MrCheeky

I experienced the same issue a couple of days ago when viewing 2020 cruises and fruitlessly searching for 2021 cruises.

Perhaps their website is operated by the same system as their ship's wifi....

My wife and I will be going on our second Seabourn cruise in Jan or Feb 2021.  I am currently studying the current cruise itineraries in that area for 2020 as reference (as the 2021 itineraries have not been released yet).  We would like to cruise from Auckland to Sydney.  I note that there are a couple of itineraries that encompasses that routing, however, utilizing different Australian ports.  I have listed them below.

My question is for those who have sailed this route or those that are familiar with the area, what ports are recommended?  Bateman's Bay or Eden?  Thank You!

16 Day New Zealand & Australia 

- Auckland

- Tauranga (Rotorua)

- Wellington

- Picton

- Akaroa (Christchurch)

- Port Chalmers (Dunedin)

- Oban (Half-moon Bay)

- Melbourne

- Phillip Island

- Batemans Bay (Canberra)

- Sydney

16 Day Wellness in New Zealand & Australia 

- Auckland

- Tauranga (Rotorua)

- Picton

- Wellington

- Akaroa (Christchurch)

- Port Chalmers (Dunedin)

- Oban (Half-moon Bay)

- Melbourne

- Phillip Island

- Eden

- Sydney

The other aspect is that the Sydney > Auckland routing has different ports.  Is there any advantage to this routing over the Auckland > Sydney?

16 Day Australia & New Zealand 

- Sydney

- Phillip Island

- Melbourne

- Oban (Half-moon Bay)

- Timaru

- Lyttelton (Christchurch)

- Kaikoura

- Nelson

- Wellington

- Matiatia Bay, Waiheke Island

- Auckland

Thank you for the informative and insightful comment rols.  Lots to consider.  I take it you are doing the 18-Day Jewels Of Southeast Asia cruise?  It looks interesting, however, we were looking forward to experiencing the new Encore/Ovation ships.  

One option for might be to fly to Vietnam and explore Vietnam > Cambodia (Ankor) > Thailand (incl Koh Kood) finish up in Singapore, catch our breath then cruise on Ovation Singapore > Dubai.  That would be a lot to digest in one holiday.

I understand what you mean regarding the differences between the Asian and European port experiences.  We are researching Baltic cruises as well.  Likely go with Oceania as we prefer their itineraries over Seabourn.

Thank you for the video and photos!  The Caviar in the surf is a wonderful experience.  The concern is that it does not compensate for perhaps a poor itinerary.  The St. Kitts one was very memorable...

I figured there wasn't much in it as far as routing was concerned.  We are leaning towards having more days in Singapore at the beginning of the cruise to explore as well as decompress from the flight(s) and make sure that our luggage has arrived...haha.

As an aside, for those that have taken this cruise recently, how was the stop in Bangkok?  The Laem Chabang port may be a bit of a concern as it appears to be quite a distance from Bangkok and traffic issues may deter booking a private excursion into town.

Although we are quite well travelled, we have yet to visit Asia and we had such a wonderful Caribbean cruise experience with Seabourn that we figured that this cruise would be a good introduction. 

My wife and I are considering the 14 Day Vietnam / Thailand as our next cruise.  We have previously cruised (our first Seabourn) on the Odyssey in the Caribbean and we like this itinerary and look forward to tying out the larger ship (Ovation).

A somewhat odd in question...would there be any advantage as to which sailing route to take?  ie Singapore > Hong Kong OR Hong Kong > Singapore.

One of the main reason my wife and I would not consider Regent is the "all-inclusive" aspect of the excursions.  Like many others, we prefer to select the tours ourselves and aim for a more intimate, specialized experience.  Viking may be an exception as they offer some itineraries that Seabourn does not.

My wife and I are taking our first Seabourn cruise. Is a jacket required for the Grill by Thomas Keller? I'm assuming so but want to clarify.

Mr. Cheeky,

We are on the same cruise as you and this will be our fifth Seabourn cruise.

We are not regarding the changes in itinerary as a 'downgrade'. We are all aware of the reasons why this has been necessary and trust that Seabourn has done their best in replacing similar sized laid-back islands. We are looking forward to the cruise and feel fortunate that we are able to continue with what we are sure will be a wonderful cruise. Once you have sailed with Seabourn, I think you will be impressed. I think you are celebrating a special anniversary? Look forward to it, you won't be disappointed.

