RustyRollock

Beaches are likely to be quiet as it’s stinger (jellyfish) season so swimming - and snorkeling for that matter - can be risky. Basically, stay out of the water unless you’re wearing a full stinger suit. Google “irukandji” to find out why 😳

If Seabourn wants to stay in business they have to provide a product that appeals to the widest possible demographic. Those of us who enjoy formal nights, dressing for dinner, maybe a slightly more sophisticated experience compared to what is considered normal and acceptable elsewhere these days are now in a minority. Carnival rules. Sad but true.

We did notice that many of the more senior staff, restaurant managers, bar supervisors, etc were also relatively inexperienced too so staff in need of guidance and support weren’t necessarily getting it.

As I say, we’re willing to give Seabourn the benefit of the doubt during this period of post Covid adjustment, but loyal customers or not, if the “new” Seabourn simply doesn’t make the grade any more we will go elsewhere although based on our admittedly limited experiences with Regent and Silversea I’m not sure the grass will necessarily be any greener. All these companies are in the same boat (pun intended) in this brave new world.

We sailed Lisbon-Miami transatlantic on Sojourn last November immediately followed by a Caribbean cruise. We are Seabourn veterans (Diamond+) and so I can observe and comment with plenty of experience over the years.

The biggest problem was understaffing and lack of experience. I had a chat with the Hotel Director who confirmed it. Staff in all departments were sometimes spread very thin and so the standard of service did occasionally suffer. But it was never anything serious and most pax understood that it’s inevitable with post Covid cruising and the whole industry trying to get back on its feet. Transatlantics always have a different “vibe” (we love it, others don’t), ditto the Caribbean (others love it, we don’t) so apart from a few quibbles and minor annoyances we still had a great trip.

It will be interesting to see if things are getting back to some kind of normal on our forthcoming Tahiti-Vancouver next month. I’m sure the Seattle bean counters are making their presence felt behind the scenes so let’s just hope it’s not too obvious in front of them. We noticed a few comparatively minor issues (to us anyway) but nothing to stop us cruising with Seabourn again. Realistic expectations go a long way.

There were rumours last year that Seabourn was going to be acquired by a Saudi consortium but nothing has come of it. The whole Seabourn product and ethos has never been an obvious or comfortable fit for Carnival and so I wouldn’t be at all surprised if it’s sold off, either ship by ship or as the whole brand. Or it will become a much more specialised adventure/exploration brand as their current focus on that sector would seem to indicate. Whether their direct competition Regent and Silversea follow suit remains to be seen. We’ve had very good experiences with Regent and would certainly consider them again, and a couple of less good trips with Silversea. As always, itinerary is everything.

I’m not sure the post Boomer generations are particularly interested in the traditional Seabourn product anyway. Expedition style cruises seem to be the future, certainly at the luxury end of the market. That’s fine for those who want it (we do not) so I can see a time when Seabourn may no longer be an option for we old dinosaurs.

Carnival has a huge debt to make a dent in so this news shouldn’t come as a surprise. The question is whether this is a one off sale or the beginning of the end for Seabourn. Maybe the rumours swirling around the Sky Bar over the last couple of years are true. Time will tell.

Our very first Seabourn cruise many years ago was on Odyssey and it looks like our transpacific in April will be the last. Happy memories and we wish her well.

There seems to be a 2 week gap between 7 November in Rotterdam and 21 November in London. My travel agent has tried and failed to get further info from Seabourn. So it could either be a charter (eeeek) they don’t want to tell us about, or dry dock?

I wish the authorities would take such a firm proactive stance on airports where even basic screening and other precautions seem to be non existent in many cases.

Of the 21 confirmed cases on the Grand Princess, 19 are crew members. Something to think about. I assume these individuals are being quarantined on board but it must surely affect the day to day operation of the ship so I doubt it will be “business as usual” in some respects. And if more and more countries are not allowing cruise ships to even dock then the problem of reprovisioning food, water and fuel arises.

Until the media-led hysteria, fear and panic subside and we are able to make informed decisions about our future travel plans our own plan is to stay put on home soil, keep calm and carry on. And wash our hands!

Let’s remember that this rapidly evolving situation affects all cruise lines worldwide. Not only do they have to adjust/change itineraries or even cancel cruises, they have to try to position ships ready for the next cruising “season” in Alaska, Mediterranean, Caribbean, etc. It’s a logistical nightmare and I’m sure they are burning a lot of midnight oil trying to minimise the disruption to everyone involved.

