BillK400

On 5/6/2024 at 1:23 PM, nancygp said:

Yes

Thanks!

We will be joining the ship next week and are wondering if Seabourn provides water bottles? If not we have silicon water bottles that pack very compact and will bring them. We try to limit our use of single-use/disposable water bottles as much as possible.

Thanks!

We are booked on the Pursuit (May 15 sailing) and booked a "GTY"/ OB (to be assigned) cabin. This is our first cruise with Seabourn and we just got notice of our assigned cabin. It's listed as V4812. Would this be cabin 812 in category V4?

Thanks!

Bill

6 hours ago, kej1 said:

Don’t know who is the corporate executive chef.  Agree and disagree on the food.  
Colunnade is pretty poor so agree on that point.  Lunch outside hot and humid, limited menu, good service but poor food.  ( of course we don’t care for buffets  and these don’t look good).  Service good but we only sit outside as I just don’t like eating in the cafeteria.   
And given the weather and crowds on some days would make sense to open the MDR but only on sea days and I think maybe staffing the issue.  
 

MDR IMHO - fair to very good.   Dinners at Colunnade fair but sometimes nice to sit outside at night since weather nice and tends to be cooler if the ship moving.   Breakfast we have only had in our room and we don’t eat a big meal so it’s been fine.  Croissants actually really good.  But we dint expect much for breakfast.

i will say the service at meals has been great for us.  Just getting tired of the food and after the first two week segment its repetitive.   So I’m not surprised they don’t focus on the food as it is apparent although we have had some good things.  Just not  consistent.

I think at these price points food should be very good.  

 

Regarding the cruise.  Today we were in Rabaul.  There were three excursion offerings:

 

1.  WW2 excursion - third party complimentary 

2. Hike - paid not complimentary

3. Mask event in the afternoon - complimentary

 

As we did not  know in advance about the tours ( except thanks to this website did have a heads up), several months ago we had booked a private tour of the WW2 sites and we were glad we did.  I also dint like to commit to something and nit do so didn’t cancel.  We left early, set at our own pace, had a really good guide and saw a few extra things.  The roads are in terrible shape after the end of the rainy season so everything takes longer to get around.   But the people are extremely friendly ( may help that our guide Rose seemed to know everyone on the island) and very welcoming,   The town of Rabaul itself was damaged completely with the eruption 30 years ago.  So many of the people and businesses are now in Kopoko  which is a good hour from Rabaul partly due to the road situation.  So if you are planning to visit many if the sites are a good hour away so keep this in mind,  
 

One fun thing still in Rabaul is the “ New Guinea Club” where expats in the olden days gathered to have drinks.  It’s still there in the town of Rabaul with lots of old photos of days passed, but just a museum now.  The actual town of Rabaul is pretty deserted.  Yes there is a market ( closed today as Sunday) and a few things but our guide said here is where the cinema used to be, etc,   I could only imagine that this was the bustling town that is now pretty run down.  There is an hotel, the club, and the Yamamoto bunker and of course near the port but it’s in sad shape.  Everyone moved away including Rose with the big eruption and not many moved back.  Rose did despite the fact she was 9 months pregnant with her youngest son when the eruption happened and had to live in a shelter for two years.

 

Most of the ship did the free tour so there were numerous buses lined up to take 200+ people around the island. The hike only had about 8 people the remaining 200+ did the bus excursion.  
 

I must admit we did not attend the mask dance ceremony.  We saw lots of masks with our guide and she gave us all the information about what the real ceremony means.  I’m sure it was a great event but we were tired a decided to just relax on the ship once we got home from our tour.

 

Tomorrow’s   planned stop at Kavieng has been substituted and we have found the expedition team not really focused on the WW2 pieces of this part of the world.  Instead we will visit Garove Island which is a volcanic caldera.  There will be a cultural visit show and a walk around the village. Many of the guests we’ve met ( primarily USA, Britain, and Australian) are interested in WW2 in this region so there is a bit of a disconnect as this is not really the focus of the lectures or excursions.   But nonetheless it has been interesting and just good to know if WW2 and history in general is of interest this is not the focal point.  Nonetheless we are still enjoying the cruise!

