highplanesdrifters

Whoa! Travel nightmare for sure. So sorry you had to go through all that.

Hi JP, just joined the thread. Looks like except for the embark you're off to a good start. Have a fabulous journey and congratulations on the anniversary! HPD

Thanks for the info and review R&T. I'm so pleased you and the little lady had an excellent trip and the Osso Bucco problem was solved. 😃 The TV issues is a much bigger one. With any luckmp its a it's a fleet wide upgrade. Hope springs eternal for the future of luxury cruising!

Seabourn had been offering special on board booking rates for some expeditions. Up to 35% off. Not sure if your desired trip would qualify or what the deposit would be.

LOL, we were usually on the Port side. Erry was great wasn't he! Portia and Luis also awesome. We wanted to pack them up and take them on every trip. Any whales or bears yet?

I see some blue in the sky! Keep em coming!

Oh boy, that's some valuable intel. Looks like Wine.com carries it. Thanks! @BasandSyb will be searching for Loire valley delights.

Thanks for taking the time to write a well thought out and succinct review. You captured my feelings much better than my ramblings. Sometimes I think I'm too cynical. Like you mentioned, in the end it's about value. That's what drives my cynicism. And being treated like a child. The part I quoted is something that drives me crazy. It was often considered the "Linddblad approach". It used to made fun of by expedition staff. FYI, I'm not in 1st grade, and I have the internet. One example was Vaeroy. We were first told that we were the only Cruise ship of that size to visit, ever. Also told, we were the second cruise ship to EVER visit. I find this hard to believe as we were there on SS Cloud just a few years ago.😂 Is it possible that we were the only people to visit Vaeroy twice on a cruise ship EVER. Me thinks not. The first fjord we went to was "special because no one ever goes there". There's a reason no one goes there......its not that great considered what's around it. So sorry we didn't hook up for a drinky poo. Love me some Aussies. Perhaps another cruise. Wishing you a great second leg!

40 days, not sure I'm up to the task. Even I get enough of myself.🤣 Although it does keep me disciplined in my photo editing.

Great Champ intel! Didn't drink any Champagne on our recent safari. Must go back.😅 Got stuck on Gin and Amarula. They even had a Marula tonic. Mmmm yum. 😁

Ladies and Gentlemen that concludes our tour. Thanks for coming along and contributing. A special thanks to @Nops who brought an opposing view and good perspective. Always important. Never easy on these boards. Any follow up questions and comments, fire away!

Hello Stockholm! We finally get to see The Vasa. WOW! We came across the Seabourn extension tour. Only $375.

Torsken, Senjia Norway Our last stop before departure in Tromso. Overcast and drizzly. No desire to get on a bus. So we got a leg stretch in around the tiny town. There was a small shop with some handmade goods and a small cafe. Easy dry trip to floating dock. They even had a tiny grocery store. Well HELLO Tromso! Guests staying there have a sunkist day ahead of them. We are off to Stockholm.

@galeforce9 @BasandSyb @kej1 Hey Bubble fans... Are we or are we not the luckiest people in the world? The big question is what's your fave in the under $80 category? Met some Aussies on board who loved some Champagne coming out of Tasmania. Don't know how I'm going to find that in the U.S. 😃

Hi @Redking Expedition Cruise picking is tricky these days. Same with Ocean, you really never know what you're going to get. As always, a lot depends on budget and where you want to go. I think Seabourn will still do a great job in Polar regions and they do have fantastic new ships. My question going forward is what will their product be like outside of those areas. I get the hybrid model. Is it worth the expedition price is my question? Silversea They have been in the game longer. Cloud and Wind are old really OLD. The air conditioning barely works on Wind in some suites. Even though our toilet turned into a fountain and flooded our room on Cloud in March, the Antarctica Cape to Cape was our best trip ever. We had the rare combo of great staff and itinerary. IMHO they have an edge on food as they have great ethnic choices every night in The Restaurant. Silversea does have a new ship, Endeavor. I hear it is great with some quirks. Prices are insane though! I would sail on Silversea again given the right ship, price and itinerary. We are trying Ponant in February and have high hopes. They have more than the usual Polar and repositioning itineraries. Regular CC writer @jpalbny has some excellent reviews on their boards. He really knows so much more than I do. In short, I wouldn't rule out Seabourn...just buyer beware on non polar itineraries. As for expedition staff, they are fungible. Except for those locked into EL contracts we often see the same great folks on Silversea and Seabourn. Please keep us posted on your thoughts and decision!

