursion.  Are there taxis available and, if so, how expensive are they and would we be able to get one to pick us up later after drop off?  I looked into rental cars and they are about 2 km from the port and expensive, but that may be an option.

That makes sense.  Just got off Seabourn in December and there was no corkage fee.

We have never been charged corkage fee in the dining room.  Is this a new policy?  I would think Sebourn would be happy not to have you consume its complimentary wine.

Also, check the maximum limits on such insurance.  We have used our credit card travel unsurance for non-cruise issues, but we have a maximum limit of $10,000 which would not cover cancellation costs for both of us for most of our cruises.

I don't know about the massage questions,  but I had a similar question about the port in Reykjavic.  I had my travel agent check with Seabourn for our cruise which leaves on June 1, 2018.  For that cruise Seabourn told her the port would be Skarfabakki, which is the larger port outside of downtown, not the smaller one in the center of town.  However, Seabourn told her it was subject to change.  We will be dropping off a rental car, so I wanted to know.  Our cruise starts in Reykjavic, so  I suspect the port will not change, since on an embarkation day they may need the larger staff of the bigger port.

I had to laugh at the comment about models.  We were shopping with the chef in Guadeloupe from our recent cruise on the Odyssey.  The chef had told me when he would be going, but as it turned out, our trip ended up being guided by the Thomas Keller consultant who was on board for part of the cruise.  The chef himself was at the same market we visited, but he was shopping with the models.  Our group commented that clearly actual Seabourn passengers are not good looking enough to promote Seabourn.

We just returned from the Odyssey and brought two bottles on board that we purchased from a lovely wine shop in St. Barts.  They were happy to serve it to us in the dining room.

Robert told us he is leaving the Odyssey in January and will join the Quest in either April or May, I don't remember. I will be on the Quest in June so I will sail with him again. I don't know who will replace him on the Odyssey and I don't know about Beth's plans.

We just returned from the Odyssey and while we enjoyed our cruise and we are booked on our next in June, I want to echo what has been said about water and wine service. Sparkling waters were often mixed as if there were no difference. Wine glasses someimes remained unfilled and the wine choices were poorer than in the past. When we bought off the premium wine list, our glasses were never refiiled, we had to pour our own. Plus to add insult to injury, we had to hunt down a wine steward to pay for the wine when our meal was over.

In general, we were disappointed with the dining experience.  We were seated in the back row every night until we finally complained and were moved, but then it was back in theback row again the next night.  One should not have to complain to be treated well.  Also, we felt the staff was not familiar with what they were serving, food or wine-wise.  While it is subjective, we were also disappointed in the quality of the food.  While nothing was bad enough to make us not enjoy the cruise or stop cruising Seabourn, I am hoping this was an anomaly. While I admit I am a bit of a foodie, I don't expect fine restaurant level dining on any cruise ship, but this past experience was definitely lower than past Seabourn experiences.  

And if either of you did not get one from rn123, I have one.  Email me at cecohen602@yahoo.com

We always check Seabourn air. Many times we have been able to do better on are own but sometimes Seabourn’s pricing is the best avsilable. We are booked on an Iceland/Norway cruise next year and Seabourn’s business class fare was more than $1500 less per person than anything we could find for the same direct flights. Even my travel agent was amazed at how good a deal it was.

We are on the same cruise.  After we board, have some lunch, and drop our hand luggage in the cabin, when it becomes available, we plan on getting off the ship for a little while and stroll around Bridgetown.  While we have been to Barbados before  and will have arrived two evening before the cruise, we have never looked around Bridgetown.  I don't expect to spend much time there, so we will be back on board in plenty of time for the muster drill.  Then,  despite the late sail away, we plan on remaining on board through dinner and whatever other festivities may be available on ship.  But, we do not need to spend any time exploring the ship, since this will be our 10th Sebourn cruise.