 

 

 

 

 

Interesting that you mention that the WW2 sites and lectures are not a focus of the cruise. The 'name" of your cruise is "15 Day History and Cultures of the PACIFIC THEATRE". The only time I ever note the term "Pacific Theater" and the South Pacific used together is when relating to WW2 so not sure why there isn't more of a focus on WW2 site and lectures. Seems Seabourn needs to significantly improve their expedition activities as we are paying a premium for the EXPEDITION part of the cruise.

2 minutes ago, kej1 said:

@BioInfoLibso far things of improved a lot on the second half of this trip.  Once we got to the Soloman Islands, after Honaria we have had snorkeling every day.  We just arrived in Bougainville and the ship is clearing immigration.  The plan has changed or I should say evolved and I think most people in the ship are quite happy.  We are not actually disembarking in Buka but on one island this morning for a village cultural visit and shopping for local crafts and later this afternoon we will visit another island for snorkeling and swimming.

 

my husband and I are a bit disappointed only in that we had planned to visit an American some friends from home introduced us to today in Buka.  He spends half time here and half in the US.  He’s an author and is doing economic development on the island.  We had been communicating for several months and I had confirmed just two days ago that we were in fact stopping in Buka but the plans changed so I found out last night we would not be able to meet after all.

So sad for us but I’m sure it will be a nice day and better for most guests.  And of course we are happy to be able to snorkel again! I think your trip will be fine!

 

Glad to hear the "expedition" side of the cruise is improving!

My impression is that the ship and expedition crew are set up and focused on antarctic and possibly arctic cruises and warm weather expeditions are an afterthought filling time between cold weather seasons. Hope I am wrong as I am on the May 15th Pursuit cruise. 

43 minutes ago, LocoLoco1 said:

BillK400, Dunno about Pursuit’s onboard gear, but for MY water experiences in Polynesia wearing my own foam belly-belt and good KEEN’s sandals over very tight anklet socks saved the day. Never used fins except when I SCUBA’d. Good Luck

We have Keene sandals we use when river kayaking and will be bring them for use on wet landings, etc. I would prefer to not being our snorkel gear due to the bulk. I was told by Seaborne rep that the gear is available onboard as I would expect for an expedition ship, but just wanted to confirm.

14 hours ago, kej1 said:

@LocoLoco1i think based on our experience so far, if you want to do a lot of diving and snorkeling unless things change so far, this isn’t the trip.  But, as this is their first expedition trip to this region perhaps it will improve as I’m sure they will receive lots of feedback.  Interesting the previous segment from Chile to Tahiti had several submarine trips, this has had none.  We used to dive but haven’t in some time but had hoped to have a lot more snorkeling.  Pre cruise at Brando we snorkeled twice a day every day right off our room.  If we’d stayed longer and I’d known more about this trip we would have gone out on their boat to some of the outer reefs, They like most resorts in the region also have diving.  We are having a very good time but are disappointed in the minimal amount if good snorkeling so far and lack of planning.  Hopefully on this next segment there will be more snorkeling but I doubt more planning!  😎

Can you confirm that snorkel gear is available onboard? I was told the gear, mask, fins & snorkel were available onboard for use by passengers.

Thanks!

4 hours ago, kej1 said:

@LocoLoco1i think based on our experience so far, if you want to do a lot of diving and snorkeling unless things change so far, this isn’t the trip.  But, as this is their first expedition trip to this region perhaps it will improve as I’m sure they will receive lots of feedback.  Interesting the previous segment from Chile to Tahiti had several submarine trips, this has had none.  We used to dive but haven’t in some time but had hoped to have a lot more snorkeling.  Pre cruise at Brando we snorkeled twice a day every day right off our room.  If we’d stayed longer and I’d known more about this trip we would have gone out on their boat to some of the outer reefs, They like most resorts in the region also have diving.  We are having a very good time but are disappointed in the minimal amount if good snorkeling so far and lack of planning.  Hopefully on this next segment there will be more snorkeling but I doubt more planning!  😎

The ship has a large expedition staff (per Seabourn web site it's 24 I believe); what are they doing if not providing "expedition" landings/tours? 

