DTtravelers

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

Glad to see that they are not picking on only Seabourn passengers, but HAL too!  🙂

Apparently they use the same buggy website for both.  However, with a lot of finagling, I was able to get all the check marks to turn green. 

• Click on the red mark to bring up the tab for editing?  Nothing Happens.
• Go to Home and start from scratch?  Yes.  Now the red marks work, somewhat...  after you edit, a note pops up saying the information cannot be saved because the information has been edited!!  Except that it apparently does save the information... 
• Eventually got all checkmarks to turn green.  🙂

So, if you are persistent and creative enough, you can make the website happy.  Maybe.  I haven't logged back in to check.

Happy sailing!

3 hours ago, Khareef said:

 

I am also in the same situation but I feel a bit embarrassed about asking for a refund so that I can use my OBC but if people say it is possible I am gonna give it a try. IF not I guess I can always use it on the on board shop

There is nothing to be embarrassed about.  It is just the way their system works.  You cannot use on- board credit, unless you are on-board.  But is is very wise and encouraged that you select and book excursions early using your credit card, lest they fill.up.  They can re--book once you are on board with OBC.  They do this all the time and are very helpful when we've done it.

Sidetracking here a bit, but in keeping with the OP, it has been a while since we sailed HAL and they have an extended itinerary that is appealing.  

Looking at the HIA list from post 5, can you even get a Maker's Mark Manhattan?  It doesn't seem to be included, even at the Elite level.  Same for any single malt Scotch...

Also, since the introduction of HIA, do they still offer separate wine packages so that you could have wine with dinner, even if you don't buy the HIA package?  40 days x Elite HIA  is almost $6K...  a scarey thought.

Thanks! 

6 hours ago, dawntrdr said:

I heard this rumor twice from a fellow passenger on the Wind last month:  he had been told that SS had sold the Wind as well as the Explorer.  I did not discuss where he heard that, but I thought "hmm, that would explain the lack of updates."  

Couldn't find anything about Wind, but found this on Explorer:

https://cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/2022/01/silver-explorer-to-sail-for-new-cruise-line-exploris-from-2023/

3 hours ago, Vineyard View said:

I am trying to track the itinerary of Sojourn leading up to 6/5 next year Malta and French Riviera. When I drill down to May only for Sojourn nothing populates on the website. I must be doing something incorrect. Is anyone able to see the itinerary leading up to this one? Thank you

Hi  Vineyard View:

One Seabourn's website, it takes a bit of finagling, but if you clear all filters, then select "Mediterranean" plus "World Cruise" for destinations, then select "Sojourn" for ship, you will see what you are looking for on Seabourn's website. 

It also gets hung up occasionally, so you have to start from scratch... but that could also be my browser.

"Phil" cornered us and twisted our arms to help him.  He had a big book about old ships and was really inspired to try to make this.  The rule was that you could only use stuff from the ship (and then you had to put it back).  We used dental floss to sew everything and had no idea if it would even float until we put it in the water.  Won a bottle of Champagne!  🙂  There were other really creative ships in the competition.  Apparently, this competition is done often on transatlantic cruises.  Anyway, it was a lot of fun for everyone.

Note: this was heading back across the Atlantic on December 6th and everyone around the pool was in short sleeves!

We sail end of July...  I sure hope they still have the GOAT cow's milk cheese!  And did they have real Appenzeller cheese?  It is famous for it's intense "fragrance."  Walking into the cheese monger's was an experience!

By any chance, is Boyan back in Seabourn Square cafe this year?  His cappuccinos compared very favorably with those we've had in Italy.

Hi NxN:

We did a 42 day Ft. Lauderdale to Athens and back November/December 2016 (HAL).  I looked through all the photos and we were either in short sleeves or light windbreakers throughout.  We had lunch outside in Corfu on Nov 17th (first day of Beaujolais!), and they lowered the awning for us 'cuz the sun was melting us.  So it can be very nice.  Then again, the Mediterranean can rear it's ugly head when it fells like it...   I guess we were lucky that year because that did not happen. 

Along the way, we completed the 18,000 piece puzzle in only 31 days!  And our team won the transatlantic boat building competition with our square-rigged Caravel ... 🙂

We chose to do the Greek Isles/Turkey/Venice this year in late October- November on the Encore because Seattlites do not do hot weather...

