DTtravelers

It was way better than branded: they were given free reign to play whatever they wanted.  We were introduced to new composers/compositions, and they took the time to tell us a bit about the pieces, and what to listen for.  It was Explorer's Lounge.  A nice quiet location.  They played the same set at 3:00, 4:00 and 7:00, so if you missed, you could come by later (or come by again!).

They were all outstanding musicians.  They are called DUo2O, and you can find them on the internet to see what a treat we had.  We were blessed to have Eleanor on Cello. 

Note that this was 25 day trip.

We just got off Noordam (39 days).  For the RS lounge, bring earplugs.  It was so loud in the hallway outside that we did not go in.  Billboard Onboard was always crowded and is right next to the casino.  The group playing at the Ocean Bar was nice, but seating space is very limited, and they are in the corner essentially playing to the open stairwell and the lounge across the ship.

On the plus plus plus side: we were blessed with a classical trio (violin, cello and piano for the 25 days from Sydney.  All 3 were exceptional musicians.  They were given free reign and were not limited to the "standards"   So we were treated to some amazing music.

FYI: food in the Dining Room was excellent and varied.  Portions were perfect and I never felt the need for a snack in between meals (like I am guilty of at home).  Service was also excellent.  We never reserved, and were always seated within minutes - any random time that suited us.  The raised area in the center on level two is great for tables of 2 (maybe 4).  Quieter there and no traffic.

We were on Quest, which just finished its last run to Antarctica, so my answer is only partly useful.  Venture and Pursuit are now the two ways to go.  In 6 days we went out 9 times, including 3 kayak, 5 landings, including an ice landing in the Wendell Sea, and zodiacs.  We could also have kayaked at Elephant Island (a rarity), but ran out of steam.  We were blessed with magical weather Dec 2019.  Next time will include South Georgia!

Cruising the Kimberly area sounds very interesting, so I checked out what it would take to get there.  Spending 20+ hours in the air for only a 10 or 11 day cruise isn't something I would ever consider.  It would take at least 3 weeks for the flight ordeal to recess sufficiently in my brain to go through it  again.  Actually, sailing back would be way more appealing...

I would consider a longer trip with land and sea elements to explore the region, so this type of arrangement has some appeal. 

Hi RyanJCanada:

Earlier might be better for the Falklands, South Georgia and Elephant Island, but probably not Antarctica itself. 

In 2019, we were at Waterboat Point on December 9th and the Gentoo's were all sitting on their eggs (and stealing pebbles from each other).  Three days later in Yankee Harbor, we got to see one-day-old Gentoo chicks.  Orcas were also very active then as we saw at least 40 in just one location.  When we go back, it would not very likely be in October or November.  10 days earlier at that time of year is not a plus.

For what it's worth, we got to kayak at Elephant Island on December 13th and go ashore in the Falklands on December 15th, but they told us we were quite lucky to accomplish either of these as weather is the controlling factor.

If you are thinking about Odyssey, then yes, they have ship-based zodiac tours.  We did the 14 day Vancouver Round trip in 2022 and 2023.  Do not miss the Inian Islands zodiac trip.  It can fill up, so book early. 

Alaska forces cruise lines to remove their own zodiacs and replace them with zodiacs supplied by Alaska-based vendors.  And only US citizens are allowed to operate them. 

Venture could not fulfill Alaska's requirements last year, so could not do zodiac trips.  There is a thread all about this.  Many passengers were not happy about this, but offloading all the zodiacs in None and shipping them to Vancouver to reload them would have been a logistical nightmare for Seabourn.

Dawes Glacier, Endicott Arm

Inian Islands

On 10/10/2023 at 4:27 PM, sfvoyage said:

The crew member implementing the new mocktails (as well as the new Saketini alcoholic cocktails in conjunction with the new sushi counter at The Club) is leaving the Odyssey in Seattle in a few days to move over to the Encore to implement those new beverages.

Hurray that she/he is going to Encore!  Can you remember their first name?  I'll seek them out and report back in the following weeks. 

