NJBelle

I really like Seabourn for regular ocean voyages, so hesitated before I started to write this.  But, I would want someone to tell me this: 

Seabourn just done ONE landing a day when you go to Antarctica.  Ships like Silversea, Nat Geo, and Ponant do TWO landings a day (all, of course, if possible).  The brochures do not make this clear, but when you consider that the rules for Antarctica are that only 100 passengers can be on land at one time, then you realize the ships that only take 200 passengers can do TWO landings, while the 400 passenger Seabourn ship can do just one.  One landing may be fine for some folks and I totally get that, but I LOVED Antarctica and wanted to have as much land time as possible.

Thanks, Brownie, for the tip on the cooking classes being available for booking on the Splendor, NYC to Barcelona.  I just went online and found a couple that look interesting for my husband and me. 

For those who are curious, these classes are offered on the sea days, usually at 10 AM and also at 4 PM.  They have different areas of focus ( Mediterranean foods, Plant-based foods, Farmstand, Spanish tapas and the like) and each cost $89.  You have to pay in advance but can cancel, etc as for excursions.

I second the suggestion for the Shangri-La on the Club Floor.  Great views, nice snacks, great service, etc.  We have stayed there two different times before embarking on cruises.

One of the best things we have done in the days prior to starting the cruises was to take a cooking class at the Sydney Seafood School.  We have taken classes all over the world (do it when traveling as one of our regular things) and this school was the overall best one we have ever been to:  there was didactic teaching and demo before starting, then each person had a full kitchen station (shared with 3 others), then the "team of 4" made the whole meal, then everyone sat down and ate the meal along with Australian wines.  Really fantastic.  We would have done it again, but what was being offered when we were there the second time was the same one we had taken before.  Highly recommend!

Thanks again, Mocamps!  This is exactly the info I was hoping for. And thank you again for letting me  - and I am sure - many others know about the ability to use the boots on the Cloud. Saves a lot of expense and bother!

Thanks, Mocamps, for all your advice.  While I have been to Antarctica before, it was not on the Cloud, so your help is greatly appreciated about how things work on that ship now.  I told my husband the good news about the boots that we should be able to get onboard, and then he started asking me lots of questions about the logistics.  Finally I said, I can guess the answers, but let me just go back on CC and ask!  So, basically, how did it work for getting the boots on Cloud?  Was there an announcement and a place to go and try on/ask for sizes?  And once you have the boots, are they assigned to you for the duration and you keep them in your room? Then at the end, you return them to the same place?  

Mocamps, this is great news!  My husband and I are on the Cloud Jan 16 cruise (Ushuaia to Ushuaia) and I have "rent boots" on my to-do list as we speak.  Frankly, the price to rent is really outrageous, but I too was scared by the "we can't guarantee your size" if we chose to wait to use the ones on the ship.  But sounds like your advice (since we have relatively normal feet) would be to sit tight and get them when we board?

I went to Antarctica a few years ago (with A&K and the trip included South Georgia Islands).  I loved it so much - and I have finally convinced my husband to go with me.  So, we are looking forward to it - will be here before we know it!

Also, thanks for the advice about the elegant casual nights. We have those flights from Santiago to Ushuaia with limited baggage to worry about, so anything to limit what we take is great.

Cece50, I have just seen your post from September, with a question about how we liked the cruise from Lisbon to Amsterdam. In three words, WE LOVED IT. We have been to Europe many times, and have been to most of the countries (land trips, river and ocean cruises) but thought the itinerary was very interesting. Lots of new ports for us and all very varied. So, no complaints (except maybe too few sea days since we like them so much) and only positive things really. We loved the Ovation (well, except for a few things like no real walking/jogging deck - only around the pool; and the Theater has these very large weight-bearing posts that obscure views) and would happily sail on her again. You will have a wonderful time!

Hi SLSD! Nice to see you virtually onboard with us on this cruise! I have been taking notes since we got on board in Tilbury with differences (and similarities) that I see with the Spirit and the Seabourn Ovation (and Encore). Once I get home, I will write it up and post on both SS and SB. Sneak peek conclusion: I think most people who like one will like the other.

Well, here we are in Boston. Nice sail-in with lots of folks in the Observation Lounge. We are docked and my husband just spotted the Immigration guys walking onboard. I think they do the crew first, then the passengers for the face-to-face. So, we will just standby and read (or write on CC) until called.

As stated above, yesterday was glorious. We had been to Halifax on a land trip a few years back, so just milled abountne Harbor, had a beer in one of the cute brewery houses and then ate at our favorite restaurant from last time, The Bicycle Thief. Today was nice too, although a bit windy as we did our walk earlier this morning. We ate pizza out of the deck (thereby avoiding the inside American Classics buffet) and had a lovely meal. We had the pizza for the first time a few days ago and have been plotting our next time to “do pizza”since then. There are about 15 different kinds to choose from and they are just delicious. More on the food and restaurants a little later.