D

Hi shark b8:

Was this from your trip??

The lion looks so peaceful and contented!

They always get that way when you pet them and scratch under the chin, right??

Still like Sinatra songs:

I guess this will be next. 

Unfortunately, my source neglected to tell me which Ultra Luxury cruise line this came from...

On 4/10/2023 at 9:51 AM, SLSD said:

I can see Viking appealing more to a certain sort of person.  I could be totally out in left field, but I see Viking as the perfect line for an engineer who doesn't drink alcohol and is most interested in the destinations and the educational aspect of the cruise.  

This one has me chuckling.  Coming from a large family of engineer types, and knowing 25 or so, the second criteria would mean that Viking would sailing empty.  🙂  

I watched with interest what the Octanis and Polaris did in Antarctica this year, because we had friends who signed up for the Octanis after we showed them our pictures of the place.  After 9 Viking flight changes, they finally got a wonderful 12-1/2 hour layover in NY and coach class.  My friend is 6'5" tall.  Their poor TA was tearing her hair out. 

As for the itinerary, apparently, nobody told the folks at Viking about the Lemaire Channel, Deception Island, the Weddell Sea, or Elephant Island, all the places that were the high points of our visit.  But they did sit in four coves all day long.  I am assuming so that they could run the guests through the submersibles, but that is just my guess.  It's a far cry from what we were treated to on Seabourn.  We were so lucky: we wouldn't trade our cruise for anything.

11 hours ago, Dusko said:

Well, we’ll find out. We have our June trip on Venture to Iceland/Greenland. No interest in Antarctica and have done the Amazon. Where do we go from here? 

Hi Dusko:

Your comment, "Where do we go from here?"  got me LOL.

It's funny that we all looked at each other in the Lemaire Channel in Antarctica and used those exact, same words, while standing on the deck right here:

But then it only got better and better and better.  None of us would have believed that was possible.

After Antarctica, I was actually afraid that the Southeast Alaska cruise last year would be a bit disappointing.  But it was not disappointing at all, just two completely different experiences.

While there are no polar bears in Antarctica, there are no penguins in the Arctic.  🙂  The tiny little black dots in the foreground are Adeles.  And the face of the tabular iceberg in the back is 210 feet high... 

Iceland/Greenland maybe '24 or '25.  Now if only they would sail from Bergen to Tromso to Svalbard to Scoresby Sound and circumnavigate Iceland,,,  all in one trip!

Happy sailing, wherever you go!

To paraphrase Hippocrates, "desperate times call for desperate measures"

We get to enjoy Odyssey one last time this summer.  Quest and Odyssey suited our needs perfectly, so this sale is sad to us.  They both have kayaks, zodiacs, and Expedition/Venture crews.

As far as the expedition market: since 2018, 31 new expedition type vessels with ice-strengthened hulls have been (or soon will be) added, with base capacity of 6,100+ beds.  It seems that everyone had the same idea to expand into this market all at once.  Maybe these decision makers are all geniuses, but at about $1,000 pp pd, it will be interesting to see how this plays out.  I wish them all the best.

13 hours ago, highplanesdrifters said:

We booked a private car through Seabourn for Istanbul and Ephesus.  Istanbul I'm not taking any chances due to traffic.  Ephesus you should be fine with another vendor assuming the ship will be in port late because of the 'evening event at Ephesus'.   Felt the same way about the other ports we are going to. A wander on our own looks more appealing.

We also are more DIY/small group folks.  I started a Roll Call, Seabourn Encore Oct 22-Nov 19, 2023: Mediterranean & Greek Isles Collection, a long time ago, if anyone wants to jump in and organize or join such excursions.

I'm working on something for Corfu...  but my contacts tell me that the providers are not yet geared up for the 2023 season.

2 hours ago, mysty said:

Power was restored minutes ago!  It's freezing in here!  Thanks to all who contributed funnies!

I hope everyone was served their favourite libation in the usual environment of good will and respect.   I missed the Cooler denizens!  

Hi Mysty.  Welcome back!  Hope you warm up soon.

