First Time Seabourn

[Grothj]

Sailing on the Quest from Ft Lauderdale on Jan 6 to Sydney. Our documents tell us there will be 5 formal optional nights. Is there any guideline as to how many elegant casual vs resort casual we can expect? We like to dress up some nights. Just trying to figure out how to pack for hubby. I know we can eat in alternate dining areas on elegant casual nights but he doesn't mind wearing a jacket - if he can get by without tie. Ties are "formal" for him. So on a 40 night cruise, with 5 formal optional, what is the guess for the number of elegant casual evenings?

 

Any other hints for first time Seaborn cruisers? We have sailed extensively on Regent.

[jam52]

I only wear ties on formal optional nights.

[Roxburgh]

You do not need a tie on elegant casual or resort casual evenings.

[Techno123]

On our seven nighter there was one formal and then 50/50 for the other two. Hubby wore a jacket with open necked shirt and that seemed to be perfectly acceptable.

[Mr Luxury]

On our seven nighter there was one formal and then 50/50 for the other two. Hubby wore a jacket with open necked shirt and that seemed to be perfectly acceptable.

 

The OP is asking for answers about a forty night trip :)

 

A seven day trip is a different matter.

[Grothj]

I guess I didn't phrase my question very well. We know that a tie is required for formal optional. And that a jacket is required for elegant casual. What I was trying to figure out was how many shirts I needed to pack for elegant casual for the first leg of the World Cruise or 40 days. I thought maybe it would be a different mix than a regular 7 day cruse.

 

I know some of the shirts can be used with ties as well. He loves the tropical shirts that will work for resort casual but don't look great with jackets.

 

Hope that helps with what my question is?

 

Thanks

[Bostonactor]

We took 14 day cruise in Med in May on Odyssey, but I packed about 6-7 dress shirts for my husband, to be worn with a jacket and or without a tie. The reason: the ship has an excellent laundry and we had plenty of on-board credit as I imagine you will have. Shirts were washed, ironed and hung in our closet the next day. He brought a fine, dark dress suit for formal/optional nights and 2 elegant shirts to go with that, but one would have been enough for the same reason. We went home with shirts ready to be hang in our closet and very little laundry. I recommend packing less.

[Roxburgh]

We took 14 day cruise in Med in May on Odyssey, but I packed about 6-7 dress shirts for my husband, to be worn with a jacket and or without a tie. The reason: the ship has an excellent laundry and we had plenty of on-board credit as I imagine you will have. Shirts were washed, ironed and hung in our closet the next day. He brought a fine, dark dress suit for formal/optional nights and 2 elegant shirts to go with that, but one would have been enough for the same reason. We went home with shirts ready to be hang in our closet and very little laundry. I recommend packing less.

 

I agree. On our last cruise we took one medium sized suitcase (20kg, 44lbs) each and had plenty of clothes. I think I took just 5 dress shirts.

 

The laundry is your friend :D

[Flamin_June]

In my experience the elegant casual outnumber resort casual by a significant number. 14 days on the Legend last December, 2 were Formal, 9 were Elegant Casual, and three were resort casual. We were in the tropics and I thought there were just too many nights requiring a jacket. I took about eight long sleeved shirts, two dress shirts and about eight Polo, or short sleeved shirts.

 

If I was doing 40 nights I might pack a few more long sleeved and short sleeved, and think about buying a shirt/tropical shirt here and there when at port. The laundry service is good, if a little pricey, but as someone else said you should have a bit of OBC to take care of that.

[Roxburgh]

In my experience the elegant casual outnumber resort casual by a significant number. 14 days on the Legend last December, 2 were Formal, 9 were Elegant Casual, and three were resort casual. We were in the tropics and I thought there were just too many nights requiring a jacket. I took about eight long sleeved shirts, two dress shirts and about eight Polo, or short sleeved shirts.

 

If I was doing 40 nights I might pack a few more long sleeved and short sleeved, and think about buying a shirt/tropical shirt here and there when at port. The laundry service is good, if a little pricey, but as someone else said you should have a bit of OBC to take care of that.

 

When you are dropping $16k on a 14 day cruise, $50 for a bag of laundry is not outrageous.

[Mr Luxury]

When you are dropping $16k on a 14 day cruise, $50 for a bag of laundry is not outrageous.

 

I think the laundry prices are very reasonable.

[stamfordian]

Any other hints for first time Seaborn cruisers? We have sailed extensively on Regent.

 

Have you picked up some On Board Credit from your travel agent which helps to pay for laundry? If not email me at grumpy(dot)old(dot)man(at)btinternet.com and I will share some good news ...

[wripro]

Not only are the laundry prices extremely reasonable, they do a great job.

[Flamin_June]

The Laundry prices are not outrageous, - I never said that. It may be that we are just a pair of paupers, but we did find that the laundering cost per item of certain garments in our possession was more than the thing cost in the first place.

