Missabby

I have read where the AntarcticTreaty and the rules of the International Association of Antarctic TourOperators require all guests to submit a health questionnaire, completed in full no later than 90 days prior to tour departure. Does Seabourn require this of their Antarctic passengers? I can't find anything about this on their website. Thank you.

There is a ton of sheet ice. Quite different from other sites. Hope we can get out.

Maybe you should begin now reading about lessons learned from Shackleton's voyage? ;p

Does anyone have a picture of the "penguin beanie/cap"? Just wondering what it looks like.

We had Jim Cannon as our cruise director on the transatlantic cruise just prior to this cruise; he told us he was continuing on the next several cruises. Was this "Mr. Conrad" you mention possibly the assistant cruise director?

And I believe the captain's name is "Eldering".

On Quest's recent TA cruise, it was listed in The Herald as "LGBTQ Meet Up" in The Club. This was about half-way through the cruise.

I'm told that Seabourn transatlantic voyages are very popular with LGBT guests and certainly there seemed to be a higher proportion of that demographic on our last TA on Odyssey last October. We all had an absolute ball and several told me they've never experienced any hint of disapproval or non-acceptance; quite the opposite in fact. Times have changed indeed :)

In addition to the USGC and USDA inspections, the entire crew had a 100% documentation inspection by the CBP. CBP's computers failed and all checks had to be done manually, which takes much more time. So Quest had a perfect storm and exited in excellent shape. We saw the Coast Guardsmen having a great meal in the Colonnade. The crew had a nice party in Funchal to celebrate the great work.

I also had one of those thick cut steaks in the Keller grill - could only eat half of it. Our waiter said it was one of the larger ones he has seen. It was cooked perfectly and tasted great. Just too little stomach....

Embarkation & Sailaway

 

I left the hotel at noon and arrived at the ship around 12:15 PM. After filling put the standard Norovirus questionnaire, I learned that the entire checking process was handled shore-side. After presenting my Norovirus questionnaire, passport, ePass and credit card, my mug shot was taken and was handed my guest pass and was onboard by 12:35 PM. I am always glad when this portion of the voyage is complete.

 

When I arrived at The Colonnade, the buffet was about 40% set up. I was told that the annual US Coast Guard and Health & Sanitary inspections lasted several hours longer than expected and the crew was up at 5:00 AM and everyone was scrambling to get caught up.

 

The good news to come out of this was that at the end of the passenger Muster Drill, Captain Joost Eldering proudly announced the results of the Coast Guard inspection: 100 out of 100 and Health & Sanitary inspection: 98 out of 100. The captain went on to say the Health & Sanitary inspection result was well above the SB fleet average and that there will be crew & officer party as earlier promised. Kudos to the Officers and Crew for their hard work and acing the inspections!!

 

The suites were not ready for passengers until 3:30 PM. By 4:00 PM I realized that the previous passengers in my suite had locked the safe and I could not access it. I called Guest Services and requested they send someone to open the safe; they asked if it would be okay too take care of it after the 5:00 PM Passenger Muster Drill to which I replied: oh absolutely, in fact as long as my safe in unlocked before I retire for the evening is fine with me.

 

At 4:40 PM, the Security Officer came to my suite and unlocked it for me and asked me to enter my code and lock and unlock the safe and it worked!

 

I received my luggage at 6:30 PM and franticly started and finished unpacking at 7:20 PM. The captain told us that we would be a little late departing. Soon, we were backing out down the channel to make our 90° turn towards due east so I ran up on deck to take a picture. I had 30 minutes to get cleaned up and ready for supper at The Grill by Thomas Keller. After being seated, I saw we were leaving the breakwater and was a little disappointed this time in that I was not up on deck enjoying the sailaway celebration.

 

Fort Lauderdale is one of my favorite ports to sail out of because the residents of the two high-rise condominiums on the port side of the ship perform their “civic duty” to clap, cheer, yell, flash their balcony lights off and on while some had hand-held air horns to bid us Bon Voyage!! J

 

The former Restaurant 2’s interiors were totally gutted and redone with a subtler ambiance, a very nice improvement IMHO. The dinner at The Grill was outstanding and the service was great! After siting down, a plate of cut cucumber, broccoli florets, radishes, carrots and a dipping sauce on a bed of ice was brought to me. Then a mini loaf of bread the size of a large dinner roll and butter arrived. I quickly decided that would be my appetizer.

 

I told the waiter that I had not had a steak in months; he replied that I had come to the right place for a steak. I concurred and ordered the thick cut prime New York strip steak and wilted spinach for my main course. Tender, juicy and that flavor, I definitely made the right decision! For dessert, I had homemade vanilla ice cream (all ice cream, sorbet and, I think, yogurt are made fresh daily on board), which was served at a slightly higher temperature akin to “soft serve”. I just let the ice cream melt in my mouth before swallowing. Yum, Yum!

