2SailingNomads

Thank you KJB for this. Have to admit disappointing as on Regent Absolut Elyx is included as is MacCallan on both Seabourn and Regent and Don Julio and even Anejo.

Totally understand and did not mean to imply everyone should / can take the stairs. 😉 We will also take the elevators if with others who need to.

As we will be joining the ship in under 3 weeks, wondering if anyone has a list of included spirits, specifically Vodka, rim, Tequila, Mezcal (hopefully) and also wines. I don't recall seeing those posted here.

We had an envelope in our suite too, on a $4k per night cruise.

Having sailed on both, Ponant will take you further south due to the amazing technology of the ship. Ponant had 2 aircraft, one all biz-class that we upgraded to, the other supposedly nice but coach seating. Food on the plane was not so good but service was excellent and never wanted for a drink. When we boarded, despite having assigned seats we were told it was open seating. The suite on Charcot was nice but no nicer than Scenic. Both have open bridge policy. Charcot take: Certain level of cheapness despite the high price, e.g., limited included spirits with a menu of upcharge drinks, limited included wines, typically only 2 reds and 2 whites that rotate. no welcome bottle of champagne in suite, small bottles of spirits in in-room fridge - no automatic refills had to ask suite attendant. Limited options for food, the Sila buffet had small amount of offerings, service could be indifferent. Ducasse restaurant was good but limited choices, but food was sometime warm at best. The soups were some of the best I have had on any ship. Heated boot racks in zodiac boarding area, but poor organization with multiple groups congregating in a small area to swap out shoes for boots before lining up to board the zodiac. Deck that goes around the entire ship for walking, viewing wildlife / scenery. Lack of information, despite the daily briefings when changes occurred info not conveyed in a timely manner, big upsell for photos / videos taken from ship's photographers. Almost no interaction with senior officers. Scenic take: Butler service for all levels of suites, except for certain very high end spirits all are included. Multiple included wine options, seven restaurants for dinner, 2 for breakfast and lunch. Super comfortable reclining chairs in the theater. Very friendly crew and with one or two exceptions excellent service (2 people who were in the wrong career), senior officers very accessible and present (had multiple dinners with different ones along with conversations at the bar). Scenic likes to come up with different surprises for their guests. Post cruise link to videos taken while on the ship at no charge. Have sailed on Scenic 3 times Charcot once. For Antarctica unless doing my now bucket list trip from NZ to Ushuaia which can only do on Charcot, no other ship can do that, unfortunately they are not offering in 25, I think either will be a great experience.

Or do as we do and use the stairs. We usually avoid the elevators except for embarking / disembarking when we have carry-ons with us.

I love that line, it was followed by "Remember to tip your bartenders and servers.... "

It may be a win for Seabourn financially but probably not for longtime pax. I was looking at the Kimberly for '25, friends have a great trip on the Pursuit this year BTB's but next year there are times when the ship is not available to do the same. The APT company may be great but if I am sailing on a Seabourn ship I want to be assured it is the Seabourn product.

Like all of the "free" spa things they are a sales pitch for worthless products. Dr. Andrew Quack & whatever that company they outsource the spa to (most of the employees there hate working on Seabourn as I was told when getting a terrible haircut, maybe the worst of my life but got to hear all the complaints). Went to a thing a few years ago about losing belly fat just to see, guess what selling me things that do nothing to help you lose weight and you can not spot reduce.

My advice is, unless you only take 1 vacation a year, to buy a yearly policy, multiple insurers sell them and I suspect my post would be deleted if I mentioned the one we have used for years but a search for yearly travel insurance should give you multiple companies. Different policies allow you to choose the amount of coverage, we combine that with a credit card that also has provides insurance if you need to change plans.

I can say after just booking a Maui trip where an ocean view hotel room after taxes,+ all the b.s. charges for a room key, internet, fresh air etc. are included comes to over $1200 a day - and not at the 4 Seasons which would have not been as good a view and over $2K a day - add in $80 a day rental car, parking at $40 per night(plus tax) plus food and drink a cruise is looking better from a price perspective. Just sayin..

In the past I have had both CCL stock and referrals applied to the same cruise. Maybe this is yet another cost cutting move that should be brought to the new Presidents attention.

We never, until after C19 cruises, found anyone trying to upsell wines TK or anywhere else on the ship. On our last 2 cruises, people were pushing papers in front us to sign up for something, which given we buy a lot off the revenue list I found to be off putting. Last cruise on Regent was the same, this lunch, that tasting, etc.

Good to hear Sacha got promoted to Sommelier, he was studying for it when we were last on with him, and Milos we have known for years going back to when he was on Seabourn.