When you get caught up, you will find that everyone south of the 49th parallel is waiting for you to tell them that the "Fourth of July" in Canada is on July 1  🙂

19 hours ago, Melbourne Boys said:

Hi everyone, we have a 20 night Mediterranean cruise booked in a V1 category cabin for July 2024 on Ovation and are very surprised to find that at 14 months prior to departure date we can only book a cabin forward on deck 5 with only around 7 other cabins available in this category for our sailing. We choose deck five due to sea sickness issues, and forward in the ship can cause more problems. This will be our fourth cruise with Seabourn and understand why this wonderful product is popular, however we have never experienced a problem with booking so far in advance in the past. Just wondering if any of you experienced Seabourn cruisers have any advice for tips to secure a more midships cabin.

I commiserate.  We always book middle cabins for this reason. 

It appears that the centrally located V1 suites have all been blocked out for the 30 days itineraries: there are some still available on any of the July '24 sailings.  Not unreasonable for those sailing longer. 

Unfortunately, the 20 day cruises in July have all been blocked out for the forward V1's. 

D

Hi FAK. 

Yes, it appears that the video link has a time expiration built into it.  But the main link still works, and you can get to where you want with a few more clicks.

D

Enjoy!

We also did the trip on the Quest in 2019 (the first of 5 trips that season).  I loved the extended Santiago to Buenos Aires Itinerary, with Chiloé, the Chilean Fjords, the Falklands and Montevideo (we did not get to do South Georgia like you did).

D

btw, we lived in Lynchburg, VA for 10 years before heading west.  I still remember the redbuds and dogwoods which should be in bloom soon.  Always loved that time of year.

Hi Sunviking:

All of the Seabourn logs and Video Journals are here:

https://www.seabourn.com/en_US/experience/voyage-tracker.html

You will see a world map.  Scroll down and click VIEW SEABOURN VOYAGES.  Then click on the three bar symbol upper left and select ship, year, voyage.

Anyone can view any of them and the Video Journals of some voyages go as far back as 2016.

I think you were on Quest?  If so, your specific voyage would be this one:

https://download-video.akamaized.net/2/playback/450a44c1-2554-4bac-bde3-70546deaca57/a544c3a0-9ceb2609?__token__=st=1680132758~exp=1680147158~acl=%2F2%2Fplayback%2F450a44c1-2554-4bac-bde3-70546deaca57%2Fa544c3a0-9ceb2609*~hmac=de48073ea7e46a5cb434208cfa3ea402b3c51f77ebaef7f9cd7d6835b9edbc54&r=dXMtZWFzdDE%3D

D

1 hour ago, SLSD said:

It must be that beets are a vegetable that keeps for a long long time. Perhaps the ship has a large store of them.  

Now that is a scary thought...

I have to say that it's been bothering me the last day or two that kale was accidentally being left off the Devil's List.  But I looked into it and it turns out that kale is a very close relative of Brussels sprouts.  So I think it is fair to consider that it is included by default.  Now I can sleep better tonight.  🙂

D

3 hours ago, shark b8 said:

(hee hee hee). My diabolical plan is working.  Once I get the both the proletariat and the bourgeoisie worked up about beets, my movement steathily shifts to a horizontal revolutionary action against Brussels sprouts.  They are, after all, the only two known foodstuffs obviously & directly attributable to Satan.  Mrs Sharkbait really didn't like the Brussels sprouts at TKG tonight.  One battle at a time.  Eaters of the world, unite!

Hi again shark b8.  

You are indeed diabolical!  Just when the status of the ongoing WCBS (World Cruise Beet Saga) starts rising to the level of "The Luggage Story"...  a new wrinkle.

First, your assessment of Brussels Sprouts is dead on, but only if any of the following are true:
1. They came from a bag
2. They were steamed
3. They were boiled
4. They are raw

But there is one exception: if they are cut from a fresh stalk, halved, coated with good olive oil, Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper, then roasted on the barbeque, their flavor is completely transformed, and they can actually be tasty.

Now, back to beets:

Not to mess with your mind, but when you make one of your daily treks to Seabourn Square and secumb to the (for some of us) addictive Grandma's Cake, you are most likely eating something made from beets: it's likely where at least some of the sugar comes from.  Just saying.

Happy Cruising!

DT