Not sure I understand the question. Here is what Iearned in case it helps: These are the bonus discounts available. After all your wine purchases and tier discounts, your 25% is then applied. For example: in our purchase Cristal and Dom came to $680. This put us in the second tier which gave us $120 off our Bolly. After that our 25% discount was applied. Applying the discount after is great for getting you up the tier. Hopefully some bean counter isn't reading this.🤣

Excellent question!😃 One for the Bolly, three for Dom, and one for Cristal. I was recently gifted a bottle of Cristal and it didn't feel worth the price. Part of the reason for the tasting. That and great fun with new friends. But in the match up it was my pick. Mostly because at the end of a lot going down the gullet it still sparkled and it's flavors held up. Fwiw, total cost for all three was about $520. Crazy right? Our status gets us 25% off and their tiered reward program is incredible. My favorite is still Pol Roger Winston Churchill. Sadly they had none.

Thanks for taking us along on your awesome trip! You prepped me for this one and also for our upcoming 40 day Guam to Santiago in September. Interesting that they are only showing excursions in Papeete. I've screenshoted all the others that say things are included. Thanks again for the heads up.

The yappers....oh please give me a mute button!!! And can it please work for people who park next to me on a lounge or seabourn square and pull out their phone to face time with screaming grandkids. I also got to hear all about Patricia's bathroom remodel and how well the new green tiles worked. Lovie calls them string talkers. As for the question askers, I agree. Interesting development this trip. Folks were told to see speakers at the podium with questions. I can't recall Luiqui taking questions unless they were shouted out. On our recent Silversea Antarctica Cape to Cape in March we met a group of like minded individuals who tried to stick together. Quiet for the most part enjoying nature...except for occasional witty remarks. Happy to switch spots to be fair. We were so lucky.

A sunny sail out of Trollfjord. The lovely Portia. Our OBCs hard at work. We made our own Champagne tasting. Midnight Sun...well actually 3 a.m.

Ooops, just realized I hadn't posted anything about the famous Trollfjord. Our third trip here and it's always special. A 14 mile zodiac ride was offered from Svolvaer. Some friends said they loved it. It is truly special being on the water looking at the ship in this tiny slit. Off in the distance you can see Hurtigruten entering Trollfjord. A game of chicken? We win. Is it a Troll face? 20240607_172518.mp4

Venture and Staff Enough with the negative, on to the positive. I love Venture! She is so sleek and elegant, rides like a dream. Quiet as a church mouse. Barely know she's moving half the time. Staff on this Voyage were exemplary. It might have been some of the best service we have ever had. In the Constellation Lounge our drinks almost beat us to our table. Thank you Portia! Cabin crew, perfect. Hold on to your hats...Seabourns Square reception staf were amazingly excellent, especially given some complicated situations. Food. Everyone has been grumbling about Seabourns tired Menus. I'd agree the The Restaurant menu was a tad pedestrian. We only ate there twice. The food was very good both times. Butter poached Lobster was a dream. They occasionally open for lunch, but limited recycled menu. Colonnade - Lunch still a buffet scrum. Just a bad design. Food was OK, sometimes good. Dinner was much better with a few excellent ethnic meals. Sushi - is it great sushi, no. Was it tasty and did it hit the spot, you betcha. FYI, Edamame is not on the menu but is available. Cocktails also excellent up there. Sommiler bent over backwards to help us spend our OBCs.🤣 The only big miss was the Bow Pantry on 6. Rarely stocked with anything more than cookies. Entertainment - The usual duo and solo singer weren't bad. One never expects Entertainment on an expedition. There was a mind reader folks seemed to enjoy. We thoroughly enjoyed the Nordic Brothers.

