SLSD

We will look for you. Perhaps I'll recognize you from your photo posted here. I don't post my full name here, but we are from Dallas. Seriously, the survival suits are serious pieces of clothing. Susan aka SLSD

I haven't needed it, but when I saw the numbers, I wrote them down. I have book a few excursions today. I tried a couple of days ago and the website was not working. I'm still studying the ports for our cruise and may change my mind about some things. I find myself wishing that Seabourn would really delve into what they offer and try to put together some exceptional excursions. I looked at Silversea's excursions for a cruise similar to ours and they were mostly the same--but there WERE MORE offerings...

1-800-984-3225 and 1-206-626-9187. I put these in my SB file today after seeing them on the website.

We've signed up for it as well as a few other excursions here and there. I might cancel later. I see them as place markers. We will be doing several ports on our own.

There is an excursion offered to Geiranger in one port--but the excursion is quite lengthy in hours. I don't think we are up for that. We are counting on seeing beautiful scenery without it.

From what I read on the SB website, only those who sign up for Ventures excursions (and I think there are two of them) will be able to leave the ship at this port. If I am not mistaken, these tours require suiting up in a full survival floatation suit. We saw these demonstrated in Alaska at Kodiak. While we are agile and have no health issues, we don't think we want to suit up this way, but understand it is a safety issue and required--so we will be staying on the ship and enjoying the scenery and the ship. Are you on the June 11th-June 25th cruise? Or, a later iteration of this itinerary?

Thank you so much for posting your blog entries on your experiences.

Fletcher, please tell us about Reine. How far was the drive and how long did it take? Did you reserve your car ahead of time?

I have noticed that we are not going to some well known scenic ports, but I am sure we will have a great time anyway. Perhaps SB planned their itineraries late--and missed the opportunity to dock in some ports. That would not surprise me. There are sea days and scenic cruising days interspersed among these ports.

For sure!

Thank you galeforce. I've read that Stavanger has nice old town to explore.

I'm looking to you experienced Seabourners to guide me as I begin looking at ports on our upcoming Seabourn (June 11- June 25) Copenhagen to Copenhagen cruise up the Norwegian coast. Specifically, I would like to know your opinion (from your personal experience) as to which of the following ports can be easily enjoyed on our own and which lend themselves to taking an excursion or hiring a guide. Any details you can offer are very much appreciated. Alesund, Norway Svolvaer (Lofoten) Tromso Storstappen Island Honningsvag Loen (Olden) Skjolden Stavanger Farsund Skagen, Denmark

We are expecting to have a wonderful time and hope that we meet.

One reason we sail on Seabourn is the fact that we don't have to opt for more costly suite to enjoy all that Seabourn has to offer. I appreciate the fact that the more expensive suites offer more space and perhaps a few other perks--but the extra space and few perks do not interest us at all. Like others, we would rather cruise more often than spend our traveling dollars on a larger suite. We have always been quite comfortable in a standard veranda suite. I'm sure we could even make do with a suite without a veranda if we had to. Personally, we love the Seabourn business model. All of this being said, I do believe that frequent SB cruisers who are well known by crew and officers may get a bit more attention when they sail.

I am expecting it to be a scenic trip with less than the most exciting ports. That is ok with us! Some of my favorite days cruising have been the scenic cruising days.

I noticed that the SB excursions seem much higher than in the past. I haven't gotten to the planning stage for ports yet. I'll probably be asking some questions in another thread. we may try some independent excursions. We'll see. I'm pretty laid back about that part of the trip. I'm just glad we are finally going!

All I could think of during the pandemic when it came to cruising was how much I wanted to do the Norwegian fjords! I know it took us a long time to get with the program, but Mr. SLSD was somewhat resistant. He loves cruising but was hesitant about all the hassles involved because of covid and airline travel. We are going to pack as if our luggage will be lost. In other words, packing smartly in our carry ons so that we could survive. Nancygp, As I get organized, I'll start another thread asking for advice about what to do at various ports. Just today, we received notice of an itinerary change and we have just booked the cruise.

We have never done the Norwegian fjords itinerary and have wanted to do it. So--we have booked the June 11th-June 25th Copenhagen to Copenhagen on Ovation.

We have finally booked our first post covid cruise and I have a question. I hope it is a question that is allowed here. If you are a United States based cruiser, who is your preferred travel insurance purveyor? In the past, we have used various--but I have never really had a handle on what is the best option.

We've both turned 70 since our last pre-pandemic cruise, but I have always seen the Seabourn passenger clientele as a mostly older group. In fact, each time we board, we remark to each other that the passengers are quite old! So you and we--fit right end. There are usually a few passengers in their 30s, some in the 40s, with the majority being in their 50s and up. I've met plenty of passengers in their 80s and have enjoyed their company. People in their 70s and 80s are definitely NOT outliers.

This sounds wonderful to me. We subscribe to English Home magazine and I enjoy seeing the restored old homes--so much older than anything we have here in Dallas of course.

We prefer Ovation and Encore to the older ships. We are NOT pool loungers, so the issue of the pool area being the same size is not an issue for us. We also enjoy the TK Grill Bar and the generally updated look of the ships. We've sailed on full ships and they did not seem crowded to us.

We have also sailed in 624 on Sojourn and loved it. So convenient. We been on higher decks on other cruises and preferred 624!

Thank you for your commentary Shark b8!

Mr. and Mrs. Fudge, Thank you for your humor and your willingness to take us along on your fun journey. I always enjoy your posts.