 

To be expected if you shop at Primark, I s'pose. My DW likes clean clothes so we sent out laundry every few days and used up most of our $400 obc on washing.

[jozi]

The Laundry prices are not outrageous, - I never said that. It may be that we are just a pair of paupers, but we did find that the laundering cost per item of certain garments in our possession was more than the thing cost in the first place.

 

To be expected if you shop at Primark, I s'pose. My DW likes clean clothes so we sent out laundry every few days and used up most of our $400 obc on washing.

 

The $50/bag deal was great. They elegantly wrapped the socks and smalls in a lined wicker basket and hung up the shirts. Hard to go back to Rubbermaid laundry baskets. We got a lot of items squinched in the bag, so it netted out as quite reasonable.

[Grothj]

Thanks for all the info. We usually do use laundry facilities when cruising and are glad to hear about the $50 bag. Looking forward to trying Seabourn on the Quest.

[worldtraveler560]

Thanks for all the info. We usually do use laundry facilities when cruising and are glad to hear about the $50 bag. Looking forward to trying Seabourn on the Quest.

 

Seabourn ships today are very much more flexible than they used to be. Even on formal nights most men don't take a tux. All other nights anything goes. No one is going to ask you to leave. Wear what you like and be comfortable. As long as you are neat and clean and not jeans, anything else will do. I have cruised with Seabourn more than 3 times and they are fabulous. All the staff are great about remembering your name unlike any other ships that I have been on.

[Buccaneer_1]

[Even on formal nights most men don't take a tux. All other nights anything goes.]

 

Well we've done 11 Seabourn cuises from 7 to 21 nights on 5 of the ships and my estimate is that on formal nights at least 60 to 75% attend the MDR and of those 40 to 60%, depending on length of cruise and where you are, wear a formal dinner suit. Everything doesn't go and jackets are strongly urged if not always policed on elegant casual nights. Fine though if you want to stand out - wear what you like and be talked about. There's a very long thread on this topic at the start of the Seabourn boards for a variety of alternate views.

 

And by the way you really can stuff a lot into those laundry bags but as we now get mostly free laundry it isn't a big thing anymore.

[purpleally]

Seabourn ships today are very much more flexible than they used to be. Even on formal nights most men don't take a tux. All other nights anything goes. No one is going to ask you to leave. Wear what you like and be comfortable. As long as you are neat and clean and not jeans, anything else will do. I have cruised with Seabourn more than 3 times and they are fabulous. All the staff are great about remembering your name unlike any other ships that I have been on.

 

BUT you better wear a jacket to the dining room. My husband was turned away for not having a jacket. He went back and got it and I spent the rest of the cruise counting others in the dining room without a jacket!

[johnnycruise]

To the OP, whenever a jacket is required in the Restaurant you will have 2-3 other options for dinner (Colonnade, 2, Patio Grill, etc.) so don't sweat it. On your tropical itinerary you will surely want to dine outdoors on several evenings. Deck parties are fun, but enjoying a quiet evening under the stars is even better.

 

As to the laundry pricing, Seabourn charges a premium ($50 a bag). Parent company HAL only charges about half that amount for an identical service. Since many don't seem to mind the inflated price, Seabourn will continue to charge it. I note my disapproval on the comment card, but it's becoming less of an issue with the increasing club benefits for included laundry.

 

Unfortunately, I don't see the laundry prices decreasing - with OBC given out like candy, Seabourn must get them back as quickly as possible if the guests are to spend cash money on board. Laundry is the only guanarteed way to separate a guest from his OBC. Not all guests insist on finer wine, some have never set foot in the spa and still others don't like organized shore excursions. However, everyone will need clean clothes after a week or two.

[conchyjoe]

The Laundry prices are not outrageous, - I never said that. It may be that we are just a pair of paupers, but we did find that the laundering cost per item of certain garments in our possession was more than the thing cost in the first place.

 

To be expected if you shop at Primark, I s'pose. My DW likes clean clothes so we sent out laundry every few days and used up most of our $400 obc on washing.

 

On our recent cruise on the Quest we netted out at $200 per week for laundry too. The question of the cost of laundry versus the items price is a good one. When I was doing regular business trips to London and staying in a hotel, I found it at least 50% cheaper to simply pop into M&S early in the trip and buy some underwear and simply throw it out, rather than sending it to the laundry.

Sad but true.

[conchyjoe]

I guess I didn't phrase my question very well. We know that a tie is required for formal optional. And that a jacket is required for elegant casual. What I was trying to figure out was how many shirts I needed to pack for elegant casual for the first leg of the World Cruise or 40 days. I thought maybe it would be a different mix than a regular 7 day cruse.

 

I know some of the shirts can be used with ties as well. He loves the tropical shirts that will work for resort casual but don't look great with jackets.

 

Hope that helps with what my question is?

 

Thanks

 

It's a tropical cruise so my load out would be 5 long sleeve that can be worn with a tie if necessary and 6 short sleeve.