Khareef

This made me laugh. My partner brings her supposedly universal diffuser everywhere but it never fits anything, so I often have to manually keep it in place 🔥 my hands. Maybe it is a parallel universe universal diffuser:-)

I leave a tip for those cleanings my suite as I do feel they deserve that. Donation to the crew fund at the end. I try to be as nice as possible to the crew and my fellow passengers I go to dinner so late that there are always good tables:-) but that practice mentioned previously is not tipping but corruption:-) I never seek any special treatment and I ask the crew to call me by my name and not Mr or Sir. I can only praise the crew, terrific service day in day out. Some guests do not speak or say hallo to anyone, not sure why the embark on a cruise, but the great majority of guests are great travel companions

More than once 🙂

Hopefully one day there will a photographer on board who does not believe he knows the meaning of life....:-)

Just out of curiosity, let me know if you find an insurance which covers emergency in Antartica!

As a European, I could not find any insurance which would cover evacuation from Antartica. Seabourn insurance was just for people in the USA. I also assume the doctor on board is pretty expensive?

I am usually there at 06.30 when they open 🙂 best time of the day to enjoy the bridge all for yourself

Yeah and I barely notice them which is good thing as they blended in very nicely. I might do a solo cruise in 2024 on the Pursuit but since I am not the greatest restaurant fan I might end up eating sushi almost every night 🙂

You really like to plan things in advance 🙂 I tried all sort of pods, but the original Nespresso ones are still my fav and they don't get stuck in the machine or break improperly.

What dates?

Just ask Seabourn, I am sure they will make sure you have plenty of decaf.

I heard from some people that were in your antartica cruise that the stabilizers broke down and you made it to the Falklands right? So did they repair the stabilizers there? How did you make it back to Ushuaia?

Yeah the way the space is laid out is the reason why I don't like it at all. Good to know no noise, most people go to bed pretty early and there is no casino or nightlife so I guess that helps a lot. But once again, it is just a personal preference.

what dates were you in Greenland?

It is a matter of taste I'd say. I personally don't like the design of the curved window, I don't fancy the bed looking at the window, I don't like the position close to the elevators and more to the front of the ship and if I am not mistaken the balcony seemed a bit smaller due to the curved window. I personally would go for a V3 on Deck5 because that's mid ship (perfect for rough sea) and they are the closest suites to the colonnade, restaurant, zodiacs and the free laundry room. But I mean, if you like the bit of the extra space and you don't mind the 20% more...go for it.

I think they sent an email at the beginning of the year saying that after reviewing guests feedback they decided to kill the formal night event on both expeditions ship. So that review was correct back in the day but things have changed (thanks god because it made no sense on expedition ships)

Yeah no formal night on expedition ships. But most men will still wear a blazer on the main restaurant on the nights of the captain welcome/farewell. So don't worry too much about it, nobody really goes to the Venture/Pursuit for the glamorous dinners...

Funny because in the Sushi Club I saw a family eating burger and fries 🙂

Just came back from the Venture and there was almost daily an "unhosted" bridge meeting at the expedition lounge on deck 4. No idea how popular it was.

You are going to do wet landing, if those ski pants are 100% waterproof and get dry very easily afterwards why not. I also asked myself the same question but eventually I figured waterproof pants were the best option, much lighter to pack, way wider to properly fit over the rather large boots and they dry up super fast.

I don't think it makes much difference. Gloves might be more comfortable for taking pictures with the phone and for grabbing the arms of the people that help you jump in and out the zodiac, but I wouldn't buy new gloves just for 10 days. Only thing I would recommend is to enjoy all the ship has to offer, meaning live music in the evening, the Jacuzzi and some of the events that are organized here and there. Coldest I ever felt was actually in the discovery center 🙂 not sure why but it seemed poorly heated when we went to Antartica. So I ended up watching everything live from my suite. Submarine is really not worth the money unless you care deeply for the technology itself. Kayak is a must if weather is decent

Spot on. Zodiac tours in the afternoon are actually way colder than morning landings (and not as fun imho, 2 landings a day would be better). Once you start walking it can feel a bit warm. I'd say I could have saved some space and brought just 1 merino layer (and not 2) and do the laundry a couple of times. On the Venture there is a nice heated closet inside the suite which is ideal to dry the merino stuff (since it shrinks in the dryer 🙂) One important item is a Neck Gaiter (or whatever it is called). Another tip: if you plan to sign up for the Kayak in Antartica sign up for 2-3 different days, it gets cancelled most of the time so it makes sense to have multiple reservations (you can always cancel once you are on board). Check when the Kayak is scheduled in Port LockRoy and sign up for that day, it is a well protected bay so that's your best bet.

My guess is that on the expedition cruises things are a bit different since most of the time there are expeditions at lunch time and there is hardly anyone in the restaurant. Actually when we were in Antartica the restaurant was always closed at lunch. In Greenland it was open but hardly anyone attended it and there were very limited food choice which might explain the negative reviews from the guests. In any case it is a nice option to have if you get tired of the Colonnade.

How is the restaurant at lunch time? I heard a few guests saying it wasn't worth it.

They actually like to surprise guests with a few unexpected things on shore and on the zodiac..no spoilers though...