DC Traveler244

Many thanks, CanAmBrit.

Thanks, nancygp -- very helpful to know this.

Worcestergal, LMB01, and Tallante -- thanks for your responses. I checked out the worry-free promise language, and it certainly indicates that we should have received future cruise credits for our seven-day isolation period. I've raised the issue with our travel agent, and she believes that the worry-free promise only applies to passengers who purchased the Seabourn Shield travel insurance -- I think she's wrong. But it would be helpful if those of you who did receive FCCs for days in isolation would indicate whether you did or did not have Seabourn Shield coverage. Many thanks!

Worcestergal and subsequent commenters, while I'm delighted to hear that you all received credits for the time you spent in Covid isolation during your cruises, I'm now wondering why my husband and I were not offered credits for the seven days we spent in Covid isolation on the Encore last April. We got Covid 18 days into 26-day cruise. After being released from isolation, we were able to enjoy the final five days of the cruise. We'd been operating under the apparently mistaken belief that such credits had only been offered earlier in the pandemic. If any of you have a copy of Seabourn's written policy regarding such credits, I'd be most grateful if you could share a copy. Thanks.

Interesting. It appears that, unfortunately, the experience was similar for Venture guests embarking and disembarking through Kangerlussuaq on 9/18. Our experience onboard the Venture was consistent with Seabourn standards, and we really liked the ship. But treating guests like cattle post-disembarkation (or pre-embarkation) is a huge mistake on Seabourn's part. We'd booked an August 2023 NW Passage cruise on the Venture, with a Kangerlussuaqn embarkation. We've canceled. We communicated our displeasure to Seabourn in the post-cruise questionnaire. Wondering if the organization really does read the responses . . . .

Yes. Seabourn booked us at the Radisson Blu 1919, which is in downtown Reykjavik . There is another Radisson Blu at the airport.

We were on the flight from Kangerlussuaq to KEF on September 18. The flight was on a charter operator called Privilege. I was told by a fellow passenger who claimed to know such things that it was a 757. Whatever the model, the aircraft clearly was old and had seen better days (my seat had a broken armrest and couldn't be put in a fully upright position). The seats were six-across and the rows were jammed in so closely that the flight was very uncomfortable. When we reached KEF, it took 40 minutes to get all the bags from the plane to the terminal. Unfortunately, things got worse after we collected our bags and were bussed to the hotel Seabourn had selected for us in Reykjavik (Radisson Blu). We had to transport our bags from the terminal to the bus without any assistance (the bus was parked about 200 meters away). The bus deposited us two blocks from the hotel, and we were again required to carry our bags to the hotel (this time in a downpour). I don't know what the airport-to-hotel transfer process was like for passengers who'd been booked at other hotels, but it was disgracefully poor experience for the passengers Seabourn booked at the the Radisson Blu.

To follow up on my previous (redundant) post, on several SB voyages we’ve gone to Seabourn Square and asked them to apply some or all of our OBC to the crew welfare fund. We had to sign an authorization form, but they were happy (and grateful) to do this. Has your experience been different?

We’ve done it multiple multiple times.

You can also use some or all of the credit for shopping or a donation to the crew welfare fund.

Yes -- the bathroom and closet arrangement makes it easier when two people are trying to get dressed.

Additional differences have occurred to me: first, in a PH, there are two doors into the bathroom (one from the hall; the other from the sleeping area and through the closet). Second, there are three entrances to the closet (one from the hall and the others from the bedroom and bathroom ). Third, in a PH you can close off the toilet from the rest of the bathroom: if you have guests visiting your suite, they can use the toilet and a separate sink without having access to the tub/shower/dual-sink area. So — the PH is laid out to permit more flexible traffic flow.

Apart from the extra space, in a PH you get a coffee maker and more Molton Brown toiletries. Also, there’s a dining table that can seat four. In a PH, you can also close off the glass-enclosed sleeping area (as opposed to just pulling a curtain between the seating and sleeping areas). In the PH suites, there’s also a vanity area in a corner of the bedroom (in the veranda suites, there’s a smaller vanity located in the main traffic area). You also get additional Seabourn Club points when you book PH or higher suits. A downside of PH suites: they are on upper decks, which means that you’ll feel more motion in rough weather. That’s all I can think of.

I believe that this same excursion was offered when the Sojourn called at Livorno last month. I thought it sounded very interesting, but it departed so early that (per Destination Services) the lunch would take place in the late morning. So, you might want to check the departure time.

We are booked on the Pursuit for an August 2023 Northwest Passage cruise. Today, we received emails from Seabourn advising: "We are writing to advise you that due to deployment changes, your voyage will now take place on Seabourn Venture rather than Seabourn Pursuit. Your voyage itinerary and sailing date will remain unchanged." When we booked the cruise early last month (while aboard the Sojourn) the cruise specialist informed us that there was very high interest in the NW Passage cruise. Even then, there were only two suites available in the category we wanted. So, perhaps SB was aware of possible delays with the Pursuit and decided to shift the NW Passage cruises to the Venture rather than risking having to cancel them at the last minute if the Pursuit was delayed?

Re the Tim Rice show: although it wasn’t stated explicitly, my sense is that it will — at least for a time — replace the older An Evening With Sir Tim Rice. Many repeat SB guests have seen the older production multiple times. The new production includes voice-overs by Sir Tim (no videoclips) and proceeds in chronological order. It includes mostly new musical selections. The musical and dance performances were excellent. I thought that it was a very complex production to present on a small ship.

We were told that an “update” had been installed right before Sojourn returned to service. But the update doesn’t have enough bandwidth (100 Mbps for the entire ship — not remotely enough for guests and crew). We have far more robust coverage at home for a two-person household.

I’ve been aboard Sojourn since June 16, and I’ve found the staff to be mostly Seabourn alums. Several I’ve spoken to were called back as the other SB ships returned to service, and have rotated onto the Sojourn as it was prepared to return to service. So, there’s definitely a seasoned staff aboard. So far, my only complaint has been with internet and TV service. There’s simply not enough bandwidth to provide adequate wifi service for the entire ship (we currently have the so-called “streaming” wifi package, but we can’t stream anything). The live TV channels work sporadically: sometimes the reception is fine, but then breaks up (buffering). A few times, TV was not working at all. Very frustrating. We were on the Encore in March and April of this year, and experienced no such problems. Entertainment onboard has been very good. Last night, Seabourn rolled out a new Tim Rice collaboration called “The Circle of My Life,” which was excellent. The production will eventually be available on all of Seabourn’s non-expedition ships.

We'll be boarding the Sojourn on June 16. Like you, we're hoping the staffing/quality will be up to Seabourn standards. I'll share my impressions after we've had few days onboard.

Correction: the website is HeritageMalta.org.

Shylya100, I haven’t yet visited the Hypogeum (but hoping to do so next month, before boarding the Sojourn in Valletta). I suggest posting your question on TripAdvisor’s Malta forum — there are helpful/knowledgeable locals who can answer such questions. Also, I suggest contacting HeritageMalta.com. Hope this helps!

I definitely think it’s worth adding your names to the waitlist. Sometimes, spaces open up and that could well happen given that your cruise isn’t until October. Also, Seabourn often adds additional sections for high-interest excursions. As a backup, you might want to research whether it’s possible to book an independent tour that’s similar to the Seabourn offering that interests you. good luck!