Joc123

I have no knowledge just speculation but I think Sojourn will make it to Perth.

The ship has been self isolated for over 2 weeks so is probably the safest place in the world at the moment. Broome is isolated by it’s very position but it is a tourist destination so who knows if the virus has arrived there or not.

The problem with Australia is we are coming into our flu season (winter officially starts June 1st) and although relatively clear here, we are starting to record more cases daily - even Tom Hanks and his wife, who were making a movie on the Gold Coast have the virus. 

We have pulled the plug!

Originally booked April 29th Sydney -San Fransisco which was changed to Auckland - San Fransisco. This was not a big deal for us and managed to get cheap business class flights (non refundable) to Auckland with Qantas.

Things have just become so unpredictable and the family were against us travelling so we started the process of cancelling. Surprisingly Qantas have refunded our non refundable tickets and we have transferred our cruise to October 2020 Vancouver - Miami.

Fingers crossed this has settled down by October, if not, I guess we start the process again.

Thank you for the lovely photos - you have quite an artistic flare.

Not sure when you arrive in Adelaide or what tours they are offering but if you like food and wine we have wonderful wineries in the Adelaide Hills (some vineyards were damaged in recent bushfires but cellar doors are still open for tasting) and of course the Barossa Valley is only a couple of hours from Port Adelaide.

If you want to do your own thing Adelaide is a very walkable city, has an excellent food market (Adelaide Central Market) wonderful restaurants, not much high end shopping but not as expensive as Sydney.

The weather should be good, in fact we are still waiting for summer, I hope you enjoy our pretty city.

If you have any questions feel free to ask and I will try to answer them for you.

On 3/2/2020 at 4:45 PM, Silver Spectre said:

Deck 10 stairs, we have sprung a leak in all this rain

 

Love that the carpet and bucket are colour coordinated 

1 hour ago, texanaust said:

Well so much for this thread...Why don't we throw in politics and tipping just to add to the excitement.😷

Don’t forget the dress code 😜🤣

I can not see how it would take 50 hours to do LAX - Perth.

LAX - Sydney or Melbourne, (approx 15 hours) then on to Perth (approx 4 hours).

Coming back from Hobart is not a problem , you just have to get back to Melbourne or Sydney. It is a domestic flight but only 2 hours to Sydney, less to Melbourne.

Australians are used to long haul flights but travel to and from US is one of the shorter routes.

The ports of call will be lovely, probably a little more provincial and outback but magnificent scenery and if you like oysters you are in for a treat in Pt Lincoln. I hope they offer diving with the sharks excursion!

Thanks Julie, I will check it out.

Sorry F -J for hijacking your post - hope you are sorting out your cruise 

Julie do you know the new itinerary?

I imagine they are going to Fremantle then make their way across the bottom of Australia and across to Auckland. It would be great if they stopped in Adelaide and we could hop on then - is that too much to ask for? Just a thought.

Hi Julie

Ron and I our just working through the rather long email.

Its not as convenient for us to leave from Auckland as there are not direct flights everyday from Adelaide. We booked our Adel -Syd flight with points, and I’m not sure what Qantas will do about changing that leg. (It’s always nice to start the cruise in Sydney because I know 3 hours after closing the front door I will be having my first champagne onboard.)

Then there is the question of cancelling altogether. As luck would have it, we received a Seabourn brochure with 2020 Summer Cruises this week so we will look through that and see if anything appeals.

What are you going to do? Is there a timeframe to let Seabourn know?

We use the well known UK agent so I’m sure there will be lots of emails going back and forth.

Thank you to everyone posting, it’s interesting reading, I’m still not sure what will happen and if we will be affected (Sydney - San Fransisco) but at least I know we aren’t the only ones boarding in Sydney.

I certainly do remember - Go Crows!

See you again soon 

Jocelyn

Julie, 

Ron and I are also on Sydney - San Fransisco Cruise.

 We were originally booked Singapore - Athens but when there was trouble brewing in Iran we cancelled and booked the final leg of the WC.

Then there was the measles outbreak in Samoa but we have both been vaccinated so figured we would be okay. That seems to have settled down.

Now this, however as it is late April/May we decided to go ahead.

Please forward any information you receive from friends already on Sojourn as we would love to know if there are any changes 

Jocelyn

Handre going to Seattle?

Sad for us but I hope he will be happy in his new position. What  he will be doing?

