secoma4

The comments of Trevor & Tony address a real gripe we have with Seabourn excursions that include lunch. The issue is that the lunches are usually too long and too "elaborate". They take up too much of what should be sight seeing time.

No one coming off a Seabourn ship for an excursion needs another meal! They would do well to keep it simple and quick, thus keeping more people happy. If anyone feels underfed they can always "catchup" when back on board.

On the comparison of Alaska and Norway I have to say that we found the Norwegian Fjords much nicer. Bergen is not in the Fjord region really. Much further up the coast is well worth the experience.

Depends on time of arrival and when Customs cleared, but generally about 9:30

Yep! We did the Norwegian Fjords last year and the Baltic, including St Petersburg 3 years ago. Being your "next door neighbours" we too have to do the long flights every time we want to travel outside of Asia. Both itineraries are worth doing. And the flights become "routine" over time. Where we really get hit, relative to US and European residents, is the costs.

Not sure that your assumptions re pax mix are correct. We did the leg HK to Mumbai last year and there was quite a big change of pax in Mumbai. It was quite "casual" for the legs we did and we found the same on the legs from Dubai onwards.

Our experience is that people don't worry about whether you might be disembarking earlier than them and you will not be outsiders.

When we went through the Suez about 3 years ago pirates and instability in Egypt were an "issue", but they (SB) deal with all of that well.

Cruising in those areas with limited port time are interesting is interesting and quite relaxed. The weather is great for meals on the pool deck or outside in Colonnades.

And avoid, if you can, booking a 7 day cruise which is appealing to the groups.

A while since I have done it but the cost used to be about the same per person on the helicopter as for a taxi. So if there are 2 pax roughly double. Their web site might give costs.

Better than a taxi (but a little more expensive) you can book a helicopter from Nice Airport to Monaco. I think it's Heli Air Monaco. Check out the info on Trip Advisor. The transfer from Nice to Monaco flies along Cote dAzur providing great views. If you are coming in from overseas you can join the helicopter without leaving the airport precinct. It runs regularly like a taxi service.

1. Yes. There are plenty of tables for 2. There are no assigned groups etc. You can choose each night where you eat and with whom. We have had some good nights and met new friends after asking to be seated at a table with 2 or 3 other couples. You do this as you arrive at the Restaurant. It is also likely you will be invited to join a table hosted by one of the Staff (Captain, Cruise Director, entertainers etc). Up to you whether you accept.

2. If you are booking Guarantee you are likely to end up in a higher category. The ships are well stabilized and suite choice is really just one of preference.

3. Yes but I think you will find everyone is pretty easy going and age is not an issue.

4. Depending on which country you are booking from there may be a pricing differential. A TA experienced with Seabourn may be able to provide some advice that is useful, but they generally don't offer prices different to those on the web site, except for some TA-related onboard credits etc.

If the plan is to sail during European/US school holidays then it is very likely kids will be an "issue".

Our only SS cruise was Canada/Alaska and there was non SB offering. Those cruises are during school holidays and we found a lot of kids on board. They made an effort to accommodate them, but neither SS or SB have the facilities.

No complaints re the ship - very similar to SB although a bit more dated - food ok but not at SB standard, and crew not as efficient or friendly. It's all relative.

SS is a good product and if SB wasn't available it would be a good alternative for us.

It seems that the way the upgrade allocations have been offered it's a negative for Seabourn. Like other posters, we are Platinum and have never been offered an upgrade. If SB want to create goodwill and reward their longstanding members then the policy should be to OFFER upgrades (with a nominated suite) according to status. I can see why they don't want to go through the process of waiting for someone to accept and would rather just allocate, but there are sometimes reasons why an upgrade will not be suitable/preferred in a specific location. Given we start from a V6 and have already been prepared to pay the premium for that the system is difficult to understand.

If you are lucky you get the Overseas Passenger Terminal which is in the area of the ferry terminal, at the end of George St and adjacent to the Opera House. Otherwise the side you are on won't matter. Not sure that Seabourn will know yet where they will be moored. If there is a larger ship in as well it's likely it will be in OPT.