We are on the May 15th cruise from Guam that in includes Micronesia, PNG, and Solomon Islands and am hopeful that there will be many "expedition" activities/landings. We specifically wanted this expedition cruise to do the "expedition" type activities so will e very disappointed if they are few/limited.

Note: they have recently posted 3 excursions/tours for our stop in Rabul; 2 included and one paid. One of the included excursions includes visits to WW2 sites.

Thanks everyone for the info!

I tried to find the information on the Oceania website (it just indicated anywhere between 45 and 7 days). I'm sure this is based on your cabin class. We are in an Oceanview cabin on the Marina for a cruise in August. I know we get one reservation per specialty restaurant on this 15-day cruise but, how far in advance can we make the specialty restaurant reservations? Thanks!

Bill

57 minutes ago, wine-wine-wine said:

If you are using a phone or tablet you can often request the desktop version of a website site. Just tried it on my iPhone- helped a lot with the Seabourn site. 
 

https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-switch-desktop-version-mobile-site/

 

https://fix-iphones.com/how-to/how-to-quickly-view-a-desktop-version-of-a-site-in-safari-on-iphone-or-ipad/

 

Hope this helps! 

Thanks for your help. I was able to access the log/blog from the webpage (using Chrome). On the map page showing the location of the ships, it shows 3 parallel lines (I think also referred to as a 'hamburger") in the upper left of the screen to access the ship and voyages rather than "Explore Voyages" at the bottom of the map page.

32 minutes ago, highplanesdrifters said:

 

We all know how excellent Seabourns websites are..Ha ha.   It can be a bugger to find depending on your device.

 

Try this:

Bottom of page click on Explore Voyages. 

 

 

Should pull up a menu. Click on preferred ship.  FYI, some ships have nothing.

 

 

Click on year and it should pull up their different voyages. 

 

 

Hope this works.

When I go to the page the only choices / Links I get at the bottom of the page are Expeditions and Special Offers. Nothing for Explore Voyages such as shown in your post/screen pic. Thanks for your help.

On 4/8/2024 at 4:29 PM, highplanesdrifters said:

 

Good call Nops.  I forgot to look at Voyage Tracker.  Here's a link for others, can be a bugger to find.

 

https://www.seabourn.com/en/us/experience/voyagetracker/index.html

Found the tracker but not the blog/log? The ship is identified as to location and it provides a link to voyages but no blog/log for the current cruise or location.

Hello,  We are first-time cruisers on Seabourn and I just noticed this referral offer. Are there any past Seabourn guests who would like to "team up" on this offer? Our cruise is May 15, 2024, so I hope it's not too late. I can be contacted at: BillK400 @ yahoo . com (delete spaces for correct address).  Thanks in advance

Bill Keppel

I will be on the Pursuit in about 6 weeks. This will be our first cruise on any Seabourn ship. We have taken expedition cruises on Silversea, Hutergruten, and some other small ship lines, and am surprised that the food offering sounds so uninspiring on Seabourn, I expected better. We don't expect and very rarely attend evening entertainment on any type of cruise we take so the 'lack of entertainment" is not an issue. We enjoy the lectures/presentations by the expedition staff more than any theater show. I am also surprised by passengers not realizing the 'realities" (in my estimation they are benefits) of expedition cruises such as Zodiacs, need for flexibility in excursions - relax and enjoy!, no shopping (thank god!!!), etc. Maybe some have more $$ than sense to research the cruise they will be taking.

5 hours ago, sfvoyage said:

 

The info I got:  QF301 dep HIR 8:00, arr SYD 13:10

 

While this is subject to change, obviously, I wouldn't count on having any time on 29th May to explore Honiara before the charter flight.

No time to see anything plus we will need to get up very early to catch an 8 am flight!

On 1/19/2024 at 9:28 PM, sfvoyage said:

Below is the information provided by Seabourn yesterday for the particular voyage sailing on May 15, 2024:

 

The following information is provided as a courtesy and specific to a national of the USA for voyage P435.