And thanks for the heads up on reducing the sweetness. 

On 10/14/2023 at 8:19 AM, Ithikan said:

The reasoning behind removing the equipment from the ship and then returning it is indeed mysterious. 

The reasoning is indeed mysterious, but the offloading and on-loading of zodiacs is probably not.

We did 14 days on the Odyssey last and this year, and were told that cruise lines were required to use zodiacs supplied by Alaskan companies for use in Alaska, even though Seabourn has it's own.  So the ones offloaded in Vancouver were probably being returned to the Alaska vendors, while the ones moved back on belonged to Seabourn, and were probably stored in Vancouver for the season.  All zodiacs pretty much look alike except for size variations, so removing them and then putting them back would have indeed appeared strange.

This would also explain why the Venture could not do zodiacs trips: they would have had to on-load Alaskan zodiacs in Nome then drop them off in Vancouver, even though they carry 24 zodiacs of their own!  Logistics of that would be problematic.

We were also told last year and this year by multiple Venturing team members that only US citizens were allowed to operate the zodiacs in Alaska.  Indeed, some highly qualified Canadian Venturing team members confirmed to me that they were not allowed to operate the zodiacs while in Alaska, but they could while in Canadian waters.

I tried to corroborate this stuff, but my internet searches came up empty (other than the normal endless list of unrelated stuff that searches always return).

Happy sailing!

btw: I really like the Odyssey and am very sad to see her go next year...

On 8/6/2023 at 6:43 PM, CalmSea said:

Don't forget that there is an additional YVR surcharge of $5.00 in the direction from the airport to downtown.

 

Last June, when we disembark at Canada Place, the place was a chaos, with two other ships disembarking at the same time. We did took the 5 minutes walk to Waterfront station and took the Canada line to the airport, and with no surcharge in going this direction. However, one has to know how to get the correct entrance. The closest entrance to Waterfront station from the cruise terminal takes you to the wrong line.

Follow up on the light rail costs:

As CalmSea pointed out, costs vary depending on direction.  I was charged $8.51 (US) from Templeton to the Waterfront, and $4.64 back to Templeton.  That said, it was clean, well maintained, quick and comfortable.  If you have lots of luggage, it might be a bit challenging.

We had an excellent cruise, even better than last year.  I felt like the staff were all on top of their game.  Friendly, helpful and engaging.  I didn't meet any team members that I would have traded in for someone else.  Our room Stewards were outstanding.  The Venturing team is the best: we sailed with four of them in Antarctica in 2019 and it was great to see them again. 

We did eat in MDR once, otherwise we were entertained by Humpbacks (actually lost count one night), Orcas, Pacific white-sided dolphins, amazing sunsets...  TK rib night generated a number of "those were the best I've ever eaten" from fellow travelers. Crab feed with baked Alaska twice in the Colonnade, Halibut at E&O was sooooo good!  And the fruit was top notch.  Zero complaints about food from me, but I am relatively easy to please. 

Entertainment was good.  Enjoyed Michael playing guitar in Club and Observation Lounge.  Roy Tan was back with us the first week, and treated my wife and I to an impromptu arrangement of Blue Skies, and Hallelujah with Craig on guitar after Observation Lounge shut down one evening.  Words cannot describe the experience.

Love the Odyssey class ships!

27 minutes ago, FogGuys said:

Thank you for your very timely reports from the Odyssey and a big congratulations on your milestone anniversary and well deserved upgrade! There are 4 of us Californians joining you in Juneau, (2 from SF and 2 from LA). We have always had very pleasant experiences on SB and Silversea but your reporting is a good reminder to keep all expectations in check. 

 

A non-food related question: How has the weather been so far? And are the SB expedition "jackets" helpful or are mere vanity wear? Trying to figure out if we need to bring our own outerwear or can we really rely upon the complimentary swag? Usually in Alaska, layers are the answer anyway to ensure comfort. Thanks again for your generous reporting...nice job!