We sailed with him in October and we are also doing the last leg of the World Cruise (Sydney - San Fransisco). When asked if he would still be onboard for that leg he wouldn’t answer yes or no, so we thought then something was happening. IOHO he is the best CD ever but I guess there are only a certain number of years one can spend at sea.

Please wish him all the best from Ron and Jocelyn 

Forget the bridge players, how do you play table tennis (ping pong) on carpet!

This is the TK menu - it doesn’t change!

On 10/12/2019 at 1:01 PM, markham said:

Just because someone says the Retreat is booked does not mean that it is fully booked. Call me skeptical.

 

I remain unconvinced that many people will pay $350/couple for this waste of space. Unless something has changed- it's at a fire sale price or free, a full spa day with hair salon services is delivered there, it's now tax-deductible for those whom the minimum deduction is not relevant, and/or it's become a "member's club" of some nefarious sort temporarily.

 

If it really is popular I hope that a group of anthropologists and naturalists will be hoisted down to do a documentary. Should be interesting fun to see.

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

Sorry Markham, I just checked The Retreat - it’s very busy up there - just like the pool area LOL. Looks like it’s here to stay🙁

Currently on Ovation with Chef Jes and the food especially the fish is wonderful.

I would love to see TK  turned into a high end Asian Restaurant - I know it’s not going to happen but food trends change and there is a reason food from the 50’s/60’s is no longer popular with most people. I think people enjoy the light, fresh Asian cuisine these days but  you can’t please everyone.

Sorry photos didn’t post - I’ll try again 

Off topic but on our way to breakfast this morning we noticed the chair hogs were alive and well. I guess this is what happens when the weather is beautiful and it’s a sea day.

Yes Capt Andrew is still on and in fact last night he was on deck dancing with housekeeping staff.

IMO we have the best crew in charge, Capt Andrew, Handre (CD), Kevin(HD), Chef Jes and to top it off Katy joined us in Lisbon to play in TK Bar. It is a very happy ship and we are having a wonderful time 

We are currently on Ovation sailing Dublin - Lisbon - Barcelona.

The first leg of this cruise had an active Roll Call which organised private tours but as we prefer to do Seabourn tours we didn’t join in.

We were surprised to see in the Herald a Cruise Critic Meeting in the Retreat at 6:30pm. I have been apart of CC for 10years (more a lurker than contributor) and I have never seen a gathering like this before.

Unfortunately it coincided with a lecture we wanted to attend so we arrived at the Retreat as it was finishing and I’m sorry we missed it. Everyone was there from the Captain down, caviar and Champagne (sadly not the upgraded Retreat Champagne) and other epicurean delights.

I presume it was organised by the Roll Call group so well done you and well done to Seabourn for giving their time to CC Members. 

It also allowed us to properly see the the Retreat - my opinion has not changed. In fact it confirmed to me that it’s claustrophobic and the installation of mist fans to give relief from the heat says it all. Apparently I’m in the minority because on the next leg (Lisbon - Barcelona) it is booked out! Each to their own.

Once again, well done to all involved in this event.

Obviously things are different on Quest.

we are currently on Ovation and I can assure you the new water bottles are the only ones available at the gangway. People can take them when they leave the ship and leave on another table when they return.

As I commented earlier I found them heavy to carry on tour so we bought some lightweight insulated bottles and now fill them with chilled water in our suite before we leave the ship - the reusable bottles are the only ones in the suites.

We don’t have a problem with this but there have been rumblings onboard.

We have sailed Seabourn (215 nights), Silversea , Windstar, HAL, and Ponant Darwin - Broome on L’Austral.

 We were very disappointed with Ponant, food being the main problem.

When we complained we were told the problem was the isolation of the area. I can’t accept that as a reason as this line specialises in Antarctica.

 The service was average (we were told several crew were sick) so maybe we were unlucky with this cruise which can happen.

The thing that is a constant is the size of the cabins. Nicely furnished but small and the bathroom is just ridiculously small - definitely 1 person at a time!

The one thing that was really good and well organised were the expeditions.

They were excellent and we couldn’t fault them.

We are currently on Ovation and using the reusable water bottles.

The bottles are not sealed, only have a screw top but the taste is good. We don’t have a problem with them except they are heavy to carry on tour. This means we only take 1 so DH and I have to share, probably not ideal but ok.

Also the opening is wide so if you need a drink while travelling on the bus be prepared to have the water end up down the front of you.

It looks very brown to me