 

After dinner in the there was an introduction of the entertainment department staff as well as informal performances of Alexandra, the Observation Bar’s singer and pianist as well as The Club’s band and singer.

 

I then returned to my suite for a restful journey to Seabourn slumber-land. The moment I rested my head the fluffy pillow and pulled the Scandinavian comforter over me, I was back at my home at sea and slept soundly the entire night

 

I have been trying for almost an hour to access my photo sharing site. So until I can sort that out, there will be no Freeze frames. Grrr :( :(

 

Paul

That's very useful. How about if you hold shares through a broker and you don't receive an Annual Report?

I simply download my most recent monthly statement from my broker in pdf format and black-out all my other stocks that they don't need to see. Send that, with a letter requesting the benefit plus the information requested in the annual report (which you can download from CCL's website) and mail it to the cruise line. Do this once you've made final payment on your cruise.

I did this in January for our 15-day March 31st transatlantic on the Quest.

"Yes Nelson is still on board; he runs the Mast Bar from 12 noon to 6 pm"

Where is this "Mast Bar"? I don't see it on the deck plans. Am I missing something?

"yes Nelson is still on board....a shadow of his former self"

Can you expand on "shadow of his former self"? Nelson was on our fist Seabourn cruise some years ago. Thank you.

Looks like you're a little late leaving Fort Lauderdale tonight? What's with the need for a tug boat at the starboard rear quarter? Ah...now (6pm) you are leaving (watching on PTZtv.com).

You're off! Bon voyage!

What time did you board the ship today? Trying to get an idea of what time they allow boarding.

Looking at PTZtv's webcams, it also appears the Odyssey is a tad late departing Fort Lauderdale tonight. It also looks quite dark from the Ft. Lauderdale webcam, like there is no electricity on the ship - no lights on the bridge, either.

I sympathize, our stateroom attendants have always been the weak link on our Seabourn cruises.

Hoping all goes well for the rest of the cruise!

Thank you.

We love Tauck. We've done two river cruises so far (Basel to Amsterdam and Budapest to Amsterdam) and take our third cruise beginning next weekend (French river cruise; Paris to Monte Carlo). They take care of everything and go the extra mile.

And you could be there on a day when tours are being given and they cancel your tour w/o any notice whatsoever. Happened to me when I was stationed there several years ago.

Cruising speed for the sisters is 19 knots, per Seabourn's website; maximum of 25.5 knots per Wikipedia. I completely agree with Able Seaman H's comment about speed and fuel consumption.

Rather than complain on this forum and try to cajole others to complain to Seabourn about YOUR perceived injustice, why don't you simply call Seabourn yourself and talk to someone about this? Then you can come back and inform us of what they told you. Maybe there was a good reason for the itinerary as published?

Moving!

http://ftlauderdalewebcam.com/

Click on the SW camera, but is usually the default.

We boarded from that side last May when there were Navy ships docked on the other side, from the webcam this morning it looked there was another Navy ship docked again.

Berths 21 and 22 are occupied by two Navy destroyers and an attack sub as part of fleet week. I believe berths 19 and 20 are occupied by the USS Bataan (LHD-5), an amphibious assault ship.

There is some radio chatter on PTZ.tv but nothing specific about what is causing the delay.

One of my favorite things to do on river cruises is simply sit in the area forward of the bridge with camera and binoculars in hand (and a drink!) while day cruising. Maybe it's me, but I am never at a loss for things to look at thru my binoculars. Consider investing in some travel binoculars.

You could use a combination of decks 9 and 10, in combination with the stairs to walk (not jog). We used this approach back on the Pride and Legend days.

Thanks for the tip!

Check out Hotel Bethel right on the canal, but on the quiet side. Get a corner roon for fantastic views. Reasonable price and free breakfast, but not fancy like a Marriott.

 

http://www.hotel-bethel.dk/index.php/en/

 

https://www.tripadvisor.ca/Hotel_Review-g189541-d237647-Reviews-Somandshjemmet_Bethel-Copenhagen_Zealand.html

We'll second this recommendation. We stayed at the Hotel Bethel several years ago before taking a North Cape cruise. We had the second floor corner room with the balcony, which was very nice. Lots of restaurants on the other side of the canal. I'll admit one night was rather noisy, but that was when the world soccer championship game was being played.

Is there a terminal that Seabourn typically uses in Fort Lauderdale/Port Everglades? There are a couple of terminals on the north end of Lake Mabel and several more on the south end.

You should have counter-offered with 11 goats. I would have paid good money to see where that conversation would have gone....and to see the change in SailorJill's Mona Lisa smile! :)

And after reading your post, I never knew my history of the Med was so off.

A great read, SailorJack! Thank you.

The last time we were in Copenhagen we stayed at The Square which is only one block from the train station. We walked without any problem from our hotel to board our ship. At that time the ship was located at the smaller dock closer in. We each had one rolling bag and one carryon. However, we are planning for another cruise next July and expect that we will again walk to the larger dock which is slightly farther out. I believe it is very doable in nice weather.