 

 

Hi FogGuys:

We just got off the 14 day cruise ending last Friday.  We ordered the black windbreaker/rain jackets, but I found the sleeves were too short for me, so I took it to the jacket exchange.  I traded it in for the lined blue jacket which I used a lot over the course of the cruise.  They still had piles of these older blue jackets available in most sizes. 

Some days short sleeves were okay, some days long sleeves, some days sweater/fleece or the heavier lined jack worked the best.  Think layers, layers, layers, and you will always be okay.  A brimmed rain hat or cap is helpful.

We were treated to this sailing from Wrangell:

On 8/5/2023 at 11:17 AM, CalmSea said:

And it is a flat rate of cdn 38 from YVR to downtown.

Or…. As another option you could take the light rail for $3.50 each.  26 minutes so it will get there before the taxi.  Did this last week.  Just tap your credit card.  Note that the station downtown is about 3 blocks from the cruise terminal….   Not a bad solution if you don’t have a of luggage.

Sunny and 75 here in Wrangell today.  No, I am not making this up!  🙂

Have a great trip!  

6 hours ago, ScotBrit17 said:

Thinking of booking Seabourn for first time and have seen some good cruises on Ovation. Note that the V1 suites on deck 5 have a metal front rather than glass. Does anyone have experience or photos of these suites to see what the balcony looks like. I have searched online and not found anything.

Hi ScotBrit17:

My wife and I spent 43 days in a V1 on Quest, and 14 on Odyssey.  We never felt it was an issue.  The upper part is glass.  Cannot guarantee you views like this though !🙂

So you are actually going through US customs while in Vancouver Place (to enter Alaska), correct? 

Is there a Global Entry line separate from the main line? 

On 7/10/2023 at 5:34 PM, AKJonesy said:

I guess what I meant to say if I was not clear is that during my convo with HAL, they confirmed upon completion of the first portion of the cruise; that is, the first B2B, we achieve 200 Mariner Days.  He said on the second portion of the cruise; the 2nd B2B we will be able to use our 4 star benefits.  That is when he said to go to the desk a few days in advance of completion of the 1st B2B and tell them to make sure that we can use our 4 star benefits on the second portion as we would be 4 star Mariners at that point.  Is that as clear as mud?  I don't really want to hijack this thread so I'll just leave it at that, but was just trying to share what I was told, and was hoping any of this might give some insight to the OP.  But, I am doubtful of it all now.

Well, I called the Mariner Society number yesterday and got a different story.  I know, I know...

We are at 197 days, and I told the agent I did not want to have to wait 11 more days in 3* status on our scheduled 14 day cruise.  He said on day 3 to go to the front desk and have them submit an expedited request to the home office.  As soon as it was approved, we would get 4* benefits during the cruise. 

Note: In this day and age, it shouldn't take involvement of anyone to make this happen.  It should all be automated.  The computer knows you boarded the ship and it knows your history.  Making you wait until your next cruise or until someone punches a few keys on the computer to update you is archaic.  But time will tell.  However it all turns out, I will report back after/during the cruise...(March '24).

25 minutes ago, floridababa said:

I think us airlines are better with seat selection.  We just had  an incident where I selected seats with the airlines  but then when we paid in full we had no seat assigned. Very frustrating!!!

Did you book this with Flight Ease?

I booked a flight to Auckland to pick up the Noordam next spring using Air New Zealand, and Flight Ease let me select the seats.  It was an excellent fare. 

But I have a fear that if we wait to pay until December, maybe the seats will be taken away and given to someone willing to pay more?  When you are over 6'6" tall, economy seat spacing on a long flight is not an option.  For me, that would be torture and the idea gives me nightmares (literally, not figuratively).

Has this sort of thing happened to anyone else when using Flight Ease and delaying the payment?

On 4/27/2023 at 2:34 PM, Sea-n-Ease said:

Looking for tips for choosing which ship to book for our first Alaskan cruise.  We're doing the R/T out of Vancouver.  All three ships appear to take the true "inside passage" all the way to Glacier Bay and back, which is important to us.

