Considering Quest for first Seabourn cruise, have questions

[poinsettiaplate]

I am considering a 20-day cruise from Tokyo to Vancouver combined with 14 days RT Vancouver on Quest.  I have never been on Seabourn and don't have a feel for its culture as opposed to Oceania, Azamara and SilverSea, on which I have travelled.  I have used the search engine to look at what others have written in the last couple of years and still have a few questions:

1.  Quest is fairly small.  Will 34 days be too long?  Especially with a large number of sea days?

2.  Am I correct that Quest only has two dinner venues -- MDR and Solis?  Is this enough variety for a long cruise?

3.  Is the Quest considered an 'expedition' ship with more rubber raft or strenuous type excursions?

4.  Other solo travellers -- have you found the solo traveller events to be fun and interesting?  Are they hosted?  What about other ship-wide events such as Captain's or Officer's cocktail parties or socials?

5.  Has anyone had their laundry comped if they were on a longer cruise?

 

Thanks for any help.

[johng75370]

16 hours ago, poinsettiaplate said:

1.  Quest is fairly small.  Will 34 days be too long?  Especially with a large number of sea days?

2.  Am I correct that Quest only has two dinner venues -- MDR and Solis?  Is this enough variety for a long cruise?

3.  Is the Quest considered an 'expedition' ship with more rubber raft or strenuous type excursions?

4.  Other solo travellers -- have you found the solo traveller events to be fun and interesting?  Are they hosted?  What about other ship-wide events such as Captain's or Officer's cocktail parties or socials?

5.  Has anyone had their laundry comped if they were on a longer cruise?

 

1.  I wouldn't see a problem in general being on Quest for 34 days, but the specific itinerary you are looking at is effectively 3 weeks in Alaska, with some ports visited twice and the last two weeks being sold as 7 day sailings (meaning some events on board will repeat, as @whogo is currently reporting from Odyssey).  To me that would get boring unlike a 34 day voyage that stops in different places.  

2.  Quest has 4 dinner venues; MDR, The Colonnade, Earth & Ocean (outdoor by the pool), and Solis.  Sushi in the Club also acts as a light dinner option.  

3.  I think Quest has a reinforced hull that allows it to do more expedition-type voyages (e.g. Antarctica), but otherwise is designed as a cruise ship like the other non-expedition ships (Sojourn, Encore, Ovation).  It has zodiacs for some excursions, but also has options for more sheltered/less strenuous excursions.  Was recently on Odyssey in Alaska and enjoyed the catamaran excursion to the glaciers.  

4.  Seabourn tends to be quite social, and they make an effort with solo travelers.  Have only sailed solo once, but did get invites for hosted tables at dinner, and found activities like trivia to be a good way to socialize in addition to general social events onboard like the Captains Welcome.  

5.  Have not seen comp'd laundry for long voyages, but I believe they do for World Cruises.  

 

Hope that helps; best wishes in giving Seabourn a try!

 

[poinsettiaplate]

Hello JohnG:  Thanks for the info.  I see your point about the seven day repeats.  Helps with my decision making.

[Daisy617]

I’ve been solo on two Seabourn voyages solo, including an Alaska voyage this season. Some thoughts:

 

* On the first evening, you’ll be invited to a hosted cocktail hour and dinner with other solo travelers.  One will typically receive invitations for hosted tables for dinner, which you can accept or decline as you wish.  Those are the only solo-specific scheduled activities.  On the Alaska sailing, the assistant cruise director hosted a second dinner each week, but that was her own initiative.  I’m not a big drinker, so I skipped several of the toasts and cocktail parties.  Trivia and excursions seem to be the best ways to interact with other guests.

 

* I think it’s easier as a solo on a longer voyage with the same population of guests vs. one (i.e., Alaska) that is also sold as two separate 7-day voyages, as the previous commenter noted.  The guest turnover for the second week was 50%.  My other voyage was Antarctica, and I felt it was a more social experience.

 

* Lastly, there weren’t many solos on my Alaska voyage.  There were four of us for the first week, and five of us for the second week.  There was only one other solo on for all 14 days.  I don’t know if that’s typical or not for Alaska, but it did seem there were more families and groups on my sailing.

 

 

[1985rz1]

On 7/24/2024 at 12:42 PM, poinsettiaplate said:

Hello JohnG:  Thanks for the info.  I see your point about the seven day repeats.  Helps with my decision making.

Look carefully at the 2×7 day voyage ports.  We booked a 14 day (2×7)  vancouver to Vancouver cruise  in 2025 that only repeats Glacier Bay.  So it really depends on the specific itineraries

[whogo]

johng75370 mentioned my live blog, it was the exact same 14 day (2X7 day) itinerary you are contemplating on Quest's sister ship Odyssey: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/3018220-whogo-live-from-odyssey-14-nights-alaska-july-12-2024/?do=getNewComment

I consider Quest to be an expedition ship "lite", with stabilizers and all the luxury trappings. Zodiac tours were serene in Alaska, we had wet landings in Antarctica where we waded to shore through ankle deep water. Windy weather could have made them much more exciting. I have not kayaked with Seabourn. Zodiac and Kayak excursions were in the $300 range as was the catamaran tour of Hubbard Glacier.

 

The winning excursion on my cruise was Khutzeymateen Grizzly Bear Watch, $510, 7.5 hours. Participants did see grizzlies (bring binoculars) and they lucked into great humpback whale viewing with bubble feeding. There is no guaranty of wildlife sightings on any of the excursions and no promises on weather. I did not talk to anyone who took any of the more strenuous hikes.

 

Tell the dining room host, if you want to be invited to a hosted table or to share a table.