robertmartha

Fortunate

Last fall we were upgraded from a V1 on Deck 5 to a V3 on deck 7 - room was a connecting AND the room next to the white area on the deck plan (service passageway and stairwell). I was not a happy camper. Happy to report absolutely NO sound issues from either side - in fact the only reason we knew people were in the cabin next to us was because we would see the room stewards cleaning the cabin. It actually was nice not having a cabin/balcony on one side of us.

LOVED the Ovation (we sailed on the Odyssey twice before). Even though she carries more passengers - we liked the added space/size to the public areas but did think the retreat area could/should be utilized for ALL passengers. Would book the Ovation or Encore (or any Seabourn ship!) again in a second. We are in that mindset of there is no going back to a "mainstream" line after you have sailed on Seabourn 😉

Thank you both - 

Also believe Riverside (former Crystal river ships) does as well.

SDuckers - thanks for the great review. Reading your review makes me want to do a transatlantic even more 😉. Just have to convince my wife 😔

thanks again!

Thanks Pontiac - will post after we return in early July.

It seriously was like a time warp - arrival/check in area looked like it was not touched since the airport was first opened - once you were thru security it was absolutely beautiful and modern. Thinking at the time we were there they had not gotten to the check in section.

We are flying out in July - we will definitely look for it !

We have not flown out of Budapest in a few years - once you were thru security it was beautiful - but before it it was like a time warp...has that section of the airport been updated? 

Should have specified that I will be bringing a backpack - laptop (still working 😔) and other important items. When we bring the roller carry-ons it's always to use for the pre/post stays before a sailing so we don't have to open/dig into the large suitcase.

The older we get - the lighter we want to travel😉

Thanks everyone for your insight. DW and I are determined to start traveling lighter - we always tend to overpack - and with this being a summer sailing and more casual then an ocean sailing we are determined to pack lighter and not be weighed down with both a suitcase and a carryon. Just have to convince the other couples traveling with us 😉

Thanks all - never thought of it from the perspective of the "handling" of the luggage - I was thinking more "space".

For those who have sailed on Emerald - paperwork from Emerald indicates one suitcase per passenger? Typically travel with a suitcase and a carryon each.  Is this allowed or is one suitcase the max per person? Thinking may not even need the carry-on since we are not staying pre or post cruise and since its the summer should be traveling light anyway...but the other couples we are traveling with do not travel light! Thought I would pose the question on the boards to see what others have experienced.

thanks all

Bob

LTC - great to hear. TY!. River cruise wise - only have AMA to compare to and we enjoyed their food so this is great news!

Anyone have photo's of recent dinner menu's ? 

Sailing in a few weeks with river cruise newbies and they are curious (we have only sailed on AMA river cruise as well)

Are there "always available" options...aka chicken, salmon, beef?

Some in our group are not as adventurous 😂

thanks

Bob 

TY so much everyone - assumed there would not be an issue - but never know. We have only sailed on AMA a few years back (in terms of river sailings) so no experience with Emerald.

We are a party of 8 - just booked last minute late June sailing.

Looking at the deck plans - appears tables accommodate 6 - anyone with experience if table can accommodate 8 traveling together?

thanks

sofa.king - great option. Its been quite a few years since we were in a similar situation with teens...which is when we switched to X (great options for all). Luckily my teens are now adults with SO's and we sailed last year on Seabourn with all of them - they are all in their late twenties and joked with us that they were among the "youngest" passengers on our sailing BUT they absolutely loved the experience - hey what's not to luv on a Seabourn sailing!

Kensington - agree w/ all of the above. Book as many as you can. Zodiac's to the glaciers were amazing - if you are into Kayak's - amazing. We were a group of six - signed up for one afternoon Kayak tour and it was just the six of us w/ two guides (it was just the second sailing of the season so mid May). Only disadvantage to early sailing very little wildlife but we had amazing weather - just one morning w/ rain. 

MarciAnn - true about the last minute sales...but if you need to fly to the destination - you'll get dinged by the airfare in most cases 😔.

Agree with JDK - I think the lines are still banking on pent up demand...but at some point.....enough is enough. Time will tell.

totally agree jdk - on our last sailing in Nov - our waiter took great care of me - to your point - adapting some of the dishes for me that I would never even have asked about - thought of asking about. I also have celiac (and I am dairy free) and can say had no issues at all.

Depending on your restrictions - the menus in the restaurant are great with their identifiers (icons)..dairy, nuts, gluten, sugar, etc....

I have quite a few restrictions and after checking in when we stop at the table that is set up near where you check in (believe it is the restaurant manager) they have a list (assume based on the preferences you check) of passengers with restrictions..so good place to start. Also recommend if you find a waiter/table you like the first night - stick with that table (if you can). This way the waiter and his team know your restrictions and can accommodate them.

When in doubt - always ask your server - better safe then not 

kahuna21 - agree with you about booking once sailings are released..... kicking myself that I did not book our sailing prior to this latest "promotion"....$1500 increase per cabin. Hoping that on May 1st when this current promo ends the prices will return to what they were 

LACruiser88 - once you book/sail on your 1st Seabourn - no going back 😉

Question Everything - had to laugh 😂. My DW said to me yesterday "we could do a land vacation you know"...to which I did not respond 😆 except with a deep exhale.

So glad its not just me feeling this way....

Was planning on a cruise with our adult daughters and their SO's (so yes 3 cabins).... should have booked with the prior promo. Will wait and see once this promo ends where the pricing ends up. We were looking at several different sailings (have to when you are trying to coordinate 6 schedules) and each ones price increase was more ridiculous then the other....and this for sailings in 2025.

2SailingNomads - curious what you thought was better on Regent? - better on Seabourn?

Keep looking at prices and sailings for next year on Seabourn - and they really are seriously inflated from just a few weeks ago.

Thanks all - I am glad I am not the only one who had sticker shock when I looked at pricing today.

The current two category upgrade sale is in effect till 4/30.....so time will tell.

Bob