The responses highlight one issue that I have found irritating and that is - the Observation Lounge is always too cold. It's probably a function of allowing for greater usage/occupancy and smokers. For these reasons we rarely use it - it's just not comfortable.

Sydney is the big one. Most ships berth with the bow facing the city, which means that the port is the best side as you will be looking directly at the Opera House and back to the Harbour. From you balcony. Our experience is that with other ports the docking arrangements vary and it's just pot luck and doesn't really matter.

Or (if you have the time to kill and want the round trip) from the station you can just catch a regular ferry that has a stop within about 50-100m of where you will be embarking, and probably where the water taxi will drop you. One small bridge and steps to cross to the Terminal building. Water taxi is the most convenient though - it's like comparing a taxi to a public bus doing the same route.

If you want to "do" Australia it's just a question of time, money and priorities. Unless you have lots of time, then flying between major areas is the only real option. If you know your time availability then a good TA experienced in the country can advise. If you have less than 5 days don't bother trying to go much beyond your port of disembarkation. If you are disembarking in Sydney and want to go north eg Great Barrier Reef or south (Melbourne, Adelaide etc) then you would be better of flying out of those regions rather than having to get back to Sydney.

This is an issue SB needs to deal with as it effects the product they are delivering compared with what was offered (and paid for) by others. (A bit like their current misleading advert referred to in another thread). Even with smaller groups of about 15 it causes issues. Our experience has been that the "groups" do not mix with others, seek to take over preferred seating areas in dining areas (eg permanently "reserving" certain tables) and generally changed the ambience.

The presence of a group associated with an incentive arrangement means that they do not have any affinity for the product or care about others. SB has an obligation to advise others already booked that such parties will be onboard and give their loyal "normal" customers the option to cancel/change if it is SB's intention to go ahead with a group booking.

It is not unusual for SB to charter the entire vessel to such groups, and that is their prerogative, although I understand it represents a pretty tough assignment for the crew on such occasions.

Grumpy Wombat's point is a good one. Vietnamese (gets my vote), Thai, Malay, Chinese (with its own variants), Indian, Nepalese etc. Anyone who thinks that "Asian" is all of these is way off track. You either do one well, or not pretend it's something it's not.

It "seems" to book out but rarely is it full. Seems to have a lot of no shows or late changes.

And Tower Bridge, London. But the space, and other reasons put forward by mark ham, win out for the Os.

Can't help but respond to Rotterdam (who has never sailed Seabourn) and doesn't understand the pricing. His $1,000 per day is actually $500 per day (per pax). Sounds good to me!!!

Aren't the lights over the bath (and the clothes line) a design feature? I assumed someone had given a lot of thought to the utility of this arrangement. The bath is there so the wet clothes don't drip on the floor.

It's a very simple equation. If you cruise regularly on a Carnival group ship, then the maths is quite simple. The stock is listed on NYSE and no matter which country you live in, you can purchase through a stockbroker. And they are liquid ie readily saleable. Based on the current share price of around $37 then you will need to outlay $3,700 for 100 shares. We get at least $250 credit per year plus there is the dividend paid by CCL which is over $100 pa. That's a benefit of around $350 pea or approx 10%. Better than you will get in the bank. Then there is the capital gain. We bought at around $32 when the shares had fallen from around $52 after the Costa Concordia "issue".

Anyone buying should do so based on their own circumstances, but if you are a regular traveller and get $250 pa benefit + dividend it's a pretty good rate of return in a company that has been quite stable and liquid.

Salice Salentino

You don't say which ship you were on. It makes a difference.

The reality is that in sailing between Singapore and Australia there is not a lot apart from Indonesia. Indonesia does not have a highly developed tourist infrastructure (except that associated with resorts eg Bali) and as such facilities for cruise ships and passengers can be a bit limited. Accordingly, if you want to sail from Asia to Australia there is not a lot of choice. What Seabourn seems to be offering on this cruise are a number of new ports of call which dont seem to be any worse than the alternatives!