dalliowner Posted August 26, 2023 #1 Share Posted August 26, 2023 We have just booked the Venture for next year, what are the main differences we will find after sailing in the larger ships. I am hoping it will remind me of the Spirit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bspill Posted August 26, 2023 #2 Share Posted August 26, 2023 A totally different experience. Entertainment consists of a daily briefings every afternoon. No Thomas Keller. Lectures are all about local issues such as wildlife and scenic experiences. In most cases, daily expeditions on zodiacs, our present voyage to Greenland included several wet landings ( boots provided). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dalliowner Posted August 26, 2023 Author #3 Share Posted August 26, 2023 It is not an expedition cruise going from St Johns Newfoundland to Barbados with lots of sea days ( we like them ) so Iwonder if there will be some entertainment and quiz compo. , I am not worried about Thomas Keller having done that many times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare markandjie Posted August 26, 2023 #4 Share Posted August 26, 2023 1 hour ago, dalliowner said: Iwonder if there will be some entertainment and quiz compo Our Iceland/Greenland itinerary had a strong quiz competition scene with lots of prizes. For entertainment we had three itinerary-relevant guests: the ship's godmother, a NASA astronaut who has done both space and undersea missions, and a European Space Agency doctor who over-wintered in Antarctica. They were interesting, but not entertaining in a singing and dancing sort of way. 😉 The MDR is spacious and we felt the meals were excellent. Sushi in the club is outstanding, just perhaps skip it the first day or 2 when it gets slammed. Love the vibe of the small ship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanJimmy Posted August 28, 2023 #5 Share Posted August 28, 2023 On 8/26/2023 at 6:13 PM, dalliowner said: We have just booked the Venture for next year, what are the main differences we will find after sailing in the larger ships. I am hoping it will remind me of the Spirit. One of the major differences is that it's much cozier and more intimate as the number of people on board can be around 200 or sometimes even less. There is almost a 1-to-1 ratio between the passengers and the cruise staff onboard, which is great as you get more attention. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Luxury Posted August 28, 2023 #6 Share Posted August 28, 2023 44 minutes ago, DanJimmy said: One of the major differences is that it's much cozier and more intimate as the number of people on board can be around 200 or sometimes even less. There is almost a 1-to-1 ratio between the passengers and the cruise staff onboard, which is great as you get more attention. The service on Pursuit is noticeably improved on the regular ships. Had a look at lunch in the Colonnade today. Selection good and food from a local Spanish Market as we are in Majorca today. Excellent cheese and charcuterie 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Techno123 Posted August 28, 2023 #7 Share Posted August 28, 2023 @Mr Luxury how is the weather today? Nasty accident with the P&O ship yesterday during the storm they had, hopefully it has all calmed down now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanJimmy Posted August 28, 2023 #8 Share Posted August 28, 2023 50 minutes ago, Mr Luxury said: The service on Pursuit is noticeably improved on the regular ships. Had a look at lunch in the Colonnade today. Selection good and food from a local Spanish Market as we are in Majorca today. Excellent cheese and charcuterie I am glad to hear that. Hopefully, Seabourn will keep up with their improved services in all the ships moving forward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Luxury Posted August 28, 2023 #9 Share Posted August 28, 2023 4 hours ago, Techno123 said: @Mr Luxury how is the weather today? Nasty accident with the P&O ship yesterday during the storm they had, hopefully it has all calmed down now. Weather is great today. We were berthed near to the Brittania. Just left on way to Alicante now 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khareef Posted August 28, 2023 #10 Share Posted August 28, 2023 I talked to a lot of crew members, they all seem very happy to be on the Venture, less people and people with a different attitude make their life much easier, there is a nice more relaxed vibe at lunch and even dinner. I think the average guest age might also be a bit younger. The only problem I see so far is that they are still not a full expedition ships, they are in a limbo as they probably think their demographic is still too old and traditional for more adventurous activities. So the daily schedule or the activities are a bit too soft for my liking. While I love the ship everything felt a bit too easy and I spent way too much time on board, I was hoping for more time inland exploring and hiking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Covepointcruiser Posted August 28, 2023 #11 Share Posted August 28, 2023 We were on the Venture last year for 14 days to Greenland. The hiking activities were definitely not soft. Four hour hike at one village, up a very Rocky Mountain. In Nuuk they offered a seven hour hike and quite a few took the hikes. We are talking about non groomed trails. Guess you didn’t go to Greenland. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khareef Posted August 29, 2023 #12 Share Posted August 29, 2023 10 hours ago, Covepointcruiser said: We were on the Venture last year for 14 days to Greenland. The hiking activities were definitely not soft. Four hour hike at one village, up a very Rocky Mountain. In Nuuk they offered a seven hour hike and quite a few took the hikes. We are talking about non groomed trails. Guess you didn’t go to Greenland. just came back from greenland -) i did go to all those mentioned hikes and i found out that in reality a 5 hours hike was really a 2 hours hike (7 km was our longest in Nuuk i think). I was talking to a lot of the expedition guys and they said they would love a push more the expedition part and have more challenging activities but they feel the guests are not ready yet although they are noticing that the guests age on the expedition ships is now a bit younger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobar Posted August 29, 2023 #13 Share Posted August 29, 2023 (edited) Upcoming Antarctica cruise on Venture has white water rafting on Petrohue, being marketed as Class III-IV, and hopefully more IV than III. Even came with warnings that you must be able to handle it and that the leader will assess fitness and you