DanJimmy

On 9/5/2023 at 8:26 AM, liberty176 said:

Hi,

 

We are a family of 4 looking at sailings leaving December 2024 (mostly overlapping with the school break).  My kids will be 10 and 7 at time of cruise, and are experienced cruisers.

 

Our choices (only considering drive-by) are the Sapphire Princess or HAL Oosterdam.  We have been on HAL pre-covid and enjoyed it, did the Discovery Princess last year and loved it (ship was a little larger, but enjoyed Princess).  We liked the food choices better on HAL (don't eat meat), but Princess was probably a bit better for us for entertainment and kids club.

 

The big difference here, though, is the itinerary. 

1) Princess is a 17 night sailing, RT Buenos Aires, so just down the coast, 4 days Antarctic sailing, and back.  The RT flight is appealing, and I know we'll have enough vacation time.

2) HAL is 22 nights, same leg down from Buenos Aires and then 4 days of Antarctic sailing, but then continues on round the horn for the Chilean fjords and ends in San Antonio.  Is this worth the longer amount of time?  I don't anticipate being back in this area of the world for a long time, but we'd have to pull out of school for longer, deal with the two one-way flights (we're not a nonstop flight for either city, though).  But 2 out of 4 are somewhat prone to motion sickness in choppy seas, and I don't want to spend the last bonus week miserable.

 

So I guess my question is, is the additional itinerary worth it?  Thanks!

 

 

@liberty176 Definitely the one on HAL if you have 100% decided that you would like to do just the cruising in Antarctica. 

However, if you are still open for consideration, I would strongly recommend to do the expedition cruise to Antarctica. It will be shorter and more expensive, but worth every penny as it's once-in-a-lifetime for the most of us.

For me, if we are going all the way over there to that part of the world, you might as well step outside and set your foot on the 7th continent. I am taking Seabourn Pursuit on December 17th-December 28th to Antarctica this year and am looking forward to it.

Hope you decide soon. Enjoy the time with your family!

6 minutes ago, jag60uk said:

Because that was the date of my cruise for which I would also receive OBC. As it happens our cruise is now going to be later so if you would like me to refer you please send me an email.

I see. I understand. I just sent you an email as well. Thank you so much for your help! Much appreciated.

Dan

On 8/27/2023 at 2:14 PM, jag60uk said:

 

 

 

Hi, John here. Any new Seabourn cruisers sailing on or before December 7th 2023? If you would like $250 to spend on excursions, spa treatments, onboard shopping, etc. please get in touch and I would be happy to refer you. It is a very simple online process only requiring from you a few bits of info about your cruise and I’ll do the rest. Please email me at jag60uk at yahoo dot com.  Please note that you cannot be receiving OBC from any other source. Thanks.

Would like to understand the rationale why does it need to be on or before December 7th 2023? I am sailing on December 17th 2023. Thank you so much!

On 8/12/2023 at 6:33 AM, ozecruiser said:

Good Morning. If you're new to Seabourn and have booked your first cruise and sail before March 2024 or July 2024 and would like $250 OBC for your cruise I'd be happy to refer you. Send me an email to dbattams at live dot com. Cheers Diane

Hello Diane, I'll send an email if that's okay. I am sailing on December 17th. Thank you!

50 minutes ago, Mr Luxury said:

The service on Pursuit is noticeably improved on the regular ships.

Had a look at lunch in the Colonnade today.

Selection good and food from a local Spanish Market as we are in Majorca today.

Excellent cheese and charcuterie 

I am glad to hear that. Hopefully, Seabourn will keep up with their improved services in all the ships moving forward.

On 8/26/2023 at 6:13 PM, dalliowner said:

We have just booked the Venture for next year, what are the main differences we will find after sailing in the larger ships. I am hoping it will remind me of the Spirit. 

One of the major differences is that it's much cozier and more intimate as the number of people on board can be around 200 or sometimes even less. There is almost a 1-to-1 ratio between the passengers and the cruise staff onboard, which is great as you get more attention.

On 8/15/2023 at 9:45 PM, adoctor said:

Well here we are again on Seabourn Pursuit making its way at a leisurely pace from Valletta to Citivechia.

After a couple of sub par trips post covid on Ovation and Odyssey and really hacked off by the cost saving culture that had infected the line we joined the sparkling new ship with some trepidation.Would the new smaller design work for us? Would the nickel and dimming still be there?

How would a ship designed for the extremes work in the med in a stuffy August?

I am delighted to report that after the first four days things are looking good.Here’s why:

1 The ship is an outstanding piece of design and is surprisingly elegant.

2 The staff are extremely proficient and motivated.I came on board expecting teething problems on its first voyage but apart from the odd exception the team on board have hit the ground running.