 

Papua New Guinea - Yes, Visa Required - Guests will fill out a form on board and ship staff will submit it to the port agents in PNG. 

Micronesia - No Visa Required.

Guam - No, Visa Required.

Solomon Islands - No, Visa Required

Thanks for the info, we are on the 5/15/24 cruise also. Do you have any information on the time the charter flight to Sydney departs Honiara, Guadalcanal (if you end your cruise in Honiara)? I hope it's later in the day so we can visit some of the WW2 battle sites. Thanks

21 minutes ago, Fitstylist55 said:

I was told by Juan Carlo (Expedition leader on Pursuit) that the Pursuit and Venture would not provide BCDs, only weights and air tanks (no Nitrox). 

Was snorkel gear available onboard (I realize on an Antarctic trip there probably was much snorkeling!)

Thanks

14 minutes ago, markandjie said:

Given that they had BCDs for scuba diving on the Encore when we were on it last summer (saw them hanging up on the marina day...didn't get to use them), I'd be shocked if they don't have appropriate gear stored away. I will say that I have a strong preference for my own mask and snorkel and they are easy enough to travel with...it's just fins I would borrow.

We have our own gear but sure hope we don't need to bring fins! (as you stated) 

We are booked on an expedition cruise (the Pursuit) in May to Papua New Guinea and snorkeling is one of the included activities. I could not find on the Seabourn site if snorkel gear (mask, fins, snorkel) are provided/available onboard or if you need to bring your own equipment. I sure hope it's provided as bringing our own equipment will be a pain.  Has anyone experienced snorkeling on one of the expedition ships?

Bill

1 minute ago, markandjie said:

 

This is how they do kayaking signups now. You sign up before boarding and then once on the ship when they open up signups those who signed up precruise get first access to the available slots. Then the rest of the slots go first come, first serve to anyone. If you keep your eye on the app you can usually sign up multiple times.

Thanks! I just signed up for the Kayaking. The "assignment" of day/time for Kayaking being later on in the cruise was noted deep into the excursion info for our cruise.

On 12/29/2023 at 12:23 PM, Fitstylist55 said:

The Pursuit is stunning! The suites are beautiful with very well thought out features (walk-in closet door is the one flaw I see—ask for a stopper). 
 

About to go to my kayak safety briefing and I will inquire about snorkeling opportunities. 

As you were going Kayaking on your cruise, I was wondering how they handled the Kayaking. We are on the May 15th South Pacific/ Papua New Guinea cruise starting in Guam. They list kayaking as a $200 "excursion", but only have it listed for Guam, none of the other stops/islands/ports. Did they offer Kayaking at multiple stops (weather/sea conditions excepted) on your cruise? Did they only show the Kayaking as an 'excursion' at one port, but had availability to choose the location you wanted to kayak? Any information is appreciated.

On 12/28/2023 at 7:03 PM, frantic36 said:

 

We will be doing Papua New Guinea & Indonesia next year where I hope to snorkel and I am sure reading about some of the small islands SCUBA & snorkelling should be good. Also doing Kimberley but with crocs and big sharks there I can't see it can be possible.

We are on the May 15, 2024 cruise from Guam to Papua New Guinea/Solomon Islands. Will you be on this cruise? I have the same questions on the availability of SCUBA and Kayaking

On 11/26/2023 at 4:54 PM, markandjie said:

Good to know re Windstar. I looked at Nat Geo for Galapagos and they don't do any diving. Once Pursuit gets out and does the South Pacific I think we'll have a better sense for it. 

We are booked on the Pursuit in May from Guam to Papua New Guinea. In addition to questions on the scuba program (they list scuba as an activity (along with Snorkeling) at most of the ports/islands to be visited) I also have questions on the availability of kayaks. The itinerary/excursions ($200 excursion to kayak) only lists kayaks as being available in Guam, where we board the ship. It's hard to believe that they can't offer kayaking at the other stops(weather/sea conditions excepted). We took an Antarctic cruise with Silversea and kayaking was offered at most stops except those with weather/sea condition problems). The information on the Seabourn site is very much lacking with regard to the expedition cruises.