Floors are being called now for the Immigration festivities.

Hey Terry, I think you can probably do some Google research to get some accurate info - all I can give is my personal experience. This is our third east to west crossing on the Atlantic. The first two were Southern - starting in Lisbon and ending in the Caribbean or Florida. This is our first Northerly route. The length of the actual “crossing”is shorter on this cruise, but it has definitely been more rocky. But we like rocky, so would do it again. On the other hand, for the poolside folks, the Southern routes may be more attractive. We have had to cancel our two Hot Rocks reservations (made on land weeks ago) due to weather. But that hasn’t stressed us too much, since there are so many other venues. Also, there are nice interior places to while away the day as well. Dolce Vita (or DV as we now refer to it) is a good daytime hangout.

Jgmc, they have the Arts Cafe which opens at 6:30 am. It is new addition to the Muse and Spirit, and one which SS desperately needed in order to keep up with other luxury cruise lines (Crystal Bistro, Regent Coffee Connection, Seabourn Square) where there is made to order coffee for cruisers. Now, at Arts Cafe, you can order at the counter for take away or at a seat from a server. There is also a pot of brewed coffee near the outdoor doors that is self - serve (also hot water and teas).

This is all a great improvement, but I do wish they had one of the self - serve machines where you could get a latte or hot chocolate or whatever without involving staff. Most hotel lounges have them and certainly Regent does, so many SS will consider this for the future.

Ship is moving and shaking a bit now, but nothing too serious. I like a little movement and while sleeping, it is a bit of a tonic. Anyway, I am not too concerned.

We did not get to the Cloud. Took some photos, but she was a ways away and with the really cold and rainy weather, we just didn’t even try. We are going to be on her in January, so we will get what we get. We loved her in her previous incarnation, so I am sure we will be fine with her Expedition mode.

We had been scheduled to have dinner at Hot Rocks/Grill tonight, but this afternoon, we switched to La Terrazza. Had a really nice meal, and lo and behold, right next to us were a couple who had come over on the 2016 Spirit Crossing with us. She recognized me, and then we all remembered our previous meeting. We had a great time chatting across the table. There are probably a lot more folks out and about here who did the 2016 crossing. Who knows?

Well, the Captain just announced that the weather is actually deteriorating and things will be pretty rocky for the next day. That being said, we will miss our port tomorrow in St. Pierre (the French territory off the coast of Newfoundland). We will cruise on, ahead of the bad weather, and then anchor tomorrow evening in the harbor off Sydney, NS.

Too bad, we were looking forward to a new experience, but would prefer to miss tomorrow than our port today, St. John’s. It was pretty nasty outside, as you all heard, but we had our gear and headed out for our geological excursion. So we learned a lot about Newfoundland and Labrador (and plate tectonics) and also got to experience a taste of what seems to be a pretty cool and quirky place. And yet, we were very happy to get back on board our cozy Spirit! Nice lunch in La Terraza and then reading in Dolce Vita.

I thought I would also join in and say what a pleasant cruise this has been so far. We’ve met Jolly and Spins, but unfortunately had to miss the M&M the other night. Spins said it was well attended and I was happy to hear that. I hope to meet some of the other CCers at some point!

We’ve now eaten at Atlantide a couple of times for dinner, Indochine and Silver Note. Tonight is La Terrazza. We really like the idea of two different open venues for dinner and we really wanted to like the food of Indochine. For us, we found it a bit bland. I understand that they need to anticipate the palates of the majority of passengers, but for us, just adding some crushed red pepper to the dish is not the best way to add kick. Anyway, that is just us. Others have said how much they liked it, so people should check for themselves. We really like Silver Note - Food is interesting and we loved the duo there. Our vote on Atlantide is split. My husband does not like that there is not a fresh menu each night. He understands the concept that each of the ship’s venues are “restaurants” but just prefers that the open seating restaurant be more traditional with different choices each night. I have found that for the main course, there is a ton of variety if you like proteins with different sauces, etc. On the other hand, more variety in starters would be nice. Perhaps they could have “specials” like on land restaurants do.

I have to say that we have not seen much of the CD. I know he is getting off soon and is tired, and I have seen him dining with some passengers and he leads Trivia, but there has not been a real presence felt. Maybe because our last cruise was on Seabourn and we had (I think) the world’s best CD (Handre), anyone else would pale in comparison, but there is just not a liveliness on the ship that an energetic CD provides. That’s too bad but we generally make our own fun.

I know Jolly has mentioned David Bilsland. The reason he is on is that this is designed as a Food and Wine Cruise. He has a whole program of activities including Cooking Demos, Cheese Tastings, Market Visits, Lunch and Learns and the like. Some spaces are very limited, like the Market Visits and the Lunches, but we were lucky enough to get a spot on the Cork English Market Vist. It was fun to see David and the locals interact. We had some delicious oysters and watched David buy about 20 pounds of local cheese (hint: another Cheese Tasting in the future). We also have a spot for tomorrow’s Lunch and Learn. But all can attend many of his events and I have to say he does a great job with Cooking Demos. I guess there is a reason why he has the position he does!

