2SailingNomads

We sailed Regent once on the Splendor and as a result of an excellent experience have multiple cruises booked. Looking forward to the new Grandeur in December. There are many very good things about Seabourn - why we have sailed 20 cruises with them and have several more booked. One of the best things about Seabourn are your fellow passengers, easy to meet people. We have friends going back to our second Seabourn cruise we keep in touch with and several couples we coordinate cruises with. The crew is another big plus, although have had great crew on Regent, Scenic and Crystal.

Love Stefan definitely one of the best and also know him well.

Regent new ships are amazing in so many ways: design, restaurants, space, walking track, bars, service, etc. Yes bigger than E class Seabourn ships but bigger spaces. Service was excellent never a fail which is why we have multiple future Regent cruises booked.

Sailed on former Crystal River and it was great. Due to low water issues and changed itinerary got a big credit and used it for an ocean Crystal cruise. Lots of good especially food but also lots of bad and would never go back. Seabourn is much better in so many ways. Never Sailed on SS but other posts on the board have references.

To me and other long time Seabourn loyalists (Markham, Mr. L, frantic, etc.) go back to when smoking was allowed in the Obs bar due to a certain lady who had well over 2500 nights sailing and smoked. When Mrs. W no longer could sail the policy became what the rest of us wanted. But I doubt these entitled dog owners have anywhere near those days and even if they do clearly this is offensive to everyone. Let's see if the new management cares about 1 or all the rest of the clients. I suggest we all send snail mail letters to Nataly about this. As multiple people on this board have said, including me, there are lots of competitors for your $$$$. Vote with your bookings to try a line without a catering to an entitled person and their dog.

Yes

Absolutely will!

Thanks we are going the opposite direction from Paris. A few days ago were offered an upgrade to business class which we accepted. Hopefully it is worth the price. Never received a formal confirmation after paying for it but shows in the Ponant app. 11 days to go!!!

TAs bring substantial millions of dollars to cruise lines every year. How much free marketing does Seabourn get from various travel agencies? Cutting them out would be a major mistake. Although we plan every cruise our - multiple - TAs can offer insight, especially when trying a new line. Can also monitor price changes, wait on a phone queue to get a question answered or issue resolved. Airline model sucks, as a million plus miler on a US airline I have had so many bad experiences with the airline customer service (a joke when ticketed incorrectly after a 30 minute discussion after waiting 20 minutes of "thank you for calling, your call is important to us, you can go to www.blah.com ...). If I could have done it on www.blah.com I won't be in the phone queue.. if Seabourn eliminates TAs I will eliminate Seabourn.

As a rule we rarely do ship tours, that said we did 5 on the Regent cruise and 1) not at all crowded, 2) not a bus ride to somewhere - with the exception of the pre-tea at Reids in Funchal but to a part of the island we had never been to before in 7 or so stops and 3) usually depending on port from 6-12 options plus small groups for an upcharge. We decline the airfare although can attempt to negotiate your preferred itinerary and airline. If it comes to price as the deciding factor then Seabourn almost always will win vs. Regent or SS. And so unless Seabourn is convinced to always have the MDR open for all meals on every cruise it will have to be accepted that you are getting what you are paying for, even if not our expectations for the Seabourn experience that is being sold. Other options like Scenic and Atlas have offered great deals - why we have 2 Scenic sailings this year - can be appealing depending on itineraries. Unfortunately Seabourn does not offer anything truly unique. Glad to see the Northwest passage but other ships are also doing it. In 11 days we will be joining a cruise no other passenger ship can offer, paying a premium for a unique experience. Seabourn Caribbean / Mediterranean etc. cruises are similar to every other line. Lots of competition in Artic and Antarctica for all the expedition ships. How about a circumnavigation of Australia for a unique itinerary? We have not sailed with Atlas so can't comment. Scenic does include some tours in selected ports in the fare.

Agree Loula is very good. When were you on, we embarked on July 9th and were on for 21 days

Don't believe TK is on either of them.

Of course if in a port with interesting restaurants will have lunch there. The point of traveling to some place, try the local cuisine.

This is why some choose other cruise lines. Regent has multiple sit down for lunch waiter served venues. We much prefer lunch at the MDR unless it is the German one at the Colonade, Flueshoppen. But unfortunately Seabourn doesn't always open the MDR for lunch.

Yes your history is correct and as I said a few days ago on the O class ships the bar is "for show" no seats nor service if you wander in, bartender is just for people dining at the small former R2 now TK Grill.

Very intriguing but bring your Amex platinum card....and 401K

Thanks, would enjoy meeting you! Question for you, and maybe it is in one of your earliest posts, typing on my phone now, I assume you had a Ponant arranged flight to or from Paris to / from the ship. If so how was it? And did you get an offer for biz class?

I like the Explora itineraries but as they add ships I am sure they will have repeated itineraries. That is the disadvantage of a line with more than a couple of ships, unfortunately.

Any one on-board can go there.

Repetition and 7-day cruises is what has us looking elsewhere. 7-day Alaska cruises? Non-starter. While we didn't drink the Crystal kool-aid, we did like that the ships did not repeat for several months the same itineraries. Seems like new owners appreciate that. So does Explora which I am so looking forward to trying next year. Someone at Seabourn should recognize that beyond the "world cruise" that is too many days, different itineraries for 25-30 days in the summer or winter that don't repeat ports and are not a bunch of 7 or 10 day cruises combined would have appeal to some of us. Or we can vote with our wallets.

TK on Encore or Ovation is a much better experience. You cannot sit at the bar on the O-class ships.

Yes if you are spending $$$$ for a named suite you can dine anywhere. We knew a couple in one of those who asked us where we wanted to dine with them and magically got into it last minute. But those suites are beyond my price point but good to have friends....

We got about $39, don't have the statement nor desire to find it, in front of me refunded.

Only time we got Covid was on the way home from our first pre-pandemic cruise - last March on the Ovation. Many sick people on the ship including some of our favorite Seabourn pax we have sailed with many times who were in isolation after meeting up with them, on the flight home - day we disembarked - an hour before landing I started not feeling well, thought it could be from the dry air in the plane but next day tested positive. A day later my wife tested positive. So... while we all love cruising expect you might not come home well or be in isolation on the ship. Get all the boosters you can.

We ate outside multiple times in Antarctica on the Quest both for lunch and at E&O but on the last cruise it was cold and as @SLSD said no heaters, although at the Colonade outside they do have heaters.