Northern Swan

I suspect everyone has very good reasons for asking questions posted on the discussion forums. In our case, our query had nothing to do with what to wear but is related to timing of activities or excursions and narrowing down which nights we prefer to dine in a specialty restaurant vs the main dining room. I appreciate the useful info that’s been posted here and thank everyone for sharing their insights.

Hello… I did search the forum and the Seabourn site before posting this question, and while I found lots of great info about dress codes and the number of formal nights per cruise, I haven’t been able to get any estimate of when the formal nights will be. We are going on a 14-day Alaska cruise in June 2024 on the Odyssey. If anyone has done this itinerary, it would be great to hear from you as to which evenings we might expect the formal nights to be scheduled on. Many thanks!

We are receiving excellent service in our family cabana on Deck 11 on Nieuw Amsterdam and have had no issues with other guests being loud. Food and beverage service is excellent, and each day at 2 pm they serve sparkling wine with a small plate of chocolate covered strawberries and frozen grapes. The servers provide menus for breakfast and lunch (from the Lido and the burger bar) and they will also bring you drinks from the bar or coffee bar, according to whichever drink package you have purchased. The cabanas are open from 9am to 5 pm, and they do remove all of the cushions from the loungers and wicker chairs every day at closing. There really is no place to sit comfortably in the off hours. I am very pleased with the service provided and would book a cabana again without hesitation.

If you are thinking about booking the thermal suite on the Nieuw Amsterdam you should do so online before you start your cruise. The cost for the thermal suite pass for our cruise was $149 per person pre-cruise but booking on board the cost increases to $50 per person per day. Likewise for all spa treatments and drink packages - everything is significantly less expensive when booked pre-cruise.

I know this has been debated many times, but currently the HAL FAQ page states the packages are limited to 15 alcoholic drinks daily: The Signature and Elite packages have a daily limit of 15 alcoholic beverages, which includes all alcoholic beverages with a menu price of $15 or less (Elite Beverage Package), or $11 or less (Signature Beverage Package). The Quench Beverage Package includes unlimited non-alcoholic beverages and bottled waters 500ml and under. The packages exclude purchases made in the Mini Bar, Honor Bar, Chocolate Seduction, In-Room Dining, beverages purchased on Half Moon Cay and any self-service draft beer.

Not sure if there has been a recent change, but the FAQ on the HAL site states the following (emphasis is mine): The Signature and Elite packages have a daily limit of 15 alcoholic beverages, which includes all alcoholic beverages with a menu price of $15 or less (Elite Beverage Package), or $11 or less (Signature Beverage Package). The Quench Beverage Package includes unlimited non-alcoholic beverages and bottled waters 500ml and under.

Since I’ve seen a few questions related to “what to pack” and laundry on board the Paul Gauguin, I thought I would start a new topic rather than post multiple replies. We were on the PG from March 5-16, 2022, with a 4-day pre-cruise stay at the Hilton Moorea. I pre-packed in order to give myself time to think about what I had packed, then I took some stuff out and re-packed, and did that about 3 more times. I don’t normally fret about packing for a vacation, but I wanted to bring my own snorkel gear and this was also my first visit to French Polynesia, so I started the process early. Please heed my suggestion and pack WAY less than you think you will need. I planned to be in the water a lot, so I brought two bikini tops, 4 bottoms, and 2 tankini tops. I wore both bikini tops and two bottoms and the rest sat in the closet. I brought both short sleeve and long sleeve rash guards, and wished I had brought two long sleeve and no short sleeve. I brought 3 skorts and wore one, and wished I had brought a pull on skirt because that’s easier to slip on over a wet bathing suit than a skort is. I brought something like 7 shirts and wore my favourite 2 or 3 all the time. I brought black pants and tights to wear for dinner but wore them only once because I preferred the comfort of a flowy dress or gauzy-type pants because they were cool. I never wore a sweater or slippers or any of the 3 scarves I brought, and my wide brimmed hat stayed in my suitcase because it would have blown off my head because it doesn’t have a strap. I lived in my water shoes and a pair of cute flat sandals, wore one pair of chunky heels most nights for dinner, seldom put on my flip flops, and did not wear my Allbirds flats at all. I did wear my Sketchers light weight running shoes on a couple of tours and was glad I had them. Other changes I would make next time: bring one tube of sunscreen with me and if I need more buy it there; the prices are comparable to home and it will save having to pack - and possibly bring home - 5 bottles of sunscreen. I brought way too many chargers and adapters for electronic devices, did not need to bring a Bose speaker or travel towels or 4 packages of disinfectant wipes. I probably did not need to bring my own snorkel gear as it was available both at our land resort and on the PG, but with Covid I felt more comfortable having my own stuff. Oh, and speaking of Covid, I did not need to bring a bag of 25 N95 masks! If you are on the PG you can have your laundry done anytime for a fee, unless you are a returning guest then you get 5 pieces of laundry per day at no cost. You can also wash a few things yourself and hang them to dry (do bring clothespins with you). PG no longer offers a laundry package for purchase. Do yourself a favour and pack really light … your travel weary body will thank you when you get home and don’t have to take 2 days to unpack all the stuff you didn’t use. And don’t forget to consider whether you will have to carry or roll your luggage and carry on bag(s) from one flight to another or onto a bus to take you from one terminal to another. Less is best. 🙂