Just went to Karolina’s Wine Tasting and she was very knowledgeable. Now it is time for lunch; not sure where we will go. We generally like the Dining Room on sea days, which here would be Atlantide. But we have already done that a couple of times (and my husband likes that there is more variety at lunch). But we may try something different - perhaps the Pizza place or the Grill if it is not too windy.

We have been onboard for about 10 hours now and have expienced day and night, lunch and dinner, and lots of new things to see on the Spirit. We were on the Spirit inaugural cruise from Barcelona to Lisbon back many years ago and again two years ago for the fall crossing. We have been very happy to see the new changes and so far, approve of all of them. We are staying in the very same Silver Suite that we stayed in 2 years ago and are very happy to see it refurbished (we loved the space and layout, but it was quite “tired” back in November 2016).

Interesting to us is the Atlantide/Indochine split. Food was great in Atlantide tonight and it felt a bit cozier (in a good way) than in most cruise ship dining rooms (we sail on SS, Seabourn, Regent and Crystal). We look a look in Indochine and it was well - attended (and someone leaving said how fantastic the food was since she though we might have been thinking about dinner there). The menu looks interesting so we may well go there tomorrow night.

We got off the Seabourn Ovation (28 days) in June and it is very similar. I am thinking about doing a comparison of these two ships since they have so much in common.

Eric and I are in our hotel lounge, having our last meal - before our next meal and the next and the next. We have had a wonderful time in London for the past 4 days. We have been blessed with the most gorgeous weather. And we have had some incredible food! In London? Who knew?

Soon we will head to the room, finish packing up, and then call an Uber for the drive to Tilbury. See some of you soon!

Janice

Thank, Neilio, for taking time to post on your cruise. It takes time out of your relaxation time, but it sure keeps us folks on shore excited! Just wanted you to know we appreciated your doing this!

Well, safe travels! And thanks for starting your thread early. We can still follow Neilio until he disembarks and we can follow you now too!

I know the feeling about being excited. We have cruised many times, but I am getting very pumped about the crossing! Looks like we have over 20 for the M&M so I would expect that we will have one.

Thanks so much, Neilio, for sharing your first day with us. I know it does take focus and actual time to remember your fans on CC, but we really appreciate when you can post. Spirit looks beautiful after the stretch and refurbishment. Again, thanks for carving out a bit of time for posting on CC.

Zenblue 100, look forward to your posts! We have been on the Spirit twice, but also not since the stretch, so we are looking forward to the TA with even greater than usual excitement.

Hi Neilio, I hope you and your wife are snug in Copenhagen (and with all your luggage!) and looking forward to boarding tomorrow. If you are so inclined, it would be GREAT if you would start a new thread of LIVE from the Spirit: Copenhagen to Stockholm (or to London if you are continuing on). There are a few of us following this thread who will be embarking in London and your posts would be most welcome as we anticipate our cruise. But whatever you do, please have a wonderful cruise!

Just a quick note to say it is NOT silly to have a top sheet with a duvet. Did you not know that some people sleep "hot"? If it were not for specifically asking our stewardess to make up our bed with a top sheet included, I would often end up with no suitable covering at all. Now, I understand how duvets work, and if this were my home, we would have a duvet made with a light material. But since you get what you get on the ship, a sheet works quite well.

Dear WTP, thank you so much for doing this LIVE report. I am thinking of doing this cruise on SS in the next couple of years - either with my husband or daughter (or maybe both?) and you have provided so much delightful detail! When I go on a cruise, I often try to provide an update, but it takes so much time to do, so ends up being kinda half-a$$ed! I just want you to know how much your efforts are appreciated - you have done a wonderful blow-by-blow account that will benefit so many people. Thanks again!

Hey SLSD, the cruise you are talking about (Dublin - Lisbon on the Ovation in Sept 2019) is the one right after ours. Ours is a circumnavigation with some new ports for us (and some ports we have been to before - and we might make a couple of those sea days so we can get a few more of those!). But if I were you and had not been along the coast of Norway yet, then that cruise would win the nod for me. We have done it twice on Regent (once got up to Svalbard and on the other, went to Murmansk, Russia - both fascinating in their own ways), once on Crystal. In a couple of years, we will be ready again - Norway is just so beautiful. And it is a way to do a summer cruise without being so hot!

If you want to stay Luxury, I would suggest Crystal. While the suites are smaller than SB, if you have two kids, you will need two staterooms anyway and that should be fine. In the summer, they have a great kids' program with several counselors - and dedicated spaces for them. We started cruising with our daughter when she was 5 years old on Crystal. She always loved it. Once she got bigger, we (3 of us) really didn't fit into a regular stateroom and I started exploring other lines. Then we did Regent and Silversea after that. She liked those as well, but Regent only sometimes had a program and SS never did.