Final thoughts: Live on Odyssey: Vancouver to Alaska

[Pirouette]

I thought I would do a separate and final summary apart from my live report. I you want more details, check my earlier thread.

 

By way of overview, this was a very good cruise. We could not have done a comparable 11 night stay- cation  in our home port of Vancouver at the price point that we paid for this cruise. This was a “no brainer” in terms of convenience and relaxation: a 15 minute drive to the port, seamless embarkation and off we went.

 

Because we did not have the restrictions of air travel, we brought way too many clothes. I had purchased a warm waterproof shell, only to find that Seabourn provides one for all passengers.  Weather is unpredictable and it is always nice to have options. My packable down jacket was indispensable on zodiac excursions, as was a wool toque and socks. We wore lightweight waterproof hiking boots in the zodiac and for simple hiking. In most ports, sneakers were fine. We did a lot of walking- whatever the footwear, make sure it is comfortable. 
 

We wore fleece and our Seabourn jackets to eat outdoors on the ship. It was never really cold, but the jackets cut the wind. I also brought long-sleeved light merino wool sweaters, but I should have brought cashmere for excursions and deck activities: it is warmer. 
 

We always make a point of dressing for dinner. Most people made an effort to look elegantly casual. Many men wore jackets ay dinner without ties, or nice dress shirts. Only one or two people wore suits on formal night. There was no pressure to do so. 
 

Except for the odd wildlife or excursion presentation, we did not find the lecture topics particularly compelling. Regent had much more interesting offerings: history and architecture during our last cruise with them.

 

The excursion team was fantastic. There was a problem with one of the zodiacs as noted by another cruiser on this board. We overheard that there was an issue with a motor and it was not reliable. Our experience was excellent but these matters are also very weather dependent. We were fortunate.  It did not rain during the day at all on our cruise.

 

We enjoyed the crew. They hail from around the world and at times it felt like a true United Nations with everyone working together. 
 

We found that the food on the cruise was generally good but bland. Any white fish was usually tough and under seasoned.  They never served Alaskan Black cod ( sablefish) which is surprising as it is local.  The clam chowder was a white salty liquid with no discernible clams….there were several complaints. 
 

There were also dishes that were excellent: the venison medallions, though the offering was miniscule. Food is personal, but most of the fare was very traditional and lacked spice. We prefer the food on both Regent and Oceania. In our experience, Silversea still has the best pizza  at sea. 
 

Seabourn does a wonderful high tea and daily sushi and cocktails in the Club. The champagne and caviar service is unique and unbeatable. 
 

We have no loyalty to any cruise line. We choose based on dates, itinerary and price. This time all three came together. The demographic is more mature and there is an elegance to Seabourn. We would not hesitate to cruise Seabourn again.

 

[CalmSea]

I enjoyed reading your live reports and this final summary. We did a similar cruise last year on the Odyssey. The weather was not as good, with many rainy days. As for black cod, it was a standard item on their dinner menu on the Earth and Ocean, being served about once a week. On multiple occasions on the Odyssey last year and this year, we had braced the weather, put on multiple layers, winter hats, and even winter gloves on one occasion, just to enjoy the black cod. 

[TylerRose]

We set sail on this cruise next week and I have found all your shares very useful, thanks again for investing the time to share.

[aliaschief]

Thanks for sharing your cruise experience.