3 The food has improved significantly since last years endless menu recycling on Odyssey.Imagine the largest sword fish you have ever seen sitting on the Colonade counter with a French chef cooking freshly cut steaks to order.Today it was Grouper. Other tasty dishes have been prepared (Maltese sausages anyone?) but rest assured the favourites in the MDR ate still there.Yes it’s open for breakfast but not lunch so far.

4The challenge will be to maintain standards once the excitement of the new ship wears off but to me there seems to be a new attitude on board

I only hope this is a new dawn led by the new CEO and not just a flash in the pan alongside that delicious swordfish!

Thank you so much for sharing your experiences, @adoctor. We appreciate it. I'll be on Pursuit to Antarctica in December and am looking forward to it.

Are there any tips or any advice that you would like to provide in addition to what you have already shared?

Thank you so much, again.

Do you all think that there should be a central governing body that should classify these cruise lines?

Because as of now it seems very subjective. How do you quantify premium and premium+ as well as luxury? Is there a score?

23 hours ago, Hlitner said:

At one time we would have agreed that HAL was a Premium product.  Based on our most recent 6 week cruise on the Westerdam (Mar-May) we now consider HAL among the bottom tier of mass market lines.  
 

Hank

What happened in that cruise? Would it be possible for you to elaborate a little more?

Thank you for sharing!

Holland America is cruise only. You cannot get out of the ship while in Antarctica region. The number of people on the ship does not allow according to Antarctica regulation.

1 hour ago, calliopecruiser said:

 

You left out several lines that belong in one or the other of those categories, like Regent Seven Seas, Crystal, Europa, WindStar, Paul Gauguin, and Ritz-Carleton

I agree with you.

My apologies, I should have mentioned that I was focusing more on the Antarctica expedition cruises as that's what I have been researching lately.

14 minutes ago, Stickman1990 said:

A long way from agreeing with you…

 

How about this:

 

Luxury

 

Crystal

Europa

Explora Journeys 

Regent

Ritz Carlton 

Seabourn

Silversea 

 

Premium

 

Celebrity

Holland America

Oceania

Paul Gaughan 

Ponant

Scenic 

Swan

Viking

Windstar

 

Too early to tell/Not sure

 

Atlas 

Hurtigruten 

 

Who have I forgotten? 

 

 

 

 

I feel categorizing Ponant and Swan as Premium is not fair. They are certainly luxury in my view and are definitely comparable with SB and SS.

I agree that Atlas is too early to categorize and I am okay if you put Hurtigruten below Premium category. 🙂

Luxury:

1) Seabourn

2) Silversea

3) Ponant

4) Swan Hellenic

5) Atlas Ocean Voyages (still work to do but it's almost there to be considered a luxury)

Premium:

1) Hurtigruten

2) Viking

3) Quark

On 7/23/2023 at 7:49 AM, TootyJane said:

I beg to differ. A Mediterranean cruise on Seabourn would be an ideal itinerary to celebrate a21st birthday 🥳 

 

21yo 

I agree. Seabourn would certainly be less stuffy than Silversea and Ponant.

On 7/13/2023 at 9:14 PM, Cdn_Traveller said:

I am looking for a luxury cruise like Regent Seven Seas, Seabourn, etc. that has no single supplement.

 

I am looking to travel in December 2023 and be home by Christmas.

 

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thanking you in advance.

Hello @Cdn_Traveller - You can check out Ponant. They have a number of cruises where they do not charge single supplement.

@donaldsc - The thing is that there are people who prefer and appreciate the comfort inside the ship as well. After all, people will spend more time on the ship than outside the ship. The expeditions last for only a few hours. The entire journey during the drake passage is in the ship, which can be 3-4 days in total.

Point is, there is a reason why Ponant, Swan Hellenic, Silversea, Seabourn, Viking, etc. exist, because there are people who would like to be comfortable when they are in the middle of nowhere.

I have shared a couple of YouTube links of the vlogs of this YouTuber who had Antarctica with Swan Hellenic. I think they are pretty good.

I am in the process of deciding a cruise for myself as well for December this year. I have been doing a lot of research for the past 3 months or so. Since I am a single person, I am leaning more towards Ponant. I will be booking one soon.

Good luck with your search!

Hello James,

Your website is little complicated to navigate around and I believe it's not possible to book online either.

May I know the price in USD for an Antarctica expedition cruise either in the month of December 2023 - the departure can be in either of the first three weeks of December 2023. Also, I am a single person. Do you have no single supplement like Ponant?

Thank you and am looking forward to your reply.