We found the prices for the excursions offered for our upcoming Explora cruise to be laughable 4 to 5 times what we could book for a private tour. Then they sent an email to our TA advising them to sell the tours on our behalf.

No worries as someone who STILL has multiple clients paying a lot for my advice I am going into it with an open mind as I DO with every new experience. The fact that I recognize cost cutting - and have read multiple not so good reviews on this board including about many children on-board, poor service, repetitive menus, lack of chairs in the shade to mention just a few - in a product aspiring to be high end in less than it's first year of operation does make me wonder what next month or 6 months from now will bring. Having sailed on Seabourn for many years I have experienced their cost cutting measures, Changing to a lower priced Champagne is like AA removing olives from drinks many years ago, hoping no one will notice to save $$. Clearly you love the product, I am going into it with an open mind but will reserve judgement until on-board.

Exactly this is a COST CUTTING move plain & simple making me think my upcoming Explora next month will be 1 and done

Curious if Alex is the head Sommelier and Brendan the Bar Manager (Brendan I have known for many years, he was on Seabourn for many years and other than Captain Rado he is my favorite Scenic crew although now Wandille also joined Scenic) Who is the Captain, Rado, Ewan, James?

We like Regent, have done 3 so far with 2 more booked although might cancel one of them. Very nice ships (have been on Splendor 2x and Grandeur 1x) and in particular we like the outdoor space on deck 12 with a walking track, driving net, mini-golf, pickleball court, Bago, and bocce ball court. A true walking area unlike the small ones on Seabourn where you have to navigate around chairs, etc. We like the choices of dining venues on Regent and find the food to be pretty good, always available options at Compass Rose much larger than Seabourn MDR choices, and service for the most part is very good. Never have a problem getting a seat in the Observation Bar and plenty of space between tables in the bars on Regent, unlike the sitting on top of each other in the Seabourn Observation bar, if you can find a seat unless you get there by 6:15. I agree the prices on Regent are higher (but now Seabourn is getting pretty expensive on a per diem), although they periodically have some decent sales, 2 category upgrades help, and you can opt out of the airfare (so far we have never taken the air as we could do better) and from the 1st day you sail on Regent you get included laundry services (last cruise if laundry was out before 9 a.m. it was back the same day!) and Wi-Fi, but do not like paying for the “included” excursions, some of which are pretty good others not good at all and we prefer to book private tours but you are paying for it you at least try a few… We almost never do ship tours so Seabourn comes out ahead there if they are less expensive. I think Seabourn has a better revenue wine list (and with the Diamond discount there are some very good values). With 20 Seabourn cruises to date and 2 more booked, I do prefer the Regent (newer ones as from what I’ve heard would not sail on the older ones) ships and dining options. Seabourn wins in a lot of other areas, no forward facing open deck on Regent, lack on interaction on Regent with officers even the CD never spoke to us, Earth & Ocean is a nice outside dining option for dinner, although Setti Mari has outside dining. Regent has MANY more tables in the shade for dining outside at their pool grill than Seabourn does for the Patio Grill and offers a menu with multiple sandwiches at lunch in addition to a buffet and standard burgers / dogs, etc. plus they have sweet potato fries. Seabourn pizza (from someone who makes their own pizza) is much better… Seabourn definitely has more outside events, on our recent 17 day cruise we had one sail away party and one night time outside event, friends currently on Seabourn had 2 sail away parties in 3 nights. Theater layout on Regent is much better as is the entertainment. Seabourn Colonnade venue has more choices at lunch than the Regent Veranda restaurant. No always available caviar on Regent nor events where they focus on caviar. No last night epicurean equal on Regent. On port days always one of the specialty restaurants are open for lunch for sit down service and on sea days 2 are open, unlike on Seabourn when maybe the MDR will be open for lunch from just an hour.

We have sailed on Seabourn 20 times, but in the last year only once but 3 times on Regent. Both are very good, some things much better on Regent others better on Seabourn.

Plenty of tables for 2, might be for 4 but they will seat just the 2 of you. You really want to experience all the other restaurants the "main" dining room while fine is my least favorite (chef's table but you cannot book that by invite only is my favorite), the sushi @ Kokos, night market and Lumiere are what we prefer. (And if Captain Rado is on then a private dinner w/ him)

At some point in time you will be directed, once you have a booking, to log in their not very good web site and pick from the available tours (and provide info on pre-post & post air arrangements and emergency contact info). But as far as I know you cannot see them unless you have a reservation.

My wife got some in Funchal. Also available in Canada.

Look forward to your perspective having sailed 3 times on Eclipse 1 and 2

We know quite a few people now who use sturgeon and none have told us about nor apparently suffered the "nasty side effects" care to elaborate and enlighten us Hank?