wire

'I believe Seabourn will get the Visa for you. On our 2016 WC, Silversea got the visa for us, so I assume Seabourn would do so also.'

Yes, they do and I believe there was a fee. I don't recall the exact amount but $75 sounds about right.

'No walking track.....'

Is there a designated walking track on the three smaller ships?

I talked to Seabourn not long ago about an upcoming trip on Encore. The agent said the target date for the laundry was 1q2018. I have to call them again this week. Lets see if I get the same answer.

On our last Sojourn trip, which was a long one, we made a few special requests for meals. It was not a problem and we had exactly what we wanted. We gave the chef plenty of notice, usually more than 24 hours. The meals were pretty standard, not extravagant. We eat in the MDR. We only ordered different entrees, the appetizer and desert we selected from the menu. We didn't make this a nightly thing and they were happy to accommodate. The F&B manger was awesome. We got a few looks/questions from fellow passengers who subsequently did the same thing.

'I have to ask, is this just way too many ports? At nearly 800 a day, I have to ask what is that special about Seabourn?'

Yes and perhaps you should do a little research before asking such a broad question.

We were on the Sojourn very far forward on deck 8 for a 33 day trip. Wasn't an issue for us but motion does not bother either of us. I don't recall the trip being particularly rough.

We were on deck 6 middle on Quest to Antarctica on a GTY, so you might get lucky. That cruise was fairly flat too.

'We went on 33 day Christmas cruise and probably never return. Standards have drastically fallen since we sailed 7 years ago.'

We were also on the Sojourn Holiday Cruise. We didn't feel that way at all. Things were more or less equivalent to our other SB sailings. My only critic was that John the Cruise Director went MIA and it took a few days for information about the situation to surface and another week or so for a replacement CD. Otherwise we had a great time and will return to SB soon.

'....not allowing the deck outside his restaurant to be used for his dinners.'

I've seen several comments on TA stating TK will not allow his dishes to be served outside. I would like to know if this TK policy applies to all restaurants or just the grill. I have had TK dishes on the Colonnade deck on several occasions.

We have done it as well. Taken our own wine to all of the restaurants. Never had an issue. Some of the waiters/sommeliers seemed quite interested in what we had brought on board.

I'm just the messenger....

However, there is likely more to this than piping. There has to be some engineering involved for the modification. I have not been on this boat yet but I doubt there was space allocated for a laundry. So room(s) would have to be identified, allocated, and retrofitted for a laundry, electrical/plumbing systems installed, perhaps modifications to water/sewage/power systems, etc all while the boat is in service with passengers. Big difference between doing this to a ship while under construction in a boatyard and doing it while the boat is sailing with paying customers.

We talked to Seabourn a couple days ago about an upcoming trip on Encore. The agent said they had just received a communication about the laundry and the scheduled completion was some time in 2018. This date primarily due to plumbing and venting that had to occur. My takeaway was not much hope that it will happen soon, or this year.

'... I was going to bring mine on the Norwegian Pearl just so I could transfer photos and free up space after the excursion trips.....'

Buy some SD/storage cards and leave the laptop at home. No need to lug it just for that.

Is your criticism of Encore just the Retreat or was there something more?

I never found the equivalent space on the three other ships all that useable unless you were into golf or shuffleboard. That area seemed wasted.

Thanks all for the feedback. Doesn't sound like a deal-breaker to me although I'll keep looking for a different/better room but it looks grim. Slamming suite doors is something I've encountered on just about every ship I've been on regardless of connecting rooms.

However, this comment got my attention: 'There are much bigger reasons not choose Encore at the moment.' I'm aware of the great Retreat debate and The Club criticisms but am I missing something huge ?

Thanks much. We're looking for another room however the choices are minimal at this point. Something may open up at the last minute, could happen.....trip was a good deal, may have to just suck it up. ;)

I know connecting rooms have been discussed in detail but I don't see anything specific to Encore. Anyone have experience with connecting rooms on Encore ? We just made a last minute booking on a popular, almost sold out sailing. Connecting rooms on Deck 8 are the only available, except a couple of other poorly located rooms. Any issues with noise, light, etc from the connecting room ?

B

Thank you Scott1sh, very helpful.

We were allocated 802 on an up coming cruise but had trouble visualizing it after reading the few reviews we could find. We were concerned it might be smaller or was missing components found in other suites. Just a couple more questions. Where is the door located that adjoins suite 800 to make them connecting suites ? And is there a small vanity with power plugs in the entrance hall, like the other cabins have ?

Thanks again.

I notice on the 3 odyssey ships that suite 802 and 803 have a slightly different configuration then other suites. The Seabourn website indicates the sq footage is the same as other suites but the deck plan seems to show that they are smaller. I also notice the veranda is under an overhang, possibly the bridge.

I'm finding very limited reviews of these suites. Can someone who stayed in either suite give us a review of the layout and perhaps a comparison to the other 'regular' suites. Where is the closet located? Also, what do you think of the veranda: configuration, layout, privacy, etc?

Thanks in advance. Any pictures would be appreciated.

Sounds like you've already made up your mind about Seabourn, having never cruised with them. You should cancel. I'm sure others on board would appreciate it.

The only time we felt crowded on the Quest during the Antarctica trip was a couple times in the Grand Salon for briefings where it was standing room only. The expedition crew kept the briefings short so it wasn't a huge inconvenience. New Years Eve got a little crowded in the Grand Salon also but everyone had a great time. The observation bar felt full at times but most people were in and out enjoying the whales and scenery so seating was easy to find.

I just looked at the passenger list from last years holiday cruise. 406 passengers.

And yes the MDR was open for lunch although we didn't use it much. We were able to eat outside at the colonnade or patio grill several of the days.

We were on the Antarctica holiday cruise last year. The boat was full, so there were almost 450 passengers. They did a pretty good job of getting people to shore in zodiacs. However if you want to maximize your time on shore and that is your priority, Seabourn may not be the best choice as they have to rotate groups of 100 ashore which is almost an all day event. The way the crew rotate groups means limited time ashore and lots of time on the ship. Overall they did a good job and made it fairly easy on passengers. There were people onboard in their 80s and one lady in her 90s and they all did landings. There was also a disabled guy who the crew made a point of getting ashore. Overall great trip and crew. I'm ready to go again......

We were on the Quest last dec/Jan to Antarctica. Internet service was fine most of the time. However there were several days in and around Antarctica where it was painfully slow to unusable. This was fine for us but if you have critical connectivity needs this won't work. I noticed a lot of people attempting bandwidth intensive things which I'm sure didn't help.

We were just on the Royal a couple months ago in the Mediterranean for 21 days. We where originally booked right under sky walk on Aloha deck. After some research we decided to change and I am really glad we did. The first few decks right under the sky walk have no privacy at all on the balcony. The deck immediately below the skywalk you can actually see into the cabins. I would change if at all possible.