Kimbasmum thank you for the input. Instills confidence in Seabourn if this is your fifth cruise with them. My wife and I are really looking forward to this cruise. Yes you are correct, we are celebrating 20 years of marriage. We usually travel independently and have visited many countries and cities. However, for our anniversary we thought it would be nice to celebrate in style, in an area where we can experience a taste of life on each island. It's also nice just to unpack and unwind for two weeks instead of catching flights/trains etc. We wanted a smaller sized ship with more personalized service and great food. There were a few luxury cruise in the running but with our research and our TA's recommendation, Seabourn was our choice. Our flights and hotels in Barbados before/after cruise are booked. Very excited!

My wife and I are booked on the Feb 17th, 14-Day Exotic Caribbean In-Depth

This was the original Itinerary

00: Bridgetown, Barbados

01: Saline Bay, Mayreau, St. Vincent and the Grenadines

02: Roseau, Dominica

03: Deshaies, Guadeloupe

04: Basseterre, St Kitts and Nevis

05: Gustavia, Saint Barthelemy

06: Great Harbour, Jost van Dyke, British Virgin Islands

07: Philipsburg, Sint Maarten

08: Carambola Beach, Saint Kitts and Nevis

09: Road Bay, AnguillaTR

10: St. Johns, Antigua and Barbuda

11: Terre-de-Haut, Iles des Saintes, Guadeloupe

12: Castries, Saint Lucia

13: Port Elizabeth, Bequia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines

14: Bridgetown, Barbados

We have since been notified by our TA of the Revised Itinerary:

00 Bridgetown, Barbados

01 Saline Bay, Mayreau, St. Vincent & the Grenadines

02 Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe

03 Charlestown, Nevis, St. Kitts & Nevis

04 Fort-de-France, Martinique

05 St. George’s, Grenada

06 Charlotteville, Tobago, Trinidad & Tobago

07 Bridgetown, Barbados

08 Trois Ilets, Martinique

09 Carambola Beach, St. Kitts & Nevis

10 St. John’s, Antigua, Antigua & Barbuda

11 Terre-de-Haut, Iles des Saintes, Guadeloupe

12 Castries, St. Lucia

13 Port Elizabeth, Bequia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines

14 Bridgetown, Barbados

Perhaps some of the more experienced can advise...As this is our first Seabourn cruise and first in the Caribbean, my question is:

Is the revised itinerary considered a 'downgrade' from the original one?

*Note to "fudge", our itineraries are the same except for days 12 & 13 which are switched. I'm wondering if one of ours is incorrect?

...Although Seabourn isn't handling customer liaison very well (wouldn't be the first time) none of this is their fault so it's not fair to demand or even expect them to be able to produce something out of nothing...

Obviously none of this is Seaboard's fault, the event was entirely out of their control. What I do expect and what IS within their control is their response to it. They charge a premium price for a premium product. That extends to the experience off the ship as well. What is fair is that customers receive an experience commensurate with what they expected and paid for. In the end I fully expect it to be a non-issue and will greatly enjoy our first Seaboun cruise.

MrCheeky - do you sail on the 3rd February? If so, we are also on this cruise, our ninth Seabourn! We are from the UK and have flights booked, accommodation in Barbados pre cruise booked, flight from Barbados to Miami booked at the end of the cruise and then stays in Florida and flights home booked. No way will we cancel! If we can put dollars into the economies damaged by the hurricanes we are very happy to be able to help, if only on a tiny scale. Margaret

 

 

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Hi Margaret - we are sailing on Feb 17th. We have no plans to cancel. We are celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary and are really looking forward to the cruise and the Seabourn experience! We have also booked our pre and post-cruise hotels in Barbados. Having said that, we will be holding Seaboard's feet to the fire so to speak to ensure the experience matches the premium they charge. It will be interesting to see how they will balance their shareholders interests with the experience they provide their guests.

First post here. My wife and I are taking a cruise for the first time, 14 day Caribbean in Feb 2018 (Exotic Caribbean In-Depth). Our cruise departs/returns to Barbados and our flights are booked. I doubt they will change the departure/return ports, however the itinerary seems likely to change. Our concern is that Seabourn charges a premium for this Caribbean itinerary and we want to ensure that they maintain that standard. We'll be keeping tabs on upcoming Seabourn cruises with a similar itinerary (ports) to see what changes they may make.

We are really looking forward to the Seabourn experience!