Fitting in with Seabourn

[sofa.king]

We've sailed all the mainstream lines like NCL, Royal, Carnival, Princess, Holland.  Two adults and two kids 11 and 13.

We're not into dressing up and the kids are decently well behaved.  How much more upscale is Oceania, Regent, Azamara, Seabourn and the other luxury lines.  Would we be eye-sores as passengers?  Should we even care about what other think?  We prefer a more laid back vacation, but some of the itineraries on these luxury lines are very enticing, especially for my teen.

Edited April 2 by sofa.king

[gflo]

I heartily recommend expedition cruises.  Seabourn is our favorite.   Your children won't be bored & I know they will get a warm welcome!

[frantic36]

Seabourn's dress code has become more relaxed but they still don't allow shorts or ripped jeans in the MDR or even Colonnade at dinner. So if that is what you mean by not dressing up you would be confined to Patio Grill, which is very popular, or in room dining. Also meals can take awhile in the MDR due to most people wanting a less hurried experience.

 

The pool areas are quite small so not suitable for playing any pool games and definitely jumping into the pool and splashing others is not appreciated. 

 

I do see children on Seabourn during the Summer break but not many and so if you and your children can accept there are no activities for children and be mindful of others it might work.

[sofa.king]

Thanks @gflo and @frantic36  I think we’ll be sailing X instead this year but appreciate the insight and thoughts. 

[frantic36]

1 hour ago, sofa.king said:

Thanks @gflo and @frantic36  I think we’ll be sailing X instead this year but appreciate the insight and thoughts. 

 

Enjoy your cruise. 

[robertmartha]

sofa.king - great option. Its been quite a few years since we were in a similar situation with teens...which is when we switched to X (great options for all). Luckily my teens are now adults with SO's and we sailed last year on Seabourn with all of them - they are all in their late twenties and joked with us that they were among the "youngest" passengers on our sailing BUT they absolutely loved the experience - hey what's not to luv on a Seabourn sailing!

[stan01]

Seabourn has no facilities for kids, but that said if your kids self-entertain with you and maybe their electronics then its fine.

 

As far as clothing goes, nothing fancy is needed.  Button down shirt with sport coat is fine for father and son at dinner on formal night.  If that's too fancy then I'd recommend a different line.  If a teenage boy is in a sport coat he'll get lots of compliments from the other passengers on how handsome/dapper he looks and similar for teen daughter.  If teen boy is in a tux he'll be the talk of the ship.  If your kids can carry on adult conversations with people the age of their grandparents they'll be adored.

 

Kids running in hallways, yelling and splashing at the pool, and making a mess at buffet and in restaurants will annoy other passengers.  Parents and grandparents go on Seabourn to relax and escape if there regular lives are that way.  If your kids act as adults and don't do that then they will be fine.

Edited April 3 by stan01

[FizookKaka]

RE: but they still don't allow shorts or ripped jeans in the MDR or even Colonnade at dinner.

 

We were on Sojourn recently and saw many instances of people having dinner in Colonnade wearing shorts.

[jjs217]

48 minutes ago, FizookKaka said:

RE: but they still don't allow shorts or ripped jeans in the MDR or even Colonnade at dinner.

 

We were on Sojourn recently and saw many instances of people having dinner in Colonnade wearing shorts.

That's because the Maitre d' wasn't enforcing the dress code.  Some others do.

[jjs217]

14 hours ago, gflo said:

I heartily recommend expedition cruises.  Seabourn is our favorite.   Your children won't be bored & I know they will get a warm welcome!

My husband and I were on the Venture for a holiday expedition in Antarctica in 2022.  There were only 5 kids on board (all very well behaved) ranging in age from 9 to 16.  I specifically asked each what they thought of the cruise as I was interested on behalf of my niece and her son.  All of them said they loved going ashore and the zodiac rides, and kayaking (for those who could) and the submarine.  However, all of them also said, when they were not actually doing those things they were bored to tears.  There just isn't anything for them to do.  They weren't old enough or interested enough to enjoy the talks.  Just something to consider.

[commodoredave]

We would never take our grandkids on a luxury cruise ship. Most have limited activities for kids, have a more subdued atmosphere, and don’t have many other kids aboard. Plus, why pay more for less from the kids’ perspective. We do, however, take multi-generational cruises on NCL and Celebrity. In fact, our next one is in January aboard NCL. The kids love it.