 

Gut instinct is to go with Koningsdam simply due to her age.

 

Zaandam - Launched 1999, Capacity 1,432

Noordam - Launched 2005, Capacity 1,916

Koningsdam - Launched 2015, Capacity 2,650

 

Thoughts?

Hi Sea-n-Ease:

I am guessing that you are talking about 2024?

Both Koningsdam and Zaandam do 7 day round trips to/from Vancouver.

If you have the time, Noordam does 14 day "collector" round trips to/from Vancouver (Vancouver to Whittier + Whittier to Vancouver).  Big plus: Noordam stops at Hubbard Glacier and the others do not. 

If you have both time and money, consider HAL's close cousin, Odyssey, especially if you are interested in kayak or zodiac excursions.

No matter which you choose, Alaska is a special place.  You will want to go back.

On 7/19/2023 at 4:20 PM, nancygp said:

we’re on the July 28th voyage…can’t wait…wishing you a great cruise

Hi Nancygp:

We will see you next week!  We did the 14 day Alaska cruise last year and are doing it again this year.  I will be easy to find...  just look up (I am the tall guy).  🙂 

89 in Redmond (east of Seattle) yesterday, but only 87 today.  But it is dry heat!  🙂

If your 6 YO s into airplanes, the Museum of Flight might be of interest.  The only problem is that you can easily spend days there...

A few contributions:

After discussions about the hint of kiwi have tapered off, it might be time to raise things to the next level:

This is when you and some previously recruited accomplices carefully swirl the next wine, then hold your glasses to your ears.  While attempting to keep a straight face, convince any curious onlookers that it is good to use all 5 senses.  🙂

All in good fun, of course.  But if you encounter a particularly tough crowd, you might have to make a quick exit...

Then again, it is good to know that kiwi actually is a legitimate tasting note.  Just in case you get seriously challenged.  However, I could not find either peanut butter or baloney!  Have fun!!  🙂

3 hours ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

I wanted to say "I can taste notes of peanut butter!" just to see if anyone would agree.

We always just say "and a hint of kiwi"  They never know what to say after that.

Also, it has been three buck Chuck up here in WA for many years...  so jealous.

Seriously??  That would be a showstopper for me.  It is absolutely none of Seabourn's (or any other cruise line's) business how you get to/from their ships.  My brother is booked for Jan.  I'll let him know the bad news.

I am guessing your other charter might have been Reykjavik to Kangerlaussaq.  No way I would book that one either.

Others may be more adventuresome, but I want my adventures ON the ship.

Putting things back the way they were before Covid is a very worthwhile approach and a good start.  Our 14 day Alaska cruise on Odyssey last year was great and compared favorably to Quest/Antarctica in 2019, so this should be easily achievable. 

Shore excursions cramming 50 people on a bus might work for Holland America, but not for Seabourn.  So improved small group shore excursions would be very welcome. 

As far as Silversea or Regent?  Of course I look at those too. 

Sliversea with their included air or non-refundable deposit?  Show-stoppers for me.  At least they have decent itineraries. 

Regent's itineraries?  Vancouver to Seward, Seward to Vancouver, Vancouver to Seward, blah, blah, and lot's more expensive.  No kayaks, no zodiaks...

For me, Seabourn almost always wins based on itinerary.  That is the one thing I do not want them to change. 

22 hours ago, cruisr said:

For those that have done these charters this past winter how bad were they?  Friends of mine had a charter last year for Greenland and they said it was awful.

 

What charter company did they use this past season.  I know it could change of course.  What type of equipment was it? Was there a business class section?  How were seat assignments handled?

What time did it leave Buenos Aires and what time did it return?   

 

Thanks

Hi Cruisr:

Note that you do not have to put up with these charters: there are multiple daily commercial flights with Premium Economy that will let you select your seats for reasonable fares and that fly reasonable times during the day.  Up to you, but there are other choices.  Stay a night in a hotel and enjoy Ushuaia.  It will cost you more, but your stress level might be way lower.

Dave