might be turnedaway Hopefully that is a sign of more diverse excursions to come. Up to now, have found those marketed as “strenuous” have not been except for the occasional outlier (one in particular was an off-road bike ride that was at least an intermediate trail). Most excursions can only go as fast as the slowest in the group, although there are those that let one go at their own pace, as I found on a hike in Iceland a couple of weeks ago, or there is more than one guide that can split the group into different levels, but those excursions are rare. Edited August 29, 2023 by Hobar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khareef Posted August 29, 2023 #14 Share Posted August 29, 2023 21 minutes ago, Hobar said: Upcoming Antarctica cruise on Venture has white water rafting on Petrohue, being marketed as Class III-IV, and hopefully more IV than III. Even came with warnings that you must be able to handle it and that the leader will assess fitness and you might turn some away Hopefully that is a sign of more diverse excursions to come. Up to now, have found those marketed as “strenuous” have not been except for the occasional outlier (one in particular was an off-road bike ride that was at least an intermediate trail). Most excursions can only go as fast as the slowest in the group, although there are those that let one go at their own pace (as I found on a hike in Iceland a couple of weeks ago) or there is more than one guide that can split the group into different levels, but those excursions are rare. Rafting in Antartica sounds awesome, they didn't offer that when we went down there!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare highplanesdrifters Posted August 29, 2023 #15 Share Posted August 29, 2023 2 hours ago, Khareef said: Rafting in Antartica sounds awesome, they didn't offer that when we went down there!!! Petrohue is in Chile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Covepointcruiser Posted August 29, 2023 #16 Share Posted August 29, 2023 The hike in Nuuk took the entire day! It was also cold and rainy. The shorter hike up the mountain, rocky and slippery was in Kitaa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobar Posted August 29, 2023 #17 Share Posted August 29, 2023 8 hours ago, Khareef said: Rafting in Antartica sounds awesome, they didn't offer that when we went down there!!! Yeah, SB didn't offer on S. America cruise I was on a few years ago that also stopped in Puerto Montt where we pick up the excursion. Hoping this is a sign of more ambitious excursions. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobar Posted August 30, 2023 #18 Share Posted August 30, 2023 12 hours ago, highplanesdrifters said: Petrohue is in Chile. Yes ir is, and most Antartica destinations include Chile. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Luxury Posted August 30, 2023 #19 Share Posted August 30, 2023 Just FYI Breakfast in the Restaurant this morning were six guests Lunch today in the restaurant there were eighteen guests. It's not surprising that they close the restaurant especially when in port. Today is a sea day on Pursuit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khareef Posted August 30, 2023 #20 Share Posted August 30, 2023 7 minutes ago, Mr Luxury said: Just FYI Breakfast in the Restaurant this morning were six guests Lunch today in the restaurant there were eighteen guests. It's not surprising that they close the restaurant especially when in port. Today is a sea day on Pursuit. How is the restaurant at lunch time? I heard a few guests saying it wasn't worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Luxury Posted August 30, 2023 #21 Share Posted August 30, 2023 6 minutes ago, Khareef said: How is the restaurant at lunch time? I heard a few guests saying it wasn't worth it. I didn't eat but the selection looked fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLSD Posted August 30, 2023 #22 Share Posted August 30, 2023 (edited) 49 minutes ago, Khareef said: How is the restaurant at lunch time? I heard a few guests saying it wasn't worth it. We really like the restaurant at lunch and have had consistently great food there at lunch. I think many would enjoy it. It is not at all like "feeding at the trough" as one of our Seabourn friends calls the buffet in the Colonnade. One of my favoirte dishes was a Mongolian beef stir fry. There is always shrimp cocktail, good salads, different entrees and desserts. Lunch in the restaurant is part of what makes our SB cruises a luxury experience. For us, it is very much worth it. Everyone is different. On our June Ovation cruise, both breakfast and lunch were well attended in the Restaurant. Edited August 30, 2023 by SLSD 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khareef Posted August 30, 2023 #23 Share Posted August 30, 2023 1 hour ago, SLSD said: We really like the restaurant at lunch and have had consistently great food there at lunch. I think many would enjoy it. It is not at all like "feeding at the trough" as one of our Seabourn friends calls the buffet in the Colonnade. One of my favoirte dishes was a Mongolian beef stir fry. There is always shrimp cocktail, good salads, different entrees and desserts. Lunch in the restaurant is part of what makes our SB cruises a luxury experience. For us, it is very much worth it. Everyone is different. On our June Ovation cruise, both breakfast and lunch were well attended in the Restaurant. My guess is that on the expedition cruises things are a bit different since most of the time there are expeditions at lunch time and there is hardly anyone in the restaurant. Actually when we were in Antartica the restaurant was always closed at lunch. In Greenland it was open but hardly anyone attended it and there were very limited food choice which might explain the negative reviews from the guests. In any case it is a nice option to have if you get tired of the Colonnade. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobar Posted September 4, 2023 #24 Share Posted September 4, 2023 (edited) @SLSD Likening to farm animals those who enjoy a casual buffet rather than a long lunch being doted upon is not kind, and judging others is an awful trait that permeates so many posts. Edited September 4, 2023 by Hobar 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skybluewaters Posted September 4, 2023 #25 Share Posted September 4, 2023 1 hour ago, Hobar said: @SLSD Likening to farm animals those who enjoy a casual buffet rather than a long lunch being doted upon is not kind, and judging others is an awful trait that permeates so many posts. Perfectly said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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