@Nops I am so pleased you chimed in and enjoyed the cruise. Different opinions and perspectives make a market. I'll do my best to respond. " I read the notes in the cruise itinerary and it was followed very closely. " Yes the itinerary was followed. As mentioned, my disappointment comes from what was and wasn't done on the itinerary. Again, I booked when the only info available was just the itinerary. I assumed it would be a true expedition, not a hybrid with bus tours. I know better now. "For instance the expedition from Solvaer to Trollfjord was not a surprise" Perhaps I was mistaken. I thought the 14 mile zodiac ride from Svolvaer to Trollfjord was a last minute addition. We did something similar on Quest in 2016 when Seabourn was just starting its expedition activities. Except back then Luiqui had the zodiacs loaded with Champagne. Luiqui hasn't aged a day. As a kudos to Luiqui the decision to drop the zodiacs at Isle of Noss was incredible. Especially given how late in the day it was. Isle of Noss is almost impossible to get close to. A very rare treat! "particularly as they were critical of a "difficult" hike in Scotland." I was critical that a difficult hike was the only one offered on that day. As I mentioned in my previous post a good expedition should offer hikes for all ranges and they should be complimentary. I was pleased that the folks who could do the difficult hikes had some great opportunities. "So I am interested to know what High Plains Drifter would define as a Expedition Cruise" I would define an Expedition Cruise as one that has a focus on outdoor activities and nature. Depending on location, say PNG or South Pacific, native cultures. It should have activities for all levels of reasonable fitness. Did some of this occur on this cruise, yes. On the whole I found it lacking. There were more bus rides than you could shake a stick at. Check out the link I posted to a similar itinerary on Silversea. That was a proper expedition. "I will make an observation without any hard evidence. Most of the people on board had considerable OBC, chargeable tours maybe a way of Seabourn clawing this back without penalising the cruiser." I wondered the same. "I do not recognise the issue with zodiac shuttles, at no point did I have to wait for an excessive time for any shuttle, even in the remotest spot (the south of Vaeroy) for instance." Sometimes its the luck of the draw. We happened to get caught numerous times. Hence the complaint. Several times I overheard staff grousing about not getting lunch, a break or where are all the zodiacs. Thus probably added to my frustration. Shame on Seabourn for not staffing up enough. When we boarded an expedition was introduced a friend traveling with us said "where's the rest of the staff?". I wholeheartedly agree with your assessment of the patience of the Expedition Team. The can be true saints. The yappers also make me crazy. The seats in the Club belong in a Grammer School.

P.S. I should add that I don't know that the hybrid model is a bad thing. Not all want Expedition 24/7. If this is the path, be honest about it and what to expect.

@BasandSyb Important note before you read the following..... We had a fabulous time! If you're not happy you're not happy. The following are my opinions. Those that feel differently please feel free to chime in. All are welcome. Rules if civility shall apply. As I have posted along the way we were rather disappointed in the expedition offerings. This WAS a hybrid expedition/ocean cruise. Although there were included options, we were offended by the eye waterwatering prices for non included. There were more bus tours than you could shake a stick at. The first leg tours were dropped a few months before with no alert. The second Norway leg tours...I'm not sure when they were dropped. So unless you are checking weekly you potentially missed out on some tours. Luiqui is a great EL and did the best with the hand he was dealt. However the Expedition Staff was light in terms of both quantity and quality. Don't get me wrong there were some stellar enthusiastic staff onboard. Matt, Paul, River, Brent, Brandon, just to name a few. I just wasn't feeling a depth of knowledge in general and found many to be just zodiac drivers who would often make stuff up when asked questions and get it horribly wrong. On days when zodiac shuttles were available the frequency was sometimes dismal. Communication between tours coming, going, and needing more zodiacs was poor. This left many standing in the rain waiting for a ride. Drop more zodiacs and have enough staff to drive them. Hikes. A good portion of the hikes were Strenuous to Very Strenuous. Many carried price tags. I'm used to a few options, easy, moderate and difficult...all included. There were some spectacular highlights, Isle of Noss Trollfjord, just to name a few. On a proper expedition these are the norm as opposed to being told they are a special treat. Ya ya, weather conditions need to be just right so one could argue that they were special treats. That makes them special treats from Mother Nature, not Seabourn. When we booked all we had was the basic itinerary. No possible excursions options or details. There was also no warning that not all excursions except for kayak and sub would be included. And, silly me I figured we would have a proper expedition. We have 2 Seabourn expeditions coming up. One is past refundable date so we will stick with it. The second, I'm not sure yet. The rest are booked with Ponant and Silversea. Review of Seabourn Venture and staff coming up. Both excellent.