ciaoYacht

I found this to be the case too on my first Seabourn cruise... I just took it as they love it so much they choose to spend all their vacation time on Seabourn! I found them to be welcoming and delightful beyond their "days-sailed" info drops 🤣

Ovation has both sauna and a steam room in each of the men’s and women’s locker rooms in the spa, and it is not free, even if you get a massage or are at the retreat. I got $600 worth of massages and still had to pay another $25 to use this area. I assume Encore is the same, as it’s essentially the same ship. Anyone can pay the $25, but I wasn’t impressed and won’t be doing that for a second time.

Pre cruise 2 nights in St. Martin. Post cruise 1 night in Barbados. Didn’t even see the Hilton come up in my search so maybe they have a minimum night requirement, but did see Fairmont which looked great but was $1600.

But what hotel is this? And what do you mean by ‘caved’? Are they charging you a premium over what you could pay otherwise? Is there some added benefit that you can’t get otherwise by booking through Amex fine hotels or a virtuoso agent?

Recommendations for hotels pre-and-post cruise in St. Martin and Barbados? Traveling Feb/Mar 2023 and in looking online I am seeing dumpy places for around $300-400/night and places that look "ok" for $1200 ++ per night. Don't mind spending money when its worth it, but for some reason its hard to get a clear picture of quality and value of accommodations in these two destinations. Can anyone with experience in these ports weigh in with their recommendations? Thank you!

Also, paper is easily recycled.

I am only 40 years old and pretty tech savvy, and I found the app perfectly OK to use... but I feel like I did miss out on the planning the day with respect to activities due to no paper copy of the Herald. I think having the Herald delivered each night would have facilitated better planning and therefore a better experience. I used the app as an afterthought, and found myself missing some activities that I would have otherwise done, or showing up late. Sometimes its nice to see everything laid out on paper as opposed to scrolling through a menu. I commend them for trying to reduce waste, but I will be requesting paper copies on my next cruise.

Hoping I "luck out" and its calm the day the ship is in Saline Bay, Mayreau!

I have been following their announcement! Exciting news for sure, but I wonder how it will compare to the Seabourn experience. While I love Four Seasons I find it to be a little more stuffy than Seabourn, with people tending to keep to themselves more so than what I’ve experienced on a cruise. Maybe their yacht sailings will be different. Also 4S has excellent service but I did find the crew on Seabourn to be a little more over the top in their service and attempts to please guests. I’ll definitely be interested to compare the two experiences. Also in following the RC Yacht it seems as if it has less inclusions than the ultra luxury segment. For example, all alcohol is not included, WiFi, etc.. I’m not sure if RC and 4S will attract people away from Seabourn and the other ultra luxury lines. They seem to be more geared towards non-cruisers or never-cruised.

I am booked on the southbound Ovation from St. Martin to Barbados departing February 25, 2023. We are only doing the 7 night so will only stop in Mayreau, but I am expecting caviar in the surf and a marina day… it’s one of the reasons I booked a Caribbean sailing! Seabourn sent some marketing materials to my house not too long ago that implied all of the Caribbean cruises feature the event. Can anyone comment with direct knowledge of this route? Thank you!

Was on Ovation in May/June. First time on Seabourn. Booked again for Feb/Mar I liked it so much! There were a few hiccups w covid recovery and availability of a few things like certain liquor, but certainly never a problem and crew did what they could to make up for it. By far one of the next vacations I’ve ever had and I routinely do land based travel at Four Seasons, etc.. I think it’s at least worth one more chance on your behalf.

Traveling on Ovation soon, and I'm just curious if Seabourn ever offers upsell upgrades to better cabins? I am traveling in V2 category and not sure I would be interested in the same room with different (better) location, but would be interested in a larger room. If they do sell upgrades, what is the process? Do they contact guests by email prior to departure? Will they become available on the booking page? Or do they do so at the departure port? And are there any strategies to get a "good" upgrade deal? I've watched a few YouTube videos that said ask about an upgrade the day after departure and they may have a great deal.