Looking at the bigger picture, if the covid-19 outbreak is indeed an uncontrolled pandemic then I’d be cautious about travelling anywhere, let alone international flights and cruises.

7 minutes ago, rols said:

I think a lot of us in the region (and beyond) find this particularly hard to believe. Someone did the maths from arriving passengers over December and worked out there was only a .01% chance of fewer than 10 cases and that was a few weeks ago. It may be true that Indonesia hasn't confirmed a case yet, but if that's the case, either they have been once in a million years lucky, or they aren't really looking

Or they don’t want to look. Or maybe they have the same reporting system as North Korea which also has zero cases. Allegedly.

I can highly recommend the daily YouTube posts of Dr John Campbell, a UK MD who explains the whole covid-19 situation very clearly and in layman’s terms using reliable data.

As I say, the genie is out of the bottle and it’s only a matter of time before cases pop up in the rest of Europe, and then worldwide. Not a good time to travel anywhere unless absolutely necessary. I have anecdotal evidence from reliable sources that as things stand, in some countries cases are being significantly under-reported for various reasons or not reported at all.  ZERO cases in Indonesia? Seriously??

We are currently booked on the final sector of the world cruise, Sydney (now Auckland) to San Francisco departing 29 April. We live in Australia so the amended embarkation port is more an inconvenience than a major problem. A bigger problem is trying to predict how this whole covid-19 outbreak will spread (and it will spread, the genie is out of the bottle) so we can expect more travel restrictions and the risk of quarantine almost anywhere.  Ships (and aircraft for that matter) are basically germ/virus factories and doctors I’ve spoken to say that any international travel should probably be avoided until this current outbreak is under control. It will eventually “burn itself out” as all these things do, but it’s impossible to predict when that might be.

At the moment Seabourn is offering refund/compensation/credits so we are seriously considering our options. We also have good insurance as backup. As things stand and without a crystal ball to help us, we’re probably going to stay home and put the $$$ towards another cruise later in the year when the situation should be much clearer and I suspect there will be some fabulous deals to be snapped up as the cruise companies try to lure their customers back.

Let it go and enjoy the cruise 😁

By all means let’s have a firm but fair policy (1 hour is reasonable) applicable in all venues across the fleet, but most important of all it must be consistently enforced. This seems to be where the problem lies. Oh, and inconsiderate, selfish people who don’t believe the rules apply to them or choose to ignore them. I think if chairhogs actually saw the policy being applied they might think twice. As things stand they know they’ll probably get away with it?

It’s a depressing sign of the times I’m afraid.

Karma 😎

The whole concept of the Retreat is flawed and many people have let Seabourn know this loud and clear, so far to no avail. We’ve even been offered a “freebie” day - not sure why - but said “thanks but no thanks”. We had also seen how empty and abandoned it was on the several times we checked. It seems that most people have voted with their feet. It only remains to be seen how long Seabourn will continue to ignore them.

We’ve sailed with Chris before and he’s an excellent CD. We’re looking forward to seeing him again in Singapore. He could give Handre a run for his money - now there’s an endorsement!

We’ve sailed Silversea twice, mainly for the itinerary, and regretted it both times for all the reasons posted above. But the clincher was the rude, almost hostile attitude of our fellow pax. Yes, our trips happened to be segments of world cruises where this childish Us (whole tripper) and Them (segmenter) behaviour sometimes applies and we’ve witnessed it elsewhere, but it was much worse on Silversea to the point we were intimidated into keeping well out of the way. We found the whole experience rather depressing.

I second the Holiday Inn in the historic Rocks area. Perfect location and not eye wateringly expensive. If you want something a little more upmarket there’s a Four Seasons and  Shangri La very nearby too. Ask for a room with bridge/harbour/opera house views.

If it’s the same Chris we sailed with last year he’s an excellent CD and we hope he’s still on board when we join Encore in Singapore in April.

A comprehensive travel insurance policy covering not only medical expenses (including emergency medivac) but also trip cancellation, lost luggage, etc is worth every cent IMO. There are plenty of providers and choices so shop/ask around. 

I’m always bemused that people happily spend tens of thousands on a luxury cruise, but flinch at paying a fraction of that on insurance that might save them tens of thousands more. Think of it as part of the price of your cruise, although the peace of mind is priceless.

It always baffles me why people spend thousands on a luxury cruise but then baulk at paying a fraction of that on a hotel the day before departure or even travel/health insurance.  Fly in the day of departure if you wish, but please at least make sure you have adequate travel insurance to cover any expenses incurred by missing and then catching up with the ship later. Bon voyage!